Glasswrights' Apprentice by Mindy L Klasky Page B

harsh against the mist, and she surprised herself by bursting into explosive tears.
    â€œAye, you stand there! Keep your hands where we can see them!” The guard’s harsh orders fed Rani’s sobs, and she hiccuped for breath as she dropped her gnawed carrot to the cobblestones. Even as she wept, though, a plan formed in the most devious corner of her mind. She measured out a little more despair into her tears and peeked up at the troops’ leader from beneath silvered lashes.
    â€œP-please, your honor,” she stammered, then let her voice tremble away into another shuddering gasp. From the corner of her eye, she saw her words begin to have their desired effect; the soldier who had circled around to her right let his sword droop toward the cobble stones. She sniffled and tried again, “If you please, your honor, could you direct me toward the marketplace?”
    â€œAnd what would a gutter rat like you want with the marketplace, an hour before dawn?”
    Rani despaired at the man’s harsh tone, and her voice quavered as she spun out her answer. “My da said I should meet him there if I ever got l-l-lost in the City!”
    â€œAnd who’s your da?”
    â€œThomas Pilgrim, your honor. We’ve walked all the way from Tyne-on-Shane.”
    â€œTyne-on-Shane? I’ve never heard of it.”
    â€œThere’s no reason your honor should have,” Rani responded quickly, neglecting to mention that the village had not existed a few heartbeats earlier. “We are a humble little village, far to the north. Your honor could not know the home of every poor Pilgrim who walks in Jair’s footsteps.” Rani hastily made a holy sign as she spoke the name of the First Pilgrim, remembering to sniffle a little as the guard furrowed his brow.
    â€œIf you’re a pilgrim, where’s your Star?”
    Rani burst into new tears; she had been so hopeful she could carry off this sham. Of course she would be discovered - all pilgrims carried the Thousand-Pointed Star as a symbol of their mission. A Star would have been her ticket to inns along the road, through the City gates, into the holiest of chapels in the cathedral. With the Star, she was a sacred wanderer who commanded the religious dedication of the guard. Without it, she was only a street urchin.
    â€œTh-that’s why I’m here,” she choked on the lie. “I had my Star when I came into the City, and I lost it in the streets. The Touched attacked me in the alley there, and they ripped it from my clothes. If I don’t find it, my da’ll have my hide.”
    Her conscience twinged as she accused Mair and her cohorts of crimes against her imagined Pilgrim self, but she rapidly translated her guilt into vulnerability, adding to the image by rubbing her thin arms in the chill fog. Her pitiful sobs proved too much for the kindly soldier on her right. “Don’t cry, little pilgrim.” Burly arms pulled her to her feet, and Rani had to discipline herself not to shove away the raspy uniform. “We’ll take you to the marketplace. Your da will come for you at dawn.”
    â€œMy da’ll never speak to me again!” Rani managed to exclaim as the guard extracted a grimy kerchief from a pouch at his waist.
    â€œNonsense. He’ll be so relieved to get you back he’ll forget your wandering off. Blow.” Rani obediently cleared her runny nose, acting as if she were the infant this soldier apparently expected, rather than a self-possessed girl of thirteen. “You’re just lucky it was the guard that found you. You can never be too wary of the Touched, and other miscreants roaming these streets.”
    â€œMiscreants?” Rani’s voice trembled over the unfamiliar word.
    â€œAye, little pilgrim. You must be new to the city, if you have not heard our woes. An evil girl has helped to murder Prince Tuvashanoran. Just tonight, she tried to break into a tinker’s