Lara had bemoaned the fact that no one seemed to know anything. No one except First Elite Edwar, who was keeping his secrets close to his chest. Lara suspected that anyone invited to the ceremony wouldn’t know but perhaps a mere hour before the ceremony by way of a special messenger.
This world confused Kyx. It was overcomplicated, thick with betrayals, secrets, and guile. He yearned for their den and the peace of their solitude far away from human machinations. He felt he was suffocating, unable to even do something as simple as run freely. Ragoru were not like humans who could be content passing their days in small confined spaces. The den was comfort, but Ragoru needed space to breathe and to run. Days passed in the subterranean world of the court felt unnatural to him. Between a sense of what Lara had laughingly called a bad case of claustrophobia and his own impatience at finding their mate, Kyx found himself driven for the first time to disobey a direct order from Rager.
It was a moonless night, and the streets seemed even darker than usual for it, despite the lamps that lined the main roads. Kyx could have kept to the dark alleys, but knowing that even in the shadows there was a good chance that someone might notice the glow of his eyes, he took to the rooftops, clinging with his four arms as he jumped from roof to roof. Despite the reduced vision at the edges of his right eyes that made certain parts of his vision hazy, giving him a vulnerability on that side, he navigated the roofs without error. The Citadel looked so different from higher up; it was like the network of a large hive with all its twists and turns. From there, Kyx could find a sort of fascination for the Citadel that he was unable to appreciate navigating the narrow alleys.
There was a strange beauty to it, none less so than a large building that raised in the center of the city like a massive monolith despite its graceful lines. The low light of the lamps occasionally caught parts of the temple, making colors shine faintly. He wondered what building it was to merit such special construction. It was surrounded by gardens and small artificial ponds in a manner that was serene compared to the rest of the Citadel. He marveled at what it might look like in the full light of the day as he circled around the perimeter until the silhouette of a lone hooded female caught his eye.
His heart picked up with excitement until he caught the scent. It was no doubt sweet, but it was not his mate. His heart fell, and he almost turned away, but his curiosity got the better of him. What was she doing walking around like that? She circled the building, pausing every few steps to look around as if she were searching for something. He crept closer, indecision warring within him.
As he dropped silently into the nearby bushes, her body stiffened, and she whipped her head around. A wave of fear tainted her scent.
“Hello? Is anyone there? If you are one of those aligned with the Thieves Guild, please—I need your help.”
Keeping to the dark of the shadows, Kyx felt compelled by pity and his unshakeable curiosity to respond. “What aid is it that you seek?”
She stepped back warily from his hiding place. “My, your voice is deeper and a bit raspier than I would have suspected,” she laughed nervously as she made an obvious attempt to control of her instinctive fear. Kyx felt a measure of respect for that. “Please, I need to speak with the Master of the Guild. It is a matter of the utmost importance if he still wishes to see the fall of the Order.”
Why would this female suddenly appear walking around during the night, claiming to have knowledge to bring down the Order? It seemed a little too coincidental. The female sighed and pushed back her hood showing her rounded face and long length of brown hair.
“I know you have no reason to trust me, and I know how this looks, but I swear this isn’t a trick. My cousin needs your help. She is marrying today to the First Elite and he will use her to cement his hold on this city. I know you do not want that. I do not want that. Furthermore, I want to get my cousin back to her true family.”
“What is your cousin’s name?” he inquired, pushing down the hope that threatened to rise in his chest.
She hesitated as if she wasn’t sure if she trusted him, at last she said the one word that brought him to life after days of living in a half-death. “Arie.”
“Arie,” he groaned. He could have wept.
“You know my cousin?” she asked.
“Yes.” Hoping she wouldn’t be too frightened, especially with the terrible scars running down the side of his face, he moved out of the bushes and stood at his full height. Her mouth dropped open and she pressed a fist against her chest, but she didn’t scream. She drew in a harsh breath.
“Ragoru. Are you… are you one of Arie’s mates?”
“I am. I am Kyx.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, my Blessed Mother, Arie thinks you are dead! I don’t think there has been one day I have passed in her company that she hasn’t wept for you.” She pressed her hand against her mouth, blinking up at him as if she were seeing a marvel. Kyx shifted uncomfortably, knowing that the lamps had revealed the scars on the side of his face, matched only by the other scars on his chest and belly. He knew he was a terrible sight. He didn’t understand why she wasn’t afraid of him. Instead, she had that look similar to one Arie would get when she was about to hug him. He cleared his throat and focused on her, his hand raking through his mane with the frustration that seethed within him.
“You will take me to my mate, immediately,” he demanded, knowing that Rager wouldn’t like it in the least that he went after her without them. At that moment, he didn’t particularly care. Unfortunately, the female shared more than one trait with her cousin. Her jaw stiffened stubbornly despite the pity in her eyes.
“I am sorry. I can’t. It is important that I see the Master of the Guild. It is too important.”
“Nothing is more important to me than getting my mate back,” he snapped, affronted by the suggestion that something else must take priority.
She shook her head regretfully. “I understand why you think that, and believe me, being reunited with you is Arie is priority too, but she also understands the necessity of this. There is too much at stake to lose this moment now to strike the Order from power. I will say no more until you have taken me to the Master.”
Kyx gritted his teeth and paced the small stretch of grass in front of her. He wanted to snatch her up and demand she show him where his mate was hidden, but if Arie was in agreement with her cousin, he was reluctant to go against her wishes. Although their territory was far from the hand of the Order, it wasn’t unheard of for huntsmen to make it that far. He couldn’t deny that striking the Order made sense if they had the opportunity. While it wouldn’t guarantee that they would never have problems with vigilante humans again, it would have far-reaching effects. He huffed with irritation, his decision made. He didn’t like it and was certain Warol was going to want to beat him once he found out, but when it came to the Order, it wasn’t his decision to make.
“Very well. I will need to carry you… unless you are proficient at making your way over the roofs,” he added at her obvious reluctance.
“Ah, no. I’m afraid scaling buildings is not in my skillset.”
He opened his four arms. “Come on, then. The sooner we can get to the Court of the Thieves Guild, the sooner I can get my mate back.” At her fearful look, his expression went soft. “Do not worry. I have carried Arie over long distances. I will not drop you.”
“I am a bit heavier than Arie,” she muttered irritably, making him grin.
“You are small, human. It will be of no effort at all. No harm will come to you while we travel—I swear it.”
Just as he thought she was going to refuse, she surprised him by stepping into the reach of his arms and lifting her own arms away from her body. Jubilant at the show of trust, he snapped his lower arms around her and lifted her high against his chest. She squeaked in alarm, fingers clenching into his fur.
“Hold tight,” he said with a laugh as he vaulted up, his upper arms reaching for the nearest handhold of the large building.
<
br /> “I can’t believe we are climbing on the temple of the Mother,” she said. “The priests would be certain to have a heart attack if they saw such disrespect.” Despite her words there was laughter in her voice.
“What is a temple?” he whispered as he leaped to a higher tower, angling his body to leap across the short expanse to one of the nearby buildings.
“It is the holy house of the Mother.” For a moment, he had an attack of conscience. He was on a sacred place? She must have noted the panic in his stillness and the way he dropped his head with uncertainty because she giggled.
“I doubt the Mother will care if it is the safest way to accomplish our means.”
“Ah, yes, that makes sense,” Kyx murmured as he shifted, his muscles tensing for his running jump. Her fingers clenched tighter, pulling the fur almost painful.
“Oh, Blessed Mother,” she whispered fearfully. He rushed forward, picking up speed so when he leaped, he sailed easily over the street, his upper arms outstretched. She buried her face against him to muffle a shriek, but within seconds they landed with a hard jolt. She muttered an oath and a sharp rebuke that made him grin, but he continued to the next roof, never slowing his pace. He was surprised that not once, during their winding race over the rooftops, did she risk glancing up from the thick fur of his scruff. She seemed content to pray and trust him to deliver her safely to the Court.
When he finally dropped a short distance from the tunnel, he set her carefully on her feet and held her arm to steady her. Her face was pale, and though she attempted to regain her composure, her breath still left her in panicked pants. Her wide eyes slowly took in their surroundings before narrowing on the tunnel ahead of them.
“Is this it? Are you going to have to go down… there?” She swallowed nervously.
“You did want to speak to the Master of the Guild,” he reminded her. “Or have you changed your mind?”
“No, no. I haven’t changed my mind that is. It’s just… I have this terrible fear of tight, closed-in places,” she said with a wince.
“The labyrinth to the Court is a bit tight,” he agreed, not willing to lie to the female, “but the Court itself is a wide space, comfortable enough for humans, I believe.”
Her eyes darted to him and her brow furrowed. “But not for you?”
“Ragoru … we have different needs, I think. Though we live in comfortable dens we are not used to being confined in such a manner for lengths of time.”
“Is that why you were out wandering the city?”
He grimaced but didn’t answer, knowing his silence would speak for him. She laughed softly, her hand touching his arm with sympathy.
“I can imagine it is not easy. Very well. If you can brave it, so can I. Let’s get on with it before I lose my nerve.”
He smiled down at her and moved toward the entrance of the tunnel, aware that she followed so close to him that she was nearly underfoot. He moved with more caution but did not rebuke her. She was managing her fear quite well. As they moved through the corridors of the tunnel, Tim leaped out from around one of the bends.
“Kyx, there you are! Your triad is looking for you, and the big one, Rager, he is not at all happy, in fact… who is that?”
The boy peered at the female with open curiosity, the dirty sleeve of his tunic coming up to swipe at his nose. The female moved closer into the torchlight and Tim’s mouth parted in surprise.
“Oh, Blessed Mother, you don’t belong down here,” he whispered frantically. “It is not right for a lady to come into the Court.”
A gentle smile curved her lips. “It might not be considered right in some circles,” she said, “but I think when it comes to the fall of the Order, we can consider it to be a greater sort of right in this situation.”
Tim laughed, his lopsided smile widening. “Truer words never spoken, miss.”
“Maddi,” she offered.
“Miss Maddi, then. The Master isn’t expecting you, but I am sure he will be interested in hearing whatever you have traveled here to say if it benefits his aim to bring down the Order. I will run ahead to let him know you are coming.”
Tim raced ahead of them as Kyx kept his pace reasonable for Maddi as she picked her way through the tunnel. Even with the low light of the torches her eyesight seemed terrible, and she often stumbled over various rubble. She came perilously close to stepping onto the boards of a trap before Kyx pulled her away. He was relieved when they finally arrived at the Court. Tim had plenty of time to alert everyone of their arrival. Most likely his triad would also be present.
As expected, his brothers stood near Cyrus. Upon seeing him, Rager crossed both sets of arms over his massive chest, but Warol just grinned. Kyx had no doubt he was pleased to see that he wasn’t the only one apt to break the rules when it suited him. Kyx’s ears drooped under the glower of their lead. He wasn’t like Warol, who enjoyed a good fight. Rager’s disapproval crashed over him. Maddi glanced up at him with concern, but he gave her an encouraging smile as he left her in front of Cyrus while he joined his brothers. Rager didn’t say anything, other than narrow his eyes on him with irritation.
Cyrus frowned as he stroked his fingers through his beard. He carried the air of authority that didn’t seem present unless he was fully engaged in his role as Master. A crowd began to gather, which seemed to heighten Maddi’s anxiety. Kyx could smell it rolling on her, but despite her fear she betrayed none of it on her face. His admiration for his mate’s cousin grew. Cyrus seemed to share that appreciation and then some, because after a long minute of quietly observing the female, he broke into a wide smile.
“Mistress Maddi, Tim tells me you have brought some very important information for me.”
“I have,” she said, her voice maintaining a steady tone. “As you may be aware, the First Elite Huntsman is preparing marriage to the Lady Anwar.”
“So, we have heard tell, although we are not all agreed on whether such speculation is accurate or not,” Cyrus returned, a bland smile on his face.
“I assure you it is. I am her cousin, Madelin Fairwell. The First Elite has tried before to join with a direct descendant of Lady Felicity Anwar. My grandmother, Lady Vera, schemed to get her only daughter joined with the First Elite to align our families, but Elizabet joined against her wishes and left with a colony group with her husband. Much to grandmother’s disappointment, none of the sons born from her joining with Lord Anwar bore any daughters. Most of them are notably huntsmen who waited late to settle. My father was born of her second joining after Lord Anwar’s passing, making me useless for her social manipulations.”
“So she is of value because the Anwar family is a family of huntsman,” Warol growled. “Our mate will not cooperate with such things.”
Maddi shook her head. “It was never supposed to be like this. Long before the arrival of the Ragoru, everything was chaos and anarchy. Our world that we nearly destroyed was returning the favor and we were dying off at alarming rates. There was no hope. The Lady Anwar came out of nowhere. No one had heard of her before. She brought the Mother and the gods to us, prophesying that a time of hope would come, and the people would be made strong again.”
“Everyone knows this bedtime story. The seer reordered our civilization, gave us hope, and created the Order to protect us and kill Ragoru,” Cyrus said with a roll of his eyes.
Maddi frowned. “You are simplifying it too much, thief-master. When the Order was created, we had no knowledge of the Ragoru. They had not yet been brought to our world. Lady Anwar created the Order with the mandate to protect humanity from the threats of our hostile world. They were to kill carnivorous plants that would spring up around settlements and slay predators that threatened our people.”
“Really? I don’t believe I have ever read this,” Cyrus challenged with a blatant sneer.
“That is because I doubt you have ever stepped inside the doors of the temple library, much less bothered to read through the material of the sacred archives. I have read the origin
al documents regarding the founding of the Order that she penned. Never once did she make mention of the Order having the purpose of destroying the Ragoru. In fact, the Ragoru are only mentioned once, and that is in her journals toward the end of her life. She marveled at them and suspected that they were the key to the prophecy.”
Rager’s brow lifted. “Are you saying that the Order was never meant to be our enemy?”
“That is correct. The huntsmen were supposed to be the protective arm of the gods in defense of the people of the Mother, and nothing more.”
“How does the First Elite fit into all this?” Kyx asked.
“No doubt because everyone likes an established aristocracy,” Cyrus retorted. “I’ll have you know that I have been in the library—though I admit not the archives. All the noble families of the Citadel are descendants from the very first selected as First Elite.”
Maddi sighed and shrugged helplessly. “The family of the First Elite was to lead the Order and were trusted with our protection. I doubt that even the Lady Anwar would have imagined it would have grown into a network of ‘first families.’”
“If the Order was not meant to be the enemy of the Ragoru, and even your Lady Anwar saw us as linked to her prophecy, then how is it that they have come to hunt us?” Warol asked, his lip curled with distaste. “Many Ragoru have lost much to your Order.”
“I suspect that the First Elite in control of the Order at the time of her passing had something to do with it. No doubt he knew of Felicity’s fascination with the Ragoru, since even in her old age she worked closely with the Order as a prophet. I have no proof, but I suspect she wanted an official of the Order to establish contact with the Ragoru.”
Red: A Dystopian World Alien Romance Page 26
