Hemlock broke in before the two could begin to snarl at each other.
“Jala will be leaving Merro soon. She didn’t say as much, but she seemed very concerned with the news brought to her regarding Seravae. I don’t think Jail expected her reaction on the matter. He seemed distressed that she hinted at leaving Merro,” Ander continued. “Avanti is still harassing her northern borders, though from what the scouts are saying, it isn’t military harassment, so Truce isn’t involved. She didn’t seem overly concerned with it and brushed it off. Her main focus was on the girl, even while listening to the reports her gaze kept shifting to watch the siphon. Perhaps she is training a weapon. The girl did seem to have a talent for draining life. That’s unusual for a Siphon, isn’t it? I thought they just drained magic,” Ander finished, his pale eyes moving to watch Hemlock.
“We should bring her to our side or kill her. A siphon that can kill with a touch isn’t something I want to have against me,” Niaha murmured and Hemlock briefly considered pushing her off the roof. One little nudge and the Bendazzi below would take care of one of his problems.
“Niaha, go mix yourself in among the traders. Spend the day there and find the knight this evening. Get what information you can from him or anyone else that you deem as useful. Do not kill, maim, or destroy unless you get word from me,” Hemlock ordered quietly. His mind was churning with a thousand different things and he didn’t need her sitting behind him whispering for death. Things weren’t right here and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but if people started dying he never would. Jala wasn’t stupid. If her friends died, she would find who killed them. “Anything else?” he asked Ander as Niaha left the roof.
“More political crap that we already know,” Ander replied with a shrug then a brief flash of uncertainty crossed his face.
“What?” Hemlock demanded softly. There was movement below him and it was more than just the child playing with the Bendazzi. His gaze focused on the newest arrival and he frowned. Neph. He had been wondering where the mage was hiding. Rumors in Sanctuary had reported him to be in Merro, but this was the first glimpse Hemlock had of him.
“Well, I’m not sure if it’s important, but the girl seemed to grow excited when she spotted a crow. Maybe a Shifter from Glis?” Ander replied with obvious hesitation.
Hemlock froze in place and slowly turned to look at Ander. He was young and only a half-blood so it was doubtful that anyone had ever told him of history. By his look of confusion and his hesitation it was clear that he had no idea how useful that information was. Ander was usually confident in everything, and it almost made Hemlock smile to see him so uncertain now. It simply proved that his underlings were still terrified of him. It was nice to know the young half-blood was frightened at the thought of wasting his time. The news was hardly a waste of his time, though. If Seth was involved here, things were a lot more dangerous than he had first thought. “Perhaps,” Hemlock murmured. He had no intention of letting Ander know what he had discovered. Let the boy believe it was something as petty as a mere Shifter.
The quiet conversation below had died down and Hemlock sighed silently. He hadn’t managed to catch a word of what Neph said. His mind had been too preoccupied with the thought of Seth lurking somewhere nearby. There were few things that concerned him in this world, but Seth was one of them. The demon had too many reasons to want him dead, and he had no intention of giving him the opportunity to try to kill him.
“Let me get Sovann and we will meet you at Jala’s,” Wisp’s voice called loudly below him and Hemlock turned his attention back to the present.
“Can you soulride her, Ander?” Hemlock asked softly as he watched the Fae disappear back into the house with Legacy. “Easily,” Ander replied with his typical confidence.
“Do so. I want to know what is so important that Neph himself came to speak with Wisp rather than using magic to summon her,”
Hemlock whispered. He glanced around the area once more, carefully scanning the tree tops. “I will meet you in town at the bar by the front gates later tonight. You can report to me there.”
“As you say.” Ander bowed his head respectfully as he spoke. Leaning back farther into the shadows by the chimney, the half-blood relaxed. A faint trail of fog rose from his mouth as his eyes closed. With luck, Wisp wasn’t familiar enough with the Soulreaver talents to detect him, and from the information they had gathered earlier, Ash was still north in the Greenwild. Hemlock doubted Jala would think to inspect her friends with all of the distractions she had, but if she did Ander was expendable.
*
“Jala, please calm down and sit so we can talk about this.” Jail’s voice rose above the rest and Zoelyn could hear the tension in his voice. It wasn’t often that Jail visited from Sanctuary, but every time he had before, he had seemed calm and in control. Today he looked exhausted and almost desperate.
“She is too frantic right now to listen. I think she must have had a full jug of stupid with breakfast this morning,” Neph snarled as Jala moved past him once more.
Zoelyn moved farther back into a corner and watched as the High Lady snatched a piece of armor from the table and began buckling it on her wrist. Valor leaned against the wall behind her, already armored in his plate mail, with a guarded look on his face. If he had any objections to the discussion, he had apparently already voiced them.
“How can we do anything to help them, Jala?” Wisp asked as she quickly stepped out of Jala’s way. The Fae was watching everyone in the room with open curiosity on her face and didn’t seem nearly as alarmed as Jail and Neph.