Cassandra

XIII. Ripley's New Toy

That evening Ripley didn't come in to supper. She had been locked in her room ever since the incident that morning, and when the Professor sent up a servant to ask if she would be coming down, she sent it back with a shard of jagged scrap metal imbedded in the side of its neck. Clearly she couldn't be bothered with mundane concerns like eating.
It was a very tense meal without her there, and I had taken great satisfaction in clattering my silverware as much as I could possibly manage, only to take the tiniest imaginable bite at the end of it. By the end of the meal I could tell that retribution was coming, for the Professor's hands were shaking. In a fearless kind of way I wanted him to. I was daring him to try it, and see how little of a difference it would make. But we were interrupted before the tussle could truly begin.
It was a sharp crack, sudden and startling, that echoed out over the castle grounds. The other explosions set off by Ripley had all been deeper, while this was higher pitched, and more refined.  I jumped as I heard it, startled by the unexpected sound. The sound died away almost instantly, and I heard laughter after it.
Moments later Anna burst into the room, flinging the doors wide, an uncontrollable smile lighting up her face.
"Fucking finally!!!" She crowed, flinging a sheaf of papers, covered in cramped sketches and hasty writing, onto the table. After it she threw down a metal devise that thudded on the table. The device was obviously a close copy of the sketches, similar to then in shape, although the proportions were different. Ripley was turning over plates and dishes on the table, apparently looking for one to suit some purpose she had in mind, and I took her distraction as an opportunity to get a closer look at her project.
It was roughly L shaped, with the short part carved to fit neatly into the hand. At the angle of the L there were four hollow chambers, that would spin if I made them, and looking inside I could see that they were coated in some kind of very fine black dust. The long branch of the L was formed by a fifth hollow tube, and it too was coated with this same dust.
"Stupid girl, be careful with that!" Anna exclaimed sharply, jerking the devise out of my hand. Casting me a disapproving look, she examined her creation carefully, as if afraid that I might have broken it. Satisfied that her project hadn't been harmed, she brought out a weighted leather pouch, that thudded loudly against the tabletop when she set it down, and from this pouch she drew out four round beads about the size of marbles. Holding the devise against her stomach with her maimed hand, she dropped the balls into the four hollow chambers with the other, making the whole show look surprisingly dextrous despite her missing hand. Then she clicked the chambers, so that they rested securely between the long and short branches of the imaginary L, and no longer spun freely.
"At last, a completed, functioning, gun." She said, displaying it as she spoke. After admiring her work for another moment, she seized a vase from the mantelpiece that dominated one wall of the dining room. Turning sharply on her heel, she grinned at us triumphantly, hissing exultantly, "Come, and see!"
In a moment she had vanished from the room, and the Professor quickly followed, with me trailing cautiously behind. Flinging back the double doors to the courtyard, Anna strode down the  wide front steps, and paused on the bottom step to set down the vase she had seized. She paused to consider the placement, then took off again, apparently satisfied.
"Come!" She called over her shoulder, beckoning impatiently. At last she stopped at a distance of some 30 yards, turning sharply on her heel, and looking across the courtyard at the vase, glimmering in the winter dusk. "Come and stand behind me."
Anders obeyed her, and I faded off into the shadows, skirting the edge of the courtyard and lurking near the gate. I had long since learned that it was rarely safe for me to stand too close to the Professor, and mostly skirted him warily these days. With the Professor finally behind her, Anna squared her shoulders, breathing in an sharp breath of anticipation.
It was a very swift, fluid movement, almost too quick to take in completely. She raised her gun, the fingers of her hand fitting perfectly into the carven spaces for them, and the index finger wrapped around a switch piece that was molded to fit her finger. Stretching out her arm, perfectly straight, her eyes narrowed down the length of the barrel.
In the half a second of tense silence, I saw her eyes narrow, as she took aim, then she pulled the switch, and the device went off. There was a flash of white flame and smoke, the gun let off a loud cracking explosion, and at the same moment the vase at the other end of the courtyard suddenly shattered. Pieces of glass went flying in all directions, the bottom of the vase sitting in the same spot on the castle steps, like a jagged crown made of painted glass.
"Well?" Anna demanded of the Professor impatiently. "Is this not the greatest achievement of our kind thus far?"
Anders had no answer. He was just as stunned as I was, staring at the shattered vase in the distance. It looked as if it had just broken instantaneously, with no visible cause that I could see, while Anna was standing almost a hundred feet away.   
"It is...Impressive..." He said at last, unable to find any other words.
"Impressive?!?" Ripley scoffed, tossing her head, and beginning to pace excitedly. "Do you have any idea what this invention could mean?! How much it could accomplish? This is a weapon unlike anything used before, unlike anything we've ever dreamed of! This could change everything about the way our wars are fought! In the right hands, this could change the world..."
Her voice trailed away, and she stood lost in thought, gazing up at the darkening sky above the wall top. Winter stillness fell heavy over the courtyard as she stood calculating. Then her gaze refocused, her attention coming back to the courtyard, and she tossed her head to clear it.
"You've seen what I wanted to show you." She said to Anders, her voice suddenly quite cold, and almost suspicious. "I have nothing more to say."
Forgetting the Professor, and the broken vase, she crossed the courtyard again. Scaling the steps of the castle, she vanished within the darkness of the foyer, and shut the door behind her. Anders was left standing alone in the cold, and I faded back into the shadows of the gate, unwilling to recall his attention to me yet. But the Professor had forgotten me completely, and he made his way back across the courtyard without giving a second thought to me. I wasn't within sight of him, which made me non-existent.
That left me alone, out in the rapidly descending winter dusk. All the guards, that were meant to be keeping watch, were huddled over the fire in the guardhouse. Like me, they guessed that the likelihood of an attack on the castle was remote. I was by myself, lurking under the shadow of the gate, glorying in my brief freedom.
Only that sense of freedom could have made it seem like an inviting evening. The clouds had all lifted, releasing the trapped heat from underneath them, and it was bitterly cold. Most of the stars were pale and remote, hardly to be picked out against the inky blackness of the darkening night. The new moon was nowhere to be seen, dark and shrouded.
The sound of someone hammering against the gate, loud and out of place in the utter silence, woke me from my reverie. With a start I recalled my surroundings, and I shivered. I was cold, numb, and chilled to the bone. Alone in the dark.
"Who's there?" I murmured, cautiously moving up to the gate, and pressing my hands against it.
"Cas?" It was Ivan's voice, but he sounded agitated, and his voice was shaking as if he were out of breath. "Thank Pelor it's you...Come outside, right now, I need to talk to you...please..."
"Of course..." I stammered, confusion adding to the lump of dread in my stomach. Forcing the gate with all my strength, I managed to open it a crack. Squeezing through the tiny gap, I found myself alone with Ivan in the shadow of the gate, shivering as the night's chill soaked into me.
He was breathing hard, gasping for air as if he had run all the way here, leaning against the gate for support. The simple clothes he wore were torn, and there were tiny scratches across his face. I had seen scratches like them before, for I had born similar ones on more than one occasion, and I knew that they meant he had been running through the woods very fast without any regard for what he ran through. He had no coat, and he was shivering uncontrollably, but not with cold.
"Ivan, what on earth is the matter? What's wrong?" I exclaimed upon taking in all this. He made no answer, standing mute and shivering, still gasping for air. Gently I took him by the arms, assuming a false air of disapproval, hoping vaguely that it would cheer him.
"Stupid boy, you didn't even wear a coat! You'll catch your death of cold, wandering around in the dark like that, come inside at once and get warm."
"N-no, I-I can't. I--" He broke off, too agitated, or too out of breath to continue.
"They're all gone, nobody will care..." I said persuasively, trying to draw him through the gate. "Come inside, crazy idiot, and get warm! You'll feel better."
"No, Cas! Listen to me!" He snapped, jerking his hands away. I shrank back, hurt and more than a little frightened by his savage words, for he had never spoken to me so harshly. Even when he had been angry with me, that had been concern on my behalf, this was different. The knot of dread in my midsection grew tighter.
"I can't come inside, I just need..." His voice trailed away, and he drooped against the gate.
"Ivan?" I murmured, touching his arm again, and forcing him to look at me.
"They k-killed...Father Rynoll is dead..."
Dead...I stumbled, falling to my knees in the middle of the muddy road. The Father, dead...Ivan wilted back into the gate, his slouching form only propped up by its solid mass supporting him. Tears stung my eyes, and I could feel the back of my throat burning, but for the first time in the years I'd known him, I was stronger than Ivan. I had already lost, many, many loved ones. And my family, my new family, were still safe. I could survive this. He was utterly overcome, while I still had, if not the focus to throw off grief entirely, than enough to act, to question, to understand.
"How?" I demanded coldly, careful to keep my voice devoid of emotion. "What happened."
"I-I don't-"
"You'll have to face it Ivan, you'll feel better when you do. What happened?"
"Nothing..." He replied, shaking his head hopelessly. "We did nothing. They just, attacked because they wanted to."
"Who?"
"Count Tyleeri's men I think...They were all drunk, passing around bottles and laughing, hacking up the pews for fun, throwing rocks through the windows. And they just, killed him for no reason. Just for fun..." His voice died away again, and I knew that only my resolve would force him to continue.
"How did you escape?" I prodded.
"I wasn't there...I should have been there. I should have known...Somehow...He sent me to minister to a family in the city, and I didn't know until I came back."
"And did they see you?" I said at last. "Are they looking for you?"
"I--I don't, I don't know..."
"Ivan, are they looking for you?" I said again, rising from the ground, seizing him by the shoulders, and forcing him to look at me. "Talk to me Ivan."
"Th--they saw me--" He whispered, his speech stumbling and broken. "I--I ran. I don't remember. I was...They were shouting, and I ran...I just, I think they chased me for a bit, they didn't want me to get away. I couldn't fight them, it was too late. He was already...Already dead..." Suddenly Ivan dropped, falling into a limp heap against the gate.
I sank down with him, propping him up as best as I could. He made no resistance as I moved him, passively allowing me to warm his hands, and tuck them between his curled up legs and his stomach. My own hands were numb with cold, but I did my best to warm him anyway.
"Now I want you to stay right here," I instructed him sternly, once this was done. "I'm going to leave you for a minute, can you wait here for me to come back?"
Dumbly Ivan nodded, paying almost no heed to what I said, but as I drew away he released my hand somewhat reluctantly. It was a small gesture, but it heartened me. At least he found enough comfort or security in my presence, to endeavor to retain it, and feel the lack of it when I left him.
Slithering back through the gate, I set off across the courtyard, moving as swiftly and silently as possible. Passing into the foyer, I flitted around the edges of the silent hall, gracefully scaling the grand staircase. I reached my room, swiftly let myself it, shut the door behind me, and paused with my back to the door.
One thing was clear to me at this moment. Ivan had to leave the valley. Maybe Father Rynoll's killers were looking for him, or maybe they had abandoned the hunt as soon as it required any kind of real effort. I didn't know. But I could see that Ivan shouldn't stay here. There was no place for him in the castle: surrounded by these people that hated me, even if I wished to have him. And he couldn't return to the temple, both because he might be hunted, but more importantly because there were too many memories there. It would serve him better if he left the valley entirely, before anybody could miss him.
Even as I made the decision on his behalf, I wanted to unmake it. Five years he'd been a dear friend to me, what would I do without him? But it was for the best. It was what was best for him, and that mattered more than my own personal desires.
My resolve hardened, and I stepped away from my bedroom door, moving to gather together the scanty provisions I could give him. I seized a winter cloak, throwing it over my arm, and a dusty leather satchel that was lying forgotten at the bottom of my wardrobe. Last of all, I gathered up the few scanty gold pieces I had, the last remnants of my pocket money from years and years ago, and tied them together in a handkerchief.
With these few supplies, I stealthily made my way back downstairs. In the dining room I paused, scavenging from the leftover meal some of the less perishable items, and I stuffed them into the satchel I had brought to serve as a makeshift travel pack. Finally I abandoned the dinning room, crossing the entrance hall and courtyard with the same silent speed that I had before. Ivan was sitting in the exact same spot against the gate, face buried in his knees, still shivering violently.
"Now listen up," I said, shaking him out of his stupor none to gently, and rubbing him vigorously to get him warm again. "Here's a cloak, you put it on right now. I've got food, and a little money, take them...That's right...Now you listen carefully to what I'm going to say. Are you listening?"
Once again Ivan nodded dumbly, still shivering, and I felt my heart warm as he gathered his cloak closer around him. That was good, very good. It was all the answer I would get, but it was enough to convey that he was listening, and understood what I was saying. 
"I want you to get out of the valley." I said sternly, my tone inflexible, and uncompromising. "Get over the fords, and head for Swiftshore, you'll be safe there. Don't worry about me, don't think about the Father, don't think about all the people in the city. I'll be all right, and I'm sure Keeper Yennin and Archibald will look out for the people, but you've got to take care of yourself. Go now, while you still can. Understand me?" 
Another dumb nod. I seized Ivan's arms, and drew him to his feet, tucking his cloak in closer around him, and checking to make sure his travel pack was securely fastened. With this done, I kissed him farewell on the cheek.
"Travel during the day, it's safer." I instructed him. "Keep away from everybody, and don't ever travel after the sun goes down. They'll only find you sooner if you do."
Ivan didn't say anything, but he gave my hand a weak squeeze, that meant 'Thank you, Cas.' I sniffed, half laughing at the drops on my cheeks.
"Stay safe." I said, trying to be brisk. "I would hate for you to get killed...Dressing up for your funeral would be more trouble than you're worth..."
A last short hug, our breath steaming out into the cold, then Ivan drew away. I shrank back into the shadows, and watched his retreating figure, until at last the night shadows swallowed him. As he disappeared, I suddenly became aware of myself again, standing out here in the cold. I was chilled to the bone, alone in the dark...