by Drae Box
“Why? He nearly killed him.”
“But when somebody nearly kills you, you don’t let them make the same move on you. You learn,” explained Raneth. “Jules would know that.”
Aldora twisted her lips to the side before she nodded. “That’s true. I wouldn’t want Jules’ hands near my mouth or nose after seeing what he did to Haethowine.”
They were quiet, standing side by side before Raneth uttered, “We should get on the rooftops. It’ll let us see further, and he may be hiding in the area.”
It took a few minutes to show Aldora how to correctly climb a drainpipe so she wouldn’t land on her butt on the cobblestones, but once she had managed to reach the tiles above, Raneth rushed to join her. He stood straight, sweeping his gaze across the village. As with any settlement, multiple rooftops marred his view of the streets, giving him a limited view, but it still let him see more than they would have whilst on the ground. “Let’s work the area. Follow the sightings and look for any signs he’s been here today. There’s a chance he left last night once it was dark.”
“How do you figure that?”
“The pattern.” Raneth patted the tin in his pocket. “Just because he doubled back, doesn’t mean he’s been hiding since then, and there’s his sons to consider. He’ll want to find out if they’re safe.” He didn’t want to add that there was a chance Jules would be coming for Aldora for the answers, the Rivermud likely assuming Drigoe and she were friends. Why did that Frey Follower interfere? He was sure Aldora hadn’t told him everything about her encounter with Thane Frey’s right-hand, but he wasn’t going to push. She was alive, and she wouldn’t be if Drigoe hadn’t stepped in.
They travelled the rooftops in smatterings of silence, hours passing between them as Raneth ensured that Aldora didn’t slip on the mossier rooftops. With his mind focused fully on Rivermud and making sure Aldora didn’t hurt herself, Raneth barely thought of the stirring of feelings he was having for the Dagger Bearer, nor the reactions of those around him that he was loathe to see. At least Ramage will let me get on with it, he thought, thinking of one of the other royal officials at his rank.
“Where will we go on our date?” asked Aldora, breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen across them for the past five rooftops.
I don’t know. Raneth frowned, assessing how to jump to a new row of buildings. The street below them was busier than the others they had come across, but that could have been because the nearby school had finished for the day, purging itself of the village’s children and teens. “I’ve enjoyed eating at The Golden Goat Restaurant in Wisner before. Ever been?”
Aldora was quiet as she joined him close to the edge of the rooftop, her arms splayed outwards, helping her to keep her balance as she looked down. He watched her swallow. “Never. I heard it’s the best place in Giften for salmon dishes. I’ve always wanted to go but it’s so expensive and the wait list is huge.” She sighed through her nose, brown eyes twitching to view each of the villagers below.
“I can get us in,” admitted Raneth. “Might be a week or two to wait but nowhere near its usual three months wait.”
Aldora raised her brows at him. “How?”
“My dad’s friends with the owner. Dad replaced him as the Decurion of the Third Legion.”
Aldora’s face was awash with unsaid thoughts as he watched, before she finally hummed and returned her attention to the villagers below them. “So you’re not the first soldier in your family.”
“No.” Had he never mentioned that before? “Bayres have worked under oath to the Three Ks since Kingdom Records, maybe beyond that. I’m just the first royal official.”
“I didn’t know.”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Raneth. “Do you want to go there?” Aldora nodded. “Then as soon as we’ve finished with Rivermud, I’ll send word I’d like to book us a table there, and I’ll ask them to keep quiet about it. I’d hate it if the news reporters joined us.”
A small laugh slipped free from Aldora. “I can imagine them taking seats at our table,” she confessed.
“Some of them would... Let’s go back to the last sighting. Royal officials aren’t supposed to disturb people at their homes, but if I could have your permission, I’d like to knock on the doors of the houses that are to the right of the black gate. See if anyone can give us more details.”
“Let’s go.” Aldora looked at the ground briefly, then up at Raneth. “But you’re going to have to show me how to get down.”
“Same way we got up,” said Raneth, neglecting to tell her he’d also trained to jump off the rooftops safely. That was something Master Redler was likely better at teaching.
Asking door to door proved useless. They had followed the village walls back to Doctor Smith’s village hospital. “Now what?” asked Aldora. Raneth shrugged. He had hoped asking the villagers would be more helpful, but he hadn’t taken into account that most people didn’t spend their evenings or days staring out their windows. People had things to do, no matter who they were. “Seems like we’ll have to patrol the village before expanding outwards. That nobody’s seen him today and we’re struggling to get sightings since before he took you suggests that he has left.”
“Can I come with you? If you leave the village to find him?”
“Why?” asked Raneth.
Aldora lifted her hand as if to touch Raneth’s chest but stopped short, lowering her hand. “You nearly died because Cray ran past you to get on that bridge to help me with Reinette, and to give me a way to save you from the bloodhex. My stomach turns every time I think about it. About how you nearly died.”
“I’m sorry.” Looking past Aldora, Raneth observed two villagers approaching — one male and one female. They were probably around their age, and the woman was between his and Aldora’s height. Her long russet hair was curling at the sides of her face, bobbing with each step she took. A tangle of necklaces dangled below her neck, the skin beneath it on show almost to the point of showing her underwear, not that there was any denying she was wearing some; the red cloth of her bra was visible against her thin white top, leaving nothing to the imagination of her large curves. Raneth nodded in her direction and that of the man with her. “I think some of your friends are joining us.”
Aldora turned and Raneth watched as a smile burst to Aldora’s lips. “I should warn you,” she murmured, barely moving her lips. “Richard already hates you.”
What? Why? Raneth cast his attention to the tall and lanky male. He had a curtain of blond hair that frizzed around his face, and no weapon was visible on his frame. Viewing the woman at his side, Raneth noticed that she didn’t have a weapon either. “Your friends are unarmed.”
“You think they should have weapons?”
“It’s safer than being weaponless.”
“I’ll suggest it,” promised Aldora before her friends stopped in front of them. “Hi, Jenny, Richard.” She slipped her hand into Raneth’s. “This is Raneth. The royal official I met in the Quest.”
Jenny nodded. “Nice to meet you, handsome,” she said. She turned to Aldora. “We heard from some of the other villagers that you two are looking around for that criminal. We want to help.”
Help or be nosy? wondered Raneth, looking back at Richard. Richard was glaring at him, as if trying to intimidate him. Thankfully, it took more than a glare to ruffle a Bayre’s feathers, yet alone a royal official’s. “Nobody seems to have seen the Rivermud today, nor noticed anything odd.”
“Maybe he left,” said Richard, folding his arms. “Maybe you should too.”
Raneth shrugged. “Once I’m sure he’s not here.” He checked their surroundings as the girls talked, making sure that Jules wasn’t creeping up on them, and eyed the hospital. “Aldora, what’s in the hospital?”
“Hospital machines of Giften and Southern design,” she said, turning to face the large building by the gates. “Your standard medical supplies, bedding, spare clothes, that sort of thing.”
“What about f
ood?” asked Raneth.
“Usually,” grunted Richard.
Aldora looked up at Raneth. “You want to check Smith’s OK?”
“Yes.” Raneth strode away from Aldora’s friends and stepped into the hospital’s reception room.
Chapter Eighteen
Aldora
Aldora watched Raneth prowling off without her, Jenny and Richard. There was a confidence in his movements, a calmness that she was starting to appreciate with each minute she spent at his side now that they had agreed to a first date. Unsure whether they were officially dating yet, she watched as he vanished beyond the doors of the hospital before she heard Richard suck his teeth. She whirled, turning to face him and Jenny again. “What?” she snapped, looking at her ex-boyfriend. It had been one date. One. Yet Richard acted so possessively that she was almost ready to call him an ex-friend too.
“You sure you want to date him?” he asked. “He seems like a jerk.”
“If he’s such a jerk, why was he worried you were both unarmed?” countered Aldora, gesturing at their waists. “Be nice or go away.” She turned and sprinted after Raneth, ploughing through the heavy glass doors of the village hospital. The waiting room was empty, the wooden chairs standing like soldiers side by side, cluttering the room until they gave way to two corridors either side of a large white desk carved in a C shape.
She called Raneth’s name softly as she approached his back. He glanced at her, and she spotted one of the almost paperthin throwing knives from his belt in his left hand, held loosely between his thumb and forefinger. “Trouble?” she asked.
“You tell me,” he said. “Is it normally this quiet in here?”
“It’s a village hospital.” Aldora gave a nod, hearing the doors behind them swish open as her friends joined them. “Smith does more housecalls than operations. It’s mostly in case we get a bad outbreak of something, minor surgeries or when a royal official is found hurt. Larger procedures are done in Wisner.”
“Are you ever going to ask Aldora out?” Aldora could feel the heat prickling at her cheeks and neck as Raneth glanced her way, Jenny’s blurted question seemingly catching him off-guard. He kept his gaze on Aldora so she nodded, giving a slight smile, and giving him permission to share.
“Aldora asked me out. We’ve made plans to go to The Golden Goat,” he said stiffly. Jenny squealed, launching herself onto Aldora. She barely had time to brace before Jenny’s arms were wrapped around her, and barely heard as Raneth murmured, “Not that it’s any of your business,” he added.
He sounds grumpy. Why? Aldora detached herself from Jenny’s clinging hug, noticing Richard was scrunching his nose and lips together irritably. Does he just not like other people poking their noses into who I’m dating, or is it Richard’s face that’s causing Raneth’s mood? Raneth turned and headed into the corridor, his footsteps slow, measured, as if he were stalking a rabbit.
“I had my eyes on Aldora first,” hissed Richard, looking to Jenny. “I’ve dated her. I bet she’s just attracted to the uniform.”
Aldora spotted as Raneth’s back straightened at Richard’s words, but that was the only reaction the royal official rewarded Richard.
Jenny, however, gave Richard the reaction Aldora wished she was close enough to dole out; Jenny’s hand slapped the back of her ex’s head. “Grow up, Richard. You’re boring,” said Jenny.
Raneth opened a doorway on the right, revealing a linen cupboard. He took a step inside, peering around the door before shutting it. He looked at Aldora. “How many staff are usually here?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Aldora listened to their surroundings for the first time, trying to tune out Jenny and Richard arguing. “Probably a small handful. Smith has part-time staff because the village doesn’t usually have to deal with much except for the occasional hernia and whatnot. They come from Wisner. The village doesn’t have anyone else but Smith trained for doctor stuff.” The building was quiet, but the way Raneth had a blade out, and the way he was taking slower, more cautious steps suggested he was wary. “It’s usually pretty quiet in here.”
They continued down the corridor, and Richard and Jenny finally fell quiet. They and Aldora watched Raneth inspecting each ward on their left through the glass windows between them and the corridor, opening each door on the right as they came to it before cautiously checking those rooms, never forgetting to check behind each door. At the end of the corridor, they turned right, following the corridor’s only option and Raneth opened the next door, the only one to their right in this section of the hospital. “Aldora.” He let go of the door’s handle but didn’t step deeper into the room, so Aldora edged closer and looked round his side.
“That’s Doctor Smith,” she said. The doctor stood in a well lit room, his hands paused on shelving, bottles lining the shelves near his hands.
“Ah, Aldora,” he murmured. He straightened, giving a shaky smile. “And I take it that this is the royal official from the Quest?” He didn’t wait for Aldora’s answer as he picked up a clipboard from the bottom shelf, a pen tied to it by a ratty piece of string. He jotted something down before he took a step to the right and pulled open four cupboard doors. “By Freda’s blade,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “Aldora, it’s just as well you’re here.” The doctor with a ring of greying hair flung his free hand at the cupboards. “I got in this morning just to clean the place and prep for an operation booked for tomorrow, and found my medicine stock messed with.”
Aldora stepped into the room, noticing the eight beds behind Smith, hidden by the door to those in the corridor. They looked slightly more comfortable and wider than the ones she had experienced the few times she had been a patient here. On the other side of the beds, nestled behind the door, were three sets of bookcases with medical titles across their spines, and three grey sofas positioned in a triangle to face one another. The staff room. “What do you mean, messed with?” she asked.
Smith pointed at the cupboards. “Someone’s been rooting around in here, making a mess.”
“Is anything missing?” asked Raneth as he, Jenny and Richard joined Aldora and Smith in the room.
“Not that I’ve found yet, but it’s already past four and I haven’t finished checking. I’ve been at this all day. I’ve had to call in Roberta and Charlie earlier than we’d planned so they can prep the operating rooms.”
“Have you checked your bandages?” asked Raneth.
Aldora watched as Smith frowned, his gaze slipping to another row of cupboards squeezed further down the wall he stood beside. He went and opened them. “They’ve been messed with too,” said the doctor, before he started counting.
Raneth slipped his throwing dagger back into place at his belt, just shy of his sword. “You got here in the morning to find them like this?”
“Yes.”
“When was that?” said Raneth.
“Eight. I made some housecalls first.”
Aldora watched Raneth frowning, his striking blue eyes looking left and right as he figured something out. His frown deepened.
“Bandages are often taken by criminals on the run,” said the royal official as he strode around the room, inspecting the floor carefully. As he reached the sofas, he squatted and looked under them. “No cigar spit. There’s not even a stray cat hair in this room.”
That’s quite the achievement, thought Aldora, watching as Smith turned to face Raneth. Smith’s hospital might not see much action, but it was likely one of the best maintained in Giften.
“There’s one roll missing,” said the doctor. “Brand new.”
“Can you send word to Aldora when you’ve finished your checks please?” asked Raneth. “If you’re alright with that, Aldora?”
“Yep. Whatever helps.”
“Then let’s get back on the streets. It might not have been Rivermud, but it won’t hurt to do another round of patrols before I head out.”
Head out of the village? Not without me. Aldora gave a nod. She rubbed at her wound with the heel
of a hand. It was starting to ache again — she would need her painkillers soon. Raneth prowled through the hospital, following the back corridor to the right wing. He left no room unchecked as he made his way back towards the waiting area, and Aldora admired the attention he spent on each room, and the confident but cautious way he inspected them. “I need to go home,” she said as they paused by the front doors. Heavy drops of rain knocked against the glass, sounding as if a symphony of rubber hammers patted at the glass panes around them. “I need to get my painkillers.” A fork of lightning ripped the sky apart outside, and for the first time since they had entered the hospital, Aldora noticed how dark it had become, and that the evening had arrived early thanks to the thunderstorm the kingdom had been waiting for. “We should probably eat something too.”
“And pack,” added Raneth, as thunder blasted outside. Jenny and Richard stood near her and Raneth, watching the storm. “In case we leave the village. We’ll need supplies. Food, spare socks. Clean water.”
Spare socks? Aldora looked outside. Maybe for a royal official in that, that makes sense. She was grateful she had never chosen to become a royal official, never found herself alone or between settlements when any thunderstorm, yet alone this one, wrung itself from the sky. She looked at Raneth thoughtfully. She’d never considered what he encountered when on assignment, not beyond the dangers his assigned criminals, Thane and the Frey Followers posed anyway. How many times had Raneth been caught out by the weather? How many times had his training saved him from it?
Richard pulled up the collar of his white shirt. “We’ll get soaked if we leave now.”
“We need to get where we’re going,” countered Raneth, irritation flashing across his face. “That’s Winter’s Call. It’ll probably go on all night.”
