Back at the dispensary, Torrell slumped on a bench against the kitchen wall. He looked exhausted. “I don’t know how he managed to carry her all that way. I was winded after twenty paces.”

  “We thought you’d been arrested, or worse,” Marla said. She’d covered one of the tables with oiled cloth and was taking great care to cut strips of fabric from the dress Kaddie had brought with them.

  Torrell yawned and massaged his shoulders. “I’ve never seen the second city streets so empty.”

  Elspeth was stirring soup in a cauldron at the hearth. “We all stay indoors when the Families are making a move.”

  “And pretend it’s not happening?”

  “Yes. Kaddie, hand me that ladle.”

  “What about Captain Young?” She reached toward the rack of utensils.

  “She’s fine, as far as we know,” Marla said.

  “I bet what happened at the main gate was a feint,” Torrell said. “To keep her busy while the Theeds were murdering everyone in the palace.”

  Marla stopped cutting. “What do you know about feints? And we don’t know that anyone was murdered, especially by the Theeds. At least, not yet.”

  “The nanny was murdered,” Kaddie said. “I saw her.” She and Torrell shared a nod, while Elspeth and Marla regarded one another with unease.

  “Well, it’s not like it hasn’t happened before.” Elspeth pushed a tray carrying a bowl of soup into Kaddie’s hands. ”Quickly. And make sure she drinks every drop.”

  “I know what needs to be done,” She was in a state of agitation, wanting nothing more than to get back to her patient. They were all infected with worry, especially after Robles had complained of chest pains as soon as they’d arrived back, and had immediately retired to bed. That, and thoughts of being spotted while smuggling the girl from the palace, it was no wonder the atmosphere was tense.

  She climbed the stairs to her attic room. Inside, it reeked of sweat and vomit. Nianne was in her bed, shivering, curled up in a ball, and would no doubt remain there while she was too ill to be moved.

  “Hey, no falling asleep. Not yet.”

  “Go away.”

  Kaddie ignored her and placed the tray on her dresser. She approached the bed, grabbed the girl’s chemise, and shook her. “Do you want to stay like this, or get better?” When the other girl howled pitifully, “Well, do you?”

  “I don’t want anything.”

  “You’ve got the shakes because you’re purging. This will help. Stop acting like a baby.” The young woman resisted for another moment before allowing Kaddie to haul her upright into a sitting position. “That’s better.” She reached for the tray.

  “Let—let me do it.” The spoon trembled in the other girl’s hand, but she managed to grasp the soup bowl unaided, and as soon as every drop was drunk she handed back the bowl and slid down until her head was resting on the pillow. She looked sickly. Her skin was the color of rotten fish. Thankfully, she was asleep in moments.

  Kaddie placed the bowl on its tray on the nightstand and approached the window. Outside, it was approaching midday. But clouds had gathered, casting a pall over the avenue until it seemed much later. The thoroughfares were near empty. There were no gatherings on the rooftops, and the few persons she did see on the avenue scurried like mice from one building to another. It felt as if the whole city was hiding and holding its breath.

  That last thought shifted her attention to the plight of her employer, who’d clutched his chest as they’d entered the dispensary at the finale of their daring rescue. Elspeth had sent him to bed and dosed him with cipalum in order to thin his blood. Kaddie knew chest pains could be fatal and therefore, like Nianne, he remained a worry, spinning in the forefront of her mind.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  As for everything else, the dash through the second city, the man with the sword, the broken plates, the dead nanny, the screams, it was all beginning to feel oddly remote. Distance and disbelief were whispering in her ear, suggesting it was all nothing more than a nightmare created by her imagination the night before. But there was no denying the sickly girl in her bed, and the image of the dead woman sprawled on the floor was too lucid to be a dream.

  Picking up one of Robles’ illustrated books, she settled in a chair by the window, keeping one eye on Nianne, while assuring herself she wouldn’t forget the events of the early morning. She never forgot. As for the perpetrators, they would go on her retribution list; a list that was growing longer by the day.

  A short while later, a detailed study of astral moss and its myriad of effects drew her away from her sleeping patient and the occasional sound of voices elsewhere in the house.

  “Kaddie.”

  Startled, she looked up and saw Torrell standing in the doorway wearing a troubled expression. Her neck hurt and her shoulders ached, as if she’d fallen asleep.

  “There are men from the palace downstairs in the dispensary, asking questions.”

  “About what?” She set down the book. A quick examination of Nianne revealed she was still sleeping. She gestured for quiet and pushed him out of the room. When the door was closed,

  “They want to know about your visit, yesterday.”

  “Yesterday, but not today?”

  “So Mr. Feesh said. But they want to talk to Robles.”

  “I’ll handle this. Get ready to drag her out of bed and hide her elsewhere in the attic, if necessary. There’ll be no murdering, here.” She descended the stairs, pulling off her apron and flattening her hair with the palms of her hands.

  Elspeth was on the landing, on guard outside Robles’ bedroom. The woman offered her a nod. Whether she was there to stop someone getting in, or getting out, Kaddie didn’t ask.

  Downstairs, Marla was hovering in the narrow passageway between the dispensary and kitchen. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “I’ll talk to them,” she said, and swept toward the dispensary before the woman could utter another word.

  Stray thoughts emerged and jabbed at her resolve. Laced with fear, they sought to remind her that, despite removing her apron, she still smelled of the ailing girl’s sweat. And at the dispensary’s threshold they grew more elaborate, offering her an image of the swordsman standing in the center of the room, the bodies of Mr. Feesh, Coglan, and Pick at his feet.

  Instead, she discovered two strangers dressed in dark, finely-tailored coats, waiting at the counter.

  One wore a scowl, the other was glancing here and there with a faint smile on his face. She also noticed the dispensary’s front door was closed. Pick was hovering nervously alongside it, while Mr. Feesh and Coglan were both on the customer’s side of the counter, their faces registering a mixture of anger and unease. In fact Coglan looked about ready to punch someone.

  Kaddie raised an eyebrow toward Mr. Feesh. “Is business that bad that we’ve had to close shop for the day?”

  “These gentlemen insisted.”

  The smiling man turned in her direction. His eyes were pale, their pupils shiny as glass, like those of a snake. His smile widened slightly before he dropped it completely. “We insist on seeing Poisoner Robles.”

  “He’s in bed with chest pains. May I ask who you are?”

  “Mr. Tenadas, and my colleague is Mr. Breso. We’re representing the reigning family of Theed. Now, I don’t know who you are—”

  “I’m sorry, but you still can’t see him. He’s sick, and if he dies, the city will be left without its poisoner. My name is Kaddie Loxton, I’m his apprentice, and you can address me, instead.” As they hesitated, she pointed to the wall behind the counter. “My charter is right there.”

  The man with the scowl looked about to say something until his snake-eyed companion gestured for silence. “I see,” he said. He looked around at the others. “Poisoner Robles visited the palace, yesterday.”

  “I know. I was with him.”

  “Then you’ll know about the daughter’s sickness.”

  “Nianne.”

  “Yes, Nianne. Alas, on behalf of Arben Theed, we’re here to inform you the girl died very early this morning, and her distraught parents have left the palace, never to return. Therefore, your services will no longer be required.”

  She didn’t miss a beat. “But I was due to return this afternoon. We’ve been working all morning on a cure.”

  “Too late, I’m afraid.”

  “Have the Theed family now taken residence?”

  “Of course. Someone has to. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

  His companion grunted and pulled open the door.

  “We’re supposed to inspect the body,” Kaddie began.

  Snake-eyes smiled. “That won’t be necessary. Oh, and I do hope the Lassings pre-paid their bill.”

  The two men left, closing the door behind them, and it was a long time before anyone spoke.

  “So, it was a coup,” Mr. Feesh said, “and as lies go, that was as bold as it gets.” He returned to his side of the counter. “Pick? Open her up, we have a dispensary to run.” He winked at Kaddie. “Well done, lass.”

  Kaddie nodded and let out the breath she’d been holding. Her fists were clenched to stop them from shaking and her fingers ached as she released them.