is a 'but'lurking somewhere here."
"There is one place… where the secrets are hidden. Maybe there I can find some light against these shadows?"
"This 'light'has got an emerald tint to it, right?"
The sly smile on her face brought up new worries. The carrot was becoming a rabbit.
"So you want to become a wolf, Vish?"
"No, I… I mean… Dammit!"
She tugged on the straps on her black tunic, releasing the mechanism attached to her arm, and her claws turned toward her forearms with a metallic clang. Time had marked them, but they remained reliable. Vish could only hope they wouldn't let her down one day. Her cyan eyes flashed – she tried to say something but lacked the strength or courage. Cates understood that such things could not be solved even with dozens of full kilns.
Gracefully, Vish slid from the bend of the window to the floor and took several silent steps along the rough beams of the tower toward Cates. A small dot like a black star decorated the outer corner of her left eye. She kept her head hidden under the scarf and murmured without her usual smile:
"Listen, Cates. Since we've mentioned hidings… I'm here because I have nowhere else to go. The links hold no options for me, you see… I got my claws in things best left untouched and that resulted in some backlash. I see now that I really, really shouldn't have done that…"
She faltered and turned away for a moment. So that was it!
"It's me who's in hiding. But only for a short time… That contract from the Fires caused this, you know."
"Don't tell me that contract linked you against the Sparks…"
The Sparks, unlike the other links, were not too bad. Their element was water, and their sections were the closest to the tower of Cates. Vish kept muttering with an innocent face:
"Sparks? Not really… Any other links you don't particularly like?"
"I doubt I can count them all… The Pikes, for example?"
She shook her head.
"Vives, maybe? Claws?"
Wrong again. Vish began to enjoy this little game, watching his growing anxiety. Cates continued guessing.
"Well, can't be the Coals, right?"
She expressed a deep thought and raised her finger to her chin, amazed at her own deviousness.
"M-m-m. No, not the Coals. Need a hint?"
Cates hesitated with the correct answer, although he knew it. The links divided the city in agreement, and only one link was extremely brittle, even crazy.
"Vish? It's not who I think it is, is it? Blink if it's not them…"
Vish didn't blink and didn't respond.
"Ashes, Vish? You're hiding from them? Have you lost your mind?"
He hit the target. Why couldn't she come up with anything other than climbing up here…
"Don't the Fires provide protection with their contracts, Vish? I cannot fathom why you even got involved with them!"
She only lowered her shoulders and puffed out her cheeks, not expecting such a reaction from Cates.
"That's not their problem, really. It's just that the Ashes have uncovered… Damn, do you even know how many cycles have passed since the last successful finding? So, behind the outer circle, they finally found something long lost and precious! From the times of Precata!"
"Long lost… precious? Is it like the second sock?"
Vish furrowed her thin eyebrows, and her playful mood completely evaporated. The possible outcomes overtook and outlined bleak consequences in her head. She pursed her full lips, but Cates would not stop looking for the reasons.
"Of all the shadows, you knew perfectly well the dangers of taking contracts against the Ashes, Vish. What puzzles me is why the Fires are up against them. Is that why the lord's return is bothering you? What do the Ashes want? Drops? Mirrored contracts?"
Vish didn't answer, just circled around the room. To distract himself, Cates patted his pockets and took out several envelopes of dried seaweed with spicy cubes of cereals. Putting one cube on his tongue, he drenched the sweet taste with the hot bitterness of coffee. The tartness burned his worries and warmed him up from the inside, banishing the last ghosts that had settled in the corners of his skull.
Vish looked at the remaining cubes with sadness, realizing that just like Cates, she couldn't reveal everything. At that point she stopped testing the waters and decided to dive in:
"Damn it all, okay, I confess. Not everything is smooth with those blasted Ashes because of one little detail."
"As I understand that detail of yours is about 'wanted alive or a little less alive'?"
"You understand correctly. Only the contract has nothing to do with it. Because there was no contract… I stole a trinket from the Ashes for myself. With no contract. I couldn't help it!"
"Yes, thank you for the confirmation. You, indeed, went mad. That's twice as bad. Thrice, even. What kind of trinket was it? A relic? A cache?"
"It doesn't matter – it's a useless thing, but very pretty, believe me. I would have returned it, but the Ashes… No, it's impossible now. They are after me! Trying to find me in any way they can!"
"I don't believe you could have gotten yourself into such a mess, it's not even setting yourself alight, it's plain silliness. You're not that silly."
"Well, maybe I am that silly, what do you know… I'm gonna go… Will take my chances with the Fires."
"Vish. Wait. The Fires can't help themselves, how are they going to help you?"
"I don't know. I don't want to think about myself. Something will work out, it always does. Haven't you ever noticed that?"
"There's no protection without a contract, Vish. And I cannot do anything with that mad bunch, not to mention the valuables of Precata."
"You're right. I'm in full emerald. All the watchers are on their toes, the other links as well. The storm is coming, and my pockets are, well… At least I've evaded the inquisitors so far."
"So the inquisitors are after you too?"
Vish conjured up an innocent face. Cates knew well that even if she got into this unintentionally, her history was spoiled and there were no simple ways to get rid of it.
"I'm under the pendulum, Cates, in need to disappear. I'll deal with the links on my own, I only need some time to loop my trail. Will you help me?"
Her future unraveled before Cates. He saw several lines: the first one would lead her into exile from the circles without her kiln, that is if she ended up in the hands of those who seek her. Another line showed her voluntary surrender; that way, she would still be exiled, but she could keep her kiln. The last line was not under any consideration, as it would mean a permanent joining with the lower links. Cates took a sip of the hot coffee and nodded.
"You can stay here for as long as you wish. The Sparks won't let the Ashes or the Fires get close to the towers. The water is more important for them than a couple of troublesome shadows."
The light returned to the eyes of Vish, and she slapped his shoulder with joy.
"Hah! Now you're talking! You've mentioned coffee? I'll drink a cup just to fill it again. But for starters…"
She winked as her fingers deftly began to wander through the spice jars, quickly tweaking the brewed coffee with a pinch