Page 13
Story: A City of Swords and Fangs
CHAPTER 13
T he play was an amateur production, but it was very well done. The lead character was a strigoi, and Gertrude told Siobhan and me that he had been a professional actor with a strong reputation before he was turned about seventy years before.
“He’s a friend of my father’s,” she said. “Where we lived in Germany, the strigoi were integrated in society. All the races abided by the Compact, except for occasional rogues. The senior strigoi policed their children fairly well. The situation here is very different.”
“That sounds a lot like the situation in Queen City,” I said. “We had trackers under the oversight of the Guild who hunted down the rogues. I believe we had more issues with newly turned lycans than we did with the strigoi.”
We walked home along the river, in no great hurry. Zürich at night was very pretty, and the lights reflecting on the water gave it a special feeling.
We dropped Siobhan off at her grandparents’ first, and then I left Gertrude at her parents’ house. It was only a short distance from there to Master Adolphus’s place, and the evening was so peaceful that I didn’t make the effort to cast a glamor.
That turned out to be a mistake. I crossed a small Platz and ran into a group of six Knights—all male, and all young. I hadn’t seen any of them before, but I recognized their black uniforms with silver piping and a silver cross on the left breast.
I wasn’t wearing my Enforcer uniform—just jeans and a shirt, with my hair loose. I tried to avoid them, but when I realized they were moving to intercept me, I cast my personal shield.
“Hey, mage girl!” one of them called. “You know it’s not safe to be out alone at night.”
I tried to ignore them, but they fanned out in a semi-circle, cutting me off from the street I hoped to take. At least one of them was obviously able to see auras to identify me as a mage. Or maybe they expected that only a mage would be out late at night in that part of the Altstadt near the Guild and the University.
“I’m not far from home,” I said, my hand on the hilt of my glamored katana .
“Maybe we should escort you to somewhere safe,” the guy I took to be the leader said. “Or maybe you’re out looking for a date?”
“No, just coming from a theater performance.” I shuffled sideways to my right, still hoping they wouldn’t try to stop me.
“Hey, we’re friendly,” he said. “Don’t you want to be friendly?”
“My mother told me not to talk to strangers. I really need to get home.”
Their encirclement tightened. None were yet in reach of my sword, and taking on six armed mages wasn’t my idea of a good time. I could see their auras, but I had no idea how powerful their magic was, or how strong their shields might be. Captain Le Pen was rather deprecating when he discussed their training, but I knew better than to assume they were all incompetent.
Their smiles were more lascivious than friendly, so I had an uncomfortable feeling about what kind of friendly they were looking for. The Knights were supposedly a semi-monastic religious order, but their vows didn’t include celibacy. Gertrude had told me tales of girls who fell into their clutches. None of those tales included rape, though they hinted at some abuse I had no interest in experiencing. And I didn’t dismiss the possibility of death if they discovered I was armed.
I took another step to my right, and the guy farthest to my left took two steps toward me.
Our dance was interrupted by a small dark shape slinking out of the shadows and crossing between us. A tortoiseshell cat. She seemed to catch their attention, and I took advantage of it by taking another step to my right.
The cat reached the Knight farthest to my right, the one cutting me off from escape. He suddenly cried out, and from the corner of my eye, I saw her climb his leg, clawing him with all four feet.
He swiped at her with his hand, and then he screamed. He raised his arm, shaking it violently. The cat had her teeth buried in his hand, her feet clawing his arm. His frantic dance didn’t do anything to shake her free.
I drew my sword and made a break for it, getting past him and running toward the narrow street leading out of the square.
All of the Knights’ attention was directed to their buddy who was freaking out. I heard one of them say something about a demon, and another one called out that I was getting away. I dodged into the first cross street I encountered and cast a glamor to make myself invisible. I ran and continued weaving through the streets and Gassen until I saw a single-story building. I leaped for the roof, using air to help lift me. From there, I again used air to gain the roof of a taller building next to it.
I lay there, trying to still my breath and racing heart. There were occasional shouts, and once, I heard feet running on the street below me.
Far more silently than I could ever manage, I suddenly became aware of a presence on the roof with me. Then a furry head bumped into my cheek. I reached out and gathered her to me, scratching under her chin. She purred into my ear and nipped my earlobe.
We lay there for half an hour after the night became quiet once more. Deciding to try the streets again, I leaped off the roof and used air to cushion my fall. I looked around and realized I had no idea where I was.
The cat took off, trotting down a side street, and I followed her. After a few minutes, I recognized a shop and knew where I was again. The cat disappeared, but I found my way to Master Adolphus’s house.
I let myself in and went upstairs to my room. When I opened the door, I saw Sima lying on her pillow. I gave her some treats from a jar I had purchased from a shop in the city, then undressed and took a shower. The mystery of how she got into the room and how she was able to ignore my shield on the rooftop remained unanswered.
One thing was sure, I would never again go out unshielded and unglamored.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13 (Reading here)
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44