Taellaneth Complete Series Box Set

by Vanessa Nelson

  It was the strangest meal Arrow had ever had, settled in the middle of an empty human allotment with a White Guard, consuming human-made fast food in the uncertain light from the night sky. The warrior surprised Arrow yet again by insisting on sampling everything in the bags. White Guard were renowned for their austere tastes and adherence to Erith propriety. To see one of their number biting into a burger with evident relish made Arrow smile.

  “An educational experience,” the warrior concluded. She sipped the black coffee that Arrow had offered, nose wrinkling in distaste. “Why do humans favour something so bitter?”

  “You may prefer it with milk. Here.” Arrow passed across the small carton she had bought.

  “That is better,” Kallish agreed. “We are now closer to the safe house. Perhaps another mile?”

  “Perhaps two or three, unfortunately. We are unable to follow a direct route if we try to stay out of sight.”

  “Our captors will likely be searching for us.”

  “Likely so. And perhaps watching the Erith safe houses.”

  “The locations are known?” Anger tinged the warrior’s voice.

  “To the shifkin, certainly. I have no reason to believe that the gangs are aware of them, but I have learned that in Hallveran it pays to be cautious.”

  “Might we capture one of the gang members to learn more?”

  “Very possibly, but not until we have removed these collars.”

  “Infernal things.”

  Arrow was going to answer when a soft sound nearby made her tense, head whipping around. She could not see anything and not for the first time regretted that her Erith inheritance had not included the Erith’s exceptional sight. The warrior did not obviously move, but Arrow knew she was listening.

  “We are being hunted.” The warrior’s tone was relaxed.

  “It would seem so.”

  “Three humans. Wait here.” With that, Kallish disappeared into the night, moving with the focused speed that all White Guard were trained to.

  Without her magic, Arrow had no skills to aid the warrior. The only items she carried that could be weapons, the kri-syang and spirit sword, were useless in combat with humans. Feeling more than a little helpless, she packed up the wrappings from their meal into one of the carrier bags. She had been right in her estimation of how much a hungry warrior could eat. She did her best to ignore the sounds from the nearby darkness, the muffled cries of pain or surprise, the rattling of a fence, the scuffling sound of someone trying to run.

  Kallish came out of the plants, half-dragging an undersized human male. Not all that undersized, Arrow realised as they came closer and she could see more clearly, just very young.

  “The others are unconscious. This one may have information. Question him.”

  “Very well.” Arrow stood and gestured to one of the chairs. The warrior tossed the youth into the chair with no finesse. The youth glared up at Arrow, sullen expression half-hidden behind a fringe of thick dark hair. In the uncertain light she saw his eyes were dilated and slightly glazed. There was a sour smell in the air around him and she wondered what narcotic he had ingested.

  “Why are you here?” she asked.

  “None o’ your business. Bitch.”

  “You were observing us. Why?”

  The boy simply stared back at her, then started to grin and then chuckle.

  “What?”

  “You’re them collared bitches that Sam and the others were bringing. Boss man’s going to be real pleased I found you.”

  “And who is the boss?” Arrow leant forward, catching the boy’s eyes, knowing the silver sparks in her eyes were visible. Knowing, too, that even an undereducated gang member from Hallveran would know what the sparks meant.

  “Not going to tell you. And you can’t make me. No juju!”

  “I may not be able to compel you,” Arrow said tightly, biting back a curse. Someone had been telling tales. The collars needed to be dealt with urgently. She inclined her head towards Kallish. “But this is an Erith warrior. She can break every bone in your body without breaking a sweat and she most certainly does not require magic to do so.”

  “Show?” Kallish enquired, in the common tongue, eyes glinting in the dark. It seemed that the warrior understood far more of the common tongue than she could speak.

  “You wouldn’t dare. Not with the boss man after you.”

  “Perhaps his little finger, svegraen?” Arrow suggested in Erith.

  “Finger. Wrist,” the warrior speculated in the common tongue, shrugging a shoulder in a gesture she had surely copied from humans. She took a step towards the youth and his bravado vanished in a squeal. He scrabbled back against the chair, its legs scraping against the earth.

  “You can’t do that. I’ve got rights. I do.”

  “What rights are those?”

  “Lawyer! Trial!”

  “Such do not apply where you have caused harm to the Erith or are believed to have been involved in a conspiracy to do so,” Arrow told him, holding his gaze, watching his confidence waver. “In such matters, the Erith have jurisdiction. That means you are in our power. Now, answer the questions. Who is the boss man?”

  “Snake head. Charon,” the boy answered sullenly. He did not bother asking her if what she had said was true, his apparent cooperation the first sign of intelligence he had shown.

  A chill worked through her. She had never met him in person, but even from a distance Charon had been terrifying when she had been in Hallveran. Utterly ruthless, he ruled his gang with violence and somehow commanded absolute loyalty from his followers. No one knew where he had come from, and Arrow was quite certain that Charon was no more a real name than Arrow was.

  “Why did Charon have his gang kidnap the warrior and I?”

  “They were just supposed to get you,” he told her, voice a snarl, “but this stupid bitch interfered.” He jerked his head in Kallish’s direction. Arrow could only hope that Kallish did not fully understand the language that followed.

  “Why were your gang looking for me?”

  “Got a big payout for it.” A sly grin crossed his face. “You’re worth a lot of money, magic bitch. Not so scary with your collar, are you?”

  “And how did Charon come by these collars?”

  “Got given them, see.”

  “Who by? Who paid? Who gave the collars?”

  “Stupid bitches.” The boy was giggling now, eyes glazing further.

  Arrow switched back to Erith. “I think this one has ingested narcotics, or had his mind altered. He does not seem capable of answering more questions.”

  “Then we should move. They had communication devices with them. Human technology. More may be on the way.”

  Arrow did not waste time on words, snatching up the remnants of their meal, following the warrior into the darkness, accompanied by the fading sounds of the boy’s laughter. Arrow stuffed the waste into a nearby rubbish bin. Kallish picked a random direction, seeking distance between them and the giggling boy. The warrior set a fierce pace, Arrow nearly jogging to keep up, ribs jarring at each step.

  After several turns in the dark, when she was sure they were not being followed, Kallish paused, taking a moment to assess their surroundings. Arrow was breathing hard, aching, and rested a moment with her hands on her knees.

  “We are not going in the right direction for the safe house,” she told the warrior when she had some breath to spare.

  “I wondered.”

  “We are closer now, but it would be good to get the collars off. I am blind without magic.”

  Kallish thought for a moment, head tilted, then asked. “Can you disable the worms without requiring the collars to be removed?”

  “Yes, but it will take time.”

  “Then we should stop.” Kallish did not hesitate. “I will keep watch while you work.”

  “Alright.” Arrow tugged her hair back behind her ear, looking around. They were in a residential street where several houses were being renovate
d, some with their doorways open. She nodded at one, Kallish silently agreed, and they made their way inside without further discussion.

  “You can move around, svegraen, but within ten paces, please.”

  “Understood.”

  Arrow sat cross-legged on the bare concrete floor, back against one of the outer walls, Kallish hovering nearby, the warrior hidden from view but keeping a watch out of the windows. Setting aside the warrior’s presence, Arrow drew a steadying breath, silently cursing as it stung her ribs, then slipping into the second world. The small worms that occupied the collars were furious at their captivity, sensing Erith magic just beyond their reach. They were young, but still deadly.

  It took a long while of quiet listening before she was able to find the names, having to listen for both at the same time. The tiniest spark of magic sent the worms shrieking back to their own dimension and she heaved a sigh of relief, opening her eyes.

  Faint light was visible through the unglazed window openings and she blinked, startled.

  “Did that take all night?” she wondered aloud.

  “No,” Kallish answered, voice grim, “I believe we are pursued. Are we able to use magic now?”

  “Yes, we are. I can confuse a tracker, but it will not work forever.”

  “Do it. We need to move.”

  Silver power rose up to her fingertips, eager to be used. The relief of having her magic back lightened her entire being. Sparks of silver cascaded in the air as she drew the runes with a fingertip, spell shivering into being then disappearing.

  “It will run back along our trail, hiding it, and also give us some cover to move. Perhaps a half hour, perhaps longer.”

  “We should continue to the safe house. There are supplies there.”

  “Indeed. Here.” Arrow offered her palm, spark of magic glimmering, a tracking spell for the safe house. Kallish touched her fingers to Arrow’s palm without hesitation, drawing the knowledge into her, and set off.

  Outside Arrow could see that the faint light was in reality a gathering of human-made torches, harsh artificial light throwing the jagged shapes of Hallveran into sharp relief. The Two Snakes gang were not being subtle about chasing them and were far outside their own territory. The human authorities would be on the scene before long, a distraction they could ill afford.

  Hoping that her obscuring the trail would work for a while, she puffed after Kallish. The warrior was moving faster than before and, even with a trickle of magic to aid her, Arrow was no match for the pace. As she did her best to keep the warrior in sight she tried to take comfort from the thought that even had she been fully fit, Kallish would have outpaced her easily.

  Arrow was breathing hard when Kallish eventually stopped. They had arrived within sight of the abandoned department store building which was one of the Erith’s safe houses in the city, hidden in the shadows of a nearby derelict building. Arrow leant against the building wall with relief, gulping in air before sending out her senses.

  “Three watchers,” Kallish said, almost silently, her own breathing calm and even. “One on the roof opposite, and one at each corner of the block. We were lucky to avoid them so far.”

  “They are human, with something odd about their signatures. Possible drug use.”

  A moment later and they both stiffened, a fourth human entering the equation. This one had a clear signature, and was creeping down the street behind them, staying in shadow. The warrior’s hand went to a weapon.

  “A moment. I think I know this one,” Arrow murmured and slid back along the wall, keeping to the shadows.

  “Arrow? Girl, that you?”

  “Murphy, what are you doing here?”

  “Could ask you the same thing! You and your friend are causing a hell of mess in my city.” Anger carried clearly despite his low voice, the arrogance something Arrow remembered well.

  “Why are you here?”

  “Heard about an Erith warrior and a witch that the Two Snakes were after. Thought it might be you.” Partially hidden by shadow, Murphy was a short, slender, dark-skinned human male with hair arranged into elaborate knots around his head, pale blue eyes standing out in the shadows, a sharp contrast to his dark skin.

  “Who is this one?” Kallish wanted to know, staying back in shadow.

  “Murphy was part of the collective when I was in Hallveran.”

  “A comrade in arms?”

  “Not really. More like a fair-weather friend.”

  “Ah,” Kallish said, understanding perfectly, “then we should not trust him?”

  “Not entirely.”

  “Girl, what have you got yourself into this time?” Murphy dragged her attention back. The human was shifting slightly on his toes, seeming nervous.

  “You tell me.” Arrow was abruptly angry, sparks growing in her eyes. There seemed to be a lot of people looking for her, and a lot of people knowing too much about her.

  “Hey, hey, relax!” Murphy held up his hands and tried a smile. When that did not work he shrugged. “Look, word is that the Two Snakes got a real big commission for picking you up. I mean real big. The sort I’d sell my grandmother for.”

  “Lucky that she is long dead, then,” Arrow snapped back.

  “C’mon, no need to be like that. I came to warn you. Charon is raging ‘cause you got away from his boys earlier. If you hadn’t knifed them, then he would have. And he’s got everyone looking for you.”

  “If the entire gang is out, then why are you here alone?” Arrow asked, voice silky.

  “Came to warn you,” he said, eyes shifting sideways.

  “And get a reward for information. Who wants me kidnapped?”

  “No idea. But whoever this guy is, Charon is scared spitless. Never seen Charon so shaky. Says this guy wants you out of the way of something big.”

  Arrow sucked in a breath, heart skipping. She did not want to be the focus of Charon’s attention.

  “Wait. You have spoken with Charon?”

  “Sure thing. This afternoon, when he found out you were gone. Paid me a visit. Seemed to think I would know where you were.”

  “Well, you found me.”

  “Only so many Erith safe houses. Only one that’s been used recently.” Murphy nodded to the hard dirt that led up to the wide doors. Arrow frowned as she saw the clear evidence of tyre tracks leading to the door. In their haste to get Lord Juinis back to the Taellaneth, the White Guard had been careless and not covered their tracks. Kallish’s darkening expression when she followed Arrow’s gaze and saw the tracks told Arrow that the warrior had not known about the lapse. Someone would face Kallish’s wrath when she returned.

  Murphy shifting his feet again drew her attention back from the glowering warrior. “Not difficult to find you, girl.”

  “And that means Charon is on his way, too, does it not?”

  “Hey, I came to warn you. Watch your back.”

  “You watch yours,” Arrow snapped back, backing away from the human, “and run before I let the warrior use her knives on you.”

  Murphy took one look at Kallish’s shadow, swallowed hard, then ran back into darkness. Arrow sighed. She should not be so angry at him, she knew. He had a fine instinct for self-preservation and limited skills to protect himself.

  “Trouble?”

  “The Two Snakes probably know we are here. Their leader is dangerous. If the gang were not already on their way, then I suspect Murphy is about to call them. He looks out for himself above all else.”

  “We need supplies,” the White Guard said grimly.

  Arrow looked around, heart thumping, expecting to see more Two Snakes members creeping into view, seeking something she could use to help them get inside the building. She spotted the end of an expensive looking car parked on a nearby street, only its bumper showing.

  “Vehicle alarm.”

  “Alarm?”

  “If I set off the alarm, it will distract them for a moment. Alarms in Hallveran tend to be loud.”

  “Can you cloak us
in shadow across the road as well?”

  “Yes. It will not be perfect, but it should get us across.”

  “Very well.”

  “Your pardon, svegraen.” Arrow held out her hand. “We will need to touch for the cloak to work.” The Erith did not like to touch her, she knew.

  The warrior took Arrow’s hand without hesitation, callused fingers cool.

  A moment later and, thanks to a tiny bolt of mage fire flung from Arrow’s hand, the vehicle alarm went off. As Arrow had hoped it had been specially adapted for the uncertain streets of Hallveran. Rather than a wordless wail, the car shouted out warnings to anyone nearby that the car was armed and would commence firing in seconds if the thief did not move away. With only the rear in view she could not see if the vehicle was equipped with weaponry, but it was a feature that many Hallveran vehicles possessed.

  Arrow and Kallish, wrapped in a hasty blanket of shadow, ran across the gap to the building’s door. Without time for finesse, Arrow sliced through the ward spell with another quickly conjured bolt of mage fire and slid inside, Kallish behind her, then put both hands on the building wall, immediately rebuilding the wards, seeking to avoid further alarm.

  Kallish was already moving away, into the building interior. The large, hollow, space was as Arrow remembered it; almost empty, dark, and containing a few pieces of furniture and a group of sleek, modern vehicles.

  “Keys?” the warrior demanded.

  “Where they were left. Wherever that was.” Arrow stepped back from the wall, momentarily lightheaded. The wards were old and strong and had not taken her disruption well.