Kestral scowled at me. “I only have the one bedroll, so you’ll need your own. You should also have your own flint, soap and salt, in case we get separated.” He held up my shirt from where I’d draped it over the back of a chair. “And maybe a set of clothes that don’t make it look like you’re about to rob all the inns in town.”
I blinked at him. “I don’t need any of that.”
Kestral eyed me darkly. I shrugged.
“You’re just going to make me shift every time we get to a village, right? So why bother with different clothes? And if we get separated I can fly to you. Or away from you, on the off-chance that I’m running. As a cat, I have night-vision and fur, so I don’t need to build a fire at night. Which also solves the bedroll problem, really.”
Kestral narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re planning on drawing every night?”
“Well, yeah.” I shrugged, smiling. “Isn’t it better to draw a little each night than a lot all at once? Do you even feel tired this morning?”
Kestral rolled his shoulders and flexed his arms and chest. “Not particularly. There’s a little fatigue like I ran drills yesterday but that’s it.”
“See? It’s not so bad.” I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, searching for the clothes I had discarded the day before. “The important thing on the road is food.”
“We can always hunt,” Kestral replied.
“I’d rather fish.” I smiled, thinking of the last time I had fresh fish. “I’m not much of a hunter.”
“Really?” Kestral’s voice was dry. “I hadn’t noticed.” He walked to the door, removing the chair that had been our temporary lock.
“You’re still going shopping?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes.” He glanced back. “Two of Shan’s shoes are loose, thanks to chasing you. He’s not going anywhere without seeing a blacksmith.”
“You should have just told me that from the start,” I said, sitting back on the bed. Kestral turned a little more, his face quizzical. “I don’t want to be anywhere near that beast for as long as I can avoid it.”
Kestral chuckled. I loved seeing his face when he laughed. One day he might kill me, but until then I’d like to keep making him laugh. He pulled the door shut behind him and I dragged the chair over to block it.
Waiting again. Ugh, I hated waiting. Waiting was boring!
I opened the shutters of the room’s tiny window and looked out at the street three stories below. The village was still just waking up so hardly anyone was out and about yet. One lone man pulled a cart full of hay from one inn’s stable to the next, chickens pecked in the street and the delicious smell of baking bread wafted toward me. I considered digging through Kestral’s bags to find some breakfast but forgot the idea as the man himself came into view, leading Shan to the blacksmith. The horse moved with an uneven gait, most likely due to a bent or lost shoe. I tried to feel bad for the monster but couldn’t.
As Kestral passed an inn across the street, the door was flung open and one of the ex-soldiers from yesterday greeted him brightly. Kestral stopped and the two of them spoke for a while. I itched to fly down as a crow and listen, but Kestral would recognize me in a wingbeat. It seemed like the other mage hunter was trying to get Kestral to enter the inn, but Kestral waved him off.
I leaned back from the window, thinking quickly. If the blacksmith was already up and running and if they already had shoes perfectly matched to Shan’s hooves, it would probably take at least an hour to properly shoe him. But that was a serendipitous scenario; it would most likely take at least twice that much time. As long as Kestral would be occupied, I could take the chance to learn a little more about him.
I swept my cloak tightly around myself before shifting to my crow form. A quick hop to the window sill and I was in flight. I circled the other inn until I found an open window in a room without occupants. Another shift to rat and I crept through the room, under the door and into the hallway. I spied Kestral’s old comrades in the common room eating breakfast at a table. I looked around carefully before shifting into my human form. Out of sight at the top of the stairs, I mussed my hair and untucked my shirt. I made my way down the stairs as if trying not to be seen, hugging the far wall with my eyes on the exit.
“Hey there!” And that was my cue. I paused, looking around in confusion. The blond ex-soldier waved to me. I pretended to look surprised. “Shouldn’t you have been up to crow at the sun?”
A rooster joke. How original. I smirked and shrugged. “Sometimes doing a thing right takes longer than the sunrise.” I looked over their faces and frowned, pretending not to remember them. “Have we met, sirs?”
The men exchanged a look, then laughed. “You were with our captain last night, remember?”
I cocked my head to the side. “Lots of my customers like to be called captain. I don’t remember servicing anyone in a military uniform, though.”
“Well, he’s not a captain any more.” He pulled a chair out. “Join us for breakfast, won’t you? As an apology for breaking down your door last night.”
I laughed. “Now that’s something I remember.” I ran an appreciative eye over the taller man. “I think I’m remembering you now, too. Weren’t you both off to enjoy The Coop’s services?”
“I would have enjoyed your services more if you hadn’t already been occupied.” He leered at me.
I leaned in, smirking suggestively. A barmaid appeared, and I ordered breakfast, taking advantage of the offer.
“I’m Morro,” the taller man said once the maid took my order. “My partner is Wen. We’re mage hunters.”
“That sounds . . . strenuous.” I put emphasis on the last word, turning it into a suggestion. Morro grinned; Wen shifted in his seat. “And the other one, he’s your captain?”
“He was when we all served under Duke Allaran,” Morro explained. “He’s a mage hunter too, now.”
“Ah, I see.” I sipped my wake-tea, running the tip of my tongue over the rim of the cup to catch a drip. “I just have to ask. Was he just as uptight in the army as he was last night?”
Both men chuckled. They waited to answer until the maid finished setting my breakfast in front of me, then Morro leaned in close. “He was even more uptight, if you can believe it. He never would have hired a cockerel back then, right, Wen?”
Wen snorted. “Can’t imagine he would have. He was the youngest captain ever. Strongest, too. Bravery bordering on stupidity sometimes.”
“But he always led the charge from the front, never asked his men to do something he wouldn’t,” Morro added. He reached one hand out, tracing a line on my sleeve. “But ah, I imagine a man like that might be a little boring for someone with your experience?”
“A cock may crow, but we never tell tales.” I winked at Morro before pulling back from him. “If this captain of yours was so strong and brave and everything, why did he leave the army at such a young age? Is he just that passionate about killing mages?”
Wen chuckled. “I don’t know if he’s passionate about anything. He was always such a reserved guy.”
“There was a charge brought against him.” Morro hesitated. “We really shouldn’t be telling tales, but if you’re free tonight, maybe we can trade stories.”
I rolled my shoulders in a slow shrug. “I’ll have to check with the coop master. If I don’t get home to roost soon, he’ll worry.” I slathered a piece of toast with jam. “Not to make you tell tales at all, but did this business have something to do with the duke’s daughter? I heard a rumor of that nature some odd couple of years ago.”
Morro and Wen shared a glance. They were silent for a long moment before Wen said, “The duke doesn’t have any daughters.”
I paused, trying not to betray my shock. Had Kestral lied to me? But then why had he left the army? The men stared at me, waiting for a response. I took my time, licking jam from my fingertips, before looking up at Morro. “Well, that shows the quality of rumors we get way out here. Thanks for breakfast, fellows.”
/> “Wait.” Morro grabbed for my hand, but I moved it just beyond his reach, shifting my weight to make the movement appear natural. I didn’t want him touching me. “If I speak to your coop master, who do I ask for?”
“You ask for me.” I winked over my shoulder as I continued to the door. On the street, I turned to walk towards the brothel called The Coop, but once I found enough shadows I shifted and flew back to the open window of our room. Kestral wasn’t back yet, which was lucky. I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to think.
When I had asked him about his discharge from the army, he’d admitted it was “something like” being caught in bed with the duke’s daughter. Had it been the duke’s wife instead? Or maybe another soldier? I didn’t know enough about the army to make any educated guesses. Kestral hadn’t really lied, but he hadn’t told me what had happened, either. My curiosity was like an itch somewhere out of reach. If I asked more questions about it, would he figure out that I had been talking to Morro and Wen? Admitting that would only get me into trouble. Besides, I had things in my past I didn’t want dug up, either.
The sound of wood scraping wood made me jump, and I looked over to the door. It was being pushed in, sliding the braced chair across the floor. My heart pounded as Kestral shoved his way inside the room, cursing mildly at the chair. He held a wrapped bundle in one hand while he wrestled the chair out of the way with the other. Once he had the door propped closed again, he looked up at me.
“Were you just staring at the floor the whole time?” he asked.
“No,” I replied, thinking fast. I couldn’t lie; his brand would tell him. “I stared out the window, too.”
Kestral set his bundle on the writing desk. “Some fruit and bread. Whatever you don’t eat for breakfast we can take with us to eat on the road.”
“Great. Thanks.” Was my voice always that high? What did natural sound like? I picked through the fruit, selecting a bunch of grapes. I wasn’t hungry, but if I didn’t eat he might get suspicious.
Kestral sat on the edge of the bed, bracing his elbows on his knees. He gave me an intense look.
Stars, did he know? Could he have guessed? Would he kill me here or drag me to the military outpost first?
“Where are we going?” Kestral asked, voice as even as ever.
I choked on a grape. After a minute of coughing, I rasped, “What?”
Kestral leaned back, grimacing. “When I met with the commander, I tried asking about nearby storm reports, or strange weather, as that seems to be Velyn’s magic. He hadn’t heard anything of note except for the lightning out near
your sister’s cottage. If we wait for Velyn to make a move, I’m worried he’ll kill another of the mage-born and become even stronger. We need to figure out where he’s going and get there before him. So.” Kestral looked at me again. “Where are we going?”
That was probably the longest set of words I had ever heard Kestral speak all at once. Which was lucky as it gave me time to recover from choking. “He wanted to target the weakest siblings first. He would probably come after me again if he knew where I was.”
“Who is the next weakest?” Kestral asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know any of them, remember? But I doubt he would go after Kila or Eagan, not with just Cera’s magic added to his. Reina—I think her name is Laureinaqin—hadn’t been seen for years even before the bounties were announced, so he would have to find her first.”
“She’s the eldest. In theory, she would be the strongest.” Kestral shook his head. “I don’t see him going after someone he thinks is strong.”
I skinned a grape, turning over a thought in my head. “Laki.”
“He isn’t weak. He’s turned away every hunter who ever came after him.”
“Right, but he’s never killed one, has he?” I leaned forward, rolling the grape between my fingers. “When we talked about our siblings, Velyn scoffed about that. Letting the hunters live. He probably considers Laki weak for not killing them.”
Kestral fell silent, deep in thought. Finally, he nodded. “Laki isn’t hard to find. The ledger at the outpost listed his general location. We can be there in a week if we ride hard.”
“So that’s decided.” I tossed the grape up and caught it in my mouth before asking, “When do we leave?”
The answer was “right dusting now.” Kestral packed his bags swiftly then gave me the option of flying down to the stable as a crow or riding down in his belt purse as a rat. As tempted as I was to shift to my spider form just to dust him up, I chose crow form. I perched on the stable roof as Kestral prepared Shan for the ride then flew out ahead of them, waiting until they made it to the open road beyond the village.
It was late enough in the morning that farm carts were on the main road, making it impossible for me to ride on Kestral’s shoulder without attracting attention. I flew on ahead of him, hassling farmers hauling bags of grain. Real crows were out in force, so I played a few chasing games with them until a tree rat chewed us out. When Kestral turned off the main road, I lost my sources of amusement. Instead, I flew from branch to branch, weaving in and out of trees ahead of the slow-moving horse.
Just before midday, hooves pounded along behind us. Kestral turned, one hand on his hilt. I landed on a branch set back from the road, wondering who would chance a horse’s leg on this uneven trail. A moment later the tall, blond ex-soldier rode into view, drawing up short as he saw Kestral ahead of him.
“I came after you when I heard you’d left.” He tossed sweaty hair out of his face. “The commander’s runners only found us this morning. Why didn’t you tell us Hacerathan was dead? You knew we were searching for her.”
“You chased after me for that?” Kestral relaxed his grip on his sword. “I gave all the information I had to the outpost. The way hunters are supposed to.”
“Yeah, but, we go way back.” He smiled charmingly. “You could have told us about the fight and the brother called Velyn.”
“I left an accurate accounting. I’m sure the runner relayed it.” Kestral’s voice was as even as ever, but something felt wrong to me. Where was the other hunter? Was this one just the faster rider or was there another reason he was alone?
Following a hunch, I swooped out of my tree for a look around. Nearby forest creatures were all silent, which prickled my pinfeathers. It didn’t take me long to find the shorter mage hunter padding silently through the trees, strung bow in hand. I landed on a branch behind him and considered my options.
If they killed Kestral, I was free of him. These new hunters didn’t know me; I could escape back to Wix and my old life. My bounty information would be safe too, provided Velyn didn’t rat me out. Granted, I didn’t stand a chance against Velyn without Kestral if he came for me again, but maybe I’d be lucky, and another sibling would kill him for me.
But was I really going to bet against Kestral? He had taken down over half the pigoblins without taking an injury and these were only two men. If they failed to kill Kestral and I didn’t help him, he might suspect that I had plans to run soon. Not that I did, but until I had a solid plan in place, I needed him to trust me.
I decided to toss the dice on Kestral.
The short, squat archer was taking careful aim, while the tall blond kept Kestral’s attention. I waited until he drew the arrow back to his cheek, then dove at him, cawing loudly and smacking his face with my wings. The man cursed as his arrow went wide, shattering against a tree on the far side of the road. He swatted at me with his bow until I flew to a high branch and cawed again. Kestral turned in his saddle, instantly marking the hidden archer.
The blond man cursed. “Well, there goes that plan. What happened, Wen? You never miss.”
“A dusty bird got in the way,” Wen growled, stomping out into the open, a new arrow to his string. “It can still be painless, Captain. Don’t move.”
Shan sidestepped, turning slightly so Kestral could keep an eye on both men. He was silent for a moment before asking, “Why?”
&n
bsp; Blondie—I had already forgotten his name—made a show of leaning over his saddlehorn with a sigh. “Well, it’s a real shame, honestly, Captain, but you know mage hunting has always been competitive. Especially since the only good bounties are the seven—six now, I suppose. And Wen and I figured out you weren’t entirely truthful in your report to the command outpost.”
Kestral narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
“You see, after we met with the runner, we went back to the outpost and studied the report you made. You detailed Velyn’s weather magic, but ultimately Cera was killed with an ice dagger at close range. It got us thinking: why so much power for such an up-close kill?” He rolled his shoulders, subtly preparing for a fight. “That’s when Wen and I remembered you weren’t hunting Velyn or Cera. You were hunting the youngest, Jereshin.”
A shiver ruffled my feathers.
“Your report didn’t mention him at all, despite your hunt. And then there was that pretty little cockerel in your room last night.” The hunter smiled wolfishly. “He really had me fooled, I admit. I went so far as to ask for him, but you know what I found out? They don’t keep cocks at The Coop. Shame, really, but pickings are slim when you get this far out into the backwoods. So, either you’re under an enchantment or you’ve bound the mage-born, either way, you’re between us and a bounty, so—”
The blond leaned back, just as the other hunter loosed his arrow. I never saw Kestral unsheathe his sword, but suddenly it was out, shattering the arrow mid-flight. The rider cursed and charged, sword clearing its sheath. The archer whistled sharply and a moment later his horse crashed through the undergrowth to be at his side. He swung himself up into the saddle with surprising ease and prepared another arrow.
While I could hold my own in a fight, I wasn’t about to tangle with ex-soldiers on horseback. I didn’t have a form big enough to take on a horse, and daggers would be next to useless if I fought as a human. Kestral would understand that this wasn’t something I could help with.
Horses.
Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1) Page 12
