by Joe Jackson
Once a couple of days had passed, Kari gave a description of Gil to Damansha and the city watch, that they might hopefully find the girl staying at an inn in her human form. Thus far, they'd had no luck locating her, even by questioning citizens around the city about any woman fitting the description. While those who kept late hours on the city streets typically wouldn't speak to the city watch about anything, Kari was certain that the presence of a werewolf would loosen their tongues. Still, the watch had uncovered little besides eyewitness accounts of the creature, but not the woman.
Kari had to consider that it might be a different werewolf. The fact that no one had been attacked or killed – despite some rather ridiculous statements from “witnesses” – at least eased tensions and let the watch proceed on Kari's word. If it wasn't Gil, though, Kari had no idea who it might be or why they were in the city drawing attention. She hadn't seen or spoken with Eryn since the initial reports of the werewolf reached her ears, so Kari had no idea whether the Blood Order was also looking for the creature, and how that might be affecting their search for the agent of Sekassus. It occurred to Kari that the agent and the werewolf could possibly be the same person, but it seemed unlikely; the agent should be keeping a low profile, and prowling about as a half-wolf creature seemed like probably the worst way to accomplish that.
The late spring day was warm, but Kari's eyes were drawn eastward over the water as thunder rumbled in the distance. A storm was brewing over the ocean and threatening to make landfall within a few hours. Summer was coming on fast this year, and the rapid changes in temperature were hitting DarkWind and the eastern coast with powerful thunderstorms. Kari quickened her pace, determined to take a look around at the latest werewolf sighting scene and be back home safely before the storm landed. In the back of her mind, Kari wondered what the weather on Mehr'Durillia would be like, and whether she and her friends would be travelling through similar conditions.
At last Kari reached her destination, and the first thing she noticed was that the area was within view of Charlie's Boarding House. Kari had to wonder if the scent of Turillia was still in the area from their fight, and whether the werewolf's attraction to otherworldly things might have drawn her here. It seemed like the most plausible explanation, but still Kari had to wonder about the reports that the werewolf talked to itself. It was shocking enough to find that the creatures could speak when in their hybrid wolf-man form, but that this particular one either talked to itself or else might hear voices from hallucinations was puzzling and troubling. A werewolf was a dangerous enough thing without being crazy. Gil had seemed about as normal as could be expected for a woman who was also a werewolf, but Kari had to admit to herself that she had only met the girl in passing, and even Sharyn and the rest of the pack didn't know her that well.
There was a watchman on duty in the area, as there was in all the places where the beast had been seen so far. Its appearances seemed random, scattered all over the city from rich to poor districts, trade to housing, docks to inland. The only constants seemed to be that it liked to prowl about in its hybrid form, and no one – not even the city watch – seemed particularly intent on tangling with it. The watchmen had, as Kari suggested, tried calling to the creature by name, but that hadn't gotten them any closer to apprehending or interacting with it.
Damansha had mentioned the watch using dogs to try to track the creature by scent, but the dogs' keen noses only ever led the watch to a dead end where the trail went cold. The beast was covering its track and its scent in remarkable fashion, and even the scent left behind when it changed forms left the dogs confused. Every avenue the watch had thought of to track the beast had come up empty, and Kari wondered if a brys might succeed where all other options had failed. That, though, was a moot point: no brys lived in the city, and the Duke and the watch didn't seen keen on inviting one.
Kari looked around the area, but there wasn't much to see. The proximity to Charlie's Boarding House was the only clue she came up with, which pointed to the presence of Turillia being what had drawn the werewolf to this particular place. That left questions about why it had gone to all the other places it was spotted in the city; had Turillia visited those places? Might there have been murders that were never connected to Turillia, but that the half-succubus had committed before confronting Kari? It was possible, but those bodies were long since interred or cremated, and Kari wasn't going to go digging into peoples' grief to satisfy a curiosity. Not just yet, anyway.
The demonhunter sighed. This was precisely the sort of frustration and distraction she didn't want to deal with when the weight of her impending trip to Mehr'Durillia was so heavily upon her. She had only a few days left to resolve this werewolf situation personally before she would be off to try to rescue Se'sasha, and she wasn't sure how the watch or her Order might handle things in her absence. The last thing she needed was either Gil killing someone in the city, or someone in the city killing Gil. The werewolves might make fine allies, but Kari had no doubt they would make terrible enemies if one of their number was killed and flayed in the city – particularly when she was invited here by Kari.
Kari turned back north and began making her way home. Lightning tore through the skies to the east, followed by a thunderclap that rattled the nearby windows. The storm was coming faster than Kari had anticipated, so she hastened her footsteps. The sun was past its high point, so the land was still bathed in its light while the black mass of clouds approached from the east. The wind hit Kari, though, carrying with it the scent of the salty ocean and heavy rain. She hoped she would end up watching the powerful display from the comfort of her covered front porch, letting Little Gray enjoy the storm with her.
Any hope of that fled at the sight of Eryn approaching from her left. The half-brys assassin hardly seemed to pay any mind to the watchmen stationed nearby or on patrol, and instead simply drew up beside Kari and fell into step with her. Kari imagined that probably left a sour taste in the mouths of the watch, or else just completely confused them. As the head of a law enforcement agency, Kari was a little uncomfortable being seen speaking with Eryn in public, but if the half-brys woman approached in broad daylight, it had to be important.
“Looking for our werewolf tourist?” Eryn said in her deadpan tone.
Kari sighed. “Aye. I think it's someone I met during my work down in Barcon, but if it's who I think it is, I'm not sure why she's scaring the commoners, and hasn't just come to see me.”
“She's looking for someone or something,” Eryn said. She cast her glare at a couple of people watching from a nearby porch, and the commoners found something else to do. “I'm sure you've heard that she talks to herself sometimes, but I'm sure you've figured out that's not exactly true. She's talking to someone, probably through some arcane enchantment. Some of our people have caught bits and pieces of what she's saying, and it's usually about 'not finding it yet.'“
“Are your people trying to kill her?” Kari asked.
The half-brys assassin shook her head. “Not yet,” she said. “Word's gotten around that you wanted her either caught or driven to the campus of your Order, and the Guildmaster seems content with that for now. She doesn't seem to be a threat to us or our network, so for now, the orders are to respect your wishes.”
“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 s
ure 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 extremely 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 be
tween 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.
