Ilanna’s eyes narrowed. “You saw him?”
Kodyn nodded. “I was training Sid on the Hawk’s Highway, showing him the way of things now that he’s old enough to leave the Perch, when I saw someone else running across the rooftops. Dark clothes, heavy cloak. At first I thought it was one of the Serpents or Hounds using the Highway, but the way he moved, Mom!” He blew out his breath in amazement, reverting to the familiar name. “I’ve never seen anyone run that fast. I could have sworn he leapt Carter’s Road without hesitating.”
“That’s impossible.” Ilanna shook her head. “Carter’s Road is far too wide for anyone, even a Hawk, to make the jump.” Back when she’d been a Hawk doing third-story work, she’d been forced to take longer routes along the Hawk’s Highway to cross the plank and rope bridges that spanned the broad thoroughfare.
“I know, which is why I couldn’t help wondering who it was.” Kodyn’s expression grew serious. “Thankfully, we were close enough to the Perch that Sid could get back on his own, and Kindan was just getting back from hunting the guy who’s killing all those kids.” Sorrow clouded his eyes—he was a good-hearted young man, much to Ilanna’s relief, not hardened and ruthless like she’d been during her years as apprentice and Journeyman.
“I showed Kindan where I saw the guy, and Kindan told me to get back here and let you know what was going on.” Kodyn hesitated at this.
Ilanna raised an eyebrow. “But you, of course, couldn’t obey a simple instruction from a Journeyman.” Of course Kodyn had inherited her headstrong nature. It had kept her alive, but it made him bloody difficult to deal with—both as his mother and Guild Master.
Kodyn had the good sense to look ashamed. “I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”
“Help? A Serpent?” Ilanna snorted. “Errik and Ria won’t shut up about how quickly you’ve taken to their training, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Guild’s assassins. Especially not against someone who can leap Carter’s Road.”
“And that’s why I didn’t go with Kindan.” Defiance and stubborn pride flashed in Kodyn’s eyes, and his spine went stiff. “I snuck along behind him, making sure to keep safe distance, of course.” He said it in a tone that told Ilanna he’d expected her to comment before the words had even formed on her lips. “I was two buildings away when Kindan found the man in the dark cloak and confronted him.”
His expression grew somber. “I’ve never seen anything like it! He faced Kindan unarmed, but he didn’t look scared at all. When Kindan attacked, he fought empty-handed and actually knocked Kindan back on his heels.”
That took Ilanna by surprise. No way anyone outside the Night Guild should have been able to do that. Kindan ranked among the Serpents’ best—perhaps two or three of his comrades surpassed his skill, but only Errik and Ria could match his speed.
“Kindan was toying with him at first, like he does when he’s training us,” Kodyn continued. “But soon he started fighting for real and I could have sworn Kindan wounded him, but I was too far away to be sure,” Kodyn continued. “They talked some more, then Kindan rushed in and looked like he was going to take the stranger down. But the man punched Kindan once, hard enough to knock him off the roof.”
Ilanna’s gut clenched. “He fell?”
Kodyn nodded. “Four floors.”
Ilanna winced. That height would do even a killer like Kindan in. She’d watched one of her fellow Hawk apprentices, a boy by the name of Bert, fall from three stories. He had died in her arms, his body shattered.
“The second I saw Kindan fall, I came back here to tell you.” Kodyn thrust a finger in the direction of the Aerie. “It happened less than five minutes ago, Guild Master. If we hurry, maybe we can still find him.”
“We?” Ilanna’s voice cracked like a whip. “There’s no way I’m letting you back out when there’s a killer like that on the loose!”
“But I’m the one who told you—” Kodyn began.
“I don’t care!” Ilanna shouted. “If someone can take Kindan out like that, what makes you think you—or me, for that matter—can take him?”
Kodyn stiffened, but again the defiance in his expression hardened. “We don’t have to take him. We just need to find him and follow him back to wherever he’s holed up. Once we know where to find him, we can come up with a plan to hit him with every Bloodbear, Hound, and Serpent it takes to do the job.” He pointed at Ilanna’s chest. “You taught me that, Mother. You taught me to learn everything I could about my enemy, and that’s exactly what I want to do. If you don’t want to come with me, that’s on you. I’m going.”
Ilanna wanted to snap back at him, wanted to yell him down for being a stubborn, rash fool. But he’d gotten all of those qualities from her, and they were what made him such a strong young man and a capable thief. She hadn’t wanted him to join the Night Guild—she’d done everything she could to keep him a secret and escape the Guild before they discovered his existence—but now that he was in the Guild, she couldn’t stop him from doing what he’d trained to do. Her only choice was to do everything in her power to keep him safe.
“So be it.” She spoke in a calm voice. “We’ll go look for this mysterious man.”
Kodyn’s eyebrows shot upward. “Really?”
“Yes.” Ilanna nodded. “You and me, together. But before we do, we’re going to make sure every damned Serpent and Hound in the Night Guild is on the lookout for him. If he’s the one dropping all the bodies, he’s our mess to clean up. As Guild Master, it’s my duty to see to it that the problem is dealt with.” She gripped his shoulder tight. “As your mother, it’s my duty to keep you from doing anything stupid and getting yourself killed. So I’m coming with you.”
Kodyn was speechless as Ilanna strode around her desk, opened one of the drawers, and pulled out a leather-wrapped bundle. She unrolled it on the desk and stared down at the assorted items within: dark grey cloak with the Hawk-brown stitching along the hem, black leather gloves, a length of finger-thin rope, and her pouch with well-worn lockpicks and alchemical lamps.
When she looked up, she found her son’s eyes locked on her. “Let’s go,” she said, her voice firm, as she pulled on the cloak and gloves and buckled the pouch in place. “We’ve got to find this man before he disappears into the city.”
She hurried from the room, Kodyn at her heels, and paused only long enough to snap an order at Darreth. “Tell Master Serpent and Master Hound to get up onto the rooftops, now!”
“Master Gold?” Darreth blinked in surprise, his mouth agape.
Ilanna rushed on without waiting. Once Darreth recovered, he’d get the message to the House Masters in a hurry. She wouldn’t be surprised to find the Serpents and Hounds hit the Hawk’s Highway less than ten minutes after she did.
But ten minutes was more than enough time for someone to make an untraceable getaway. Even now, she knew her chances of finding Kindan’s killer—and the possible murderer she’d been chasing—bordered on non-existent. That wouldn’t stop her from trying. Kodyn truly had inherited his stubbornness from her.
Warmth coursed through her as she strode down the tunnel toward the double doors of House Hawk, emblazoned with twin hawks and an ornate ring clutched in bronze talons. Memories—good and bad alike—washed over her at the familiar sight.
She pushed the door open, and a smile touched her lips as her gaze lighted on every detail of the Aerie. Shelves and tables laden with ropes, hooks, whips, knives, swords, and an assortment of unknown weaponry lined one wall, with racks of dark cloaks, hoods, garments, and boots of all shapes and sizes on the opposite.
But, as always, her eyes were drawn to the intricate network of ladders, ropes, walkways, and structures that rose to the high-vaulted ceiling. The Perch.
How many hours have I spent up there?
“Race up you up, Mom!” Excitement sparkled in Kodyn’s eyes as he leapt onto the nearest rope ladder and scrambled up with the grace of a sailor.
She basked in the glorious sensations of burning muscles, the sound of creaking ropes, the gentle sway of the wooden platforms and bridges. Kodyn scrambled up the Perch with the grace of a sailor, but Ilanna seemed to fly. She’d traveled these ways a thousand times and knew the Perch’s every secret.
Breathing hard and flushed with triumph, Ilanna scrambled out of the open window at the top of the Perch and onto the rooftop. The sun had dipped behind the western horizon, but the last traces of fading daylight still painted the sky in gorgeous hues of blue, orange, and vivid gold. A cool breeze wafted across her face.
She was home once more.
Two seconds behind her, Kodyn climbed out of the window, his broad shoulders a tight fit through the narrow frame.
“Hah, I win!” Ilanna’s elated laugh cut off in a breathless gasp. She was a bit more out of shape than she cared to admit.
Kodyn smiled. “But did you really?”
“Smart-ass,” Ilanna growled. “I can always tell Errik and Ria to make your training regimen tougher, you know.”
Kodyn rolled his eyes, but a ghost of a smile played on his lips. Warmth suffused the core of Ilanna’s being as she stared at her son. He had grown a great deal, and her duties to the Night Guild had consumed so much of her time over the last few years. The handsome, strong young man before her bore so little resemblance to the rosy-cheeked infant she remembered, yet she felt only pride.
“Show me where you saw him,” Ilanna told her son.
With a nod, Kodyn set off to the southeast, toward Old Town Market. Ilanna fell into a comfortable loping gait behind him and let the run loosen up her muscles.
It had been too long since she’d traveled the Hawk’s Highway at night. I’ll just have to hope my reflexes are as sharp as they once were. It might be a delusion—she was twenty years older than she’d been the first time she’d taken to the rooftop network—but right now, she needed this more than she’d realized.
She had tried to stay in shape by keeping up her weapons training with Errik and Ria, but her truest joy was racing around the Hawk’s Highway with Kodyn. Life had conspired to keep her away from the rooftops. She’d be damned if she let it get in the way any longer.
As she ran, the familiar thrill of excitement coursed through her body. She felt the old skills returning, and with a laugh, she raced ahead of Kodyn and hurled herself off the rooftop. For a long moment, she hung suspended in the air, and once again she experienced the magical sensation of flying.
This is what it means to be alive!
Then she hit the next rooftop, hard. She landed in a roll but her form was off. A dull ache throbbed through her knees, hips, and shoulders.
Kodyn hit the rooftop beside her and took off running a heartbeat before her. Ilanna couldn’t help smiling. Looks like he inherited my competitive nature as well. She pushed herself hard to keep up with her son, but Kodyn was determined to outpace her. Her gut clenched as he leapt across an expanse she couldn’t hope to cross. His longer legs gave him an advantage, but she also recognized his determination to one-up her. It wasn’t easy living in the shadow of the Hawk that had defeated the Black Spire, stolen a fortune from the most secure location in Praamis, and single-handedly saved the Night Guild from the Bloody Hand and Duke Phonnis both.
Her son was driven by a need to make his own mark on the Guild. She and Ria both tried their best to keep an eye on him, keep him out of trouble, but his duties to House Hawk took him far from their protective shelter.
And if he’s to be a true man, he will need to take his own risks. Ilanna could only hope he didn’t choose paths too dangerous to escape.
Kodyn leapt to the next rooftop and skidded to a halt far too close to the edge for Ilanna’s comfort. “It was here, Mom.” He was barely breathing hard, but Ilanna felt as if she’d just raced across the Windy Plains.
Ilanna crouched and studied the rooftop. The last traces of daylight had faded, but she produced her beamer lantern—a fist-sized glass ball filled with a strange alchemical liquid that shone like fire. She swept the glow of the lantern across the clay tiles.
“There.” Her gut clenched as she saw the crimson droplets spattering the roof a few paces from the chimney.
“So Kindan did wound him!” Pride echoed in Kodyn’s voice.
“A serious one, by the looks of it.” Ilanna estimated he’d lost a few cups of blood. “If he’s wounded, he can’t have gotten far.”
She swept the beamer around until she spotted more blood droplets. “They go this way.”
They followed the trail of blood across the rooftops, careful to move slow enough to spot every rust-colored splash. She’d spent enough time training with the Hounds to have at least rudimentary tracking skills, and those skills told her something about the trail she followed was wrong. Given the amount of blood on the tiles, the man should be bleeding out quickly, his strength fading. Yet as she followed the trail, the droplets grew more spread out, their number decreasing rather than increasing.
What the bloody hell? Even if the man had bound up the wound, he’d lose blood fast enough to slow him down. So why in the Watcher’s name does it look like he’s speeding up?
Yes, something about this was very wrong, indeed.
Chapter Twelve
The Hunter raced through the alley in the direction he guessed the killers had gone. He’d only caught a flash of movement, but that was enough to set him on the right path. If he moved fast enough, he could gain ground on his prey. Once he had them in his sights, they wouldn’t get away from him.
He drew in a deep breath through his nostrils, tasting the air for the scent of the man he sought, but recoiled at the reek of offal, rotted vegetables, stagnant rainwater, and the many more foul odors that clogged the narrow lane. Not going to find them by smell, not in this stinking alleyway.
The muck-covered back streets of Praamis twisted and turned in a confusing maze, forcing the Hunter to pause at the next intersection and scan ahead for any sign of movement. His eyes roamed the near-darkness of the alleys, and despair gripped his heart in a fist of ice for a long moment before he spotted the flash of a cloak disappearing around a corner a hundred paces ahead of him.
Mud spattered the Hunter’s boots and legs as he ran, but he was beyond caring. He couldn’t lose his target again.
He raced up the lane and hurtled around the corner just in time to see the figure ducking into another side street forty paces ahead. The Hunter crossed the distance in mere seconds, but when he reached the street, he found it dead-ended against three brick walls.
Night hung thick in the narrow alley, the shadows too deep and dark for his eyes to penetrate. He growled in frustration—he hadn’t thought to bring a lantern, not even a fire striker. He felt his way along the walls, but his questing fingertips found no doors or windows.
Impossible! The man had entered the alley mere seconds before he had. Not even the Abiarazi could disappear into thin air, so he had to have gone somewhere. The bloody question is where?
He drew in a deep breath, then pricked up his ears for the slightest noise. A quiet splash sounded to his right. It came not from the muddy street, for there had been a hollow echo to the sound.
Of course! He cursed himself for an idiot. The sewers.
The city of Praamis was famous for its sewer system—a remnant from the days of the Serenii, some whispered. For law-abiding citizens, the complex maze of tunnels, drains, and underground rivers served as a way to dispose of waste. But for people like the Hunter, the sewer system of Praamis offered another way to get around.
He felt his way along the wall again, this time using his feet to test the walls and ground for any openings. Sure enough, he found an uncovered opening just three paces from the mouth of the dead-end alley. He’d been so focused on searching for a door or window that he’d missed the opening.
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Lowering one foot, he found the metal rung of a ladder, and a savage grin split his face. Got you, you bastard!
The killer had climbed down the ladder less than a minute earlier. If the Hunter hurried, he could catch up before the man got lost in the maze of sewers. He cursed himself for forgetting a light. He didn’t know his way around the underground, and he wasn’t certain even his innate sense of direction could keep him on track without any illumination.
Better hurry, then.
Ten rungs down, his boots splashed onto cold, foul-smelling liquid. He forced himself to ignore the reek, the soft squishing beneath his feet, and the slime covering the wall. Instead, he kept his mind fixed on hunting down the killer. Drowning in sewage would be a fitting end for the man—or demon—that had murdered children and left their bodies abandoned like rubbish.
He tried to keep his movement as quiet as possible, but his boots splashed or squelched with every step. Finally, he found a suitable solution to reduce the noise: straddle the curving sides of the tunnel just above the sewage level. The position made movement terribly uncomfortable, but at least he could once again hear any noise coming from ahead.
His heart leapt as his keen ears picked up a quiet splashing in the distance. He was on the right track. Got you, you bastard!
He ran in a strange spider-legged crouch, his pace slower than he’d like but faster than he’d manage in the water. The sound of his heartbeat and the steady thump, thump of his boots on the stone walls nearly drowned out the splashing of his target, but he forced himself to keep going.
Then he spotted it: a faint glimmer fifty yards ahead of him. But not one light. Two, three, five. More and more lights intersected in the tunnel ahead, illuminating the silhouettes of hooded, robed figures. The Hunter counted ten tiny lights, like fireflies in the night, and ten people far ahead.
What in the bloody hell? His mind raced. What if it’s not just one killer, but many?
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