Chapter 27
Her breaths were quick but even in the night air. Moisture produced a faint vapor for a split second after each one, but she was moving too quickly to take much notice. Instead, Jaas focused on her footfalls. Thump, thump, thump, thump…
She was back on the track underneath the Fishbowl, running in wide circles. The torches were in place and lit, but even so, she could barely see where she was going. At least the track was cut evenly.
Her mind kept on wandering back to Sakkas patch as she ran. The suspicion in the villagers’ faces. The curiosity about their history. The risks they took just to hear her and Arico out. She tried to keep their faces fresh in her mind as she counted the number of times she’d rounded the track.
Otrul had officially graduated her from training over a week ago, before the Sakkas mission. There had been a brief ceremony in which she was given a wooden coin and everything. Jaas knew regular exercise would still be necessary, though. She didn’t have anyone to spar with, not this late at night. There were some advantages, too. She could run alone for as long as she wanted, and that gave her time to think.
With a grin, she realized how strange this was—how out-of-character for her. A year ago, if Jaas had been told that she’d be a semi-athlete by now, she would have dismissed the idea as pure craziness.
Her ribs and legs were protesting again, as she completed her fifth circuit and stopped for some air. There. That should be enough for now. Retrieving a towel from the railing on the staircase, she wiped sweat out of her eyes and began the long climb back up to the Fishbowl. It seemed there were also some disadvantages to having such a private exercise yard.
Jaas felt her breathing even out as she climbed. For once her head wasn’t filled to overflowing with thoughts and considerations. For once the notes that she so yearned to take down weren’t all that important to her. It was just the quiet, stillness of the night. A peace that she’d somehow never really noticed before.
Just at the top of the stairs, Jaas’ right foot slipped and she grabbed the rail in a panic. Her foot glanced off the stairs as she fought to regain her balance, and one of her running sandals went spinning off into the darkness! Pain seared through her ankle as she held onto the railing, or risk tumbling all the way back down the stairs again.
Choking back a whimper of pain, Jaas sat down at the top of the stairs and unstrapped her right sandal as well. Underneath it, her ankle was already swelling. She gingerly felt around the ankle, but couldn’t tell if it was broken, sprained, or just strained.
Endu would be able to tell, and she might be up by now. With a wince, Jaas pulled herself up and began limping up into the lower passages of the Fishbowl. As she made her way past one of the dwellings, though, the front door opened and light spilled out into the tunnel. “Jaas?” It was Codi Farrier, the smith. He was holding a lantern aloft and looking out at her with some concern.
-.-
“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Jaas apologized again, inside Codi’s home. “I should probably just go.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” Codi said over his shoulder, as he put a teakettle over the fire. “I’ve got plenty of experience dealing with sprains. Alya has been running for years now, so I know my way around bruised ankles.” Suiting action to words, he reached up and pulled out a long cloth from a nearby cabinet. “Besides. I’ve been wanting to spend more time with you. You must be exhausted, with all the work you’ve been doing for the movement. I’d love to hear all about it.”
She was seated on one of the stone seats extending from the wall. The house he shared with his niece was small—about thirty hands on a side. The kitchen and dining room were one and the same. From what she could tell, Codi’s room was up a short stairwell above them as was Alya’s, apparently. She still hadn’t met Codi’s much-lauded athlete niece.
Codi pulled up a chair in front of her and reached down towards her ankle. His hands moved carefully but confidently as he pressed various places on her foot, testing for injury. “It’s just a sprain,” he said reassuringly. “The swelling is normal, and I can’t feel any breaks. I’ll wrap it tightly, but you need to stay off it for a few days at least. And you should talk to Endu about getting some herbs to dull the pain.”
“Thank you,” Jaas said gratefully, as he finished wrapping the ankle up. “I didn’t want to wake her so early. I’m just lucky you were up and about.”
“Oh, I’m usually awake early,” he said, standing up and getting some tea leaves from the kitchen. “Alya runs early in the morning as well, and I like to have things ready for when she gets back.”
Jaas didn’t remember seeing anyone else down there on the track. Or on the bottom levels of the Fishbowl itself. Come to think of it, the dwarves wouldn’t let any humans run outside on the surface, either. It would be far too dangerous if they were spotted by any Sustained navigators who might be watching.
Jaas craned her neck and looked back at the staircase to the rear of the house. “Is she upstairs, then?”
“Oh, no. She’s still out. She should be back any minute now, though. I think you’ll like her, and I know she’ll want to meet you.”
There was a strange cold feeling on the back of Jaas’ neck. This place was cramped enough for one person, let alone two. A teenager would definitely have left at least some signs of habitation here, but it seemed Codi was alone. There was only one set of dishes set out for breakfast. There was only one size of shoes at the entrance, not counting her one remaining running shoe, and only one coat hung on the rack by the door.
“You know, I should probably head out,” Jaas said, standing up as casually as she could. “Thank you so much for tending to my ankle. I’m feeling much better now.”
“Oh, it would be a shame if you left so early,” he said with a sad tone to his voice. “I just poured some tea, and Alya will be disappointed if she misses you.” He put the tea down on the table and pulled out a chair for her.
“I… have some letters to write,” Jaas said nervously. “Thank you again.”
“You really must stay,” Codi said suddenly, moving over towards her. “Alya has been talking about you for some time now, and you shouldn’t be walking on that ankle just yet.” He grabbed her wrist as she tried to back away.
His voice hadn’t changed at all, despite his actions. That was part of what was so strange to Jaas! His tone was friendly, welcoming. Even a little sorrowful, as he gripped her arm painfully and pulled her towards the chair.
Even as her breath caught in her throat, Otrul’s lessons surged into her mind. Fear of what was about to happen to her was washed away by muscle memory and swift action. Jaas used the pull on her right arm as leverage, as she struck with her left. With the heel of her open palm, she hit him in the face, right in the nose.
He let go immediately and backed up a step. Blood was already seeping from his nose, but he didn’t seem to be in much pain. “Well, that was uncalled for,” he said in that same friendly voice, and moved at her again.
This time Jaas didn’t wait for him to grab her. Painfully shifting her weight to her injured ankle, she kicked him right between the legs and then hobbled her way to the door. Behind, she heard a thump on the ground.
-.-
The repeated knocking on his door was growing ever more urgent, as Arico pulled on his nightgown and ran over there. The moment he opened the door, Jaas slipped right inside and closed it again.
“Jaas? What’s going on?” He rubbed his eyes and could now tell she was breathing heavily. She was missing her shoes, and one ankle was wrapped tightly. “What in Aquun’s name happened to you?” He moved to the door to see what was going on, but Jaas flinched away from him.
That more than anything else woke him up. Jaas had never been afraid of him, not even at their first meeting! He held up his hands slowly and as non-threateningly as he could. “Jaas, tell me what’s going on. Are you all right?”
She seemed to collect her thoughts, and moved to the side so he could get to the door. “I will be, for now,” she said raggedly. “I was just attacked… by Codi Farrier.”
A chill flowed through him, spine to heels. “Codi Farrier is here?”
Arico slapped his head. Of course he was here! The Fishbowl would be the first place they would bring him! “I’m so sorry, Jaas. I… didn’t know he was here. I thought he was still living in Barros patch!”
“What is going on??” Jaas said tersely. “Why did he attack me? You know he’s dangerous, apparently, so what’s he doing here?”
Arico raised his hands to stem the flow of questions. “Let me explain. You’re safe now. He won’t come after you, I promise.”
She still looked suspicious, but nodded. He offered a seat to her, for once grateful that Durhu was deaf. Otherwise all the racket would have woken him for sure. Arico went to the cabinet and reached for a pair of wooden mugs. Instead of opening the water jug though, he reached for some dwarven q’rish brandy. He poured some for her, and she tossed it back immediately.
“Did he do that?” He pointed down at her ankle, and she immediately shook her head.
“Accident while running,” she said, pouring more brandy for herself and taking another sip of it.
“Good,” he said with some relief. She was looking at him seriously, of course. But at least she didn’t seem afraid anymore.
“Codi didn’t mean to harm you,” Arico explained after a moment. “Not intentionally anyway.” He looked out the window at the faint light that was just starting to make its way down into the Fishbowl. “He’s… not right in the head, you see.”
Jaas gave him a curious look. Already her anger and fear had subsided, replaced by that professional tone she did so well. “Did he take a blow to the head at some point? Or some other kind of injury?”
“Nothing so clean as that.” Arico said sadly. “Codi’s brother and sister-in-law were killed a few years back, during the Tumult. Alya came to live with him in Barros patch. He was a smith there too, making weapons for house Grover.
“They were safe for a while, but when the Tumult was almost over, things changed. During the final days, a crime lord named Kurkennis and his followers took control of Barros. He was little more than a brutish thug, but he had connections to both the Grovers and the Tanners, so for a time he was basically untouchable.”
Arico glowered down at the floor as he continued. “Kurkennis demanded protection money from the people who lived in Barros patch, and a few other patches he could control. All the navigators in the patch had already been conscripted and taken away, so there was no one left who could escape or call for help. Everyone in Barros was at his mercy, and they all knew it. Most of them paid whatever he asked, and promptly, after he beat a few of them up. With his own hands no less. He’s the kind of man who enjoys that.”
“But Codi refused to pay?”
“Damn right he did,” Arico said proudly. “He stood up to Kurkennis’ people right away. He set an example for his neighbors and friends, even though he ended up taking a few beatings himself. They could beat him, but they couldn’t break him, despite everything they did. I guess it was inevitable that eventually Kurkennis would try to take it out on Alya instead.”
Jaas stayed quiet. She looked as though she already knew where the story was going. Arico wished he didn’t have to explain, but she deserved to know. Especially after what she’d just been through.
“I wasn’t there for it—I was still at Durhu’s farm in Tellek patch—but from what I’m told, Kurkennis made her an offer. He would exempt Codi from the list of people who had to pay… as long as she paid him in another way.” He raised a hand when Jaas’ expression started to turn to horror. “No one knows if she would have accepted the deal or not,” he explained quickly, “because Codi overheard the offer. He physically threw Kurkennis out the door, and threatened to kill him if he ever touched Alya.”
Arico sighed. “Two days later, Codi came home and found her dead on the floor of their house. Apparently Kurkennis had taken his time. He’d sliced her leg open at the ankle, and then let her bleed to death, right there on the floor. The healers had at least some good news, though. They concluded that she had passed out from the initial injury, so at least she had been unconscious. Still, it’s a bad way to go.”
“Tell me Kurkennis paid for his crimes,” Jaas said softly, but with noticeable anger.
“Not all of them, but enough, I guess. The Tumult ended two days later, and he was arrested by Grover forces. He denied any involvement with Alya’s death, but there was enough proof of his other crimes to convict him anyway. He’s rotting away in a gaol somewhere to the north—I don’t know where exactly. At least he can’t hurt anyone from there.” His eyes strayed back to the window, towards Codi’s house. “It came too late, though. Codi hasn’t been the same since.”
Jaas leaned back in her chair, looking pensive. “So, he’s convinced himself she’s still alive, then? That’s why he talks about her that way. So he doesn’t have to face the fact that she’s gone?”
“That’s it, exactly. As long as nothing challenges that illusion, he’s safe—even friendly. That’s why I’m certain he won’t come after you. In fact, in the morning he probably won’t even remember what happened, because it might conflict with his… reality. I’m so sorry, Jaas,” he said abruptly, with as much sincerity as he could convey. “I had no idea that he’d been brought to the Fishbowl, or I would have told you! I thought he was still living in Barros somewhere. But it makes sense that he came here. He’s had trading connections with the dwarves for a long time now, since back even before the Tumult. Also, he’s one of the city’s best blacksmiths by far. They would want him here where he could be safe and useful.”
“But why didn’t anyone else tell me?” Jaas asked, her indignant tone returning slightly. “I understand why he’s not dangerous as long as he’s left alone, but the dwarves had to know about his condition! Why would Channul keep me in the dark about it?”
Arico could only shrug in response. “He probably doesn’t know, actually. It’s not common knowledge among the dwarves. I only know about it because Nemith told me the whole story. The other Fishbowlers probably knew as well, but they wouldn’t have expected you to visit Codi alone in the middle of the night. I certainly didn’t.”
“I’m not that kind of woman,” Jaas said wryly. They sat in silence for a moment. “Are there any other secrets you want to share? About this place or otherwise?”
Arico shook his head. “I’m sure there’s a great many other secrets out there, but I’ve told you all the ones I know. I’m just glad you could take care of yourself, and didn’t get hurt.”
Jaas flexed her left hand into a fist briefly. “It’s funny. I’ve never struck anyone before in my life. Not even in jest. My brother is a good seven years older than me, so I never really got into fights with him. Our parents taught us that violence should only ever be a last resort. But now that I think back on it, I’m glad I hit him. Not that I enjoyed hurting him—I’m not that kind of woman either. No, it’s more that I’m glad I wasn’t helpless. I don’t remember ever feeling that way before tonight, and I really don’t want to feel it again.”
