Midnight Jewel
Page 100

   “Let’s go,” Aiana told me around noon. I hadn’t seen her at all that day, but she must have either guessed or heard that I’d want to help—and that I’d been denied.
   After having my offers of help constantly rejected, I didn’t even pause for a coat or cloak when she spoke. But as we headed for the front door, I asked, “Won’t I get in trouble? Won’t you?”
   She walked along briskly, her expression grim. “Not enough to matter. There are too many other things going on.”
 

   The coasting ships that ran between Cape Triumph and the far sides of Denham Bay left from a small quay on the city’s edge. It was south of the main commercial port I’d been in last night—the one that received the bulk of incoming and outgoing ocean vessels. The quay was easily accessible via a well-traveled dirt highway, but the land surrounding the road and wharves had seen little clearing and soon gave way to even denser forest to the west. I could understand how anyone wandering off the main road could easily get lost in those woods, especially in last night’s conditions.    And Warren’s men hadn’t been wrong about the dangers. I’d faced plenty myself last night. Now, in day’s full light, I could see fallen trees and all sorts of debris littering the road. The woods themselves were worse, barely traversable in some places.
   The militia had put together a relatively organized search. They had a map of the area and had portioned it off, assigning teams to systematically scour each region. Aiana and I earned a few strange looks, but the militiaman in charge still went ahead and assigned us a team. It was too much to hope that I could have worn pants, but I hiked my skirts up to mid-calf and would deal with any of Mistress Culpepper’s wrath later.
   It felt good to be doing something—far better than when I could only sit around helplessly after the Gray Gull’s disappearance. As the day went on, my spirits began to flag. I clung to my burning hope— insistence—that Tamsin was alive. But as we fought through overgrowth and fallen limbs, I began to imagine how easy it would be for someone to get crushed or trapped. I’d even heard that winds from these storms had been known to carry people off.
   No one reported finding Tamsin’s body. No one reported finding any trace of her at all. And as dinnertime neared, many of the volunteers left with muttered apologies, and some of the militiamen were assigned to other duties. We weren’t the only ones who needed help.
   “I’ve got to bring you back now,” Aiana told me. “We can’t push it much further, and there’s a dinner I’m chaperoning that’s still on for tonight.”
   “But we haven’t found her,” I protested. “How can we go?”
   “We’ve covered a huge amount of area, miss.” That was one of the organizers, and he showed us a map. Parts that had been searched and cleared were marked off, and that included a radius of a few miles around the quay.
   I could feel my frustrated tears returning. “Maybe she made it a long way.”
   “Possibly.” The militiaman didn’t sound very confident. “We’ll search some of those far areas. And a squad of bloody rangers even showed up. They’re going to spread farther out and recheck a few of the other spots.” He nodded toward two men heading off into the trees. They wore rough woodsmen’s attire, but military insignia stood out on the breasts of their coats.
   “What are rangers doing here?” asked Aiana wonderingly.
   “Dunno,” the militiaman said. “They just came here and said they were joining the hunt. Not my place to ask questions.”
   “Who are they?” I asked.
   “Part of the royal army, but they specialize in woodlands and other rough terrains,” Aiana said. “My understanding is they do a lot of scouting and ambushes in times of war.”
   The militiaman nodded. “Did a lot in the campaigns against the Icori. They know every stick in Adoria and can track down anything. They’ll cover ground faster than we can and even work at night. If your girl’s out there, they’ll find her.”
   My spirits lifted fractionally. I’d been certain darkness would put an end to the searching, but hope wasn’t lost yet. Maybe these rangers could do what the rest of us couldn’t.
   If your girl’s out there, they’ll find her.
   If. But how could she not be?
   Other searchers left as we did, and I caught sight of Warren’s two men. I waved them over. “Will you be returning to Hadisen soon?” I asked.
   “In the morning,” one said. “Mister Doyle will be anxious to hear what happened.”
   If he’s so anxious, why didn’t he stay and search as well?
   Instead, I asked, “Would you be able to bring a letter over when you go?”
   “Of course, miss. Get it to the governor’s house by ten, and we’ll bring it with us.”
   I spent the rest of the evening working on the letter. It took me three tries. How could I explain to Adelaide what had happened? How could I put the horror of this event into writing? But I had to. She had to hear it from me, not someone else. After stopping multiple times to wipe away tears, I finally finished and sealed the letter. When I went downstairs, I was surprised to see how late it was. Nearly everyone was asleep. I’d never even thought about dinner.
   Mistress Culpepper kept a tray near the door for outgoing mail that a courier picked up twice a day. I dropped the letter in to go out with the early morning batch and felt a lump form in my throat when I thought about Adelaide reading my words. As I turned to go upstairs, I heard a voice on the other side of the foyer whisper, “Miss Viana?”
   It was one of the hired bodyguards, Alan. They were all discouraged from interacting with us, and he glanced nervously around the empty foyer. “Yes?”
   “I shouldn’t . . . I shouldn’t do this, but . . . well, there’s a man at the kitchen door asking for you. It’s . . . one of the royal rangers. I’m not sure what to do . . .”