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He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I am properly chastened,” he said. “And may I say how very beautiful you look.”
Madeleine smiled back. “You may. You look very nice as well.”
“Of course! The social event of the season!”
The two of them teased each other for the rest of the drive, during which time Tivol obediently drove at a reasonable rate of speed. He didn’t have any choice about slowing down once they turned onto the main road that bisected the Quatrefoil, because it was already jammed with so many private vehicles that traffic was almost at a standstill.
“At some point it would be quicker to get out and walk,” Madeleine observed.
“We’re going to leave the car a few blocks away, so wewillbe walking,” Tivol said. “But not quite yet.”
After they had inched forward another half mile, Tivol pulled off into a parking area and they all disembarked. Jayla glanced up at the tightly packed grid of cables that allowed gridcars to maneuver fluidly across the plaza, then she fell in step a couple of paces behind the other two.
It was almost full dark now, but artificial lamps lined the streets and provided decent visibility. Still, Jayla was on high alert. There were so many shadowed doorways to pass, so many lightless alleys. Too many places for an assailant to lurk. This would be a perfect place to stage an attack.
But they made it without incident to their destination. It was a long, white stone building several stories high. Unlike the plain exteriors of the mansions that lined Council Row, this building was highly ornamented with fluted columns, carved friezes, and lacy grillwork. More of those artificial lights had been strategically placed on the grounds to illuminate both the façade and the walkways leading up to the grand entrance.
From all directions, people on foot were converging on the doorway. Jayla was pleased to spot eight or ten temple guards in their distinctive dark blue livery. Some stood at the doors, watching people as they entered; some patrolled the edge of the street, making sure none of the drivers had any trouble.
Madeleine took Tivol’s arm, then turned back to look for Jayla. She smiled to see the guard right on her heels. “It’s quite a sight, isn’t it?” she said.
“It’s impressive,” Jayla said. “And this whole house belongs to the high divine?”
“No, it’s part of the temple complex. His lodgings are on the third level, but most of the building is used for other things.” She waved a hand toward the open doors. “We’ll all be sitting down to dinner in the big conference hall on the bottom floor.”
Within a few steps, they had fallen in with the rest of the throng all vying for the best spot in the line that was slowly being funneled through the doors. Madeleine greeted some of her friends with cries of delight, as if she hadn’t just seen them a day or two before. Tivol dropped her arm and turned aside to joke with one of the men waiting in line next to them.
A hooded figure slipped between Tivol and Madeleine, raising its arm in one smooth, swift stroke. Jayla’s body was in motion before her brain even registered the threat. She flung herself forward as the arm sliced downward, the chilly artificial light running like silver along the curved blade. She felt the impact as her shoulder crashed into the assailant’s chest, heard the faintoofof a high-pitched voice. She had collided with a small, wiry body, and she could feel it bunch and coil as the other person tried to spin away.
Clamping her hand around the assailant’s wrist, she wrenched her arm downward and sent the knife flying. It skittered across the pavement with a musical clatter. She followed up with a punch to the jaw, then hooked a foot around the attacker’s ankle. They both went down hard.
Jayla was dimly aware of screaming all around her, of bodies shifting away in alarm, but all she cared about was containing the thrashing form beneath her. She was pretty sure her opponent was a woman, but she couldn’t pause long enough to rip off the concealing hood. Whoever it was bucked frantically beneath her, clawing at Jayla’s face, trying to get free. Jayla countered with a fierce blow to the chest that caused the woman to gasp for air.
Then suddenly temple guards were on either side of her, shoving Jayla to one side and hauling the woman up by both arms. Jayla rolled to her feet and glanced around quickly to locate Madeleine. Yes—just a few steps away, staring fearfully from the shelter of Tivol’s arms. All around her were privileged rich couples dripping with silk and jewels, gaping at this sudden eruption of violence. People who weren’t near enough to see were calling out, “What happened?” More temple guards were abandoning their posts to race over and assist.
Jayla ignored them all. “Are you hurt?” she asked Madeleine. “Did the knife touch you?”
Madeleine shook her head in a slow, disjointed motion. “No—I—I didn’t even realize he was there until you hit him—” She brushed at her neck, as if she felt where the phantom blade would have come down.
“She, I think,” Jayla said.
“She?A woman assaulted Madeleine?” Tivol demanded. “Why?”
Jayla shook her head, but there was no time to answer. Two of the temple guards, satisfied that the attacker was under control, hustled over to Madeleine. “Best for you to get inside,” one of them said. “In case there’s more.”
That had been more or less what Jayla was thinking, but she wouldn’t have said it in a way that made Madeleine shrink back into Tivol’s embrace, looking more fearful than ever. But Madeleine didn’t argue. Still huddled under Tivol’s protective arm, she followed the guards as they cleared a forceful path through the crowd of revelers. Friends called out to them as they passed through—“Madeleine, are you all right?” “Tivol! What happened?”—but neither of them answered.
Jayla came behind them, close enough to touch the fringe on Madeleine’s gaily patterned scarf. But her eyes darted from side to side, assessing each young woman as she reached out toward Madeleine, each young man as he stepped close enough to catch Tivol’s attention.
No doubt about it now, she thought. This wasn’t some random act of aggression or some unfortunate accidental encounter. Someone was definitely targeting Madeleine. Jayla remembered the conversation she’d had with Madeleine on the day they met. Jayla had speculated that the attackers were amateurs who weren’t used to killing, but who were so caught up in a cause that they would keep trying until they got it right. She’d also suggested that whoever was behind the assaults was acquainted with Madeleine, well enough to know when she might be where.
Tonight’s events had confirmed rather than disproved these suspicions. Someone had known Madeleine would be attending the gala tonight. Had slipped silently through the excited crowd, waiting for the right victim, the right moment, to strike. Could have gotten lucky with one good slice, but more likely would have botched the job and needed several desperate blows before managing the fatal thrust. Probably wouldn’t have had enough time before the screams of the crowd alerted the temple guards.
Was already planning to try again.
It didn’t matter that this attacker was already in custody and could do no more harm. This made at least the third and maybe the fourth different individual who had attempted to murder Madeleine.
If there were four, there were probably more. A circle of potential assassins. A mysterious group with an unfathomable hatred for a young woman who, as far as Jayla could tell, had never done a single thing in her life to make her remarkable, let alone despicable.
