“Where are you going?” one of those folks asked.
He swallowed away his fear and spun back around. “I’m off to see the coroner. We’ll bring a carriage as soon as we can. One of you needs to summon a guard and make sure she stays there.” As he said those words, he realized for the first time that he considered that she might not.
Somehow, that was the least of his worries.
*****
The outfit that had been given to him was not quite what he had left at Marin’s house after his encounter with the Titan. His tutor had spent a considerable amount of her bedrest fashioning him a costume more fitting of a person of his importance. The greens and browns had a more professional look and feel to them, and she had fixed a hood to the back of it.
“Not all investigations can be carried out at night,” she had reasoned.
Still, he felt naked in the light of day, with only the hood on his head disguising him. The domino mask was tucked away, an effort made to distance him from the Silver Serpent should he pry too far.
The tavern he visited felt like going too far. Even disguising his voice, he was certain someone there must have picked up on a subtle nuance that could prove who he was. Then again, every one of those patrons seemed more concerned with the body found near that sentinel tower and the monster that dropped it from the sky.
There was something to be said of that bigger man—who looked like he would be unshakable—when he admitted his fears. Everyone around him continued to ask the same questions: What did the monster look like? Did it say anything? Was it trying to attack them? He answered with as much detail as he could, but it didn’t amount to much.
“Woldo saw it better than I did,” he admitted.
It only took a few moments to understand why the other fellow wasn’t there. Superstition guided his hand, the other witness said, and Woldo was preparing to flee the city. If a beast like that set its sights on you, you were sure to be its next victim.
The prince lingered just long enough to gather information about what Woldo was leaving behind. The fellow had no family. He wouldn’t be leaving behind a wife or children or even a woman he fancied, though some jabs were taken at the expense of a man named Mardon. All he had was a small house not far from the tower. He’d used the entirety of his recent wages to purchase a horse and a wagon and was setting out from Argos, hopeful to avoid the creature’s watchful eye.
When Kelvin canvassed the neighborhood there, it wasn’t difficult to find the frightened man. The wagon in Woldo’s possession was filled considerably, and he moved in and out of his house at a feverish pace. The prince hummed to himself. How he had managed to catch the fellow before he raced from the city was a small miracle.
The lad tugged on his hood, drawing it farther over his face, and strode up to the man with purpose. Woldo took account of him but never stopped to appease him. Back and forth he went into his house, gathering all his belongings, big and small. Finally, when he arrived outside his home with a crude chair and noticed the man in green leaning against the fence, he was forced to acknowledge him.
“Already looking to squat here?” he prodded.
“Woldo Regrine?” Kelvin asked, making sure to keep his face angled away from the fellow.
“Who’s asking?” He lifted the chair into the wagon, and the noise pulled a snort from the horse at the front of the carriage.
“Just another person curious about what you saw last night.”
Woldo scoffed at that notion. “Everyone thinks I’m crazy, else they’d be here helping me pack my things. By the gods, they’d be packing their own.”
The disguised prince shrugged. “They seem pretty taken by your friend’s story. What makes you think the monster you saw would turn its sights to you?”
Arching an eyebrow, the fellow spun to his unexpected guest and crossed his arms over his chest. “What monster do you know that lets you live once you’ve seen it?”
“So you did see it then?” Kelvin asked. “Everyone is asking your companion what it was, but he hasn’t been able to say much about it. It seems you’ve had a much better view of it, else you might not be so hasty to be leaving your home behind.”
“From what I hear of it, Peritas ain’t so bad.” He sighed, pushing away the bevy of emotions becoming difficult to stifle. “All right, you want to know what it was I saw? Glowing scarlet eyes that could pierce into your soul and razor-sharp fangs that could rend the flesh from your bones. The thing was made of stone, as sure as the street beneath us, yet it was aloft on a pair of wide wings that looked like they belonged on a giant bat. But none of those things was as frightening as its roar. It felt like it took something away from me, like years of my life were gone.”
“What about the body?” Kelvin pressed with a gravelly voice. “Were either of you familiar with who it was that died?”
Woldo shook his head. “That fellow was smashed up pretty bad, but all the folks Geof and I worked with turned up today. It wasn’t anybody we knew. Why do you want to know so much?”
The prince patted the bow draped on his shoulder. “Someone has to protect the people of this city from its monsters.”
With a laugh, the other man shook his head. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that. This wasn’t just some monster. This was a beast the likes of which I’ve never heard of. With one gaze, I feel like years were taken off my life. I can still see those red eyes looking down at me, watching me. It was only then that I realized what true fear was.”
*****
The lad looked up at that tall tower, just past the end of his hood. He saw the symbol of his city—the spear, the shield, and the eye—and saw the torches there had all been snuffed out.
Just beside Kelvin, bits of crimson were still stained upon the stone. That unfortunate victim had left his mark on Argos, it seemed.
Residents of the city still lingered in the area, and the prince wondered if there was any chance he could observe the tower with greater scrutiny. With the guards still patrolling the area, his chances were slim, but he remained there, just out of sight, with his hood drawn up.
At that point in the day, he knew the odds of seeing anything at the top of that tower were bleak. Just in case, however, he determined to stay there until he could be sure there was nothing worth noticing.
After only a few more moments, a lone figure exited the bottom of the tower. The two guards nearest there conversed quietly, both facing the crowd that still hoped for answers
Kelvin realized an opportunity was before him and cut across the street, nearing the back of that square fortification. While the men in armor kept their weapons ready and their hands up to placate the crowd, the fellow in green cut around the tower and slipped inside fast enough to avoid any suspicion.
Moments later, he regretted that decision. There were far more steps than he imagined in that tower, and getting out with any measure of seclusion seemed a forgone idea. He shrugged at the thought of that slight hitch in his strategy. Nothing had changed except for his escape plan. He could at least see if there were any secrets the top of the place held that the guards weren’t sharing with the rest of the populace.
When he arrived at the pinnacle of the tower, where the stairs led up to a wide sandstone platform, Kelvin was surprised by how bright and warm it was. The crenellation was fashioned there in such a way that it looked as if it would be difficult to be thrown from the top. Of course, if the hearsay about the monster were true, perhaps it plucked its hapless victim into the air on those hefty stone wings and dropped him. The prince shuddered at that terrible way to die.
There were no visible signs of foul play. While blood still stained the streets below, there was nothing evident on that sand-colored stone. No damage was apparent on any of the merlons or the crenels that made up the border of the tower either. It seemed that sneaking onto that turret was all for naught.
Kelvin braced against the eastern side of the crenellation, peering into the distance. The walls of the city stretched out
before him, not so far away then, but the countryside of Arthica swept out far beyond that. Plains and forests and—far in the distance—mountains made up the landscape of their large island. He had never seen all that from the high point in the city, he realized. Even if he was apprehended and scolded for what he had done, it was all worth it just for that view.
He remembered his question to his mentor a few weeks prior. Somewhere, far to the east out there, his brother trained with an old elf. The concept of seeing Helios from there, amidst all those trees, was laughable to him.
The prince did notice a few other things, though. Spread throughout that landscape, stone pillars pierced through the trees. He didn’t realize it at first, but his eyes were aglow as he stretched his sight farther and farther. Before long, he stared at more towers like the ones he stood upon.
“Of course,” the lad muttered. Marin had spent a fair amount of time explaining the works of Samwell Harding to him during their studies. He, in turn, had spent a considerable amount of time trying to ignore her. He was happy for the subconscious memories, however. He glanced from one distant tower to another, his focus shifting so he could see miles away easier than any man he knew could. Far in the distance, he saw what would only be a speck to someone else—a tower on one of those remote mountains.
The lad couldn’t stifle a smile. There was something liberating about finally embracing his gift to its full extent. He withdrew his focus, ready to bid the tower farewell, when he noticed something peculiar. In the forest, closer to the city than many of the other landmarks he had spotted, a pair of towers peeked through the trees. A wide, stone bridge connected those two turrets, but it was what was on that bridge that caught his eye.
Crouching down, with wings drawn close to its body, a creature of stone rested on a merlon there. A chill ran up Kelvin’s spine as he considered the possibility the monster saw him as clearly as he saw it. He stared at it for some time, verifying it didn’t move. It could have been nothing more than a statue, but it so easily fit the description Woldo had given him. Without seeing those blood-red eyes, though, the lad could only speculate.
The prince blinked and shook his head, wrenching his vision back to a normal distance. When he looked down, he was surprised to see a carriage rolling toward the exit of his city. The back of that vehicle was stacked with the belongings of an entire house, and it only took a few moments for him to realize it was Woldo fulfilling his exodus.
With a determined gaze, Kelvin turned and descended the steps.
He realized how troublesome that decline would be when he heard the armored boots of a guard marching to the top of the tower. As quiet as he could be, he leapt back up those steps and looked around as if there were some other way for him to reach the street below. Without any hope of escaping down the sides of the turret, he crouched behind the gap the steps led up from.
When the helmet of the Argosian guard appeared in front of him, it took every effort not to leap in any direction. He bid his time, though, and when the officer of his city was far enough along, he swung over, kicking his feet down the staircase. As he whipped behind the guard, he closed his eyes and hoped he wouldn’t be seen. His boots tapped against the stone a few feet down, and Kelvin had to work at maintaining his balance. In a split second, though, he leapt to the other side of the tower, out of sight of the gap that led to the pinnacle.
“Alexander, is that you?” the guard wondered.
The prince burst out of the tower without any hesitation, and one of the patrolling guards caught sight of him. That older fellow, dressed in full armor, was no match for the younger lad’s speed. Kelvin outpaced him with ease, evading him and the rest of the crowd. With energy unrivaled by most of those folks, he kept on toward his target and passed beneath the arch at the exit of the city without any trouble.
It only took a few minutes of jogging before the stone road transitioned into one of dirt. From there, he saw the carriage moving along the uneven path. The horse pulled the vehicle along with great effort, but it wouldn’t take long for the prince to reach them.
When a shrill whistle entered the air, Woldo turned about, spotting the man in green. The fellow’s hood was still drawn, but he moved toward the wagon with a little less poise than he expected. Curious, the driver tugged back on the reins and drew his cart to a stop.
“What do you want?” the man asked. “I’ve already told you everything I know.”
Kelvin skidded to a stop beside the front of the cart, taking in a few deep breaths. “There’s something else you can offer me now, though,” he said between puffs. “If you’re heading in this direction, you can take me with you.”
The man on the cart arched an eyebrow. “Are you from Peritas?”
“No,” the prince assured. “I’ve lived in Argos all my life, but there is something I need to investigate from the woods out east, and a small rest would be much appreciated. I don’t look forward to my walk back without a carriage beneath me, but such is life.”
Woldo sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “I’m going along this road either way. I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have someone looking over my shoulder. Climb on in, and mind all the junk.”
Bearing a smile, Kelvin scrambled into the wagon, finding a comfortable spot atop the crude chair Woldo had brought out earlier. Together, the pair of them continued their way toward the woods east of Argos.
*****
He sat at that bar, swirling his glass around while watching the contents stir. He was brought out of his stupor when the woman behind the counter could be seen through that amber liquid. Thoro looked up, a distant gaze in his eyes.
“Are you all right?” Brielle asked.
“I’m fine,” he said.
Since his success in apprehending Ciara, the lad braved that common room instead of hiding in the bedroom in the back. Still, there was something absent from him since then as well. A spark had died out, and no amount of prying could help explain away his mood.
“You have to talk to me eventually,” she bade. “For a week you haven’t said a word to me, it seems. We still have much to talk about.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You were serious about traveling to Peritas?”
Brielle looked around discriminately, trying to see if anyone else had heard that discussion. When none of the other patrons seemed to react to that statement, she leaned on the counter, balancing on her elbows. “Of course, I’m serious. I would go anywhere with you. Let’s start over somewhere else. We can leave this all behind without any problems.”
A light nod had him bobbing his head. “I feel like we may have turned a corner here, though. My last mission was a success, and I got Jerrod what he wanted. Maybe our future here might not be so bad.”
“Even a broken clock is right twice a day,” she chided. “Don’t let one moment of victory here keep you from a life of happiness somewhere else.”
He let out a loud sigh, and she narrowed her eyes at that sound. Both of them turned when the door on the far side of the room opened and the more prominent member of their guild stepped through.
“Yes, yes, of course,” Jerrod said to the fellows in the room as he leaned inside. “Everything is going according to plan. We’ll have a great many things to discuss within the next few hours.”
He swept the door shut with a wide smile upon his face and turned to the crowd, who anxiously awaited some kind of address. The Magician offered them no such treat, instead cutting a path through the patrons until he reached the bar, stopping just beside Thoro.
“You all know this lad by now, yes?” Jerrod asked the other folks in that room. “Thoro has been making a name for himself in the Brotherhood for as long as I can remember, but recently, he’s helped us achieve one of our greatest victories. This might be something some of you aren’t even aware of. He braved an encounter with the Silver Serpent and her lackey and apprehended a young woman gifted with the Strain.”
The Magician grinned and clapped the young fellow on the s
houlder. “What better way to show our appreciation than to send this courageous lad on a quest to find the Brotherhood more glory, eh?” He looked back at Thoro and did nothing to shield the madness in his eyes. “What say you, lad? Are you ready for an even greater challenge?”
Thoro struggled not to look at Brielle for an advising glance. He arched an eyebrow, intrigued by the proposition before him.
*****
Whenever that carriage drew beneath the parts of the canopy that let the sun shine through, the prince ventured a gaze beyond those leaves. The sun was descending, and it would not be long before darkness covered his island. Even a hasty retreat to the city wouldn’t see his return until well after nightfall. He wondered how he would begin to explain his tardiness to his parents.
Kelvin was drawn from those thoughts when he heard the horse’s hooves clapping against a different type of road. Gone was the trodden dirt, replaced instead with a clean, uniform set of stonework. He leaned over and glanced at the ground, noticing the fine workmanship. It prompted a look over his shoulder, and what he saw piqued his interest.
There, just a few hundred feet away, was the set of twin towers he had seen from his perch in Argos. The bridge was high above, though it did not seem to be in use at that time. Though the guards patrolled the one in the city with a sense of duty, the set far out in the forest was derelict, with no one left to watch over it.
As the carriage rolled on, Kelvin stood from his chair. “Woldo, draw to a halt,” he said.
The driver looked over his shoulder and clicked his tongue. “It’s a long way to Peritas, friend. It’ll get darker before it gets brighter.”
“Exactly,” the man in green agreed. “There is no better place for us as night falls than right here. It’ll provide shelter from the elements, and we can orient ourselves in the morning from high up in the tower.”
Silver Serpent Page 15