Folding the Sky

-16-

There was no reason for Zuri to be nervous, but she was anyway.

Less than twenty-four hours had passed since she and Jem had crafted the forgery, which still sat on the desk in the hotel room, spotlit by the lamp. Afternoon was rolling slowly into evening, yellow sunlight turning a burnt orange, like a fruit becoming overripe. The market would open its doors in just over a half hour, and yet Zuri was still here, seated at the edge of her bed, her boots half unlaced.

She set her jaw and finished lacing her shoes. She couldn't pinpoint precisely what was setting her nerves on edge, but doubtless it was fear, or some close relative to it. Fear of failure, maybe, that they would have spent all that time making the forgery only for it to be for naught—and fear of something bigger, something unexpected, lurking in the shadows like a beast on the prowl.

Zuri stood and rolled her shoulders back. She simply didn't have the time to be afraid. Naino was counting on her, but most importantly, her father was counting on her. If she didn't do this, the debt collectors would eventually come for him, and she would lose the only parent she had left.

At the thought of her father, her resolve was renewed. The others were downstairs, and she would keep them waiting no longer. She snatched the forged invitation from the table, then opened the door, and nearly jumped out of the boots she'd finally finished securing.

"Aldric," she said, catching herself against the doorframe, her pulse jumping. "You scared me. How long have you been there? I didn't hear a thing."

Aldric stood just an inch away from the threshold, a sheepish smile on his face. "If you did hear something, it would mean I'm not very good at my job."

Zuri's mouth opened, but a reply was beyond her.

"My—former job," Aldric corrected after a minute. He shook his head, sputtering. "Um, are you okay? You were just taking a while, so I came back up to check on you."

"Yeah," Zuri replied with a heavy sigh, shutting the door behind her and joining Aldric beneath the hallway lights. "I just needed some time to get my head on straight, but I'm alright, really. Thank you."

He nodded and gestured down the hall, and together they started for the lobby. Zuri tilted her head. She could hear the muffled thuds of her shoes against the carpeted corridor, but though Aldric was right beside her, his steps were eerily silent, as if he were somehow incorporeal. She wondered how much training it took to reach that point.

"It makes you wonder, doesn't it?" Aldric said.

Zuri started, worried for a moment he had read her mind. But no, she thought. That's my thing. "What does?"

"Schmitt," Aldric elaborated, glancing sideways at her. When the confusion didn't clear from Zuri's face, he added: "I don't know. I was just thinking that a person is very rarely so elusive for no reason at all. I'm assuming the Queen must have reached out to him before, probably offered him all sorts of money, fame, whatever it is he wants. So why would he say no? Why would he run away?"

The end of the hall was fast approaching; the low babble of voices from the lobby trailed towards them like the tendrils of a percolating scent. An uncomfortable laugh left Zuri's mouth. "I'm beginning to think you think too much, Aldric."

A reticent curtain rushed over his eyes. Though their gazes met, Zuri was no longer sure she was looking right at him. He said, his voice flat, "I'm pretty sure that's the only reason I've survived this long."

Zuri swallowed, then nodded her head towards the lobby. "Everyone else is ready, aren't they?" she said. "We should get a move on, or we might miss our chance."