Colorless II: Black & White

6 - After Death

The tunnel ended under a stone slab inside of a mausoleum. Rinian's first breath of fresh air was thick with the scent of graveyard dirt, but after spending so long surrounded by bloody death or trapped in suffocating tunnels, it was a welcome relief. The mausoleum itself was a small, stone structure with a flat roof supported on three sides by open colonnades and on the fourth by a thick wall embedded with tombs. The faded family name etched on each tomb was unfamiliar to Rinian though perhaps it held some significance to the royal family.

It came as a surprise that the sun was still out. After all that had happened, it seemed as though hours had passed since Kin's arrival. The warmth of the sun embraced Rinian as he surveyed the graveyard, but his heart continued to race in fear even when everything else told him they were safe for now.

Music and shouting and laughter rang out from the city center. Fortunately for them, Diamala Church was in the far east of the city, pressed up against the outer wall. Festivities never ventured too far east, and it wasn't a day of prayer at the Church, so they were in little danger of being accidentally discovered. Still, Rinian and Ilyse both insisted that they hide behind the mausoleum so there was even less of a chance of being seen through the slats in the tall fence that separated them from the street.

The second they settled on a location, Deliah forced Varick to lay down again. She checked his pulse and temperature and rubbed his hands and legs to keep his blood flowing.

"He's doing better," Senya said.

Deliah nodded, but the lines of worry on her forehead didn't fade.

"So," Maram leaned back against a headstone, and Rinian glared silently at his disrespect. "Deliah. We heard you tried to kill the king and then escaped from the dungeons. Why are you here?"

"I didn't try to kill him, and Varick helped me escape. When I heard the fighting, I came to help."

"You came to help?" Varick asked. "Which side?" His mood soured further when he tried to sit up, and she held him down by his shoulders.

"Obviously, I'm trying to kill you." She slapped his hand when he tried to push her away.

"Did you hit me?"

"If I need to hurt you to keep you alive, I will. Just..." Her voice cracked, so she took a short pause to compose herself. Rinian looked away. "Rest. We won't be able to stay here for long. So, you need to rest while you can."

"Rinian, tell your cousin to let me go," Varick demanded. Rinian pretended he couldn't hear. "You're a dick," Varick said when he realized he was being ignored.

Rinian silently nursed his hand and let the fresh air dampen the pain in his head. It hadn't reduced by much, but the beautiful weather had helped clear some of the sharp agony and unclarity in his mind. It allowed him enough peace to think.

He mused on the events of the day, on everything Senya had said, on seeing Ianthe in the palace. They couldn't stay where they were for long. That much he knew. But when he asked himself what they had to do next, he could come up with nothing useful.

Rinian wasn't particularly clever. He used to think that he was before arriving at the palace and being surrounded and humbled by exceptionally clever and well-schooled minds. Thinking and strategizing was Essen's area of expertise, as much as it pained Rinian to admit. But Essen wasn't there, and Rinian didn't expect him to show up. When they'd fled from the dungeons, there had been people, powerful people, approaching from the stairs. He hoped that they'd escaped but feared that they hadn't. Nell had strength, Lyra had been in the Guard, and supposedly Thayer could also fight, but if Essen had any ability to defend himself, Rinian had never seen it. He relied on Rinian's protection as much as Varick.