“You were a pirate, right?” Palrig asked.
“Aye, but an honest one. You’d be surprised how there’s really no need to lie with cutthroats,” Tetrides replied.
Palrig narrowed his eyes, clearly still not trusting the man. Raisa didn’t blame him.
“Okay,” she said. “Palrig, why don’t you go find Drivas and meet us upstairs?”
“Oh, you really don’t trust me, do you?” Tetrides said with a snake of a smile.
“No, I fucking don’t,” she barked. “So, for now, you’re going to follow my orders even if it’s just to go upstairs to sit down.”
Raisa actually saw a vein pulse in his neck, and his eyes changed. They didn’t just narrow in suspicion, like Palrig’s had. Tetrides was angry and resented the order. To her surprise, he kept it all inside. She could see the anger in his face, unlike with Arus. With his brother, she could barely read anything unless he wanted her to.
“All right,” Tetrides said after swallowing the rage. “Lead the way.”
Raisa left and went upstairs hearing his footfalls behind her. She didn’t know where Drivas and Kaya were exactly, but they would probably be home soon. She simultaneously hoped and dreaded that it would take Palrig a while to find them. Hoped for it to continue stalling, to keep him away from her, but dreaded because she was still stuck with him.
“So,” Tetrides said, taking a seat by the hearth. “What is Drivas like?”
“You’ll meet her soon enough,” Raisa replied staying on her feet and pacing to the window.
The street below was still empty, but she saw one lonely older man out for a stroll. It didn’t look like he was in any hurry or worried about any killer. Raisa envied him right now.
Pen was out there too, hunting the killer. She hoped Pen was getting along with Palamedes and coming closer to the Fang, but a similar resentment bloomed in her heart. She didn’t want it there, not towards Pen, but she wouldn’t be dealing with this now if Pen hadn’t talked to Tetrides even by accident.
Raisa hadn’t had time to find her to talk about it either. She couldn’t have known he was Arus’s brother, at least Raisa hoped not, but Tetrides could have said something. She could have been blackmailed even, or threatened, but Raisa didn’t know that whole story.
The conflicting emotions were enough to give her a headache again, and Tetrides was not helping.
“Did Arus get to see her much?” he asked perfectly calm, but she heard accusations lining his words. “Did he see his little daughter as he hung?”
“She wasn’t born yet.”
“Ah, poor girl never met her daddy, then,” he said. “When was the last time you saw him, then?”
Raisa didn’t answer, not wanting to give any more personal information.
The old man in the street was gone now, but she kept watching the spot where he’d turned a corner, wishing she could just keep watching something.
“He was held here for a while, I bet, in the crypts on the king’s order,” he speculated.
“The queen’s order,” she corrected. “It was her life he was after.”
“Right.” He was quiet for a moment then asked, “Did you visit him before he died?”
Sighing, rubbing her temple, she said, “Yes.”
“Did you tell him you were pregnant?” he asked.
“Why does that bloody matter?” Raisa barked finally turning to look at him.
“I want to know what my brother was thinking when he died,” Tetrides said.
“Yes, I visited him, the day before he died and once before then,” Raisa growled, “but I didn’t tell him I was pregnant.”
“Why?” he asked intrigued.
She bit her cheek enough to make it bleed, looking out the window again.
“The kid is his, right?”
“Yes, Drivas is his!”
“Then why not tell—”
Raisa looked back when he cut himself off.
The understanding in his face, the sick smile, made her want to hit him.
“Oh, how beautifully tragic,” he said softly. “One last night of romance, and you get a little bundle of joy, right before daddy dies.”
“Shut up!”
He did surprisingly, leaning back in the chair again but looking triumphant.
After waiting in silence for nearly half an hour more, Palrig finally came in with Drivas.
Raisa’s heart dropped into her gut, but she kept her face carefully guarded.
Drivas seemed a bit confused but calm.
Tetrides stood as she entered, as if she were a noblewoman meant to be greeted properly.
“Drivas, hun,” Raisa said crossing the room and putting herself between them. “I wanted to introduce you to our new recruit. This is Tetrides.”
“Hello,” she said kind as ever, though her eyes shifted.
Pride welled in Raisa as Drivas sized him up.
“Hello, there,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind a little instruction on your family here. I understand you were basically born into the business?”
“I was,” Drivas said.
She glanced to Raisa, still being polite but confused. Raisa wondered then if Drivas could sense her tension from the day.
“Well, I’m looking forward to working together,” he said reaching into his vest.
Raisa tensed as his hand vanished.
She felt Drivas stiffen beside her too. Raisa tilted her hand towards her daughter’s and tapped her wrist. A signal of caution between them.
“Let’s drink to the occasion.” Tetrides grinned as he freed the flask from his pocket. “To extending the family.”
No one moved.
Raisa felt Drivas watching her, but she was too focused on Tetrides. She told herself to calm down, but she couldn’t relax with them in a room together.
Tetrides rolled his eyes. “You people clearly need some sort of drink.”
He unscrewed the flask and took a swig, then held it out to Palrig, almost as a show of goodwill.
“Come on, big man,” he jested. “Prove to the ladies that it’s not poisoned.”
Palrig glanced to Raisa, who gave a tiny nod.
He took the flask but paused.
“It’s just Eastern brandy,” Tetrides said. “I can get barrels of the stuff from an old friend.”
Raisa tried to force herself to relax as Palrig drank. He even looked surprised and pleased at the taste.
“That is good,” he admitted passing it to Raisa.
Raisa sniffed it, and it did smell like regular brandy. Palrig seemed perfectly fine as well, leaning against the wall at ease.
Taking her own swig, also enjoying the hit in her stomach, she passed it to Drivas.
“Go on,” Raisa said to her. “We usually have a little fun when there’s a new arrival anyway.”
Drivas took the flask, visibly calming.
“There’s not much left,” she commented swirling it around.
“Polish it off,” Tetrides said shrugging. “I can get more.”
She did, grimacing a little, but laughing as she pulled it away.
“That is really good,” she said looking to Palrig.
It sounded like she was under water.
“Palrig?” Raisa heard Drivas call distantly. “Are you okay? What’s happening?”
Raisa forced her quickly blurring vision to focus on Palrig.
He was slumped against the wall now, breathing heavily and trying to stay upright.
“Ma?”
Drivas’s voice slurred by the end. She swayed too, clutching at her stomach.
Raisa’s heartrate raised as her vision darkened and the room swam around her. She nearly vomited as the floor tilted up.
Tetrides just stood there, perfectly calm and upright.
“You sonova—”
Raisa made a move for him, even managed to get a hand around his throat, but her strength vanished.
Tetrides sneered in disgust as he shoved her off.
The floor vanished as Raisa fel
l through it.
Chapter Thirty Seven
Pen
After locking the door, Pen tucked her key ring into her pocket. Palamedes had gone ahead to gather a few guards and start scouting the area around the Lion’s Den.
Pen tried to keep the relief and elation to a minimum. They might have a lead, and it still wasn’t a person, but it was the most progress she’d had in days,.
She wondered if the Fang could feel the invisible noose tightening around his throat.
Practically jogging down the stairs, Pen reached the main door and left the building complex, relocking it behind her.
The stars were covered by clouds, and the little lamp over the door provided the only light.
“Pen!”
Her heart lurched at the shriek. Instantly drawing a knife from the wound on her finger, she spun to face the voice. All sense of excitement was crushed.
Raisa came sprinting out of the darkness and latched onto Pen’s shoulders.
“You have to come with me,” she gasped.
“What happened?” Pen said trying to steady her.
Raisa looked like a wraith with her pale face and eyes that were far too glassy and wide.
“He took her,” she said shaking Pen. “Arus’s brother showed up and drugged us. He took Drivas!”
“What?! Why?” Her own panic was setting in. “Where are they?”
“He left a note. Come on!” was all she could get out before she took off again.
Stunned, and more than a little terrified, Pen ran after her.
Drivas was never a threat to anyone, so why was she the one taken? If she was hurt in any way, Pen would tear his heart out. And that was if Raisa didn’t reach him first.
Something stuck in the back of her mind too, something she couldn’t place.
Palamedes and the Lion’s Den were almost whipped from her thoughts as she caught up to Raisa. Palamedes could handle things.
Neither spoke, it made running easier, but Pen did note how ragged Raisa’s breathing was, and she was usually a fine runner.
No one could get a drop on her, so whatever Arus’s brother had drugged her with must have been potent and fast acting. She was still fighting off the effects. Pen had to catch her more than once when she tripped.
Arus’s brother? Pen hadn’t known he even had a brother.
Pen tripped herself as realization hit her like a wall.
“Pen!” Raisa called back only stopping for a moment.
Gasping around the thorn of terror, she pushed off of the ground and kept running.
She had met him. He was the one at the Lion’s Den on her first visit. She paid for his bloody drink after she told him the Wolves caught Arus, basically killing him.
She wanted to tell Raisa all of that before, how it was such an odd encounter, but there hadn’t been time. The Fang had taken precedence, and she just forgot.
And now Drivas was in danger.
“Raisa!”
She was a few paces ahead of Pen now.
“Just fucking run!” she cried back.
Pen ran.
For an eternity that probably lasted five minutes, Raisa finally slowed. Gulping down air, she stopped at the end of a main street and ducked under an archway to a shop. Pen followed behind, clutching at her wrist, trying not to scratch it.
“Raisa,” Pen gasped, “I met this guy—”
“I know.”
The dead tone made Pen grow cold.
Raisa looked to her, and the anger was hot enough to burn the entire city.
“Tetrides told me that he met a nice woman in a tavern, with purple hair, who listened to his woes,” she growled, “and that this woman told him the Wolves took down Arus. He meets me, then Drivas, and puts two and two together.”
Silence followed, and the glare in her eyes never ceased.
“Raisa, I—” Pen started digging at her wrist. “I meant to tell you. I just … it slipped my mind … the Fang … I’m sorry.”
“You’ll help me fix this,” Raisa demanded, keeping her voice low.
“Of course,” Pen begged through the guilt. “Anything.”
Raisa nodded, directing her hatred and anger back to the open plaza the street led to.
“There was a note when I woke up,” she explained. “It said to come to the Northern Plaza before sunrise. It’s where they execute people, and where Arus hung, but I don’t see … no.”
She sagged against the wall, and Pen followed her gaze.
The clouds parted letting a sliver of moonlight fall onto the gallows. Two figures stood on them. The smaller of the two in the center with the noose around her neck.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Raisa
Raisa couldn’t breathe. It felt like her own throat was being strangled by that noose. She was only able to focus after seeing slack in the rope above her daughter.
“Go around,” she whispered to Pen. “Find a way behind him.”
Pen bolted back down their street and vanished into an alleyway.
The thick clouds moved again, hiding the gallows, but she couldn’t look away from the spot.
Gulping down another breath that didn’t help a damn thing, Raisa left her corner and entered the plaza.
The main Stymphalian Plaza was a grand one. Situated just under the huge gate leading to the castle, they were completely alone.
Blinking away the blurriness around the edges of her vision, Raisa kept her attention on Tetrides. The drug in his flask had been quick, only knocking her out and keeping her unconscious for a few hours. Palrig was still out when she woke up, but breathing. It hadn’t even affected Tetrides. The little bastard had been building an immunity to it.
“Stop,” he called down.
She did, finally seeing them both in the darkness. It felt like her bones were vibrating in rage at the sight of him and what he’d done to her daughter.
Drivas stood five feet above her on the wooden platform. She didn’t tremble, though her lip was split and a bruise was blossoming around her left eye.
Pride rose with the anger. Drivas watched Raisa, calm even when bound. She saw a lot of her father in her then, and she was still proud.
The similar black eye on Tetrides was new.
“This is where Arus hung?” he asked, hand over the lever that would release the trapdoor Drivas stood on.
“It is,” Raisa answered breathless.
“And you watched.”
“I did, because I’m the one who put him there,” she stressed. “Drivas has nothing to do with that.”
“Oh, she does,” he growled. “This little pup got to live while my brother, her father, died. A man you sentenced to death.”
“Wait, what?” Drivas voiced.
“Shut up,” Tetrides snapped.
She flinched but shouted right back. “If you pull the lever, you are not getting out of here alive. You’ll end up meeting your brother in Skiachora, along with me tormenting your ass!”
He laughed.
“You are feisty,” he said. “I’m going to miss you a little.”
“Then let her go,” Raisa begged, risking an inch closer. “Your revenge should be with me. String that rope around my neck and have a proper send off to Arus.”
“No, this is proper,” he argued. “You took the last bit of family I had, so I’ll be taking yours.”
“Tetrides, please.” She could hardly raise her voice despite the panic. “Drivas is the last bit of Arus I have left. There were good moments with him that I never told her about, and I should have. Please, if you do this, you’ll be erasing Arus completely from this world. Let him live on in her, while I take her place.”
“No!” Drivas shouted.
“I said, shut it!” he screamed back, backhanding her.
“Hey!” Raisa shrieked for her daughter.
Tetrides gripped the lever again. Raisa silently screamed at herself for not noticing that he’d let go in the first place.
“That was a nice sentim
ent,” he said.
She didn’t like how dead his eyes looked.
“Letting Arus live on in her. That’s not exactly our way, though.”
He pulled the lever, and Raisa’s heart dropped.
Raisa choked along with Drivas as the rope stopped her, but it wasn’t long enough to snap her neck.
Another rope snapped out of the darkness. It lashed out from behind Drivas and slashed at the noose. It cut clean, and she fell the last few feet to the ground, coughing but breathing.
As the crimson rope retreated into the gloom like a venomous snake, Tetrides watched it go, wide-eyed and stunned.
Raisa vaulted onto the gallows and rushed at Tetrides before he could draw his sword.
He did get it half unsheathed before she barreled into him shoving him off the platform.
Roaring, he caught her throat. His other hand dug into her hair as he tried to catch himself from falling.
Gritting her teeth and clawing at the hand on her neck, Raisa jumped forward too, and they both fell.
Five feet down wasn’t enough to kill Tetrides, but it did break his grip when she landed on him. Trying to regain her balance, Raisa ended up rolling off him, but not before her own knife was unsheathed from her boot.
“Mom!”
Raisa didn’t let the call distract her, but it filled her with a new confidence. Drivas was okay enough to cry out. Pen must be beside her now, she trusted that.
Scrambling to her knees, Raisa lunged for Tetrides with her knife while pinning his sword arm down.
Blood flew out from under the platform. The crimson rope latched itself to the hilt of Tetrides’s sword, painting over it like a sheath, thus sealing the sword inside.
Tetrides fumbled over the shell of blood Pen made, cursing wildly.
He did manage to grip Raisa’s knife hand before it was buried into his eye and tried to buck her off. She punched his already black eye, but his grip didn’t slacken.
Instead, his other hand moved out of her line of sight.
Straining against his grip, Raisa angled the knife point to his wrist. He screamed as she cut it but smiled.
Raisa’s next twist got him to let go of her knife, but his other hand punched her in the chest.
Unable to breathe for a moment, she slashed down, connecting with his throat.
Grief of the Undying (The Ichorian Epics Book 3) Page 21
