The Bonds Undone (Sequel to The Sword Unbroken)

Chapter Forty Six: Shadows Upon Shadows

Imalroc caught the saddle Rerdas heaved at him and set it astride the first horse while Rerdas tightened the billets on the girth of the second mount.

"Am I riding with Rerdas?" Sique asked.

Imalroc's hands were still busy adjusting the reins, so he tipped his chin toward Umber's hunched shoulders. "You're taking that pile of shit back to the palace. Keep him in ropes—"

"What? While you chase after Melgreth Hize? Sir, all due respect, I'm coming with you!" 

He paused just long enough to glare at the younger battleboxer. It might be worth trying to give Sique a formal order if he thought the idiot would follow it. But the likelier outcome would find Sique creeping after them anyway, and that would delay them further. If Melgreth Hize fled beyond the city, it would be too difficult to stop him from reaching safe havens in Kibo.

Rerdas, one foot poised in a stirrup, was watching his face. The huntmaster must have understood Imalroc's scowl, because he dropped his pose wordlessly and ducked back to the tack room for another saddle.

Hassindra and her Optologician companions were already dust on the pathways leading east by the time Imalroc, Rerdas and Sique guided their horses out of the stable. The Duke of Umber tottered behind Imalroc's horse, snot and tears dripping from the muzzle still squashing his face. The bumbling fucker forced them to keep the horses at a walk, at least until Imalroc spotted a group of Southlanders posted near the fence.

"Southlanders!" He waved his arms above his head. "Get over here and take this lump!"

The startled soldiers edged close to Umber, who was still whimpering, and one of them gingerly took the proffered leash. "Er, sir..." The woman squinted up at Imalroc. "What are we doing with—"

"Keep him under guard until Tefka arrives and figures out how many pieces to chop him into."

Umber let out a panicked squeal.

They left him with the soldiers and sailed toward the roads looping around the palace. If Hize was really on foot, they had a decent chance of reaching him before he made it to the outcity highways that ran toward Kibo.

It helped that the streets were eerily deserted. They cantered past a few Southland Army teams combing through the bones of the city, and more than once a pair of guards scuttled into an alley at the sight of them. Imalroc's stomach flattened at every flash of red, raking his gaze across them before they were out of sight. The horses were worth the added speed, but it was impossible to sneak up on anyone. And Hize, damn him to Drida, was clever enough to put on a red cloak and pretend to be a common guard.

The road curved, and the sun flamed overhead. Light dazzled in the windows of trinket shops and public houses. The cobblestones were well-worn, and only grew smoother. They were on the Temple Pass, cutting through the heart of the earthbound temple district. Imalroc slowed their gait to search beneath flapping rain-roofs and past the stern walls of carved colonnades. Nothing caught his eye.

When they finally turned off the Temple Pass, he leaned forward in his saddle. The broad swath of the West Outer Ring glinted ahead.

A trio of Southland soldiers plodding along at an absurdly slow pace blocked their way. Their hands were raised to the hoods of their cloaks to block the worst of the glaring light, but one of them let his cloak fall to wave frantically. Two were pulling the third along with their arms around her waist.

"Captain!" the nearest called. "Can you help us get her to a medic's shelter? I thought Dolabari had one about here somewhere, but I can't find it in this damn loopy maze."