Malediction (Scars of the Sundering Book 1) (17 page)

"Oh,
little master!" Janek beamed at him and pulled a tankard from under the
bar. "I see the guards didn't give you too much trouble. What'll it
be?" Janek looked over the crowd in the tavern. "Where are your
friends?"

I guess I
have time for one ale.
"Just an ale, please" He tossed a half
talon on the bar. "We're staying at the palace now."

Janek
whistled. "Mighty fine. That must be quite a story." He drew Kale a
tankard of ale.

"I was
told to look for Kali Blacktalon, Blackclaw? Here?" Kale looked over the
frothy mug of ale.

Janek's
cheerful expression fell. "Oh. I see." He cleared his throat, jerking
his head toward the back room. "Pull the tap on the farthest keg, the one
marked 'Dwarven Winter Beer'."

"Thanks!"
Kale tossed another two talons on the counter. "There are two guards
outside The Sleeping Viper. Ale's on me."

Kale took
his tankard and sipped it as he entered the back room. Extra chairs were
stacked on top of each other and were surrounded by crates of linens and root
vegetables. Several stacked ale kegs obscured the near wall. Kale went to the
one farthest from the doorway. He couldn't read the label but saw that it was
the only one with a tap.

When he
pulled it, he heard a click, and the front of the keg swung open. A short passageway,
too small for a human or a minotaur but passable for a drak or even a dwarf,
led Kale through the keg to a set of spiral stairs that plunged into darkness.
Kale saw a light at the bottom and heard the sounds of laughter and
conversation. Kale chugged his remaining ale and wiped his mouth on his cloak.

The stairs
took him to a room set up as a tavern in miniature. Ten draks sat around a
table, laughing and conversing, paying him no mind. Two more chatted with Kali.
She saw Kale, smiled, and waved him over. She wore the same brown, leather
jerkin but was now also adorned with fine gold chains wrapped around her horns
and clipped to gold rings on her ear fringes.

"I
wondered if we would see you!" Kali stood and laughed. "Everyone!
This is the drak I told you about. Kale, was it?"

Kale nodded
and looked around the room. The other draks greeted him with a glance or a
raised mug and returned to their business.

"Where's
your sister?"

"She's
with Pancras at the palace. We're staying there now. There are two guards
outside the inn next door waiting for me. I gave them the slip to see if our
dwarf friend was here. You haven't seen a dwarf hanging around, have you?"

"Nah."
Kali shook her head. "The palace, huh? How you swing that?" She
pulled out a chair for Kale to sit in next to her.

"Pancras
made some deal with the prince. He couldn't say what."

Kali took
Kale's hand. "We're going to become good friends, you and I." Her
scales felt cool to him, but her hand felt soft. Softer than Delilah's.
"We could use a friend in the palace."

Kale
narrowed his eyes and pulled his hand away. "Who's we?"

Clasping her
hands together, Kali smiled. "Oh, we have a partnership. Mostly draks,
though we've been known to hire some minotaurs as muscle. You may have noticed
our kind are less than well regarded here in Almeria. Sometimes we have
to…" She spread her hands and shrugged. "Let's just say the humans
aren't always willing to deal with us fairly, so we have to improvise a
lot."

Kale
understood. He was no stranger to having to sneak around larger people and
sometimes procure materials without paying. It was less of a problem since
Sarvesh founded Drak-Anor, but before then, he was forced to scrounge for his
supplies most of the time. Gasps of alarm from the draks in the room
interrupted his reply. Several jumped up from their tables, drawing weapons as
a glowing, blue creature bounded down the stairs. It was little more than a
furry ball, a massive mouth bisecting its body. It hopped on two stumpy legs,
bounced over toward Kale, and bounced up on the table. Two draks threw knives
at it, but they passed through its body, embedding in the table.

Holding up
his hands, Kale shushed the alarmed tavern. "It's just a message from my
sister. It's not a real boggin."

The magical
boggin looked up at Kale. "Mistress Delilah and Master Pancras are
comfortably awaiting your arrival at the palace and would very much appreciate
you bringing ale for them." Its message delivered, the blue ball of teeth
disappeared in a puff of azure smoke and tendrils.

"Ale!"
Kale threw up his hands. "Like I don't have enough to carry!"

"They
can't get ale at the palace?" Kali scratched her head. "How
odd."

"I
don't know. I should get going. The guards are probably looking for me."
Kale stood and walked toward the stairs. "I don't want to get into any
more trouble."

Kali
accompanied him to the top of the stairs. At the top of the stairs, inside the
keg hallway, she pulled him close. Kale's pulse quickened, and his breath
caught in his throat. Kali nuzzled his ear. "I'll be in touch." She
pushed him out of the keg and grinned at him as she closed the door.

Clenching
his fists to control his trembling, Kale returned to The Sleeping Viper by way
of the alley, gathered their possessions, and met the guards out front.

"We
were going to go look for you after we finished these ales." One of the
guards tossed his mug toward The Assassin's Dagger. "How'd you get these to
us? The woman said you paid for these."

Kale
shrugged, staggering under the weight of three packs. "It wasn't easy.
Shall we?"

Chapter 9

Pancras
groaned as someone pounding on the entry doors roused him from his nap. He had
not intended to fall asleep in the armchair but didn't fight the sleep that
overtook him. Delilah ran to the doors, rushing past Pancras in her excitement.
Her face fell when she opened them.

"What
do you want?"

The servant
bowed. "It is dinner time. May I?"

"Let
him in, Delilah." Pancras yawned. He stood up and stretched and followed
the human and drak to the dinner table. The servant stood by the tapestry in
front of the food lift. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, during
which the servant stared straight ahead while Pancras and Delilah looked from
one to the other, a bell rang in the distance. The servant pulled on the cord
to pull up the tapestry, opened the door, and pulled the rope hand-over-hand
until a platform containing variety of platters and goblets appeared.

As he set
the food on the table, he glanced around the room. "I understood there
were to be three of you?"

"Yes,
so did I. I wonder where he is, Pancras." Delilah looked out the window.
Pancras didn't expect she would see Kale. He wasn't quite sure of his bearings,
but was fairly certain The Sleeping Viper did not lie in the direction their
windows looked.

"He'll
be along." Pancras sat at the head of the table. "He needed to
collect the rest of our possessions from the inn."

"Very
good, sir." The servant returned to the food lift, rang a bell on the
inside of the shaft, and waited for another tray to pull up. "When you are
finished, stack everything inside the lift, and ring the bell." He placed
another covered platter and two pitchers of wine on the table. "Will there
be anything else?"

"No,
thank you." Pancras marveled at the multitude of serving dishes and plates
on the table. It was far more than they could consume, even if Kale and Edric
were with them.

"Yes! I
want a bath. How do you fill the basin? I have weeks of dirt ground into my
scales."

"I will
have someone draw your bath for you." He glanced over his shoulder as he
left. "It will only be hot water, however. We don't have… whatever it is
you people bath in.'

"Water!"
Delilah shouted at him as he shut the doors. "We use water!"

Pancras
shook his head and lifted the cloche from his platter. The plate was covered
with a bed of multi-colored vegetables, in the center of which was a roasted
bird.

Grumbling to
herself, Delilah returned to the table and sat just as there was another knock
at the doors. She continued to grumble all the way as she crossed the room to
open them, and squealed when she saw Kale standing there, staggering under the
weight of three packs. Pancras moved to help him with his gear, but Kale
dropped it all inside the entry way and ran over to the table.

"I
thought I smelled food!" He climbed into Pancras's seat and tore into the
bird.

"Hey!"
Delilah shouted from the entry doors. "Where's our ale?"

Kale shot
her a withering glance while he ate. " I had to carry all three of our
packs by myself. The guards didn't help one bit, even after I bought them
ale."

"Oh
well." Delilah's non-committal reply did not hide the disappointment on
her face.

Pancras
poured wine for everyone before he sat down. "Did you see Edric?"

"No
sign of him. Janek hadn't seen him, and I couldn't get Scar to talk to me. When
I told him we moved to the palace, he just grunted. He looked happy we were
leaving, though. For someone who runs an inn, he sure doesn't seem to like
customers."

Before they
finished eating, servants appeared again and interrupted Delilah's dinner to
fill the tub. The ornately detailed, claw-footed copper bathing vessel stood
large enough in which a human or both draks could sit upright but promised a
cramped experience for Pancras.

"You
know," Pancras ran his fingers along a tooth-like detail near the rim of
the bathing vessel. "It looks like a dragon's maw." Lavender-scented
steam wafted up from the surface of the water. Delilah cast off her cloak and
unbuckled the harness on which she attached her pouches and fetishes and then
climbed into the tub.

Water
sloshed over the sides as Delilah settled in. "Ooo, that's hot!" She
shooed Pancras and Kale away with her hand. "You may leave now. I have
serious thinking to do."

Pancras
chuckled and returned to the dining area to put the dirty dishes back in the
food lift. "Did you have any trouble? You took longer than we
anticipated."

"No
trouble, other than carrying three packs by myself. I stopped off for an ale at
The Assassin's Dagger. I wanted to see that drak from the jail again."

Ah, so
that's it.
"That was dangerous." Pancras feared Kali Blackclaw was
up to no good, and he believed Kale was ill-equipped to deal with such people.

"She
wants to be friends." The excitement was evident in Kale's voice.
"There's a whole secret tavern under The Assassin's Dagger. It was full of
draks!"

"Kale."
Pancras took the drak by the shoulder. "Think about it. The Assassin's
Dagger. A secret meeting room. Doesn't that sound strange to you?"

"Why
shouldn't they have a place to have a few drinks without being hassled by the
humans?"

"Janek
seemed welcoming enough. Why would such a place be in his tavern?"

Kale
scratched his head. "You… you don't think they're assassins do you?"

"It's
possible." Pancras stretched. Sleeping on the cot in the jail stiffened
his muscles and caused pain in his lower back. "It doesn't matter right
now, anyway. We're not going to be allowed to go back out in the city."

"What?"
Kale nearly dropped the plate he was carrying. "We're prisoners
here?"

"Guests,
prisoners. Honored ambassadors, is the term the prince wants us to call
ourselves, by the way. It's all the same right now. I'll work on obtaining us a
little more freedom tomorrow. I need to acquire some equipment if I'm going to
work on this project for which the prince traded our freedom."

"Kali
gave me the impression she could get into the palace if she wanted to."

Pancras put
the last empty plate into the food lift and rang the bell. Then he closed the
door and lowered the tapestry. "If she can, you'll have your answer. I
didn't get the impression that many people, be they human, drak, elf, dwarf, or
minotaur were free to come and go from the palace as they pleased.

Kale seemed
to consider Pancras's statement. He looked over at the door that led to the
bathing room. "Hm. How long do you think Deli will be? The water will be
all cold and dirty by the time we get in there."

"Now
that we have our foci back"—Pancras rubbed the tips of his horns—"I
think between Delilah and me, we can use our magic to clean the water and
re-heat it. The servants weren't too keen on bringing it up here in the first
place. The less we bother them, the better, I think."

Kale tried
to open the windows, but they were locked. "Do you think we'll be able to
get out of here, Pancras? Get back on the road to Muncifer in time?"

Pancras
shared Kale's concerns, but he knew the draks looked to him for guidance and
leadership. "I am doing everything in my power to ensure that we will,
Kale. I promise."

* * *

No amount of
dirty looks Delilah directed at the closed door quieted the sounds of Pancras
and Kale cleaning up the dinner table.
At least I can't hear what they're
saying.
The hot water reminded her of the heated pools in which they bathed
and relaxed in Drak-Anor, although Delilah preferred the mineral scent of the
waters back home to the floral-scented waters she was provided here.

She sighed
and sank deeper into the water. She concentrated on blocking out outside
sounds. The hot water and steam seemed to melt and dissolve the accumulated
grime of the last several weeks, and Delilah reflected that this was truly the
first time she had the opportunity to relax since they left home. She missed
their friends, but as long as Kale and she were together, Delilah knew they
would be all right. She couldn't help what became of Edric, though, and when
she was finished with her bath, she grabbed her staff.

Drawing
tendrils and wisps of magical aether to her, Delilah directed them to coalesce
in an area above the floor. "
Ageliofedros
." A glowing blue
boggin appeared and waited for instructions, hopping from foot to foot.

"Find
the dwarf, Edric of Ironkrag. Tell him we are no longer at The Sleeping Viper,
we've moved into the palace, and he should come find us as soon as possible.
Return with his response." Delilah sent the messenger on its way.
That'll
be faster than combing the city for him, especially if we can't leave.
There
was the possibility the messenger wouldn't find him, of course, especially if
the dwarf were dead or there were a lot of Edrics in town from Ironkrag.

The parlor
was deserted when she emerged. She didn't need to check the nearest bedroom;
she heard Pancras snoring as she approached the door. On the other side of the
parlor, one bedroom was occupied by Kale. Seated on the bed, he examined his
puzzle box. Her brother looked up when she entered.

"Hello,
Deli. I put your pack over there." He pointed to a chair next to the side
table on the far side of the bed from where he sat. "I didn't know if you
wanted to share a room or if you wanted one all to yourself. This place is
huge, huh?"

"We can
share. I've heard enough strange sounds that I don't think I want one of these
big beds all to myself." She pulled up her pack behind her as she climbed
up on the bed.

"I know
what you mean." Kale nodded in agreement and then cried out in triumph. He
jumped to his feet, unbalancing Delilah and knocking her over. "I unlocked
another side, Deli! Look!" He held up his puzzle box for her inspection.

Delilah saw
gears turn and a plate slide away from an inner mechanism but didn't understand
his excitement. "So what does it do now?"

Kale
scratched his head and sat down. "I'm still not sure. I have to get all
six sides working in sequence before it'll open. I wonder what's inside."

"It's
probably a joke. You'll spend all this time working on it, and it'll be
empty." She hoped, for Kale's sake there was a point to the puzzle box,
but it wouldn't be the first time Kale obsessed over a mechanical item that had
no practical purpose.

Delilah
removed her grimoire from her pack and opened it. While they traveled, she
spent most of her free time studying her lexicon so she could communicate
effectively with humans. Now that they planned to stay in one place for a
couple of months, Delilah decided to study this arcane tome in depth. Already,
glimpses of the ancient knowledge locked within tantalized the drak sorceress
with its power and potential.

The words on
the page shifted and flowed as Delilah looked over them. The text rearranged
itself as she read it, allowing her to read several pages of information before
having to physically turn the page. Magical theory, essays on the nature of
wizardry and the ways its effects could be manipulated, and rituals covering
everything from mundane activities, like removing a stain from linen to
infusing life into that which was lifeless, the book contained more knowledge
than Delilah expected could fit between leather covers.

She smiled
to herself.
I know where I'm going to be lost while it's snowing outside.
This gilded cage is no prison for me.

* * *

Pancras
tossed and turned. The fire in the hearth did nothing to remove the chill from
the air, and the blankets upon his bed provided scant relief from the cold.
Dark shapes crept toward him, shadowy figures with neither form nor substance.
Yet, he felt them grasping at him, clawing, pulling him down into a shadowy
pit.

The minotaur
knew he was about to fall. His breath caught in his chest, but he pushed
through the discomfort and cried out. "
Seeko osta sto choma kai na
ipakousoun tis entoles mo!
"

With a gasp,
Pancras rolled and fell out of bed. The coppery taste of blood flooded his
mouth as the floor rammed his bottom teeth into his tongue. He groaned and
pushed himself to his hands and knees and pulled himself up, using the bed
frame to steady himself.

He drank
water directly from the pitcher, swished it around in his mouth and spit the
bloody liquid into the basin. A thin line of light visible under the bedroom
door beckoned Pancras to pull on his robes and follow it into the common area.
Dawn's first light streamed through the windows and set fire to the sparkling
white blanket of the season's first snowfall.

Pancras
stepped away from the windows and left the suite through the double doors which
led to the walkway overlooking the courtyard. A cold wind blew through the
arches, bringing with it the warming scent of burning wood from nearby hearths.
The clouds that brought the snow moved away, disappearing over the horizon and
leaving behind a clear, blue sky. The fresh snow cover made Almeria seem
quieter, more peaceful than usual.