compound, cleaning and mending for careless young men, and the twinkling smiles from that aging fool, Enchei.
‘No, he’s no fool that one, my love,’ she said with a wag of one finger towards Oshene’s portrait as though her late husband had spoken through it. ‘However much he plays one, that old boy has us all well worked out.’
She closed the shutters and slipped the latch, gathering up her shawl as she headed towards the door though her journey was as short as could be.
‘No, far from a fool is our Enchei,’ she continued under her breath as she went out into the compound’s courtyard, ‘even if he does like teasing me to the point of getting a smack.’
And there’s the crack in his armour
, she added privately.
The man might like to argue about the sun and stars given half a chance ; but it’s always with a smile and never a raised voice. That smacks of a man who misses his wife, to my mind. Oshene and I squabbled the same way often enough.
Curtseying with a smile to one of her younger neighbours as he hurried out, tugging his Investigator’s robes straight as he went, Sheti crossed the packed-dirt courtyard and made for the stairway on the other side. She could hear Enchei long before she reached the door, clattering a pan on Narin’s stove while singing in his strange native tongue.
Despite the racket, somehow the tattooist still managed to know she was coming and as Sheti jerked open the door, Enchei stood there with his arms wide in greeting. In his hands were a large knife and a rusty-red crab with long dangling legs.
‘Mistress Sheti !’ Enchei declared with apparent delight, ‘your timing is impeccable as always.’
‘Indeed ? And for what this time ?’ she said with a raised eyebrow at what he held. ‘That crab doesn’t look cooked yet to me.’
She curtseyed briefly to both men despite their friendship, each being of a higher caste. The formality was a reminder to all of them, a polite boundary to their familiarity. Enchei offered a half-bow in return, one that had less to do with caste than theatre, and swept out of her way to deposit the crab on the table. The creature’s claws flopped over the edge, almost pleading for its life as Enchei prepared it for the pot.
‘That it isn’t, but Narin was just contemplating stripping his guest naked and naturally I thought of you.’
Sheti gave a start as Narin rose from the other side of the room. Still in his Investigator’s robes, Narin wore a strangely fearful expression, but any question at that dissipated when she noticed a bandaged man tied to a bed in the corner.
‘What is going on here, Master Narin ?’ Sheti demanded, bewildered by the sight.
‘Official Lawbringer business,’ the younger man said stiffly. ‘I’m not at liberty to tell you everything, Mistress Sheti, but this man will be staying here for a few days.’
‘Official business ?’ she echoed. Sheti blinked and looked from one man to the other. Narin was a handsome young man, well past the age he should be married, but a liar he was not. That, coupled with Enchei’s apparent delight, told her all she needed to know there. ‘Narin, we’re friends, are we not ?’
He hesitated, frozen like a rabbit for a moment before nodding. ‘I think so.’
‘Excellent, so do I,’ she said, advancing a step towards him and nudging the door closed with a flick of her heel. ‘Now please don’t insult your friend and give me an explanation I’m going to believe.’
He deflated almost instantly. ‘Very well, I’m sorry. I’m … I don’t rightly know what’s going on, though.’
‘Give me something,’ she advised.
‘I knocked him out last night, while out seeing a friend. He took me by surprise and I reacted without thinking. He’d fallen from a rooftop and was injured – I think he was being chased by Lord Shield at the time and he’s ordered me to find out who this man is and what he was up to.’
‘Lord Shield ?’ she gasped. ‘You spoke to a
‘No, he’s no fool that one, my love,’ she said with a wag of one finger towards Oshene’s portrait as though her late husband had spoken through it. ‘However much he plays one, that old boy has us all well worked out.’
She closed the shutters and slipped the latch, gathering up her shawl as she headed towards the door though her journey was as short as could be.
‘No, far from a fool is our Enchei,’ she continued under her breath as she went out into the compound’s courtyard, ‘even if he does like teasing me to the point of getting a smack.’
And there’s the crack in his armour
, she added privately.
The man might like to argue about the sun and stars given half a chance ; but it’s always with a smile and never a raised voice. That smacks of a man who misses his wife, to my mind. Oshene and I squabbled the same way often enough.
Curtseying with a smile to one of her younger neighbours as he hurried out, tugging his Investigator’s robes straight as he went, Sheti crossed the packed-dirt courtyard and made for the stairway on the other side. She could hear Enchei long before she reached the door, clattering a pan on Narin’s stove while singing in his strange native tongue.
Despite the racket, somehow the tattooist still managed to know she was coming and as Sheti jerked open the door, Enchei stood there with his arms wide in greeting. In his hands were a large knife and a rusty-red crab with long dangling legs.
‘Mistress Sheti !’ Enchei declared with apparent delight, ‘your timing is impeccable as always.’
‘Indeed ? And for what this time ?’ she said with a raised eyebrow at what he held. ‘That crab doesn’t look cooked yet to me.’
She curtseyed briefly to both men despite their friendship, each being of a higher caste. The formality was a reminder to all of them, a polite boundary to their familiarity. Enchei offered a half-bow in return, one that had less to do with caste than theatre, and swept out of her way to deposit the crab on the table. The creature’s claws flopped over the edge, almost pleading for its life as Enchei prepared it for the pot.
‘That it isn’t, but Narin was just contemplating stripping his guest naked and naturally I thought of you.’
Sheti gave a start as Narin rose from the other side of the room. Still in his Investigator’s robes, Narin wore a strangely fearful expression, but any question at that dissipated when she noticed a bandaged man tied to a bed in the corner.
‘What is going on here, Master Narin ?’ Sheti demanded, bewildered by the sight.
‘Official Lawbringer business,’ the younger man said stiffly. ‘I’m not at liberty to tell you everything, Mistress Sheti, but this man will be staying here for a few days.’
‘Official business ?’ she echoed. Sheti blinked and looked from one man to the other. Narin was a handsome young man, well past the age he should be married, but a liar he was not. That, coupled with Enchei’s apparent delight, told her all she needed to know there. ‘Narin, we’re friends, are we not ?’
He hesitated, frozen like a rabbit for a moment before nodding. ‘I think so.’
‘Excellent, so do I,’ she said, advancing a step towards him and nudging the door closed with a flick of her heel. ‘Now please don’t insult your friend and give me an explanation I’m going to believe.’
He deflated almost instantly. ‘Very well, I’m sorry. I’m … I don’t rightly know what’s going on, though.’
‘Give me something,’ she advised.
‘I knocked him out last night, while out seeing a friend. He took me by surprise and I reacted without thinking. He’d fallen from a rooftop and was injured – I think he was being chased by Lord Shield at the time and he’s ordered me to find out who this man is and what he was up to.’
‘Lord Shield ?’ she gasped. ‘You spoke to a
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