Part 17 (2/2)
Hanner recognized him immediately-as had several others in the crowd.
”Lord Faran,” someone said.
An expectant silence spread quickly as Faran strode across the bridge. The lines of soldiers parted at his approach, and he marched on into the square. Everyone waited for him to stop and begin speaking.
He didn't. He kept right on marching.
The crowd stepped back, splitting down the middle to give him room, and then, much more slowly, filledback in behind him.
Faran paid no heed to any of them; he strode onward as if the square were empty, directly across the center without looking to either side, and finally out of the square and onto Center Avenue, as if he intended to simply march straight on to Southmarket.
The silence broke as people began to ask one another what the Lord Counselor was doing, and Hanner had to shout to be heard over the babble.
”Come on!” he said, taking Mavi's hand. ”I think I know where he's going, and we'd best meet him there.”
Mavi didn't try to answer over the noise, but followed as he led the way.
Rudhira and Othisen followed as well, and the foursome fought their way quickly through the milling throng-not towardCenter Avenue , as that was mobbed, but toAristocrat Circle .
Manner was sure that Faran was headed for the house on High Street, and there were other routes that would take one there more quickly than going straight up Center and then turning right onto High Street.
Even as he hurried, he was aware of the feel of Mavi's hand in his-cool and soft, her touch delicate but not weak.
He also noticed that Rudhira was opening a path through the crowd by unnatural means; he considered protesting, but then decided against it. The mob was already stirred up by Faran's silent appearance, and too busy to notice that they were being pushed not by hands, but by magic.
In fact.. .
”Rudhira,” Hanner called, ”maybe you should fly.”
Rudhira turned to look at him, and then smiled a broad, not entirely pleasant smile.
”We all will,” she said.
Before Hanner could protest he found himself s.n.a.t.c.hed off his feet; the surrounding crowd fell away, the buildings around the square dropped away and shrank. His hand tightened-and so did Mavi's. Hanner turned to find her wide-eyed with fright, staring down, but saying nothing.
”It's all right!” Hanner shouted. ”Just stay calm!”
She lifted her gaze to him, her expression making it plain that she thought he was completely insane to tell her this. ”But we're flying,” she said.
”Yes, I know,” Hanner said. ”But it's safe.”
She did not look convinced. ”You've done this before?” she asked.
”Well, no,” Hanner admitted, ”butRudhira has.”
Honesty, he decided upon seeing her reaction, had not been the right choice. Below them voices were shouting angrily.
”Which way?” Rudhira called to him.
Startled, he stopped watching Mavi's face and looked around.
The four of them, he and Mavi and Rudhira and Othisen, were hanging in midair perhaps fifty or sixty feet up, well above most of the rooftops. Below them in the square people were churning about and shouting and pointing, and a few were throwing things at the hovering clump of people; fortunately, none were able to actually hit anything so far off the ground.
To the north was the golden facade of the Palace and the dark water of theGrand Ca.n.a.l , and on all other sides the rooftops of the city stretched out, all brightly lit. There were no shadows up here, nothing to keep off the summer sun, and the expanse of red tile seemed vast and s.h.i.+mmering, pocked and split almost randomly by the dark separations between buildings. TheOldCity was a tangled patch of red tile, golden thatch, and black slate to the northeast.
On the ground he knew half a dozen routes to the corner of High Street and Coronet, but from up here he didn't recognize any of them. One tile rooftop looked much like another.
He could work it out logically, he told himself. If the Palace was that way, they wanted to go the opposite, into theNew City , up the slope pastShort Street andSecond Street andLower Street . ..
He tried to pick out the streets from the rooftops, but the alleys and gardens and courtyards confused matters, and he settled for pointing south and saying, ”That way.”
Immediately they were whisked away, swooping after Rudhira as if they were on strings.
Once they were moving Hanner was able to spot a few details he had missed before. There was Lord Anduron's estate with its eccentric a.s.sortment of turrets and wrought-iron spires, at the corner ofCa.n.a.l Avenue andSecond Street ...
”Bear right,” he called.
Rudhira obliged, and they cut diagonally across a block, over a.s.sorted gardens and courtyards. He recognized a facade onCentral Avenue .
”Farther right,” he said.
That sufficed; they were then aimed as directly as he could ask toward Lord Faran's house. A moment later they descended gracefully toward the packed dirt of High Street.
”Wait,” Hanner said. He glanced to the left, towardCenter Avenue , and could see people moving about-not the usual gentle movement of people going about their business, but pus.h.i.+ng and running. He could hear shouting as well.
Rudhira stopped, and the four hung in midair. All of them followed Manner's gaze.
”What should we do?” Rudhira asked. ”Back up,” Hanner said. ”We'll land in the garden out back, and go in that way, where we can't be seen.”
”Good idea,” Othisen said.
Rudhira nodded, and the foursome swooped upward again, over the roof and down into the garden.
Mavi stumbled when they landed; she had tucked her legs up and did not straighten them quickly enough. Hanner caught her, then quickly released her.
”Sorry,” he said.
”Thank you,” she replied.
”Now what?” Othisen asked.
Hanner looked around at the neatly trimmed hedges and flowerbeds. They had traveled far faster by air than a man could on foot and had been able to cut across the roofs instead of following the streets, so they had undoubtedly gotten here before Lord Faran, but he would be arriving any minute.
”We go inside, of course,” Hanner said. He led the way to one of the garden doors and knocked vigorously, hoping someone was within earshot.
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