Dragonhunters

by Sabrina Chase

  And then the man reappeared. He was wearing different clothes now and a broad straw hat that hid his face, but he hadn’t changed his shoes—‌one of which had a distinctive splash of mud on the heel—‌or the way he walked. Gutrune handed her bowl to the vendor, ready to move again, and looked up at the pavilion window to see if Dominic and Ardhuin were watching.

  Dominic was staring at the man, shock written plain on a suddenly pale face. She was afraid he would point and give the game away, but instead he spoke, turning back while gripping the rail. Ardhuin spun away back into the darkness.

  Well. They knew something important about the man, so she should keep following him. He made a complete circuit of the pavilion, stopping and looking up at the neighboring buildings several times. Twice he let fall something that looked like a small rock from his pocket. She waited until he had walked on before getting closer to it. Hesitating, Gutrune finally picked it up in a fold of her sleeve, reluctant to pick up anything unknown with her bare hands.

  Now he was walking at a quick pace, and they soon were in an area well away from the foreign section. The buildings were even more worn and signs faded. Gutrune kept her head down and shuffled as the locals were doing. There was very little sign of business—‌or beggars. That was even more evidence she was in the poorer section of Kiantan, and she was very much aware that her illusioned face, while completely Cathan, was of a Cathan that had regular meals. She was going to attract notice when the inhabitants realized how out of place she was.

  She did her best to avoid everyone’s gaze and kept going. Her quarry seemed to think he had shaken off any pursuit and was walking with a relaxed posture. He felt safe, it seemed, and when she saw him go into a shabby, two–‌story building she was sure of it.

  Gutrune faded back behind a stack of rice–‌straw–‌covered barrels and considered what to do next. It was starting to get dark—‌could she find this place again in the dark? Should she try to get inside the building or just peer through any available windows?

  “If you dislike that hovel I would be happy to destroy it for you,” a familiar voice said in quiet Preusan.

  Gutrune spun about, startled. “Herr Asgaya. Why would I want to destroy it?”

  The shimmering not–‌quite–‌shadow effect faded, and she could see him grin. “Well, you were frowning at it rather fiercely.”

  “I was thinking what to do next, but since you are here, it is much simpler. One of us can stay on watch and the other can get—‌”

  He grinned even wider. “Simpler still, we both stay here and make sure that quite interesting individual doesn’t feel the urge to run off. She gave me a tracking token.” He held up something that looked like a coin. “When we stay in one location long enough, the other three will join us.”

  “Is that wise? He only appeared to be following us, nothing more. She should be careful of risking herself.”

  Markus leaned closer, all but murmuring in her ear. “Your instincts, as always, were correct. He has a geas.”

  A chill washed over her. They had come closer to Denais than they realized, then. And it made sense now for Ardhuin to come.

  “Is that what Herr Kermarec saw at the window?”

  Markus nodded. “And more than that. He said the spell looked…‌odd. He wants a better look at it, and you know it must be interesting to let him agree to his wife taking a side trip to this slum. Now. With your assistance, I would like to cast a triggered perimeter around this building so he doesn’t escape before they get here.”

  “How can I help with magic when I cannot cast it?”

  He chuckled, and she felt the breath on her cheek. “All you need to be able to do is walk around the building. I’ll attach the spell to you, and…‌what is it?”

  At the mention of attaching magic Gutrune had flinched, but only a little. She had thought it was not enough for him to see, but he had. “I am…‌wary of magic. Magic in contact. It does not matter,” she said forcefully. “It must be done, and quickly. Do not mind my hesitation.”

  A strong hand gripped hers briefly. “Think of it only as a thread you draw behind you. I will attach it to your sleeve, then.” Gutrune nodded, ashamed of her weakness. “There. Go quickly—‌I am not quite as powerful as your friend, and maintaining it takes effort.”

  Gutrune ran. The street had emptied of all but a few, and they were not paying attention. She scrambled over piles of garbage and even a low roof to make the circuit complete, startling a stray dog hunting rats and a ragged girl who cast a frightened glance at her and quickly darted inside her home.

  “Excellent.” Markus looked strained but pleased when Gutrune returned. “Now all we need to do is wait.”

  “Unless he moves again. What is our plan then?”

  “I’ll go with you, of course. We can’t let him get away, and the others need to find us.”

  This was quite sensible, yet Gutrune was aware of a flash of irritation. Remaining in the shadows, doing nothing but waiting, did not appeal, but neither did she wish Markus to follow her. Even though he would be very useful and had made no attempt to persuade her to stay behind. There had to be something she could do to help before Ardhuin showed up.

  “Would you be able to cast the shadow spell on me after your recent exertions?”

  Markus quirked an eyebrow. “Easily. It was only holding the triggered circuit in abeyance that was a strain. Like holding a weight at arm’s length, what begins as a trivial effort rapidly becomes unbearably difficult. As long as we don’t get involved in a major magical duel tonight, I can assist. You…‌you don’t mind this?”

  She forced herself to speak. To face her embarrassing weakness. “I have…‌developed an aversion to magic that touches me. It will not prevent me from doing my duty.”

  He grimaced. “Your duty…‌but you do not seem to mind the illusions she has cast for you.”

  It was true, she did not—‌and it surprised her. The illusions Ardhuin had placed on her felt more like armor, like protection and safety, but they were still magic. “I trust her completely. Now, the spell?” She wanted the uncomfortable questions to end. She wanted to move. She wanted Markus to lose the sudden expression of wondering surprise.

  “At once, my lady.” He gestured, his face quickly returning to its usual sardonic amusement. “Good hunting.”

  Assured that she could examine the exterior without attracting notice, Gutrune took a leisurely tour. The upper story had a balcony, but it was sagging and in poor repair. The windows were larger on that floor, where the ground floor windows had sturdy wooden bars and would be difficult to get through even without them. Faint light shone through the paper screens of one, but only in one section, telling her light was actually coming from an interior door. She listened but could hear nothing.

  The darkness at last defeated her. There was nothing else she could see that would be useful.

  “There you are,” whispered Markus. “I was just about to go and find you.”

  Gutrune frowned, suspicious. “You said you needed to remain in one place to be found.”

  The corners of his eyes crinkled with suppressed amusement. “Precisely. And I was.” The deep darkness behind him shimmered and and faded revealing three familiar figures. “Now, how shall we proceed?”

  Dominic had seen enough of the section of Kiantan they found themselves in to know it was the poorer quarter, but he hadn’t realized just how poor. Any pavement on the street, if it existed at all, was deeply buried in muck. Further, from the aroma, someone was keeping a pig. Possibly several pigs. He hadn’t liked the hard and desperate expressions on the inhabitants either. It was a very good thing they had magic to conceal themselves.

  And they still should not let anyone catch sight of them, even the person he intended to capture.

  “We need to capture him unawares, and as silently as possible so no one else here knows.”

  “I believe he may be alone,” Gutrune said, her voice low. She gestured at a building farth
er down the narrow, filthy street. “I heard no voices when I scouted his location. There are three doors on the ground floor and an open balcony on the level above. The lower windows are all blocked with bars, so it is unlikely he can escape that way.”

  “So, do we block all but one door or split up?” Ardhuin asked.

  Markus frowned. “The second floor is not so high—‌he might try to jump from there if he thinks he is under attack. I think Fräulein von Kitren should start from there and prevent his escape. Of all of us she is best at silent movement.”

  From what Dominic could see in the darkness, Gutrune was startled by this praise. “I doubt I could climb silently. Not when the wood is so worn.”

  Ardhuin’s illusioned face smiled. “A little levitation can solve that problem, I think. So what will the rest of us be doing?”

  It ended up being fairly simple, once Gutrune was lifted up to the second floor. The lower doors were sealed magically, except for one. Ardhuin put up a magical shield, and Markus carefully opened the door.

  Ardhuin had also cast magic to dampen sound, but something alerted their quarry. Dominic felt a sudden vibration on the floor, as if from footsteps, and he caught a glimpse of a man darting from an interior room and up the steep, narrow stairs.

  Dominic fought back an urge to shout and gestured frantically at Ardhuin. Surely she had some magical means to stop him before he escaped! He heard a startled gasp, a thud, and then the man fell backward down the stairs, arms clutching his stomach. Gutrune was standing at the top of the stairs with one hand still clenched in a fist.

  “Isn’t she wonderful?” Markus whispered to Dominic, watching Gutrune help Ardhuin blindfold the now securely bound man.

  Dominic rolled his eyes. “Completely charming. Now, a true gentleman always offers to carry a lady’s prisoners, don’t you agree?”

  Soon the man, still struggling, was securely fastened to a chair in a shabby room lit by a smoking oil lamp. Dominic didn’t need it to see what had intrigued him earlier, but he stared closely anyway. It was so odd it took him a few minutes to understand the magic he was seeing. “I knew there was something strange about him,” Dominic said. “It’s not just a simple geas. It’s in layers. How is that even possible?”

  Ardhuin looked at him, her brow wrinkled in puzzlement. “What do you mean, layers?”

  Dominic waved his hands, trying to find the words to explain what he was seeing. “Well, there’s one geas that looks like…‌like the others I’ve seen. It’s compact, smooth, uniform. Pretty much identical to the ones I saw that Denais cast. But he’s got another one on top of that, and it looks rough and patchy. Not…‌not as well done, I suppose. But he definitely has two. Why would anyone do that?”

  “Perhaps when we remove them he can tell us himself.” Ardhuin moved behind the man and took his head in her hands. The man jerked, making a stifled cry—‌the first sound they had heard from him. Then both layers of magic that had been controlling him vanished, and he began spitting out a torrent of angry words in Cathan.

  Sonam blinked, hesitating. “He is swearing destruction of all Aeropans. That he will not allow his people to be enslaved. He is angry that so many merchants come and sell to the nobles, and they tax the poor to get these things.”

  Ardhuin shifted. “Ask him his name. Ask if he remembers who put the spell on him.”

  Sonam spoke and was answered with more angry words. Sonam spoke again, more forcefully, responding in the same way to the man’s angry question, and the man’s demeanor suddenly changed. No longer struggling against his bonds, his head lifted and he was silent for a moment.

  “My name is Pei–‌an,” he said in heavily accented Gaulan. “Is what he says true? That you took that devil spell from me?”

  “Yes,” Ardhuin said in her disguised voice. “We are hunting someone that uses it for bad purposes. We would like to know if the one who did this to you is the same person.”

  Another silence. “I will help you do this, even though you are foreign dogs. To kill a tiger, use a snake. He was a wuxai lein, tall and thin. He chose me to serve him because I speak this language.”

  “Wuxai lein is a way of saying magician,” Sonam added.

  Dominic raised an eyebrow. “Well, that certainly sounds like De—‌like the one we are looking for. How old was this man?”

  The blindfolded head shook. “Not old. My age.”

  Ardhuin looked at Dominic in consternation. “Not old? But…‌”

  “He does not look his age, certainly, but he is clearly older than twenty,” Dominic said. “Do we have more like him to worry about?” He turned back to Pei–‌an. “Are you a magician?” Pei–‌an shook his head, and Dominic believed him. He had seen no sign of magic about Pei–‌an other than the geas. “What instructions were you given when the spell was placed on you?”

  “To go to this place every week and obey the commands given to me by the geilo there who had the lord’s orders, with his sign upon them. To do nothing to harm the interests of the lord or defeat the orders. Then…‌” the anger in Pei–‌an’s voice faded, replaced by confusion. “I had not remembered until now. Another geilo came, and told me an order from him was the same as seeing the lord’s order and sign, and I should obey what he said.”

  Ardhuin’s eyes narrowed. “Did this man touch you when he said this?”

  Pei–‌an nodded, a sharp, jerky motion.

  “Well. I think we know where the second geas came from,” Dominic said. “But who was this man? What did he look like?”

  Pei–‌an snorted. “He is short, and his face round. The hair on his head fades away, and he speaks Gaulan like a dog barking.” He imitated the accent, which sounded vaguely Preusan.

  “Very curious,” Ardhuin murmured.

  “We cannot stay here long,” Markus said. “Let us finish questioning him, and then we can discuss what we have learned. Now, what were you doing today? Were you ordered to follow any Aeropans, or those in particular?”

  “Those ones. I was given descriptions from a government document for each man. I was to see what they did and place spell–‌stones about the place they slept.”

  Gutrune held up something small that glowed faintly with magic. “I saw him drop this near the pavilion.” Ardhuin smiled.

  “What then?”

  “I was to go back for more orders concerning these people. They did not say to me, but to others, to go to Baiyueh and stop them there, in any way. They were to kill them if they could not stop them. Others were to go farther along the route to Garze if they escaped Baiyueh.”

  “Did you hear why these people were to be stopped?”

  Pei–‌an shook his head.

  Ardhuin, Dominic, and Markus went off for a whispered consultation while Gutrune stood guard over the prisoner with her pistol.

  “We can’t just let him go,” Markus protested. “You heard him—‌while he hates the people who put the geas on him, he doesn’t like us much either.”

  “The cities he mentioned…‌that was the route we were going to take to Bhuta!” Dominic blurted. “How did they know?”

  “I want to know how they got our entry paper descriptions.” Markus frowned. “It sounds like Denais has spies in the government.”

  “Denais may have spies he doesn’t know about,” Ardhuin said. “A second geas—‌and it sounds like it was to circumvent the first in some way.” She was silent for a moment, glancing at Pei–‌an. “Yes, he does not like foreigners, but we did free him. I think if we offer him vengeance as well, he will at least refrain from betraying us until he gets it.”

  Markus grimaced but made no objection.

  “I don’t know that we have much choice.” Dominic thought the matter over. “He still doesn’t know we are the ones he was following, so he can’t tell anyone.”

  “Thank you for this information,” Ardhuin said to Pei–‌an when they returned. “We will hunt the people who put that spell on you. However, if you reveal that the spell is broke
n, they will know we are here, and it will make it difficult for us. Will you pretend to still be under their control? At least to the point of going back for orders?”

  This Pei–‌an did not like, but was persuaded with promises a message would be sent when it was safe for him to stop the pretense.

  After removing his bonds and setting a vital stasis spell on him that would wear off in a few hours, they left hurriedly. Soon they were back at the pavilion. Dominic had completely forgotten that Mother Long had asked to speak with them, but the servants had not.

  She met with them in a room entirely furnished in red lacquer, even the ceiling. Her usual calm expression had a grave cast, and she half opened and closed a fan while looking at each of them in turn before she spoke.

  “Monsieur Bové perhaps has mentioned that I find many things needed by my guests—‌but especially information. In this case I come to you, for I have heard things I do not understand. It seems the government is searching very hard for certain Aeropans, and among them is said to be a woman with red hair. I have told those involved there are few foreign women here, and none with such hair, but they still wish to search. I regret, but I cannot stop them completely. I can only delay.” Mother Long stood and gave them a serious look. “Perhaps you know of such a person. I advise you, if so, to warn her. There is great danger if she is found.”

  Chapter 13

  Ardhuin woke the next morning bleary-eyed and still tired. Someone was talking in a loud and cheerful voice in the main room—‌Simons.

  “On your feet, get moving! Come on, trice up and move out! We’re only waiting for you, you can nap on the road.”

  “For the love of God—‌it’s not even daylight yet!” Markus sounded as irritated as she felt. “Is this your idea of a joke? Bové said it would take a week or more, and we just got here.”

  “Ha! Mother Long is amazing. She’s already got all the pack animals arranged, and the transportation. Maybe she’s a magician? We just found out—‌Bové was surprised too. Now he wants to hurry to catch the train. It doesn’t run every day. Come on, gents! Can I help you pack?”