Well of the Damned

Chapter 38





Uncaring about the rain tapping his head, Gavin stormed towards the stable, with Daia and Brawna following behind. Gavin grabbed Golam’s reins, mounted and started off, with the others scrambling to catch up.

“If we hurry to the market,” Daia said, catching up to him on her horse, “perhaps you can find Cirang before Queen Feanna even arrives.”

He nodded, having already formed the same plan. It gave him comfort to know Daia understood him well enough to anticipate his thoughts, his plans, even his words. Should have married her instead, he thought angrily.

“Rikard,” he yelled as he approached the gate. “That woman who left the message. She’s a traitor, murderer and thief and needs to be brought to justice. I need whatever armsmen you can spare to search the city and apprehend her.”

Rikard’s jaw dropped open. “But she was wearing your colors, my liege.”

“She murdered a true First Royal Guard and stole that armor. Arm your men with a description of her and send as many as you can.”

“Yes, sire. Most of us are preparing for the queen’s outing, but I’ll awaken those who guard at night. Oh, and sire? You asked whether—”

Calinor rode up on the white mare and reined in.

“Ho there,” Rikard said, holding his sword to block Calinor’s approach. “Move back.”

“He’s with me,” Gavin said. “Treat him as you would a First Royal Guard.”

“Oh. Yes, sire. You asked whether that woman has come to see the queen — and she hasn’t — but someone else has. I thought you should know, in case—

Gavin cocked his head. “Who?”

“Two women. Twins. They didn’t say their names, and so we refused to request an audience with her on their behalf.”

Alarm made him stiffen. They must have been the twins Adro had seen wandering in the palace. “What did they look like?” Gavin didn’t know what business those women would have with the queen, but their business with her was also their business with him.

“They were more erstwhile ladies with gray in their black hair. Blue eyes, angular faces. Nicely dressed but not wealthy. They arrived on foot, as near as I could tell, but I didn’t actually see them approach.”

“How was their demeanor? Angry? Friendly?”

Rikard looked into the distance for a moment. “I’d say more cool than friendly, but not angry. No more so than some of the merchants or department directors who come to meet with the lordover.”

“I want to know what business they have with my wife,” Gavin said. “If they return, detain them, but be cautious. At least one of them might have some skill with magic.”

“Yes, sire.”

Outside the guarded gate, they were met by the throng of eager citizens, now crowded around. Though he understood their excitement at seeing the first king in more than two hundred years, Gavin’s mood was already soured. He had neither the time nor the patience to deal with them but didn’t want to leave them with a poor impression of him.

“Make way,” Daia shouted, taking the lead. She parted the crowd for him.

He held his left hand out and downward as he followed, letting the people touch him as he passed. A few tried to grab his hand, perhaps to shake it, but Golam moved steadily forward, ripping his hand from those tenuous grasps. At last, the crowd thinned, and the horses broke into a trot on Daia’s lead.

“Calinor says we should take Brewer Street to Worsted,” Brawna said from behind him. “The lordover’s guard told him they cleared that route so Queen Feanna’s carriage can get to the orphanage with the fewest delays.”

Gavin turned in his saddle and grinned. “Good idea.” The crowd had fallen behind, and most had given up the chase, though the people on the street ahead were beginning to notice his presence. They turned onto Brewer and met three soldiers blocking the road.

“The street’s closed,” one of them said.

The other two gaped at him. “K-King Gavin?” one said, a young man about Brawna’s age with a wide-eyed, slack-jawed gape.

“The same,” Gavin said. “Let us pass.”

At that, they snapped to attention and saluted, flattened right hand against the chest, before stepping aside for him.

“Begging your pardon, Your Majesty,” said the first one. “I didn’t recognize you.”

“You won’t make that mistake twice,” Gavin said with a grin as he rode by. The street ahead was lined primarily with houses, with no one on the street. Behind him, two of the soldiers teased the other for forbidding the king’s passage. “Let’s stop a minute to check Cirang’s location.” He hadn’t yet mastered using his hidden eye while also doing something else, even something as natural to him as riding his warhorse, and doing so would have been like riding blind.

He sent his hidden eye up over the tops of the buildings. Below, he saw his own haze and those of his party. He continued searching towards the crowd gathered to await Feanna’s arrival. All the hazes were normal human hazes of white, yellow and blue. He expanded his search and found Cirang’s dark haze in the western part of the city, away from both the orphanage and the shops where the people gathered. Cirang wasn’t moving. In fact, she was in a building, and judging from the stillness of her haze, he would swear she was asleep.

He released the hidden eye and nudged Golam forward again. “She’s on the west side o’town.”

“Leavin’ the city?” Calinor asked.

“No, stopped. Maybe at an inn.”

“Wouldn’t it be odd if she was at the same inn where you and I first met?” Daia asked.

He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. I’m certain of it.”

“Seriously?”

“Maybe she’s resting now so she can travel at night,” Brawna said.

“She’s got to be exhausted,” Gavin said. They all were. He realized then they all looked as haggard as he felt.

“And she’s injured,” Daia added. “If not for the crowd following you everywhere, we could take her by surprise.”

“How about me and Brawna go to the inn while you go get your book?” Calinor whispered. “We don’t have to take her alive, right?”

He had a point. There was no need for all four of them to go, and the crowd following him would surely awaken Cirang and give her another chance to slip away. He hated leaving the responsibility to others, especially when it was just the two of them. Cirang had already taken Calinor by surprise once and nearly killed him, and Brawna was a less experienced and skilled battler than Cirang was. “You’re right. I’ll be in the way if I go, but take those three guards with you.” He tossed a thumb back over his left shoulder. “The innkeeper’s name is Trayev. Ask him if she’s there afore you break down the door.”

“Where should we meet you after we’re done?” Brawna asked.

“Good question. Guess that depends on when you’re done.”

Calinor grinned. “No reason to let her sleep. I’ll have the innkeeper pound on the door, sayin’ something’s wrong with her horse. When she comes out, she gets two swords in the ribs, one from each side.” He nodded at Brawna, and she smiled back at him.

Gavin clapped Calinor’s shoulder. “Then we’ll see you at the lordover’s for supper.”

“Be vigilant. She’s crafty,” Daia said.

“No one knows that better than I do,” Calinor whispered, pointing at his scarred throat.