7: Enemies and Shadows by Ginn Hale Read Free Book Online Page A

Kahlil’s mind. But he couldn’t imagine Alidas bothering to fill a torture chamber with all those books and old photographs. Nothing about the small rooms, the worn carpet or soft bed had seemed conceived with cruelty in mind. And yet the location of the rooms offered no other advantage.
     Anyone hearing of Alidas’ rooms in the Redbrick District would assume that they were used to interrogate and dispose of enemies of the Bousim family. Perhaps that was what Alidas wanted. Maybe he chose the Redbrick District because it disguised his nature.
    Maybe the rent was just cheap.
    When it came to Alidas, Kahlil realized that he didn’t really know much of anything. Even with everything Jath’ibaye had told him, Kahlil still couldn’t guess how Alidas would react to his news. Kahlil wasn’t even certain that Alidas would respond to the message he’d left. The last time they had spoken Alidas had warned Kahlil that he had orders to kill him. He didn’t want to contemplate what he would do if he had to fight Alidas. He knew where to attack and how the noise and filth of the Redbrick District would serve him. But he didn’t want to think like that, not about the man who had rescued him two years before.
    He knocked lightly on the door. Almost immediately, Kahlil realized that the surrounding noise of saws, hammers and shouting workmen had probably drowned out such a tentative knock. He lifted his hand to try again just as Alidas opened the door. He stepped back to allow Kahlil to enter, then locked the door behind him.
    “I didn’t expect you to bother to knock,” Alidas remarked.
    “I don’t have a key anymore,” Kahlil replied. They both knew that a key made no difference. Kahlil could have walked right in if he had wanted to. But he owed too much respect to Alidas to trespass in such a presumptuous way.
    Several silent moments passed as both of them stood in the small room, surrounded by shelves and stacks of books and Alidas’ old photos, staring at one another.
    Alidas still wore his riding clothes. Road dust dulled the glossy leather of his boots. He must have come directly from the barracks, Kahlil thought. Alidas studied Kahlil openly, as if he were a new rashan at his first inspection.
    “You look good. Life in the north must suit you. That is where you’ve been, isn’t it? In Mahn’illev, at least,” Alidas asked coolly.
    “Mostly in Vundomu,” Kahlil answered. He had no reason to lie to Alidas.
    “You seem to have gotten a very nice suit out of it,” Alidas commented. There was an almost hurt bitterness in his tone. Kahlil decided to overlook it.
    “It’s borrowed,” he replied.
    Alidas smiled slightly at this, as if he had expected as much.
    “So, you’ve come a long way to see me,” Alidas said, “and at a bad time as well. What do you need?”
    “I don’t need anything. I have information,” Kahlil said.
    “It’s too late to buy your way back into the Bousim house, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Alidas shook his head and for the first time Kahlil caught a glimpse of sadness in Alidas’ expression. “I can’t help you. I’m sorry, Kyle.”
    “It’s not what you think,” Kahlil said quickly. “I’m not deserting Vundomu and I’m not trying to buy my way back into your service. I’m bringing information that Jath’ibaye wants you to have, information that you need if we are to avert a war.”
    Alidas considered Kahlil and then offered Kahlil a seat in one of his two chairs. Alidas himself leaned against the edge of his wooden writing desk.
    “Well then,” Alidas said solemnly, “tell me what you’ve come to say.”
    “The good news is that I’ve gotten my memory back,” Kahlil began.
    “And the bad news?”
    “I guess the bad news is who I turned out to be.”
    Kahlil tried to keep things simple. But the truth wasn’t simple. Slowly, he unfolded revelation after revelation to Alidas. First there was the matter of his own identity. Alidas listened and even