After The Rabbit (Waldo Rabbit Series) (20 page)

Enver nodded. “You would be a fool to trust me completely, but you can trust we both want the same thing. Have faith in our common interests rather than in me.”

Celton did not like the thought of trusting the vampire even that much, but given what they were trying to accomplish there was no choice.

“I think my father would be more comfortable if you provided him a sign of your good faith.”

“Tell him his head cook Barthel is a Corpselover spy, he has been for at least ten years. Also, there are others. I will be happy to give him the full list when we meet.”

“Barthel?” Celton said in disbelief. “He is one of father’s favorites! He is one of the most pampered slaves in the castle.”

“I am the most indulged servant in Castle Corpselover. Need I say more?”

“No one would have ever suspected him, and you’re tossing him away so easily.”

Enver waved a hand impatiently. “What do I care? If this pleases your father and eases his mind it’s enough. There are still four other spies and Barthel doesn’t know who they are.”

This would make quite an impression on his father. Celton was sure of that. Dante would miss Barthel’s puddings, they were his favorite. “Let us meet in four days’ time at the second hour. There will be an open window on the north side of the main keep. Light will come from it and it will be marked by golden curtains.”

“Please tell your father I look forward to the meeting.” In an instant Enver was gone.

Celton began the long walk home. The upcoming meeting filled him with both hope and dread.

Chapter 16

Wait Your Turn

When she returned from Avalon Melissa was too exhausted to do much more than eat dinner and go to sleep. Using teleportation twice in one day drained her almost completely of mana. She was not embarrassed as many archmages could only perform it once.

By the following morning she had fully recovered and set out on the chase. Baron Torrance was kind enough to see her off and mouth some empty words about how he regretted her sudden departure. She was quite sure the baron was relieved to see her go. Melissa noted Varlos was nowhere to be seen. She would have liked one hour alone with him. She suspected the spymaster knew more about Waldo than she did. Unfortunately, there was no time to track Varlos down.

Minister Barrows had been most generous with his assistance. Not only had she been given gold, a virgin wand, and a new spellbook, the minister had allowed her to pursue Waldo and set her other tasks aside. She had written orders signed and sealed by the minister authorizing her to do
anything
she saw as necessary to deal with Waldo. Up to and including giving orders to any other members of the Order she met along the way. Barrows agreed, finding and dealing with this rogue was the priority. Catching Waldo was now her only concern, nothing would stand in her way.

The main problem became finding his trail.

She tried scrying magic, but to no effect. Melissa was not skilled in it and, despite their run in, lacked a strong personal connection to him. It was also possible he was using protective wards. The next best option was summoning a creature to follow his scent. Unfortunately, summoning monsters was forbidden by the Order. She was only permitted to summon animals. Summoning a hound or wolf would have helped… if she’d had the necessary talent.

Anyone who could draw mana and cast at least one spell, even if it was only levitating a feather, was a mage. Anyone who could use just one of the deeper magics was an archmage. Melissa had a great talent for wind magic and could use many of its most advanced forms. She was even skilled enough use it as a killing force. Not easy to do, as wind was considered the least lethal of the four elements. Outside of wind, invocation was the only other school where she could practice some of the deeper magics. She was competent with many of the basic spells of the other schools, except for earth magic, where she had no ability. This was normal. Most archmages could use basic spells of multiple schools, but deeper magics from only one or two. Only Grand Masters could use complex magics from three or more.

Given her lack of options Melissa would need to go about her search in a more mundane fashion. She would go from village to village asking if anyone had seen Waldo and his companions. Yes, she would travel the countryside asking “where’s Waldo?” over and over. White Mages were memorable, especially travelling with a red haired strumpet and an ogre. It would take time, but once she had his scent she would track him down no matter where he ran.

Melissa looked at her new wand. She had already carved three words of power into it. The wand worked even better than her old one had. She intended to keep carving words into it, to make it a perfectly honed tool.

“
Ventus est fugatus sem
.”

Winds gathered about her and kicked at her heels, launching her into the air. Her breath was sucked out and she had to gasp in the air as she soared up above the trees.

Flying, it was worth the years of study just for this
. As a rule she avoided using this spell. It always terrified the ordinary folk to see someone flying through the skies. A large part of her duty was to make the common people accept the Order and see it as their protector and friend. Panicking them was not helpful to such an end.

In this case Melissa decided it was worth it. A distance that would take her a whole day to walk she could cover in less than an hour flying. Melissa could jaunt from village to village until she discovered Waldo.

She was sure it would not take long.

XXX

The sun was out, the sky was blue, and there was a gentle breeze blowing, a perfect summer day.

He strolled into one of the countless small villages that dotted the local landscape. The place had a name of course, but he didn’t know, or care, what it might be. In his experience places like this were all the same anyway. The people might complain about some of their neighbors, but would still help them in times of trouble. The instinct was always to band together against adversity or any sort of threat from the wider world. They all knew each other and all lived the same boring lives, year after year, generation after generation. It was a dull existence, but he supposed it was peaceful.

Until it wasn’t. Because, soon or late, someone like him always came to places like this. Much as wolves were bound to visit any spot where sheep gathered.

He was surprised not to see anyone. Likely they were all either inside enjoying the midday meal, or out working the fields. Even the watchtower was empty. The village was surrounded by a wooden stockade, but its gate was open and unguarded. The villagers must not have been bothered by goblins recently. As he entered, he noticed a couple of dogs. Both of them immediately started barking. Not surprising, he always had that effect on animals.

He took a step in their direction.

One turned and fled. The other lowered his head and let loose a menacing growl.

He took another step closer.

The dog hesitated, let out a whine, and fled.

Smart animals
, he thought. Dogs had much better survival instincts than most humans did. They didn’t try to fight when it was clearly hopeless. Honor, duty, loyalty… empty words meant to convince men to die pointless deaths. Ideals were meaningless. All that mattered was power.

There were sixteen or seventeen thatched huts, all but one was of a basic design. The exception was a cottage made of split logs and connected to a stable, obviously the local Inn. He strode up to its door and knocked upon it three times.

There was a short pause before a woman’s voice spoke. “Whose there?”

“A stranger in need.”

Another little wait. The door swung open. A stout woman in an apron stood there. “Welcome to…” She cut off as her eyes widened and she let out a blood curdling scream. Both hands slammed the door shut again. She was still screaming as he heard what had to be a bar being banged down.

“Now that is just rude,” Lucius Corpselover said. “Do you always treat visitors so poorly?”

From out of one of the huts came a man wielding a staff. “What’s happened?”

“You wait your turn,” the archlich touched thumb to middle finger. “
Xatos ki
.”

The minor spell sent the man flying into the side of his home with enough force to break bones.

Other villagers started to come out to see what was going on. Lucius had at least a dozen spells that could have dealt with all of them at once. Simple massacre wasn’t his purpose though. He was here to raise some helpers and to spread a panic. His intent was to kill most of these people and then pay a visit to the local burial ground. Lucius would also make sure to burn everything while he was at it. Pillars of smoke were the fastest and simplest way to tell people at a distance something was wrong. He would allow some to escape, he wanted details to reach Norwich.

A single kick reduced the Inn door to kindling.

The woman who had answered and three children were cowering in a corner. Their mindless screams and the look of absolute terror on their faces gave him a sense of mild pleasure. He’d forgotten just how much fun it was to play with the mundanes.

Lucius crossed the room and began choking the life out of the woman as her children watched.

It really was turning out to be a lovely day.

Chapter 17

Stop Thief

“So what do you think?” Duke Griffinheart asked.

“Ah, it’s very nice,” Alice said.

“Nice?! You think it’s nice?”

“Oh, no, I… I mean it’s really something, amazing.”

The Duke gave a slight nod, apparently mollified. “I got it from my grandfather you know.”

“Really?”

“He was very proud of it, he would go around showing it off to people.”

“Well who could blame him?”

“You know the muscles in my arm come from spending so much time handling this brute. Yanking it, squeezing it, swinging it around, when I was younger I would spend hours working with it. I would go until my hands bled and my arms were sore.”

“Truly?”

“Yes,” he gave a despondent sigh. “Now I’m older I can’t manage that anymore, but I will still go at it for at least an hour a day.”

“Is it really so heavy? I mean you look so strong and virile my lord.”

As she’d hoped that brought out a big smile.

“Would you like to hold it?”

“Ah, I am not sure, is it really proper?”

“Merely be careful where you grip.”

Alice cautiously approached. “Where do I put my hands?”

“Right here, at the base. Use both and grip it tightly.”

She did as she was told. “Like this?”

The Duke nodded enthusiastically. “Marvelous, you’ve held one before?”

“No, this is my first time. I’ve seen plenty of men with them of course, even a few women.”

“That is rare, but I’ve seen it as well. You’re a natural. Would you like to try swinging it around a little?”

“Is it safe?”

“So long as you don’t let go and don’t become too wild it’s fine. You need to get used to the feel of it in your palms. It has a name you know, “Lawgiver.””

Alice gave a slight shake of her head. “Why do men always feel the need to name everything?”

“It’s a matter of pride I suppose. I sometimes use it to punish the wicked. I feel a ruler should handle things personally now and again. I tell you, when they see me holding this in my hand criminals’ knees begin to shake.”

“I believe it,” she was already getting used to holding it. It felt surprisingly natural. “If I had one do you think men would be afraid of me?”

“Likely not at first, but once they saw how you could handle it…”

Waldo entered the dining hall.

“Am I interrupting?”

Alice was standing with the duke near the head of the table. In her hands was a broadsword. The blade gave off a minor golden aura. Waldo could sense magic radiating from it, enough to mark a significant enchantment.

“I just thought I would show your wife what it feels like to hold a sword. Would you like to try it Master Rabbit?”

“That’s quite all right.” From one of the hidden pockets of his robe he produced his wand. “This is all I need.”

The duke glanced from the foot long wand to the four and a half foot sword.

“Mine is bigger.”

“Mine shoots out fire.”

Duke Griffinheart considered that and gave a grunt. “I can see where that would be useful.”

XXX

Waldo, Alice, and Belle were out on the streets of Norwich. Waldo had cast his detection spell and they were travelling through the city in hopes of spotting some sign of a monster. But despite his best efforts Waldo had yet to spot anything.

“Well?” Alice asked.

“Nothing,” Waldo said. “So far as I can tell the duke was right, no evidence of monsters inside the city walls.”

“Except for us,” Belle noted.

“Shush,” Alice hissed and glanced up and down the street. No one particularly close to them. People were still eager to keep their distance.

Belle sent her an eye roll. “Don’t be so worried sweetheart.”

“The punishment for a monster being in this city is to be burned at the stake.” She turned to Waldo. “So does this mean we can finally leave?”

“Not yet.”

“But why not? Everyone we ask says there’s nothing to find, and your own magic is telling you the same. Why can’t we go?”

“We’ll search for at least a couple more days. If we still have nothing at that point we can move on.”

Alice wanted to be gone from this place now, not in a couple more days. Her only solace was knowing at least they wouldn’t be here a week as they had been in Middleton.

“So where do we go when we leave Master?”

“We’ll head north into the marshes.”

“What? Darling that is not a good idea! Have you not been listening to people? The marshes are teeming with goblins. The patrols won’t even cross into them.”

“Which is what makes it an ideal place for a Great Monster. The map I was given told me I’d find one here. But if there isn’t one in the city itself it might be hiding nearby.”

Alice was not sure which was worse, going into the marshes or staying here. Thinking about it she decided a horde of goblins were less frightening than seeing Lancel again.

“You know,” Waldo said. “The duke’s sword was rather impressive.”

Alice immediately narrowed her eyes. “I suppose.”

“I’ve seen a few, my family doesn’t specialize in evocation magic, but we did keep some enchanted weapons and armor. The spells usually just make the blade’s edge sharper and the metal harder. I suspect the duke’s sword was given much stronger features.”

“I think he said something about being able to cut through trees in one swing.”

Waldo nodded. “Some archmage probably spent months working on it, placing just the right combination of spells. Every knight, mercenary, and raider dreams of magical arms, but few mages have the necessary skills. The buyers outnumber the sellers at least a thousand to one. I am sure someone would be willing to pay a small fortune for such a sword.”

“You really are trying to get us killed aren’t you?”

“Not at all. We can get the sword just before we leave.”

“Right, we’re going to steal the duke’s greatest treasure and walk away. How exactly?”

“You owe me five Charms, remember?”

She shut her eyes and put a hand to her face. “Oh Cannassa have mercy.”

XXX

He was trailing them. Having on a faded grey cloak over his worn tunic and trousers he blended in. No one would think it strange he hung back from a White Mage. Except in times of trouble folk never wanted them around. He certainly didn’t, White Mages were almost as hard on his kind as on monsters. The bastards loved killing criminals and making examples of them.

“Such an unreasonable bunch,” he muttered beneath his breath.

The authorities here, and in most of Lothas, were sensible. So long as you didn’t steal from a noble or certain important people, the guards didn’t get too worked up about a little theft. If you weren’t stealing from the wrong persons the punishment was usually just to be receive a few lashes in the marketplace. Normally only novices or incompetents ever got caught. Something which obviously did not apply to him.

Normally, he would have kept well clear of any white. The risk was too great, even for someone as talented as him. But the moment he’d spotted
her
the temptation had been too great to resist. Everyone knew White Mages traveled alone, but this one had arrived with a couple of wenches. One was a woman barbarian bigger, and more muscled than a blacksmith. He wouldn’t want to get in an argument with her, never mind anything else. The other traveling companion the wizard had was something entirely different.

He had been with his share of women, and then some, but in his life he’d never spotted a beauty like her. Her body was absolutely perfect, with just the right sort of curves in exactly the right places. The face was beautiful, fiery hair caught the eye, and the way her hips swung rhythmically as she walked spoke of grace and elegance.

And those tits! Incredible!

Despite the danger he’d immediately decided to go and introduce himself. Most men would think robbing her a poor way to go about it, but in his experience it always left a strong impression. Women were always attracted to men who were dangerous. If you brought them a flower after stealing a purse, and begged their forgiveness sounding sincere and such, they would usually not only forgive, but spread their legs for you. For a man like him it was almost unfair.

Of course, before long, most would start to get ideas about love and romance. Even though he was careful never to make those sorts of promises the girls would still get mad when they found out he was plowing other fields. Women could be so unreasonable about certain things.

Which reminds me, I need to get Marriana some flowers. Benvida too, and Holli, and is Polla still mad at me? It’s been a week. Ah well, I’ll get her flowers too, I did sleep with her cousin, most girls don’t like that
.

Inside his cloak was a single perfect rose. When he saw them turn down Sparrow Way he waved three fingers over his head. Markus saw and dashed off to set things up. Sparrow Way was a very narrow street, a really big man might be able to touch houses on both sides at once. He picked up his pace to begin closing the distance between him and the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

He would grab her by the wrist and twirl her around. In his other hand would be the rose.
For you, my beautiful lady
. Of course she would be taken by surprise and breathless. She would recognize him and probably accuse him of being a thief.
I beg your forgiveness, it wasn’t your purse I was after, but your heart.
The ladies always started to melt when they heard that line. Usually, at that moment, he would give them back what he’d stolen. The typical purse only had maybe ten to thirty copper tokes, given how much a pretty Soiled Dove cost it was a good investment. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be doing that this time, there’d been
gold
and silver in her purse. More wealth than he would normally see in a whole year. White Mages really were as rich as people said. It would make things harder, but he liked a challenge, and he knew just how to win a pretty girl’s heart.

As they neared Frog Street he was within fifteen feet of her. He was careful to keep his head down on the off chance she looked back. Being spotted before he could perform his introduction would ruin the effort. He was close enough to overhear them.

“Why are you so obsessed with us getting gold anyway?” His red haired beauty asked. “I mean it’s not as if you even appreciate it.”

How could anyone not appreciate having gold?

“It's necessary for me to bring back proof of my success. Mother would expect sacks of gold along with the skulls of my enemies and slaves. You know, trophies. I don’t want to disappoint my mother.”

“When exactly did you stop sucking from your mother’s teat? The week before we met?”

The white wizard sent her a look of annoyance. He made sure to put a hand over his face until the mage looked away again.

“Which reminds me, we need to start collecting the heads of the people we kill.”

“You want us to go around carrying heads?”

“Well,” the white wizard said. “We could bring scalps, but skulls are just more impressive.”