Unleashed Fury (BloodRunes: Book 1) (33 page)

It had taken several days for the two
messages to get a reply, but one had finally come. They carefully
snuck it out of hiding and back to their room. The message itself
was uninformative, but they were happy to have found that they had
been sent a small amount of money, which was fortunate as they were
about to overextend their stay. Gryffon had the message translated
in short order and he had read it to her. “Copy new position, Black
Fish, Usual Time, Weather.”

Layna had been baffled by this seemingly
nonsensical phrasing, but Gryffon had explained to her that his
handlers would not have wanted to send highly classified
information through written word – which always had the potential
for being intercepted and deciphered. Instead, they sent out a code
which was unique to him in order to arrange a meeting in person to
exchange the delicate information.

Gryffon lead the way to an isolated tavern on
the wharfs, where they took a seat at the table at the back, and
waited for the contact to make the first move. This tavern was code
named Black Fish, hence the reference in the message. The last word
in the code being 'weather', Layna was told would be the word that
the two would use to recognize one another. After a few minutes a
drunken man stumbled over to them and Layna watched with disgust as
he tripped and fell in front of their table, grunting as he did. He
pulled himself up onto the bench next to Gryffon and moaned. He
slurred, “Hey man, I'm feeling a bit under the weather, would you
do me a favor and walk me outside?”

Layna's ears perked up at the word 'weather'
and she wondered if this was the informant. Her thought was
confirmed as Gryffon stood and helped the man to his feet. “Hey
thanks, man,” the drunk once again mumbled.

Gryffon responded, “The fresh air will do you
some good, it’s beautiful weather out tonight.” The man grunted in
reply.

They made their way out with Gryffon
supporting the wavering man and Layna following behind. Once they
were outside, the man glanced back at Layna, his suddenly clear
eyes full of suspicion.

Gryffon said, “She's with me,” and the man
nodded slightly.

“Over this way,” he said, losing the slur,
but still leaning against Gryffon in case there were any hidden
eyes upon them. They made their way to an abandoned building, and
the man separated himself from Gryffon, abandoning his feigned
drunkenness altogether as he pushed aside a board. He waved them
inside and quickly followed behind them, dropping the board back
into place.

He murmured something that sounded to Layna
like what Gryffon had used to shield their room the other day, and
then turned to them. “They're disappointed that you lost your
cover, agent, your former target has moved into a position that
could have proven most useful, especially with your disturbing
confirmation of blood-magic returning. However, several contacts
admitted to have been being followed, so it was determined that it
was no fault of yours, but simply that the quarry was too watchful
and much more dangerous than we had originally anticipated.”
Gryffon shifted his weight and exchanged a knowing look with Layna
as the man continued. “The situation has heightened; we believe
that the forces behind the new King Nathair are indeed preparing
for war as they were previously, though the plans seem to have
stalled due to the death of King Edward and the resulting chaos
that ensued during his replacement. We've been able to find out
very little about the man, Nathair, who did assume the throne, so
if you hear anything of value regarding this new King, please
inform us as it could be essential to our ability to counter him.
In addition to your report of the blood-beasts, we now have
confirmed reports that the dark arts, that is to say, blood-magic,
has been resurrected in other outlets as well, and we are
suspicious that it may already be manifesting in more ways than
creating magical beasts.”

Gryffon whistled.

“It's become a big tangled mess that we are
snarled in, I'm afraid,” said the man, nodding soberly. “As to your
request for information about the symbol, I'm afraid I have little
to offer you. I've been authorized to inform you that the symbol is
a sign of the Dark King, though how it relates to him exactly is
unclear. The most information that we have been able to gather
about it has come from the Shadowlands, a town renamed as such
since being the Dark King's capital. It is also where his hidden
fortress is said to lie, and reports indicate that the symbol is
quite prevalent there. It is believed that this fortress was
eventually made into the Dark King's tomb when the Bloodguard
reburied him, and that within its walls they buried the secrets of
his power. No one who has ever tried to gather more information has
ever been able to circumvent its formidable barriers, however, so
its mysteries remain secret.” He handed Gryffon a parchment.
“Further instructions are enclosed, but for the moment your
assignment is to stay put and watch and listen.”

With that, the man slipped out the back, and
Gryffon and Layna were left to digest this news. “What do you
think?” Gryffon asked Layna.

“I think,” she began, “that as far as the war
and the blood-magic, he really didn't tell us anything we didn't
know, but rather confirmed our fears.” She paused and Gryffon
simply waited for her to continue. “I'd really like to know why I
have a symbol of the Dark King on my neck though,” she whispered
softly, fear slipping into her voice despite her attempts to cover
it.

Gryffon gave her a sympathetic look and bit
his lip thoughtfully. “Maybe we should show you a little more of
your countryside.”

“What do you mean?” Layna asked.

“I mean that perhaps we should travel to this
Shadowlands and see for ourselves why you are marred with such an
evil mark when you are so obviously nothing like the King it
supposedly represents.”

Layna was glad for the dim light to cover her
mix of emotions at his words, and she pressed him, “What about your
orders? They were to stay here.”

Gryffon shrugged. “It's not as though I'm
vital to their operations here. They basically just told me that
I'm now useless because I lost my cover, so they'll hardly miss me.
Besides,” he said, his tone growing affectionate as he put a hand
on her shoulder, “you are way more important. If what you need is
to find answers about yourself, then we'll go to where we can find
them.”

Layna reached her hand up to cover his on her
shoulder and she gave it a quick squeeze. “Thanks,” she said
gratefully.

“Plus,” he added seriously, “I'm sure it
won't be long before Jezebel sends someone after us again, it will
be good to be on the move.”

They decided that they may as well set out
sooner rather than later, so they gathered up their belongings and
settled their debt with the inn-keep the very next morning. They
walked Axe and Fly through the crowded streets and made idle
conversation about the city itself, and what Gryffon knew about the
Shadowlands and the neighboring town of Dunlop.

At the guard station, they were asked to
please come inside for a routine check. They were told that it was
standard procedure for a random check to be done every so often on
the people in and out of the city, and they were the lucky
travelers. Layna broke into a cold sweat as they were led towards
the small building.

Inside, they were asked to state the nature
of their business in the city and a few other questions. Layna sat
nervously, silently fidgeting. She allowed Gryffon to answer the
questions as he seemed as comfortable being grilled by the guards
as if he was talking with his own mother about the weather.

The guard on-duty must have been nearing his
end of shift as he was starting to speak in a monotone and kept
glancing at the door as if at any moment his replacement might come
walking in. Gryffon answered one of the questions, and the guard
nodded, “uh-huh, uh-huh,” scribbling in handwriting that Layna
wondered if even he could decipher later. He seemed to perk up
somewhat when Gryffon started asking him about hunting, and they
even exchanged a laugh which brightened the man's mood.

He finally stood and reached out a hand to
shake Gryffon's, saying that if they were ever back in town that he
should look him up and he'd bring Gryffon to all the good hunting
spots.

A young man stepped through the door just
then, and the guard greeted him gruffly. “About time there, laddy,”
he admonished.

The young man looked to be just old enough to
have joined the army, and was trying vainly to grow a beard,
presumably to add to his respectability by looking older, but it
only served to make him look asymmetrical and unkempt as it grew in
odd patches rather than a complete coverage. The man straightened
haughtily at the older guard's demeanor, and he stuck his rather
large and pointy nose in the air. “I am here at the exact time I'm
supposed to be here,” he informed the man in a pinched voice. He
raised the papers he had in his hand. “And furthermore, I have just
come from the general's office and been informed of a pair of
renegade spies that we need to be on the look-out for.” The older
man gave him a bored look and the small man narrowed his eyes as if
unsure what to do with him.

His gaze wandered to Gryffon and Layna as
they tried to inconspicuously make their way to the door. Layna
felt as though the sweat at the mention of the ‘two renegades’ had
to be evident on the back of her tunic, and would surely give her
away. The younger guard's gaze lingered on them, and then he
glanced back at the paper he was holding. His brows creased and he
raised his eyes to them once more. He opened his mouth to
speak.

Gryffon cut him off before he could say
anything. “Well, it was a pleasure talking with you, my good sir. I
most certainly will take you up on your very generous offer next
time we are in town. But for now, we'll take our leave of you as it
seems you are just about on your way out as well.” He gave a quick
little bow and then put a hand under Layna's elbow, leading her
out.

As they hurried away, they could hear the
younger guard telling the older one that they looked an awfully lot
like the people they were supposed to be watching for, but the
older one scoffed at him. “I just spent the last ten minutes
talking to him. He's no spy, and she's too pretty to be. Besides,
it's the end of my shift...”

Layna and Gryffon didn’t wait around for them
to finish their discussion, but rather high-tailed it out of the
city as fast as they could as soon as they were out of range of the
guard station. “That was close,” Gryffon stated as he reined Axe
closer to her when they slowed upon reaching the woods with no sign
of pursuit.

“Tell me about it,” Layna said, “I thought I
was going to start dripping sweat I was so worried. Good thing you
hit it off with everyone you meet - or least all the hunters,” she
teased him and he laughed.

“What can I say? I can spot a hunter a mile
away, and we hunters understand each other.” He winked at her. She
breathed a sigh of relief, letting out the tension that had been
waiting to be released.

CHAPTER 28

A knock sounded at the door, and Jezebel
called out permission for the person to enter. Devon slipped
through the entrance, wincing slightly as his side bumped up
against the door frame, and she greeted him with a smile. “Ah,
Devon. Do you come bearing news?”

“Indeed, my lady – Councilor-” he affirmed.
“I have news about the King.”

Jezebel sat forward excitedly. “Yes?”

“Well, it was very difficult to dig up
anything on his past, and so far it doesn't seem to be anything
particularly worthwhile. I figured that you'd want to know
everything you could about him, no matter how small the detail
seems to me. With your intellect you may see more into it.” Jezebel
smiled more broadly at this compliment, and nodded for him to go
on. “Apparently, the King was raised by the late Baron Asheron who
was the second cousin twice removed of our late King Edward. The
Baron was instrumental in bringing Edward’s parents’ murderers to
justice which gained him a large amount of support within the royal
family. Nathair’s mother is a woman of low enough birth that I
could find no record of her before the marriage, who somehow found
herself into the baron's household, and then made herself his wife
after his lady died. That, I suppose,” he inserted, “could make
some men embarrassed enough to not want the information leaked, but
since she was given honorary lady’s status by the baron, then again
it may not. He grew up in the backwoods and was taught several ways
of fighting. When he showed some skill at magic, he was sent to be
trained in the rudimentary uses. There is no record of him having
attended any of the additional classes that are offered. His mother
died when he was in his teens – the Baron seemed to have some bad
luck with women – and as he grew older, he joined his father's
guard and that is where he gained his name in the battlefield,
fighting off the bandits to the west. All in all, he has a pretty
clean record of what we've been able to uncover so far, though
there are quite large portions of his life that I have been unable
to account for. I shall continue my work as ever, and report back
to you accordingly, my lady. As for the mission your pets are on,
my men found the remains of three of the hounds, confirming your
impression, but have had no word on the last and no further sign of
the renegades.” He gave her a stiff bow and waited for her to
dismiss him.

Jezebel nodded slowly, chewing on this new
information for a moment. “Thank you, Devon. I trust that the
remains were properly disposed of?” Devon gave her a nod and she
continued, “Please do see if you can't try and reconstruct the rest
of the King's life for me. Excellent work thus far, and I look
forward to your report that the final hound has returned
victoriously.”