CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A Plan
Getting out of the sagekeep wasn't a problem, with Father Traum and the sages focusing on Vormund tower. We took the first longship on the channel and climbed inside, letting the oarsmen take us away. Will handed them a few coins and came to sit back with Mira and me, and we set off in the water.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Bard Song," he said. "It's about the only place that's safe to talk."
"I don't know," I said. "Traum could come it at any time. And that borderman Mikael always hangs around there too."
"Trust me," Will said, a gleam in his eye. "I practically grew up in that tavern. No way they're going to catch us unprepared." The oars dipped through the water, and a wave lapped at the side, spraying frigid water onto us. Our breath made puffs of mist in the air. "Besides," Will said, "the Knights won't want to come after us if we're that far from the sagekeep."
"I wouldn't count on it," Mira said. "Trials to pass through are a crusader's best medicine. The harder it is to track us down, the more they'll want to show their loyalty by doing it."
"Then we'd better be fast," I said, keeping my voice low. The oarsmen were bundled in furs and seemed focused on their tasks, but we still needed to be careful. "Where do you think the Vormund people went?"
"To their secret hideout," Will said. "That's where I'd go."
"Yes, but their hideout is the tower," I said. "And it's under siege and about to be broken into."
Mira threw a scarf around her neck, adjusting it as wind blew at her hair. "There could be a chamber hidden underground," she said. "Or they could be counting on the strength of their locks. No one has been able to get inside yet without their permission."
"Except for Jans," I said. "Or do you think someone just left the door open that night?"
Will scratched his chin, where the beginnings of a beard was growing. "That's strange. When we went in there, the doors were already open. You think the sages have someone on the inside?"
Mikael. Could he be the sages' agent? If that was true, why give away the key to me, instead of to Father Traum? Unless he had another way to get in.
"You're doing it again, Kaybree," Will said.
"Doing what?"
"Making that face. The one where you look like you've realized something, but you don't want to tell us."
I ducked as a gust of wind hit our longship. "I think I know someone who can get us in. And he might be hanging around the Bard Song."
"That borderman?" Mira asked. "I thought he worked with your mother."
"So did I. But why give me a key, or tell me to search the tower, or warn me about my powers? It makes sense. He's been trying this whole time to make me question my mother's motives. What if he needs me to go in there to find what he's looking for?"
Mira nodded. "You mean he needs a Witch to find the source of your mother's power?"
Will motioned us to silence. "Hey, ladies, we're about to hit land, so let's continue this riveting conversation of distrust and betrayal when we're indoors."
The longship left us on the beach, and we climbed the stairs carved into the slope until we reached the street. The Bard Song came into view, its sign caked in icy white snow. Will led us inside and through the common room to a smaller room on the side. I glanced over at a table by the crackling hearth, and started heading there. But Will took us to a table in the corner, where we sat on benches of cold stone.
I shivered and rubbed my arms. "What are we doing over here?"
He pointed downward. A trap door was underneath this table, leading to who knew where. "Escape routes aren't always the coziest," he said, huddling into his coat. "Also, we have a nice view of the entrances. Got to think about these things when you're a legendary hero."
"We are not legendary heroes, Will," I said.
He smirked. "We will be. If we don't get caught by the sages." He waved over a serving girl. "Three mugs of steaming cider, please," he said.
"Is that for you, or for the three of you?" she said. She seemed annoyed by something."
Will turned to us. "Any objections?"
"As long as you're paying," I said.
He rolled his eyes and produced four copper pennies. "I'm too much of a gentleman, it seems."
The girl took the coins and slid them into her apron. "When you're a gentleman, Willard Matthias, the sun will be purple." She walked away without even speaking to me or Mira.
"What was that about?" I asked.
"Like I said, I practically grew up here," Will said.
"Looks like they know you pretty well," I said. The serving girl was back in a moment with three steaming hot mugs. I took a sip from one and let its warmth fill me. When the serving girl was gone, I set the mug down. "So, what's the plan?"
"We're trying to get into Vormund tower before the sages," Mira said. "And we think Mikael needs you to be there to find your mother's secret weapon against the Angels. Whatever it is, it's brought down judgment from men and Angels both. We need to make contact with someone from Vormund—or else find a way inside."
Will took a gulp from his mug. He made a face as he swallowed; he probably hadn't waited for it to cool. "What I don't get is why this borderman hasn't told the sages his secret way in yet. If he just needs you, why not snag you and stroll inside?"
I paused with my mug halfway to my lips. I thought about my conversations with Mikael. Had we ever talked about uncovering my mother's secrets, or had he just urged me to accept my role as a Witch? And if he was with the sages, how had he known about me—and why hadn't he told Traum? "He's not working with them," I said. "I think . . . he's working for my mother."
Will gestured wildly with his hands. "Well, that makes a lot of sense. If we were living in crazyland and crazy was normal. Isn't this the guy who told you that your mother was hiding things from the people of the city? That judgment was coming, and you needed to know about it? Why would your mother want you to suspect her of heresy?"
"He gave me this key," I said, taking the serpent-shaped key from under my shirt and showing it to them. "It opened a secret door in the sagekeep archives. That's where I found my father's old journal." I shook my head. "This whole time, I thought he was trying to get me to spy on my mother for him. Trying to get me to learn about the relics in the tower. But what if he was my mother's messenger, trying to keep an eye on me and encourage me to embrace my powers? How else would he have known about me being a Witch—and why else wouldn't he have told Traum about me?"
Mira took a sip from her mug. Steam rose from the mug to float in front of her face. "I think she's right, Will. Did the journal say anything special?"
"Just how my parents searched the forest for relics. It listed different types of relics they found, and how much it would change Nordgard if they found certain ones. Then it just ends."
"Your mom sure does go out of her way to not talk to you," Will said. "You and Galen have to meet in secret. She doesn't allow you in her tower. And she won't even come right out and tell you what the relics are for; she gives you a key and makes you read a book hidden in secret alcove."
I looked away. His words were more hurtful than he realized. Was my mother really so ashamed of me that she couldn't bear to let others know she was training me as a Witch? Or was she sending me a message that she just didn't have time, and I needed to learn on my own? "I guess you're right."
"Can I see that key?" Mira said. I held it up for her. "I think I've seen a design like that before. There are runic inscriptions on the base of the tower, and a few of them have drawings of serpents over them."
I thought of the alcove in the archives where I'd found the journal. I turned the key in my hand, remembering the soft red glow it had emitted when held up to the wall. A wall with a drawing of a serpent over it. "Maybe he wasn't just spying on me," I said. "What if Mikael gave me this key so I could get into the tower and sneak by the sages?"
Will arched an eyebrow. "Mikael knew several weeks ago that Traum was going t
o arrest your mother for heresy?"
"More than that," I said. "My mother knew the sages would do this. She also probably suspected an Angel would try to find a way in. I think she sent me this key through Mikael so it would look like I wasn't part of Vormund, but I could get inside the tower once she was arrested. Maybe she wants me to go and find the weapon, and take it out of there before the sages get in."
"And how does she expect you to find it?" Will asked. "I doubt she's left a sign that says 'Super Spooky Angel Killing Sword Ahead.'"
"I might be able to resonate with it," I said. "If it's a relic. If not, then maybe she left someone inside the tower to hand it to me. If we can smuggle it out and then she lets Traum in, he won't find anything, and he'll have to leave."
Mira twirled a strand of hair. "Your mother does seem like the type. Many of the great leaders I've read about have tricky plans like this. But what if that key doesn't open anything in the tower?"
"Then we come back and try something else," I said. "I don't know how long we're supposed to wait, but it might be best to go under cover of night. Oh, and you two probably shouldn't come with me, at least not into the tower. If one of the soldiers is there, he might not like it that I've told my secret identity to my classmates."
"We'll keep on the lookout for sages," Mira said.
Will smiled and leaned forward in a conspiratorial pose. "Even better: we can give you a signal if they're approaching." He took a set of pipes from his pocket and played a few notes. "If the sages are coming, I'll play The Maiden and the Troll. If it's a borderman or someone else, it'll be Mists of Morning."
"That's a good idea," I said, "but I don't know either of those."
Will set down the pipes. "How about Astrid and the Serpent King for Traum, and Pretty Maids with Whiskers for the bordermen?"
I laughed. "Is that really a song?"
"It's about girls who turn into cats. Or maybe girls with beards. Or girls who have beards because they turn into cats. I'm not really sure." Will glanced over at Mira. "Do you know what songs she'd know?"
"Play a fast one for Traum and the sages, a slow one for anyone else," Mira said. "That will make it easier for her. Your first two would work fine."
I looked outside. The sun was still hours away from setting. "Any song you want would probably work," I said. "We have time for me to learn."
I listened to Will alternate between playing the pipes and singing, while walking over to warm my hands at the hearth every few minutes. I checked my pouch for the bracelet relic my mother had given me, and realized that she had planned this all out. This was my chance to prove to her that I was worthy of Vormund. My chance to prove that I belonged.