“You’re right,” I conceded, letting go of Asher’s arm. “He seemed surprised that we wanted to question her friends and read her journals, but that doesn’t mean he tried to have us killed. Still, he is covering up something larger than his wife’s murder, and we need to find out what that is.”
Asher shifted a little closer to me as voices came near our alcove, then faded away. “The Sidhe mentioned a Nattmara earlier. How is that related?”
Steifan really didn’t tell him anything. I was so proud. “The Nattmara I slew in Charmant had a brother. Their father was Sidhe.”
Asher’s brow furrowed. “That is an unfortunate combination. A predator with gifts only a peaceful race like the Sidhe should possess.”
I nodded. “And possess them he does. I encountered him earlier and he managed to control my mind to the point where I could not move. No one around could see us, and not even my sword could mutter a warning.”
“And why have you only just encountered this creature recently?” Asher asked. “I imagine it would have been killing often.”
I gave Steifan an apologetic look, knowing it was a sore subject for him, then answered, “His father had limited his powers, but unfortunately was killed.”
“By me,” Steifan added. “I freed the beast.”
Asher barely acknowledged Steifan. He was still staring at me. “And you approached the Sidhe hoping for a way to limit the effects of glamour.”
“You do catch on fast,” I said. “And my hopes were answered, she taught me how to overcome the Nattmara’s glamour. I can only hope I am strong enough.”
“I would give much to learn what she told you. Yet because you’re my servant, your mind is closed to me.”
I snorted. “Well that is fortunate, isn’t it? Because if I told you, I’d have to kill you. And that would kill me too.”
I noticed Steifan watching us with amusement and my mood soured. “Let’s get out of here. I think it’s time we paid Vannier a visit.”
Both men nodded their agreement, and we left the alcove, heading back toward the newer part of the city.
In truth, the servant was probably the least of our worries, but we would focus on him while we could. I had no idea how to hunt down the Nattmara, but I knew soon enough, the Nattmara would be hunting me.
Chapter Ten
We walked along the wall bordering the estates in silence, with Asher on my left, and Steifan on my right. It seemed Asher would be joining us for the rest of the evening. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. At least there were no other hunters around to see me walking with a vampire.
It was late enough now that few people were out, so we were alone as we rounded a bend and the two guards posted in front of the wrought iron gates came into view. I stopped walking, then retreated out of sight, pressing my back against the wall. Steifan followed my movements like a normal human being, but Asher was like a shadow. As I moved, he moved, needing no time to catch up. It was horribly unnerving.
Steifan didn’t seem to notice. He stood at my shoulder, leaning near to keep his voice low. “How are we going to get in? I doubt they’ll believe we are going to visit the duke at this late hour.”
I didn’t want to admit that I hadn’t even thought about the guards. Between the mercenaries, Egar, and Ryllae, it had been a long day.
Asher’s silver eyes sparkled with moonlight as he leaned close to me and lowered his voice. “The man who met with the servant went through the canal beneath the wall. That is perhaps an option you would like to consider.”
I blinked at him. “You followed him through an underground canal?”
He shook his head. “No, only to the entrance, as I wanted to keep an eye on the servant. I picked up the unsavory man’s scent again after leaving the inn. There is a canal entrance behind the guild hall.”
“And what were you doing at the inn?” I pressed.
“Looking for you. After that I followed your trail to where you stabled your horses, then to the Sidhe.”
“My you’ve been busy,” I said tersely.
“We should take to the canals then,” Steifan interrupted pointedly, giving me a look which implied I should behave myself.
I would have argued, but he was right. If there was an underground way into the White Quarter, we should explore it. “Yes, back to the subject of the canals,” I sighed, turning to Asher. Then my mind caught up with my mouth and my jaw fell open.
“You’ve had a realization,” Asher observed.
I just shook my head, not in response to his question, but to my own stupidity. I knew the canals existed, but I hadn’t considered them. “That’s how they must have moved Charlotte’s body. That’s why it was wet.”
Asher tilted his head. “Charlotte is the murdered woman? If one wanted to move a body through the canal, one might do so without getting wet.”
Steifan nodded along. “But if she was killed with Jeramy, that would have been a long way to carry a body, especially if it was just one person carrying her. It would be easier to float the body through the water.”
I looked back to Asher. “Can you show us the way into the canal?”
He gave a small bow. “As my lady wishes.”
Steifan let out a soft chortle at my indignant expression, lifting a hand to his mouth to suppress the sound.
I glared at him as I turned to follow Asher.
The vampire led us away from the wall and out of sight from the guards, then south toward the guild hall not far from the inn. We circled the towering building, heading into a dead-end alcove with walls lending privacy on all sides. If Asher hadn’t been looking for me at the inn, he might not have caught the man’s scent in this out-of-the-way place.
Asher stopped walking and gestured toward a set of cellar doors. A steel chain wound several times between the handles, held in place by a padlock.
“I found the man’s scent again here,” he explained. “The padlock also smells strongly of him. I imagine he had a set of keys.”
I stared down at the thick steel chain. “Was the other end of the canal locked?”
He shook his head. “The man did not lock it upon his departure, but I cannot guarantee someone else did not lock it after I was gone.”
“Couldn’t you just have bespelled him or the servant?” Steifan asked. “It seems an awful lot of work to do things this way.”
Asher gave him a less than friendly look. “You would be surprised how resilient the minds of some mortals can be. If I would have attempted to bespell the servant, there’s a chance it would not have worked, then I would have needed to kill him. That seemed unnecessary.”
Unnecessary, I thought. That was one way of putting it.
“But you bespelled the duke,” Steifan pressed. “If it hadn’t worked, would you have killed him?”
“Yes.”
I gaped at him.
Asher lifted his nose. “Judge me if you will, Lyssandra. But I was only in such a situation because you asked me to go. It is not my fault you did not consider the possibilities.”
I let out a long breath through my clenched teeth. “I suppose you’re right.” I had to be more careful what I asked for in the future. Turning away to hide my flushed cheeks, I gestured to the cellar doors. “Can you break the lock?”
Asher stepped up beside me. “As could you, I imagine.”
“I might be able to break down doors, but I cannot bend steel.”
“If you believe it to be so, then it must be so.” With that annoyingly cryptic reply, he knelt, wrapped one hand around the chain, then tore it free with a loud groan of metal.
The handles on the cellar doors gave before the chain did, but it got the job done. Asher lifted one door open, revealing stairs leading down into darkness.
“What’s that term,” Steifan said at my opposite shoulder. “Ah yes, ladies first.”
With a smug look, I marched down into the darkness. The Seeing Sword would warn me if there was any danger . . . I hoped. I reached the bottom of
the short stone staircase, then could go no further. It was pitch black. I could feel the stone wall to my right, and could hear water flowing to my left. The cellar door creaked shut above as footsteps echoed down the stairs behind me.
I heard the distinct sound of flint grating on fire steel, then a lantern flared to life.
Asher shielded the lantern with one hand so as not to blind me. “I could smell the oil,” he said, bobbing the lantern in his hand. Once my eyes had adjusted, he extended it to me.
“My thanks,” I said through gritted teeth, finding it difficult to mutter my gratitude. I took the lantern handle, brushing his long, cool fingers with my skin. I suppressed a shiver. “Let’s go.”
We walked one by one down the narrow canal. Asher walked directly behind me, making me uneasy. I had been trained my entire life to never turn my back on a vampire, now here I was, willingly working with one. If only my uncle could see me now.
Supposedly following the man’s scent, Asher spoke directions as we wound our way through the canals. They were like a maze. Anyone traveling this route would have to know the way well. It made me wonder just who had transported Charlotte’s body.
“It is here,” Asher said as we rounded a bend.
I extended the lantern to light the way ahead. Sure enough, a rickety metal ladder led up to a closed hatch.
I approached the ladder, then set the lantern on the stones near its base before climbing the bottom rung. “Is it just me, or is it odd for the canals to have these random entrances?”
Asher answered at my back. “After the siege where the old keep was destroyed, the canals were built. The nobles wanted a way to escape should the city fall under siege once again. Some of the outlets lead all the way outside the main wall. The easy access to water was a secondary concern.”
I looped one elbow on a ladder rung, then leaned to look back at him. “So if the city were to fall under siege, the nobles could escape, leaving everyone else to die?”
“Something like that.”
Humans truly could be as bad as vampires, I thought, then finished climbing the ladder. The closed hatch had a long metal handle. I grabbed it and pulled it toward me, and was able to push the hatch open. No locks after all. I supposed they were more worried about people getting in, than getting out.
I peeked my head up, glancing around. We were in the back of someone’s garden.
The night was utterly silent, and my sword issued no warning, so I climbed the rest of the way out of the hatch. I crouched in the shadows of a meticulously trimmed shrubbery while I waited for the men to ascend.
Asher came up next, and stood next to me.
I looked up at him.
He shrugged. “There is no one here to see us. I would hear them breathing.”
Feeling a little foolish, I stood as Steifan climbed out of the hatch, then shut it gently behind him, sealing the light of the lantern within.
“Your duke’s estate is that way.” Asher pointed. “Three gardens down.”
I glanced around at the surrounding shrubs, having an odd feeling of noticing them before. I took a few steps toward the fence separating the garden from the street, then froze. I recalled dark hair framing blue eyes, watching me from just this spot.
“This is where I saw Egar,” I breathed. I turned back to the men. “The Nattmara knows about the canals.” I thought about it. “If he did kill Charlotte, he could have moved her body. Maybe he noticed the vampire bite on her neck, and thought it might be a way to lure hunters to the city. The female Nattmara told me our blood has more power than other mortals.”
“But why kill Jeramy?” Steifan asked.
My elation abated. Perhaps I was just grasping at threads. “I don’t know, I suppose that doesn’t really make sense. Why kill Jeramy, and not feed?”
Asher watched us, silently absorbing our words. Or maybe he was just waiting for us to shut up and get on with things, who knew?
“Let’s find Vannier,” I decided. “Maybe he can answer these questions.”
As we started walking, I wondered how I planned to pull the servant out of his bed. I most certainly did not want to be caught breaking into the duke’s estate in the middle of the night. At the very least, we would be thrown out of the city. At the most, we would be imprisoned indefinitely, or killed by guards.
We cut across the gardens, scaling fences where necessary, until we reached the duke‘s estate. I leaned against a tree with Steifan on the other side, both of us hiding in its shadows. Asher stood close behind me, and I couldn’t exactly tell him to back up because it would put him out in the open.
Trying to ignore him, I focused my full attention on the back side of the estate. Usually servants’ quarters were either in the back, or in a separate building. Since I didn’t see any separate buildings, I imagined Vannier’s chamber was behind one of the three windows on the bottom floor.
“Wait here,” I whispered to Steifan. I didn’t bother saying anything to Asher. He would do as he liked regardless, and I wasn’t worried about him getting caught.
With my next step in mind, I crept forward, skirting around a garrish white fountain with two scantily clad maidens pouring water from pitchers. I barely breathed as I reached the first of the windows and peeked inside. I could see a bed and small nightstand through gauzy white curtains, but the room appeared to be unoccupied.
I sensed Asher behind me and briefly glanced back at him, then crept to the next window. There was a blanket covered lump on the bed. I couldn’t be sure that it was Vannier, but I was pretty sure I could see a tuft of gray hair poking out near the pillow.
I looked back at Asher now peering over my shoulder. Is that who you saw, I mouthed, though we would be judging solely on the hair.
Perhaps, he mouthed back.
I nodded, then turned back to the window. Now to get him out of there so we could question him privately.
A tap on my shoulder almost made me scream, but it was only Asher. I was just surprised because he so rarely touched me. He would stand close, yes, but there was always a hair’s breadth between us.
He gestured to the sleeping man, then gestured to himself.
Was he offering to fetch Vannier for me? I supposed that would solve a few problems. Don’t hurt him, I mouthed.
Asher rolled his eyes, then shooed me away.
I retreated to wait with Steifan back by the tree.
I watched as the shadow of a shape that was Asher disappeared around the side of the house. Not but a few moments later, a stifled shout emanated from within.
I leaned forward, peering around the tree at Steifan.
He shrugged. No more sounds came from within the house.
“There,” Steifan whispered.
I followed the direction of his outstretched finger, spotting Asher returning the way he’d come. He clutched Vannier in front of him, one hand covering the old man’s mouth while making him walk forward. Vannier wore an old-fashioned sleeping gown, a style now uncommon amongst younger folk.
I caught the wide-eyed look of fear on his face as Asher forced him near, then recognition dawned, and that fear turned to confusion.
Asher maintained his grip over Vannier‘s mouth, but I suspected the old man wouldn’t scream if he let him go. Not without first finding out why two hunters had him pulled from his bed in the middle of the night. We were supposed to be on his side, after all.
I stepped around the tree, facing Vannier. “Earlier tonight,” I whispered, “y3ou paid a scarred man. What was his task?”
Vannier’s eyes shifted from side to side. He mumbled words, but they were muffled by Asher’s hand.
My eyes lifted to Asher. “Let him go. If he shouts, break his neck.” I hoped my raised brows conveyed that I didn’t actually want him to break the poor man’s neck. I didn’t think Asher would kill on my command regardless.
He freed Vannier, then took a step back to stand beside Steifan.
I glanced around the dark garden, wishing we had somewhe
re better to question Vannier, but this would have to do. “Answer the question,” I ordered.
Vannier wiped his mouth, then cast a quick glare at Asher before turning back to me. “The man you saw is an old friend. I needed someone I could trust.”
I was sure my disbelief showed clearly. “A duke’s servant, friends with a mercenary?”
Vannier narrowed his eyes. “I was not always a duke’s servant.”
Now that, I actually believed. He had wiped away his fear quickly. “And what did you pay this friend to do?”
He glanced at the men, then back to me. “I suppose if I must trust someone, it might as well be hunters with few connections in this city.”
I didn’t correct him in thinking Asher was another Hunter. Better than him realizing what he really was.
Vannier eyed each of us before speaking. “The boy, Bastien, is missing. The duke did not seem surprised by this revelation, so I can only assume he is involved. I contacted an old friend to find out what happened to the boy.”
I crossed my arms casually, belying the sudden tension radiating through my body. Bastien was missing. Could he have been taken when I sent him running after our encounter with the mercenaries? “Bastien seemed to think you held little regard for him.”
Vannier’s wrinkles deepened with a sour expression. “The boy is my grandson. His mother was a drunk, I was forced to disown her early on. When I learned she had perished, I secured a life for the boy.”
He couldn’t have shocked me more if he admitted to being the duchess’ murderer. When I could find the words, I asked, “Bastien doesn’t know?”
“What good is a grandfather who abandons his kin? I deserve no relationship with the boy, but I can at least make sure he is all right.”
I met Steifan’s waiting gaze, knowing we were both thinking the same thing. He had been apprehended, and maybe killed, because of us.
I turned back to Vannier. “Tell us everything you know about the duke and duchess, and about why anyone might not want the duchess’ murder solved. I will do everything within my power to find Bastien.”
Vannier licked his thin lips, considering my offer. He wrung his wizened hands. “All right, I’ll tell you everything, but not here. This information could get me killed. You know of the canals leading out into the city?”
Trick of Shadows (The Duskhunter Saga Book 2) Page 7