Dead and Buryd

Chapter 34: The Preceding Void

Stepping out of the alleyway and onto the street, she didn’t even notice it at first, the way her steps quickened the further she went. Through the Oprust markets, her gait lengthened, her stride more purposeful as she weaved through the crowds and made her way between the rows of stalls. Her gaze darted around constantly, cautious and suspicious. Any of the people in the street might be an Adveni. They could look so similar that if they tried, they would fit in perfectly. Dressed in the right clothes, any person in the market could have been posing as Veniche.

There was one thing Georgianna still couldn’t work out, and that was how they had been discovered. She couldn’t think of anyone who had known the details that would betray them. Maybe Taye had told someone, one of his friends down in the Carae who would do anything for a price. Georgianna couldn’t imagine anyone in the Belsa would have sold them out, even if they’d overheard something, but maybe it was possible.

Frowning as she turned the corner onto the correct street, Georgianna’s gaze swept through the crowd, looking for anyone who was watching the surroundings. All down the street the market was at its peak, lines of stalls covered in different wares, their vendors yelling the wares they were offering over the general craze of people wandering from one stall to the next. In amongst them, people with the odd item or two to sell set up in any space they could find, their calls to buy unable to match those of the experienced vendors. Through the crush of the market, it was impossible to spot anything out of the ordinary. Even if there were Adveni lying in wait, Georgianna wasn’t sure that she could have spotted them.

She assumed Keiran had figured she wouldn’t have been listening when he, Taye, and Wrench were making their plans. Georgianna wasn’t involved, so she hadn’t needed to pay attention. She had anyway. So, continuing down the street, she was able to recognise the two-storey building that they’d talked about.

Even as Georgianna approached, she could see the moss green sign with bronzed letters hanging in the window, but nobody ever slowed to take a look inside. The Adveni owner wanted too high a price for its use, and so the building had remained empty since it had been built. It was a perfect choice for what they’d needed. Once inside, nobody would bother them and it stood halfway down the busy market road, making it difficult to approach with a large force.

Now, standing in front of the gilded wooden door, she was glad she had paid attention as she took one last glance around what she could see of the street. Pushing the door open, she slipped inside, closing the door softly behind her and stepping further in.

One of the windows was broken, glass scattered over the floor. It was an inconspicuous place to meet, not to mention that it had a second floor, meaning that they could keep an eye out over the crowd on the street.

She couldn’t hear anything but the bustle on the street outside. Through the broken window, voices and footsteps filtered in like they were right next to her. Georgianna moved through the building towards the back, taking hold of the rail nailed into the wall beside the stairs, and took the first step upward.

The wood creaked beneath her foot, causing Georgianna to pause. What if they thought she were an Adveni and moved out? No, Taye wasn’t stupid. If Keiran and Alec had been sent out to look for Adveni, Taye would have been the one watching from the window. He would have seen her coming. He would know she wasn’t Adveni.

Each step creaked loudly, the dust muffling her footsteps doing nothing to stop the groan of the disused wood under her weight. With every step, Georgianna paused, listening for sounds from upstairs. If there were anyone here, surely she would have heard it by now? Still, she heard nothing. There was nothing for it. She jogged up the rest of the steps, coming around the banister and onto the open second floor.