Again, nothing happened.

Vivenna leaned her head back in annoyance. Awakening seemed such a vague art, which was odd, considering the amount of rules and restrictions it appeared to have. Or maybe it just seemed vague to her because it was so complicated.

She closed her eyes. I have to get this, she thought. I must figure it out. If I don't, I will be killed.

She opened her eyes, focusing on her bonds. She pictured them untying again, but somehow that felt wrong. She was like a child, sitting and staring at a leaf, trying to make it move just by concentrating on it.

That wasn't the way her newfound senses worked. They were part of her. So, instead of concentrating, she relaxed, letting her unconscious mind do the work. A little like she did when she changed the color of her hair.

"Untie," she Commanded.

The Breath flowed from her. It was like... blowing bubbles beneath the water, exhaling a piece of herself but feeling it flow into something else. Something that became part of her-a limb she could only slightly control. It was more of a sense of the rope than an ability to move it.

As the Breath left her, she could feel the world dull, colors becoming slightly less bold, the wind a little more difficult to hear, the life of the city a little more distant. The ropes around her hands jerked, causing her wrists to burn.

Then the ropes unraveled and dropped to the ground. Her arms came lose, and she sat, staring at her wrists, a shocked.

Austre, Lord of Colors, she thought. I did it. She wasn't certain whether to be impressed or ashamed.

Either way, she knew she needed to run. She untied her ankles, then scrambled to her feet, noticing that a section of the wooden door had been completely drained of color in a circular pattern around her hands. She paused only briefly, then grabbed the rope and ran down the stairs. She peeked out the doorway onto the street, but it was dark, and she could see little.

Taking a deep breath, she rushed out into the night.

She walked aimlessly for a time, trying to put s.p.a.ce between herself and Vasher's lair. She knew that she should probably find a place to hide, but she was afraid. She was distinctive in her fine dress and would be remembered by all who pa.s.sed. Her only real hope was to get out of the slums and into the city proper, where she could find her way back to Denth and the others.

She carried the rope in her pocket. She'd grown so accustomed to having a certain amount of Breath that missing a fraction, even the small bit contained in the rope, felt wrong.

Awakeners could recover Breath they invested into objects; she'd been tutored on that. She just didn't know the Commands to do it. So she brought the rope, hoping that Denth would be able to help her recover its Breath.

She maintained a quick pace, head down, trying to watch for a discarded cloak or piece of cloth she could wrap around herself to hide the dress. Fortunately, it seemed as if the hour were too late, even, for most ruffians. She did occasionally see shadowed figures on the sides of the road, and she had trouble keeping her heart stilled as she pa.s.sed them.

If only the sun were up! she thought with frustration. It was beginning to grow light with morning's arrival, but it was still dark enough that she had trouble telling which direction she was going. The slums were convoluted enough that she felt she were going in circles. She...

Vivenna stopped, frowning. The street around her looked familiar. Did that mean she'd pa.s.sed it recently? There were no lamps in the slums, but the light of false dawn was enough. She could have sworn that she recognized the building in front of her.

I do recognize it, she realized. I recognize the way the broken door hangs, the pattern of the windows, the faded colors. I stared out a window at this building, once. That means...

She turned around. Denth's safe house-the one they'd visited after the attack in the restaurant and the attack in the slums-lay huddled between two larger buildings across from her.

Blessed Austre! She thought with relief, quickly crossing the street and pushing her way into the building. The main room was empty, and she hurriedly opened the door down to the cellar, seeking a place to hide.

She searched around with her fingers, and sure enough, she found a lantern with flint and steel beside the stairway. She pulled the door closed and found it more st.u.r.dy than she would have a.s.sumed. That felt good, though she couldn't lock it from this side. She left it unlatched and bent down to light the lantern.

A set of worn, broken stairs led down into the cellar. Vivenna paused, remembering that Denth had warned her about the steps. She walked down carefully, feeling them creak beneath her, and could see why he'd been worried. Still, she made it down all right. At the bottom, she wrinkled her nose at the musty scent. A couple of small game corpses hung from the wall; someone had been here recently, which was a good sign.

She rounded the stairs. The main s.p.a.ce of the cellar was built beneath the floor of the upper room. She would rest there for a few hours, and if Denth didn't arrive, she'd venture out. Then she- She froze, jerking to a halt, lantern swinging in her hand. Its hesitant light shone on a figure sitting before her, head bowed, face shadowed. His arms were tied behind his back and his legs were tied to the legs of the chair.

"Parlin?" Vivenna asked with shock, rushing to his side. She quickly set down the lantern, then froze. There was blood on the floor.

"Parlin!" she said louder, urgently lifting his head. His eyes stared forward, sightless, his face scratched and b.l.o.o.d.y. Her life sense couldn't feel him. His eyes were dead.

Vivenna's hand began to shake. She stumbled back, horrified. "Oh, colors," she found herself mumbling. "Colors, colors, colors..."

A hand fell on her shoulder. She screamed, spinning. A large figure stood in the darkness behind her, half hidden beneath the stairs.

"h.e.l.lo, princess," Tonk Fah said. He smiled.

Vivenna stumbled back, nearly colliding with Parlin's body. She began to gasp, hand at her chest. Only then did she notice the bodies on the walls.

Not game animals. What she had mistaken for a pheasant in the dim light of her lantern now reflected back green. A dead parrot. A monkey hung beside, body sliced and cut. The freshest corpse was that of a large lizard. All had been tortured.

"Oh, Austre," she mumbled.

Tonk Fah stepped forward, grabbing for her, and Vivenna finally shocked herself into motion. She ducked to the side, escaping his reach. She ran around the large man, scrambling toward the stairs. She came up short as she collided with someone's chest.

She looked up, blinking.

"Do you know what I hate most about being a mercenary, princess?" Denth asked quietly, grabbing her arm. "Fulfilling the stereotypes. Everyone a.s.sumes that they can't trust you. The thing is, they really can't."

"We do what we're paid to," Tonk Fah said, stepping up behind her.

"It's not exactly the most enviable work," Denth said, holding her tightly. "But it the money is good. I was hoping we wouldn't have to do this. Everything was going so nicely. Why did you run away? What tipped you off?"

He pushed her forward with a careful hand, still holding her arm, as Jewels and Clod moved down the steps behind him. The stairs groaned beneath the weight.

"You've been lying to me the entire time," she whispered, tears almost unnoticed on her cheeks, heart thumping as she tried to make sense of the world. "Why?"

"Kidnapping is hard work," Denth said.

"Terrible business," Tonk Fah added.

"It's better if your subject never even knows they've been kidnapped."

They always kept an eye on me. Staying near. "Lemks..."

"Didn't do what we needed him to," Denth said. "Poison was too good a death for that one. You should have known, princess. With as much Breath as he held..."

He couldn't have died from sickness, she realized. Austre! Her mind was numb. She glanced at Parlin. He's dead. Parlin is dead. They killed him.

"Don't look at him," Denth said, delicately turning her head away from the corpse. "That was an accident. Listen to me, princess. You'll be all right. We won't hurt you. Just tell me why you ran away. Parlin claimed not to know where you had gone. Did you really leave without telling him? Why? What made you suspect us?"

She shook her head dumbly.

"This is important, Princess," Denth said calmly. "I need to know. Whom did you contact? What did you tell the slum lords about me?" He began to squeeze her arm tightly.

"We wouldn't want to have to break anything," Tonk Fah said. "You Idrians. You break too easily."

What had once seemed lighthearted banter to her now seemed terrible and callous. Tonk Fah loomed in the shadowy lanternlight to her right, Denth a thinner form in front of her. She remembered his speed, the way he'd slain those bodyguards at the restaurant.

Remembered the way they'd destroyed Lemks's house. Remembered their flippancy toward death. They'd hidden it all behind a veil of humor.

"Why?" she asked again. "You seemed like my friends."

"We are," Denth said. "I like you, Princess." He smiled-a genuine smile, not a dangerous leer, like Tonk Fah. "If it means anything, I really do apologize. Parlin wasn't supposed to die-that was an accident. But, well, a job is a job. We do what we're paid to do. I explained this all to you several times, I seemed to recall. "

"I never really believed..." she whispered.

"They never do," Tonk Fah said.

Vivenna blinked. Get away quickly. While you still have strength.

She'd escaped once. Wasn't that enough? Didn't she deserve some peace?

Quickly!

She twisted her arm, slapping it against the back of Tonk Fah's cloak. "Grab-"

Denth, however, was too fast. He yanked her back, s.n.a.t.c.hing her other hand, holding it tightly. Tonk Fah stood surprised as Vivenna's dress bled free of color, turning grey, and some of her Breath was pulled into his cloak. Yet, without a Command, that Breath couldn't do anything. It had been wasted, and Vivenna felt the world around her grow more dull.

Denth slapped Tonk Fah on the back of the head.

"Hey," Tonk Fah said, rubbing his head.

"Pay attention," Denth said. Then he glanced at Vivenna, holding her arm tightly.

Blood seeped between his fingers from her wounded wrist. Denth froze, obviously seeing her bloodied wrists for the first time; the dark cellar had obscured them. He looked up, meeting her eyes. "Aw, h.e.l.l," he cursed. "You didn't run from us, did you?"

"Huh?" Tonk Fah asked.

Vivenna was numb.

"What happened?" Denth asked. "Was it him?"

She didn't respond.

Denth grimaced, then twisted her arm, causing her to yelp. "All right. It looks like my hand has been forced. Let's deal with that Breath of yours first, and then we can have a chat-nicely, like friends-about what has happened to you."

Clod stepped up beside Denth, grey eyes staring forward, empty as always. Except... could she see something in them? Was she making it up? Her emotions were so strained lately that she really couldn't trust them. Clod seemed to meet her eyes.

"Now," Denth said, face growing harder. "Repeat after me. My Breath to yours. My Life become yours."

Vivenna looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "Howl of the sun," she whispered.

Denth frowned. "What?"

"Attack Denth."

"I-" Denth began. At that moment, Clod's fist hit his face.

The blow threw Denth to the side into Tonk Fah, who cursed and stumbled. Vivenna wrenched free, ducking past Clod-nearly tripping on her dress-and threw her shoulder into the surprised Jewels.

Jewels fell. Vivenna scrambled up the stairs.

"You let her hear the security phrase?" Denth bellowed, sounds of struggle coming from where he was wrestling with Clod.

Jewels gained her feet and followed after Vivenna. The woman's foot broke through a step, however. Vivenna tumbled into the room above then threw the door shut. She reached over, turning the latch.

Won't hold them for long, she thought, feeling helpless. They'll keep coming. Chasing me. Just like Vasher. G.o.d of Colors. What am I going to do?

She rushed out onto the street, the dawn light now illuminating the city, and ducked down an alleyway. Then she just kept running-this time trying to pick the smallest, and dirtiest, alleyways she could.

Chapter Thirty-Six.

I will not leave you, Susebron wrote, sitting on the floor beside the bed, his back propped up by pillows. I promise.

"How can you be sure?" Siri asked from her place on the bed. "Maybe once you have an heir, you'll grow tired of life, then give away your Breath."

First of all, he wrote, I'm still not even sure how I would get an heir. You refuse to explain it to me, nor will you answer my questions.

"They're embarra.s.sing!" Siri said, feeling her short hair grow red. She turned it back yellow in an instant.

Secondly, he wrote, I cannot give away my Breath, not if what I understand about BioChroma is true.

He's getting much more articulate in his writing, Siri thought as she watched him erase. It's such a shame that he's been locked his entire life.

"I really don't know that much about it," she said. "BioChroma isn't exactly something we focus on in Idris. I suspect that half of the things I know are rumors and exaggerations. For instance, back in Idris, they think you sacrifice people on altars in the court here-I heard that a dozen times from different people."

He paused, then continued writing. We argue something that is silly. I will not change. I am not going to suddenly decide to kill myself. You do not need to worry.

She sighed.

Siri, he wrote, I lived for fifty years with no information, no knowledge, barely able to communicate. Can you really think that I would kill myself now? Now, when I've discovered how to write? When I've discovered someone to talk to? When I've discovered you?

She smiled. "All right. I believe you. But I still think we have to worry about your priests."

He didn't respond, looking away.

Why is he so cursedly loyal to them? she thought.