then the watchmen were circulating through the
room, seizing anyone who made a commotion.
"Your men couldn't bother to give us a warning?"
Caim hissed.
"Some of them are new." Hubert inched away from the table. "And
others may have outstanding warrants on their heads."
"Wonderful."
Caim surveyed the room, measuring distances in his head. "Go for the
back room. There's a delivery entrance that leads into the alley."
"Good idea."
Hubert headed in that direction, but not fast enough. Most of the soldiers were patting down patrons, but a pair and their commander moved
to intercept Hubert. Their mail armor rattled as the tinmen ran to catch
the young noble.
Caim rose from his seat and reached behind his back. If he drew his knives, men would die. That would draw unneeded attention to himself
and the Vine, but he didn't want to see Hubert apprehended either. True,
he was a rabble-rouser and a hypocritical demagogue, but his heart was in
the right place. Most of the time.
Caim let his hands fall to his sides and closed his eyes.
He only meant to release a tiny bit of his powers, just enough to conceal Hubert's escape behind a curtain of darkness, but the taproom's
shadows swarmed around him like moths to a flame. The Vine was
drenched in an impenetrable gloom so thick Caim couldn't see more than
a few feet in front of him, which was fine by him, but there was more. As
he slid along the wall, a cool sensation prickled at the nape of his neck.
The hairs on his arms stood on end and his mouth went bone dry as something entered the taproom. He couldn't see it. Whatever it was, it
blended perfectly into the darkness. But he felt it moving through the
room like a monstrous beast.
Shouts and curses filled the wineshop. Glassware shattered. Shutters
banged open as someone scrambled out a window, or was tossed out.
Throaty mews whimpered from the direction of the bar.
Caim sidled over to the back door and found it ajar. With one hand
on the hilt of a knife, he ducked out, and left the taproom cloaked in darkness like a covered grave.
CHAPTER FIVE
aim leaned into the Vine's dingy whitewashed siding as the sickness washed over him. Black lines wriggled before his vision.
His stomach tried to squirm up into his throat, but he fought it back with
firm determination.
Twilight's veil was drawing over the city. Angry shouts resounded
from inside the wineshop. What had happened inside? His talent had
never reacted like that before. It usually took every ounce of concentration
he could muster to conjure a few flimsy shadows, but this time they had
flocked to him like flies to a corpse, and whatever else had emerged from
the dark ...
He took a deep breath.
Stars filled the darkening sky. No light shone from the new moon,
hidden as it crossed the heavens. A Shadow's moon, a night when the
shades from the Other Side could cross over to walk in the mortal world.
He shivered. The sweat under his shirt had turned cool. Gods-damned
legends. Stories to spook little children. Then why are you shaking?
Caim pushed off from the wall and started walking. The alley was
empty. Kit, as usual, was nowhere to be found. Neither was Hubert,
which was a good thing. Maybe he's learning.
Kit appeared over his head. Her violet eyes shone in the twilight
gloom. "Fun night, huh?"
"Sure. A little more fun like that and I could be enjoying the comforts of a pinewood box."
Caim glanced over his shoulder. An uneasy sensation had settled in
the pit of his stomach, the feeling he was being watched. He tried to pass
it off as his imagination, but it refused to leave. There was something in
the air tonight. The city, never a safe haven for fools, seethed with barely restrained frustrations. Like a boiling kettle, the steam needed to vent
before it exploded.
"Oh, Caim. I'd never let that happen to you."
"I'm serious. Something happened in there."
"Yeah. You finally let loose. Felt good, didn't it?"
He shook his head.
room, seizing anyone who made a commotion.
"Your men couldn't bother to give us a warning?"
Caim hissed.
"Some of them are new." Hubert inched away from the table. "And
others may have outstanding warrants on their heads."
"Wonderful."
Caim surveyed the room, measuring distances in his head. "Go for the
back room. There's a delivery entrance that leads into the alley."
"Good idea."
Hubert headed in that direction, but not fast enough. Most of the soldiers were patting down patrons, but a pair and their commander moved
to intercept Hubert. Their mail armor rattled as the tinmen ran to catch
the young noble.
Caim rose from his seat and reached behind his back. If he drew his knives, men would die. That would draw unneeded attention to himself
and the Vine, but he didn't want to see Hubert apprehended either. True,
he was a rabble-rouser and a hypocritical demagogue, but his heart was in
the right place. Most of the time.
Caim let his hands fall to his sides and closed his eyes.
He only meant to release a tiny bit of his powers, just enough to conceal Hubert's escape behind a curtain of darkness, but the taproom's
shadows swarmed around him like moths to a flame. The Vine was
drenched in an impenetrable gloom so thick Caim couldn't see more than
a few feet in front of him, which was fine by him, but there was more. As
he slid along the wall, a cool sensation prickled at the nape of his neck.
The hairs on his arms stood on end and his mouth went bone dry as something entered the taproom. He couldn't see it. Whatever it was, it
blended perfectly into the darkness. But he felt it moving through the
room like a monstrous beast.
Shouts and curses filled the wineshop. Glassware shattered. Shutters
banged open as someone scrambled out a window, or was tossed out.
Throaty mews whimpered from the direction of the bar.
Caim sidled over to the back door and found it ajar. With one hand
on the hilt of a knife, he ducked out, and left the taproom cloaked in darkness like a covered grave.
CHAPTER FIVE
aim leaned into the Vine's dingy whitewashed siding as the sickness washed over him. Black lines wriggled before his vision.
His stomach tried to squirm up into his throat, but he fought it back with
firm determination.
Twilight's veil was drawing over the city. Angry shouts resounded
from inside the wineshop. What had happened inside? His talent had
never reacted like that before. It usually took every ounce of concentration
he could muster to conjure a few flimsy shadows, but this time they had
flocked to him like flies to a corpse, and whatever else had emerged from
the dark ...
He took a deep breath.
Stars filled the darkening sky. No light shone from the new moon,
hidden as it crossed the heavens. A Shadow's moon, a night when the
shades from the Other Side could cross over to walk in the mortal world.
He shivered. The sweat under his shirt had turned cool. Gods-damned
legends. Stories to spook little children. Then why are you shaking?
Caim pushed off from the wall and started walking. The alley was
empty. Kit, as usual, was nowhere to be found. Neither was Hubert,
which was a good thing. Maybe he's learning.
Kit appeared over his head. Her violet eyes shone in the twilight
gloom. "Fun night, huh?"
"Sure. A little more fun like that and I could be enjoying the comforts of a pinewood box."
Caim glanced over his shoulder. An uneasy sensation had settled in
the pit of his stomach, the feeling he was being watched. He tried to pass
it off as his imagination, but it refused to leave. There was something in
the air tonight. The city, never a safe haven for fools, seethed with barely restrained frustrations. Like a boiling kettle, the steam needed to vent
before it exploded.
"Oh, Caim. I'd never let that happen to you."
"I'm serious. Something happened in there."
"Yeah. You finally let loose. Felt good, didn't it?"
He shook his head.
Similar Books
