Chapter 18

The setting sun colored the taller buildings of Aston and I found myself thinking that the city looked almost beautiful when you saw it like this. It was a bright, autumn evening and for once the sky above Aston was clear. Both Hantaliel and Kara were standing next to me when I was steering the second barge down the canal. Our destination would be a private pier next to the building owned by a certain shipping company, which in turn was managed by some people who owned ‘The Private Prospects’ restaurant. Then there was a certain widow who had financed the company. In fact, I had no idea who actually was the owner. I didn’t care.

“I’ve never before seen Aston from here. It’s almost beautiful,” Kara said. She had moved next to me and was also looking at the city.

“I never thought that I would be back here this soon. In fact, I would not have minded if I would have never needed to come back here at all. This city smells. However, I’ll have to agree that without the stink, it looks almost beautiful.” Kara let out a small laugh and patted my hand. “You are still worried that I’ll try something stupid, aren’t you?”

I took a quick look at Kara but was unable to read anything from her face. It might have been easier if she had been speaking the Old Language, but in this trip we would be speaking only Anglon - for obvious reasons. I shrugged, but made sure that I was smiling, too.

“Can’t really help it. Please remember that worrying about many different things has been an integral part of my life for some years.”

“There’s no need to worry. I don’t want anything bad to happen to the father of our child.”

Then, without any warning, Kara put her hand between my legs and squeezed gently.

“I would also miss this way too much. I saw some action when I studied at the University. I have been talking enough to the other girls, that I think I know that I have something special here.”

Hantaliel laughed at that as Kara pulled her hand away and grinned. A part of me almost hoped that I could trust her.

For the first time in my life I now had a beard. Kara’s now short hair was styled completely differently than it had been before and Hantaliel ... Hantaliel looked so much like Kara, that nobody would question their relationship. It wasn’t just Hantaliel’s looks, but her gestures, way of moving, everything. I had heard only some of the discussions Hantaliel had had with Hanna, but those women understood each other in a way that seemed almost impossible.

I wasn’t too worried about us being recognized. For sure, Kara would not meet those people who she used to associate with and if I should meet someone who knew me, they would also know about my escape. Before this trip, Linnea had also confirmed to me that Kara seemed sincere to her. I hoped that she had been right.

The following morning, we had our first meeting with the people of Aston. The building next to the pier wasn’t a big one, and our sleeping arrangements had been obviously something that had been created in haste. I was a bit surprised that Kara didn’t complain about it, but she had also made sure that we both were exhausted by the time we went to sleep.

I was even more exhausted in the morning, as Hantaliel had also joined us at some point. There really was no reason to complain, even if I would have preferred a good night’s sleep before the meeting. Still, I made sure that I smiled in spite of feeling tired and used. In a way, this situation reminded of when the Elves had used me. Now it was only Kara, but my feelings were almost the same. Somehow I wasn’t able to think Hantaliel was using me. However, both Kara and Hantaliel were there with me and I saw no reason to be worried about that at the moment.

Only when I really paid attention to the people who were coming to meet us, did I have to remind myself that I should have insisted that the meeting take place where we could have another way out. But then I realized that I had no reason to worry about the people who would come to this meeting.

“Stian, it really is you. It was almost impossible to believe that you made it out of the Library!”

Elise looked good - and she also felt good against my body and suddenly I was happy that my body was exhausted. I wasn’t all that sure how Kara might react, and I didn’t want any problems. Not here, not now. Especially not here and not now. I pulled myself gently away from her hug before replying.

“We did, both Kara, here, and I did. She was studying down there and without her help I might not have been able to escape.”

Only because I had known Elise for some years I was able to see the brief flash in her eyes and I immediately understood that she had picked up what I had said to her about Kara. I also pulled away from Elise and moved next to Kara and kissed the shorter girl’s forehead.

“Quite a lot has happened since then and now she was asked to come with us because of the special skills she has - even if I was against it because she will be having our baby. Oh, Hantaliel, there, you already know, of course. Kara, this woman is Elise, our business partner and main financier.”

I kept my gaze on Elise all the time when I was speaking and I was sure that she was able to pick up everything I had said and also all the things that were left unsaid. A discussion between Elise and Bellcauniel a while ago had been quite an event in itself, since the women almost seemed to have a competition about how much they could say ‘between the lines’. When one of them said something, the other one continued - about what was left unsaid.

“Oh, nice to meet you, Kara. I’m sorry that I cannot introduce my mate, Alva, to you, but she needed to work today.”

Even though I was barely touching Kara I was able to feel the change in her. Her shoulders slumped a little bit, her breathing became less frequent and I felt that her internal shimmer became less prominent. Most likely I hadn’t been imagining things. No, Kara had really been ready to do something with her magic. Someday I’d need to find out what kind of illicit magic she had used while still studying at the University. But that would be for later; now the important things were that a potential crisis had been avoided and the meeting could begin.