Pendant of Fortune (59 page)

The King stepped down as well, beaming, and joined Tish and Volle briefly. Tish bowed his head. “Your Majesty never ceases to amaze me.”

“
On the contrary,” Barris laughed. “You amazed us today. And everyone else, we dare say.”

Tish’s ears flicked. “I was as surprised as you were, I assure you. But your Majesty has shown excellent judgment here today.”

“
We hate to lose a good servant, and we hate to pass up the opportunity to welcome a new one.” Barris laid a heavy paw on Volle’s shoulder. “We believe in Lord Vinton, here. He won’t let us down.”

“
No, I don’t believe he will.” Tish smiled.

“
Please excuse me now,” King Barris said, stepping back. “Well done, Lord Vinton.”

“
Thank you, your Majesty,” Volle replied, bowing as the King wandered off to mingle with some other nobles.

“
They’re going to be serving lunch over in the banquet hall,” Tish said. “Will you join us?”

“
I think I’ll wait here and see if Streak turns up,” Volle said. He was hungry, but already he was starting to worry, remembering the last time the wolf had disappeared. “Maybe I’ll go look for him…but I don’t want to miss him in the hallways if he comes back a different way.”

“
He’s probably worried about having to testify against you,” Tika said. “He’ll be all right.”

Lord Whassel, a beaver, was talking to Lord and Lady Quirn. As they drew closer to Volle, the beaver pitched his high voice so that the fox and wolves could hear him. “…don’t know what the King could have been thinking, when there are at least three bears waiting for a peerage. What about Funia, your friend?”

Quirn shook his head, without looking at Volle. “Regrettable,” he said in a deep bass voice. “But we must resign ourselves…” They passed on by and out of the room.

Volle looked darkly at their backs. Tish put a paw on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. There is only so much they can do.”

“
Oh, Volle!” Ilyana had made her way forward and now threw her arms around him. “I can’t believe it!”

Volyan hugged his leg at the same time, saying, “Hi, Daddy! Hi, Daddy!”

Volle smiled and nuzzled Ilyana, patting Volyan on the ears. “It’s going to be okay,” he said. “In a couple days, you and I will be leaving for the palace. Are you excited?”

“
Yeah!” Volyan’s tail wagged back and forth. “Can Mommy come?”

“
I’ve told you I can’t, Voly.” Ilyana smiled. “But you’ll be able to come see me.”

“
You’ll be so busy,” Volle said. “You’re going to have a lot of fun.”

“
With Daddy Streak?”

“
Yeah…” Volle looked around the room, but the white wolf was still nowhere to be seen.

“
Mommy,” Volyan said, bored as soon as the focus of attention was away from him, “I’m hungry.”

“
Go ahead and eat,” Volle said. “I’ll be along soon.”

“
All right. Congratulations again,” Ilyana said, though her smile was much more relieved than excited. She took Volyan’s paw and followed Tish and Tika out of the room.

Much of the crowd was leaving with them. Helfer stuck by Volle and said, “Want me to go look for him? Or wait here while you go?”

Volle shook his head. “No, I’m sure he’s fine. He had a lot to think about. Maybe he just wanted to take a little time.” The wolf had certainly been eager to go with the rabbit. Volle started to wonder if he’d taken that opportunity to just slip away, so that Volle wouldn’t be burdened with the decision. He hoped not.

“
All right. Then I’m going to eat too. Hi, Archie.” Helfer grinned as the other weasel walked up.

“
My Lords.” Archie emphasized the plural, smiling broadly, and bowed. “Congratulations, Lord Vinton, you seem to have come out on top.”

Volle waved to Helfer, who padded quickly to the door in search of lunch. “Thank you. Well, you made it all possible, you know. If you hadn’t been outside that tower at just the right time to see Dereath…”

Archie looked down. “You know, sometimes you gotta make your own luck,” he said indistinctly.

“
What do you mean?”

The weasel looked around, then stepped a bit closer to Volle. Volle saw Forrin step forward alertly, and he waved the wolf back. “Well,” Archie said, “I figured we knew he did it, and if I had been there a few minutes earlier I would’ve seen him. And I knew they wouldn’t convict him without an eyewitness.”

“
You…you lied?”

“
Shhh! In a manner of speaking. You know, got to do what you got to do to make sure the criminal is punished.”

“
Does Captain Nero know?”

“
Not yet. I’ll tell him.”

“
He’ll be upset.”

Archie tilted his muzzle challengingly. “I’m not afraid of him.”

“
I am.” Volle barely heard his own words. Archie had reminded him of something.

You’re not afraid, are you?

He heard his dream, and then he heard the large wolf’s voice in his memory again.

There was no scent of fear on her body.

Nero’s words. About the mouse, but Volle realized with a chill that Nero had wanted to examine the guard’s body and hadn’t. And he, Volle, had been right up next to the guard’s body moments after death and there had been no residue of fear on it.

But the guards had been afraid of Dereath.

And Archie had lied.

Archie was saying something, but Volle’s ears were filled with a rushing noise and he couldn’t hear it.

You’re not afraid, are you?

Dereath hadn’t killed the guard. And there was only one other person who possibly could have, however he might have managed it, only one other person who had access to the knife and Volle’s scent, who was so mild and weak-looking that no palace guard could possibly be afraid of him.

The person who was the last person he’d seen with Streak. Who was still not back.

He left Archie in mid-sentence and bolted for the door.

Forrin chased him; he heard the wolf behind him yelling for him to stop and wait. And he told himself that it didn’t matter now, that if something had happened to Streak it was long over and there would be nothing he could do about it, but he couldn’t slow his paws down. He took the stairs two at a time, dodging past surprised nobles and servants in the corridors until he stood outside Dereath’s chambers.

He could smell Streak, faintly, a trace that had passed by here an hour or more ago. He paused to listen, and that pause allowed Forrin to turn the corner and spot him. “Lord Vinton,” the guard bellowed. “What are you doing?”

Volle pointed at the door and then, because the guard’s shouting had ruined whatever advantage of surprise he might have possessed, he opened it and stepped inside.

“
Close the door, fox, if you would.” The rabbit’s high-pitched tone was considerably harsher now, more sinister. He stood easily beside a chair near the bedroom door, holding a knife to the throat of a securely bound Streak. The wolf’s muzzle was tied shut, but his blue eyes widened at the sight of Volle. He made muffled noises and gestured with his muzzle for Volle to run.

“
If you leave, I’ll slit his throat. Just step in and close the door.”

Forrin had stepped in behind Volle, and the rabbit’s eyes flicked up to take him in. “Close the door
now
.”

Volle jumped to comply. He heard other footsteps in the corridor as he closed the door.

“
Lock it,” the rabbit said.

The key was in the keyhole. Volle turned it and heard a loud click.

“
That’s good. Now we’re all nice and comfortable—get back.” Forrin had taken a step toward the rabbit. “Step off the edge of that rug and I kill him.”

“
You’re still working for Dereath.” Volle couldn’t keep the growl out of his voice.

“
In a manner of speaking.” The rabbit laughed. “Killing you will establish that he wasn’t the murderer, which will get him out of prison, and then he’ll come find me—I’ll have disappeared from here, of course.”

“
You could have killed me before this,” Volle said. “Why wait?”

“
He had other plans for you then. That didn’t work out. So I figured I’d step in. I’m not much good at planning, but I am good at killing. I did that whore, and the over-muscled idiot, and you shouldn’t be much more trouble. Don’t worry,” he added. “If you play nice, I’ll leave your two friends alive. I only need to kill one of you.”

“
The corridor outside is full of people. Do you really think you’ll get away?” The door handle was being pushed from the other side, but the lock held.

“
There aren’t that many people. But I will have to be quick. Here.” With his free paw, he tossed Volle a length of rope that was on the side table. “Take your guard’s sword and throw it behind you, then tie his paws behind his back.”

Forrin growled, but Volle put a paw on his arm. “Forrin. It’s okay. I don’t want to risk Streak’s life.”

Streak protested loudly at that, trying to shake his head. He pushed forward against the knife, but the rabbit slid it easily away. “No, no,” he said, “as long as you’re alive, the fox will do just what I say.”

Volle pulled Forrin’s sword free and threw it behind them. “Kneel down. Please, Forrin.”

With another growl, the guard knelt, and placed his paws behind his back. Volle tried to tie the rope lightly, but the rabbit noticed. “Tightly! That’s better. Now, fox, come over here and lie down on your stomach. I’ll make it quick, I promise.”

Streak’s protests grew louder. He tried to rock himself from side to side, but the chair was heavy and solid. Volle shook his head and mouthed, “I’m sorry,” to him. He didn’t know what he was going to do. He didn’t want to die, but he couldn’t stand here and watch Streak be killed. A low ‘whuff’ noise sounded near his waist, and he looked down at Forrin.

The wolf was gesturing very slightly with his muzzle to the wall. Volle couldn’t see anything there. He looked back to make sure he was reading the sign right, and he was. He started to walk in that direction, hoping he would figure out what the wolf meant.

To his left, Streak was almost crying through his gag. The rabbit watched as Volle moved to his right, pretending to look for a large patch of floor on which to lie down. It came to him as he was right by the wall—Forrin wanted the rabbit to be distracted between himself and Streak, and to have to turn his back to the guard.

“
Hurry up,” the rabbit snapped as Volle took his time. “I won’t kill him, but I can hurt him if you take too long.”

“
All right, all right.” The knife gleamed in the light of the room. Volle moved back to the wall and got down on his paws and knees. He was sure the fear was coming off him in waves; he could smell it even more strongly than he could Streak’s.

“
All the way down!”

Trembling, he lowered himself to the ground. His ears remained pricked. If he stayed alert, he could hear the rabbit’s movements and maybe block them or anticipate them.

There was a smooth ripple of air past his whiskers; the rabbit had turned away from Streak. Volle tensed himself, knowing he didn’t have much chance against a trained killer, praying to Fox that Forrin had a better plan.

A cloth fell on his head, blocking his sight and filling his nostrils with the dusty smell of old linen. He moved instinctively to take it off, then stopped. He only had precious seconds, and any noise he made might cover the minute indications that could save his life, or at least prolong it.

He felt the rush of movement behind him, heard Forrin’s roar and the rabbit’s choked-off cry, and then both bodies landed heavily beside him and the rabbit’s voice was raised in a shrill and horrible scream. It went on and on, and then it choked off in a crunch, gurgle and silence that was somehow worse than the scream itself. The smell of blood hit Volle full force, making him gag. Only then did he realize he was still lying down.

He tore the cloth from his head, scrambled to his feet and looked first at Streak. The wolf was staring wide-eyed at the floor, so Volle followed his gaze down. Forrin’s jaws were bloody, his eyes were wide, and his chest was heaving. There was a tear in his uniform and blood on it, but Volle didn’t think that was what was causing his distress. Beside him, the rabbit lay on his back, eyes glazed, blood still pumping out of the ruin of his neck and shoulder. Bits of cloth, fur, and bone dotted the gaping red wound that stretched from under his chin to his right upper arm.