Hunter's Bounty (Veller)

by Spoor, Garry

  “Did I ever tell you how bad your bedside manner was?”

  “Quite a few times if I can remember.” He said nervously as he slid his arm around her and helped her to her feet. “And I told you that I would have to start charging you if you kept doing stupid things like this.”

  “Put it on my bill.”

  He walked her slowly through the western gate, the dogs created a perimeter around them, not letting anyone within ten feet of the pair. The other hunters could only watch as he took her to the healing halls.

  ***~~~***

  21

  Kile woke up to the familiar feel of cold steel on her wrist and a small warm body on her chest. She looked down to see Vespers staring back at her.

  -Kile okay?-

  The yarrow asked, and there was so much worry and concern in the words that she had to blink back the tears.

  “I’m alright.” She told him, wiping her eyes with her one free hand. At least they hadn’t shackled both of her wrists to the bed frame.

  She looked around the room and found the place surprisingly familiar. It should be she thought. She had spent many an afternoon recuperating in the academy’s hospital. The hall she was in was empty. Was it because they had no other patience, or was it because she was some dangerous criminal that had to be isolated? She tried the shackle that bound her right arm to the bed. It wasn’t very secure, nor did it fit very well and she was sure that she could either slip out of it or pull it away from the wall altogether if the need arose, at the moment she was in no moor or condition to do either. The pain in her side was down to a dull ache, the pain in her head was throbbing as good as ever.

  “So what’s going on Vesper, what’s happened?”

  -Kile hurt healer help.-

  The yarrow replied and through his words she saw what Daniel had done as he worked his arts healing the wound on her side. It also didn’t go unnoticed that he was the one to secure her to the hospital bed. Had he done such a poor job deliberately she wondered? Was this a means of giving her a way to escape? She lay back down on the bed, closing her eyes. Did she even want to escape? And if she did, where would she go next? Maybe it was time for her to face the music. It wasn’t as if she had any more bright ideas. In some strange way it was surprisingly comforting not to be running anymore, not to be constantly looking over her shoulder.

  -Gorum, Hunar help.-

  The yarrow added and Kile could see the two Shinar Mastiffs as well as the other guard dogs sitting just outside the door, keeping everyone at bay. That did amuse her as she fell into her edge and reached out to Gorum. Within minutes the soft pads of his feet could be heard on the Hall’s floor.

  -You live pup?-

  Gorum asked as he came up to the side of her bed.

  “I guess my cycle hasn’t quite come to an end yet.” She replied.

  -It would appear that way.-

  “Thank you, for everything you and the others have done for me, but I think it’s over now.”

  -Are you sure pup?-

  “Not really, but I don’t want to see you guys get into anymore trouble because of me. Thank them for me, and ask them to stand down.”

  -You already have.-

  Sure enough, she could feel the dogs concern for her as they reluctantly left their posts around the healing halls.

  “Kile… Kile are you alright.” Daniel cried as he came into the room. The sound of his voice, although welcoming, was rather annoying as her head throbbed. Gorum turned on Daniel, which silence the awkward boy.

  “I’m fine Danny.” She said as she tried to pull herself up to a sitting position.

  “It’s just… when I saw the dogs leaving… I thought.”

  “What? That I died?”

  “Well… yeah.”

  “Don’t have much confidence in your work, do you.” She said pulling at the chains that bound her to the bed. “Your handy work as well I believe.”

  “Sorry Kile, They didn’t give me much of a choice, it was the only way they would let me heal you.”

  “I figured as much.” She said as she let the chain fall. “Is Erin still out there?”

  “Yeah, she’s still here, not that the dogs have let her into the building, or anyone for that matter, except for me.”

  “Can you tell her I wish to see her?”

  He looked at her for a moment before he gave a solemn nod and left.

  “You should get going too.” She told the Mastiff. “Oblum will be worried.”

  -He knows where I am.-

  “Yeah, but I don’t want you to get into any more trouble than you probably already are.”

  -Let me worry about that pup.-

  Gorum said, and turned as Erin entered the hall. She paused for a moment at the door, waiting to see what the Mastiff would do. Gorum moved around to the far side of the bed and sat, watching her.

  Erin took the vacant seat beside the bed. Kile couldn’t help but noticed that she looked older than she had before, even tired.

  “Is… Master Boraro okay?” She asked.

  “He’ll live.” Erin replied.

  “I really didn’t mean to hurt him, I doubt if he would forgive something like that. Actually he might if it was anybody but me.”

  “He didn’t leave you much of a choice.”

  “That’s not entirely true. I had choices. I guess I must have made the wrong ones. So, what now, you’re going to take me back to Littenbeck.”

  “Those are my orders.” Erin replied, and sounded as reluctant as the guard dogs felt.

  “Don’t worry.” She said waving her free hand. “I promise I won’t give you any trouble.”

  “That’s it then, you’re giving up?” Erin asked.

  “Believe me, it’s not my first choice, but I don’t know what else I can do to prove my innocence. I found the assassin and she’s gotten away from me, not once but twice, and there are no more names on the list. I suppose I could keep shadowing Master Boraro, but I can’t see that as being very productive.”

  “Is that really it?”

  She paused for a moment, and then shook her head.

  “No, not really… I’m afraid.”

  “Afraid? Of what?”

  “Of me, of what I’m becoming, of what I’ve done. I really need to speak to Morgan, but I don’t think the mystic’s have much use for me these days.”

  “I’ll speak to Morgan for you, if you wish.”

  “It doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?” She said as she laid back and closed her eyes. If the Hunter’s Guild has their way, she won’t be needing mystics or anyone’s help any longer.

  ***

  They didn’t stay at the academy for very long, and in fact had set off the very next day. Their presence there was too much of a distraction as the cadets were eager to see the prisoner who had eluded the entire hunter’s guild for so long. They left early that day, making their way by the shortest route back to the city of Littenbeck and the Guild Halls. Kile rode upon a borrowed horse by the name of Tengara, or as the vir would have her believe, Cinnamon and was escorted by Erin, Folkstaff, Daniel and the every present Grey who couldn’t resist the not so subtle comments that he threw in her direction, that was until Folkstaff made it quite clear that Grey was to remain silent for the duration of the trip. They were also accompanied by several hunters that Kile had not seen before and guessed that they were members of the Azintar Chapter.

  Grim had been left in the stables of the Vetta back in Azintar as no one was willing to even try to retrieve him. Vesper was allowed to stay with her until they reached Littenbeck, where she handed him over to Daniel and begged him to be good. She was led through the rear entrance of the Guild hall, down a flight of stairs through a heavy, oak door and into small damp room where a man dressed in Hunter Green put her name down in a thick book and lead her through yet another door. Beyond this door was a hallway that seemed to lead deeper into the depth of the city, lined on both sides with small cells measuring no more than ten foot square. It
was here that her journey, for the moment, had ended.

  The room had a single cot that had been secured to the wall, as well as a small metal bucket that she could guess its use, as a pungent odor seemed to linger around it. She sat down on the cot with her back to the wall and waited.

  Whether there was a lot to be done before her supposed trial, or they just wanted to torment her by keeping her secluded in the darkened cell, she was unsure, but what she was sure about was that the walls of her cell seemed to close in around her and after the second day she was ready to confess to the crimes she had not committed if it meant she could once again see the sky. The only visitor, if she could call it a visitor was the guard that had been posted three cells down toward the end of the hall. His presence had to be for her benefit, since as far as she could tell she was the only prisoner within this section of the prison. The rest of the cells were eerily vacant.

  On the fourth day of her confinement she heard the door at the end of the hall open. She knew it couldn’t be the changing of the guard since they entered through a separate doorway that, more than likely, lead to a guard room. She refrained from pressing her face between the bars of the cell door in an eager attempt to get a look at the visitor and instead sat up on her cot and waited.

  There were two sets of footsteps, the heavy steel toed boots of the guard and the lighter softer boots of a hunter, or she assumed it had to be a hunter since who else would be down here in the bowels of the Guild Hall.

  “Hello Kile.” The man said as he reached the cell door.

  She looked up at a solemn face she hadn’t seen since her days at the academy.

  “Master Adams. What are you doing here?”

  “I will be representing you at the council hearing.”

  He looked very much like he had a year ago. The young well kept hunter with his stack of books under his arm. He adjusted his glasses and gave her a smile that was a little out of place. He had no more faith in that smile than she did.

  “Represent me?”

  “Yes, you will be given a fair trial…”

  “Before they find me guilty and execute me.”

  He said nothing as he adjusted his glasses again, which meant that her little joke wasn’t that far from the truth.

  “I need to ask you a few questions.” He said, pulling out a sheet of paper and handing it to her through the bars. She took it and slowly unrolled it. On the parchment was a list of names, most of them she was not familiar with and only one caught her attention.

  “Who are they?” She asked a bit nervously.

  “Do you recognize any of them?”

  “Some of the names seem familiar but there is only one that I really know, Murphy Sans.”

  “From the academy?”

  “Yes, you remember, he was the fifth member of our group during the survival exercise. He helped you hand out the code books during my third year.”

  “Do you remember where he was assigned?”

  “What happened to him?”

  “Do you remember where he was assigned?”

  “We all opened our destination papers after the graduation ceremony together. It was someplace I hadn’t heard of. I think it was Roth or something like that.”

  “Luth.” Master Adams corrected her.

  “Yeah, that’s it, Luth. I never did get around to looking it up. He’s dead, isn’t he?” She said as she watched for his reaction.

  “Yes, I’m afraid he is.”

  “They all are, aren’t they? All the names on this list.”

  She handed the parchment back.

  “I’m afraid so.” Adams replied as he slipped the list of names back among his books.

  “You wanted to see my reaction.”

  He said nothing.

  “How did he… what happen to him.”

  “It happened on a routine deliver, that’s all I really know. The problem is, he doesn’t fit the pattern.”

  “Pattern, what pattern?”

  “The rest of the hunters on the list were level three or higher, he was the only probationary hunter.”

  “And you think he was singled out.”

  “It is a possibility.”

  “And you think I was the one that singled him out.”

  “I didn’t say that, but you did know him and your relationship at the academy was less than hospitable. If I remember, he did break your nose once during a combat lesson.”

  “Then your information is wrong, Robert broke my nose, Murphy saved my life. If you’re looking for someone with a grudge against Murphy, then it’s Eric you want.”

  Had Eric actually gone out of his way to kill Murphy? They had grown up together, even though Eric was the son of the Lord of Callor and Murphy the son of a tin knocker. They had once been friends, if she could call it a friendship. Had Eric actually crossed that line? She couldn’t see Ravenshadow having anything to do with a probationary level Hunter, but then she couldn’t really see Ravenshadow having much to do with any of the hunters on the list.

  “I do not believe you killed Murphy, or any of them for that matter.” Master Adams said, shaking her from her thoughts. “But it will be brought up during the trail and I have to know where I stand if I’m to defend you.”

  “What’s the use? It’s not like I have much of a chance.”

  “We shall see. As you know the Crown has waived its claims, and although that doesn’t exonerate you of the death of those men, it does go a long way in supporting your case, but I won’t lie to you, it’s not looking very good.”

  “Then… what’s going to happen to me?”

  “Execution may be off the table, but that leaves Blackmoore.”

  “Blackmoore.”

  She had only heard of Blackmoore prison once, and the way the King had described it, it was not a place she wanted to go. The idea of being confined to a cell for the rest of her life, never seeing the sun or the moon, never feeling the wind or the rain, she would go mad. There was no doubt about it, she would not survive Blackmoore, she was better off if they just killed her outright.

  “Don’t worry hun. I would never let you go to Blackmoore.”

  Kile spun around to see the form of a red haired woman emerge from the solid wall of her cell.

  “What's the meaning of this.” Master Adams exclaimed as he stepped back from the bars.

  “It’s a prison break you dolt.” Scarlet replied and grabbed Kile by the arm.

  For one brief moment Kile thought she was saved, but then she realized that this woman had tried to kill her the last two times they met and that it was not in her best interest to go peacefully, but before she could prevent her escape, she already had. Like water through sand she was pulled through the floor of her cell.

  It was a strange sensation, like being stretched thin and then pulled through a keyhole. When she came out the other side she was dropped the ten feet to the stone floor below, the impact driving the air from her lungs and leaving her dazed. Before she could get to her feet or even take a breath Scarlet grabbed her arm again and yanked her through the nearest wall. This passage didn’t go as smoothly as the floor and she felt herself come to a sudden stop as if someone or something had grabbed her right leg causing her to fall face first onto the floor. The floor may have been wooden but it wasn’t any softer than the stone. She tried to get to her feet but found that her foot was still inside the wall. To see her leg suddenly end at the face of the wall was a bit unsettling. She tried to pull it free but there was no movement. She even tried wiggling her toes but she couldn’t feel them either.

  “It’s no use.” Scarlet said with a melodic laugh as she pulled one of the many chairs over and sat down in front of her. “It’s not stuck so you won’t be able to pull it free. Aside from actually cutting your foot off, the only way out is through me.”

  “What’s that suppose to mean?” Kile asked.

  “Simple. I could free you… should I feel like it, but at the moment I don’t. At least this way I know you can’t go
… feral on me.”

  “They’re going to be looking for me.”

  “Of course they are, they think you escaped, but by the looks of this place, I don’t think anyone has come down here in quite a while, so we have a bit of time.”

  “Time for what?”

  “For the poison to take effect.”

  “Poison, what poison?”

  “Look at your hand.” She laughed.

  Kile had been so concerned about her foot that she hadn’t felt the scratch on the back of her hand.

  “Don’t worry about it too much. It's not the same stuff that I used before, although it’s still lethal, it takes a little longer to kick in, I say about an hour, possible two for most people, but you, you’re not like most people. You were able to fight off the Bari, although you shouldn’t have been. How did you do it? How did you survive the Bari serpent’s poison?”

  “Bari serpent?”

  “That poison should have killed you. It did kill you I saw you die. How did you defeat the poison?”

  “How the hell should I know?” She exclaimed as she pulled at her leg again.

  “I suppose it really doesn’t’ matter now.” Scarlet said shaking her head. “After today, nothing will matter. You see, Ravenshadow has just given me your contract. I kill you and I’m set for life.”

  Scarlet got up from the chair and turned her back on Kile as she walked the length of the room, running her finger over the dusty tables.

  “You see, you’ve outlived your usefulness.” She laughed.

  Kile tried to free herself from the wall but the more she struggled the more it hurt, it was like trying to pull her own foot off, it just wouldn’t budge. She looked around the room to see if there was something, anything that might be used to pry herself free, although she didn’t really believe that was possible from what the assassin had told her. She could already feel her heart racing, was that the Maligar creeping in again or was it just the effects of the poison? She had heard of animals that had chewed off their own feet to free themselves from a trap. Would she do that under the control of the Maligar? Without even thinking would she chew off her own foot? The thought of such an act made her nauseous to say the least. She had to maintain control. She can’t let the madness overtake her again. What was the phrase that Scarlet had used? She couldn’t let herself go feral.