The Bridge

Tessa's feet ached as she stepped onto the wooden camber of the bridge. She was so tired she couldn't think. It took all her strength to put one foot in front of the other and stop her chin from falling on her chest. Operating purely on instinct now, she knew it was time to sleep.

She and Ravis had just come from stabling the horses. Before that they had seen Emith to his mother's house - a small black-timbered building, filling a cleft between a bathhouse and a stable - and although Emith wanted them to stop, rest and meet his mother, both Tessa and Ravis declined. All Tessa wanted to do was get back to Widow Furbish's stock room, roll herself and all the accompanying bugs up in a blanket, and fall asleep. They hadn't even stayed to meet Mother Emith, though Ravis was very careful and precise about passing along his respects. That sort of thing seemed to matter here, and Tessa found herself glad it did.

The clouds had long since kidnapped the moon, but the city created a smoky, mustard half-light of its own. The river stank. As Tessa walked across the bridge, she was aware of scratching, chittering, night-animal noises coming from the banks below.

Widow Furbish's house was much the same as all the others on the bridge; it leant forward toward the center of the walkway, as if the original builder had decided that if his creation ever were to fall down, he'd be damned if it landed in the water. With nostrils ringing from the stench, and ears buzzing with sloppy, slapping, water noises and high-pitched, tiny-toothed gnawing, Tessa was inclined to agree with him.

Pale slashes of light marked the run up to the Furbish door. Ravis checked his knife. Tessa put her foot on the first step, but Ravis blocked her with his arm. "I'll go first," he said.

Tessa was annoyed at Ravis' theatrics. Why did he have to turn every arrival into a armed raid? Pushing his arm back she said, "If there's anyone on the other side, they can have me. I'm too tired to care."

Ravis' fingers stabbed at her arm. Tessa winced.

"You will stay where you are." There was a cold, deadly authority in Ravis' voice that Tessa had never heard before. Suddenly she was reminded of what Fray had said about him in Marcel's cellar: Ravis was a mercenary, a man who trained others to kill. Kings paid for his services.

She stepped aside.

Ravis didn't climb the three steps. He stayed on the pathway, leaning forward to knock on the door. There was no answer.

Ravis sucked in his bottom lip. Tessa noticed his jaw working, and realized that inside his mouth he was chewing on his scar.

Seconds passed, then Ravis shouted, "Swigg! Open up. My arms are full and I can't work the latch."

Nothing.

Ravis and Tessa exchanged glances. The bridge, which only minutes earlier had been alive with noises, suddenly seemed as quiet as a tomb. There was no one about. All doors were closed. All shutters were barred. A wheelwright's sign swayed in the wind, but if it creaked the sound didn't carry.

Tessa's heartbeat quickened. The exhaustion she felt was slowly reforming itself into something else. The aching muscles in her legs began to tingle.

On the first step now, Ravis lifted his free foot and sent it slamming into the door. The door swung open. Ravis drew his knife. As he called out Swigg's name, Tessa got a whiff of the smell.

A musky, dog-blanket smell. An animal smell.

And then she saw the blood. Red blood, blue flesh, white bone.

Tessa gagged.

The lights went out.

Two dark figures appeared at opposite sides of the door. They lunged at Ravis, knife hands drawn back to their shoulders, blades poised to strike. Ravis' left elbow shot up and outward as his right hand traced an X in the air with his knife. The blade wasn't wielded to injure the attackers - there was too much distance between them for that - more as a warding device to give Ravis a precious moment to step back.

Tessa didn't know if she was too tired or scared to scream. She breathed quickly, though, for the first time in her life unafraid of holding on to tension. No matter what she did now - scream, panic, run or fight - she knew the tinnitus wouldn't bother her. She was free to act as she pleased.

Ravis' foot found the path. He had a second, perhaps less, to free himself from the confines of the doorway before the first of the two figures shot down the steps.

The rangy smell of animal musk got stronger. Tessa could barely see the two attackers - it was dark and they moved too fast. When the first one swung his knife at Ravis, she caught his profile. Only it couldn't be his profile, because it didn't quite look right. Something about the bridge of his nose: it was too flat.

Tessa shuddered. She must be mistaken.

The two attackers were out of the house now. Cloaks whipping around their bodies like shadows, they moved without making a noise. One was on the walkway to Ravis' right, the other glided down the steps. Tessa could see him waiting for a chance to slip behind Ravis' back. Ravis, aware that the two were working together to out-flank him, had to keep feinting attacks to give himself chance to move wide. Both men held their long, thin-bladed knives high at their shoulders. Ravis kept his own knife close to his waist.

The first man grunted and took a swing at Ravis. Occupied with fending him off, Ravis didn't notice the second man attack from behind.

"Ravis!" Tessa screamed.

Ravis swung round. He wasn't quick enough. The second man's knife glanced along his arm, slicing into the skin just below the shoulder. Even before Ravis could pull away, the first man was on him.

Tessa's legs kicked into action. She found herself running toward the first man, fists out. A noise ripped through her eardrums: the sound of her own screams. The first attacker's head whipped round. Hardly aware of what she was doing, Tessa punched him in the jaw. Even as the blow landed, she was conscious of the smell and the look of the man, and something deep within her warned her to get away.

Tessa fought the impulse; standing her ground, guarding her face with her fists, and screaming her throat raw. Blood barreled through her veins. Her lungs ran hot, sore and ragged.

She felt completely terrified and exhilarated.

The blow barely made the man flinch. Turning away from Ravis, he hissed as he caught Tessa's eye. His eyes had a golden cast and his lips were peeled back, revealing the pink knuckle of his gums. Suddenly he shot toward her, cloak lashing out behind him like a tail.

Tessa stepped back, stumbled.

Ravis seemed somehow attached to the second man. Chest pumping, he glanced over his shoulder at Tessa.

Her attacker circled. His knife was poised at his shoulder like the beak of a carrion-feeding bird. His breath smelled ripe and fatty. The lines of his face were streamlined, almost fluid. With a quick movement he stepped out of Tessa's field of vision

Tessa tried to keep track of him. It was so dark.

Crack!

She heard her neck snap back as something smashed into her skull. She felt no pain only a sick-spiraling blackness and a sense of outraged surprise: she hadn't seen it coming! Tessa's legs buckled under her, and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, she could do to stop them. The world started rippling away, and the last thought she had before losing consciousness, was that she'd been right about the tinnitus. It was never coming back.

It was a gift from this world to her.

Sucked back, Tessa opened her eyes. She had read enough stories to know that when heroines blacked out in perilous situations they was supposed to awake many hours, often days later, in a large feather bed, safe and sound. Thin broth, a motherly-looking matron and a crackling wood fire were usually somewhere in the picture, too.

No such luck for her.

Tessa awoke to find herself looking at the exact same sky she passed-out under. And, judging from the ragged breaths and sounds of fighting coming from somewhere to the side of her, minutes had ticked by, not hours.

The wooden boards of the bridge rocked under her back, set vibrating by the footfalls and lunges of the two men to her left. Tilting her head a fraction to see what was going on, Tessa was hit by a tunneling wave of sickness. A blasting, scissoring pain in her head bore all the way down to her gut. Eyes watering, she vomited onto the deck.

A low-pitched howl sounded. Hearing it, Tessa felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. Wiping her mouth, blinking furiously, she concentrated on the single shadow within her view.

The shadow was large. It moved smoothly for a moment like a bat gliding into land, then it began to twitch. A spasm rippled through its pooled blackness, and then the shadow cleaved apart. Tessa heard a breath taken sharply, followed by thick gurgling noise. The shadow separated into two. The larger shadow rocked back and forth for a moment before collapsing into an oblique line and then receding from Tessa's sight. The boards under her back jerked as the body casting the shadow crashed to the ground.

Suddenly Ravis was beside her, face spattered with blood, chest pumping, smelling like the man he'd just killed. He pulled her to her feet. "Come. Hurry!"

Tessa would have liked gentler treatment just then. Her skull throbbed like a sore tooth and her legs felt too thin and powerless to hold her up. Ravis didn't seem to care. His eyes were focused on the near end of the bridge. With his free hand he cleaned his knife; first flicking the blade downward, then wiping it against his leg.

Struggling to her feet, Tessa fought the tight braid of sickness stretching between her stomach and head. Ravis held her firm. He moved in close and whispered, "Someone waits at the end of the bridge."

Tessa squinted into the darkness. The bands of shadow and light along the bridge's length played tricks with her watering eyes. She couldn't see a thing.

"Over there." Ravis made the minutest gesture with his knife. His shoulder was bleeding. "In the shadows."

Tessa decided she'd take his word for it. "Let's leave over the other side."

Ravis' teeth flashed into view. "I don't think," he said, speaking very precisely, "that would be a very good idea."

"You think there'll be more of them?" From where they stood, just short of the crown of the bridge, they could only see a short distance in the opposite direction.

Ravis nodded. "Men on each side. It's what I'd do."

And that, Tessa supposed, meant a whole lot more than she cared to think about at this particular moment. She said, "Well, we've got to go one way or another. Make a choice." As she spoke, she felt the trail-ends of her words slurring like a drunk's.

High up in the opposite building, a shutter rattled open and somewhere in the distance a dog began to bark.

Guiding Tessa's arm around, Ravis said, "I choose this way."

At first Tessa thought he had decided to risk the far side of the bridge, but instead he led her toward Widow Furbish's door. The body of the second man lay across the step. Ravis had stabbed him in the back, and there was very little blood. As Tessa got close enough to see his features, she was surprised to see they were normal: not distorted, or streamlined. He was just a man. Tessa shrugged. Her imagination had been playing tricks on her.

"Look up," hissed Ravis in her ear as she put her first foot on the step. "I'll tell you when to look down."

Tessa responded to the authority in his voice immediately, though it took her a second to work out the reason behind the strange request. He didn't want her to see Swigg's body. Too late, she thought, already seen it. But she didn't look down again.

It was dark and cold in the house. The smell of blood caught in Tessa's throat: she didn't want to breathe it in. She stood, staring at the dark expanse of ceiling, and waited while Ravis locked and barred the door. Finished, he took her arm and guided her toward the stockroom where she'd spent the night. "Stay here a moment," he said, as he moved back into the other room. Seconds later golden light spilled from the doorway.

Outside the house, the sounds of barking became louder. Footfalls drummed against the boards of the bridge.

When Ravis returned to the stockroom, Tessa tensed. With the light behind him, he looked just like one of the attackers. Their meaty, wet-fur odor was on his clothes and in his hair. Did she smell the same, she wondered?

"Now," Ravis said. "We haven't got much time. It won't be long before whoever is waiting outside realizes we aren't coming out. I'm counting on them thinking we never spotted them, and that the only reason we came in the house is to pick-up our belongings." Ravis waited until Tessa nodded, and then knelt on one knee before her. Wiping his blade one more time against his leg, he said, "This will only take a minute."

Alarmed, Tessa stepped back. Ravis grabbed the skirt of her dress, stopping her from taking another step. "I'm only going to cut it off at your knees. I'll be sure to keep your modesty intact."

Cutting it off at her knees? What on earth was he talking about? Tessa wished that her head wasn't pounding so much and she could think straight.

Seeing the confusion on her face, Ravis smiled. "If we're going in the river, I don't want to risk your skirt getting caught around your legs. Now hold still." Pulling one section of her skirt taut, he began hacking away at the fabric.

"The river?"

Ravis nodded. "It's the best way. I'll lower you down from the window first, then follow you out. Don't worry, it shouldn't be too cold this time of year. And I'm pretty sure it's mostly mud down there, not water." Ravis cut the final fistful of cloth, and the bottom of Tessa's skirt fell swishing to the floor. "Though it's best not to take any chances." He thought a moment, then added, "You can swim, can't you?"

Tessa nodded.

Standing up, Ravis' gaze ran along her bare legs. "Good. Let's go."

Ridiculously, Tessa felt embarrassed by Ravis' attention. She was only showing her knees, she told herself. It wasn't as if she was half-naked or anything.

Ravis opened the shutters. Sounds, that had only been dull echoes earlier, grew sharply louder. Barking, shouting, thudding. Tessa glanced at Ravis. "It's all right," he said. "The more noise the better - it will serve to cover our own."

He held out his hand. "The drop isn't bad - about fifteen paces."

Tessa joined him by the window; glad that the thumping in her head prevented her from concentrating. This wasn't a situation that would benefit from deep thought.

The smell rose up to greet her like a doorman: cautiously familiar, yet welcoming all the same. After the stench of blood and animals, the foul air from the river seemed like a breeze. Peering out, Tessa saw the river itself glinting darkly below. Gray silt banks flanked the sides, and beyond the black line of the river wall, the city crowded close like a milling angry mob.

Thrmp! Thrmp!

The door. Someone was trying to break in. Tessa glanced at Ravis, and although he looked calm, his tooth raked against his scar.

He helped her up onto the window sill. His touch was surprisingly gentle, and he paused a moment to push a strand of hair from her face. "Don't worry," he said softly, eyes looking straight into hers. "I'll be down a second later. Spread your arms wide, don't fight the current, but try and make your way to the west bank."

Tessa barely nodded. She suddenly felt sick again. The face of the man who attacked her flashed through her mind. She saw teeth and gums and shining eyes. This was a world filled with mad, dangerous choices.

Thrmp! Thrmp! More banging at the door.

Ravis took her hands in his and she scrambled out of the window. A cool draft blew over her bare legs as he lowered her down toward the water. His eyes were locked on hers and his grip was rock-firm. He didn't want to let her go - even through fear, pain and confusion, she could sense that.

"Only an instant behind you," he murmured as he released his grip.

Tessa dropped. Her stomach rose up to her chest and her heart found its way to her throat. Cold air buffeted her body and then she crashed into the oily, viscous water of the river.

Strangely it wasn't as cold as she had expected, and its thickness helped buoy her up. Her head barely went under. She had no way of knowing how deep the river was and she had no desire to find out. Her eyes, mouth and nose were not going under again. There was no way she was going to risk any of this stinking, chunk-filled water finding its way down her throat. No way at all.

Unaware she was moving with the current, Tessa was surprised to see how far away from the bridge she had moved. As she looked up, a dark form dropped from a half-lit window into the water. Ravis. Tessa raised an arm, waved, considered shouting, then decided it was wiser to wave some more. Remembering Ravis' advice, she stretched out her arms on the surface, and tried to steer herself toward the west bank. Her feet were kicking frantically, yet the water was so thick she felt like she was paddling through mud.

The smell didn't bear thinking about. Neither did the soft and bulging floaters that kept bobbing past her face. Grease formed a slick film on the water's surface; a rainbow of night colors swirling within. Tessa thought she saw patterns within the swirls. Intricate, shimmering lines of color, coiling around upon each other like age-rings on a tree. Like the golden threads in her ring.

The ring! Panicking, Tessa felt for the ribbon around her neck. Swollen fingers fumbled over drenched wool, desperate to feel the smoothness of silk. Finally her fingertips seized upon the ribbon, and she threaded it through her grasp until her thumb was pricked by barbs. Breathing a sigh of relief she let the ribbon fall. She still had the ring.

Increasingly aware of the heaviness of her dress, Tessa forced herself to paddle harder to keep afloat. Her arms and legs obeyed her as best they could, but she'd had a long, exhausting day, and she could feel herself tiring. Funny, but her head had cleared up entirely. Her skull still ached where she had been hit, but now the pain seemed to be more of a needling, wake-up pain, rather than a dull, throbbing sleep-pain.

Shouting, splashing, howling noises sounded in the distance behind her. They seemed a long way off.

"Tessa," came a voice, rippling across the water's surface like a breeze.

Swinging her head back, Tessa spotted Ravis only feet behind her. She stretched out her hand and within seconds he took it.

"This isn't normally where I take my ladyfriends in the evening," he said, moving alongside her, "but it does have its rewards." With that he brought his arm around her back and drew her close. "Now. Let's get to the bank."

Kicking together, they made good time. Tessa could feel Ravis' muscles working to hold her up. He didn't so much as swim through the water, as attack it; slicing, cutting, lunging. A few minutes later Tessa's foot hit the bottom. Feeling its soft, sludgy texture, she decided to continue paddling for as long as she could. Gradually she was forced to walk, feet sinking ankle-deep into the sludge with every step. That in itself was bad enough, until Ravis hissed at her to get down. Almost clear of the water now, he didn't want to risk their pursuers catching a glimpse of them.

Cursing, Tessa fell onto all fours. The water began to look decidedly inviting, as the silt sucked at her knees and wrists, and her sodden dress hung on her body like a dead weight. She tried to take thin, fast breaths so as not to take in the terrible stench of dead things gone bad, but her lungs actively fought her. They needed all the air they could get.

As they crawled toward the river wall, Tessa risked glancing back. It was too dark to see if anyone had entered the water after them, but she thought she heard splashing noises in the distance.

Carcasses, bones, bloated bodies of rats and birds, rotting leaves, driftwood and offal littered the silt. The nearer they got to the river wall, the worse it became. Long-past disgust, Tessa actually found herself wanting to laugh. Here she was, running for her life, soaked to the skin, crawling through a mudbank that smelled like an open sewer. This wasn't how adventures were supposed to be.

The river wall was a pattern waiting to be read. The ground level bricks were large and well cut, though very old. The higher the wall became, the less care had been put into its construction, and boulders, pebbles and chips of stone had been added with little thought to either long-term preservation or aesthetics. The top layer had crumbled away completely. Streaks of mottled, yellow mortar laced between the bricks and stone like fat marbling through meat. Tessa studied the wall a moment longer, then shrugged. Patterns where everywhere she looked in this strange new world.

Once she had scrambled over the wall, she didn't dare stand. Crouching down, teeth chattering from cold, she turned to Ravis and said, "Where do we go from here?"

Ravis' eyes flicked from the wall, to the river, to the city. He chewed on his scar awhile, and then caught at her hand. "You know what?" he said, his lips curving to half a smile. "I think we may have been wrong to decline Emith's invitation earlier. Perhaps we should pay our respects to his dear old mother after all."