Yep!
Chapter 6
June, 6, 1949, the harbor in Perll Yenall
Jarro gasped as he walked into the wind, it streamed around him as if fleeing some unseen foe. He shoved his gloved hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. Lucuse beside him yelped and turned to go back into the warmth of the ship.
Jarro grabbed his shoulder and yelled above the wind,“Come on, it isn't far then we will be back inside and you can warm up again.” Seeing his quarry hesitating he continued,”Please! It will be boring on my own and Retin refuses to walk up there.”
The snake changer hissed something under his breath about no one sane going outside when it was this cold, but relented and followed Jarro, who was bouncing down the ramp to the shore.
The dock was deserted and the two men headed toward the heavily inclined road that lead along it. It was like walking halfway up a cliff, drop on one side, rock wall on other. Jarro stood on the edge, red eyes streaming, breathing deeply, peering out to sea. Lucuse trudged up beside him, leaned over the side, grunted, and resumed walking the partially sheltered road.
“I asssume the path up, and in particular the drop, iss what put your girlfriend off coming with you.”
“Yeah, Retin really hates heights.”He paused for a moment before adding, “And she is not my girlfriend!”
“Really? Heh, what ever you ssay.”
“Retin would only marry me over my dead body, she told me so herself.”
“Ohh, nasty, and you believed her?”
“Well yes, an attempted assassination make people eager to tell the truth.”
Lucuse paused, brow creasing,”How doess Retin trying to kill you make her willing to talk?”
“It was her that almost got killed not me,”Jarro stated this as if it was obvious. ”This was after she gave herself up, her employers were scared she would reveal who they were, and sent one of her associates after her. Shortly after that she admitted that she originally meant to kill me but changed her mind, and made that statement about love having nothing to do with her reason.”
“So why did sshe let you live then..”
“That is something I still do not know.” Forehead crinkled, Jarro stared straight ahead.”And it worries me a bit. I have done my best not to overly annoy her, and I know she can't leave my protection with risking her own life, but still...” He shrugged, “I just don't know how far I can trust her, that's all.”
Lucuse snorted,”You have a ssecretary who you do not trust, and one that, at leasst at one time, tried to murderer you? Ha, you are either very sstupid or very brave, and I do not favour the latter.”
The massive stone pillars supporting the overhang to the gates were coming slowly into view. All was glazed in ice, giving a blue tinge to the door which carved out shells reminded him of blood running into water. Swells and ripples caressed the rock and danced before the eye. Looking up as the pair walked under them the ceiling dived into sections, each showing some scene from the mythology of the local changers.
Jarro's eyes widened and he grinned, voice going from neutral to full speed in a second. Lucuse stayed quiet. It puzzled him how Jarro would go from unnervingly perceptive to playful within seconds and without any discernible reason.
“-I wonder how they carved the gates?” Jarro mused.
Lucuse, who's teeth could have been heard chattering twenty meters away, growled,”I don't know and right now I don't care, letss just get out of this wind.”He strode ahead of Jarro, disapearing throught the gates.
“Hmm, well they might have used magic to- hay! Wait for me!” Feet skidding on the icy ground, Jarro slid though the door after him, and straight into Lucuse as he stood waiting. Both went into a crashing heap - momentum and ice is a recipe for disaster. He finally stopped sliding after his head hit something hard. He stared blearily up into the face of one the guards. Somewhere near by Lucuse was swearing venomously, Jarro tried to grin up at the guard,”Having a nice day?”
A few minutes later they were sitting next to one of the open fires placed at intervels along the underground street, shops and homes lined the walls, with a number of elevators to the lower levels in between them. This level stretched for a hundred or so meters, and he heard from the guard that this was the smallest of them. Lucuse was almost sitting in the fire; after toasting his hands for a few minutes Jarro's attention wondered away from the warmth and with it his eyes, curious in he started toward a small shop who's window was filled with hundreds of little statues.
The Minister paced slowly up and down, a small glass cat pouncing on a bird, a aqua whale diving into the air, seals surfing on an iceberg.
“Are you just going to pace there all day or will you come in?” Jarro halted mid step, he looked about himself but no one was close enough to have spoken that clearly to him, “Just come in to the shop will you?” the voice echoed oddly, he opened the door carefully, the shop glowed from a million different surfaces, down the back of the shop a woman perched on a little stool. Her hands glowed, a block of ice sat on the table between them and she was running her fingers over it, streams of water coming away with them. She was somewhere between thirty and forty with white blond hair reaching the middle of her back, skin pale as death, fingers nail-less.
“Sit.” Her lips never moved but the words still rang in his head. Glancing about nervelessly Jarro lowed himself onto the other chair.
Eyes still darting, hands griping the sides of the stool, Jarro spoke,”Are all these made from ice?”
“Yes.” The words bypassed his ear, turning up in his brain all on their own. The glow around her hands hands dimmed a little as the water ran off into a dish.
“So why don't they melt? I mean here it is cold but when someone buys one... ” \
Her hand now normal, she let out a breath and opened her silver eyes. “This is not normal ice, it is an ancient technique that renders the water solid and unable to melt, at least by any conventional means. I heat it though magic thereby getting it to melt where I want it to.” Standing, she glided past him and moved a kettle onto a heating plate.
Jarro shifted to watch her,”What's your name?”
“Thereidona, but most call me Therry. I'm an ice artist, as should be abundantly obvious, nothing as grand as the entrance you would have seen out there, but the same basic technique.”
“You are a mage?”
“It would seem that way.”
“How did you, um,” He pointed at his ear uncertain.
“The talking into your mind? When a mage is channelling magic thoughts are easy to manipulate. I can see peoples thoughts, and send my own into their head.”
“You can hear what I think?” Jarro shot up, he may not have any secrets to hide, but still it was his head. “That's not very nice!”
Thereidona gave a amused smile,”Don't worry it's only the words you are thinking right now. It really is interesting though,” A dreamy look passed across her face, “People so rarely say what they think. It is so funny to catch some high and mighty duchess growling internally while keeping a sweet smile on her face the whole time. Everyone lies to some extent, motives may vary however, manners, fear, personal gain-”
Ok, she is creepy, Jarro watched the sickly woman prattle on, trying to sneak toward the door unseen, but grey eyes fixed upon him again.
“And you my dear boy are one of the worse cases I have ever seen. You adapt your reactions to suit your audience, rarely, if ever, does the real you say anything.”
“Huh?” What was the crazy woman blathering about now? He said what he though far too much, that was why he kept getting into trouble.
For a moment her eyes flashed with fire, “I am not crazy!” her closed her eye momentary, trying to regain her calm, “Be careful what you think, I can still hear you.”
Now he was a little scared, mind reading was not something he had any idea of how to deal with, how should he react to someone who could see his thoughts?
“Try sticking to the truth.” her smile was cold, and her eyes bright.
“Um, why am I here?” He voiced that thought at the front of his mind.
“You walked through the door, what you meant to ask was, why did you ask me ask me to come through the door.”
“Yes?”
“Simple, I was curious.”
“Right, you don't mind if I leave now?” his back was flat against the door, his hand pressed on the handle.
“No, no, I won't stop you.”
“This feels too easy.” Jarro bit his lip, uncertain.
A silver laugh came from the white woman, “If this was up to me it wouldn't be, however my goal here was, how did he put it...Oh yes, to merely make an 'impression' upon you”
“Who is he?”
“Tut tut, now that would be too easy, good bye, Third Minister Jarro.”
Moments later he was on the other side of the door, breathing hard, he clenched his fists tight trying to stop the shaking. He glanced behind him at the shop he had just been sitting in, the window which before had been proudly showing its wares was now cloaked by curtains. The door too was obscured by red velvet. A flash in one corner might have been a pair of grey eyes, or just his imagination.
Jarro turned on his heels and marched off, determined to put as much distance between himself and the shop as possible. He forced all fear away as he came up to Lucuse who was most reluctant to leave the flames.
“Come on! Let head down to the level below.”
The snake groaned, but followed him anyway, “It had better be warmer down there.” he warned.
“I'm sure it will be.” Jarro grinned cheerily, and lead the way. Just before he stepped into the lift he glanced back one last time, a cloud pasted over his face momentary before vanished from sight. He didn't much like that woman, but with luck he would never have to see her again.
From inside the shop someone started giggle.
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