Raging Sea and Trembling Earth: Disciples of the Horned One Volume Two (Soul Force Saga Book 2) (21 page)

A
lden soared
into the air and Imogen followed. “You didn’t get an address,” she said.

“No need.” Alden turned toward the city center. “I’ve eaten there a few times. They make the best venison stew I’ve ever tasted.”

“You never mentioned it.”

After a thirty-second flight Alden descended. “We don’t generally talk about anything besides work. I didn’t even know you liked venison stew.”

“I don’t. I find it gamey and tough.”

They landed in front of the inn. It had escaped the worst of the quake. The only visible damage beyond the windows was that the front steps had separated from the building and the stag-shaped sign had fallen to the ground.

Alden led the way up to the landing. They’d barely stepped through the door when someone screamed on the second floor. Alden ran for the stairs.

At the top they found a girl in a white uniform standing in an open doorway, her hand to her mouth and her body trembling. Alden gently guided her to one side.

Lying on the bed was a body. Female, dark hair. He had a sick feeling they’d found Carmen. He gently shook the servant girl until she looked at him. “Please wait downstairs. We need to have a look around the room. Don’t go too far, we might have questions.”

She nodded and rushed away. Alden went to the body while Imogen scanned for signs of corruption. Carmen—Alden planned to operate under the assumption that it was her body—had bruises on her neck from someone’s hands. There was a patch of blood on the headboard where her skull bounced off it.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened here. Carmen came running to Jonny for help and he strangled her before fleeing the scene.

“The room’s clean.” Imogen frowned at the dead girl. “If she had the urn with her it never came out of whatever’s hiding its corruption. Is it Carmen?”

Alden shrugged. “I assume so. She fits the description at least. I’ve never met the woman so I can’t say for certain. Let’s poke around a little more then go talk to the staff. Maybe one of them can identify her.”

Half an hour later they left the room no more enlightened than when they started. Someone, Jonny most likely, had cleaned the place out. There wasn’t so much as a scrap of cloth in the closet or bureau.

Downstairs the second-fattest woman Alden had ever seen was pacing the dining room floor, her three chins jiggling with every step. The moment she spotted them the woman stomped over. “When can you get that body out of here? We’re planning to open soon.”

Her concern touched Alden’s heart. “We’ll move it as soon as we can, Miss…?”

“Stoltz, Miranda Stoltz. I own this place.”

“Who rented that room?” Imogen asked.

“Jonny ‘I’ll fuck anything with a pulse’ Linn. The son of a bitch is a day late on his rent and he knocked up three of my girls in the last two months. Now he leaves a dead body for me to clean up. If you see him tell him he can find a new place to play with his whores.”

“Can you identify the body for us?” Alden asked.

The girl from upstairs raised a trembling hand. Alden offered a hopefully reassuring smile. “Do you know her, sweetheart?”

“Yes, sir. It’s Carmen. She was Jonny’s favorite. He brought her in a couple times a week.”

Miranda laughed. “That asshole's favorite was whoever he could convince to spread her legs that night.”

The girl blushed and looked away.

Maybe the maid had filled in when Carmen wasn’t available. “Do you have any idea where Jonny might go if he was in trouble?” Alden asked.

“No, sir. We didn’t really talk.”

“When did he leave?” Imogen matched Miranda glare for glare.

“About an hour ago. One of the other guests complained about the noise. Jonny and his slut were more enthusiastic than usual this morning. Really knocking the old headboard.”

“Actually that was him beating her unconscious while he strangled her to death,” Alden said.

The maid let out a squeak and dashed for the kitchen. He winced. The girl was upset enough. He should have been more careful.

“Whatever.”

“Alright. We’ll send someone by to collect the body.”

“Tell them it’ll be in the alley. I won’t have that bitch’s corpse stinking up my place.”

“What a charming woman,” Alden said when they’d left the Stag behind.

Imogen grunted. “What now? We’re about out of places to look.”

“Where’s the nearest gate?”

“Why? They’re all sealed.”

Alden turned toward the north gate, he was pretty sure it was the closest. “You don’t suppose he’d be arrogant enough to think he could talk his way out? One guard helping another?”

They raced into the air. It was a twenty-minute walk, but they could fly it in a few seconds.

F
our guards
in blue and silver tabards leaned against the city wall beside the closed portcullis, their spears propped up beside them. They passed a flask between them and one laughed. They were the absolute picture of camaraderie and good cheer. What they weren’t the picture of was alert guardsmen on the watch for trouble.

Imogen landed a little ahead of him and strode toward the guards, a second quake on legs. They scrambled to straighten up and hide the flask. The oldest of the bunch, a bearded fellow with a copper sergeant’s shield pinned to his chest, moved to intercept her.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” he asked.

She turned her piercing gaze on the sergeant, pinning him in place. “Is this how you man your posts when your king orders the city sealed? You stand around drinking?”

While Imogen questioned the sergeant Alden put a block in his head to keep him from lying. It would be interesting to discover what excuses he came up with limited to the truth.

“It’s been quiet. Been quiet all night. Couldn’t see any harm in having a nip to take the chill off.”

“You couldn’t see any harm, could you?” Imogen levitated a foot off the ground glowering down at the sweating man. “I should take your shield for such dereliction during a city-wide emergency.”

“No need to get all riled up—”

One of the guardsmen groaned and collapsed flat on his face.

“Jenson!” another man said a moment before he shuddered and collapsed beside his friend.

Alden pointed at the sergeant. “Check him.”

He went to the still-standing guard and sent a stream of soul force into him. It took only a moment to find the poison gnawing at the guard’s brain. Alden neutralized it and repaired the damage. The man still looked unsteady so Alden helped him sit.

A thump drew Alden’s gaze back to Imogen. The sergeant had plopped down in the dirt, his eyes half closed, a trickle of drool running down his chin. Alden fished the flask out of one of the unconscious men’s pockets and scanned it.

“What did you find?” Imogen asked.

“Poison. How much you want to bet it’s the same stuff they used on us?”

“No bet. Looks like you were right about Jonny stopping for a visit. I bet he’s close.”

“Yeah, probably watching us right now.” Alden glanced at the buildings across the street. He didn’t see or sense anything. Assuming Jonny had seen them he’d probably run for it. The sergeant groaned, tried to stand up, and failed.

“You talk to him,” Imogen said. “I’ll see if I can spot Jonny.”

She shot straight up a hundred yards leaving Alden to deal with the guards. He sent his partner a silent, insincere thank you and turned his attention to the semi-coherent guard sergeant.

“So what happened?”

“Me and the boys were talking, trying to figure why the king would order the gates sealed when up strolls Jonny Linn, just as big as life, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Jonny says he needs to slip out for a little while and that he’ll be right back. I told him the gates were sealed, no one in, no one out. He puts on this big cock-and-bull story about how no one will ever know. I told him orders were orders. He shrugged, told us to forget about it, and gave us that flask of whiskey. Shit-bird tried to poison us, didn’t he?”

“Actually he succeeded in poisoning you.” The sergeant’s eyes about bugged out of his head. Alden pitied him for half a second. “Don’t worry, it isn’t fatal, though you guys will all have a nasty headache for the rest of the day.”

The sergeant grunted and rubbed his forehead. “Any more good news?”

“Well, you’re not going to be hung for treason because you let a traitor to the crown escape. By the way, did he have anything with him?”

“Just his gear and this strange-looking satchel.”

“Strange how?”

“It had a bunch of weird designs all over it. Never seen nothing like it.”

That had to be where he was keeping the urn. “Okay. We’ll get a replacement squad out here as soon as we can.”

Alden flew up beside Imogen. “See anything?”

“Lots of damaged buildings and even more people out digging through the rubble. He could be hiding anywhere in all this.”

“He’s got a rune-marked satchel with him. That must be what’s hiding the urn’s corruption. We need to get the word out to everyone, guards and regular people both, to be looking for Jonny and that satchel. He’s out of places to run. All he can do now is hide. It’s only a matter of time before we find him.”

I
t was only
a matter of time before they found him. Jonny Linn carried a bucket filled with rubble away from a damaged meat market. He’d worked his way ten blocks southwest, helping for a minute here, five minutes there, trying to blend in. Plenty of other people filled the streets after the quake and the meager early morning light didn’t hurt his chances of escape. He’d lose that particular advantage in less than an hour.

Once the sun was up and those sorcerers put the word out about him Jonny was doomed. He’d been certain he could talk his way past Fat Garrik and his squad, but they were determined to follow orders. Straight-arrow pricks. He figured the last of his poison would do the trick that pretty words hadn’t, but those stupid legionnaires had showed up before it kicked in. Now he was well and truly screwed.

Stupid walls and guards! He knew people just ten miles south that could help him vanish. They wanted this…whatever it was in the satchel. If Jonny reached them he was set.

“Hey! Give us a hand here.” Two stout workers were trying to wrestle a timber off a groaning man’s leg and losing.

Jonny shrugged and adjusted his sword so the hilt was out of his way. Between the three of them they shifted the timber enough so the trapped man could drag himself clear. The man that had shouted gave Jonny’s hand a firm shake.

“Much obliged, pal. Wasn’t sure if we were going to move that beam or not.”

Jonny slipped into his hale-fellow-well-met routine. “Glad to help. What happened to you gents anyway?”

“Same thing that happens every day of my life: bad luck. We were on our way home from the carter’s shop near the south wall when we decided to stop for a drink. Wouldn’t you know, ten minutes later the thrice-damned tavern fell on us. Took hours to dig free. We were almost out when some timbers shifted and pinned Dad’s leg. Lucky you came by when you did, Guardsman.”

“Always glad to be of service. I’m on patrol, trying to make sure there aren’t any ways out of the capital. You know the king ordered the city sealed?”

“Really? Why?”

“I heard a prisoner escaped during the quake and they’re trying to keep him from getting away. You don’t know of any ways out of the city, do you?”

“Nope, can’t say as I do.”

The older man on the ground yanked his pant leg. Jonny looked down. “Yes, sir?”

“You might want to check some of the businesses bordering the wall. If they collapsed your man might climb the rubble to freedom.”

What an idiot! Jonny hadn’t even thought about going through one of the businesses near the wall. Most of them weren’t high enough, but several were three stories. If he could climb up on one of their roofs he might be able to jump it. It was certainly better than waiting around to get caught.

“I hadn’t considered that, sir. I’ll be certain to let my superiors know. And thank you for the suggestion.”

The old man puffed himself up. “Not at all. Always glad to help the guard.”

D
amien found
Jen and Leah in the throne room with the archmage. His sister carried Damien’s rucksack and she’d fitted his sword and dagger to the new harness Dad gave him. Leah and his master were talking about something, he couldn’t make out what from the door and they fell silent when he drew close.

He took the harness from Jen and buckled it on. Someone must have convinced Uncle Andy to go to bed as Dad and the king had both taken their leave.

“Everything sorted out, Damien?” the archmage asked.

“Yes, Master. They ran into an infestation of demon raccoons. The monsters had Alden and Imogen trapped in a protective bubble. I arrived in time, though from the way she acted I almost think Imogen would have preferred to take her chances with the raccoons. I’m pretty sure their aura was a match for the wolves.”

“That figures. Demon raccoons. Heaven’s mercy, what next?” His master sighed. “Imogen’s always been prickly. The important thing is they’re safe. No sign of the urn?”

“Not that I saw.”

“All right. It’s time you three were on your way. Keep in touch.”

“Understood.” Damien turned to Jen and Leah. “All set?”

Jen nodded. She had her bulging pack, sword, and new clothes. Leah spread her hands and smiled. “I have all I need.”

Apparently it wasn’t much. “Okay. Where are we headed? I can have us anywhere in the kingdom by sunset.”

“Oh no,” Leah said. “We can’t fly. If the guilty parties spot a sorcerer approaching they’ll know what the wise one has done. We have to sneak in.”

They didn’t have time to walk or ride and Damien didn’t feel like it anyway. “Can we at least fly partway then walk in?”

“I don’t know…” Leah frowned and looked away.

“How long did it take you to walk here?” Jen asked.

“Ten days.”

“Do you think we have ten days to spare getting back?” Jen raised an eyebrow.

“I take your point. I know a place where we can land. It’s two days from there to the grove.”

“That sounds like a fair compromise.” Damien led the way out of the throne room and toward the main gate. “Which way?”

“Northwest.”

Damien conjured a platform surrounded by a waist-high railing. When they’d all climbed aboard he surrounded it with an invisibility shield and shot into the air. The city blurred below them as they streaked through the pink and orange sky.

Jen stood beside him. “This is much faster than when we flew with Master Shen.”

“Too fast?”

“No. Did you think any more about what you’re going to tell Karrie?”

“No. The demon raccoons distracted me then Imogen insulting me left me too upset to think about it.”

Jen laughed. “All joking aside, you’re going to have to tell her something when we get back.”

Leah joined them at the front of the platform, sparing him from having to answer. Jen was right of course, he couldn’t leave Karrie hanging forever.

“So where do you want me to land?” he asked.

“There’s a mountain meadow halfway up the slope of an especially jagged peak at the edge of the Crescent Ridge Mountains. From there we can climb down to the lowlands. The grove is about ten miles into the Great Green.”

“Rough country,” Damien said. “No wonder it’ll take two days to walk.”

Leah brightened. “Are you familiar with the area?”

“I flew over it once. That probably doesn’t count.”

They reached the meadow a little after noon. Damien settled his transport, the dry meadow grass crunching under the platform. He scanned the area for anyone that might be watching, but sensed nothing beyond a few small animals. Content that they were alone he lowered the invisibility shield.

Leah set out downslope and to the east. She set a brisk pace and Damien found he had no breath for conversation. Damien had always considered himself to be in good condition, but compared to Leah he was way out of shape. He’d have to stop flying so much and run more.

Near dark they stopped in a clearing at the border of the Great Green. Towering oaks just starting to bud surrounded them. He slid down the trunk of the nearest tree and closed his eyes. Heaven’s mercy, if tomorrow was as bad as today he wasn’t going to be in any shape to fight anyone.

When he opened his eyes Jen was standing over him, her pack in her hand. “Unless you want a cold dinner you’re going to have to provide me with some heat.”

Damien groaned. All he wanted was sleep, but from his sister’s tone he knew she was hungry. Warlords burned a lot of energy, two or three times more than a regular person, and needed plenty of food to use their abilities at full strength.

He pointed at the center of the clearing and golden flames sprang to life. He set a trickle of soul force to maintain them and closed his eyes again. The scent of sizzling meat soon filled the air. Damien’s stomach grumbled and his mouth watered. He could sleep after dinner.

Damien glanced at Leah. The druid sat off by herself, her legs crossed, a faint, green glow surrounding her body. It didn’t come from within her, but rather from the ground.

“Is that glow the earth force you mentioned?”

She looked his way and smiled. “Yes. This is one of the sacred groves where initiates come to meditate. The Green Path runs strong in this place.”

“Weren’t you afraid one of your people might be here?”

“If someone was here I planned to introduce you as new members.”

“How come I can see the earth force around you? You said I was too bright and wouldn’t be able to spot it.”

“You can see it because I concentrated it and gathered it around my body. I haven’t slept in four days. The earth force sustains me and will allow me to continue moving until we reach the grove tomorrow.”

“What happens then?”

“I’ll enter a trance for a day or perhaps two where my body will rest and recover. We call it the little death as it appears those in the trance have stopped breathing. Rest assured I will be fine.”

Damien shook his head. It never ceased to amaze him how little he knew about the kingdom. The instant he imagined he knew what was going on he got hit over the head by druids and demon raccoons.

“Food’s ready.” Jen poured stew into three bowls, handed them out, and set to eating. Damien smiled and tore into a chunk of beef. At least he could count on Jen not changing.