Chapter 4: Part 6 - Ruses and Lies

The carriage ride was cramped and uncomfortable. Erin was certain Ruby had chosen the smallest vehicle possible, just to spite her. They sat across from one another, the curtains closed and Ruby’s eyes glinting in the darkness. The girl managed to look both comfortable enough to fall asleep and yet ready to stab someone as quickly as blinking. Erin, on the other hand, was forced to pull her knees up almost to her chest.

“If Taria doesn’t gut you, I’m going to do it myself,” Ruby said, after the silence had stretched to encompass an hour or more.

Erin tried to straighten her spine, but the low roof of the carriage made it impossible. “Because you think I’ve lied.”

“Are you saying you haven’t?”

Erin just shook her head. Ivar had argued vociferously against this journey and she was starting to share his doubts. Darr, though, had been more circumspect.

“It seems Lady Taria has come out of hiding,” was all he’d said. Perhaps, Erin thought, he was relieved at not having to contact her himself.

The carriage rattled and swayed. Another half hour passed before it began to climb what was surely the road to Blackthorn Manor. Indeed, it wasn’t long before they drew to a stop. Ruby jumped out, leaving the carriage door to bang in the wind.

Erin eased out after her, stretching her aching limbs. Night had fallen, leaving only a sliver of moon to light the way. Even the manor was dark, save for a single candle burning in an upstairs window. Erin studied it, wondering if she could see Taria’s silhouette up there, or whether that was only her imagination. The place was certainly eerie enough to have her jumping at shadows.

“This way,” Ruby ordered, striding off before Erin could reply.

The interior of the manor was empty and silent, save for the heavy ticking of a clock. It took Erin a moment to work out which way Ruby had gone, but then a door banged at the top of the grand staircase and the girl reappeared above.

“Are you always this slow?” she demanded.

I am when it feels like I’m walking into a trap, Erin thought. She hadn’t been disarmed, but there could be any number of ambushers waiting in the manor’s shadowed rooms. Ruby had attacked her once already, after all.

Except, in hindsight, Ruby’s attack in the storeroom had simply been one of her games; Taria, Erin thought, wouldn’t have approved. No, if Taria had wanted anyone in Light’s Memory dead, she would have taken far more drastic action already. Ruby had simply been there to deliver a message.

Ruby, who’d disappeared again. Erin took the stairs three at a time, only pausing to decide which door to go through. One stood ajar and though no sound came from the other side, Erin thought she caught the glow of a single candle.

She pushed the door wide. Taria did indeed stand by the window, the candlelight turning her aged face into a severe and craggy landscape. Her straight-backed pose would have looked theatrical, even a little ridiculous, on anyone else. Taria, though… Taria always looked dignified and, Erin had to admit, a little frightening.

But she didn’t seem to be armed and Ruby was the only person with her, so Erin crossed the room and threw herself into a chair.

Taria’s eyebrows rose. “Do make yourself comfortable, Erin. I insist.”

Erin considered hooking one leg over the arm of the chair, then thought better of it. “Ruby thinks I’m lying to you.”

“Direct, as always. An admirable quality in a leader.” There was no admiration on Taria’s face, though. She wore her usual stony mask, but beneath it, Erin was fairly certain she was furious. “I will be equally direct. Tell me, Erin: how many of your guild can you currently account for?”

Direct, was it? That sounded like a trick question, but Erin couldn’t see any reason to lie. “You already know Marissa has…”

“Got on her high horse and ridden off?” Ruby put in.

Erin shrugged. That wasn’t far off the truth. “She thinks she can find Auri more easily on her own. You probably also know Jean, Roan, and Amber decided to go with her.”

“Indeed. And the rest?” Taria pressed.

“Some are back at the guild hall. Oska is… on a reconnaissance mission. Caolinn’s keeping an eye on him.”

“A spy to watch a spy?”

“Something like that.”

“And do you usually keep such a close eye on my grandchildren?”

Taria’s words were so barbed that Erin straightened in her seat. She’d wanted to look casual and untroubled for their conversation, but now she wished she’d retained the advantage of height. “If you’re trying to say I should have paid more attention to Auri, you’re right ‒ but I didn’t let her go willingly.”

“Yet she was hardly stolen out from under your nose, either.”

“Artair took her,” Erin said slowly. She felt as though she was running in circles whilst Taria was far, far ahead. “I know Ruby thinks Auri chose to go, but no one can prove that. Even if she’s right, that doesn’t absolve Artair of his crime. He was the one creeping around in the dead of night, trying to steal members of our guild.”

Taria’s eyes narrowed to slits. Behind her, Ruby had gone very still. “You still think Artair was responsible for Auri’s disappearance.”

Erin gaped at her. More than ever, she felt as though she was being left in the dust, part of a race she hadn’t realised she’d signed up for. “How could he not have been?”

There was a long pause before Taria sighed. She swayed on her feet, looking so weary that Erin jumped upright, ready to catch the old woman if she fell.

“We were so sure,” Taria muttered, seemingly to herself. “The only remaining possibility was that you were somehow involved in the ruse, that you’d lied to us from the start…”

“No, I was sure,” Ruby put in. “Taria wanted to believe you were honest, but I managed to convince her otherwise. No offence.”

“Er, none taken.” Erin stared at them, trying to understand what she’d waded into. It was no use. Taria’s eyes were downcast and Ruby’s expression was as cryptic as ever. “Lady Taria, please. Will you just tell me what’s going on?”

Taria’s spine straightened, though she put a hand on the back of a nearby chair for support. “Since Auri was taken, I have been tracking Artair relentlessly. He’s managed to evade my spies on occasion, it’s true, but rarely for more than a day or two. His guild, likewise.”

Erin’s stomach flipped. Oska had gone to such trouble to recruit Jean, then hared off into the wilderness ‒ and all this time, Taria knew where Artair was. Keeping secrets was hardly out of character for her, but all the subterfuge was still deeply frustrating. This alliance, Erin couldn’t help thinking, was decidedly lopsided. “You’re saying you could have moved against Artair days ago. Weeks ago, even.”

“I could, but it would have done no good.” Some of the sharpness had returned to Taria’s voice.

“No good? Auri could have been home by now.”

Ruby snorted, which was when Erin finally got an inkling of what was happening. This wasn’t about Artair at all. It was about Auri’s whereabouts.

“He’s hidden her somewhere,” Erin said, looking from Ruby to Taria. “Or Auri’s followed his orders and hidden herself.”

“Both of those are good guesses,” Taria said crisply. “Unfortunately, they are also both incorrect. Artair, we believe, has no more knowledge of Auri’s location than we do. Ruby and I had hoped you would be the exception to that, but alas, it seems not.”

Erin’s head was spinning. “How can Artair not know where Auri is if he was the one who took her?”

“Because he didn’t,” Ruby said, the words boiling out of her in evident frustration. “Artair didn’t take Auri. He’s still searching for her, same as we are.”

It took all Erin’s willpower not to sink back into her chair and put her head in her hands. They’d been chasing Artair all this time ‒ and he didn’t even have Auri?

But, in that case, who did?