Inharmonic (The Music Maker Series Book 1) Read online

  “He’s out. For the moment,” said a familiar voice.

  Nadja sputtered as Luca removed the gag.

  “How?” she rasped before running her tongue around the inside of her mouth, willing the moisture to return.

  “Easily,” he replied, kneeling and slicing the rope fastening her to the tree. With two more deft movements of his knife, her wrists and ankles were free.

  Nadja threw her arms around his neck, ignoring the searing pain where the open flesh of her upper arm pressed against his leather tunic. Her pulse pounded in each laceration as her panicked heartbeat gave way to relief. Luca’s arms came around her waist, and his head dropped to her shoulder. Nadja imagined she felt his lips brush against her neck, but knowing Luca’s respect for tradition, that couldn’t be true.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, pulling back. “I’ve heard nothing from you since we parted last autumn. How are you here now?”

  Luca dropped his chin, gazing at his chest, but he did not answer or release her right away.

  “I saw Baulo at the winter Delegation,” she prompted.

  “I suspected,” he said, raising his eyes to meet hers. “When he returned home, he was much changed. I had not seen him in such good spirits since before you left.” His gaze flickered over her shoulder, and his eyes widened. Releasing his hold on her, he gripped her chin and tilted her head back and forth. His face hardened as he surveyed the damage. “We must tend to your injuries.”

  Nadja shook her head and pulled his hand away from her face. “Later. Please, what about Kizzy? When I didn’t hear from you, I feared the worst. Were you able to bring charges against Baulo?”

  Luca sighed. “No.”

  Nadja’s shoulders slumped, and she nodded. “She couldn’t be persuaded.”

  Luca shot to his feet. The anger flashing in his eyes caught her by surprise as she mirrored his movements.

  “Kizzy is braver than half the men in the tribe,” he snapped. “She confirmed your account, and she was more than willing to come forward to stand against her attacker. But, your Uncle Harman . . .” Luca’s lip curled, and he kicked a log which had fallen to the edge of the fire. Sparks shot like burning dust into the night air. “Fool,” he spat, slamming a fist into his open palm, giving Nadja a rare glimpse of unrestrained emotion. “He would not stand with her.”

  “He didn’t believe her?”

  “I don’t know. It does not matter. He said the risk to his family was too great. If the charges could not be proved, he feared reprisal from Baulo. And, to have Kizzy’s shame made public would cast them all in an unfavorable light.”

  Nadja gaped. “Her shame?”

  “His words.”

  Nadja nodded at Luca’s knife, holding out her palm. Once in her possession, she set to work cutting a strip of fabric from the bottom of her tunic. Luca remained quiet as she bound her upper arm, taking advantage of the distraction to process his news. Once more, the faint sound of crashing waves punctuated the silence.

  “So, nothing has changed?” she asked.

  Luca shook his head.

  “And I still can’t return home.” It was more of a statement than a question. Strangely, though, the words didn’t bring as much sadness as she had thought they might.

  She took in Luca’s form, smeared with dirt from his brawl with Baulo, but none the worse for wear, and allowed her mind to wander. Where would they be now if Baulo had never attacked Kizzy? Happily married? Spending their days stalking prey together in the steppes and their nights in comfortable companionship at home? Would they be expecting their first child by now?

  When they had last met, he'd said he still loved her. Would she go back if she could?

  No.

  She had changed. Everything had changed. Her home was no longer with the Wanderers. It hadn’t been for a while now.

  She twisted the ends of the cloth together, holding one end between her teeth. “You still haven’t told me how you wound up here,” she gritted out, jerking a knot in the makeshift bandage.

  “As I said, Baulo’s mood had greatly improved since his return from Cantio in the winter. When it came time for his journey back for the spring Delegation, he appeared much more eager. Too eager. I felt certain he had discovered your whereabouts. So, I followed him.”

  “If he knew I was in Cantio, then what was he doing in Chansey?”

  “Following you, in all likelihood.”

  “But how is that? I only told one person where I was going, and she wouldn’t have told him. How did he know where to find me?” Pax had figured it out as well, but the idea he would betray her to Baulo was absurd. Besides, he wouldn’t have had time to alert Baulo and catch up with her at the harbor. No, neither Grandmaster Kero nor Pax was to blame.

  Luca’s face twisted. “Probably the same way Fonso and I did.”

  Nadja arched an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

  “It doesn’t take much coin to persuade a servant to keep watch on you. Especially one who is young and ambitious.”

  Nadja shook her head. That still didn’t make sense. She’d spent her last days at the conservatory cooped up in the infirmary, taking shifts with Petrin and Pax. She hadn’t even ventured into the dining hall for meals. They were all brought in by—

  “Timothy,” she gasped.

  “I believe that was his name.”

  Nadja squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose.

  “If it’s any consolation, I don’t believe he thought you were in any danger,” said Luca, taking a step towards her.

  Nadja threw her hands in the air. “Thank you. That makes me feel a thousand times better. Knowing the whole time I thought I was safe within the conservatory walls, my movements were being reported first to you, and then to him.” Nadja pointed past Luca to where Baulo lay. She froze midsentence, her finger hanging in the air.

  Baulo was gone.

  “Luca,” she hissed in warning.

  Luca’s head turned to follow her arm. At the same moment, a sickening thud punctuated the air. Luca’s body stiffened and his mouth dropped open, gaping at Nadja in surprise.

  “No!” she shouted, rushing forward to catch him as he crumpled to the ground. She wrapped an arm around his waist. He grunted as her hand brushed against the smooth knife handle protruding from his back. Nadja’s eyes snapped up in time to see Baulo emerging from the trees.

  Luca gripped her shoulders roughly and pushed her away. “Run!”

  Chapter 37

  Nadja leapt to her feet and ran towards Baulo, putting herself between the two men to draw his attention away from Luca. She needn’t have bothered. Baulo clearly had only one target in mind. He lunged at her with surprising speed. When she was a mere two paces from him, she veered to the right, slipping through his outstretched fingers. Her sudden change in direction took him by surprise, giving her a lead of a few seconds as he stumbled to adjust his trajectory. The trees enveloped her like a favored ally. Away from the campfire, her eyes struggled to adjust to the early-morning haze. She stumbled over roots and around saplings as the sound of her pursuer drew closer.

  The sea called to her. The sound of the crashing waves beckoned her to the shore with a familiarity and certainty which fortified her courage. She could retreat into its waters. Or if not, she could at least meet Baulo on familiar ground.

  The new sun peeked over the horizon when Nadja broke free from the forest. Her pace slowed as her feet met with shifting sands. She adjusted her gait to compensate, hoping Baulo would not adapt so easily. A few more steps and her bare feet connected with the wet, hard-packed sand left by the retreating tide. Dark footprints trailed behind her as her feet, now bleeding and bruised from her bootless dash through the woods, pounded towards the surf. The water swept over her toes, then up her shins, slowing her progress. A growl of frustration rocked her chest. She kicked her legs wide and brought her knees higher, leaping over the rolling waters like an ungainly doe.

  Nadja’s breath flew fr
om her lungs in one sharp punch as Baulo’s body connected with her back. His knobby arms hugged her thighs, sending her headlong into the water. Salt burned her nostrils and stung her open wounds. She planted her palms against the sea floor, digging her fingertips deep in the sand, and pushed up. Her face cleared the surface, and she sucked in a soggy breath. Baulo moved up her body and gripped the back of her skull, shoving her head back in the water and grinding her face into the sand. The minuscule bits of rocks and shells scoured her skin and forced their way up her nose. She writhed against his hold.

  The water shifted, destroying Baulo’s tenuous balancing act, and he toppled sideways into the water. Nadja kicked free from his grasp. She struggled to stand, blowing the sand from her nostrils. Her mind flashed back to their first confrontation, and once more her instinct took hold. She turned and faced him.

  Just as before, the soaring sound emanating from her mouth grew louder as she called on the sea to help her.

  Baulo regained his footing.

  Come, wave, come!

  The words repeated themselves over and over in her mind as her body trembled and her sight dimmed. The sounds of a hundred crashing waves faded away replaced by a single roar which crescendoed at Nadja’s back. For an instant, the water surrounding the pair disappeared, and they stood face-to-face on dry land. The next moment, Nadja was off of her feet. Her body was thrust forward, then backward, rolling and tumbling like a seed in a shaker. She lost all sense of direction as the water tossed her to and fro. She had spent most of her breath calling the wave, and now her lungs burned, craving fresh air. As the initial impact subsided, her body began to float. Twisting herself upright, she kicked her legs as fast as she could.

  When Nadja broke the surface, her eyes darted around. They were much further out than she had hoped. She cursed herself for not being more specific when she called the wave.

  She spotted Baulo treading water not far from her position, blocking her path to the shore. He saw her at the same time, and that haunting, sinister smile again twisted across his lips. He dove forward and began a series of long, determined strokes in her direction.

  Nadja had wondered if the inner workings of Baulo’s body were as much changed as the outside. He wasn’t as robust as he had once been. Still, he bested her in strength and dexterity at every turn.

  But she could stay in the water half the day before growing tired. She doubted he could say the same.

  She tore her eyes away from Baulo as he closed the distance between them and once more searched the sea. The early-morning sunlight reflected off of the dark water like a thousand tiny mirrors. There, to her right and not too far away, she saw her escape. She swallowed a gulp of air and ducked her head beneath the water, bolting for salvation.

  Nadja’s strokes were quick and sure, and she put distance between herself and Baulo. After a few moments, the water shifted and its temperature dropped as the rip current caught her. She slowed her effort and allowed the rip to pull her further away from the shore. Rolling onto her back, she searched for Baulo.

  She saw his face change the moment he entered the rip. His grim look of determination faltered, slipping into confusion, then fear. She continued to watch him as the water pulled them both further out into the deep. He glared first at her and then back at the shore. She could almost hear his mind debating between pursuing her, or turning back before he was pulled too far out.

  With a raging roar which shook Nadja to her very soul despite the distance between them, he turned his body back towards the sand. His fatal mistake.

  The rip ran its course for a moment more before spitting her out into calmer waters. Diving down and keeping the shore to her left, Nadja swam until the water grew warm once more. When she broke the surface, she turned back and watched with grim fascination.

  Baulo struggled in vain against the current. The harder he pushed forward, the more he seemed to stay in one place. After a while he began to falter, slipping under the murky water before coming up once again, struggling for air. The cycle repeated itself over and over; each time Baulo remained under longer. Nadja’s stomach clenched in sickening trepidation.

  Too late, he changed his tactics, following her lead and swimming in her direction. But the rip would not release its hold. Baulo surfaced again, spitting water and flailing without course. His eyes locked onto hers. She saw the moment he recognized his fate.

  As if willing his voice to carry the same power as hers, his scream bit through the air, gurgling as he slipped beneath the surface for the last time.

  Nadja trudged up the slanted shore and away from the sea. The sky, now a bright and gentle blue, seemed to smile down on her as if the events of the past few hours were only a figment of her imagination. She turned to face the waters one last time and found them in the same state as they ever were. Dark and taciturn, accented with cresting white caps, showing no sign anything was amiss.

  Her bandaged arm told her otherwise.

  As she approached the edge of the forest, her ears perked at the sound of footsteps.

  Tau burst forth from the trees, beating a straight line for her. He swept her up in his arms and pressed her to his chest, heedless of her sodden state.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” he choked into her hair, pressing kisses to the top of her head. “Not again,” he whispered. “Never again.”

  At his words, Nadja lost her grasp on the thin mantle of control she’d been holding tightly around her. The weight of everything, her freedom, Baulo’s death, her uncertain future as a Mevocali, the good and the bad, came crashing down on her, and she crumpled in his arms. Sobs racked her body while her uncle supported her, murmuring soothing nonsense and stroking her salt-matted hair. Her uncle: the stoic, reserved, statue of a man. Yet, here he was, comforting her with a tenderness which reminded her so much of her mother. Nadja’s cries began anew.

  When her weeping dwindled to scant hiccups and sniffs, Tau released his hold on her and steadied her on her feet.

  “He’s dead,” she sniffed, unable to meet his eyes. She was back where she’d started. Baulo was dead, this time for good. And it was her fault. Yes, he had done terrible things to her and Kizzy. And they likely weren’t his first victims. But, even that knowledge was not enough to assuage her guilt.

  Tau cradled her face in his hands and tilted it upwards, fixing her with a look which was both compassionate and hard. “Do not blame yourself. And do not lament his passing.” He pulled her in for a quick, stiff hug. His eyes searched the Shadow Sea, finding nothing of significance. His voice was distant when he spoke. “There are many who owe you a debt of gratitude, and I am chief among them.”

  His words made her wonder, but before she could form her question, a more urgent thought came forward.

  “Luca!” she cried, shoving her uncle aside and stumbling forward.

  “Woah.” Tau caught her and stopped her progress. Understanding swept across his face. “Luca Tulmen? Timpor and Naaro’s boy?”

  “Yes, please, he’s hurt,” said Nadja, pulling him with her towards the trees.

  Tau cursed under his breath. He kept a steadying hand at her elbow and matched her strides back to camp. “Wheedler is seeing to him. He is conscious, but his injury is grave. We must get him back to the Mia Fair as quickly as possible.”

  Nadja’s heart leapt at the news that Luca was still alive, but she quickened her pace at her uncle’s warning.

  Tau’s stride lengthened as well. “Brooks is there tending to your other friend as we speak.”

  Nadja stopped short, causing Tau to stumble to avoid colliding with her. “You found Pax!” she squealed, throwing her arms around her uncle in a most ungraceful attempt at a hug. In all the chaos, she had almost forgotten about Pax.

  “Yes,” huffed Tau, regaining his footing and extracting himself from her grasp. “He is as well as can be expected.” Taking hold of her hand, they hastened towards the camp once more.

  “Thank you,” said Nadja, feeling as if the words we
re more than inadequate. “But how did you know where to find me?”

  They stepped from the trees into the small campground, and Nadja stopped. On the other side of the dying fire, now nothing more than smoking embers, sat Wheedler, his usually jovial face now pale and drawn, cradling a lifeless Luca in his arms. A deep red stained the ground beneath them.

  “We have much to discuss,” said Tau. “But first, we must tend to the boy.”

  Chapter 38

  “Stowaways in the hold.”

  Nadja snapped her head towards Monty, nearly spilling the warm concoction she cradled between her fingers. Always with impeccable timing, he side-stepped along his perch in their direction. Being the one ship in the Montgomery & Co. fleet exclusively at her uncle’s disposal, the Mia Fair had an extended hold which included sleeping room for up to six crew members and a built-in perch and food and water bowls for Monty.

  “You think he knows?” chuckled Pax.

  Nadja narrowed her eyes at the bird, who cocked his head to the side, regarding her with one unblinking eye. Of course, he had no way of knowing. Still . . .

  “Hmm,” she replied, denying and acknowledging the possibility in a single syllable. She made her way around to the little stool next to the cot where Pax reclined and offered him the mug. “Brooks said to be sure you drink it all so she doesn’t have to come in here and make you.”

  Pax grinned. “Is that so?”

  “I believe her exact words were, ‘He can follow the doctor’s orders or find out how hard it is to swim upriver with only one good leg.’”

  “Ouch,” he said with mock offense, placing a hand over his heart. “Such a taskmaster. I guess I’d better not disappoint.” He drained the contents of the mug. Wincing, he handed the empty cup back to Nadja and blew out a low whistle. “Next time I might try the river.” He leaned back against the wall and rubbed his hand absently over the fresh bandages.