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Helen laughed and spun around to face me where she grasped her hands behind her back. She looked so adorably young, like a doll. I could hardly believe she was centuries old. “I must scold Will for not teaching you more about this world. To answer your question, the Arbiter is one of the oldest creatures in the world. She was here long before the city was established, and I suspect she will be here long after we have all vanished.”
I blinked at her. “She’s that old?”
“And then some,” Helen confirmed as she strode over and looped one of her arms through mine. “But we should return to the gentlemen. They no doubt suspect we are plotting some mischief.”
I grinned at her. “We should try that sometime.”
We both laughed as we headed out of the room.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The menstill waited beside the door, and upon our return, we were met with appreciative smiles. Helen slipped under one of Torch’s welcoming arms and they faced Will and me as we stood with our backs to the door.
“When can we expect you back?” Torch asked us.
“As the sun sets,” Will told him as he looked down at me with twinkling eyes. “I have a great deal to show Rose and will need that much time for just a small portion of what your city has to offer.”
“Please be careful out there,” Helen pleaded as she grasped one of my hands in hers.
I smiled and nodded. “We’ll be careful.”
And with that promise ringing in my heart Will and I stepped out into the warm early morning sun. A slight chill still clung to the air and made me shiver.
“There are blankets in the carriage,” Will promised me as he led me down the steps to our waiting carriage. Raines sat on the box with his eyes facing forward.
I couldn’t help but glance at our coachman before stepping inside. “He doesn’t talk much, does he? Raines, I mean.”
Will joined me on the seat and shut the door behind him. “As little as possible. He lived a very solitary life before I found him.”
“And where was that?”
“In a shallow grave.”
My jaw dropped open as the carriage lurched forward. I swallowed the lump in my dry throat and blinked at my companion. “W-what was he doing in there?”
“Laying in his eternal slumber, or so his would-be murderers hoped.”
I shook off my shock and set a hand atop one of his. “Will, you really need to start at the beginning.”
A devilish smile slipped onto his lips. “His end is the beginning of our story. I discovered him on one of my travels outside the borders of my domain. He had owed money to some rather disreputable ‘gentlemen’ and when he couldn’t pay they sought to use him as a lesson to their other clients.”
A little color drained from my face. “So they tried to bury him alive?”
Will shook his head. “No, he was very beaten when I discovered him. It was only through the use of some medicine on me that he was able to cling to life while I carried him back to my home where I tended him until he recovered. He swore fealty to me for my help and has remained a loyal servant since that time.”
I leaned back against the carriage seat and stared ahead, my imagination filling in the finer details Will had left out. “That’s. . .that’s awful.”
Will nodded. “The world generally is, but that’s why we must make the best of what we’re handed and give a hand to those who need it.”
“Like digging a guy out of a grave?” I teased.
“If that’s what must happen,” he returned with a twinkle in his eyes. “Speaking of the musty earth, I was wondering if you would like to see the famous catacombs of Mirum.”
I blinked at him. “Is that a usual tourist spot?”
A chuckle emanated from him. “One of the highlights of the ancient city, though I dare say it’s because the price of admission is so low anyone can join the tours.”
“How low is it?”
