of that.
"Look: cinnamon sticks, cloves, star pods, all together in this proportion it will be tastier! And what an aroma!"
"I'll try to remember, Vish. Thanks."
"No. Thank you. The recipes are worth writing down, just you wait… Where's the ink?"
She scribbled down the recipe, and together they finished their coffee, seeing off the last rays of the sun. The streets below emptied as, one by one, the lights went out, sending the faceless to the dreamland. The dried white trunks of the trees stretched upwards like hands, trying to catch the reflections of light that warmly bid farewell to the sleeping city and wished everyone a good night. Only occasionally did a green dot run along those lines to lead a lonely grain of sand through the labyrinth of twilight.
It was the perfect time to begin the preparations.
Cates began to circle the room in search of something more important than the flask. The sought-after item was not on the shelves, in the filters, or in the secret corners. He turned over the stacks of books, looked under the condenser, between the pipes, under the pillows… The curiosity of Vish did not allow her to remain in place as she swayed right after him.
"Are you searching for the second sock?"
"Found it!"
exclaimed Cates, but what he found was not a sock, but a battered bag that had been hiding under the pillows all this time. After rattling the bag's contents, Cates finally pulled out the flask, whose shiny edges reflected everything in the room. An amber fire splashed inside it, but it was more of a pleasant addition than a necessity. Returning to the bag and rummaging through it, Cates pulled out another item, but this time a heavy one: pure emerald light gleamed from its side with a barely noticeable murmur. Vish almost squealed in amazement.
"You have a full kiln, dripping from every dent! How is that possible! You're not afraid that history will catch up? It's taboo to have more than one kiln without a contract. Have you been lying to me all this time?! Answer!"
Cates weighed the almost translucent silvery shell in his hand and fell into a memory. Compared to an almost empty kiln, a half-empty capsule looked brighter than the nearest star.
"This kiln is nothing more than a pitiful ransom from the departed, that's all. Don't be deceived, Vish, it's not full, there's a little more than half of the drops."
"That's what I'm talking about – it's empty but backwards! Even this amount would be enough for… It's hard to even imagine!"
"A cycle, at best…"
"A cycle! At least! We can drop down! We can drip on the passage and leave the blasted city to try our courage in the outer circle! What say you?"
"So I'm the one who's building towers here, huh? Vish, you offered me your drops earlier; I can only offer you the same, but I'm not going where you want to go. Take them, it'll be enough for the passage."
"You know that I won't take them, but thanks, Cates. I appreciate it."
"I've never used this kiln. Maybe it's because I've been waiting for the right time?"
"Hah, then maybe the right time is here?! Just imagine! No links, no contracts, no histories. The shadows that returned from the expeditions told me about quiet and fruitful places outside the circles. Many others went there after the days of Scorch. They will accept us."
"They will accept us, and we'll howl at the moon 'till the end of times with them. They are exiles."
"And who are we? Shadows are not supposed to last. Besides, when was the last time you ate anything other than seafood? You're sick and tired of whale meat, aren't you?"
Cates looked at the line where the sky met the salty earth. Even from the top of his tower, he couldn't see the edge of the outer circle. There are no sharks, that's for sure, but wandering the desert didn't seem that appealing. It seemed like an exile because it was exactly that.
"So you want to accept the exile? And take me along with you?"
"No."
"Well, why. Vish the pariah. Sounds cool."
"Cates the idiot. Sounds just as well."
"Why won't you join one link for good? You said it yourself – the Fires look after their shadows."
"Do you want me to brand myself in honor of their idol? Or maybe I should arrange a kiss with the dust of the streets for your pretty face?"
"Alright, got it. But let's assume that we'll get through the inquisitors and the rest on a skiff. There's nobody who'll be waiting for us in those lands. Well, except the wolves and tza-people. And besides, there could be a lot worse than here."
"It's really hard to imagine anything worse than here! What could be worse than these damned taboos and contracts? The links gnaw at each other's necks with smiles on their nasty faces! You already mentioned that they no longer respect the history. It won't be long before they forget about taboos and only the ones like the lord will remain…"
Cates could name a few things that were indeed much worse than that, but he didn't want to argue. He'd use the kiln for other things. The attempts of Vish to lead him astray only strengthened his desire to get out of the tower fast. Indeed, maybe he was waiting for this very impulse from her all this time.
"The ones like the lord, you say? So your trick with the links was meant to challenge him? You want to become a wolf, Vish."
She turned away. There was nothing more to say. The time had come. Soon the last lights would fade, and the ethereal reflexes of the moon would remain the only guides in the night. The hands of Cates nervously returned the empty cup to its place, and he began his preparations for the descent.
The first necessary thing for that was his belt. It consisted of triangle-shaped parts, from which leather straps sprouted. Cates wrapped them crosswise around his torso. The rest of the straps wound down his patched pants and fastened to his boots, creating a framework for climbing hooks and wedges.
With that done, Cates picked his jacket off the pillow with his finger and put it on, black side up. On rare outings during the daytime, the white part helped to cope with the heat, but now it was time for the colors of the night. Aloe extract along with a flask found their place in the pockets.
The shadows needed to remain unnoticed among the gray and faceless, so many elements of their activities had to be disguised. A thin hood emerged from under the jacket, supported by two needles that were fixed behind the collar. That way, they redirected sounds and improved hearing. They also could help with locked mechanisms if needed.
"Where are you going? Nobody needs a shadow tonight. I know that well…"Vish muttered while trying to stand in the way of Cates, yet he was quicker. He didn't want to spend any more time daydreaming. Having noticed an empty expression in his eyes, Vish understood his intentions but didn't want to admit them.
"You're not going to the other side, are you?"
His silence started to anger her.
"So you are going? And the bone box of yours hasn't cracked? Let me check."
Cates dodged her swooping palm.
"Doesn't seem so! You're not bound by a contract, and your emerald's not dry – so why in hells do you want to go into that blasted hole?"
"The histories. The shadows told me of secrets hidden inside. There is something, I'm sure of that…"
"Well, hell! The shadows never told me anything like that!"
Vish could hardly restrain her voice and bit into the mechanism of the claws with her fingers. She was ready to hold Cates back by force.
"You