“What in the gods’ names is this?” Isolde shouldered through the crowd to reach me.
“This is what remains of the Segestriidae clan.” Bram took my rope from Zuri and set it on Isolde’s palm. He hooked his thumb at me. “This lovely female is the new Segestriidae maven.”
“Maven?” Her eyes narrowed on me. “For that to happen, Hishima would have to be—”
“Dead.” Bram nodded decisively. “He is. Quite so.” He nudged Zuri aside and gestured for a seething Lailah to be dragged forward. “If you’re looking for blood, you won’t find it on Kaidi’s hands. This is the culprit. Let me present you our unwitting ambassador of the Necrita, Lailah.”
“Lailah?” Isolde covered her mouth. “Hishima’s mother? That Lailah? You’re sure?”
“Though I never knew her and as such can’t vouch for her identity, Hishima did call her by that name.” He paused. “I’m sure one of the others could identify her if Kaidi’s word is suspect.”
“Watch your mouth, boy.” She jabbed Bram in the gut. “I see you bristling.”
He inclined his head. “I meant no disrespect.”
“No.” She prodded him again. “Your kind never does.” She scanned the crowd. “Lleu.” She waved him over. “Take her down to the grotto. Fit her in chains and put her…” her gaze touched on the chamber brimming with perked ears, “…where no one will find her. I’ll meet you there.”
“All right.” He skirted her and went for Zuri. “Give me the rope, female.”
“My name is Zuri.” She reeled Lailah closer. “In the future, use it if you wish to address me. As no gold has crossed my palm, my catch will not go anywhere without me. So lead on, male.”
“Isolde?” He waited for instruction.
She flapped the hem of her gown. “I’ve hardly got a purse hidden up my skirt.”
“Skirt or not, I want my gold.” Zuri glared at Isolde. “I’ll wait with Lailah while you get it.”
“Take her with you, boy.” She ushered Lleu toward the door. “Zuri, we will speak later.”
Though her nod was tight, Zuri appeared willing to give Isolde a slice more of her time. “Yes,” Zuri said, winding the rope tighter around her hand, “we will.”
“Come on then.” Lleu kept his sights on Lailah. “The sooner we get her isolated, the better.”
A none-too-pleased Zuri tugged Lailah in her wake as she entered the hall with Lleu.
“Shall I rouse the paladin?” Bram’s expression turned somber. “Ah. I see there is no need.”
“Mother.” The cool voice punctured all other conversation. “Would you care to explain this?”
My clansmen parted to admit Vaughn, whose tousled hair and untucked shirt left little doubt of what he had been doing prior to our arrival. The shuffle and stomp of so many feet must have woken him. Seconds later, Mana appeared with her hair in a simple braid and a cloak tossed over her nightgown. She drifted through the crowd, touching foreheads, patting cheeks, rubbing weary shoulders. Working her way around the room, she reached me last and paused before me, clicking her tongue. She grasped my chin and angled my head up, turning my face this way and that.
“I suppose you’ll do.” Her embrace brought tears to my eyes. “Trouble always follows you.”
“If only I were more difficult to track.” I smiled at her. “Can you tend to my people?”
“It’s already done.” She swiped fingers over my cheeks. “Someone will be down once their rooms are prepared. Cook is awake and preparing enough food to last everyone until breakfast.”
“Maven?”
We both turned toward a matched pair of young males with cheeky grins.
“Everything is ready,” the first said.
“Want us to clear all these out?” asked the second.
His brother, for the resemblance was plain, elbowed him in the ribs.
“I meant…” he scowled at his sibling, “…shall I escort these fine people to their rooms?”
“Yes.” Mana covered a smile. “See that all their needs are met.”
The pair crossed the room, herding my clansmen from the council chamber into the hall with encouraging nods and knowing smiles. From there, the doors were pulled closed, leaving me and Murdoch to face Vaughn and Mana. Isolde and Bram, of course, had also remained in chambers.
While we stood waiting to be addressed, Vaughn escorted Mana where the elders’ chairs sat and waited for her to be seated before dropping heavily beside her. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped beneath his chin. Without invitation, Isolde claimed the remaining spot.
His furious eyes burned coal black. “Which of you is to blame for all this?”
“I am.” Murdoch stepped forward. “I helped Kaidi escape. Capturing Lailah was my idea.”
“I left of my own free will.” I too stepped forward. “I share the blame equally.”
“Bah.” Isolde rubbed her jaw. “Questioning them won’t give us anything but a toothache.”
“Forget placing blame for now,” Mana suggested. “Perhaps start with what has happened in Titania. Hishima arrived shortly after we discovered you were missing. He was distressed but—”
“Accused us of being liars.” Isolde seethed. “As if we’d resort to such tricks to get him here. If I had wanted his gold, by the gods, I would have held a sword to him and marched him here.”
“He was furious. Not that I blame him.” Vaughn tapped his lips with his pointer. “His anger was that of a male scorned and humiliated, not that of a paladin who rode from his city in ruins.”
“The fire was well on its way to burning out when we arrived,” I said. “Hishima thought that I burned Titania to the ground in a fit of pique. How could he have known me and thought that?”
“Missed the bit about him being a scorned male, did you?” Isolde smirked.
A sharp glance from Vaughn made her huff and settle into her chair.
“There are grave accusations cast here.” Mana urged, “You must tell us all you know.”
Knowing she was right made it no easier putting to words what I had kept secret for so long.
“You know what brought me here. You saw my work.” I stared at my hands, willing them to steady. “Hishima ruined me. The plague took my family from me. All else sprung from my need for revenge. I don’t pretend to know why Lailah is the way she is. Hishima called her a Necrita. I don’t know what that means with any certainty. I can only speculate that their…people…feed off ours. The harbingers are Araneaean. The risers are Araneaean. Some wear the faces of family or friends. Yet they are something else entirely once called by a harbinger. They rise from the dead. Why do some sprout wings and others not? I can’t say, unless they were infected differently than the risers. Consider the animals. Some died cleanly. Some died horribly, as if something gnawed through gut and bone to escape. If there are two types of infection, why not two types of victim?”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Mana frowned. “I assumed people consumed some animals before the illness killed them. I never considered there might be two different infections instead.”
“I would not swear that’s the case. It’s not my area of expertise.” I knew only what occurred after the infection, not what led up to it. “Surely there is someone who could study it, study her?”
“There is someone.” Mana glanced at her hands. “Henri. Lourdes’s youngest brother. He has an agile mind and resources at his disposal no one else has. He’s an herbologist. He could become a physician if he set his mind to it. He has the connections to secure the brightest minds to aid in his research and he has the means to reward those who abandon their work and come to his aid.”
“We will speak of such arrangements later.” Vaughn covered her hands with his. He glanced at me, ending the discussion. “After you witnessed a rising you decided to fight these—Necrita?”
A tight nod from Mana kept me from arguing the topic. She knew his temper best, after all.
“The plague killed
my family. I can accept that. What the harbinger did, bringing them back, was unnatural. They’re walking corpses, incapable of independent thought or emotions.” I let my determination shine. “They deserve peace, they deserve lasting death, and I will give it to them.”
“Fair enough.” Revenge appeared to be a motive he appreciated. “Why not a riser as proof?”
“If you raise a corpse and kill it, it’s still a corpse. Even with Murdoch and Lleu’s help, they proved too strong to capture. There was no point dragging one in after we finished with it. How could I have proven the body wasn’t one I plucked from a field? Dead is dead. That is not proof. I knew if I was to win you over, I had to capture a live harbinger. They are irrefutable evidence.”
“How did you know Lailah was a harbinger?” he asked. “Or where to find her?”
I gave them the abbreviated version. “Hishima spent a portion of each night in an abandoned section of the crystal cavern. One night I followed him. He caught me and took me to Lailah.”
“That’s why you ran.” Pity urged Mana to the edge of her seat.
I stared at my hand, covering one with the other. “It was.”
“These risers are to blame for Titania, then?” Isolde pegged me with an unflinching stare.
“I believe they are, yes. We encountered several dozen in the mountains on our way into the city.” I gulped back memories of that night. Still the sound of screams rang in my ears. “Three of your guards lost their lives to save us. I would like to make reparation to their families, if I may.”
Vaughn lowered his hands. “That is kind of you.”
“Thank you, Kaidi.” Mana’s smile was brief. “Their families will be grateful for it.”
Gold wouldn’t bring their loved ones back any more than it would return mine to me. But perhaps those brave souls might rest easier knowing their families were fed and clothed.
Vaughn’s consideration left me cold. “What do you want from me?”
“From you,” I said, bracing myself, “nothing. I would ask your wife to endorse my claim as Segestriidae maven. Our clan laws are straightforward. You will find nothing amiss with the line of succession. But outside my clan, I have need of an ally to acknowledge my claim, and I’d be honored if Mana would accept my humble offer of a two-generation alliance between our clans.”
“It would be my pleasure.” Mana flushed with pride. “You do me a great honor.”
“Since my wife has chosen to support you,” Vaughn said, “I will stand by you as well.”
“Wait, son, before you ink this deal.” Isolde stood. “What are you offering us in exchange?”
“The alliance Hishima denied you.”
She circled me. “Why accept what he refused?”
“Hishima and I… We didn’t share the same aspirations. All I want is protection for my people.”
She took my measure at a glance. “You speak of reparation, but can you pay it—and us?”
“Yes.” My tongue lashed the word, forcing me to contain my bitterness.
“Isolde,” Mana chided. “She would be our ally. Shouldn’t we treat her as such?”
“No.” Vaughn drew her hand into his lap. “Let Mother finish. This is the business of forging alliances. It is an ugly necessity I regret, but we must think hard before agreeing to any allocation of our resources. Though my heart goes out to the Segestriidae, we can’t gift them warriors who could be put to better use guarding their clan home and their own families from this new threat.”
With a faint smile at her husband, Mana sat back and allowed negotiations to continue.
“Though I can afford to buy your protection,” I offered, “why not barter for it instead?”
“Barter?” Isolde spat the word as if it tasted foul. “You’ve just admitted your city is dust.”
“Which is why I require every coin I can gather if I am to rebuild it.”
“What can you offer us?” Vaughn paid me no mind, focused as he was on Mana’s fingers.
“I can offer you Lailah.” My goals had been accomplished. I was ready to be rid of her.
“Last I heard, we owed the Deinopidae for her capture and delivery.” Isolde wagged a finger at me. “That means she’s ours and only a fool pays twice for what they already own. What else?”
Few options presented themselves to me that would not further indebt me to Isolde.
“What about her earring?” Murdoch looked to me. “You made one. Can you make more?”
Vaughn cleared his throat. “It’s a nice bauble, but hardly worth what she’s asking for it.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Mana brought a palm-sized crystal from her pocket. “She is an aural crystalier. Her uncle taught her his trade, and he has supplied crystals to my clan’s spirit walkers since before I was born. Her skill, young as she is, shouldn’t be underestimated or undervalued.”
“No harm meant,” Vaughn assured me. “Though I thought I understood it was a gift?”
“My uncle gave me the stone, but I tuned it myself.” I admitted, “It’s attuned to harbingers.”
Before I could blink, Isolde held my cheek in one hand and my earring in the other.
She pinched the silk and rang the crystal like a dinner bell. “How does it work?”
I winced. “It’s a trade secret.”
“Humph.” She let it fall. “What does it do?”
“Any aural crystal will amplify a specific sound. In this case, the wearer can hear the song of a harbinger in flight. Far as I can tell, plague victims only rise if they are called by a harbinger. If you cut off their heads, they won’t rise when she sings to them. The bodies must be intact for her magic or whatever it is to work. Risers are impossible to track aurally, but harbingers can be.”
“If there are only a handful of harbingers,” Isolde asked, “why bother tracking them?”
“Think of them as generals leading an army,” Murdoch said. “Find one, you find the other.”
“I see the value in that. Like as not, it was indispensable to you out there on your own, but it won’t make a spit of difference I can see if the risers are as dimwitted as you claim. As many as have died or gone missing, if they have all risen, then the size of the Necrita army means we will have no difficulty locating them.” She tapped the side of her nose as Mimetidae often did. “What need have we for ears when we have noses? We can scent a rotting corpse for miles. So while its purpose is clever, and your offer is generous, it doesn’t compare to the value of the guards who’d risk their lives protecting Titania. I’m afraid I can’t advise my son to accept the offer. I’m sorry.”
When Murdoch would have argued, I hushed him. “Leave it be. It’s a fair deal we’ve made.”
Concealing her glee was not what Isolde did best. “It’s as square as any bargain I’ve made.”
“If we’re all in agreement,” Mana said to Vaughn, “perhaps we can free our new ally?”
“If you wish.” Whether I was bound or not appeared to make no difference to him. It wasn’t his shoulders wrenched or his wrists burning. His hands weren’t numb. His back wasn’t sore.
Leaving her husband’s side, Mana approached me with a small knife in hand. She sliced my ropes, which made the Deinopidae who had volunteered them mutter what I thought were curses in his native tongue. A sympathetic shrug was all Mana offered, and I gave him even less. I flung what remained of his rope without apology. It hit the ground, where he kicked it against the wall.
Mana turned her blade to sawing through Murdoch’s bonds when Vaughn rose.
“Leave him,” Vaughn ordered.
I stepped between them. “Release him as a good-faith gesture.”
“He disobeyed a direct order from me. Neither my goodness nor faith extends that far.”
“I knew what I was doing.” Murdoch sidestepped me. “I accept the consequences.”
A grim-faced Vaughn looked to Mana. “I will do as you wish and draft a letter to Lourdes. I will attempt to enlist Henri in this experiment
as long as his sister has no objections. If she agrees, then I see no reason why Lailah can’t pay an extended visit to Erania. Let the Araneidae see what their gold has bought.” When Isolde fumed, he pointed at her. “I won’t hear another word on the topic, Mother. You and I will discuss your room and your schemes after I’ve slept. Since you’ve managed to ingratiate yourself to the Deinopidae female, double her fee if she and her clansmen are willing to remain here and tend Lailah until I hear from Lourdes. If she is amenable, I would prefer the Deinopidae escort Lailah to Erania. We need all our clansmen armed and at the ready. Besides, you know as well as I do our clan excels at one thing—killing. This situation requires a gentler touch. The Deinopidae are huntsmen by trade. They understand the keeping of animals. I feel they are better suited to nurturing Lailah, feral as she is. Tell the Deinopidae more gold will await them. I have no doubt my brother will be all too eager to return the care of Lailah to them.”
“It’s a good plan.” Mana smiled at him. “It’s the safest we can make ourselves tonight.”
“On the topic of safety,” he said, kissing Mana’s knuckles, “I must speak with the guards.”
“Their captain is here.” Bram indicated Murdoch. “What about him?”
“Take him to the grotto.” Vaughn’s black eyes were flat and cold. “I’ll deal with him later.”
“No.” I wrapped my arm through Murdoch’s and held on. “What he did, he did for me.”
“Therein lies the problem.” Vaughn’s expression tightened. “I can’t punish an ally, can I?”
“Yet you’d punish one of your own?” I challenged him.
“Kaidi.” Murdoch spoke my name softly. “Let me go.”
I didn’t. Bram ripped him from me. “I will come for you,” I vowed.
His smile was lopsided. “I’ll be waiting.”
“Ah, how well your gown fits. Like a glove. Or not. I imagine gloves don’t fit you well, do they?” Stefan tightened the sash at my waist, then walked his fingers over the laces and up my spine. “Very nice. Very nice.”
“Thank you.” I extricated myself from his constant plucking.
“I have outdone myself. I truly have.” He twirled merrily while lifting imaginary skirts. “All will see you shine. Now, now. Don’t try to hide, shy thing. You must be brave. You must shine.”
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