FROM THE JOURNALS OF RUBY

“Sister, you must wake.”

I woke with a jolt, in my dark cell. I had lied down, waiting for the early hours of morning to sneak out of Sanctuary and make my way to the docks. Somehow I had fallen asleep.

Had this been an assassin, I would now be dead.

“Who are you?” I asked in the darkness. The girl had a candle, which she moved closer to her face so I could see her features.

“Shirelle?”

“It is me, sister. I came to warn you. I heard talk you would be arrested in the morning. They accuse you of being a spy!”

“I was leaving tonight anyway. What hour is it now?”

“It is after midnight. Come! We must go!”

“We? Go back to your cell, sister. Thank you for the warning. And for speaking to me at all, finally. But I must go alone.”

“I will go with you, Ruby. I must. Do you know of the secret passage out of Sanctuary?”

“I have heard of it,” I whispered. “Do you know where it is?”

“I do. Come, quick. We must take the passage. They placed guards outside every door out of Sanctuary.”

I jumped up, already wearing my Apprentice robe. It was all I had to wear, unfortunately. I would need to find new clothing soon. I looked forward to never wearing these robes again.

Slippers on, I took my nearly empty coin purse as well as the poisoned wine from my bedside table. I had not yet had an opportunity to get rid of it and did not want to leave it for someone to find.

“Show me the way, Shirelle.”

She led me upstairs, both of us moving as quietly as possible, seeing by the light of the single candle. I could nearly hear our hearts pounding.

“This is it,” Shirelle said. We had gone through the kitchens and down into the cellar, through a maze of rooms that had long gone unused, cobwebs and dust all over. It looked as if we were the first to set foot in this entire wing in years.

“How did you find out about this?” I asked Shirelle.

The passage lay behind a bookshelf. We had to push it out of the way.

“One of the sisters overheard a Cleric mention it. Come on – let us go!”

“You stay,” I told Shirelle. “It is safer here for you.”

“I will not have you leave without me,” she said. “Not this time.”

The passage was winding, dark and cold, and so narrow that I had to walk behind Shirelle, who held the flickering candle. It cast shadows that danced on the moss covered walls.

After nearly an eternity, we came to the end of the passage. A bare wall faced us, with a rope ladder leading up into the darkness.

“I cannot climb while holding the candle,” Shirelle said. She sounded shaken, as if at last realizing the meaning of what she was doing.

“I can manage it, I think,” I said. “Give it to me. I will go first. We should go one at a time. No telling how strong this rope is.”

My climb was slow, using my right hand to pull myself up and my feet for purchase on the lower rungs. Soon I could no longer see Shirelle below.

At last, after climbing perhaps forty feet, I came to a trap door in the ceiling. I unlatched it and it slid open. Stars shined above.

“I made it sister!” I called down.

She required some coaxing but at last made it to the top. We slid the trap door shut. On the outside, it was covered with a thick layer of dirt. It would have been impossible to find if one did not know exactly what to look for.

We looked about, trying to get our bearings. We were in what looked like one of the large parks that Meridea prides itself on. Nearby we found a path, and we followed it. We extinguished the candle and found our way by moonlight. We saw no one, but could not be too careful. Citizens were not permitted outside after dark. Our very presence would raise suspicion, if discovered, but it would be even more suspicious with our Sanctuary attire.

The path lead us out of the park and into the industrial district. With great care to remain unheard and unseen, we made our way very slowly in the direction of the docks.

It took us nearly three hours.

We found an alley to hide in and wait for dawn to come, relieved to sit down, feet aching. We dared not talk much, but of course I could not help myself.

“What changed your mind about me?” I asked her. “You would not even speak to me until tonight.”

“It tore at my heart not to,” Shirelle whispered. “But I had to pretend. That I was committed to Sanctuary above all else. It was known that you ran away to avoid your obligations, and that you joined the outlander who was an enemy of the Empire. That is why so few were ever nice to you.”

“I did not know it was so widely known.”

“You were right to want to avoid it,” she said. “I should have done the same when I turned fifteen.”

“It is meant to be oppressive, to stifle our talents,” I said.

“Thank you for allowing me to come with you.”

“Thank you,” I said. “If not for you, I might not have made it out here. Or I might have been arrested.” I shuddered. “What did they say about me? What did you overhear?”

“Horrible things. That you were a spy for the outlander. That you…murdered a Scholar.”

“Bastile? I did not kill him!”

“Of course not, sister. I know you could not do something like that. That is why I came to you.”

I shivered and watched her do the same. The nights were still chilly and now that we had stopped walking, we were quite cold.

There were dozens of boats at the docks. The Lucky Elisa was a small craft with a single sail. A sailor stood at the bow, bare-chested, barking orders to a couple of young deck hands.

“What are you looking at?” he asked us.

“I believe I am your passenger. I am Ruby.”

He waved at us to board. “Where is Siegel? Who is this girl with you?”

“I do not know where Siegel is. This is my sister, Shirelle.”

“Nobody said anything about her. Very well. Get below and out of sight. As soon as Siegel gets here, we’re shoving off. We’re leaving within the hour either way.”

The hold below deck was musky and damp, smelling of wet wood and sweat.

“Who is Siegel?” Shirelle asked me. “Do you know these people?”

“I presume Siegel is one of my contacts. There is much yet I have to explain. Are you certain you want to make this journey with me? I do not even know where we are going. Wherever it is, it could be some time before you can return to Meridea. If you ever can.”

“Good! I have had more than enough of Meridea and Sanctuary. I am ready for a little adventure!”

“It may be more than a little. Tell me, when did you last see Mama and Trista? How are they?”

“They are well. I have not seen them since going to Sanctuary, but they have written.”

“Is Mama still having problems with her bad knee?”

“It has grown a bit worse, I fear to say. But she gets along.”

The sailor appeared in the hold. “Trouble brewing in the city,” he said. “We are casting off now. Siegel will just have to catch up with you later.”

“Very well,” I said, trying to remain calm. The contact not arriving was a bad sign.

Worse yet, the girl in the hold with me was not my sister.