Page 24 of Dark Bringer (Lord of Everfell #1)

Cathrynne

S he felt a jolt of recognition the moment she entered the Padulski house. It was the young woman from the riverboat who’d sent them on a wild goose chase. The girl rabbited out the back door, but not before throwing Cathrynne a glare that could have chipped stone.

A dozen mourners packed into the small room turned to assess the two strangers who had just walked in. Their faces hardened when they caught Cathrynne’s silver eyes. The long trek across town had taught her that witches weren’t popular in Pota Pras.

Cathrynne started pushing through the crowd to catch the girl in the peacoat when a group of men blocked the way. All were big and wide with hands like shovels.

“Murderer,” one growled. “Your kind isn’t welcome here. Take your gentleman friend and get out, or his face won’t be so pretty when we’re done.”

Cathrynne stared into blue eyes, glittery with drink. “Lay a finger on him,” she said, “and I’ll break your knees.”

The man’s lip curled. “There’s six of us and one of you.”

“Do you really want to do this at a wake?” she asked, easing her cudgel free. “Because I have no problem with those odds.”

Before anyone could make a move, the room fell silent.

The men stared past her shoulder, mouths slightly agape.

She guessed what had happened before turning around; Morningstar had dropped his glamour.

They shuffled back to give the midnight sweep of his wings a wide berth as he approached a thin woman in a blue dress.

She had the same sandy hair as the boy on the table, and though her skin was gray and puffy, Cathrynne guessed she’d once been beautiful.

“Who are you?” she asked in a tremulous voice.

“My name is Gavriel Morningstar,” he said gently. “I grieve for your loss and vow to do whatever I can to bring your son’s killer to justice.”

Gone was the cold, haughty creature Cathrynne had first met. His face was solemn as he sank to one knee and took her hand. A sense of peace, of reverence, spread outward like ripples across water. Cathrynne returned the cudgel to her belt, a bit awed. Clearly, he had powers she knew nothing about.

The woman clasped his fingers, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. “An archangel,” she choked, “in my own house.”

Morningstar turned to the gathered mourners. “Would you grant us privacy?”

The men who had been ready to do battle moments before now looked shame-faced. They nodded and filed into the backyard, where people were cooking food on a brazier. Someone passed around a bottle, and they stood in a knot, stealing glances back at the house.

“Tell me about your son,” Morningstar said.

Her eyes clouded. “I wasn’t a good mother,” she confessed, the words coming in a rush.

“I left him alone. We fought all the time. But only because he was so clever. I just wanted the best for him. I told Durian he had to get high marks so he could go to college, but he was a dreamer. Had his own ideas.”

Morningstar nodded encouragingly. “Children often do.”

She didn’t speak for a long moment. “He was marked by Travian.” A hand rose to her cheek. “I told him that when he was born, the god came to see him in his cradle and was so pleased, he spilled a bit of wine. Durian liked that story.” She smiled, lost in memory.

“Why did he go to Kota Gelangi?”

Her face darkened. “He said he’d found something valuable. That he was taking it to the gem brokers in the city. It’s the last time I saw him alive.”

“What did he find?”

She shook her head. “He was cagey. Wouldn’t say. But that’s usual. Don’t want competition, do they?”

“Did he go alone?” Morningstar asked.

A bitter smile. “Durian never went anywhere without Kal.”

“Who’s Kal?” Cathrynne asked, a dark suspicion forming.

“Kalisto Machena.” Her lip curled. “My boy’s no-good friend. Always talking him into some new scheme. They had a crazy idea about buying a ship, becoming traders.”

Cathrynne exchanged a look with Morningstar. “Where can we find her?”

“She was just here,” the mother said, gesturing toward the back door. “She lives in the next house over.”

What a thrice-cursed day this was turning out to be! Morningstar had Durian’s partner in his grasp—literally—on the quay and they’d let her slip away. Now Cathrynne understood why she’d sent them to the wrong part of town. She was buying time to get away.

Cathrynne ran to the next house and pounded on the door. After a moment, a young man opened it. He was tall and slender with long, tight locks. Thick-rimmed spectacles gave him a scholarly air.

“Where’s your sister?” Cathrynne asked, peering around his shoulder.

He feigned puzzlement. “Um, sorry, but I haven’t seen Kal in weeks.”

“Don’t mess with me, she was just at the wake!”

He shrugged and stood back. “Feel free to look around. But she’s not here.”

Cathrynne stormed through the house, searching all four rooms and the basement crawl space. Empty, just as he’d said.

Kalisto Machena had rabbited again.

She returned to the front room, frustrated. “What’s your name?”

“Bastian,” he answered warily.

“Listen to me, Bastian. Your sister is in deep trouble, which I think you already know. If we don’t find her soon, she could end up like her friend.

So if you want to save her life, you’ll tell me where she went.

” Cathrynne held his eyes, willing him to believe her.

“I’m not one of the bad people. I’m trying to catch the bad people.

Hear my accent? I’m from Kirith. You can trust me. ”

For a moment, she thought he might relent. Then his gaze flicked to the window, to the sun lowering over the Zamir Hills. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea where she is.”

The door closed in her face. Cathrynne met Morningstar coming out of the Padulski home, his wings once more glamoured.

“No luck, I take it,” he remarked as they fell into step, heading back toward the riverboat landing.

“The brother’s covering for her.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t hang him upside down and shake the answers loose.”

Cathrynne felt affronted. “He’s a witness, but also just a kid. I would never do that.”

He arched a brow. “So you have standards.”

“Of course I do. Besides which, I have a feeling she’s headed into the hills. If she’s smart—which she must be since she’s still alive—she wouldn’t have told him where she was going anyway. Did you get anything useful from the mother?”

“She said that Kal and Durian often spent time at a place called Red Dog Camp. It’s an abandoned copper mine.”

Cathrynne nodded, fitting the pieces together. “So they find something valuable in an old mine. Take it to Kota Gelangi to sell. Durian ends up dead, and now Kal’s on the run. Consul Casolaba was involved somehow. The question is, what did they find that was worth killing for?”

They reached the quay as the sun cast long shadows across the muddy water. Cathrynne found the harbormaster, a gruff woman with hands like tanned leather who informed her that the last boat to Kota Gelangi had just sailed, and the next wouldn’t depart until the following morning.

“Kal Machena’s not leaving by water,” she told Morningstar.

He chewed this over. “Can you track her with lithomancy?”

Cathrynne sighed. “I think it’s possible, but I don’t know how to cast that kind of spell. Tracking would require receptive magic.”

“You weren’t taught?”

“No,” she admitted. “Only simple projective magic. Enough to knock people around and break up bar fights.” She touched her cudgel and whip.

“Mostly, I rely on these.” The flicker of sympathy in his eyes annoyed her.

“My point is, Kal could be anywhere by now. Let’s just wait for the next boat back to Kota. ”

Morningstar gazed at the distant hills. “I think we should have a look at Red Dog Camp. It’s not far, out near the border. It’s familiar. She might feel safe there.”

A clammy eel slithered through Cathrynne’s stomach. “That’s a long shot,” she argued. “And the border with Kievad Rus is dangerous.”

“You don’t strike me as someone who fears bandits, Rowan.”

“It’s not bandits I fear,” she confessed. “It’s the Sinn.”

Understanding dawned in his eyes. “Of course, quite sensible of you. Yet I cannot give up so easily. Why don’t you wait for me here? There are plenty of hostels.”

Cathrynne was tempted to stay behind. Enjoy a hot bath and soft bed. But she was supposed to protect him. What kind of cypher would she be if she let fear rule her?

Besides which, Morningstar had sounded almost relieved to abandon her in Pota Pras. What did he imagine might happen in the desert? Did he think she would hurl herself at him bodily again? It was ridiculous!

“No,” she said firmly. “If you must go, I will too.”

He studied her for a moment, then nodded.

To her relief, he said nothing more about it.

They bought dinner at a stall near the quay.

Red lentils wrapped in flatbread that drew the interest of marauding gulls.

After tossing them the scraps, Morningstar took a map of the region from his valise.

They studied it while they made their way to the train station.

Fifty draghas bought two seats in a private compartment for the last train into the hills. Cathrynne searched the faces of the other travelers, but Kal wasn’t among them. No surprise. The girl wouldn’t let herself be cornered so easily. Most likely she’d struck out on foot.

They boarded just as the sun sank behind the mountains, facing each other on worn velvet cushions. The carriage lurched forward with a clatter of wheels, gathering steam as it left Pota Pras behind. Morningstar took off his coat, folding it on the empty seat along with his valise.

“I made a vow to Durian’s mother,” he said gravely. “I intend to see it fulfilled.”

In his starched white shirt and gray pearl-buttoned vest, he looked like a wealthy broker, yet there was a dangerous, quiet edge to his voice. His tawny caracal eyes gathered the light of the sconces.

He would not stop, she realized. No matter where this investigation took them.

She could feel the fierce heat of his body warming the compartment like a banked hearth. Cathrynne turned to the window, pressing her forehead against the vast and limitless darkness beyond.