Verath the Red (Dragonwall Series #3)

Chapter 23 - Secrets Come to Light

Kastali Dun

Verath gave Imeir a silent signal, motioning him forward. They crept down an alley that ran along the back of Oldham Road. And they weren't alone.

Imeir's wing mates were positioned along Oldham. Some were perched inconspicuously on rooftops in their human forms. Others had taken up their Drengr form to circle high above.

Dallin was with them too, strolling down the street as a bystander in case they needed backup. Mostly because he wanted to give the young Drengr a taste of life in the city. A taste of what it was like working for the king.

"Have your team maintain position," Verath said, glancing at Imeir. They closed in on the suspected house—a whitewashed four level square building with large windows and a servant's entrance in the back. To the team of Drengr, he broadcast his next words, "Collier is short and stocky, black hair, a scar on his left temple. If he tries to run, I want him taken alive."

Their informant, Alan, had been most helpful, narrowing Collier's location to a single home on Oldham Road. The servant had been paid handsomely. If word got out of his involvement, he would earn a gaping smile at his throat, so they needed to act quickly.

They reached the servant's entrance and paused, waiting for the signal. On the other side of the house, Nellisk knocked at the front door, posed as a visitor to draw attention away.

"It's time," Imeir said.

Verath moved, descending the stairs to the servant's entrance. "Hinga," he muttered. The latch clicked and the door swung wide. He glanced over his shoulder. Selith and Emmin waited behind them, ready to take anyone who tried to flee through the back.

The servant's entrance took them into a cookery. Servants looked up, frozen, wide eyed.

He grinned, flashing his teeth. "Well, hello there. Wouldn't happen to know where we can find the poison maker, would you? Name's Collier." His words were met with shocked silence. "All right then. We'll do this the hard way."

He lunged as Imeir added, "None of you scream, or we'll kill you all."

Bounding around the large worktable laden with vegetables, Verath pulled a dagger from his belt. He grabbed the head cook, holding the blade to his neck. "I will kill you if I have to. Are there any underground tunnels leading out of this place? Ways to escape in secret? Tell me. Where?"

The cook trembled. He lifted a hand and pointed. "Th—there, master Drengr. The root cellar."

"Any others?" He applied pressure to the blade.

"No—no, sir. I swear."

"Good." He released the cook, who stumbled away and gathered with the others. He sent a silent command, "Selith, send Emmin in to guard this root cellar. I don't want anyone getting out." A moment later Emmin entered and was directed to the secret escape.

"Now..." Verath looked back at the group. "I'll only ask once more. Where can I find Collier?"

"I'm in position in the parlor," Nellisk said. "The front is heavily guarded. No one is getting out this way."

"Excellent. Stand by."

"Please, sir." One of the women in the group took two steps forward. She was on the younger side, in her mid-thirties perhaps, with dark hair twisted in a tight bun, and a crisp apron. "If you take the servant stairs there, he be in the attic. All the way at the top."

"Good. Thank you, miss. The rest of you—wait outside. Now, you miss, are coming with me." He sent the gaggle of servants to be guarded by the rest of their team. He didn't want them trying anything while Emmin stood guard at the cellar.