Secrets of the Swords, Book 1

Chapter 13: Through the Portrait

The next morning came earlier than Suthe wished. She was shaken awake by the other spy, Marrene, who impatiently shoved a plate of scrambled eggs in her face.

"Hurry up and eat," Marrene demanded. Unlike Ulsper, she had a heavy Noth accent that put a harsh edge on her words.

Marrene pointed to a worn canvas bag a few feet away, beneath a shelf laden with little metal gears, screws, and wooden propeller models. "I've packed for you—the inventor's apartment is full of stuff. He won't miss those things."

Slowly, Suthe sat up from the blanket on the floor she had been using as a bed—as the actual bed had some sort of half-assembled engine on it—and took the plate in front of her. "Uh, thank you," she said. Mentally, she made a note not to bring up the topic of her luggage in front of Calatar. Based on the last night's conversation, she suspected that the inventor and the female spy did not get along well, and that perhaps Marrene had packed a few things of Calatar's without his knowing.

"Come on," Marrene said not two seconds after Suthe had taken her last bite of breakfast. Suthe scrambled to her feet and followed the spy out of the spare bedroom, only just remembering to pick up the canvas bag before she left.

Calatar was washing dishes in the kitchen, and Ulsper was waiting in the living room. When the spy saw Suthe and Marrene standing in the hallway, he gestured for Suthe to come closer.

Before she did, Suthe turned to  Marrene. "There was a woman I was staying with who got arrested while she was trying to help me escape last night," she began. "Her name is Alaera Ellersong—if this works, and Ulsper and I really do go to Andilir, could you find her, and tell her what happened, and thank her for me?" It would be cruel to just vanish after all Alaera had helped her with, Suthe thought. "Ulsper said she would probably be released in a few days."

Marrene raised an eyebrow. "Ellersong? The only Ellersongs I know of are the Imperial Envoy and the magistrate of the Imperial Quarter, and they both seem pretty cozy with the government and its rules. Are you sure this Ellersong lady can be trusted?"

The spy's words stirred doubt in Suthe's mind, but then the memories of how Alaera had helped her, of the time spent together baking in Alaera's kitchen, and how the Sylterran had offered to help Suthe with her library research, resurfaced. Suthe felt a bubble of shame rise up in her chest at her hesitation. That couldn't have been faked. Alaera was different from the rest of her family.

"I'd trust her with my life," Suthe said. "In fact, I already did."

"Well, all right, then. I'll tell her if I see her," Marrene replied lazily. It wasn't the most promising agreement Suthe had ever heard, but she figured she didn't have much of a choice but to hope that her message somehow got to Alaera.

Suthe turned back to the living room and approached Ulsper, who was standing by the small sofa. Marrene lingered in the hallway for a moment before going to join Calatar in the kitchen.

Judging by the inventor's shouts, it sounded as though Marrene's company was unwelcome.

"Don't mind them," Ulsper said, and Suthe turned to face him warily.

"I don't know if this will work," she repeated. "We might not end up in the right place. I might not even be able to take you with me." She shifted the strap of the heavy bag on her shoulder uneasily, fidgeting with the frayed edge. Why had she suggested such a thing the night before? It was madness to think that she could do this. But if she didn't...Suthe gulped. If she didn't, they might be too late to make a difference. They needed to find those swords before someone else did.