He looked away first.
“Oh,” I said. “I know we said we would take things slow, but…”
“It…is too soon,” said Riordan with a sigh. “I have problems with trust. This…” He gestured around him with the fork. “Eating breakfast alone with a woman in her apartment? I haven’t done that in a long, long time. It’s…difficult.” He shook his head. “And we shouldn’t be talking about my problems. Not when there is a banehound after you, and we need to get to Venomhold and back.”
“This isn’t easy for me either,” I said. “It’s just possible I have problems with trust.”
“For good reason,” Riordan pointed out.
“Yeah,” I said. He didn’t know the half of it. “But…hey, look at it this way. We spent the night together in the same apartment, and we didn’t shoot or stab each other or anything. Incremental steps, right?”
“With enough practice,” said Riordan, “maybe we can work up to better things.”
Better things. I think I knew what Riordan had in mind. It was the same thing I had been thinking about.
“Yeah,” I said. “Better things. I hope so.”
“Once you’re ready, we should go,” said Riordan. “We slept late.”
“I’m ready,” I said. “Just let me get my coat.” It was going to be another cold day, so I bundled up with hat and coat and gloves and scarf, tucking a few items I thought might be useful into the pockets. Riordan collected his coat and boots, and we walked to the front door.
“Hey, Riordan?” I said.
“Yes?” he said. “Is something…”
Before I could stop myself, I grabbed his collar, pulled his face down, and kissed him.
He flinched a little, and then kissed me back with enthusiasm, bending down a little because he was so much taller. We had never done this properly before. I had kissed him on the night we had met, to escape notice from Paul McCade’s guards, but that had been business. Even though I had enjoyed it. After that, in the time we had been seeing each other, he had kissed me on the cheek a few times, but we hadn’t touched each other all that much.
Turns out he was good at this. I suddenly felt way too warm within my coat and sweatshirt.
We broke apart, and I was breathing a little hard.
“Okay,” I said, my voice wobbling a little. “We can go now.”
Riordan smiled. “You’re not making that an appealing prospect.” But he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders, and we left my apartment and headed to his truck. The air was sharp and cold, and I would have rather stayed inside with him, but we had work to do.
###
A short time later, Riordan parked his truck outside the coffee shop.
I had been here a couple times before. In fact, I had met Riordan here after our little misadventure with the late Paul McCade and his Dark Ones cult, and he had taught me the lightning globe spell that had saved my life on multiple occasions. Inside the coffee shop was pleasantly warm, with wooden floors and tables and artistic looking-stuff nailed to the walls. I saw a lot of pictures glorifying the High Queen and Duke Tamirlas of Milwaukee, no doubt since the owner did not want to get into trouble with Homeland Security.
I spotted Hakon Valborg at once. He had seated himself at a table near the door, a cup of coffee in his hand, and he was wearing the brown suit he had worn during Russell’s date with Lydia. Two tables away waited Robert Ross, wearing a sweater, cargo pants, and a jacket roomy enough to conceal a pistol. Hakon’s pale blue eyes saw me first, followed by Robert’s dark gaze.
Then both men realized they were looking at me, and they frowned at each other.
“Hi guys,” I said. “Hope you weren’t waiting too long.”
“You brought an additional guest, I see?” said Hakon.
Robert frowned at Hakon. “A friend of yours, Miss Novoranya?” I supposed the Graysworn operated like a spy organization and the individual members didn’t know each other. Given that the Dark Ones cults would kill any Graysworn they could catch, that was a prudent precaution.
“We all need to talk,” I said. I looked Riordan. “Corvus?” He smiled a little at the nickname. He hated it, but he wouldn’t want the Graysworn to know his real name. “You grab that corner booth. I’ll get coffee for everyone, and we’ll all have a nice chat.”
I paid for the coffee and some scones. Since I might get everyone killed, that seemed only fair. I took the tray of scones and cardboard cups and went to the corner booth. Riordan, Robert, and Hakon had all spaced themselves out like the points of a triangle, each man putting himself in a position to watch the other two. It made me think of three lions watching each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.
I offered them a sunny smile and seated myself. All three men took a cup of coffee. Hakon claimed a scone, but Riordan and Robert did not. Given their musculatures, maybe they avoided carbs like poison. Alexandra had been something of a health food fanatic, come to think of it.
“Right,” I said, looking around to make sure we were out of earshot. It was ten AM on a weekday, and the coffee shop was mostly deserted, save for a group of mothers with small children sitting near the windows. The squealing from the children would drown out our conversation. “Let’s get started.”
“I suspect,” said Hakon, “that introductions are in order.”
“Hakon Valborg,” I said, “this is Captain Robert Ross, a man-at-arms in service to Duke Carothrace of Milwaukee.” Hakon extended his hand over the table, and Robert shook it. I couldn’t tell if they did that thing men sometimes do when they try to crush each other’s hands. “Captain Ross, this is Hakon Valborg, a retired member of the Wizard’s Legion.”
Robert’s eyes widened a little. “That was where I had seen you before.”
“Have we met previously, Captain?” said Hakon.
“No,” said Robert. “Not in person. I saw you in a video about the Wizard’s Legion.”
“Ah.” Hakon grimaced. “Embarrassing thing. I do not care for attention. I shouldn’t have agreed to appear in it, but my commanding officer insisted.”
“I understand,” I said. “As you might have guessed by now, both of you are Graysworn.”
Hakon and Robert looked at each other again, and some of the tension went out of the air. Not much, though.
“And your boyfriend?” said Robert. “Is he Graysworn?”
“Boyfriend?” said Hakon, blinking.
“Yeah,” said Robert. “It’s kind of obvious, isn’t it? I mean, he held the door for her when they came in.”
“Wait,” I said.
“That is a good point,” said Hakon. “I should have seen that. I am slipping in my old age.”
“Maybe I’m just polite,” said Riordan, keeping a calm expression in place.
“For God’s sake,” I muttered.
“I am more concerned by the fact that he is a Shadow Hunter,” said Hakon.
“What?” said Robert. His voice was still calm, but his eyes got wide, and I saw his hand twitch towards the guns concealed in his coat.
“That is correct,” said Riordan.
“How did you know?” said Robert.
“The sunglasses, of course,” said Hakon. “It’s cloudy outside, but he was wearing them while he was driving and when he and his girlfriend got out of the truck.”
“Ah,” said Robert. “Obviously. Very clever.”
“Thank you.”
“So are you here to kill us?” said Hakon. He didn’t seem worried. Depending on his level of magical skill, he might not need to fear a Shadow Hunter.
“I am not,” said Riordan.
“Obviously not,” said Robert. “He’s here because he’s sweet on Miss Novoranya.” The words were light, but his eyes were hard.
“All right, all right, back up,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Let’s lay our cards on the table. You two are Graysworn. Corvus and I aren’t Graysworn.”
“Then who are you really?” said Hakon.
&
nbsp; “At a guess?” said Robert. “I think she’s an Inquisition agent.”
Hakon’s white eyebrows climbed halfway up his forehead.
I sighed. Letting Alexandra think that I was an Inquisition agent might have been a good way to get her to cooperate, but Robert and Hakon would be harder to convince. Plus, Hakon knew who I was and that I worked for Lord Morvilind. He knew who Russell was, and if we were captured and the Knight of Venomhold decided to take vengeance…
No, I couldn’t think about that.
“Suffice it to say I work for an Elven noble,” I said. “The Elven noble has given me an assignment. When the Knight of Grayhold found out about this mission, he gave me an envelope containing two names – both of yours. The Knight seems to think that I can’t survive the mission without your help, and I suspect he’s right. So, here we are.”
“What is the task?” said Hakon.
“We are going to steal an object called a Nihlus Stone from the Tower of Regrets in Venomhold,” I said.
Robert only nodded, since he already knew about it, but Hakon let out a sigh.
“Let me guess,” I said. “You’ve been to Venomhold.”
“Several times,” said Hakon, rubbing his face for a moment. He took a sip of coffee, swallowed, and then took another scone. “None of the experiences were pleasant.”
“Elaborate,” I said. “If we’re going to get out of this alive, the more information we have, the better.”
“A sound argument,” said Hakon. “As you know, I was part of the Wizard’s Legion. We are sworn directly to the High Queen herself, and so accompany her on campaigns into the Shadowlands. Several times our skirmishes brought us to Venomhold, and once I saw the High Queen confront Karst herself.”
“Karst?” I said.
“The Knight of Venomhold,” said Hakon. “Natalya Karst.”
“Wait a moment, sir,” said Robert. I felt a flicker of amusement that Hakon warranted a “sir” from him, but then Hakon was a veteran of the Wizard’s Legion. “You know who the Knight of Venomhold really is?”
“I know her name,” said Hakon. “The High Queen called her by name during their parley. Natalya Karst, the Knight of Venomhold. I remember it well. We were pursuing a band of frost giants that had raided San Francisco, and the High Queen herself led the pursuit. We fought a drawn-out battle in the wild places beyond the umbra of Earth, and unfortunately we crossed the boundaries of Venomhold. Karst attacked us, and the High Queen fought her to a stalemate. Finally, the Knight decided to let us go rather than kill us all.”
“What’s she like?” I said.
“She looked young,” said Hakon, “but I know she is not young. Black hair and black eyes. She wore dark armor with a green glow around the joints, and she utterly slaughtered a dozen men of the Legion. All of them were powerful wizards, and she killed them as if they were insects.” He shook his head, staring at the half-eaten scone in front of him. “I have never been frightened of a human woman, save that one.”
“She is the lord of a demesne of the Shadowlands,” said Riordan, speaking for the first time. “She is no longer entirely human.”
“I suppose you would know, Shadow Hunter,” said Hakon.
“Right,” I said, looking back at Robert. “Did you see her when you went to Venomhold with the dwarven embassy?”
“Yeah,” said Robert. “Mr. Valborg is right. Didn’t know her name was Natalya Karst, but if you will pardon my language, she was one spooky bitch. When she looked at us, it was like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to speak with us or kill us.”
“I hope to avoid the Knight’s attention if possible,” I said. “We’re not there to fight…”
Robert snorted. “I should think not. You might as well declare war on the moon. We might have a better chance of winning.”
“We’re just going to go to Venomhold, get the Nihlus Stone, and get out again,” I said.
“There is our first problem,” said Hakon. “Finding a way to reach the Shadowlands. The only way to reach the Shadowlands is a rift way. I don’t know the spell, and none of the men of the Wizard’s Legion knew it. Only the Elven nobles know the spell.”
“Actually,” said Robert, looking at me, “that’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
“What does that mean?” said Hakon.
I took a deep breath. I had known Hakon was going to find out about my abilities, but I wasn’t entirely sure how he would react. “I can do it.”
Hakon frowned. “You can open a rift way?”
“I know the spell,” I said. “I’ve done it before several times.”
“So you can use magic,” said Hakon.
“Yeah,” I said. “A little bit.”
“I suppose that explains how you survived the Archon attack,” said Hakon, frowning. Humans outside of the Wizard’s Legion weren’t allowed to know magic. Any human men who manifested magic were enrolled into the Wizard’s Legion, but the Legion only took men. Any women who displayed magical abilities were strongly encouraged (or coerced) into marrying a man of the Legion to have sons who could one day show magical ability. I hoped Hakon wasn’t considering a sudden marriage proposal.
“It’s also how I saved your granddaughter’s life,” I said.
Hakon kept frowning, but he did nod.
“I didn’t know the Inquisition had female agents who could use magic,” said Robert.
“They do not,” said Hakon. “Nor is she with the Inquisition. She’s a shadow agent.”
“A what?” said Robert, glancing at Riordan. “Is that like a Shadow Hunter?”
“No,” said Hakon, still watching me. “It’s a tradition the Elves brought with them from their homeworld. Sometimes an Elven noble would want things done quietly outside the law. So, they would take an Elven commoner and train them to do these things.”
“So you’re like…a spy, or a burglar, or something,” said Robert.
“Yeah,” I said. I looked at Hakon. “You shouldn’t ask me too many questions about that. The Elven lord for whom I work values his privacy and doesn’t like people nosing around his business. Like, he might kill all of us and dump the bodies in Lake Michigan if we ask too many questions.”
Robert didn’t look happy about that, but Hakon inclined his head. He knew about Morvilind’s reputation. I wondered if I would have a problem with him if we survived this, or if he would order Lydia to break up with Russell because of me.
Well, I could worry about that if we survived.
“The point,” said Hakon, “is that Miss Novoranya here can open a rift way to the Shadowlands. Presumably, she knows how to reach Venomhold within the Shadowlands.”
“That I do.” I had a medallion of the Dark Ones cultists. The thing had been enchanted with dark magic, and if I was holding it when I cast the rift way spell, it would dump me in Venomhold. “Getting to Venomhold won’t be a problem. Getting out again will be harder. And finding the Nihlus Stone without getting killed will be the hardest part of all.” I glanced around again. “There is some other things I need to tell you that you shouldn’t repeat to anyone.”
“Very well,” said Hakon, and Robert nodded.
“I’m serious,” I said. “This stuff will get you killed. Both the Inquisition and the Rebels will kill you for knowing some of this. You can’t tell anyone. Not your families, not your friends, anyone. Understand?”
“We are Graysworn,” said Robert.
“In our duty as Graysworn,” said Hakon, “we are well-accustomed to keeping secrets. And in our duties as men-at-arms, and mine as a man of the Legion.”
“All right, then,” I said. “First. Have you ever heard of the Dark Ones?”
Robert shook his head, but Hakon nodded.
“What are the Dark Ones?” said Robert.
“I don’t really know,” I said. “Bad things. They come from the Void beyond the Shadowlands. The Archons worship them, and there are cults devoted to them on Earth. Lately more and more Rebels have also been Dark On
e cultists, which is the second dangerous thing I am going to tell you. The Knight of Venomhold has been protecting the Rebels, granting them sanctuary in Venomhold.”
Robert and Hakon shared a look.
“Truly?” said Robert.
“Been there,” I said. “Saw it with my own eyes. Almost got eaten by a bloodrat for it.”
“That is very bad,” said Robert. “The Knight of Venomhold is invincible inside her demesne. If she is giving the Rebels sanctuary, that means they have a base the High Queen cannot reach. They can become stronger without the threat of reprisal.”
“Indeed,” said Hakon in a grim voice. “If this continues, we could have a war on a scale that Earth has not seen since the times before the Conquest.”
“One problem at a time,” I said. “I think that’s our best way of getting into Venomhold unnoticed. We disguise ourselves as Rebels, make our way to the Tower of Regrets, steal the Nihlus Stone, and get out again.”
“That could work,” said Hakon.
“I might have a better way,” said Robert.
“What, then?” I said.
He met my gaze. “There is a dwarven embassy coming to Venomhold tomorrow from Nerzuramaxis. If we go with them, we can walk into the main hall of Venomhold. You said this Tower of Regrets is off the main hall, right? If we go with the dwarves, we can stroll past the Knight’s guards.”
“You know the dwarves?” said Hakon.
“Some of the dwarves of Nerzuramaxis,” corrected Robert. “The dwarves rule a bunch of different worlds, and they all hate each other. Some of those worlds are hostile to the High Queen, some are friendly, and some don’t care.”
“I know that,” said Hakon. “But how do you know all this?”
“He saved a dwarven embassy on the way to Venomhold, remember?” I said. “But how do you know that another embassy is heading to Venomhold?”
“I’m a captain of men-at-arms in service to Duke Carothrace,” said Robert. “His lordship the Duke receives daily briefings of intelligence from the Inquisition. I have a security clearance so I can see some of the reports. One of them was a report that tomorrow an embassy of the dwarves of Nerzuramaxis is coming to visit the Knight of Venomhold.” He hesitated. “And the dwarf commanding the embassy owes me a favor.”
Cloak Games: Shatter Stone Page 10