Murderess by Moonlight: The Torvan Trilogy Book II (Sample Chapters)

Chapter 2: Hunting the Hunter

Your Love

Selene reviewed the code words in her head, piecing together the true message.

I do hope you'll wear the maroon dress again: meet at the Maroon Maidens.

I hope to see you soon: she was to come as quickly as possible.

An unexpected storm is coming: there was a new, unforeseen threat.

An unforeseen threat? Could someone have discovered their plans to kill the King? Had one of the assassins been captured?

After ensuring her door was locked, Selene pulled the rope out from under her mattress and tied it to the bedframe. She tossed the remaining length out the window after looping it around her like a harness. By the time her guard thought to check on her, she'd be long gone.

#

Draven waited until the room was completely silent before pulling out his lockpick and tension rod. He tucked the edge of the tension rod in, twisting the lock slightly to the side. He dug around in the keyway with his pick, pushing each pin into place with a nearly inaudible click. It took a surprising amount of time, which made him wonder what kind of locks Lady Selene had installed in her door... and why.

To be fair, since she was a lady, she likely wanted to protect any jewelry within. Perhaps he was being too suspicious. But she didn't seem like the jewelry-wearing type.

He pulled on the tension rod and the keyway turned smoothly. He opened the door.

Selene was gone—of course.

A rope was tied to her bedframe and tossed over the windowsill. She was highly motivated to see this lover of hers, if that was indeed her motive.

A quick search of her desk and bed revealed that she'd taken the note with her. Draven scanned all the nearby streets—just in time to see her dash into an alleyway. He wrapped his hands around the rope, tempted to slide down, but if it burned his hands, it would make climbing difficult later. He wrapped his legs around the rope and climbed down, hand by hand.

When he reached the bottom, he sprinted into the alley she'd disappeared into. Mud between the cobblestones revealed some of her footprints. Either she was arrogant or unaware.

Draven followed the alley until it poured out into a main street. This would make things more difficult.

He began to approach a street vendor to ask if he'd seen a lady of Selene's description when he spotted her dark hair as she wove through the crowd. He could run her to ground and drag her back home. Or he could see where she was going.

Draven quickly decided on the latter option and pulled his hood over his head as he trailed her.

#

After changing into a commoner dress in her shed, Selene walked the rest of the way to the Maroon Maidens. A translucent red curtain clothed the doorway. Pushing it aside revealed a room cluttered with tables below and red lanterns overhead. The lack of doors was highly impractical in the chilly month of Cedembre.

Arzil wouldn't want her to enter through the main entrance, so she walked past it and around the corner to a little door practically indistinguishable from the wall. One might not know it was a door except for the rusted handle protruding from the wood.

A prickling sensation clambered up her arms, and Selene scanned the alleyway. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching. Surely her guard hadn't managed to follow her.

Selene performed her routine second scan of the area, just as Arzil had taught her. She searched for potential escape routes and weapons, in case a situation arose in which she might need them. She could climb the rooftops, but that would take a while. Her best bet was to dart down one of the many alleyways filled with broken shards of pottery and bottles that could be used as weapons.