The Swan and Mallard Inn's common room was empty, and Krayson sat alone. The proprietress retired to her rooms long ago. The bard had taken his final bow. The goodfolk ambled home or upstairs to their rooms. Shadows played across the inn, cast by a single candle on Krayson's table that had been left by a kindly serving girl.
He nursed a tankard of ale. It was a larger cup than he was used to, at least three times larger than the mugs in Eastrun saloons. Krayson found the drink to be bitter and not to his liking, but he continued to take small sips. Loathe as he was to admit it, he found that he was coming to understand why others indulged in alcoholic beverages. The warmth in both his stomach and his head were pleasant after a fashion. However, he decided early on that any more than this would be too much for him. A single drink enjoyed in silence, however, was a fine way to end the day.
"Still awake?" Starra asked, approaching his table with a candlestick in hand. She wore a shimmering, pink nightdress. Her hair was tied back for bed, and she had a pair of warm slippers on her feet. Starra appeared to value her personal comfort above practical concerns such as keeping a low profile. Even her nightwear was ostentatious. "After demolishing half a turkey and your body weight in potatoes, I expected to find you comatose."
"Soon enough," Krayson said. "It's been a long time since I've had the chance for a peaceful night's sleep. I wanted to give this opportunity all due appreciation."
Starra slid into the seat next to him. "Enjoying being able to sleep by not sleeping?"
"More or less."
She laughed softly. "That almost makes sense, but just almost. I don't suppose you've seen Her Highness return?"
Krayson shook his head and took another drink.
"Pity," Starra sighed. "I'm sure Maya can take care of herself, but a vampire tends to worry about their donors."
"You shouldn't pursue her," Krayson said.
"Brother Joshuan, if I were pursuing Princess Maya in earnest, there'd be no question of my intent."
"There's been no question. You've been blatant, my lady."
Starra pursed her lips. "But it's so much fun to fluster an Algara."
Krayson raised an eyebrow.
"You're right, of course," Starra sighed. "But surely you can't blame me for finding her attractive."
Krayson shrugged.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're no fun at all. Admittedly, I've been an admirer of Her Highness coming on three years now. We'd never formally met before all this began, and I've wanted to ask her sister for an introduction for a while."
"You know Princess Jin?"
"Certainly. We frequent the same seamstress' gallery in Northrun and got on famously. You've never met anyone with better fashion sense, and such a lovely young woman. Very warm once you get under that royal facade of hers. Jin is an absolute delight at social events, and she dances with such grace."
Krayson made a thoughtful sound. "You've danced with her?"
"Once or twice. I remember the Dothraun's annual gala last year. Jin wore a red gown, detached sleeves and the most flattering corset and bustier you could imagine. She drew every eye in the ballroom, the most ravishing creature in attendance, and she walked right up to me before anyone else. And do you know what she said?"
"I'm beside myself with anticipation," Krayson said flatly.
Starra cleared her throat and affected a more measured and deliberate mode of speech. "Lady Starra, I believed you were an apprentice of illusion, not of enchantment."
Krayson blinked as Starra about fell out of her chair with laughter.
"A pick-up line!" Starra wheezed. "A terrible pick-up line, and it worked. I didn't stop blushing the entire night."
Krayson snorted into his tankard. "You and Princess Jin were romantically involved?"
Starra dismissed the notion with a flick of her wrist. "Not at all. I'll confess to toying with the idea, but nothing ever came of it. We'd be a poor match. I'd never wish to burden Jin with guarding my secrets, and I daresay she wasn't really all that interested in me. I fear she was somewhat put off by my... let's call it my vivaciousness."
"Vivacious is the perfect word to describe you," Krayson said.
Starra eyed him. "I'm trying to find the hidden barb."
"There isn't one."
Unexpectedly, Starra smiled, showing hints of her fangs. "In that case, thank you for the compliment."
"You're welcome," Krayson said. "If I may ask, Lady Starra, you were the Merovech's apprentice?"
"I believe that's been sufficiently established."
"And so you were familiar with his household?"
Starra nodded. "I was. I quartered in his Northrun manor for the last... seven years? No, eight. Before my application was accepted, his patronage came in the form of correspondence to my home in Japax."
"I take it he knew of your... being you."
"Not at first, but a year of anemic housemaids and my frequent purchases of eye-coloring investitures eventually clued him in. He said he'd be a fool to throw away an apprentice he'd grown fond of." Starra smiled wistfully at the table. "If you ever wonder why I adored Hierarch Ambrose the Merovech, it's because he saw a person where others saw a demon. A low standard, maybe, but Ambrose soared over it. He was my father of the heart."
"And Garret?"
The look in Starra's eyes changed from wistful to deadly in the span of a moment. There was true hatred in her countenance, and Krayson almost felt the need to tense up.
"Brother Joshuan, it's important for you to know that I do not use words like 'evil' lightly. I believe using such terms too often only serves to dilute them." Starra leaned back in her chair and folded her hands over her stomach. She kept her eyes on her hands, not meeting Krayson's gaze. "I realize that coming from me, a woman with demons in her ancestry, my opinions might not mean anything to you."
"Saveen likes you," Krayson said. "That is enough for me."
Starra looked up and gave him a little smile. "I wonder if you realize how charming you're being tonight."
Krayson felt his face turn red.
Starra leaned forward. "But with all that said, Garret Merovech-Deveaux is the most vile, putrid, corrupt, and unequivocally evil piece of filth to ever crawl out of its hole. What he did to Duchess Josenthorne is among the least horrific acts I attribute to him. He at least left Josy with her virtue. Others haven't been so fortunate."
Krayson felt his lip curl in disgust.
"Garret is a raper and a murderer. He has more blood on his hands than I've ever seen, and I drink the stuff regularly."
"You speak highly of Lord Ambrose," Krayson said in a careful tone. "Why would a man like him have someone like Garret as his heir?"
"I said it once before, but Ambrose loved unconditionally. He was blind to Garret's faults, even when it was clear to us closest to him that his son was behind the deaths of his trueborn heirs. Our master wouldn't listen, wouldn't hear a word against him. Garret plotted and murdered his way up the line of succession, and Ambrose could only see the beloved actor he was so proud of. Against everyone's better judgement, he named Garret his heir after the 'accidental' death of his last living grandson, Lord Antoine."
Starra sighed and slumped back into her chair. "And now all the Five Kingdoms will suffer for Ambrose's blind eye. Garret is the Merovech now. He's head of one of the greatest houses on the Continent and thrown in with Elise of bloody Eastrun. Spirits alone know what will come of it. I made certain the manor staff packed up and left once I learned what happened to Ambrose. I won't let them fall prey to that scum."
Krayson downed the last of his ale in one gulp. "I take it no one in the palace knows of Garret's affiliation with Elise."
Starra sneered. "Oh, the Algaras know. Except, the wrong Algaras. Garret has been Vintus' creature for a long time now. His Highness must have loved that, using his rival's own son against him with neither Ambrose or Garret the wiser of who really held the strings."
"The Merovech didn't know Garret was killing people for Prince Vintus? How is that possible?"
Starra looked uncomfortable. "Because... We hid it from him. His former apprentices and I. When it became clear that Vintus owned Garret, we knew it was more to hurt Ambrose than anything else. So, we kept that fact away from him." She flashed Krayson a challenging look. "Before you start, yes, I've asked myself countless times if things might have turned out different had we told Ambrose the whole truth. And no, I don't know if it would have. We always believed that if the worst happened, we could stop Garret from becoming the head of house. That was before he attached himself to a bloody Dragon Empress. None of us predicted her."
"The more I learn," Krayson said, "the more I come to think no one predicted Elise. No one except Vintus. He knew she was coming to the tower, and I'm certain he used Garret to get her there."
Starra furrowed her brow. "I'm not disagreeing with you, but how can you be so sure?"
"Garret told me, or near enough. I also once heard Vintus give Garret a sending to tell him I had the Merovech's bloodsong. So far, I think most everything Elise has done has been within Vintus' plans. Maybe Vintus didn't intend for her to level half of Westrun, but I can't say he didn't either."
"Bloody Hell," Starra muttered. "And you say Cathis honestly believed Elise died eight years ago?"
Krayson nodded. "From the attack on the Eastrun enclave to the Lady Tarlen contracting me to deliver Elise's bloodsong back to her, it was all to keep the most dangerous woman on the Continent in hand. They used me to unleash her."
Starra frowned. "If the Imperial Diamond hadn't been stolen, Elise might have been unleashed a lot sooner. Maybe years ago. Whoever was behind the theft may have given us the chance we need. We didn't have House Yora then to oppose her."
"Trading one Dragon Empress for another," Krayson muttered. "How can you be so sure your faith in Lady Enfri isn't misplaced?"
"Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Enfri the Yora. If you're to address her, do so properly. I don't want her first impression of me to be sullied by an unmannered blood runner."
"An empress without an empire, and you didn't answer my question."
Starra thought it over for a long moment before answering. "Ambrose respected her father. That counts for something. Jin follows her. That carries weight with me. Saveen dreams of her. That should carry weight with you."
Krayson realized that it did. He didn't understand why or how, but it did. The part of him that could accept so little as reason enough should have been long dead. Krayson nodded his agreement.
"What are your conclusions?" Starra asked. "About Elise of Eastrun, I mean."
"Somehow," Krayson sighed, "Vintus faked her death and made Elise think the king spared her life. She's spent the last eight years believing Cathis has been the one sending her to kill arcanists across the Continent. Plausible deniability for His Highness, I assume. The blood runners were involved as well. Father Ranton took Elise's bloodsong and put it into the Imperial Diamond. Then, Ranton cast a ward of some kind over her, but I don't know what. Only that it was strong enough to cause an apotheosis when he died."
"The cost," Starra whispered. "He sealed away the ancient emperors."
"What?"
Starra gave her head a shake. "I'll explain it more fully later. It changes little except to Elise."
Krayson narrowed his eyes. "You seem awfully well-informed of things even blood runners are in the dark about."
"You could say my knowledge comes from a higher power," Starra said with a wink. "One that's taken an interest in you, if I don't miss my guess."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh? Then do you often hear voices in your head that teach you lost magic?" Starra feigned a sulk. "The bloody spider never gave me anything. I had to learn my lost magic the hard way."
Krayson felt a chill down his spine. Starra noted his stunned expression and chuckled.
"Tried to tell yourself it was a hallucination, did you? And have you ever felt as if a thousand eyes are all looking your way? Yes, that can be a little disconcerting when it happens. The Great Spider isn't big on concepts like privacy."
"The Great Spider?" Krayson gasped. "The Imprisoned One?"
"God of memory and fate, renegade of the spirits, fey-bane, and all that. Ambrose insisted we call the bloody arachnid Kumo."
Krayson put his hands on the table to steady himself. He was feeling a little faint. "A... god... spoke to me?"
"Oh stop, it's not that momentous. You're a witch. You talk to gods all the time."
"Yes, but they don't talk back!"
Starra flicked her wrist at him. "Nonsense. What's witchery if not a conversation between mortal and the divine? You say 'please' and they say 'here you go, have fun'."
Krayson hated that she was technically correct.
"Though," Starra said thoughtfully, her chin held in her fingers, "if a god is speaking to you direct, by most dogmas, that would make you a..."
"Don't you dare say it," Krayson warned.
"A bloody blessed saint," Starra finished happily. "My, my. Should I fall to my knees in your presence, your worship?"
Krayson rested his forehead on the table and groaned.
"But if you're the sort that Kumo can talk through, then I'm glad I never became as devout as Ambrose. Bloody Hell, but no wonder no one's revered Kumo since Shan Alee fell. Must be the most irritating greater spirit in the Ethereum."
Krayson banged his forehead against the table. "If Kumo's imprisoned, how is it..."
"You get talked to and feel the eyes? Spirits aren't temporal beings, obviously. They're spirits. It's not a prison of walls but of... ideas, you could say. It must have taken a lot for Kumo to say just that much to you, and even prisons have windows to peek out of."
"So you're telling me," Krayson said, sitting back up, "that the Merovech has been fighting against Vintus and the old masters because a caged spider asked him to?"
Starra smiled and nodded.
"All seven thunders," Krayson groaned.
"Seven's an unlucky number. It's their number. Just like five shows in the works of spirits, seven manifests with demons. Haven't you noticed that fell magics tend to have the number seven worked into them somehow? Shoveth has seven characters, and wards that use seven focal points are especially nasty."
"Superstition," Krayson grunted. "There are seven planets and even seven colors in the rainbow. It's just nature."
"And who made nature?" Starra asked. "When humans created spirits, your new gods were the invader in what was already natural."
Something about the way she said it tugged at Krayson's memory. He was too tired and too out of sorts from the ale to give it much thought. In any case, spirit lore bored him. Even in the Horde, he hadn't been as concerned with the true nature of the spirits as he was with what an arcanist could do with them.
Krayson overturned his tankard and squinted at the last few drops of foam beading along the lip. Had he finished? Dreadful swill, but he thought he would've liked another. Krayson pushed his chair away from the table and rose unsteadily to his feet. He fumbled with pushing his chair in, almost falling over in the process. Starra stifled a laugh.
"This is too much," she said under her breath. "He's a bloody lightweight?"
"Bah, stow your thunder, woman," Krayson slurred. "I'm perfactily..." He hiccuped. "...perfectly shobre."
Starra went wide-eyed. "Ale goes right to your head when you stand up, doesn't it? Alright then, off we go. I'll get you upstairs to your room." She stood and slung his arm over her shoulder, bearing his weight. "And I thought you were no fun."
"Thundering woman," Krayson muttered. "I know your game. This is a ploy to seduce me. It won't work."
She rolled her eyes as she half-dragged him towards the stairway. "Oh drat. You can't imagine my disappointment. Suit yourself if you want to sleep this off in your clothes when you could've let a beautiful vampire undress you."
"Bah."
"Once more and I'll think you've been polymorphed into a sheep. Stop dragging your... Brother Joshuan! If you keep pulling on my bodice like that, I'll pop out of my nightdress!"
"What in the Five Kingdoms?" Saveen appeared at the top of the stairs and descended in a rush. "What's wrong with him? Has he been poisoned?"
"In a manner of speaking," Starra grumbled. "Here, you take him. You're stronger than me, and this scrawny fool is heavier than he looks."
"Lean!" Krayson protested as he was shoved from one woman to another.
"Why me?"
"He's your knight. Take responsibility."
Saveen held Krayson up now. He couldn't figure out why the inn had gone all spinny. It was clearly some form of illusion magic. Starra was to blame. She'd cast a discombobulating curse on him. He tried to tell Saveen as much, but the word was too cumbersome for his tongue.
"Flames. How much did he drink?"
"One."
Saveen gasped.
"Afraid so. You don't suppose you could send something through and snap him out of it, could you?"
Strength coming through the bond had been like a splash of cold water in his face before. This time around, it felt more like an entire glacier smacking him. Krayson sputtered and snapped erect as clarity returned. He looked around and found Saveen watching him with a worried expression and Starra huffily adjusting the bosom of her nightdress.
Krayson felt a blush coming on. "Err... maybe no more than a pint at the next inn."
"I'll find you a thimble," Starra muttered.
A healthy buzz continued to press against his head, but he was no longer feeling on the verge of blacking out. Krayson considered if something had been slipped into his drink before recalling how the masters had always extolled the virtue of temperance. He was confronted with compelling evidence that blood runners eschewed alcohol for reasons other than maintaining philosophical purity. Could the sustaining spells be interfering with his ability to metabolize alcohol?
Krayson turned to face Starra and bowed his head. "If I was at any point out of line, I apologize."
She finished adjusting her nightdress. "No harm done, not even a stretched stitching. It was a rare pleasure, Brother Joshuan, and I don't intend to forget it." Her smile became wicked. "I don't intend to let you forget it, either."
Footsteps on the landing above the stairs announced Josy's arrival. She was back in her assassin's armor. "Good, you're all up. There's trouble."
"What sort of trouble?" Krayson asked.
"Maya, and she looks like she's just wrestled an ogre."
Krayson asked Saveen for permission to draw a little healing. Their bond allowed him to purge what remained of his intoxication. Between the healing and her gift of strength, he felt rested and rejuvenated.
"I'm set to fly for a week," Saveen said in response to Krayson's concern for her well-being. "The mighty can go a month without sleep if there's need, so it's nothing to send a little wakefulness your way."
Lady Starra was more concerned with other matters. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she plied Josy with questions. "When did Her Highness return? Where is she now?"
Josy cocked a thumb over her shoulder. She descended the stairs, her travel pack slung over her shoulder. "Came in through the window after you left to check on the Krayson. She avoided the streets in case she was followed."
"By whom?" Starra demanded. "Bloody Hell, what's going on?"
"Melcians," Josy said once she reached the bottom of the stairs. She retrieved a map from her bag and brought it to the candlelit table Krayson and Starra had been using. Josy unrolled the map.
"Tactical map of the south," Krayson said, looking it over. He noted the attention to detail for the roads, rail lines, and waterways. "The sort used for planning troop movements."
"House Yora is moving in force coming up the Vladmir," Josy reported.
"How did Maya learn that?" Saveen asked.
Josy gave her a shrug. "I've stopped asking questions like that."
Saveen stood closer to Josy and traced a finger between Leyrshore and the Lady Yora's presumed position. "That's a long way from here, but I bet I could fly it in a day or two with you all onboard. I might need Krayson to give me a little strength for the last leg, though."
Josy put a hand on Saveen's shoulder as she leaned over the map. "We'll need to. The Crescent Legion is coming down from Adezu to cut off her passage north. Maya wants to warn her and Jin before they're trapped between the legion and the Rangers here in Leyrshore."
A soft curse came out of Starra. "That bloody fool," she muttered.
Josy frowned. "We should count ourselves lucky Maya went and learned any of this before it was too late to do anything about it."
"Not her," Starra said, "but I'm not happy about Maya taking risks either. I refer to Adeyemi. The Five Kingdoms are on edge as it is after what happened in the City of Althandor. What will happen once they learn the Warrior King marched halfway across the Continent to wage war against a young house? It'll be chaos."
Maya arrived at the table, her approach silent. Her lip was split in two places beneath her cowl, and her armor was missing a few iron rivets. There were pale slashes across the armor where swords had only just failed to bite through and deliver a wound.
"Essence of all spirits," Starra gasped. She reached for Maya's face, but the princess shied away from her touch. "Come off it, Your Highness. You need restoration magic for that lip."
Maya relented to Starra's administrations, clearly unhappy with accepting aid.
"Anyone who knows about the secret history won't be surprised by what Adeyemi's doing," Krayson said, looking over the map. "Everyone else, however, will see an unwarranted military action. Even if the Highest King tries to blame the Yoras for what Elise did, very few will believe it. Half of them doubt that the talk of dragons is anything more than a fairy tale."
Maya grunted in agreement, then flinched as Starra's somatics closed the cuts on her lip.
Krayson frowned. For a brief moment, he felt he saw a larger picture forming over the canvas. A picture he recognized, an image of a board with seven and seven squares. It faded before it became a salient thought, and his mind focused instead on the island kingdom of Sholis. That, more than anything else, pulled something from his memory.
"We need to go here," he said, pointing at the map.
The others looked at him with curiosity.
"Sholis?" Josy asked. "Jin and the sky woman are in Temradel. What's so important about Sholis?"
"Before Saveen and Starra rescued me, Elise ordered Cardin to go there and press a blue dragon named Almo the Rampart into her service. He's Eldest of blue dragons."
Saveen nibbled the nail of her thumb. "I never heard of him. Trell didn't talk much about other dragons."
Maya came to stand uncomfortably close to Krayson. She loomed over him, frowning.
"Maya's right," Josy said. "This doesn't change anything. If House Yora's army is in Temradel, that's where we need to go."
Starra's brow was furrowed as she looked between Krayson and the map. "They'd have gotten there by now, in any case. We travelled by train, a week of crossing back and forth on the rail lines. They could have flown on a direct course, a few days journey at most. The Rampart must be gone and bonded by now."
Krayson looked at Saveen. "I've a little more experience with blues than Cardin. It's not so easy to get them to do what they don't want to do."
Saveen made a petulant face.
"Elise wants the Rampart. Cardin won't just kill him until he's exhausted his other options. He'll try everything he can to persuade the Rampart to join. If Almo is anything like the other blue I know, it'll be a hard sell. They're still in Sholis. I'm sure of it."
Maya shook her head, and Josy gave voice to their opposition.
"So what? Jin's about to get trapped in the Moran Valley between the best soldiers Melcia has to offer, not to mention the Nadian Sky Corps. If you've forgotten, the king of Nadia is an Algara. He's not marked, but King Fen is still as ruthless as any royal assassin. We don't want Elise to enslave other dragons any more than you do, but we have to stay focused on the problems right in front of us."
Krayson looked up and met Saveen's eyes. She nodded.
"This isn't about the Rampart," she said. "It's about the Huntress. It's always been about her."
Josy and Maya exchanged glances and shrugged.
"That would be Elise's red dragon?" Starra asked. "The one you say has been tortured into being her loyal bodyguard?"
Saveen bit her lip and nodded. "You're a mage slayer, aren't you, Starra?"
Maya made a quiet sound of understanding.
"I see," Starra breathed. "Sever the bond with the Huntress while she's separated from her empress."
Krayson caught Starra's eye. "And don't be gentle about it. If you can sever the bond before Elise realizes what's happening, you could rupture Elise's imprint before she unlocks the bond on her own to save herself. Worst case, Elise has one less dragon under her control. Best case..."
Josy nodded. "Elise loses her capacity for magic. She wouldn't be nearly as threatening anymore. Osteomancy was made to fight the mighty. Maya and I could overpower all three dragons in Sholis if we have to."
"The Order would be avenged," Krayson said, "as well as the thousands dead in Westrun. Vintus and the demons will have lost one of their most dangerous pieces on the board. I recognize this is time we can ill afford to lose, but the rewards far outweigh the risks."
"But can we reach Sholis in time to catch her?" Starra asked. She and everyone else looked to Saveen. "Carrying four pushed you past your limits, dear one."
"I can do it," Saveen said. "For Kimpo, I will do it."
"And how does House Algara feel about this?" Starra asked.
Maya nodded to Josy. The younger assassin got a wild grin and pounded a fist into her hand. Her bloodlust was all but palpable.
Saveen rolled up the map and handed it to Josy. "If we leave now, I can get you there by tomorrow evening." Her eyes brightened as a thought occurred to her. "Do you think the empress will be happy with me if I bring her an Eldest? Two of them!"
"Better the sky woman than the psychopath," Josy muttered.
Maya gave Josy an incredulous look.
"Leave off," Josy said, abashed. "She is better. Jin thinks so, and even Dashar kinda liked her."
Maya scoffed.
"It's true. He only tried to kill her the two times in Ecclesia. Then he did that thing, you know?" Josy imitated a slight tilt of her chin and a nod. "That one. The 'you're alright' thing."
Maya grimaced and left it at that.
"It sounds like I should get dressed," Starra said. She headed for the stairs, muttering as she went. "Might be able to catch some sleep on the flight. Bloody Hell, but that can't be very restful."
Krayson and Saveen followed her up to gather their bags. Josy was a step behind them, but Maya remained behind in the inn's common room. Krayson paused on the landing to look down at the princess. He furrowed his brow.
She stood motionless, staring off at nothing. Whether her thoughts were on the inevitable fight ahead in Sholis, the Melcians, or with her approaching reunion with Princess Jin was impossible for Krayson to tell.
A thought came to him, and it made his ghosts uneasy. Althandi and Aleesh were as bitter of enemies as one could find on the Continent. Assassins killed bond forgers. It was their mandate since the advent of their elder magic.
Very soon, Krayson would come to the end of this contract. When he did so, would Princess Maya, eldest daughter of the Highest King, allow him to complete it?