Wystwood

59. The coin and locket

Ada slept restlessly that night. On the bunk above Min, she tossed and turned, begging her exhausted body to rest for even a moment. She had slipped the Gilded Book into her pillowcase, and with little stuffing to cover it, Ada had resorted to resting her head on an elbow. The room was stiflingly hot, even without the sage-fires and her cloak. In the early hours, she thought she had heard Lark hum some soft tune to himself, and wondered if he, too, felt the pressing weight of the Stone Circle deep beneath the earth.

Sleep must have crept up on her suddenly, because she woke to Hester hobbling into the infirmary and pulling out her medicinals for the day. Ada clambered down from the bunk bed with numb legs, and found Min already awake. Her distant stare at the bed slats above had returned, and her eyes were bloodshot and ringed in indigo. The thin cat had curled up on her chest, and Min moved her hand down its back in slow strokes.

"You'll all be off to breakfast," Hester said from her table. "Before the food's been taken."

Armestrong stood up from her bed, looking as stiff as Ada felt. Not built as lithe and lean as either Min or Lark, the woman had clearly had trouble getting comfortable on the narrow mattress. Lark looked as if he had no intention of getting up at all, but joined them quickly enough after Armestrong said she wouldn't be bringing anything back for him to eat in bed.

The group followed the sage-lights down the passages that were growing familiar to Ada, heading towards the room where she had found food laid out the night before. She hadn't taken much notice of the sage's scent before, but now, with a heavy head and dragging feet, the fires' sweet smell was nauseating.

They found the food hall bustling, the tables now covered with more loaves of bread, thin slices of cured ham, and bowls of a pale paste that Ada thought tasted like walnuts. Min stared at all of the children running between the tables, some giggling as they fled from their friends to hide behind baskets and in boxes. Armestrong kept having to remind her to eat the crust of bread she was worrying into crumbs between her fingertips.

Ada was wondering where she might be able to find a cup of tea, when Lark came up to her side.

"There's the old man and his shadow by the door," he said, pointing over the tables to where Edmere stood with Yue behind him, dressed today in black. He was watching the room, not eating, but offering a few words to the fae who stopped to speak to him. "I think we should go and ask him about Solen. He seems to run quite the rig around here, and no doubt he'll have contacts up in the city. Maybe he'll help us?"

"I'm not so sure, Lark," Ada replied, thinking back to her talk with Edmere about the lyceum, and then to the golden book in her pillowcase.

"I can't just leave her with those bloody Hounds," said Lark, his voice unusually sharp.

"I know," huffed Ada, pressing her fingers to the growing ache in her temples. She shut her eyes, and then breathed in slowly, and her voice was softer when she repeated, "I know. Ok, let's tell him what Min said and see if he knows anything more."

Leaving Armestrong with Min, the pair made their way through the hall. The passing fae took little notice of the newcomers, simply filling baskets with food and making conversation. They all wore loose, dark coloured clothing, and most had their hair tied back to show the sharp bones that carved their faces into hollows and planes.

Yue spotted Ada and Lark's approach, and was already frowning when they stopped in front of Edmere.

"Good morning," said the old man pleasantly. "I trust you found breakfast to be satisfactory."

Ada nodded awkwardly, unable to look directly into Edmere's pale eyes.

She was grateful when Lark replied to him instead, "We were actually hoping we might be able to talk with you for a moment." He looked back at the crowded hall. "Er, privately."