I should have thanked him for coming to my aid in Cartona. Had I been caught in that vanity burning alone, dressed in crow-black, I don’t know what I would have done. I also wish I could thank him for helping me in general. Regardless of whether he finds my illusion-work intellectually interesting, there are hundreds of unsolvable puzzles in Gomorrah. He has chosen to concern himself with mine, and for that I am grateful. I want to tell him that I consider him my friend. That I appreciate his concern. That, apart from my family, he is the only person I trust, who doesn’t seem uncomfortable around me, even after seeing my face. That I like that he thinks of me as floating—
My thoughts stutter to a stop. Do I...do IlikeLuca? I mean, he’s attractive. That’s obvious. But he’s also arrogant and condescending sometimes, and I cannot stand listening to his Up-Mountainer accent, sounding so posh and above everyone else. Am I only thinking like this because he’s nice to me? Trust me to develop a crush on the first person who doesn’t think I’m a total freak.
I ball my blanket into a fist in frustration. I’m pathetic.
Something slips out of the blanket and clinks to the roll-out bamboo floor. I pick up a small sack of coins and count them. Fifteen gold pieces. Exactly what Jiafu owed me. Where did this come from?
I walk into the main part of our tent, where Nicoleta softly tries to shake Hawk awake. Hawk moans and pulls her pillow over her head. “Nicoleta, did you remember seeing Jiafu the other day after Blister’s...in the evening?”
“No,” she says. “I thought you were going to stop working for him.”
“I never said that.”
“It’s what Gill wanted.”
“Yeah, well, I probablyamdone with Jiafu now, anyway.”
Nicoleta doesn’t say anything. She slams the table closed so hard that it cracks in the corner. Hawk and Unu and Du all startle awake at once and, chastened, Nicoleta gently lays the table down on the floor. “I don’t understand why we’re staying in this part of the Up-Mountains. These cities...they’re huge. They’re powerful. And they clearly don’t want us here.” Her voice quivers. Nicoleta’s voice never quivers. “I just want to stay in one place for a while. To relax for just a moment.” She starts rolling up the bamboo floor. “Why are we still going north?”
I’m not prepared to see Nicoleta cry. Nicoleta rarely cries, and if she breaks down, I might, too. My heart still hasn’t slowed since running from the officials in Cartona earlier today as they began to cleanse the city of sin. She’s right. They don’t want us here.
“Do you need any help?” I ask her, hoping she’ll say no. She always says no.
“No,” she snaps, though not unkindly. She needs to be left alone.
I squeeze the pouch of coins in my hands and return to my room. It doesn’t make sense that both Nicoleta and myself wouldn’t remember Jiafu giving me the money after Blister’s funeral. But where did the money come from? No one would simply leave coins in my room. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve lost things within my pillows, but itwouldbe the first time I’ve ever forgotten an entire interaction.
Jiafu is probably still lying. The coins must be from a while ago.
And after yesterday’s incident with the venomous moths, I doubt he’ll want me to work with him again. But I don’t know of any other way to pay for Kahina’s medicine. Stealing from him was foolish. He’ll never take me back now.
Maybe if I give him time to cool down, he’ll change his mind. I’ve never lost him a deal. I’ll ask him when we get to Gentoa, where he’ll be excited about new visitors and new victims. He’ll change his mind.
I need him to.
* * *
Villiam’s door is open, and Agni sits outside on the caravan’s ledge, smoking a cigarette. Earlier, there were dozens of guards. Now only two pace around the caravan as it moves. “Hello, Sorina,” he whispers. “How are you?”
“I’m well. How are you? How’s your wife?”
“Well enough.” He stares at the sunset. It was this time of summer nine years ago when his son was kidnapped by slavers. It’s a sad story that everyone in Gomorrah has heard—Agni, being Villiam’s assistant, is well-known throughout the Festival. Sometimes, when I look at him, I can only see his story. His loss follows him like an extra shadow.
I say something pleasant but meaningless and step into the caravan. With his leg propped up on the seat next to him, Villiam smiles as I empty out the books from my messenger bag. Though he seems cheerful, it’s obvious from the dark under his eyes that he hasn’t slept.
“I’m impressed,” he says. “Have you read them all?”
“Yes,” I say, because I finished the last one before I slept earlier. “Does this mean I pass? Am Iallowedto learn why my father was attacked? About how the man who did it is connected to the man who killed my brother and uncle? Or do I need to read a few more books before I’m qualified to hear some answers?”
He doesn’t grace my fury with a proper response.
“What I’m about to share with you is strictly between the people in this room.” Behind me, Agni closes the door and snuffs out his cigarette in the ashtray. “For now, I’d like for you not to share this with your family.”
Finally, answers. Not entirely appeased—I wish I was given these answers earlier—I take a seat across from him and cross my arms.
“After our discussion and your reading, you understand more about the role of the Gomorrah proprietors, of Gomorrah in general. Now you need to understand who we are up against, and who I am certain is responsible for the deaths of Gill and Blister, who sent the man who attacked me earlier.”
He turns to the map over his desk and points out several northern city-states along the thumb of the Up-Mountains. First, Frice, known for its powerful colonies in the Forty Deserts. Ukarce, the navy stronghold. Cartona, the holy city of Ovren. Gentoa, the capital of a trading empire. Then Sapris and Leonita, who I already know are responsible for most of the evils that Down-Mountainers face in our homelands. Last are Teochtia and Ximia, the two largest cities in the faraway Yucatoa Region, whose zealous armies patrol the world searching for relics and hunting demons.
