Consciousness dawned on Neeku as she slowly opened her eyes. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but she did feel much better. Her ribs barely felt bruised now, and most of her wounds had healed; she didn’t feel anything bleeding. If only this type of sleep could repair my clothes as well as my body, she chuckled to herself. Although she felt confident that Sheeba would’ve woken her if anyone had come down to the wine cellar, she still slowly moved a rag off her face and looked around as much as she could without moving her head. Better to be safe than sorry.
I’m not sure whether to be proud or offended at your caution, the Goddess thought to her bemusedly. Do you really think I would allow you to come to harm? Don’t you trust me?
“Trust but verify,” Neeku whispered. “I believe that’s one of the first tenets of yours you taught me, is it not?” Not seeing anyone from her limited viewpoint under the rags, she slowly stretched up and looked around more thoroughly. Confident they were alone, she stepped out of the rags and positioned them back the way they were, just in case the person who stashed them there was as observant as she was. “Besides,” Neeku continued the conversation, “the day I take you for granted is the day you WILL teach me a lesson, just to prove a point.”
That does sound like me, Sheeba conceded. You slept over fourteen hours, by the way; I just heard the bell toll 18 times, and I’ve heard a few voices moving about upstairs.
“If this is a fancy restaurant like I believe, they should be getting ready for dinner and opening up soon. All we need to do is wait for a staff member to come down for a bottle of wine, grab them, and make our escape. I’m not shadowstepping again, not without knowing what the situation is on the city streets. No sense ending up in a worse predicament.”
I agree, the Goddess said. Now that you’ve had some time to rest, what’s the next move? I’m assuming you want to get out of the city as soon as possible.
“Absolutely,” Neeku agreed. “But they’ll be watching all the city gates and inspecting any carts leaving, so that’s out. Plus, since this city only has an air-wharf and not a sea or river wharf, I can’t take a boat; and airships are too new so only the rich own them, which precludes me ‘borrowing’ one without an uproar being raised.”
You could always use the sewer system again, Sheeba suggested.
“True, but since I used it getting in I’m hesitant to use it getting out. Always keep them guessing, Jonah used to say, as misdirection is just another tool in the successful assassin’s bag of tricks.” She sighed mournfully. “I miss that old bastard.”
I know you do, the Goddess said, giving her the mental equivalent of a warm hug, but he was an amazing teacher. One of the few remaining faithful of mine, and one of ones who worshipped me the longest. He was too good for this world.
“Yeah,” Neeku sniffled once. “Of course, he was also a cold-blooded murderer who took money to kill people.”
People are multi-faceted, Sheeba said, and both she and Neeku shared a silent laugh. Just then, the sound of footsteps stopped at the top of the stairs, and Neeku quickly slid under them. Not wanting to kill the person, just detain them, she didn’t draw any weapons and squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she could, so if they had a lamp it wouldn’t blind her after being in the dark for so long.
Her instincts were correct, for even with her eyes closed tight she could still see the flare from an oil lamp as the person came down the stairs. Judging by their footsteps and their muttering, Neeku pictured an older woman, probably fifty or so years, overweight and with bad knees and/or feet. Fairly typical in this line of work, she thought to herself. Opening her eyes in a squint, she was pleased to see her guesses were correct. An older woman, nearly all white hair in a bun, apron on over a simple red blouse and grey skirt, was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“I don’t understand how they expect us to act like everything’s ‘normal’ at a time like this,” the old woman griped to herself. “The Governor was brutally murdered early this morning, and the killer is still at large! Probably some big muscular man, the way they said the Governor’s throat was cut. Simply awful.” Once again muttering to herself, the old woman began shuffling down the wine racks, looking for a particular vintage, stopping every third bottle or so to lift the lamp and peer so closely at the label that her nose practically touched the bottle each time.
What’s the plan? Sheeba asked.
“I’m thinking,” Neeku thought back. The woman was fairly large, so she wasn’t sure she could choke her out. Plus, with her health, that could lead to all sorts of complications. Neeku wanted her out of the way, not deceased. And the way Neeku was dressed, nobody who saw her would believe for an instant that she worked in this restaurant. She could rush up the stairs and run out the exit; kitchens always had a separate entrance, to bring in deliveries and take out trash. But if she guessed wrong and went the wrong way, she’d end up in the main area of the restaurant, and people who patronized these types of establishments tended to bring their own guards, and it was more than likely that the restaurant had a few guards of their own. Being chased out into the streets in the 2nd Circle was not conducive to a quick quiet escape.
She made a decision. After another minute or two, the old woman found the bottle she was looking for and began to climb back up the stairs. Neeku waited until the woman was nearly at the top, then quickly came out from under the stairs and rushed up them, moving so softly and rapidly the stairs didn’t vibrate at all with her passage. Then, using the old woman as a shield, she moved past the doorway and stood behind her as the woman tried to lock the cellar door all while balancing a bottle of wine and her oil lamp. When she cursed and put the lamp down, Neeku picked a direction and started sprinting. Once she saw a door open and a room full of tables and patrons, she knew she’d picked wrong and quickly spun around and headed back towards the old woman. Thankfully, she was still trying to get the cellar door locked and didn’t notice Neeku’s passage. Crouched low, she moved as fast as she could towards the back entrance, pausing just long enough to swipe a loaf of bread off the counter while the chef’s back was turned towards what smelled like onion soup. Once outside, she turned around and faced the building, stuffing the loaf of bread in her mouth and climbing until she was tucked away behind the eaves of the roof. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Shaking, at first Neeku was confused since she’d been in tighter jams than that; it took her a second to realize it was with hunger. Breaking the hot loaf apart, smelling fresh butter that had been glazed over the top when it was hot out of the oven, it was all she could do to slow down enough not to choke while she devoured it.
Maybe I should check if Nyx would like a worshipper, Sheeba said bemusedly.
“Who’s that?” Neeku thought back, glad that this type of communication was possible without talking with her mouth full. A bad habit her mom had given up trying to break her of before she was eight.
The God of Luck, Sheeba told her. After that maneuver, He must be looking out for you. Granted, He hasn’t been heard from by most mortals in centuries, ever since my sisters demanded all of your fellow mortals’ attention. Are you bond to two deities? I thought I told you I don’t share, the Goddess said with a jealous undertone.
Neeku couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m not bond to another, you’re the only one for me. Besides, having one other being in my thoughts is enough as it is; two divine beings would probably drive me insane.” It always astounded her -and saddened her, if she was being honest- how many other deities there used to be before the worship of the Twins became mandatory all over the land.
As if anyone would notice the difference, Sheeba teased her, and Neeku nearly laughed out loud. So, now that you’re out and fed, what’s the next step? Have you given any more thoughts to how you’ll escape Onimod? I can’t imagine you want to stay here another day; even your luck can’t be that good.
“I have,” Neeku said, wiping her greasy fingers on her clothes as best she could. Wyvern leather naturally resisted stains. “I’m going to pretend to be something I’m not.”
With that outfit, your weapons and a hand that goes missing in the light, I’m not sure what you could pretend to be, Sheeba pointed out. What could you possibly pretend to be that wouldn’t be scrutinized to the point of being discovered?
“Simple,” Neeku said. “It’s a tradition that even the Governor’s forces wouldn’t break, not without a potential riot on their hands. Thankfully, I’m not one on holding onto silly traditions, but I’ll use and break them when convenient. I’m going to pretend to be a corpse.”
