Inharmonic (The Music Maker Series Book 1) Read online

  He braced himself.

  Nadja took a deep breath and swung. “I’m sorry,” she whispered right before the branch connected with the side of his head.

  Chapter 19

  The pounding of the horse’s hooves marked the time and distance Nadja put between herself and her captors. Finding the river had been easy enough since they had been heading south towards the coastal city of Chansey where the tribe favored the more temperate winter climate.

  Nadja stuck to the main road, following the river north and leaving a clear trail. Between her cloak, the heat from the horse, and the adrenaline pumping through her body, she kept the feeling in her fingers and toes. When she caught sight of the moonlight bouncing off the curves and angles of the capital city, a renewed hope swept through her, and she urged the horse onward.

  An hour north of Cantio, she stopped to water her horse. She slipped off of the beast’s back, and her muscles turned to jelly when she hit the ground. Her roles within the tribe never required a horse, and until Luca began training her as a hunter, she had never ridden one. He taught her the basics, but building up the strength and endurance to make the ride she had just finished took more than a few lessons.

  On wobbly knees, she led the horse to the river’s edge. She dropped down beside it and took a few sips of the icy water herself before stretching out on the soft bank. Strips of violet and pink announced the breaking dawn, and small boats began to appear on the river.

  Nadja mulled over getting back to Cantio. Putting as much distance between herself and her captors was her singular focus as she rode, but now the new day was beginning, she wondered about Luca and Fonso.

  Thankfully, Luca was conscious when she left him. But the branch had done its job well, leaving a large lump on his head and gashes along his face and neck where the dry brush trailed the initial blow. She winced at the memory.

  But what of Fonso? How long would the nightshade last? How long would it take them to pack up camp and follow her trail? A niggling sense of urgency once again took root in her belly as she puzzled through her next steps.

  As she thought, she allowed her gaze to wander across the water’s surface. A wide, flat-bottomed boat drifted past her, having joined the skiffs which had appeared at sunup. Nadja’s eyes narrowed as she considered it. She reached into one of the invisible pockets of her skirt. Relief washed over her when her fingertips found the smooth spheres. Whether Luca and Fonso had searched her was a mystery, considering the amount of time she spent unconscious in their company. Thankfully, the pearls she’d pocketed before heading to the Harvest Bazaar had escaped their notice.

  Nadja forced herself to stand and lead the horse back to the road. All the while her joints and muscles protested the movement. She gritted her teeth and hoisted herself onto the back of the horse, turning the animal north once again.

  A quarter of an hour into her ride, she passed a small ferry port comprising one dock, two boats, and a little stone cottage, presumably belonging to the ferry operator. The road forked in two directions. One route headed east through the forest. The other followed the river’s path towards the Gelid Highlands. Nadja stayed left, continuing towards the Highlands, but kept a watchful eye on the riverbank.

  After another quarter hour’s ride, she reined her horse to a slow walk and angled towards the water. The forest was still dense and shaded, but the further north she rode, the smaller the trees became. The chill of the season transformed much of the vegetation from emerald into shades of amber and garnet while stripping other trees entirely of their foliage. She stopped her horse at the edge of the river beneath an overhang of naked and spindly branches.

  As the horse lowered his head to drink, Nadja flexed and stretched her stiff muscles. Once the animal had quenched his thirst, she turned him to face the road but held him in position.

  “Thank you, boy,” she said, giving him a hearty pat on the neck. “Now hold still for me for just a minute, and you can be on your way.”

  She braced her hands on the front of the saddle and leaned forward, swinging her feet up to kneel on the horse’s back. The beast huffed at his rider’s peculiar movements, but stayed in place. With a grunt of her own, Nadja pulled one leg forward and, fighting against her weakened muscles and spent energy, the second one soon followed.

  Centering her weight between her two feet, she stood tall, keeping her knees soft in case the horse shifted beneath her.

  She flicked her eyes upwards. The lowest limb was within reach.

  Her knees trembled with the effort of keeping her balance. She reached up and laced her fingers around the lowest branch. Her muscles defied her as she pulled the rest of her body up and over the limb.

  The hardest part was over. Nadja closed her eyes and rested her cheek against the limb’s cool bark. Years spent swimming and diving had made her strong and agile, but a day of riding used muscles in a way she was unaccustomed to. And, if experience had taught her anything, it was that she could expect to feel even worse tomorrow.

  She opened her eyes and sat up, balancing on the limb. This wasn’t the time for self-pity. She needed to lose her abductors, who were probably following her trail by now, and make it back to the conservatory before she ran into any more trouble.

  She slid forward along the limb towards the water and snapped off a long, spiky branch.

  “Thanks again, boy,” she called down to the horse before swatting it on the hindquarters. “Now go home.”

  Surprised by the unexpected sting, the horse bolted towards the road and galloped north. Nadja was only a little worried about him. Wanderer horses were used to their nomadic lifestyle and were experts at finding their way along their yearly route. But, as far as she knew, that horse had never been this far north. She hoped Fonso and Luca would be able to track him. In fact, she was counting on it.

  She scooted forward along the limb until she hung a few paces out over the water.

  Here goes nothing.

  Grasping the limb with cold fingers, she swung down and splashed into the frigid river. The water rushed around her, coming up to meet her knees. The sensation of everything below that reminded her of the time she accidentally stepped into a nest of stinging war ants as a child. Those evil little insects had put her to bed for a week.

  She pushed the memory aside and focused on making her way back to the ferry port, moving as quickly as she could to get her blood pumping. Since she walked with the current keeping a fast pace wasn’t a problem, however keeping her balance was not so easy. She stumbled more than a few times, each time soaking more of the icy river water into her clothes. After a while, her legs lost all feeling, and she had to keep an eye on them to be sure they were still moving.

  After an hour of alternately trotting with the current and stumbling down into it, she spotted the port. The morning sun was high and bright as she dragged her numb body out of the water. She kept to the river bank instead of walking along the road. Backtracking towards her kidnappers was a tricky proposition, and she hoped they had not been searching for her long enough to have made it this far.

  When Nadja arrived at the port, a motley band of people and animals were boarding the second boat. The ferryman took in her appearance with a curled lip when she attempted to book passage to Cantio. Not that she blamed him. Her skirts and cloak dripped like rain on the dirt beneath her. Her teeth chattered, and she knew that between the events of the previous night and a morning spent in the river, she must look near death. However, the ferryman’s skepticism disappeared with a shrug when he spotted the two pearls in her open palm. She knew it was enough to buy passage for an entire family, let alone one woman. She hoped it was enough to keep him from asking questions.

  The float down the river was mercifully uneventful. Nadja kept a close watch on the shoreline for a particular pair of men, but they never showed themselves. The river breeze did a fair job drying out her clothes and hair. By the time the ferry anchored along the outer shores of the Cantio docks, she looked much less l
ike a drowned rat, though still not much a member of the living.

  With most of the feeling returned to her feet and legs, she plodded through the city rings towards the conservatory. As she was skirting the edges of the Harvest Bazaar, she suddenly remembered her and Pax’s instrument. It seemed like an age ago she’d brought it to the repair shop, but Morris had said it would be done by today. No matter. It would have to wait until later to be picked up.

  When the gate marking the border between the middle ring and the conservatory grounds clicked shut behind her, Nadja’s shoulders relaxed for the first time that day. For now, she was safe.

  She circled around the main building towards the back, hoping to make it to her rooms unnoticed. She made her way through the orchard and towards the small wooden door which led inside to the practice rooms.

  The door creaked open as she approached, and out stepped Timothy. The young servant had a basket draped over one arm and a long hooked pole in the other. When he spotted her, his face blanched, and the pole he carried clattered to the ground.

  “Miss Machinal!” he gasped.

  “Hello, Timothy,” Nadja said, mustering a weary smile for the lad. She knew her looks must be a fright, and she was sorry she had startled him.

  “I . . . I didn’t think . . .” he stammered. “I mean, are you all right?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she replied, reassuringly. “Rough night.”

  He scrambled to pick up his pole and stepped back, pulling the door open for her. “Is there anything I can do for you this morning?” he asked, avoiding her eyes.

  It was all she could do to keep her own head up this morning, too. She watched the floor to be sure her feet made it over the threshold. “No, thank you. I’m just going up to my room to rest for a while.” She patted Timothy on the shoulder as she passed, then paused in the doorway.

  “Are those new boots?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, his face going from white to red in an instant.

  Nadja smiled at him, sorry she had now both frightened and embarrassed him in the same conversation. “They look very nice.”

  Timothy nodded stiffly before closing the door behind her.

  The halls were quiet as she made her way up the stairs to her room. She hoped to get out of her dank clothes and into her warm bed without drawing attention, but the faint titter of giggles that greeted her approach told her that wish would not be granted. She sighed and pushed open the door.

  Helaine and Petrin were seated at the table, heads together over what looked like a square-shaped viola with twice as many string, and keys adorning the head and neck.

  In the time it took Nadja to close the door behind her, Helaine flew across the room and wrapped her in a hug. Nadja winced as Helaine’s surprising grip pulled and mashed her sore muscles.

  “Where have you been?” her roommate squeaked. Then, pulling away from Nadja, she grimaced and continued, “And why do you smell like low tide?”

  “I . . .” Nadja searched her brain for a good excuse. Now that she was out of the open air, the piscine aroma floating up from her clothes and hair strengthened by the minute. Her face reddened as she looked back and forth between Helaine and Petrin, who had by this time risen to his feet.

  “Oh, so sorry!” Helaine turned towards Petrin. “I believe we’ll need to postpone our meeting until tomorrow.”

  “That is not a problem,” replied the lanky craftsman, crossing to Helaine and taking her hand. “Tomorrow then?”

  “Yes,” she smiled. A faint tinge of pink colored her cheeks. “Let’s get together after lunch, and I’ll put that violoma through its paces.”

  “Tomorrow it is,” he said, returning her smile before releasing her hand. Then, turning to Nadja he added, “I hope you’re not unwell.”

  “No, quiet well,” Nadja replied, hurriedly. “Just tired.”

  “I am glad to hear that,” he said before wishing them a good day and leaving them to their own company.

  As soon as the door closed, Helaine blurted out, “What in the world happened to you? I haven’t seen you since yesterday morning. I’ve been worried sick!”

  Nadja decided sticking as close to the truth as possible was her best bet.

  “I went to the Harvest Bazaar yesterday afternoon,” began Nadja, flopping onto her bed and tugging off her boots. “I ran into some old friends who were in town just for the day, and I guess I let the time get away from me.”

  “I’ll say,” said Helaine. “By the looks and smell of you, I’d wager you’ve had quite a night.”

  Oh, right, the smell.

  “Well, as it turns out, they happened to be staying with my uncle.” She unbuttoned her cloak and tossed it on the floor beside her bed.

  “The one who runs the shipping company?”

  “Yes, that one.” The fishy smell only multiplied as she peeled off her socks. “He invited us all to have supper with him. By the time the evening wound down, it was late. So, I stayed there for the night.”

  Helaine sighed and sank onto her own bed. “I’m glad you’re all right. And I know I’m silly to worry. You’re a grown woman, and I’m sure you can take care of yourself. It’s just that you rarely leave the conservatory.” She knit her eyebrows together. “In fact, I can’t think of any time you’ve left the conservatory since we began classes. Even on our free days you’re always here.”

  “I guess the bazaar was enough to entice me out and about.” Nadja stood and unfastened her skirt, hoping her sleepy grin was enough to mollify her roommate. She added the offending article to the heap of clothing on the floor.

  Helaine thought for a moment. Then, she said brightly, “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, and you’re safe. But, I was wondering one thing.”

  “Huuuuh?” yawned Nadja.

  “Well, unless you have a tiny person hidden in one of your pockets playing a reed pipe at low volume, I’m still wondering about that smell.”

  Nadja blurted out the first thing which came to mind. “I fell into the river.”

  “You what?” Helaine bolted up and hurried over to Nadja, whose head was already on her pillow.

  “It’s fine,” she mumbled, shooing away Helaine’s hands. Her roommate was poking and squeezing her as if searching for broken bones. “We were walking along the docks, and I got too close to the edge.” She managed to get her blankets up to her chin and finally surrendered to her heavy eyelids. “Not to worry. Excellent swimmer.”

  And with that, Nadja was asleep.

  No sooner had she drifted off into blissful oblivion than a series of sharp raps at the door startled her awake. She gazed, bleary-eyed, around the room, but Helaine was nowhere to be seen. The rosy telltale glow of dusk floating in through the windows told her she must have actually been asleep for most of the day.

  The rapping came again, and each blow felt as though it landed against her skull instead of the door. Noting that her fishy clothes pile had disappeared, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and hobbled over to her wardrobe. Her motionless sleep, though much needed, had allowed her muscles to stiffen. She pulled on her robe and limped over to the door, but not before another set of raps boomed through her head.

  “Yes!” she bellowed, then winced at the effect and lowered her voice. “I’m coming.”

  She opened the door and instantly grabbed her robe and pulled it tight around her middle. Standing opposite of her with a plate of food and a lazy grin was Pax.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, unconsciously running a hand through her matted and unruly hair.

  “I heard you had a bit of an adventure, so I came to check on you. And since you missed supper, I thought you might be hungry.” He brandished the plate of food, and Nadja’s stomach rumbled without hesitation. It had been a full day since she had eaten, and the fried dough she’d picked up at the Harvest Bazaar was a distant memory.

  Pax leaned back. His smile wavered, and a thin wrinkle appeared across the bridge of his nose.

/>   That smell.

  In her exhaustion, she hadn’t even bothered to bathe. Even though most of her tainted clothing had disappeared, her long, hard nap had allowed her skin and hair time to marinate. She smelled like the fish market on a warm day.

  “I’m sorry, I’m going to need a bath before anything else.”

  “No problem,” he replied, brushing past her and into the room. “I’m not in a rush.” He set the food on the table and made himself comfortable in one of the chairs.

  “It may take a while,” said Nadja, hoping he would take the hint.

  “That’s all right. I’ll wait.”

  Pax, ignoring the hard line of her mouth, propped his feet up and made himself comfortable.

  Nadja walked as gracefully as possible to her wardrobe and gathered a clean set of clothes. She would take care of Pax after her bath.

  As the warm waters of the baths soothed and comforted her aching muscles, she considered extending her wash time until the water went cold. Perhaps if she stayed in the baths long enough, Pax would get tired of waiting and leave. Of course, he could also be taking advantage of her absence by poking around all of her things.

  In less than a quarter hour, she was back in her room, clean and refreshed.

  Pax was exactly where she left him though she doubted he had been sitting there the whole time.

  Nadja stood by the open door. “Thank you for bringing me a plate,” she began. “That was kind of you.”

  “It was no trouble.”

  Nadja shifted her weight back and forth on her feet for a moment, then tried again. “There’s no need for you to wait. I’m sure you have other things you’d rather do this evening than watch me eat.”

  “Nope,” said Pax, stretching his arms up and lacing his fingers together behind his head. “Not a thing. Now come sit and eat before your food gets cold.”

  Reluctantly, Nadja closed the door and settled herself at the table. There was no use in prolonging the inevitable. She would have to face Pax and his inquiries sooner or later. Might as well get it over with.