CHAPTER 39

A light drizzle misted the air and soaked the streets as Lei and Daine made their way down the streets of High Walls.

“You’re sure Pierce will be all right?” Daine said. “We’ve done this before, Daine. He knows what to do.” Lei sighed. “Do you suppose we should talk to Greykell about this?”

“Let’s just get Olalia. Greykell and Teral …? We take that as it comes.”

“Very well.”

The tenth bell or morning had rung, and Togran Square was unusually quiet. Those refugees with jobs had made their way to the workhouses and foundries, and most of those who remained were sleeping or gathered around communal cooking points, preparing the morning meal. Daine had lost his cloak in the sewers, but his chainmail shirt and the sword at his belt still drew attention. Back at the Manticore, Daine had borrowed some bootblack from Dassi the innkeeper and used it to cover the Deneith symbol on his sword. He was tired of the unwanted attention he received for bearing the sigil of the dragonmarked house.

Daine and Lei made their way through the maze of tents to the large black canopy in the center. The dwarf doorman stood at the opening flap. “What do you want?” he asked.

“We’re looking for Olalia,” Daine said.

“Councilor Teral is not accustomed to receiving guests at this hour,” the dwarf said. “He’ll be making his rounds later. See him then.”

“We’re not looking for Councilor Teral. We want to see the girl Olalia, his servant.”

“You want to see the Councilor’s servant, you see the Councilor first.”

“Can’t you just ask-?” Lei began.

“I know my duties, lady,” the dwarf said.

“So do I,” Daine said.

All the anger and frustration that had been building since Jode’s death burst. Daine slammed his right elbow into the dwarf’s nose, forcing him back into the tent. Daine darted in after him. The dwarf flailed wildly, but a sweeping kick from Daine knocked the guard off his feet. A moment later Daine had a knee on the guard’s chest and punched him again and again until he stopped moving.

Lei slipped in behind him. “How are you going to explain that to Teral?” she said, looking at the battered guard.

Daine looked away, embarrassed by the moment of frenzy. “If we expose a conspiracy of monsters in the community, I’d hope he’d overlook a few bruises.”

They were standing in the entry chamber where they’d eaten dinner with Teral. Only now, bedrolls were scattered across the floor. Six people had been sleeping in the chamber, but all had since departed. Daine dragged the dwarf on top of a blanket.

There was a rustle of fabric and the inner door of the tent opened. Daine tensed and prepared for action, but it was Olalia. Her eyes widened as she saw Daine and the fallen guard.

Daine stood and held out his hands in a gesture of peace, then gave a quick nod to Lei.

“Olalia, it’s all right,” he said. “We’re not here to hurt you.”

Behind him, Lei began to make mystical gestures over a crystal shard, weaving a minor enchantment into the gem. Daine slowly approached Olalia.

“We just want to talk. Everything will be all right now.”

The girl watched Daine fearfully, her stone teeth shining out between half-parted lips. She didn’t run, but there was no sign of understanding in her eyes.

“Calm down,” Daine said gently. “Nothing will hurt you. Just wait. Lei is going to help you talk to us.”

“I’m ready, Daine,” Lei said. The crystal in her hand glowed faintly.

“Olalia,” Daine said. “Have you seen our friend Jode, the halfling”-he gestured with his hand to indicate Jode’s small size-“recently?” He watched Olalia’s emotionless face, then glanced over at Lei. “Anything?”

“I don’t think she can understand you,” Lei said. “She’s afraid. Wait! She remembers you and Jode from the dinner. I think she’s afraid that what happened to Jode will happen to you.”

Daine turned back to the girl. “What happened, Olalia? Who harmed our friend?”

“Daine?” Counselor Teral entered the room, leaning on a cane and holding a mug of tal in his hand. “What are you doing here? And Lei, yes? Is something wrong?”

Daine caught Lei’s eyes and flicked a glance at Olalia. Lei blinked once.

Daine walked over to Teral. “Councilor, last night my friend Jode was killed, and I believe Olalia knows who did it.”

Teral waved his hand dismissively. “Preposterous. Olalia couldn’t harm a soul. She-” He broke off, noticing the unconscious guard. “What is this?”

“We need to finish talking to her, Councilor. This mystery threatens us all. Including you.”

The old man glared at Daine. “You presume too much, Captain. Beating and questioning my servants. Leave now.”

“Teral, you need to listen to me. Something terrible is hidden in High Walls. Hugal and Monan were not what they seemed.”

“I have had enough of this, Captain!”

Olalia whimpered. Lei had been concealing the glowing crystal in her hand. She flung it away as hard as she could. “Lei, what-?”

“Daine, it’s him.”

Daine looked at Teral. The councilor laughed. “I see. You were watching Olalia’s thoughts while you talked to me. Oh, very good.”

Daine’s sword was in his hand in an instant, the point leveled at Teral’s throat. “What are you talking about?”

Lei winced and clutched her head, as if the visions she’d drawn from Olalia’s mind was causing her pain. “Inside … it’s inside.”

“I hope you don’t mind, Daine,” Teral said, his voice growing colder. “But I’ve just invited a few friends to join us.”

Hugal emerged from the rear of the tent. Two more people walked through the front flap-a young boy with a feral expression and a middle-aged man whose left arm had been severed at the elbow.

“If they come any closer, you’ll be dead,” Daine warned. He flicked the point of his sword across the old man’s throat, drawing a spot of blood. Across the room, Lei drew her dagger and set her back against the wall of the tent. Her face twisted in a rictus of pain, but whatever was bother her, she seemed to be fighting it and winning.

“I think not,” said Teral.

There was a flash of movement, followed by a cold pain at Daine’s throat. He fell to the floor, every muscle refusing to respond. The councilor kicked his sword out of his hand.

“I’m so glad you left your warforged friend behind,” Teral said, retracting his long, barbed tongue. “He would have proved more difficult to deal with.” As he spoke, Daine saw that the puckered scar at his throat was opening. A layer of raw muscle oozed out of the wound, flowing over Teral’s flesh like a second skin. Within seconds Teral seemed to have doubled in mass. He threw aside his cane and turned to face Lei, glaring at her from eyes newly sunken in deep fleshy sockets. “Now, whatever shall we do about you?”

“I’m not afraid of you, monster,” Lei said. Her voice was calm, and she held her dagger in a throwing grip.

The young boy hissed, and in the instant Lei glanced at him Teral was in motion. His left arm whipped forward and a long tentacle of flesh lashed out of his sleeve, catching Lei’s wrist and jerking the dagger from her hand. A second later, he had his right hand around her throat.

“Lei …” Teral said, as she gasped for air. He studied the color of her hair and skin. “An artificer, it seems-and from Cyre.” Then he noticed the bare circle on her finger where her house signet had been. “Could it be?” He sniffed the air around her, like a hound searching for a scent. Finally he lifted her off the ground with one hand, turned her back toward him, and with his other hand he brushed aside her hair, revealing the tip of the Mark of Making rising above her collar.

Daine raged within, but he couldn’t move. He watched helplessly as Teral stabbed Lei with his venomous tongue and let her fall to the ground.

“Fortune shines on us again, my brothers,” Teral said, raising his bloody, pulsing arms above his head. “Another true mark is ours for the taking. The call has gone out. The master awaits. Hugal, take her below.”

“And this one?” Long claws had sprouted from the boy’s right hand, and he ran these talons along Daine’s throat.

“Take him as well. Why waste blood and brain? One way or the other, he will serve our master.”

Загрузка...