A Flight of Ravens

by John Conroe

  The key disappeared out the portal, but I didn’t hear it hit the stone floor.

  “Landed right in my hands,” Brent said, the sounds of a lock clicking as he spoke. A cell door screeched, then I heard him fumbling with the lock on my door. I turned and pulled on my still-damp undershirt, put Brona’s cloak over my shoulders and waited as he tugged the massive door open.

  I rolled under the grate before the oak door was half open, standing up almost in Brent’s face.

  “Let’s go,” I said, not willing to wait for Brona’s mysterious signal.

  Suddenly a muted roar shook the entire dungeon, bits of dust falling from the ceiling. Okay, maybe not so mysterious at all, just standard Cort-type stuff.

  Chapter 35

  His few days of care at the hands of Egg and his assistants didn’t seem to have harmed Brent. In fact, I would say it may have added a bit of fire to his spirit.

  At the end of our row of cells, which were all empty, the gate was shut and locked. I had taken just enough time to remove Brona’s key from my cell door and when I tried it on the old lock, it turned it over easily. We relocked it behind us, then paused to take our bearings. The row of high security cells was at the very end of a long corridor with rows of cells running off it. I knew that most of the other cells were of the group sort, holding anywhere from three to ten inmates at a time. Another blast above us rocked the corridor and the prisoners cried out as we hustled to the next gateway. I was worried about this one because it was always manned with royal guards—except now, it wasn’t. There wasn’t a single soldier in sight, and it looked like the men on duty had left in a hurry, a chair had been knocked over and the visitor logbook (a new one) had fallen to the stone floor.

  Once again, the master key unlocked the barrier in front of us and the stairwell ahead looked clear. We started up, and I found my legs were still stiff and uncoordinated from the knockout dart venom. Brent started to pull ahead of me, but that wasn’t going to happen. I bore down and forced my reluctant limbs to move faster, working on sheer willpower at first. Then my gait smoothed out and I took the steps two and three at a time, catching up to my young Shadow-in-training.

  We started to hear yelling from above as we climbed higher, then the sounds of steel on steel. The main door to the ground floor was open and we burst out into a scene of mayhem. A body lay on the floor just outside the stairwell, a guardsman, and I stopped to grab his sword, tossing my knife to Brent. People were rushing about by the administrative offices; secretaries, couriers, petitioners all in a panic.

  I headed to Brona’s office first but found just Marda, who was locking doors and cabinets.

  “Where is she? What’s happened?” I demanded.

  “She’s okay. Out in the castle, directing the action. She took some… steps, and it forced Slinch into hasty action,” she said. “He sent a pair of Ravens. Salis killed one and your little Rose took the second from behind, fast and slick as anything.” She shook her head. “Looked terrified and timid one second, then furious the next. Fooled even me; she was just suddenly all over him like a damned fisher.”

  “That’s what the lads and I call her. Fisher. Rose is too sweet a name for that hellcat,” Brent said.

  I turned to leave but Marda called out some final words. “The king was attacked too. He’s been sorely wounded.”

  I turned and met her eyes for a second before heading out the door. When we reached the castle’s main entryway, I found a mix of royal guardsmen and Shadows manning the doorways.

  “Kisen, report,” I ordered the first Shadow I came across.

  “Her Highness sent a messenger to Hemppe and he activated all of our people, Captain. Happened about when you was arrested by the king. We got into the castle, but the birds had already struck. Little Rosie and the princess’s bodyguard did for a couple of black birds. We secured the office wing and, on her orders, took after the other Ravens. Slinch was with the king and I think it was him that stuck His Majesty a good one before taking off. We’re searching the castle, and Herself has taken command. She’s in the king’s quarters with Doc.”

  “We heard Cort at work. What was that about?”

  “Some Ravens barricaded themselves in the throne room. Herself ordered the doors breached,” the old Shadow said with a grin. “He’s always wanted to blow up something in the castle.”

  That was true. Cort had a thing about heavy doors, like they were all direct challenges to his skills.

  “The guards?” I asked. The one with Kisen frowned but my Shadow paid him no attention.

  “She’s cleared all of these. Seems to know damned well which ones went bad.”

  “Carry on. Brent, you’re still with me,” I said, heading up the main staircase to the second floor. There were signs of fighting but not a lot, just some blood spatters and a few dropped weapons as we approached the king’s quarters. A brace of royal guards shifted nervously as we approached but Urso was standing with them, his heavy axe resting casually on one big shoulder. “Ease up, lads. That’s the captain,” he rumbled, patting a guard sergeant on the back and almost knocking him down.

  I moved past them with a nod to Urso and headed straight into King Helat’s bedchamber.

  Dr. Eltienne and several of his people were working on His Majesty, while my princess stood back watching their actions closely. Salis, her left arm bandaged and her Wenkroy sword in her right, moved our way as we entered, but the sword tip dropped toward the ground as her eyes met mine. Rose stood on Brona’s other side, her pretty yellow dress stained scarlet in so many places that I at first thought some of it might be hers. Seneschal Torqness stood nearby, as did Colonel Erser.

  Brona turned immediately my way. “Slinch himself did this,” she said. She was clenching her jaw and her blue eyes had gone icy. “He and that woman observer of his, Fontina, are still on the loose, but Shadows are hunting him—your team in particular.”

  “What is the state of the kingdom?” I asked.

  She turned to the blood-covered doctor, who had also heard my question. He lifted his head and looked at first me and then Brona. “Your Highness, the king is gravely injured. He is not fit for rule.” Based upon the slashes and punctures that I could glimpse around the medical people’s moving bodies, King Helat has been stabbed and slashed multiple times by someone who knew his way around a blade.

  Everyone except the doctor’s people froze at his words. I was the first to move, dropping to one knee. “Your Majesty,” I said to Brona, bowing my head. Beside me, Brent instantly followed suit, as did Erser, Torqness, Rose, and Salis.

  Royal doctrine called for the heir to take over if ever the ruling king or queen of Montshire was incapable. At this moment, the full power of the throne became vested in the crown princess, until and if her father regained competence.

  “Your Majesty,” the others intoned in unison—except for the medical folks, who never stopped working on the king.

  The princess took a deep breath before issuing her orders. “Colonel, secure the castle. Captain DelaCrotia, Find Slinch—dead or alive.”

  “Brent, you are with Her Majesty,” I told my young Shadow, handing him my sword. Then I turned and headed out to find my team.

  Chapter 36

  Finding people is what I do, and tracking my own team was almost effortless. Living, fighting, training, and working with the same people over and over makes my connection to them as strong as a Finder’s stone, perhaps stronger. I would have found Brona the same way if I hadn’t gotten answers from Marda and Kisen. It just took me a few moments to be still, to breathe deep, and to calm myself.

  Once my heart rate had settled down, I felt a pull in a southwest direction, and possibly outside the castle walls. I headed to the first floor and confirmed with Kesin that he had seen Cort and Soshi head out of the castle, and paused long enough to gather a sword and long knife from a pile of recovered weapons, then left Havensheart.

  I took the reins of a messenger’s saddled horse right out of the
hands of a royal stableman, who started to protest, recognized me, and went silent. The horse, a big white mare, trotted out into the city’s streets as I followed the pull of my Talent. Very quickly, I realized I almost didn’t need my ability to Find at all. Almost. Signs of a rapid, hectic chase were all around me as I rode through the streets. Shopkeepers standing in their doorways, looking down the street. A barrow boy righting his cart, an old woman helping him pick up his spilled potatoes and onions. But at a couple of intersections where no one was obviously affected by the passage of swift, violent people, I took a moment to close my eyes and follow the unseen pull in my chest and head.

  My Talent told me my team was headed toward the river, which, as I thought about it, made a certain sense. With his plan to kill both king and heir unsuccessful (partially) and being pursued by Shadows, Slinch and his people would be in full flight mode. It wouldn’t matter which road you took out of the capital; Montshire military would be easily able to track and run you down. But if you hopped a boat on the river, the fast-running waters would move you swiftly out of the valley, leaving no tracks or scent. There were multiple roads that crossed the Ott river, and a fugitive from the king’s justice could jump off on any of them. A clever planner like Neil likely had resources and allies already emplaced along that route.

  I flicked my reins at the borrowed horse, moving our pace faster. The mare was young and well trained, handling the icy roads with agility that my stalwart Tipton would be hard pressed to copy. Within minutes, glimpses of the river became visible between buildings, as did the bulky shapes of waterfront warehouses like my father’s.

  The street took a sharp turn, almost a switchback, on a particularly sharp downhill section, and I chose to slow the mare for fear of her losing even her nimble balance. With the slower pace came a reduction in the clatter of her hoofs, enough that I could suddenly hear other hooves clattering on cobblestone as well as the yells of angry people. Some of those voices were familiar.

  The dangerous turn behind us, I urged the horse to speed up, desperate to close with my team. We broke around the edge of a fish market and suddenly the wharf, warehouses, and riverfront opened up in front of us. Immediately I saw bodies on the ground and people running.

  The tall, skinny guy way out in front was clearly Neil Slinch, with quite a bit of distance between him and an unknown man and a woman who looked like Fontina trying to catch up.

  Jella was standing in the middle of River Square, bow at full draw, and I no sooner saw her than she released.

  The man running on Fontina’s heels pitched forward, a white-fletched arrow appearing in the center of his back. Fontina spun around, a bolter held two-handed. Jella dropped low as the brass-tubed weapon puffed out a cloud of quava pod gas. I couldn’t tell if she’d been hit or not, but I pushed my horse into an all-out gallop.

  Soshi popped around a corner and took her own bolter shot at the fleeing Ravens. Slinch was well out of bolter range but Fontina stumbled, then fell to one knee. She spun around, her bolter raising toward Soshi. I was still too far away.

  Suddenly, a massive, furred shape lunged out from the corner of a warehouse, clawed hands grabbing the black-haired Raven, who screamed as long claws ripped into her skin. Ash slammed his tooth-filled jaws around the junction of the small woman’s neck and shoulder, cutting off her scream as he bit through most of her neck.

  I barely glanced her way as my horse thundered past the Raven’s bloody demise, my focus completely on Slinch, who was almost to the riverfront. Out in front of him, I saw a small, swift-looking cargo canoe that was clearly launching into the Ott River, the crew using poles to push it away from the bank. Slinch was sprinting all-out, head tucked down, arms pumping, and he was just steps away from the departing craft and I still had more than ten spans to cover, my horse slowing despite my all my encouragement as the dark, icy river got closer and closer.

  The sounds of the mare’s hooves caused Slinch to twist and look back. I saw a flicker of fear before he turned forward and leapt off the dock. His arms and hands caught the gunwale and one of the crew grabbed the back of his collar.

  The mare locked up her front legs, sliding on the ice-covered stone of the wharf, forcing me to hold on tight with my left hand. Knowing I wouldn’t catch him, I did the only thing that came to mind: I threw the short sword I’d clutched in my fist the whole ride from the castle.

  It spun end over end, flashing through the air before sticking point first into the wood of the boat, missing most of Slinch but cutting into his left arm. He yelled and let go with his wounded arm, but the boatman gave a mighty heave, falling back into the boat with the lead Raven on top of him.

  The other two crewmen poled like maniacs, their panicked eyes locked on me as they forced the boat out into the swift current. With a startled yell, both dropped down into the craft as a white arrow shot through the air vacated by the lead sailor.

  The river was flowing hard and the boat doubled its distance from the dock by the time Jella’s next arrow sank into the gunwale. Then it was around the bend in the river and both out of range and out of view.

  I turned to Jella, but she was looking back at the square. Soshi was cradling one of the bodies and Cort stood behind her, his face collapsed in grief. It was then I realized that I hadn’t seen Drew among my team members.

  Chapter 37

  He was gone when I got to him. The bolter hole in his chest, right over his heart, told me he was likely gone before my horse had entered the River Square. The other bodies were all Ravens, brought down by Jella and Soshi, with the exception of Fontina’s mangled corpse. There was no sign of Ash, but I had no time to look for him and no time to even properly acknowledge my fallen Shadow.

  “Cover him and take him to the inn,” I said to Cort. “Yourself.”

  He couldn’t even speak. He simply nodded. Hoofbeats filled the cold air just before a four-man squad of constables arrived. They rode straight to us and dismounted, the sergeant’s eyes on me while her people looked around at the bodies. I raised one eyebrow. “How can we help, Captain?” she asked. Any other day and I would have fallen over in a faint, but after being drugged, imprisoned, half frozen, and then losing Drew, I had little capacity for surprise.

  “We need to secure these traitors’ bodies,” I said. “We’ll be taking this one home,” I said, waiting, almost hoping, for any kind of pushback.

  “Yes sir,” she said. “Tompkins—Barry, secure this area. Knoles, make a run to the precinct house and get reinforcements.”

  “Let my people check each body over first,” I said, turning to Soshi. She nodded. The Raven’s bolters needed to be secured and hidden before anyone else saw them. I squatted down and took Drew’s from his cooling fingers. He habitually kept quava pod reloads along with a variety of projectiles in a pouch under his coat. I slipped off his belt, as I still didn’t have one.

  “One got away, Sergeant,” I said. “We”—I pointed to Jella, who stood nearby, holding my borrowed horse’s reins—“will be heading after them. I’ll need you to take direction from my people. Will that be a problem?”

  “No sir. The lord marshal has issued a directive for all city constables to assist you and your ah, team, in any way you deem necessary.”

  “When? When did he do that?”

  “Ah, just today. Like an hour ago, really.”

  All this time and Kiven finally sees I’m on the same side as him? I just nodded at her, too raw for words.

  “You have a horse?” I asked Jella.

  “Yeah, this one. You’re the one missing a mount,” she said, smirking at me as she held the mare’s reins.

  “You’re also missing boots, Cap,” Cort said.

  I looked down and realized my feet were bare. I’d never even noticed; in the time since Brent and I had raced out of the dungeon, it had all happened too fast.

  When I looked back up, Cort was already yanking his own boots off. “Here. Our feet are about the same size,” he said, tossing the first to
me.

  “You can take my horse,” the constable sergeant said, immediately letting out the stirrup straps on her gelding’s saddle.

  I didn’t argue, already pulling on Cort’s left boot, then, when he tossed it, the right one. Soshi stepped up and used her body to hide the act of handing me one of her own bolters and after I had tucked it into my waistband, Jella handed me one of her personal axes.

  I had two two-shot bolters, one from Drew and one from Soshi, plus the long belt knife from the castle, which was almost a third of a span of very good steel. I also had Jella’s Forester’s axe, a weapon I had countless hours of practice with, and on my feet, I now had Cort’s boots.

  “Ah, Cap, do you maybe want a different cloak?” Cort asked, frowning at Brona’s blue wool garment that I still wore.

  “No. This one’s more precious than gold,” I said. “Sergeant, what’s your name?” I asked as I mounted the gelding.

  “Quint. Sergeant Quint, sir,” she replied.

  “My thanks,” I said. “Let’s go.” When I looked, Jella had already set the white mare into motion. I wasn’t even fully seated on my second borrowed horse, but that was pretty much her style. My constabulary horse didn’t need any encouragement to race after her, almost leaving me behind until I got my feet in the stirrups and leaned forward.

  Of course, she was right: Time was precious in this chase. The river took several bends back and forth before it headed straight southeast. There was a bridge downstream we could make and a shallow water ford that in low rain periods required most boats to portage around it farther down the road. This time of year, the type of cargo canoe that had rescued Slinch would likely be able to get through the ford, but they would have slow going and maybe even have to pole their way through it.