“And you are?” I prompted him.
“Murdoch.” He flushed. “Guess the boy isn’t the only one forgetting his manners.”
I chose to push my advantage. “So, you know where the bodies are?”
“I do.” His steps slowed. “Had to move them once…” He shook his head. “We’ll be having a proper bonfire soon, burn the bodies in offering to the two gods. Hope it will cleanse the city.”
“I can help,” I was quick to offer. “I can bless the bonfire and officiate.”
“In exchange for…?” He scowled. “Don’t make it something Vaughn will gut me for.”
Something in his tone made me ask, “Do you know him well?”
“Well enough.” He absently rubbed a scar splitting his forearm. “I used to spar with him and his brother. Vaughn’s better than most. That brother of his…never seen such skill with a sword. So if harm comes to you, I know if one brother doesn’t sever my head, the other damn sure will.”
“Vaughn knows why I came here—to help his clan. I can’t do that unless I see the carcasses for myself.” After debating how much to tell, I confided a bit in him. “I healed Maven Isolde and would like to compare the mass I found on her aura to the residual energies of the animals, if we can find a fresh enough subject. We know they died from the yellow death. Confirmation that the females here are or aren’t infected with the same sickness would spare other clans similar fates.”
“Can’t this wait until morning?” His tone was gruff, but I sensed him softening.
“I’d rather go while the imprint is fresh in my mind.” I kept to myself I would remember the sickly aural glow from the west tower garden’s bodies for the rest of my life. “Please, take me.”
“I’m going to regret this.” He scratched his scalp. “You’re sure Vaughn will understand?”
“He knows my reasons for being here.” I frowned. “He can’t object to me doing my duty.”
“Come on, then.” He spun and clomped in the opposite direction. “Let’s make this quick.”
He muttered under his breath. I heard trying to get me hanged and better be worth it.
“I promise I’ll cleanse this place.” I thought of the garden. “The souls here deserve no less.”
“I trust your word.” He glanced back. “My grandmother was Salticidae. She kept a shrine in her bedroom. Grandfather humored her but…I met Masikookyang, escorted him to Isolde once. He had this presence, reminded me of Gran, of the peace that settled in her house after worship.”
“Old Father is a remarkable male, a gifted walker.”
“Old Father,” he echoed. “She called him that too.”
“Most of us do.” It was a title of respect.
“For my Gran to have called him that—how old is he?”
“I can’t say.” No one knew for sure.
“Huh.” He scratched his cheek. “If you can do the job good as him, it will be worth the heat I get for this little walk we’re taking.” He stopped short. “The fresher carcasses are just there.”
I took a step, waited. “Are you coming with me?”
“I’d rather not.” He tapped his nose. “If I stay downwind, I can track you and the canis, if he shows.” Scowling into the night, he rolled his shoulders. “If those youths are out tonight, I want to catch them at it. They’ve had their warning. This time I’ll do more than tattle to their fathers.”
“I’ll do my best to hurry.” I don’t think either of us wanted to linger.
As I walked, I settled into that in-between place where my mind relaxed enough to see those auras around me. I was too rattled tonight for another proper reading. All I needed was a touch of confirmation if possible. So far the animals I had encountered were cleared-out husks, soulless. I doubted these would be different. If they had a bit more energy than the carcasses Vaughn had shown me, it would be enough to match the aural smudge. Then I could return to the towers and hope Brynmor met me there. I worried for him, but surely the canis could handle a few youths?
On the other hand, I dreaded my welcome. Vaughn would not be pleased with me.
Following the curve of the road, I found an archway leading into another walled structure. It was impossible to tell now, but I think it might have been a public garden. Now it housed graves. Or I assumed that’s why the grass was torn and ground scuffed, as if they had buried the first of the victims before they ran out of space in the ground. Varanus lay on their sides among assorted other creatures. Bones peeked through thick hides. Fur tufts were slicked black with blood. Stink from rotted flesh would have made me gag if I’d come here first. After seeing, smelling remains of my fellow Araneaeans, I was numb to any additional shock. Good thing too. I had work to do.
Chapter Fourteen
I stepped inside the garden and shut my eyes. Inhale. Exhale. Focus on the auras. Whereas the west tower garden had pulsed with residual energy, this place lacked obvious vestiges of life.
Dead grass crunched under the soles of my shoes. Tendrils of energy lured me forward.
Something pulled in the center of my chest.
Thick fingers dug into my arms and spun me to face the last person I wanted to find me.
“We need to talk.” Vaughn’s jaw flexed.
I could imagine how well that conversation would go.
Vaughn, looking wrung out and strained. Me, nursing the hurt his truth caused.
Old Father’s words haunted me now. Inability to divine your match through aural readings fuels your anxiety. Was the answer I craved so simple? Had I blocked what I didn’t wish to see?
Inklings of doubt prickled the back of my mind. Had I been saving myself…for Vaughn?
I took a step back. “I must finish my work first.”
He matched that step, closing the distance between us. “I don’t think so.”
Tightness spread throughout my chest. “You’re hurting me.”
He slid his hand down my arm, took my hand. “Do you have any idea how dangerous—?”
A harsh cough stole what I might have said.
“Mana’s had a trying first night in our fair city,” Murdoch said. “Perhaps this conversation is better had in the morning—in your rooms—where fewer ears will hear and fewer rumors begin.”
Tingles crept up my neck. “I don’t share his rooms.”
Murdoch smoothed his expression before I read its meaning. “I meant no disrespect.”
“How is it I came to find you two here?” Vaughn’s attention shifted, much to my relief.
“I was at the wall.” Murdoch cut me a look that pleaded for silence on behalf of his nephew. “She approached me, said she’d lost her canis. She wanted help finding where the beast went.”
“He was concerned for me and offered to escort me back to the tower.” I stepped in front of Vaughn, who glared past me to Murdoch as if it was his fault I’d left instead of Vaughn’s. “I took the canis out for a walk.” I squeezed Vaughn’s fingers. “I thought he could help me find this place.” I heard his jaw pop. “I wanted to perform aural readings on all the victims, compare their signatures to Isolde’s.”
“All the victims.” His gaze panned this garden.
“I should have told you my plans.” Not that he would have allowed it. “But I did tell Nerys.”
If I had been in her shoes, I would have given my location to him without blinking an eye.
He snorted. “As if I needed her help tracking you.”
“We’re here now.” I dreaded seeing this place by daylight. “Can’t you let me finish?”
He lifted our linked hands and kissed my knuckles. “Seeing how it’s my own fault you felt safer venturing here alone rather than asking your—” His gaze cut to Murdoch. “Rather than ask me to accompany you, I will honor your request.” He toyed with my thumb. “We will talk later.”
“There will be plenty of time for sorting personal matters once our work is done.” My smile was pale, and his expression reflected that. “For now, will you be my anchor
? Your touch helps.”
His lips twitched. “Of course.”
While our connection was strong enough to secure me, his touch shot lightning beneath my skin. His aura flared on contact with mine, and we completed a circuit of lush power.
I turned in his arms and let him hold my back to his front. My head fell back against him, his heartbeats a pleasant guide as I sank into the in-between to study the garden. This place held few traces of residual energy. The taint I had sensed about the other animal remains, and the remains of the varanus I’d inspected in Beltania, hung in the air. I spotted a vibrant yellow mass writhing over the deceased. My pulse quickened. I probed it deeper. Without a doubt, “They’re the same.”
Vaughn let me sag against him while I came back into awareness.
“All that means is the sick and the dead suffered the same illness.” Murdoch jutted his chin. “You weren’t here when that bout of scourge nearly wiped this clan from the face of the Second World. For a while, I thought that’d be the end of us.” He snarled, “I could hear those other clans cackling. ‘Finally ate something that didn’t agree with them. Got what they deserved.’ Bastards don’t know about hunger. How you crave food until you see it everywhere—until you look at an old friend and you see…” His throat worked hard a moment. “How can you compare the two?”
Heart aching for these people, I locked my knees and faced him without Vaughn’s support.
“You must have heard the yellow death came to Beltania.” I touched his arm. “I was there. I saw the dead males, their necks broken. There was no taint of illness about them, but the varanus I examined had the same yellow smudges to their auras as I’ve seen here. It’s as if the illness had eaten their souls the same as it hollowed their bodies.” I considered the eerie garden, its upturned plots and its rotting occupants. “Or their souls had crossed long before their bodies deteriorated.”
Bodies couldn’t function after their souls were extinguished. I frowned. Could they?
“Gods’ web,” Murdoch muttered. “The plague is here.” His voice cracked. “It’s really here.” He clung to me as if I were his lifeline. “We don’t have a proper physician. The last one took off after a nasty row at the pub. Cleit knows herbs, but it’s not the same, not enough. We need you.”
“I will do everything in my power to ease the suffering of the afflicted,” I assured him.
His head bobbled, loose on his neck.
“I’ll escort Mana back to the tower.” Vaughn took my hand from Murdoch’s. “She needs her rest. It’s been a long and trying day for us all.” He eyed the guard. “Thank you for keeping Mana safe for me. I was remiss in my duty, and I’m grateful you did for her what I should have done.”
“Not a problem.” Murdoch shoved his hands into his pockets. “I’ll keep an eye out for your canis. I’ll tell the other guards to let me know if they hear or see anything.” He paused before he turned. “Lleu’s waiting outside as you requested. We’ve been using the Hamish barn for supply drops. I told him he was welcome to shack up there. Plenty of food and water, and blankets too.”
“Good.” Vaughn nodded. “See that he stays there.”
“I’ll do that.” Murdoch inclined his head. “Good night to you both.”
I waited until his outline was swallowed by the night. “What about Bram?”
I had assumed he and Lleu followed us into the city.
“They’re both outside and they will remain there.” He pulled me closer. “I have no heir.” He pushed the hair from my shoulder, exposing my throat. “Rhys is not suited to this place, to these people. If something were to happen to my mother, to me, I want an heir capable of stepping into our roles, aiding the survivors and rebuilding our home. Lleu is the male best suited to the job.”
“I trust your judgment.” I left him behind as I retraced my footsteps into the city’s heart.
“You’re upset.” Vaughn’s voice rose from over my shoulder.
“No.” I answered him truthfully. “I’m confused. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
“What Mother said about soul mates…” His fingers trailed my shoulder. “I don’t care.”
My heart twisted. “How can you not care?”
His fingers sank into my hair. “Love matters as much as destiny, if not more.”
“Yes.” My conviction surprised me. “And I realize you saved my life when you tied our life threads.” His grip tightened. “You say you meant to ask me, in Beltania, but you didn’t ask if this was what I wanted.” I wet my lips. “You didn’t say you cared for me, only that I was your duty.”
I waited, not expecting a declaration, but hopeful he would give me words of affection.
His voice grated. “I want you, Mana.”
Muscles trembled in my thighs as heat swept upward from my core. “Do you?”
“Our union will heal the rift between our clans.” His cheek pressed to mine. “Our clans will be joined by marriage, and it will be a blessing that lightens my mother’s heart as well as mine.”
I must have heard him wrong. “You did this—to us—for our clans?”
He must have heard the crackle of anger in my voice. “I did this for us, to heal our clans.”
Isolde’s blood ran thick in his veins, then. He had seen an opportunity and seized it, and me.
“You ruined me.” I jerked my head around and winced when his hand tangled in my hair. “If I’m bound to you, I can’t marry my soul mate. What honorable male would have me this way?”
“I am an honorable male.” His voice rose to match mine. “I will have you, Mana.”
“You’ve made sure of that, haven’t you?” Foolish vision blurred. Foolish heart broke. “I’m tired. I’d like to return to the towers and to my room.” I bit the inside of my cheek. “If you could have one assigned to me, I would appreciate the privacy. I would rather not remain in your rooms.”
“Mana—” Fury trembled in his tone, and something softer, vulnerable. I ignored it, and him.
“You’ve said enough for one night.” I started walking. “Save the rest for tomorrow.”
Balling my hurt deep inside, I imagined the look on Old Father’s face when he counseled me on holding negative energy inside me. No good came of it. Isolde and Vaughn were proof of that.
I led until it became obvious I was lost. Then Vaughn took the lead without a word, and I let him guide me until exhaustion tugged at my limbs. A fleeting thought stirred my temper again. I was being walked about as if I was the canis, allowed to calm myself before entering the towers.
Part of me wanted to offer grudging thanks to him. Hadn’t I just been thinking on the effects of negativity? The larger part, rife with hurt and tender at Vaughn’s thoughtless scheming, kept my mouth pinched shut. I would stroll and let my anger cool while I made plans for tomorrow.
Though we walked until sunlight peeked over the city’s walls, I heard no barks or scrabbling claws. I kept Brynmor in my thoughts, praying he was safe. That the city’s gang hadn’t done him harm. Brynmor was cunning. When I failed to locate him, he’d hunker down and wait for dawn.
Tracking me was an easy matter if Murdoch was to be believed. So Brynmor would find his way to the tower and back to me. Working through the stitch in my side, I asked myself at what point Brynmor’s welfare had begun to matter to me. By all rights, I should hate him. Yet time and his devotion to his family had softened the harsh edges of the education Sikya had given me on him.
“Let me get that for you.” Vaughn pulled me from my thoughts and opened the door with slick precision. “I’ll show you to my rooms.” Before I laughed in his face, he cut me short. “I intend to spend the night with Mother, in her rooms.” As if reading my next objection, he said, “I’ll send Nerys to an empty suite so she can rest. Gods know how long she’s gone without proper sleep.”
“Thank you.” Though a nighttime spent in his room, reliving his claiming, would be torture.
“I’ll have her bring you a meal.” His of
fer made my stomach growl. “Fruit and bread.” After escorting me to his room, he lingered in the doorway. “What I said earlier—”
“Please don’t. I’m tired and I won’t remember this conversation tomorrow.” I hoped. “If you would like to continue this talk in the morning, I’m amenable.” How cool and formal I sounded. I thought perhaps I could thank my time among the Araneidae for that aloofness. “Dream well.”
“I somehow doubt I will.” His knuckles rapped the frame. “Call if you need…anything.”
Then he was gone.
I sank into his mattress and straight into troubled dreams.
Thick mist swirled about my feet and I groaned, trying to block the visitor strolling from the fog and failing. I sank to the soft ground with a disgusted sigh. “Let’s have this done, Brynmor.”
He circled me. “You’re tired.”
I snorted.
He paused. “No need to be rude.”
Rubbing my palms against my cheeks, I studied him. “I looked for you. Where did you go?”
“I sought shelter. I pushed the canis too far.” He frowned. “It’s resting now.”
Weariness melted and concern took its place. “Will it be all right? I saw traces of blood.”
Brynmor stared at his palms. “Broken pottery shards are to blame for that.”
“I’ll ask Cleit for balm if he has any.” I studied him. “Did you find who was following us?”
His spine stiffened. “I did.”
“Murdoch said there is no gang,” I prompted. “Just bored youths who prowl the streets.”
“This was no youth.” He began pacing. “She smelled odd, moved faster than a canis runs.”
“A female? You must be mistaken.” He had to be. “Nerys was the last female brought here.”
Even as I said it, doubt lingered. The youth who had approached the towers and been turned aside by Cleit. Could he have been a female? Caught in that awkward phase of immaturity where sexes blurred? Brynmor said she was no youth, but could she have appeared as one? The shadow I saw had been slender. A youth or a slim female with little endowment could fit my recollection.
A Feast of Souls: Araneae Nation, Book 2 Page 18