Merovingen - Fever Season Part 15

156NaHcyAsfre The terse reply shed no more light on what had happened than what Justice already knew, which was a sum total of nothing. Raj hesitated at the edge of the cut, looked quickly up and down the ca.n.a.l, then hurried toward John's. Justice shrugged his shoulders, and followed.

Raj had already set off across the crowded room, aiming for a corner booth that sat far to the rear. Justice spotted John, the owner of the tavern, and wound his way through the tables and chairs toward him.

"Friend of mine's got a cut that's opened up. Could we get a bowl of hot water and a clean cloth?"

One of John's bushy eyebrows rose, but Justice had been coming here to eat long enough that what he said would not be questioned. "Sure. Where you sitting?"

"Booth in the far corner. We'll order in a few minutes."

As John turned away, Justice walked back to the booth. It was dark enough in this corner that he despaired of reading the menu, but since he knew it by heart, it hardly mattered.

He seated himself, noticing that Raj had taken the place that allowed full view of the door and anyone who entered. Not that John's dealt with ruffians; today's gathering was quiet ordinary-a clientele consisting of an even blend of students and ca.n.a.lsiders, with a few small shopkeepers from second level thrown in as an aside. The roar of conversation and laughter was nearly deafening.

Justice looked across the table at his companion, seeing the young man's face hidden by shadows, for John, like other ca.n.a.lside shop owners, tried hard to conserve on fish oil for the lamps. A chorus of greetings to some newcomer made Raj glance up in startlement. Justice took a deep breath, wiped at his runny nose, and looked at the noisy diners around him: why the h.e.l.l was the young man so jumpy?

John himself brought a bowl of hot water and a freshly laundered cloth to the table; casting a wary eye at Raj, the tavern owner set the two items before him. "Ready to order yet?"

"The usual," Justice said, watching Raj watch John.

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"And you?" John asked Raj.

"I'll have whatever he's having."

John snorted something and turned away.

Raj looked quickly at Justice, then down at the bowl of steaming water. He carefully stretched his hand out on the table and began unwinding the bandage.

"Your idea?" he asked, nodding toward the bowl, teeth clenched against the obvious pain.

"Thought you'd need it."

"Huhn." Raj finished unwrapping his hand and dipped the cloth in the hot water.

Justice could see why the young man was in pain: the hand was slightly swollen, the fingers bearing old bruises. But the puncture wound in the palm of Raj's hand made Justice wince in sympathy.

"How the h.e.l.l did you do that?" he asked.

Raj glanced up from under his eyebrows, then looked back at what he was doing. "Gutting a fish. d.a.m.ned clumsy of me. Knife went clear through my hand."

Like h.e.l.l. Justice kept silent, watching as Raj cleansed the wound, then wrapped it again in the bandage.

"I owe you," Raj said suddenly. "Saving Denny's life like that isn't something I can lightly forget."

Dignity permeated those words, direct and unfeigned. Justice shrugged. "I couldn't very well turn my back on the boy. No one should face odds like that alone."

"And for bringing me here. . . ." He gestured with his good hand. "Like 1 said, I owe you." Raj's eyes flicked from side to side as if judging how much attention he and Justice were receiving from their nearest neighbors. He shoved the bowl and b.l.o.o.d.y cloth away, and leaning closer to Justice, he spoke in low voice, nearly lost in the noise.

"You're Adventist."

Justice stared back, trying to keep all expression from his face; the abrupt change of subject threw him. "I told you I wasn't, outside in the cut. Why should I change in here?"

"No Revenantist would get into somebody else's trouble unless they had karma in it," Raj said, his eyes very steady.

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Nancy Astre Justice looked sidelong across the crowd. d.a.m.n! Slipped out of character and this smart one sees it. What's he want, this Raj? He's either out for something, or he's trying to discredit me and Father Rkajmurti. Whichever-I'll Have to be more careful next time.

The touch of Raj's hand on his arm brought Justice's attention back to their table.

"I'm not after anything,"-Raj said softly, as if reading Justice's mind, "or at least not after anything you can't give me freely. And I owe you, like 1 said . , . owe you a lot for saving my brother, and helping me."

"Then what can I give you?" Justice asked, allowing a hint of coldness to enter his voice.

"First, I can give you something," Raj replied, digging inside his s.h.i.+rt pocket. He extended a medium-sized packet to Justice. "Couldn't help noticing your sniffles. There's something going around town, and this will cure it if you've got it."

Justice took the packet, his eyes never leaving Raj's face. With mid-term exams coming, this medicine could be invaluable. "You a doctor or something?"

A look bordering on wistful yearning crossed the young man's face. "I only wish I could be. But to become a doctor I'd have to enter the College and I've got about as much a chance of doing that as walking across the lagoon."

"Huhn." Justice laid the packet down on the table. "So?"

"You're a student," Raj pointed out, eyeing Justice's saffron sash emblazoned with the College seal worn over the black s.h.i.+rt and black pants he favored. "And you're an Adventist. Somehow, you've managed to fool all the priests or you wouldn't be studying at the College."

Justice motioned for silence as a waiter came to their table and laid out a simple meal of silverbit, greens and beer. He dug in his pocket and came up with two pennies for the price of his meal; Raj produced two pennies of his own, and the waiter walked off.

"All right." Justice began cutting up his fish. He leaned forward again, lowering his voice to a near whisper. "For NIGHT RIDE.

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sake of argument, we'll say I'm Adventist. What does that have to do with your getting into the College?"

"You pa.s.s," Raj said quietly, lowering his beer mug. One-handed, he attacked his meal, using his injured hand as little as possible. "I want to know how."

Justice stopped chewing long enough to stare at Raj. He swallowed, took a drink of beer. "It's not that simple."

"Then you admit that you are Adventist. Look, Justice." Raj's face was openly earnest. "1 don't want you thinking the wrong thing about me." He glanced around, and quieter yet: "I'm Adventist too." "With a name like Raj?" "Rigel."

Rigel turned into Raj ... Justice corrupted to Justus. Huhn. Not much difference. "Truth?"

"Truth," Raj said, with the same open expression. A long pause. "And, even more d.a.m.ning-from Nev Hettek,"

Justice knew his face must have shown some surprise, for Raj smiled, a thin, bitter smile.

"So you want to get into the College," Justice said, taking another bite of fish and following it with a forkful of greens. He met Raj's eyes. The young man's head had jerked up again as a group of four students entered the tavern, but he had looked back again; a subtle relaxing of Raj's shoulders told Justice the newcomers posed no threat. "Even if you're Revenantist," Justice said,"you'll need a patron. Or more money than I think you have."

Raj chewed and swallowed. "A patron, most likely. You're right, 1 have hardly enough money to live on."

Justice shook his head. "1 wish 1 could help you," he said, "and 1 really mean that. But I'm studying art, and don't know anyone who's planning to become a doctor." "You have a patron?"

"Yes. But he's not. . . " Justice stopped. What this young man wanted was beyond reach of most aspiring Merovingens, yet something about Raj made Justice trust him. And judging from the short conversation they had shared so far. Raj was 160.

Nancy Asire hardly stupid. "1 suppose I could talk to Father Rhajmurti. He knows the other priests." His locked eyes with Raj. "But you'd have to convert, you now. / had to. That's the price I had to pay to get Father Rhajmurti as a patron." ,' - "You must be d.a.m.ned good a! what you do," Raj observed, "or Revenantist or not, he wouldn't be backing you. And as for conversion-" He made a quick gesture with his unhurt right hand, "f don't think you're really a Revenantist, for all you say, or you wouldn't have charged into that slip to rescue Denny." The black eyes hardened. "You ever see any of those thugs before'?"

"No. Probably some gang. Lord knows there are enough of them ca.n.a.lside. Prey on anything weaker than them that won't fight back."

Raj stared a moment longer, then nodded slowly. "Bit off more than they could chew when you showed up." He laughed coldly, a sound strangely old and cynical coming from one of his comparative youth. "Found themselves a Revenantist who's not afraid to get involved."

"Huhn." Justice sought his beer, found the mug near empty and considered ordering another. What was one more pennybit? This meal was far cheaper than what he got at Hilda's, though it stood as proof of the old adage that you get what you pay for. "I guess I'm not Revenantist at heart," he admitted softly, "but 1 did have to convert."

"So can t," Raj said, the earnest look back on his face. "Look, Justice ... I can pay you for this. 1 can pay your patron for his attention." He gestured at the packet Justice had laid aside. "That's a cure for the sickness that's running through town. Trust me ... it works. I have access to more, and 1 can keep you supplied with it. You can pa.s.s some along to your patron. All 1 ask in return is that you speak to him. Tell him you've found another convert. That ought to interest him."

Justice raised his mug and waved it at the waiter. Pennybit be d.a.m.ned, he was having another beer. He looked back at Raj and pointed to the packet. "What's in there, exactly?"

"Herbs, mainly," Raj said. "Keeps the fever down and NIGHT RIDE.

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dries up your head and lungs. I've got it divided up into doses. Don't take more than one, or you'll be floating."

"And not give a d.a.m.n how bad you feel." Justice grinned. "All right, Raj, I'll take the stuff. You mix it with tea?"

Raj nodded. "And sugar it. Tastes vile as lagoon water."

The waiter threaded his way to their table through the crowd, set the new mug on the table and went off with the old one, along with Justice's pennybit. Justice looked at Raj: the young man sitting across from him had all the earmarks of becoming a friend. He seemed smart, capable and desirous of making more of himself. Now, if he was as good a street doctor as he thought he was, he would have little trouble convincing the College of his potential.

Justice laughed. Perhaps it was the beer, but he felt a d.a.m.ned sight better than earlier in the day. "I'D talk to Father Rhajmurti I can't promise anything, but I'll try!"', "That's all I can ask for," Raj said. "It's a h.e.l.l of a lot more than I could ever get on my own."

"Where are you living in case I have to get in touch with you?"

There was a slight hesitation. "Fife," Raj said in a very quiet voice, after having looked carefully around the room. "Two doors down from Fife Small Boat Repair under the studio."

Trust given-trust returned. "Fm on the backside of second level Ka.s.s, in a boarding house behind Hilda's Tavern."

"Long ways off,1' Raj observed. "My brother and I work at Gallandry's: he's a runner, and I help doing their accounts. If you need to find me, try there . . . it's closest."

"It's a deal." Justice motioned toward the packet of herbs. "How many doses in there?"

"Enough to get you through the fever . . . more than enough for you since you haven't really got it yet." Raj leaned forward on the table again. "Til try to stop by Hilda's day after tomorrow with more packets."

"When?"

Raj's face clouded-the dark eyes became opaque. "Hard to tell. Sometimes difficult to get away. What's your schedule?''

162.

Nancy Asire "Midterm exams will be starting. I'll be studying, so I should be free most of the time."

"I'll try to be there." Raj looked up at the door, around the tavern at the boisterous diners; he drew a deep breath, shoved his chair back and rose to his feet. "I've got to get back to Gallandry's, or they'll think 1 got dumped in the ca.n.a.l."

Justice stood. "Come on over to Hilda's after work," he said. "We can have a beer or two."

Something dark and haunted slipped across Raj's face again, but the black eyes were still open and honest. "Can't. Got something I have to do."

Justice knew enough not to pry. "Sometime else, then." Raj nodded and led the way toward the door. Looking quickly left and right, he led the way into the twilight of ca.n.a.lside.

"See that you take care of that brother of yours," Justice said. "Warn him against getting trapped in dark cuts."

"Ha! I can warn Denny all I want, but he'll listen only when he wants to." Raj glanced around, then gripped Justice's arm with his good hand. "And take my advice, Justice . . . keep to well-lit walkways."

With that, the young man trotted off into the semi-darkness, headed for the stairs to second level Spellbridge. Thrown into a darker mood, Justice followed.

He saw nothing wrong with speaking to Rhajmurti about Raj attending the College, and nothing wrong about promising a new convert. If he and Raj were alike, Justice knew Raj would learn all the creeds, the rituals, the proper words, and still keep on being an Adventist.

But there was something hidden about Raj ... something Justice could not guess at. From Raj's speech pattern, he was a hightowner, but a hightowner who had fallen on bleak times. And from Nev Hettek? That fact complicated already complicated impressions Justice had received from Raj, And the way Raj had acted: furtive, anxious . . . jumpy hardly defined the young man's reactions to his surroundings. His parting words-keep to well-lit walkways-made sense, NIGHT RIDE.

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but Justice sensed a warning in those words, not just prudent advice. A momentary tightening of his heart. d.a.m.n! I could be getting myself into something here . . . something I might noi like.

He shrugged, started off toward the stairs, the packet of herbs carried carefully in one hand.

Twilight was not far off, and Raj increased his pace as he crossed second level Spellman Bridge over to Sofia. Traffic was still heavy-people going home after work, going to taverns, or picking up last minute essentials for the evening- but soon the crowds would disperse from the bridges and walkways. After dark, travel afoot became dangerous, if not deadly.

After his lunch with Justice, Raj had found himself a dark nook in North-Spellbridge's pilings, tucked up and hid out. Waiting. With the papers underneath his s.h.i.+rt.

Now he had to try it. All the way to Boregy. As he walked. Raj felt his heart thumping behind his ribs, the heightened state of alertness brought on by a heavy adrenalin flow. Though he did not know the contents of the papers he carried, he did know that lives rode on those papers . . . Mondragon's, Jones', Denny's, his ... and G.o.d knew how many others'.

Raj jogged left on the second-tier Sofia walkway, headed toward Sofia-Bucher.

It was just before he crossed onto the bridge that Raj knew himself followed Instinct? Perhaps; or a skill he had picked up in his youth, a skill that had served him well in the swamp. If pushed to it, Raj might have turned around and pointed to the men who trailed him. Two . . . thank the Ancestors there were only two.

Keeping in the mainstream of traffic, his eyes flicking from side to side as he walked, Raj again increased his pace. His only hope was to outdistance his pursuers until he reached Boregy, and the comparative safety of the House. What 164.

Nancy Asire happened after he made the delivery he left for the future-he had enough problems in the present to think all that far ahead.

Raj trotted through the crowds the shortest way around Bucher, headed toward White. From White, it was a straight shot up to Boregy. Provided he made it without being slopped.

A woman carrying a packet of freshly caught fish collided with him. In one motion, Raj bent down, caught up her package, and handed it back to her as he trotted on. d.a.m.n! The two men following him were still there, persistent as a cat after cream.

Lord and Ancestors! Are they after me or do they know I'm connected with Mondragon? Raj resisted the urge to look over his shoulder, and hoped for heavier traffic on White.

His shod feet joined the hollow thuds made by the the other people around him as Raj crossed the bridge over to White. He made to turn to his right, to take the straight way around to the White-Boregy Bridge.

Two more men loitered on the walkway before him, out of place in the hurrying crowd. Faces he had seen once this day.