Serpents Rising (Eve of Redemption Book 3)

by Joe Jackson

  “Any word on the bounty yet?”

  Eryn shook her head again. “We've eliminated a lot of possibilities, but there's still a lot of people in the city we have yet to look closely at. Sorry, Kari, but this is going to take longer than I thought. You have what, five days before you decide? I don't think we'll find whoever it is in that time, but on the other hand, I imagine they've heard of your plans in the past six days. Our guild and even some of the Duke's court know about it. And most of the Duke's court is piss poor at keeping secrets, as I'm sure you've discovered already.”

  Kari grunted. “I was wondering if Damansha accidentally let it slip among some of the watch commanders or to the Commandant,” she said, but Eryn shook her head. “Otherwise I'm not sure how everyone manages to find out what's supposed to be a secret so easily.”

  “I'm not sure, but Damansha wasn't the one who leaked the information,” Eryn said. “I know that for a fact. It came down to my guild through a contact who monitors the Duke's court, and I can assure you those fops have nothing to do with the city watch or commoners.” Kari nodded. “You're going to go, aren't you?”

  Kari glanced around to make sure no one conspicuous was following them or listening in on their conversation. “Yes,” she said, convinced they had as much privacy as could be expected on a city street. Before she could elaborate, the air was split by a concussive blast as the storm drew ever nearer, and the first drops of light rain began to fall. “I know you're busy with other things, but I really wish I could take you with me.”

  The half-brys woman shook her head again. “Kari, I kill people. That's not the sort of help you'll need down there. I can't pull off a shape-shifting or an infiltration among the demons the way I did on Tsalbrin. I don't think I'd be much use to you even if I could go, otherwise I'd make the time.”

  Kari patted her friend on the shoulder. “Thanks. In the meantime, keep Aeligos up to date on anything you or your people find, and he can relay it to me or Lord Allerius. Once I've left, you might need to use Typhonix to deliver messages, since Aeligos said he's going to go with me.”

  “Will do. You'd better get home, this storm looks like it's going to be nasty,” Eryn said, and she bid Kari farewell and cut down an alleyway to disappear from sight.

  Kari picked up her pace, for all the good it did her. The rain started coming down in sheets before long, and she jogged under a canopy of lightning to a thunderous symphony. It reminded her of the storm during her battle with Turillia, but this one was warmer, though more severe. Aeligos, Grakin, and Little Gray were sitting on the porch rockers watching the lightning when Kari finally reached home, and after shedding her cloak, she picked up her son and took a seat beside her mate. Any attempt at conversation was delayed by another lightning strike that was soon followed by a rolling thunder that echoed down the streets like some spectral stampede of horses.

  “How's the werewolf hunt going?” Aeligos asked once the thunder had dissipated.

  “I have to say, Aeligos, this werewolf girl may be better at infiltration than even you and Eryn,” Kari said, and though it was meant as a joke, she realized it was also fairly true.

  “Yea, I had heard they were trying to use dogs to track her scent, but she knows how to throw the dogs when she changes forms or something,” he agreed. “I guess we should be glad she's not up to no good yet, since she's obviously quite adept at evasion.”

  Again the lightning struck, followed slightly later by another peal of thunder that echoed in the opposite direction, suggesting the front of the storm had already passed. “I'm just at a loss to what she's even here for,” Kari said. “I invited her up here so I could introduce her to the Council of the Order and show them that her kind might make good allies. But this…this isn't exactly what I had in mind. I hope she's not doing damage to any chance we had of getting the Council to accept them as allies.”

  “But that assumes it's the same one you invited,” Aeligos commented, and Kari had to concede the point with a nod. “Maybe it is, and she's trying to prove how valuable she could be to your Order. I mean, she's walking around the city in this hybrid form, scaring the wits out of the commoners, and yet there's no evidence she's killed anyone, slaughtered anyone's animals to eat, or stolen food of any kind, and your Order, the Blood Order, and the city watch haven't even come close to catching her. This girl…well, she's amazing, honestly.”

  Kari chuckled; that was high praise coming from someone as talented at infiltration as her brother-in-law. “Maybe I ought to take her with us to Anthraxis,” she joked. Grakin grumbled lightly, but didn't say anything.

  “That might not be a bad idea,” Aeligos said. “It could turn out that we find werewolves are some sort of curse from the underworld – or Mehr'Durillia, whatever you want to call it. The humans brought legends with them when they came to our world, but history suggests that's all it was. Actual encounters with them didn't start happening until at least a thousand years after the humans' arrival, according to Ty's books. Might be she could find out something of her origins, or being part wolf might make those demons more willing to talk to us.”

  “All dependent on whether we can even catch her, or she comes to us before then,” Kari mused aloud, and Aeligos agreed with a silent nod.

  Little Gray stood and walked to the top of the porch steps to put his hand under the water pouring from the downspout. The rain was getting a little lighter but was still heavy, and the streets were already muddy and pocked by puddles here and there. Kyrie's fruit trees were surely glad for the watering, and the flowers and the well-tended grass around the yard would probably be a bit perkier tomorrow from their drink. The lightning continued to light up the sky now and then, followed by a fading thunder, but the rain stayed persistent, and it was as if the entire city was taking the opportunity to rest.

  Kari wondered where the werewolf was, and where she stayed during such a storm. On that note, Kari wondered where the girl was shedding her clothes to change forms; there had to be a spot she left her belongings while she prowled the city streets in the hybrid form. Kari wondered if the watch might have better luck looking for that, perhaps on the rooftops or in alleyways that had hiding places. Of course, it was pretty likely the watch had already come to the same conclusion.

  “I'm going to go,” Kari blurted, drawing her mate and her brother-in-law's attention. She met Grakin's eyes and added, “To Anthraxis, that is.”

  Grakin nodded slightly. “I expected as much,” he said. “As I said, I will respect your decision, but I beg of you, do not do anything extraordinarily risky. Make every effort to stay safe in your attempt to rescue this girl, and come home to your family.”

  “That's always been my plan,” Kari said. She blew out a calming sigh. “The more I think about all this, the more I'm convinced that Koursturaux' help has more to do with it than just embarrassing Sekassus. I think she knows that Se'sasha is going to be able to tell us something that will let us cripple Sekassus' efforts in the future. If he's been holding this girl since she was little, she may know a lot about him - things we can use to tip the fight in our favor.”

  “That assumes she will even speak to you, though,” Grakin said. “Bear in mind she may not be interested in helping you do anything that brings harm to her people, and the fact that the Order has a number of her kind in prison may exacerbate those feelings.”

  Kari furrowed her brow, but Aeligos cut in. “Even if she does refuse to talk, though, Sekassus won't know that. He'll have to go on the assumption she's willing to tell us everything. All of his plans will have to be changed or discarded outright to take that into account.”

  “Does your Order have any good information about the kings you are relying upon for this foray into the underworld?” Grakin asked.

  Kari shook her head. “I went through the Anthraxis Council Codex, but a lot of it is old, out-of-date information. I didn't find out much more than I already knew: Koursturaux is third among the Council, around ten thousand years old, and extreme
ly dangerous. Morduri was listed as a prince in the Codex, which means he took his father's throne since the days of Turik Jalar. It didn't have much about him, either, besides what I already knew: he's an elestram and spends a lot of his time wandering and hunting.” She cracked a smile and laughed, then added, “Though Jalar did put some humor into the Codex, and mentioned Morduri was 'considered one of the underworld's most eligible bachelors, according to a number of mallasti and elestram females.'“

  Even Grakin got a chuckle out of that. “I suppose that may have changed since then.”

  “For all we know, it could be part of the reason Koursturaux is involving him in her plans,” Aeligos said with a shrug. “You have to keep in mind, we don't know everything that goes on between these kings and their realms. Marriage and child-bearing have been a part of the strengthening of the nobility in our society for ages; chances are, it's the same with them.”

  Kari thought back to what Eliza had told her regarding King Koursturaux once being kast'wa to King Emanitar, and it made her wonder. There was certainly something more to the trio of Kings Koursturaux, Emanitar, and Morduri than what Kari had discovered so far, and it was entirely possible that it was some sort of “underworld” love triangle. Even as the words played in her head, though, Kari mused that the word love was probably as inaccurate a term as was possible, considering the subjects. Still, she wondered if there was some relationship between Morduri and Koursturaux along the same lines as the one between Koursturaux and Emanitar; if there was, it meant that Morduri might be more trustworthy than she was initially willing to believe.

  Only so far as the success of this scheme is concerned, though, Kari reminded herself.

  “So…I have some interesting news,” Kari said, changing the subject. “I've been made a baroness by the Duke.” She had Grakin and Aeligos' full attention. “It's really a gift from the Duke of Sutherland, but he negotiated with Duke Bosimar to give me land and a title as thanks for what I did down in Barcon. It's a nice vineyard north of the city, but the house is a mess and needs to be fixed up.”

  “The DeSales estate?” Aeligos guessed.

  Kari wondered how her brother-in-law seemed to know everything before she did. “Yea, that one. From what the Duke told me, they've been keeping the vineyards running – oh, and it has olive groves, too. But the house was wrecked during the Apocalypse, and since the whole DeSales family is apparently dead, nobody's taken care of the house itself since.”

  Grakin turned to Aeligos, who elaborated, “It's a big place, lots of very profitable land to it. If you fix it up, it'll be a nice place for you two to raise your family.” Aeligos folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head. “You might want to think about getting married, though; titles of nobility don't pass or extend between mated pairs. You two would have to actually be married for the Duke to recognize Grakin as a baron, or Little Gray as your heir.”

  Kari was surprised to hear that, and Little Gray ran over to his uncle when he heard his name. Many rir were satisfied with their peoples' tradition of mated pairs, and Kari and Grakin had fallen into that category as well. While neither of them was against the human tradition of a marriage ceremony and the exchanging of promissory tokens, they hadn't ever felt it necessary. Now, though, the prospect of holding real noble titles – again, Kari had never known exactly what her initial Lady title had meant when she ascended to the rank of Sword of the Heavens – and passing them down to their children meant they might need to seriously consider a wedding.

  Grakin had looked up at Kari, smiling. “Our relationship has always been fine the way we have it, but I would certainly not be opposed to a marriage, if it is what you want.”

  Kari didn't answer right away. It was what she wanted; there was no denying that. After her illness had sabotaged any hope of a long-term relationship with Suler Tumureldi in her prior life, and the realization that she had unwittingly turned away Kris Jir'tana in this one, Kari had leapt at the chance to become Grakin's mate once she recognized her attraction to him was real. She was satisfied being Grakin's mate, but the thought of a wedding, of being legally – as far as the nobility was concerned, anyway – part of his family, and of bonding their souls even further warmed Kari's blood.

  It didn't take her long to realize what it was: the feeling of belonging to a family, something she had only fleeting experiences with in her prior life. Her thoughts wandered briefly to her old friend Trigonh, the one directly responsible for her resurrection, and she realized how much more she had to be thankful to him for. Thinking about her biological family and prior life, though, brought with it another, stranger emotion; one she had great difficulty putting into words because she couldn't quantify it even to herself.

  “I'd love that, too,” she said quietly after the few moments' introspection, and she could see that her brief hesitation hadn't alarmed Grakin or Aeligos. Little Gray came and tugged on Kari's scabbard, and she picked him up to hold him. “The only thing is…I know it might sound really strange, but…I'd want to keep my surname if we got married.”

  That caught both of them by surprise, but Grakin shrugged lightly. “If that is what you wish, I see no cause to argue.”

  “If you'll forgive my saying so, I figured you'd want to shed it,” Aeligos said lightly.

  Kari shook her head lightly. “I know I should feel that way, but…I don't. It's hard to put into words.”

  Grakin waved off any attempt on her part. “Then do not bother,” he said. “It is your wish, and I am happy to oblige. You did not take my name when we were mated; it matters little to me if you do when we are married.”

  Kari nodded silently, and Aeligos tapped Grakin lightly in the shoulder. “And now she has even more reason to come home safely,” he said, half in jest and half to reassure his brother.

  Grakin nodded. “Indeed. I suppose the details of a wedding will provide plenty to keep me occupied while you are away, then.”

  “And you can see if Typhonix is interested in helping us figure out how to keep track of the money from the estate,” Kari said. “He likes all those eco…economics books he has. He should have a better idea of how to run an estate than I would, at least. We can fill him in over dinner, which we should probably get started. As soon as the rain lets up, I imagine we're going to have a bunch of hungry mouths to feed.”

  *****

  Sleep evaded Kari for the better part of the night. There was simply too much on her mind, from the inheritance she'd been granted by the Duke to her coming trip to Mehr'Durillia. Typhonix' assurance that he would show Kari and Grakin how to properly run their new estate helped, but Kari knew that with land ownership came further responsibility over the lives and livelihoods of those who worked her fields. Being a baroness meant she would have to start paying attention to the politics of the duchy – and indeed, the kingdom as a whole – and take an active part in them, both within the bounds of her role as head of the Order and outside of them.

  Her impending trip to Mehr'Durillia, growing closer by the hour, dominated her thoughts. There was no denying that she was afraid; one wrong piece of information or inadvertent false move on her part might mean never coming home to her family again. In such a case, death would undoubtedly be the best outcome she could hope for. To be enslaved, imprisoned, tortured, or worse by any of the demon kings terrified her far more, but on the same token, she drew conviction from her fear, knowing that Se'sasha was going through those very things. She didn't owe the syrinthian woman anything, but that would make saving her so much more a mercy, and possibly impress the snake-woman enough to make her spill secrets to Kari and the Order. It would, however, be unlike anything Kari had ever been through in her entire storied career; even having met Seril in person several times now seemed to pale in comparison to the dangers that awaited her on Mehr'Durillia.

  And all that said nothing of the anxiousness over a wedding. Kari had only ever attended elven weddings in her past life, and she wasn't sure exactly what to expect from or want in
her own. She assumed her mother-in-law would be all too happy to perform the actual ceremony, but as to where to hold a reception and who to invite, she wasn't sure. Her initial thought was to hold the reception on the campus of the Order, and thus invite her entire Order by extension; that would only leave the question of how many nobles and commoners to invite. Kari, being fairly private, didn't know very many people around the city, county, or duchy aside from the members of her Order; she would need Grakin and the rest of her family to give their input.

  Her constant tossing and turning was disturbing Grakin, so Kari got up, put on some clothes, took up her cloak, and went down and out to the front porch. The city was shrouded in darkness, but the air held just enough warmth that it was comfortable. She sat in one of the wide swings and curled up on it, wrapping the cloak around her. The rocking motion of the swing and the retained heat from her cloak lulled her into a light sleep, but she kept having strange dreams that jolted her awake. Once she dreamed about a wedding in the underworld with all of the demon kings attending, she got up and went back inside to make some tea.

  When she returned to the porch swing, Kari got the distinct feeling that she was no longer alone, and she turned instinctively to the north. There was hardly anyone about at this late hour, and the streets were quiet and near-deserted under the sparse light of the lamps. Still, Kari could sense something nearby, her hackles prickling with a subdued sense of danger, and she kept her eyes on the far end of the porch. Her instincts did not deceive her, and she wished that she had brought her blades with her when the intruder swung down off of the overhang and landed lightly at the end of the porch. Kari made no move to go back inside, but kept quiet, waiting to see what her “guest” would do.

  The great werewolf crouched low and took account of the streets from behind the porch's railing. Under its arm was a tight bundle, and even in the low light of the lamps, Kari's night vision was strong enough to see it was carrying clothes. Once it seemed satisfied that no one had seen it or was giving chase, the werewolf glanced at Kari and held her stare for a few moments. Kari held her ground, making no move of either fear or aggression, and then the werewolf turned its back on her and began one of its awe-inspiring transformations.