Ghost in the Ashes chapters 11 & 12
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Chapter 11
Caina whirled and saw an Immortal step towards them, the blue light from the depths of the skull helm painting the smoke with an eerie glow.
“You!” said Tanzir. “Assist us! The Bostaji are attempting to kill…” The Immortal raised his scimitar and advanced at Tanzir, and Caina
remembered Halfdan’s warning about the Alchemists. Tanzir stumbled back in terror, his boot coming down on the hem of his ornamented robe, and that alone saved him. The emir stumbled, and the Immortal’s scimitar blurred through the air his head had occupied an instant earlier.
CURSE YOUR SUDDEN YET INEVITABLE BETRAYAL!
(I really need a meme for this...)
“I do not understand,” said Tanzir. “We are following an opera singer?”
“An opera singer?” said Theodosia, not looking back. “My lord emir, I shall have you know that I am the leading lady of the Grand Imperial Opera, and that I have sung before the Emperor himself upon multiple occasions.”
“Er…yes,” said Tanzir, “but…but I appealed to the Ghosts for help! For protection! Now I am skulking through the darkness with an opera singer…”
“Leading lady,” said Theodosia, stopping before a door.
“And a coffee merchant and his mistress!” said Tanzir. “Do the Ghosts have nothing better to offer?”
“Not really, no,” said Corvalis with a laugh.
“We’ve kept you alive so far,” said Caina. “You can go back and take your chances with the Immortals…or you can come with us. If you come with us, you might die, yes. But if you go back, you will certainly die. So. Which shall it be?”
This guy isn't very bright, is he?
“Get up, my lord emir,” said Caina. “You’re going to need to disappear for a few days.”
Chapter 11 summary: Caina and Corvalis are forced to fight. However, Tanzir is quick to realize that he can't trust anybody, not even the people who had come with him under the guise of being his guards.
Caina takes them up onto the stage, where she cuts a rope that opens up the trap-door, and they fall onto the pillows below. Theodosia finds them, and leads them to a secret wall; all the time, Tanzir is confused over why these seemingly random people are helping him. Caina and Corvalis trek with Tanzir through the city's catacombs, while Theodosia remains behind to deal with the alerted military men to put out the “fire”.
Chapter 12
And the Bostaji had proven themselves to be clever.
“We had better get started,” said Caina.
Chapter 12 summary: They naturally take Tanzir to the coffee shop. While Corvalis and Shaizid go to get some space ready for him, Tanzir tells Caina a little about his own background. It's pretty sad, all things considered. He doesn't say as much, but it was probably abusive. Anyway, he asks about Caina's alter-ego of the Balarigar, and asks if she killed his brother. Caina agrees, and Tanzir is happy when she says that the brother's dead was not a good one.
They talk him down to the safehouse, where he agrees to leave Mahdriva to her peace. He mentions something about an alchemical elixir, but Caina makes him back up and talk about that. He says that in order to become a “master alchemist”, one must make an elixir; it's the thing that makes them live for a really, really long time. It's difficult to make and full of rare ingredients, and apparently sometimes turns the drinker into a literal monster. But once they successfully make and consume this elixir, then they're considered a master. He doesn't know any more info, since they keep it close to the chest.
Halfdan had shown up at this point, and promises that he'll have the local lord spread the rumor that in the commotion, Tanzir hit his head and needs to convalesce. But Halfdan says that it'll buy them a week of peace at the max before people start to get suspicious, so they'd better start trying to track down where those Bostaji are hiding.
