Beside him Uma stirred and her weasly snores continued.
Looking at her he thought about how common she was, how ordinary. She was a pretty little milk maid from Bristol. He’d decided to make her one of his women, Lancel suddenly wasn’t sure why he’d bothered. Uma was enthusiastic and not unskilled with her mouth, but he’d had better.
She was underneath blankets, but he’d gotten a close look before. Her breasts were barely enough to fill each hand and were a bit lopsided. The girl had a slight pot belly a small bulge of fat at her hips and thighs. When he bothered to talk to her she agreed with every word he said and fell over herself to tell him how wonderful he was.
Gods she was boring.
Alice on the other hand…
Now there was a woman.
Everything about Alice was magnificent, perfect, and unique. The first time he’d seen her he’d known she’d belong to him. Everything from her hair to her eyes to those ample breasts had caught his attention. When he’d offered to take her to bed she’d actually defied him! A barmaid in a common whorehouse had refused him. It turned out she was an indentured servant, lower than even an ordinary peasant.
Her refusal had not upset him. Lancel loved a good hunt, and she was clearly a worthy prize. The fact she was a virgin made her seem a gods’ gift to him. Surely such a woman was meant for a man like him.
The delays while he dealt with that cow Elsa only increased his eagerness. He would dream about Alice, spend the hours on horseback imagining what her kisses tasted like. Thought of undressing her and finally rubbing his face and hands all over those glorious tits. It had been years since he’d wanted anything as much as he’d wanted her. Lancel delighted in the anticipation and in the conquest to come.
Then it all turned out to be for nothing. His angelic beauty was a hideous, inhuman beast. His feelings for her were reduced to a foul jest.
The worst part of it all was that he still wanted her, even knowing she was a monster. The thought of forcing her to his will made his manhood start to rise. It would never happen now, but if he could have her just once, in secret, he would.
Then he would silence her forever.
Lancel shook Uma’s shoulder roughly. Thinking of Alice had gotten him too excited to sleep. He would spend a few more days here enjoying himself before it came time to go home.
XXX
It was the second hour and Celton Poisondagger was at the same place where he had originally met the vampire. Celton’s wand was in hand but he had not cast a spell to provide light. His father had given him strict instructions to draw as little attention as possible. He stood in near total darkness, waiting for the possible arrival of a murderous creature. The thought he might be betrayed and murdered filled his mind. Killing a Poisondagger under such circumstances was most definitely something Lilith would do.
“I take it your father has agreed to my offer?”
The voice coming from behind made him jump. Not five feet away was Enver. Even being so close it was hard to make out more than an outline in the darkness. The vampire’s fangs were the only part of him Celton could see out clearly.
“Where have you been? I came here yesterday and waited for over an hour.”
“My apologies,” Enver sketched a shallow bow. “You can inform Master Dante that my mistress was awake late last night. Obviously, I could not venture out without her being aware of it. I am watched even when I am not watched, such is the fate of a familiar.”
Celton had no idea if it was a lie. “My father is willing to meet with you, but he remains suspicious.”
“Hardly surprising, your father hasn’t lived this long by being the trusting sort.”
“He wanted me to inform you he will use a Circle of Truth. He plans to interrogate you thoroughly, and if he suspects any sort of deceit will kill you. He and I will be within a protective circle, just in case.”
“That is to be expected. You Poisondaggers are not known for your courage.”
Celton bristled. Unfortunately, such was his family’s reputation, but to actually bring it up was rather rude.
“People may mock us, but whenever we walk past they always watch their backs. We are very good at dealing with enemies in our own particular way. Even your mistress takes care around us.”
Enver shrugged. “I suppose.”
“In any case, my father is suspicious. He is not the sort to be taken in. Trying to do so is very dangerous.”
“Everything about this is dangerous, you can’t kill the head of a Great House without taking a risk.”
“Quiet!” Celton looked about fearfully, trying to spot anyone who might be lurking in the shadows.
Enver chortled. “Do give me some credit. Unlike you I can see perfectly in the dark. Rest assured, no one else is within earshot.”
“Maybe not physically, but there is always scrying magic. My father could be listening to us at this very moment.”
“What if he is? I have not said anything he could disagree with. He might take offense at my mention of your family’s courage, but I doubt he would call off the meeting.”
“You should still be careful.”
“I have spent the past seventeen years at Lilith’s side, I know how to watch my tongue when I must.” There was a sour laugh. “Though I admit to sometimes saying more than I should. Poking at her is one of my few pleasures.”
“Saying the wrong word where my father can hear will see you turned to ashes.”
“I will keep that in mind, Master Poisondagger. Don’t be so afraid, I will handle my part. Have you made it clear to Dante that no one but the two of you can know about me?”
“Yes, he is aware there are spies in our House. The last thing he wants is to lose a chance to rid himself of his greatest enemy by being careless.”
“So long as only the two of you know, everything will be fine.”
“If I am able to trust you, you know the old saying.”
Enver nodded. “You would be a fool to trust me completely, but you can trust we both want the same thing. Have faith in our common interests rather than in me.”
Celton did not like the thought of trusting the vampire even that much, but given what they were trying to accomplish there was no choice.
“I think my father would be more comfortable if you provided him a sign of your good faith.”
“Tell him his head cook Barthel is a Corpselover spy, he has been for at least ten years. Also, there are others. I will be happy to give him the full list when we meet.”
“Barthel?” Celton said in disbelief. “He is one of father’s favorites! He is one of the most pampered slaves in the castle.”
“I am the most indulged servant in Castle Corpselover. Need I say more?”
“No one would have ever suspected him, and you’re tossing him away so easily.”
Enver waved a hand impatiently. “What do I care? If this pleases your father and eases his mind it’s enough. There are still four other spies and Barthel doesn’t know who they are.”
This would make quite an impression on his father. Celton was sure of that. Dante would miss Barthel’s puddings, they were his favorite. “Let us meet in four days’ time at the second hour. There will be an open window on the north side of the main keep. Light will come from it and it will be marked by golden curtains.”
“Please tell your father I look forward to the meeting.” In an instant Enver was gone.
Celton began the long walk home. The upcoming meeting filled him with both hope and dread.
Chapter 16
Wait Your Turn
When she returned from Avalon Melissa was too exhausted to do much more than eat dinner and go to sleep. Using teleportation twice in one day drained her almost completely of mana. She was not embarrassed as many archmages could only perform it once.
By the following morning she had fully recovered and set out on the chase. Baron Torrance was kind enough to see her off and mouth some empty words about how he regretted her sudden depa
rture. She was quite sure the baron was relieved to see her go. Melissa noted Varlos was nowhere to be seen. She would have liked one hour alone with him. She suspected the spymaster knew more about Waldo than she did. Unfortunately, there was no time to track Varlos down.
Minister Barrows had been most generous with his assistance. Not only had she been given gold, a virgin wand, and a new spellbook, the minister had allowed her to pursue Waldo and set her other tasks aside. She had written orders signed and sealed by the minister authorizing her to do anything she saw as necessary to deal with Waldo. Up to and including giving orders to any other members of the Order she met along the way. Barrows agreed, finding and dealing with this rogue was the priority. Catching Waldo was now her only concern, nothing would stand in her way.
The main problem became finding his trail.
She tried scrying magic, but to no effect. Melissa was not skilled in it and, despite their run in, lacked a strong personal connection to him. It was also possible he was using protective wards. The next best option was summoning a creature to follow his scent. Unfortunately, summoning monsters was forbidden by the Order. She was only permitted to summon animals. Summoning a hound or wolf would have helped… if she’d had the necessary talent.
Anyone who could draw mana and cast at least one spell, even if it was only levitating a feather, was a mage. Anyone who could use just one of the deeper magics was an archmage. Melissa had a great talent for wind magic and could use many of its most advanced forms. She was even skilled enough use it as a killing force. Not easy to do, as wind was considered the least lethal of the four elements. Outside of wind, invocation was the only other school where she could practice some of the deeper magics. She was competent with many of the basic spells of the other schools, except for earth magic, where she had no ability. This was normal. Most archmages could use basic spells of multiple schools, but deeper magics from only one or two. Only Grand Masters could use complex magics from three or more.
Given her lack of options Melissa would need to go about her search in a more mundane fashion. She would go from village to village asking if anyone had seen Waldo and his companions. Yes, she would travel the countryside asking “where’s Waldo?” over and over. White Mages were memorable, especially travelling with a red haired strumpet and an ogre. It would take time, but once she had his scent she would track him down no matter where he ran.
Melissa looked at her new wand. She had already carved three words of power into it. The wand worked even better than her old one had. She intended to keep carving words into it, to make it a perfectly honed tool.
“Ventus est fugatus sem.”
Winds gathered about her and kicked at her heels, launching her into the air. Her breath was sucked out and she had to gasp in the air as she soared up above the trees.
Flying, it was worth the years of study just for this. As a rule she avoided using this spell. It always terrified the ordinary folk to see someone flying through the skies. A large part of her duty was to make the common people accept the Order and see it as their protector and friend. Panicking them was not helpful to such an end.
In this case Melissa decided it was worth it. A distance that would take her a whole day to walk she could cover in less than an hour flying. Melissa could jaunt from village to village until she discovered Waldo.
She was sure it would not take long.
XXX
The sun was out, the sky was blue, and there was a gentle breeze blowing, a perfect summer day.
He strolled into one of the countless small villages that dotted the local landscape. The place had a name of course, but he didn’t know, or care, what it might be. In his experience places like this were all the same anyway. The people might complain about some of their neighbors, but would still help them in times of trouble. The instinct was always to band together against adversity or any sort of threat from the wider world. They all knew each other and all lived the same boring lives, year after year, generation after generation. It was a dull existence, but he supposed it was peaceful.
Until it wasn’t. Because, soon or late, someone like him always came to places like this. Much as wolves were bound to visit any spot where sheep gathered.
He was surprised not to see anyone. Likely they were all either inside enjoying the midday meal, or out working the fields. Even the watchtower was empty. The village was surrounded by a wooden stockade, but its gate was open and unguarded. The villagers must not have been bothered by goblins recently. As he entered, he noticed a couple of dogs. Both of them immediately started barking. Not surprising, he always had that effect on animals.
He took a step in their direction.
One turned and fled. The other lowered his head and let loose a menacing growl.
He took another step closer.
The dog hesitated, let out a whine, and fled.
Smart animals, he thought. Dogs had much better survival instincts than most humans did. They didn’t try to fight when it was clearly hopeless. Honor, duty, loyalty… empty words meant to convince men to die pointless deaths. Ideals were meaningless. All that mattered was power.
There were sixteen or seventeen thatched huts, all but one was of a basic design. The exception was a cottage made of split logs and connected to a stable, obviously the local Inn. He strode up to its door and knocked upon it three times.
There was a short pause before a woman’s voice spoke. “Whose there?”
“A stranger in need.”
Another little wait. The door swung open. A stout woman in an apron stood there. “Welcome to…” She cut off as her eyes widened and she let out a blood curdling scream. Both hands slammed the door shut again. She was still screaming as he heard what had to be a bar being banged down.
“Now that is just rude,” Lucius Corpselover said. “Do you always treat visitors so poorly?”
From out of one of the huts came a man wielding a staff. “What’s happened?”
“You wait your turn,” the archlich touched thumb to middle finger. “Xatos ki.”
The minor spell sent the man flying into the side of his home with enough force to break bones.
Other villagers started to come out to see what was going on. Lucius had at least a dozen spells that could have dealt with all of them at once. Simple massacre wasn’t his purpose though. He was here to raise some helpers and to spread a panic. His intent was to kill most of these people and then pay a visit to the local burial ground. Lucius would also make sure to burn everything while he was at it. Pillars of smoke were the fastest and simplest way to tell people at a distance something was wrong. He would allow some to escape, he wanted details to reach Norwich.
A single kick reduced the Inn door to kindling.
The woman who had answered and three children were cowering in a corner. Their mindless screams and the look of absolute terror on their faces gave him a sense of mild pleasure. He’d forgotten just how much fun it was to play with the mundanes.
Lucius crossed the room and began choking the life out of the woman as her children watched.
It really was turning out to be a lovely day.
Chapter 17
Stop Thief
“So what do you think?” Duke Griffinheart asked.
“Ah, it’s very nice,” Alice said.
“Nice?! You think it’s nice?”
“Oh, no, I… I mean it’s really something, amazing.”
The Duke gave a slight nod, apparently mollified. “I got it from my grandfather you know.”
“Really?”
“He was very proud of it, he would go around showing it off to people.”
“Well who could blame him?”
“You know the muscles in my arm come from spending so much time handling this brute. Yanking it, squeezing it, swinging it around, when I was younger I would spend hours working with it. I would go until my hands bled and my arms were sore.”
“Truly?”
“Yes,” he gave a despondent sigh. “Now
I’m older I can’t manage that anymore, but I will still go at it for at least an hour a day.”
“Is it really so heavy? I mean you look so strong and virile my lord.”
As she’d hoped that brought out a big smile.
“Would you like to hold it?”
“Ah, I am not sure, is it really proper?”
After The Rabbit (Waldo Rabbit Series) Page 14