As the seconds passed, there was no response, and Ruethwyn frowned. Her hearing wasn’t the best, but not hearing anything seemed unusual, and Korima’s ears were moving as if she was trying to pick up any sound and was failing. That was concerning.
“Is no one home?” Sella asked, sounding uncertain.
“There’s no way,” Tadrick said flatly, shaking his head firmly. “A manor this size is never left completely unattended, especially not with the gates open. There’s too much risk of squatters or thieves. There should be a servant or something, and we could see light through the windows.”
“I guess so…” Sella said, her tone a bit dubious.
“No, he’s right. Only when a family has died out, or something horrible has happened in a building’s past will a manor of this size be abandoned, and even then, it’s rarely for long,” Alaran said, stepping forward and rapping even more firmly. “If they don’t answer within a minute, I’m going to go in anyway. His Highness was very insistent that we find out what happened to Rithara.”
“A fact I’m very grateful for,” Korima said, frowning as she added, “I thought I heard something, but it’s surprisingly quiet inside. I can smell a little more of Mother’s perfume, too.”
“Either way, I think we’d best be cautious,” Ruethwyn murmured, feeling her tension growing. None of the others disagreed, fortunately, and they continued to wait.
The sense of mana surrounding them hadn’t faded, and both her thoughts and those of Umbra were growing closer together. The elemental could make more sense of the silhouettes on her right side, and she was quickly growing used to the odd sensation. She didn’t want to use the second part of atavism unless she had to, considering the stress it’d likely inflict on her body and mana veins.
After another minute passed in silence, Alaran finally scowled as he muttered, “Alright, that’s more than enough time for them to have responded, so now it’s time to investigate properly. Now you can be a bit more threatening if needed, though if any of you attack a regular servant, I’m going to be extremely upset with you.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” Ruethwyn said softly, smiling as she added, “Unless they have a servant that’s a dragon, that is. I seem to get a little irrational when surprised by things like that.”
The others chuckled at her comment, and even Alaran cracked a smile as he spoke. “I think I can understand that. Now, if you’d give me a moment while I look at the lock? It’s enchanted, which doesn’t surprise me, but I should be able to bypass it. It’s not as bad as some others I’ve seen, that’s for sure.”
The knight leaned over the lock, his lips moving and light flickering around his hands, and as he did so, Ruethwyn studied the windows again, frowning. Most of them were covered by dark curtains, she realized. The only ones which weren’t were on the upper floor, and for an instant she thought she saw something in a window to her right, but when she turned to look with her normal vision there was nothing there.
“Odd…” Ruethwyn murmured, drawing Tadrick’s attention.
“Is something the matter, Rue?” Tadrick asked.
“Nothing really. I thought I saw movement in the windows, but I must’ve been mistaken,” Ruethwyn replied. “It might just be because I haven’t had the ability to see on that side for ages, or for all I know a moth flew in front of the window.”
“Alright, fair enough,” Tadrick said, relaxing slightly and looking at the door. “I hope Lady Rithara is safe.”
“You and me both,” Ruethwyn agreed, remembering the way the kitsune had politely given her condolences for what had happened to Ruethwyn. The thought caused a tight feeling in Ruethwyn’s chest for a moment as she almost forgot to breathe, then slowly let her breath out.
The lock clicked loudly, and Alaran looked up, frowning as he murmured, “I wonder what’s keeping the guard? Regardless, I’m not waiting for them. You four, stay behind me. If I tell you to run, get the hells out of here, alright?”
“As you wish, Sir Whisperblade,” Ruethwyn agreed, nodding. Sella and Tadrick both murmured their agreement, but Korima shook her head stubbornly.
“I’m not going anywhere if it looks like Mother is in danger. If it doesn’t seem like it’ll risk her safety, sure, but otherwise I’m going to do everything I can to help her,” the kitsune said firmly.
“Miss Korima—” Alaran began.
“No!” Korima interrupted, her eyes narrowing as she crossed her arms. “You may be a knight, but she’s my mother. I’m not abandoning her!”
“Fine. We don’t have time for this,” Alaran growled, unsheathing his sword, the blade gleaming dully in the dim light of the moon. He pushed the door open, which creaked slightly as it swung into a dark entryway.
“That isn’t good,” Sella said, frowning, then asked, “Would you like me to hold a light, Sir?”
“If you would, that’d be appreciated,” Alaran replied, his stance more cautious as he eased through the doorway. “This feels wrong…”
Tadrick drew his sword and followed the first man through the door as Sella cast a spell. The light she produced shed an abrupt, sharp glare around them, the orb sparkling like lightning, and Ruethwyn flinched at its appearance, then relaxed. She’d almost forgotten that Sella’s first teacher had been a weather mage, but it explained why the light was so bright and cast sharp shadows through the room.
“Thanks, Sella,” Korima said, a dagger in hand as she stalked into the room, and Ruethwyn had to wonder where it’d come from. She didn’t remember the kitsune having a dagger earlier and hadn’t seen her draw it.
“You’re welcome. This looks pretty… well, it’s kind of opulent, but doesn’t seem that strange to me,” Sella said, looking around the entryway of the manor.
The carpets looked nice, Ruethwyn had to admit, and as she stepped inside, she felt the temperature increase to a more pleasant level. The walls were about as fine as what she’d seen in the academy, and she nodded in agreement, not saying anything.
“No, it isn’t unusual… Korima? Could you prop the door open?” Alaran asked, looking around the room, which had three exits aside from where they’d entered, as well as a staircase leading upward. The doors were in each wall, all of them shut.
“Sure,” Korima said, grabbing a chair from the side of the room to hold the door open.
Ruethwyn felt her tension growing as Alaran headed for the back of the room and opened the door cautiously. It led to another hall, this one dark as well.
“Keep an eye out for a way downstairs. The tracking spell indicates that Rithara is downward,” Alaran said, hesitating before adding, “That said, the directions have grown weaker as well. I suspect that someone is warding her against scrying spells at this point.”
“Lovely,” Ruethwyn murmured, slipping into the hallway beside him. As she did so, she paused, feeling a strange vibration through the floor. She flicked her wrist, grabbing the wand as the sheath ejected it into her hand as she added, “I felt the floor vibrate… I suspect we aren’t alone up here.”
“Wonderful,” Tadrick murmured. “Well, this is getting weird.”
“Let’s move, then!” Korima urged, her voice impatient. “I’m getting worried.”
“Calm down, Korima. Haste leads to mistakes, and I don’t want any of your deaths on my hands,” Alaran replied, hesitating before heading to the right.
Ruethwyn followed, frequently glancing behind her as she did so. She hadn’t heard any of the doors open, but that didn’t mean much.
Every step they took caused the floorboards to creak slightly, and at each creak, Ruethwyn tensed. Beside her, Sella’s breathing was coming quickly, the other woman looking around nervously as they slowly moved through the building.
The manor house had numerous small alcoves, each containing everything from small glass figurines to paintings, each of them exquisitely crafted and worth more than Ruethwyn would care to think about. She quickly noticed a large number of the items had a vaguely fox-themed styl
e to them, and several paintings were of kitsune. Still, it wasn’t as though that was the type of art, so she tried to reserve judgement.
They passed a few doors, and Alaran opened each as he reached them, then closed them without comment, frowning. The one she’d been able to look into was likely a kitchen, from the glimpse she’d seen, but it had also been mostly dark.
At last, Alaran opened another door and let out a breath of relief, murmuring, “Here we are, a staircase at last. Watch your step.”
He started down the stairs, and Ruethwyn hesitated, then murmured to Sella. “You go first. They need the light closer to the front, and I don’t think Korima is willing to go last.”
“Very true,” Sella said, a smile flickering across her face as she glanced at the kitsune, whose tail was slightly bushier than normal, likely due to stress. “Alright, Rue.”
As they started down the stairs, Ruethwyn waited for her turn and followed them. She tensed as she did so, because she heard a few voices as Alaran opened the door at the bottom of the steps, one of which sounded quite angry, though she couldn’t make out words with how muffled it was. The others slowed down, and she did as well, taking care not to tread on Sella’s hem.
Ruethwyn had just opened her mouth to say something when she heard a clicking sound from behind her, and Umbra all but cried out in alarm, causing Ruethwyn to spin around.
She found herself facing a low-slung figure just as it pounced, and the wolf’s maw opened wide in a soundless snarl as it lunged toward her.
Chapter 33
Ruethwyn’s hand snapped up instinctively, a word of command activating the shield spell she’d embedded in her new ring, causing a glittering barrier of air to coalesce between her and the monster. It bounced off and hit the ground in a clatter, but despite how it glared at Ruethwyn in anger, the creature didn’t make a sound.
She didn’t give it a chance to recover, though, flicking her wand toward it and channeling a thread of mana from her bracelet. A bolt of shimmering green air lanced out and slammed into the creature, producing a spray of blood as the bolt slammed home into the monster’s chest. The creature collapsed an instant later, and Ruethwyn shivered, staring at it as she heard Sella gasp behind her.
“What’s that?” Sella asked unsteadily.
While the creature might have the head of a wolf, Ruethwyn realized the rest of its body didn’t match. It had the body of a lion while the tail was a serpent with its head as the very tip. She opened her mouth, uncertain how to reply, but Alaran spoke first.
“Hells, a chimera! Good job, Rue. No time to delay; let’s move,” the knight said flatly, throwing caution to the wind as he rushed through the door.
The others followed him, and Ruethwyn did so as well, channeling mana from her core into the bracelet again. It was easier to utilize in combat than trying to draw on her core, though the bracelet didn’t hold much, even when the enchantments had been crafted of silver instead of wood.
They quickly entered a hallway, this one darker and danker than the others, though it was still relatively clean. As they did so, Ruethwyn could finally make out words.
“…thought you said that this wouldn’t be difficult!” a man exclaimed angrily. “You didn’t say it’d take a few weeks!”
“Hush, Lord Elisir. I said it would be easy, not that it would be done quickly,” a woman replied frostily. “You wish her mind intact at the end, do you not? If so, I have to be more delicate about what I do. It’s hardly something that—wait, what’s that sound?”
At that moment, Alaran kicked the door at the end of the downstairs hall open and the group burst into the room. Ruethwyn was startled, though, as the room was much larger than she’d anticipated, and also quite disturbing.
The chamber was about fifty feet long and almost as wide, with numerous support pillars holding up a masonry ceiling with heavy crossbeams. Several doors were set into the far wall, but what was in between Ruethwyn and the speakers was startling. Tables contained beakers of alchemical reagents, lab equipment, and jars containing everything from powders to the internal organs of creatures. A large tank held what looked to Ruethwyn like most of the body of a wolf, just lacking the head as it twitched and moved occasionally, restrained within the amber liquid by chains. Chains hung from the ceiling and were fastened to the floor, many of which had blood spattered around them.
At the far end of the room were two people. On the left was an elven man, rail-thin and with blond hair, his eyes glittering light blue as he looked at them in shock. He was wearing fine clothing in dark colors that almost looked black in the red light that illuminated the room.
To his right was a half-elven woman, and she swore at the sight of them, glowering. The woman had darker hair, though it wasn’t too unusual, and her eyes looked almost black. She looked relatively normal aside from the white robes she wore, and the woman scowled, her voice sharp.
“You imbecile, you led them to us! Your haste is going to be disastrous!” the woman spat out, glaring at the man.
“No, I didn’t! I did everything just as you directed,” the man retorted, snatching a knife off a nearby table, its blade looking wickedly sharp.
“Lord Elisir, by the laws of the kingdom, you’re accused of kidnapping and the unauthorized magical modification of living creatures. Worse, your activities have taken place within the capital, where the potential damage is far greater. If you come quietly, I will guarantee a fair trial,” Alaran said, his voice hard as he brandished his sword.
“Sir Whisperblade? What are you doing here?” the noble replied, blanching slightly. “Lady Issa, I think—”
“I think not, Elisir,” the woman interrupted bluntly, her eyes flickering as she bared her teeth. “This simply moved my plans forward, in fact.”
The woman snapped her fingers and a barrier of red energy erupted from a circle on the floor around her, protecting her from all sides at once. A moment later, the doors on the walls shuddered as the bolts holding all but one closed unlatched, causing Lord Illisyr to spin around, horror on his face.
“What’re you doing? You haven’t tamed those ones yet!” he protested loudly. Ruethwyn took the moment to glance at the others as she settled into place, drawing on her mana, the pain almost unnoticed under the circumstances.
Sella’s face was pale, and her light had almost flickered out as her eyes darted around. By comparison, Tadrick looked both focused and determined as he watched the doors, having taken a stance quite similar to Alaran’s. Ruethwyn almost wished she’d taken some lessons on physical combat, looking at the two of them. Korima was the opposite of Sella, outrage and anger on her face, her free hand clenching and unclenching, her teeth barely visible as she watched the two at the other end of the room.
“They won’t attack me, and that’s all that matters. If you’d done your job right, you’d still be useful, instead… well, let’s see how long you last,” Issa spat in response, and the four doors opened.
The one to the right, nearest to Ruethwyn, spilled out a dozen creatures that reminded her of a horrific melding of rat, cat, and dog, stumbling about on uneven legs as their dog-like maws worked, almost as if they were trying to howl but unable to do so. From the next door emerged a bear with the talons of an immense eagle, but with strange, bug-like eyes. On the other side of the woman came two more creatures, the first of which looked almost normal, if you could call a serpentine forest drake normal and if it hadn’t had three sets of eyes around its skull. The last was a lion-headed creature, this one almost like a bear, but with its body covered by thick chitinous plates.
“Gods above!” Sella exclaimed, taking a step back.
“You crazy—no!” Lord Elisir exclaimed, beginning to back away from the creatures quickly, but his movement caught the drake’s attention. The monster lunged forward suddenly, its movements almost faster than Ruethwyn could follow, and she cringed, her stomach roiling as the man’s flight ended with a sickening crunch.
“Damn. You know, I think
now would be a good time for the four of you to leave,” Alaran said, his almost conversational tone startling Ruethwyn, then she relaxed slightly.
“Hells no. You’re good, but this many opponents would probably swarm you under,” Tadrick replied, his voice tight. “I don’t like the look of this, but we just have to hold out for the guard, right?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Korima said tightly. “I’ve got that bear-thing.”
“Fine,” Alaran replied, his calm tone feeling somewhat deceptive.
“I…” Sella began, and Ruethwyn glanced at her.
“Sella, watch our backs? I think I can handle the swarm and help Korima,” Ruethwyn murmured. “I don’t want another monster sneaking up on us.”
“Okay,” Sella said, relaxing slightly as she nodded, letting out her breath.
“Ready to die, then?” the woman asked, her voice mocking as she grinned. “Go on, my pets. Larimos doesn’t need these ones.”
The monsters lunged forward toward them, the drake abandoning the body of Elisir instantly. The dragon’s mouth opened in a silent roar, baring bloodstained fangs.
“Hells,” Alaran muttered, then flicked his free hand through several gestures. A suit of armor manifested around him, seeming to be made of shadow, and he charged to intercept the drake.
Ruethwyn raised her wand, but paused as Umbra took control, the elemental seeming to sneer as it gazed on the creatures. Ruethwyn’s hand flicked the wand through the gestures of a spell rapidly, chanting several sibilant words that she didn’t think she could’ve spoken, and the shadows on the floor between her and the rushing rat-cat-dog hybrids slithered and danced… then turned into a series of a half-dozen shadow-snakes the perfect size to eat creatures like that. Which they proceeded to do.
The crash of shattering glass caused Ruethwyn to flinch, glancing over to see the bear-eagle knock over a table, spilling its contents onto the floor. An instant later, a ball of stone the size of her head rocketed into the creature’s chest, sending the monster flying backward as the bloody stone slammed it into a pillar. The pillar cracked under the impact, and Ruethwyn flinched, following the stone’s path back to Korima and to the hole in the floor where her magic had ripped the stone free.
The Avatar's Flames (Through the Fire Book 1) Page 26