Marie Brennan - Doppelganger

Mirage opened her eyes and looked at the house. Miryo was in there.

She began to run.

The stable lay at the house’s southeastern corner, and the shadow of its wall made a good hiding place. Mirage cursed the weather for clearing; the moon was bright, and made sneaking in more difficult. But she had gotten this far without any sounds of alarm, and she thanked the Warrior for that.

Inside the stable, she made a quick count of horses. Five of them, all with Starfall’s markings. Did that mean five Cousins? They might have lost some horses along the way, either at the stream or in tripping over fallen bodies. Well, assume at least five. And hopefully not more than ten .

She left the stable and ghosted around its side, into the shadow of a huge tree. There weren’t many lights in the house, and most of them were clustered up near the top of the western end, where Miryo was being held. Unsurprising.

Still, there might be Cousins lurking elsewhere in the house; she couldn’t see the windows of the northern side. And Mirage didn’t relish the idea of wandering through the entire place, trying to find staircases to get her up to the top.

The answer was right in front of her—or rather, above her. The tree’s branches overhung the southern wing; they would give her an easy path to that roof. Then she could find a way to climb the wall of the main body of the house, and thus gain the roof. If nothing else, she could break in a window there; she’d at least be closer to her destination.

Mirage grasped the branches and swung herself up into the tree.

She landed, cat-soft, on the roof, and ran along it to the shadow of the higher section. Still no alarm. And there was a drainpipe, right in front of her, which led straight up, and looked sturdy enough to climb.

Lucky for me Linea’s not a fanatic about security .

The drainpipe took her up to the roof without trouble. She ran along its crest, staying as low as she could; all it would take was one Cousin outside and looking up to give her away. But she made it to the house’s western end, and slid carefully down to the edge that overhung the top-floor windows.

She could hear Miryo’s voice, muffled through the window. Mirage glanced down and scowled. Someone—probably one of the Cousins—had nailed the window shut. She could care less about Linea’s opinion of the modification, but it meant that getting into Miryo’s room would not be quick. And she couldn’t afford to be slow.

After a moment, she slid sideways, to the next window. It too had a light—both of the ones flanking Miryo’s did—but she could hear no voices.

Mirage lowered her head until she could peer in.

A woman was in there, sitting on the floor. Her back was to the window, which was encouraging; she was sharpening a sword, which was not. But she had left the window open a crack, and Mirage, eyeing the gap, calculated that she could get in quickly enough to take down the Cousin without a prolonged fight. She hoped.

Through the window, take her down. Then next door, hope there’s not more than one Cousin in there. If you’re lucky, it’ll go quietly enough that the others won’t know what’s happened .

If you’re not lucky—you’ll deal with it .

Mirage took a deep breath, held it, then expelled it slowly. She grasped the gutter, tested to be sure it would hold her weight, and then swung her legs down, placing her toes silently on the windowsill. The Cousin had not turned around. Mirage lowered one hand and grasped the window’s edge.

Then she yanked the window up and threw herself through.

The Cousin, to her credit, was on her feet almost instantly, but she was looking too high; Mirage rolled across the floor and surged upward, grabbing the woman’s sword hand. She kicked the Cousin’s feet out from under her and twisted the captive arm around as she did so. Her opponent fell to her knees without too much of a thump, and then Mirage cracked her over the head with the pommel of her own sword. The Cousin went limp.

One step down, lots to go .

Mirage lowered the body to the floor and tossed the sword under the bed, where it wouldn’t be found immediately if someone wanted to use it.

Next door, someone began to sing.

At least they were feeding her. Miryo had wondered if they would, when night fell and no food came. But a Cousin had finally appeared, bearing a tray with bread and a bowl of soup. No fork, knife, or spoon.

As if I could threaten anyone with them .

The Cousin watched her as she ate. She had not drawn her short sword, but one hand rested on the pommel. Miryo did her best to ignore her guard, but it made eating difficult.

Finally she broke the silence. “What’s your name?”

A suspicious look from her guard.

Miryo held up her hands. “I’m just wondering.”

The Cousin considered that for far too long. Finally she opened her mouth to let out one word. “Tsue.”

“Tsue. Thank you.” Miryo sopped a piece of bread in her soup and ate it. “Tsue, how many Cousins died in the ambush?”

The woman’s eyes hardened.

“I had hoped none,” Miryo said quietly. “I don’t have anything against you. You’re just doing your job, and I’m just doing what I think is right. But I take it that someone did die.”

At last she got a grudging nod. “Two.”

“Their names?”

“Yun and Gau.” Tsue’s jaw tensed. “One at the stream. The other in the chase.”

Meaning that Mirage had killed her. “I’m sorry. I can promise you that Mirage—my doppelganger—didn’t deliberately target her. She doesn’t kill unless she has to.”

No response to that. Miryo finished her meal in silence and waited for Tsue to remove the bowl and tray.

The Cousin, however, stayed motionless. Finally, after an excruciating pause, she reached into her belt pouch and removed a small flask. “You must drink this. By the order of the Primes. I almost put it in your food, but…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Miryo could guess, and she was grateful for Tsue’s honor. “What is it?”

“A sleeping drug.”

Not a poison, then, although Miryo hadn’t thought it would be. “It’s not necessary.”

“The Primes have ordered it.”

“Tsue, what am I going to do? Overpower you all single-handedly? As if I could. You could take me down in your sleep. And as for my magic…” She snorted. “I might as well kill myself on the spot and save the trouble.”

Tsue didn’t look forgiving.

“All right. What if I gave you my sworn word I will not attempt to cast any spells?”

The Cousin shook her head. “The Primes have ordered it.”

What a good little drone you are . Miryo sighed and closed her eyes. She could see the path all too well: she would be drugged and taken to Starfall, tied to her saddle. They’d revive her enough to eat, but she’d be dosed again before she could get too lucid. Once they got that potion inside her; her odds of escape went to nil.

Unless, of course, Mirage came after her. Ever since the confrontation with Satomi, Miryo had half hoped her doppelganger would stay away. It wasn’t likely, though. Which meant mat Mirage would probably be captured as well.

Fine. Then you do something about it. Now .

She had offered to give her sworn word, but she hadn’t actually done it.

Miryo opened her eyes and gave Tsue the most sincere look she could manage. “May I have just a moment, before I drink it? I’d like to pray.”

The Cousin gave her a long, searching look, and finally nodded. She took a step back—just one—and waited.

Void it. I was hoping she’d leave the room .

Miryo, robbed of the privacy she’d hoped for, turned and went to the window. Outside she could see the moonlit ground, but not the moon itself; that was on the other side of the house. She looked through the panes of the glass at the sky, envisioned the stars there, and closed her eyes.