“… the viper waits, mia…”
She glanced to the mekwerk control on the wall, pondering how it worked. On unsteady legs, she stole out through the keep, into the shadows of the verandah. Fang was sitting beneath a table, watching with curious eyes. As Mister Kindly and Eclipse flitted past, the dog’s hackles rose. Mia offered her hand to calm the mastiff, but with a low whimper, Fang scampered away.
“… dogs are fools…”
“… SAYS THE FOOL WHO GOT LOST ON THE WAY UP HERE…”
“… i was not lost, dear mongrel, i was exploring…”
“… IT IS AN ENORMOUS KEEP ATOP A CLIFF OVERLOOKING THE WHOLE CITY, HOW DO—…”
“Hsst,” Mia hissed, ducking into an alcove. Swift footsteps marked the approach of the magistrae, a serving girl in tow. The pair were in deep discussion about travel arrangements to Stormwatch, the girl marking notes in a wax ledger. Mia waited ’til the pair were out of sight, slowly crept along the corridor to the front doors, open wide to cool sea breeze. Squinting against the sunslight, she peered out at the high keep walls, red stone against a sky of burning blue.
Gathering handfuls of shadows, Mia draped them about her shoulders. Her fingers were a little clumsy from the drink, but finally all the world was shrouded in muzzy black and muffled white, and she was almost as blind as the turn she was born. With soft whispers, her two passengers guided her through the courtyard, past the patrolling guards and into a shadowed alcove just beside the main gates. And from there, she closed her eyes
and Stepped
into the
shadow
across
the road.
Mia fell to her knees, clutching her belly and fighting the urge to vomit with all she had. After a few minutes in the dirt, she caught her breath, wiping tears from her eyes.
“… are you well…?”
“Next silly question, please,” she whispered.
“… WE DO NOT HAVE TO SEE HER NOW…”
“No, we should. But we can’t be gone too long. They don’t rouse us ’til early morn, but if they somehow miss me in the nevernight…”
“… THE WINE WILL KEEP YOUR CELLMATE DREAMING ’TIL THEN…”
“Still, we need to be swift.”
“… it is not far…”
She rose on shaking legs and staggered along the dusty road, winding down the sheer hill upon which Crow’s Nest stood. Mia didn’t need Mister Kindly or Eclipse as much out here—she knew the road well enough to walk it blind. But she didn’t dare risk casting off her shadow cloak just yet. She was still clad as a gladiatii, and the twin circles branded on her cheek marked her as property. Though masters might often walk in the company of armed warrior slaves, it would be a rarity to see one wandering alone. Best to remain hidden, and avoid questions entirely.
Mia could hear the sea to the south, the ringing of port bells below, smell the familiar scents of the town in the keep’s shadow. Known as Crow’s Rest, it was home to three or four thousand—a bustling trade port that had sprung up under the keep’s protection. The buildings were red stone and white plaster, crammed together on the steep hillsides leaning down to the water. The air rang with the song of gulls.
Her passengers led her into the tangled warren of dockside. She threw off her cloak here, stole down twisted alleys, ripe with garbage and salt air. They arrived at a small alehouse, Mister Kindly nodding to the guest rooms above.
“… second floor, third window…”
Mia glanced about to ensure all was clear, and began to climb. She reached the second-floor terraces, slipped over the iron railing, rapped once upon the glass.
The window opened and she stole inside, quiet as whispers.
Mia’s eyes took a moment to adjust after the sunslight outside. But finally she saw a figure dropping herself into an old divan, stretching long legs out before her. She was dressed in black, leather britches and a short leather corset, a long-sleeved shirt of dark silk beneath. She’d dyed her hair to cover the telltale blond, now as bloody-red as Jessamine’s had been. But there was no mistaking those eyes.
The girl leaned back in her chair, looked Mia up and down.
“Hello, beautiful,” she smiled.
“Hello, Ashlinn,” Mia replied.
BOOK 2
BLOOD AND GLORY
CHAPTER 13
EGRESS
Clove-scented smoke curled in the sea air, slipping out in thin trails from Mia’s nostrils. She dragged the last breath from the cigarillo, crushed the life out of it against the wall and breathed a contented sigh.
“’Byss and blood, I needed that.”
“I knew you’d be missing them.”
Ash smiled, dragged a lock of blood-red behind her ear. She’d dyed it for subterfuge—if by some horrid stroke of fate, someone from the Church saw her and Mia together at a distance, Ash might be able to pass for Jessamine. It was a thin ruse, but as Mister Kindly was so fond of telling Mia, this whole game was so thin it was practically translucent.
Still, Mia inclined her head in thanks, and closing her eyes, she leaned back against the old leather couch, listening to the tobacco buzz in her blood.
“It’s good to see you again,” Ash said.
Mia opened her eyes, staring at Ash through her lashes. Mister Kindly hopped up onto the lounge, tail draped over Mia’s shoulder. Eclipse wrapped herself around Mia’s waist, head in her lap. Neither of her passengers trusted Ashlinn, and even after setting all this in motion together, Mia couldn’t bring herself to either. Ash killed Jess. She’d killed Tric. Killed anyone who stood in the way of her revenge.
Is she so different from you?
She’d not given the Luminatii the location of Mercurio’s shop, after all …
Ashlinn peered at the rags Mia was clad in.
“Nice to see you dressed up for the occasion.”
“Take you much trouble to get here?” Mia asked.
Ash shook her head. “Mister Grumpy found us quick enough.”
Eclipse’s laughter came from beneath the floor. Mister Kindly tilted his head at Ashlinn and whispered with a voice like smoke.
“… insolence…”
Ashlinn smirked at the shadowcat, slipped a dagger from her belt, and skewered an apple from the bowl of fruit on the table beside her. With a deft flick of her wrist, she tossed it into Mia’s outstretched hand.
“We waited at Whitekeep as planned,” Ash said. “Once Leonides arrived and you weren’t among his purchases, I knew something had gone balls up. Though I didn’t imagine jewels were facing so proudly skyward until Mister Smart-arse found us.”
“… stop that…”
“… NO, DO CONTINUE, PLEASE…”
Ash ignored the shadows, instead quirked an eyebrow at Mia. The girl took a noisy bite out of her apple, chewing for a good while before she answered.
“I admit, the plan has suffered a few … setbacks.”