A Song of Snow and Ashes

"Just don't hurt me, alright?"

  Something about this question struck her as though he was asking something else again, but she just answered the surface question. "I never try to hurt anyone. But I'm not exactly a trained mage here. I'm really working this whole thing out as I go."

  "I have faith in you, Eliora." With a subtle look to make sure no one else was in sight, he kissed the back of her hand gently. "Goodnight." Then he quickly walked away.

  She sighed, feeling confused as she sometimes did after spending time with him, then returned to her cottage, her mind very much on the magic problem.

  Nearly a month passed quietly in Renfrew as winter deepened. The skies were overcast every day, and the snow piled up into large drifts on the sides of the streets. Donnan was so elated that Aolani agreed to see him more often that he barely paid attention to the errands the Order was giving him. Alain noticed he seemed a good mood more often, and that helped ease the tensions between them. He managed to take her out about once a week to the Black Goblet. As he expected, his friends seemed puzzled that a person from her social class was in the neighborhood, but they accepted her fairly quickly. Soon they were teaching her how to gamble properly and cheat at cards. Blake was quietly supportive of the situation, if a little smug. Donnan usually took her home early enough to get her there by midnight.

  "You're turnin' into a pretty good card player," he commented as they walked through the quiet, dark streets. The only sound were their voices and the snow crunching under their boots.

  "Well, I've always been lucky."

  "There's that, but you're also gettin' good at bluffin'."

  She blushed. "That's because I look honest and innocent."

  "I'm not makin' that mistake again. I can't believe you bluffed with a pair of sevens. I had a sequence, dammit."

  She laughed. "It worked with the others, too."

  "Good thing you're too nice to really take their money, or else they might start cheatin'."

  "Then I'll just have to cheat back, right?"

  He smiled. "Yep. That's how the game is played."

  "I must thank you," she said.

  "For what?"

  "Introducing me to a new world. And showing me that your friends are not so different from mine, at least not in your activities. But so very different in attitude. I was honestly afraid they would assume I was stuck up and shun me."

  "Nah. They don't care so much about social rank. No one's got any, so it's not important. Now, if you were flauntin' your money or your stuff, then they might have gotten upset. Course, it's just plain common sense not to be flauntin' money in a place like that."

  They were coming into a somewhat less seedy neighborhood, as evidenced by the slightly wider street that had been swept free of snow, at least in the middle.

  "Of course. Still, the place seems very, well, civilized. I honestly would have expected such a place to absolutely filthy and have bar fights every night, or murders taking place in the corner tables. I'm sure there are a number of illegal dealings that happen there, but it's done discreetly."

  A couple of suspicious looking characters slinked by in a hurry.

  Donnan noted that they were using the middle of the street, which was odd because it left them out in the open, and they didn't look like they were particularly keen to be noticed. "Well, that just goes to show you, you can't judge place or people by appearances. It's a dangerous place, and I don't ever recommend you go there alone, but bein' poor doesn't mean we aren't civilized," he replied, trying not to take offense.

  Two more shady looking fellows quickly followed the first two, also scurrying down the middle of the street.

  "Yes, I know that. Or at least that's what I always thought. But now I feel I really understand that. And I think I'm getting a much clearer picture of the discrepancies between the rich and the poor in our society."

  Now they could hear shouts and the sound of heavy boots crunching on the snow, which could only mean that a pack of guards was rapidly bearing down on them. Almost without thinking, Donnan pulled back into the shadows, and gently moved Aolani with him to the side of the street.

  Three guards turned out of an alleyway and stopped to look around, panting heavily.

  "Godsdammit," one puffed. "The tracks are gone."

  "They must have used the middle of the street," said another. "Damn."

  Donnan frowned, recognizing the voice of the leader. "What in darkness is Reese doing on night patrol? I thought Alain was going to try to get him kicked out of the guard." Then he noticed Aolani was also frowning.

  "Let's go," she said softly, and started walking away from the guards.

  They didn't get very far before the guards spotted them.

  "Hey, you there!" one called. "Halt."

  "Oh, well," she sighed.

  The wind started to pick up as the three men approached them.

  "Excuse me, but did you see a pair of men acting suspicious come this way?" Reese asked, clearly not recognizing either of them.

  They turned to face him.

  "Aolani?" he stuttered.

  "We saw four men, actually," she answered calmly. "One pair came out of the same alleyway you did and ran down the street in that direction. Another pair followed not five minutes later."

  He seemed momentarily stunned.

  "Uh, Reese, do we follow them?" asked one.

  "What, are you crazy? They've gone into the Gutters. There's only three of us and we've got no back-up in that neighborhood. We wouldn't stand a chance. Godsdammit. At ease then. Take a break, catch your breath."

  The two men huddled together, brought out their hip flasks, and started to roll up some pipe leaves in paper to smoke. Donnan noted that these men were not the same ones Reese had with him on previous encounters. He hoped that was a good sign.

  He turned his attention back to Aolani. "What are you doing here?"

  "Walking home."

  "Walking home from where?" He glanced down the street. "You were hanging out in the Gutters?"

  "Hey, Reese, got any matches?" asked one.

  He rolled his eyes. "Check your pockets again. I gave you some yesterday."

  The guard patted down his jacket. "Oh, right." He then lit up the pipe leaf rolls for him and his companion.

  "Excuse me, please, but I must get on my way home," she said, and tried to side-step him.

  He moved to intercept her. "What in blazes were you doing in the Gutters?"

  "Seeing some friends, not that it's any of your business. Now excuse me, but the wind is starting to pick up and I don't want to catch cold."

  He stepped in front of her again. Donnan was right at her elbow, but he didn't seem to have noticed. "What friends have you got that hang out in that neighborhood?"

  "It's none of your business. Now, please move."

  "We can go another way," Donnan said in a low voice. "And leave the guards to their smoke break."

  She nodded.

  Now Reese took notice of her companion. "Hey, I remember you. That skinny dishwasher. This is who you're keeping company with?" he demanded, sounding angry.

  "It's none of your business who I keep company with. It hasn't been for months. Now, you will excuse me," she snapped, and turned to walk away.

  Reese reached out his arm to stop her, but Donnan had good reflexes, and he caught the guard's wrist.

  "I believe the lady wants to leave now," Donnan growled.

  She quickly moved a few steps away before turning to see what was happening.

  He jerked his wrist away, looking both frightened and angry. "I'll have you arrested for assaulting a guardsman."

  "Oh, no, you won't," Aolani returned. "I'll vouch for Donnan, and tell the investigator that he thought he was protecting me."

  He glared at her. "Oh, you would? Really?"

  She stared him down. "You know I would."

  After a few moments, he stalked away. "Put those things out," h
e barked. "We've got work to do."

  The guards hastily stamped out their rolls and followed him.

  "Thank gods," she sighed, suddenly looking a little faint. "I'm glad that worked."

  "Wait, were you bluffin'?" he asked, surprised.

  "Yes."

  "You mean you wouldn't have vouched for me?"

  "No, no, I would have. But I didn't want him to make me do that. I'm sorry, it's complicated."

  "What in darkness is wrong with that guy? Gods." He started to lead her down a different route to get her home.

  She sighed. "He and I have been friends a long time."

  "Really?"

  "Sure. We went to the same school. We knew the same people. He was just part of my group of friends. When he decided to enter the guard, and we all knew he would make it, he started to court me directly. We were together for several months. Our families thought it was a great match, and we had even started talking marriage."

  He looked at her, now quite surprised.

  But she was looking down at the ground, and didn't notice. "Then something happened. He started to change. I don't know if there were problems at home, or if I had never really seen his true self. He took to drinking more often that I approve of, and started to spend more time with his friends from the guard. Still, I ignored the warning signs. Then I heard he had been starting fights while he was out. I don't like fighting when it seems warranted, and I can't tolerate unnecessary trouble-making. I started to ask about this, and he made his excuses, but I kept looking into the matter, which is why I talked to your brother in the first place. By about that time, I knew I was going to break it off with him, but I wanted to be absolutely sure it was the right decision. As you can imagine, he didn't take