by B B Reed
She stumbled and hazarded a glance up into the featureless chain coif hanging from a guard’s helmet. He muttered swear, glowering at Halena from behind his armored veil, “Damned spook. Watch where you’re going.”
“S-Sorry.” Halena stammered, but the watcher ignores her apology to resume his patrol. She forced her eyes on the road and keeps a mindful pace. Vaulted struts of the grand ramparts passed overhead in her trek and another lane stretched out underneath the high walls. A steady stream of people funneled in and out along this road, braziers lit along the stony supports to give the shadowed lane some light.
Halena set her jaw and joined the trickling flow of people into the murky light. Some stalls were haphazardly thrown together and piled with a wide array of items of questionable value. Those who paused to survey the wares of the seedy vendors were worse for wear, clothed in loose, dingy rags or wearing hoods to hide their dirty faces. Halena did not raise her eyes, fighting to keep the din of noise around her suppressed. All of the activity caused the needles in the back of her neck titter painfully.
“Oils to cure what ails you! Harvested from the sea snails of the Cabral Shores!” A rasping voice rattled, a wire-haired hag beckoning to Halena. An opening in the path to her right revealed itself and she followed it out of the darkened alley before more merchants could try hustling her. A plaza opened up before her, masses of people circulating around the colored awnings of market stalls. Unable to stop in the flowing current of people, she weaved around the circuit, stalls with baskets of vegetables and fruits passing her, bolts of brightly colored cloth, jars of murky preserves, and samples for skeptical patrons. Halena’s claustrophobia thinned the air, hampering her search for promising stalls. Dark, hissing growls rang between her ears.
So many hearts, so much life! Let me have fun with them, frail flesh. Only a few minutes would be enough! I want to hear what noises they can make!
Halena let out a terse shush through her teeth, gritting them together as she suppressed the ghostly ringing. A cheese monger’s stall revealed itself as a small group of people migrate away and she cut to the counter. The storm in her thoughts would not quiet, and she clenched her eyes shut to force him away.
Just a taste, my dear. If I won’t be fed, I will have some control. Allow me to babble to the others like gentle babes, let me toy with those skittish mice!
“Move along if you’re not buying! You’re scaring my customers!” The cheese monger barked at Halena, jarring her from her mental struggle.
She cleared her throat and reached into her bag for her coin purse, “Two wedges, your cheapest, please!”
The monger grunted, “Twelve marks.” He turned away to make Halena’s cuts, wrapping them in brown paper and tied the package together. Payment is exchanged and she quickly excused herself back to the flow of customers around the market.
“Please, just a little longer…” She pleaded under her breath, hopeful that her traveler would listen. Echoing laughter in her thoughts were the only response she got, making her head burn with fever.
What’s the matter? Are you afraid of introducing your best friend to the lovely denizens around you? I wonder how hard those Watchers trained to wear those pretty colors! The strong ones are always the most interesting to dissect, thick threads woven through their being.
A stand of bread was set up outside of a bakery, the sign above lacking any kind of emblem. Halena sighed, ignoring the chattering and stepped up to the stall with coins in hand. She wasted no time in getting the vendor’s attention, “Brown bread—quarter loaf!”
The baker gave Halena a quizzical look before nodding, “Seven marks!”
A squat loaf of dark brown bread was sawed in half with his serrated knife and the rushed transaction was completed. She stuffed the bread into her bag, her breath shuddering as she takes the nearest road off the plaza to navigate her way through the alley. Her spine burned with the passenger’s protest.
So dull! What do you care about those hateful dogs? Simple strangers are easily forgotten! I let you speak for hours with all manner of idiocy—I deserve the same chance!
Halena shook her head, a hand pressed to her forehead as she climbed up to the circular central street wrapping around Arras Ando’s middle. She let out an exhausted breath, looking up to the towering rampart arching overhead and hurried back to the east gate. Her feet ached from her continuous wandering and the long walk across the city blurred in the throes of her migraine. She heaved a sigh of relief when she finally found an inn and dragged her feet inside the threshold.
Breathless and tired, Halena held a small stack of coins ready when she approached the counter at the back of the dining room. She planted them down on the surface, looking up to the young man behind the counter, “One night… Please.”
The mop-haired youth gave a shaky nod, unnerved by the woman’s red eyes and her exhausted state. He took the coins, passing two back that Halena overpaid for, along with a room key, “Second floor, third on the l-left… ma’am.”
Halena swiped the key and left the boy without another word, padding up the stairs to unlock her room. Closing the door behind herself, she shrugged her effects off and deposited them on the floor at the foot of the bed. She sat heavily onto the mattress, cradling her head in her hands, and sucked in a deep breath. Her shoulders trembled from exhaustion and she lifted her head, staring at the oil lamp flickering on the night stand, “I can’t…”
Do you think you’re not worthy enough to be my jailor?
“Staying here is dangerous.”
How do you expect to study that rock? You did not mention it to the tightly-wound scholars.
“I couldn’t. That woman may have grown suspicious. The way she looked at me… and what she said they did to heretics…” Halena rubbed the sweat from her face and a grimace creased her lips.
You doubt your potential to stand your ground. If you would use my power to…
Halena shook her head, “I will not. Ed said something about nonbelievers, then Lady Doctus being burned to death… No, if I slip up, they will set us on fire.”
If you were secluded away with those Manin…
“I could be turned in to the authorities, or worse…” Her brow creased as a painful groan rolls in her thoughts from her traveler.
Useless! This trip was a farce! You would retreat from a trove of knowledge?!
“No, I…” Her shoulders relaxed as the calming blue hue of the bookish woman’s hair came to mind, “…I’m going to look outside of the city and see what that noble offers.”
A long silence followed, the throbbing in her head calm without his presence. She glanced around, as if the passenger had hidden away within the room. With some degree of privacy in the stillness, Halena brushed the spot on her arm where Inka’s hand had touched her. The needles tittered as the voice welled up behind her ears.
What makes you think she could be trusted? She could be in league with the book worms. A direct line into the ear of that professor.
“I’m not doing this for her. The fewer people involved in my work, the better. She doesn’t deserve to be put in danger because of me.” Halena’s brow knit together, “If this Lady Ravenwood has work for us, it can’t be worse than the professor’s lot.”
You neglect to do anything about the stone!
Halena’s teeth grit together in discomfort, “A noble’s protection may be the key to studying it freely. That woman must have some freedom to use the Manin library because she works for Ravenwood.”
Rolling grumbles of protest died away like distant thunder and remains still in anticipation. Only calm silence filled the stale inn room.
VI
Ravenwood Manor
The front door creaked open and Saris shuffled inside with a rickety cage in tow. Trapped within, a raven flapped its wings in distress as she set its prison on the table, a trail of her pipe’s smoke following her. She curled a malign grin at Halena’s perplexed gaze, her response dry, “It’s your birthday present,
my sweet.”
“I-Is it going to be my familiar?” Halena beamed and leaned in to examine the caged bird.
Its ebony feathers were pristine and even hold a dull, iridescent shine to them in the light of the room. The raven’s beak gently curved with no chips on it, nor signs of sickness in its lively eyes. A small gasp huffed through Halena’s lips as she absorbed the bird’s regal appearance, the moment broke with Saris’ cackle. Slowly, youthful enthusiasm drained from Halena’s face and she eased herself back onto the stool, fearing her aunt’s mockery.
She rapped her bony fingers on the table, “Familiars are for children and lonely old women. This fine specimen is going to play a bigger part in your ‘birthday party’ tonight.”
“You don’t mean…” Halena answered weakly, trailing off as dejection settles on her shoulders.
“‘Tis the law of equivalent exchange, is it not? This raven’s blood will be spilled so that you may call upon the presence of the Veil to attune your body to it.” Saris took a long drag from her pipe, exhuming the smoke through her nose, and gave the table one more tap with her fingers, “Do not become too attached, my dear.”
For the remainder of the afternoon, the ghastly woman continued her preparations, giving her niece a healthy respite from chores. The adolescent girl spent what remained of the daylight hours wandering outside, checking up on a small bed of plants behind the cottage. She frowned at the vegetables she had meticulously tended to, finding they had only withered more since planting. Even the most devoted care could not reverse the strange vampiric aura permeating the hovel. Worse yet, the talons of dread sunk ever deeper into Halena’s lungs, wary of what was to come at nightfall.
◆◆◆
Under the thin gloom of overcast clouds and the smell of imminent rain hanging thick in the air, Halena emerged from the gated tunnel beneath the grand wall. Her violet catseyes scanned the depot for signs of Inka’s black carriage. Horses were led by stable hands to be watered in the nearby building, the watchers standing by in idle observation of the stable yard. She noted the coach carriages waiting to take off on their next journey, but none that matched the bill. Halena wandered down the yard, away from the busy stable hands tending to horses and merchants. The deep neigh of a large, chocolate colored horse made her flinch, and watched as the beast gave frustrated nickers at its handler. A smile pulled on Halena’s lip, relieved to find the black lacquered finish of the carriage that the vocal horse was being hitched to.
“I told you, he gets grumpy when rain comes.” The azure scholar quipped at the driver as he fusses with the horse.
A man dressed in straight-legged trousers and a wide-brimmed hat adjusted the stubborn beast’s bridle while it chewed on the bit between its lips, “Next thing you’re going to tell me is they will need a stitched coat from the royal tailor to stay dry. Easy, now.”
Inka paced around the carriage, examining the luggage fastened to the back, and meticulously counting to herself. She gave a satisfied nod as she turned away, pausing upon seeing Halena’s approach, “Miss Maris, good afternoon! Have you decided to join us on the ride back to Ravenwood manor?”
“Yes, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“None at all. We should arrive just in time for supper.” Inka gestured to the carriage door, “Please, make yourself comfortable. We should be off shortly.”
A nod of acknowledgement was given and Halena stepped inside the carriage to make herself comfortable in the cushioned leather seat while Inka performed a final account of their baggage. She hiked a leg up on the step and hung off the side of the carriage to wave to their driver, “On your mark, Liam! Everything is tidy back here.”
The man in the wide-brimmed hat swept around to the driver’s seat, climbing up with a practiced motion, “Aye!”
A dull crack of the reins and a holler set the horses in their canter, pulling the carriage along its path. Inka pulled the door shut and settled in her seat. She smoothed out her blouse and folded her hands in her lap, resuming her collected, professional poise, “Ah, I’m sure you tire of all the travel, especially if you came all the way from Brighthall.”
Halena shrugged, relaxing into her seat, “I’m used to it and the journey is worthwhile if there is more work on the other side.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is the work you do, Halena? Do you make your living as an investigator alongside Arram law enforcement?” Inka tilted her head at her companion.
“In a way, but I do not look into crimes. I handle the things that go bump in the night. Rumors about the trouble in Brighthall brought me there; hearsay that bodies were disappearing with the murders. I knew it was a job for someone with my skills when reports of corpses wandering the hollows surfaced.” Halena explained, keeping her eyes down.
Inka nodded along as she listened, bringing a hand to her mouth to mask her shock, “Oh… That’s terrifying to imagine. Did any of those claims have merit?”
Halena pursed her lips thoughtfully, “Only to those who are willing to believe the impossible. Others will nod and simply accept that their troubles have been dealt with, never to acknowledge it again.”
“Unfortunately, that is how people will cope with the things that frighten them.” Inka frowned, a hint of knowing in her words.
Halena paused, her escort’s answer piquing her curiosity. She leans forward, lowering her voice, “Why would Lady Ravenwood take interest in the events at Brighthall?”
“I believe you will find that Lady Ravenwood shares a… unique interest in the supernatural. She heard of turmoil within the Manin College and keeps a close eye on affairs within that circle. When the stories began circulating about Brighthall, she felt bound by duty to investigate the nature of the murders.” Inka gestured to Halena, “That is, until now. In a way, you’ve done my lady a favor with your work.”
Disbelief crossed Halena’s face her brow creased with suspicion, “Just… how much of my conversation did you overhear in the library?”
Inka’s eyes widened and she stammered, “N-No! Please understand, I was not eavesdropping on you, Miss Maris, but Lady Ravenwood has been following Simon’s trail for some time. You’ve… seen him, have you not?”
Halena bobbed her head, her eyes narrowing with skepticism, “Yes, I have. You are aware of the dangerous rituals he was practicing?”
Inka’s lips pressed into a thin line, then nodded, “Indeed and I’ve seen the reports of his crimes in the college. He truly went mad in his research.”
A sigh huffed through Halena’s nose, fingers playing at the hem of her evergreen dress, “It’s over now, thankfully. Do scholars at the college practice arts like that in its halls? I only had a short look in the library, some of the books there cover subjects I would not expect to see in the kingdom, given its attitude towards the arcane.”
“Being a grand collection of knowledge for the Queen and her kingdom, the amount of apocrypha the college obtains is almost impossible to catalogue fully. You learn things, some people test the limits of what they read in those books…”
Inka’s mirth dimmed, “It’s safe to say that I, as well as Lady Ravenwood, don’t rule out the impossible when we hear of strange happenings.”
“Then you both would believe my story?”
She inclined her head in agreement, “Your words will be taken just as seriously as any other criminal case we would be examining, no matter how farfetched your claims may be.”
Halena’s shoulders lowered, anticipation unwinding from her gut, “Very well. I look forward to meeting Lady Ravenwood.”
“She will enjoy the company, I’m sure.” Inka beamed.
Halena peered out the carriage window, watching the thickets of trees in the distance. She hummed, “I’ll admit, I’ve never worked with a noble before, let alone someone who doesn’t shy away from the supernatural. Many of the gentile customs in the city are strange to me.”
Inka tapped her chin, “I don’t think you should fret over Arras Ando’s im
pressions, whether they were good or bad. Lady Ravenwood is very… lenient when it comes to how she conducts business.”
“How so? She’s just another noble that has a special interest in things that would brand someone a heretic. The counties seem intent on making those distinctions any chance they get.” Halena replied, nonplussed by Inka’s assurance.
A frown pulled on Inka’s lips, “Small communities tend to do that, yes. Lady Jeanne is quite the contrary, however. Among the others in the Arram Ministry, she’s considered a maverick. She often butts heads with the other ministers during sessions, usually reminding her peers of the welfare of the kingdom’s subjects or putting her special projects forward for their benefit.”
Halena’s brow creased, “Wouldn’t the subjects just be those blue-blooded houses that everyone keeps on a pedestal? A house name seems to be the only thing people within the walls value.”
Inka sighed, “I’m afraid it’s not that simple. The Ministry represents the groups the houses are aligned within the kingdom. House Ravenwood is one of the major Mistral houses, and the people that live within its domain are Lady Jeanne’s direct responsibility.”
Halena nodded, eyes following the tree line rolling past them as the carriage rocked, “So many rules for simply having the blood and the name of renowned ancestors. Scared farmers, cottage wives, and magistrates don’t seem to care about all of that when a haunt keeps them up at night.”
“I can hardly imagine what having that kind of responsibility on my shoulders would be like. Sometimes I miss being on the road and away from the busywork that comes with ministry offices. My sister and I always played games of spyglass as the Serl caravan crept along the coastal roads. Those were simpler times.” Inka said, nostalgia sparkling in her azure eyes.
Halena let out a sour snort, “Things are simpler the farther away from the city you are.”