16

CORPSE TOWN

Since I desperately needed food, Keterlyn and I stopped for something to eat.

We sat down outside an inn situation beside the river that divided Havlin in half. We were served lamb chops, potatoes, and carrots. Mugs of cider were delivered to our table and I drank enthusiastically, welcoming the numbing blanket that soon settled upon me.

At this time of year, the river was frozen. Bridges connected the two halves of the city, always crowded with people coming to and fro. Chimney smoke rose from a thousand buildings and filled the air, making me wish my nose still worked— there was nothing I loved more than woodsmoke on a winter day.

It was hard to stop thinking about Islana. We had a little over two days before she was sentenced to death, and there we were, enjoying a meal. It wasn’t fair.

I ate quickly, stuffing my face until my belly ached, then glared at Keterlyn, who was nibbling at her own meal. “We don’t have time.”

Ravens circled in the air above us. A few landed on the bridge not too far away. One was hopping towards us, and I could see my twisted reflection in its beady eyes.

“Do you know where we can find Avokis?” Keterlyn said while chewing.

That was a good question, and one I’d been thinking about. The palace was the obvious answer, but I didn’t think it was the correct one. I know he had his own house away from the king, that he valued his privacy. There’d always been rumors that Avokis was deeply interested in the occult, that at night, he retreated to his manor in order to conduct rituals and indulge in forbidden practices. I’d never taken them seriously and I still wasn’t sure that I did. But either way, his manor seemed like a good place to start.

I knew where it was because I’d been there before. Our fight, several years ago now, had taken place within his house. He’d invited me there under the pretense of wanting to discuss something with me. Imagine my surprise when he opened the front door with a sword in hand, fully suited up in armor. I smiled at the memory. Simpler times.

Keterlyn and I walked side by side. She was keeping a close eye on me, concerned, no doubt, about my ability to keep myself upright, but I was fine. I distracted myself from the head-splitting headache by thinking of Islana, by remembering nights we’d spent together, and conversations we’d shared.

Avokis’s manor was visible from a distance. It rose above other houses, four storeys of black stone and glass. It was one of Havlin’s first buildings. Avokis’s family had been in the city since its founding, had passed down the place from generation to generation. I knew this because Avokis liked to brag about his lineage whenever he got the chance. He fancied that he came from pure, noble blood.

A long line of priests walked past us, censors swinging with every step they took, sweet incense filling the air. One of them carried a drum, which he beat at a steady rhythm— similar to a heartbeat, which was meant to keep the undead at bay. If only all we needed was a drum to combat the Vald.

This was the old quarter of Havlin Every building was historic, and occupied by families which had lived there for centuries. There were graveyards along every block, ancestral resting places. People liked to call this part of the city The Corpse Town, and suitably, the sky at that moment was filled with crows, and with stars so bright that even despite the sun, they were faintly visible amongst the pale blue.

We approached Avokis’s manor. I wrapped my hand around the hilt of my sword, abused knuckles complaining. Very likely Avokis would put up a fight, and I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to give him one. Maybe I should’ve waited for Leotin, who was still out searching for information. I glanced at Keterlyn. We’d only been allies for a day, yet I was already fond of her.

“I can continue alone,” I said gently. “I appreciate the escort.”

Keterlyn raised her eyebrows. “Is that a joke?”

“Keterlyn, you’ve done enough for me. I—”

“Shut up, Sigmund. You need me.”

“I don’t know if I can defend you,” I said wearily. “Avokis is a prick, but he’s a dangerous one. He’s not going to like us turning up at his doorstep like this. And I don’t know if he has guards in there. If he does…”

“I doubt he does,” Keterlyn said. “He hates people. And as for the danger he poses, I can assure you, I don’t need you to protect me.” She patted her coat pockets, which were full. “I may not have a sword, but I have other tools at my disposal.”

I nodded, too tired to inquire as to what exactly those tools were. We walked up to the double door entrance of the manor and without hesitation I pounded my fist against the wood, which was painted black.

“Keterlyn,” I said, “do you believe in the Screaming Tree?”

“I do.”

“Do you think that, if a man only acts good out of fear of the Tree, he’ll hang regardless?”

Keterlyn started to answer, then the door opened.

A young girl stood there, framed by candlelight from behind. Sixteen, maybe, with curly blonde hair and chestnut eyes. A servant, I both assumed and hoped.

“We’re here for Avokis,” I said. As I spoke, I was aware of how monstrous I must have looked to her. “I’m First Blade to the king,” I added, as though my title would offset my face.

The girl was inscrutable. “He’s busy.”

So he was home, at least. “This is very important business,” Keterlyn said gravely. “We need him right now.”

The girl was stoic. I thought she was ignoring us, that she would just stand there until we went away, until she said, “He’s instructed me to turn all visitors away.”

“The thing is,” I said, “if you don’t get out of the way, we’re going to have to walk through you.” Child or no, we didn’t have time to waste.

The girl shrugged, as though she didn’t actually care either way, and then stepped aside.

We entered. The doors slammed shut behind us. The girl sprinted off down the hallway directly ahead, no doubt to go warn her master. That was fine. I drew my sword and touched Husir’s fur. She was alert, ears up. As always, I was glad to have her by my side.

We followed after the girl, moving slowly. Keterlyn was right, there didn’t seem to be any guards or other staff present. A singular stroke of luck amongst a sea of misfortune.

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Expensive wood surfaced the floors and walls, oiled and warm with the light of dozens of candles. Paintings lined the hallway, depicting faceless knights and grand battles. One in particular caught my eye, an artwork of a naked, one-eyed giant holding a man within its fist. It was lifting the man up in the air, up amongst the stars, where the artist had implied the presence of titanic, unseen beings through the use of the blackest black I’d ever seen. The painting made my skin crawl, and I averted my gaze. Whether or not Avokis was involved with the Vald, there was something wrong with him. Something dangerous.

The paintings got weirder the further along the hallway we went, until, by the end, there were artworks of multicolored tendrils coiled tightly around the limbs of many men and women who seemed to be screaming in either pain or pleasure. Mercifully, the hallway came to an end, and so did the paintings. A set of polished stairs led up to the second floor. I paused at the first step, listening. I thought I could hear hushed voices up above, but when I focussed on them, they fell silent, as though sensing my attention.

Keterlyn stayed slightly behind me as I advanced, sword held by my side. Husir padded along silently, her tail between her legs.

The quiet was unnerving me, and I hated to be unnerved. “Avokis!” I shouted. “Avokis, come out! We need to talk.”

No response. The stairs creaked beneath my weight. The manor seemed to groan. I had the very strong sense that the building didn’t want us there, that Avokis, and maybe his ancestors, too, had infected the house itself with their evil. But maybe I was just in a superstitious mood.

I reached the top of the stairs. Then an arrow cut through the air right in front of my face and buried itself in the wall, where it quivered.

“Down!” I hissed, pulling Keterlyn to the ground. My eyes followed the path the arrow had taken, directing my gaze to an open door to the far left. A shadow betrayed Avokis, who had ducked behind the wall. The fucker had a bow.

Keterlyn was staring at the arrow, eyes wide. I said, “Stay right here.”

“Sigmund, what are you—”

I ran.

I counted the seconds in my head. Avokis appeared in the doorway, arrow drawn back, aiming right at me. I threw myself at the ground at the exact moment he shot, the arrow sailing just above my head and joining the first one in the wall. This time, Avokis didn’t bother hiding. He reached into the quiver behind him and produced a third arrow, the metal catching the candlelight and shining brightly.

I charged him. There was enough distance between us that I knew he’d have time to send arrow number three in my direction. Nothing I could do about that. Moving quickly, his eyes narrowed, Avokis drew back on the bow. I hoped that panic would make him inaccurate, but the thing about hope is that it usually just results in disappointment.

Regardless, Avokis ought to have been praying that his next shot was a good one, because if I survived it, he was going to have a bad time.

Avokis let loose.

With perfect timing, I swung my sword out in front of me in a violent arc, intending on snapping the arrow in half mid-flight.

Unfortunately, I only had one functional eye.

My blade tasted empty air. The arrow thudded into my shoulder, burying itself in deep, nearly spinning me all the way around. There was no pain, but my left arm went mostly limp.

Avokis reached for a fourth arrow. Husir growled. I cocked my right arm back and threw my sword with all my might.

Steel spun end over end, a lethal blur. Avokis flinched back behind cover, and my sword sailed harmlessly past. That was fine. It bought me time. I surged forward, and as I did so, Husir ran right past me.

Avokis shrieked. I’d never heard a sweeter sound in all my life.

Husir had him on the ground, was tearing savagely at his thigh. Avokis screamed and flailed, punching her in the side of the head, making her whimper. That was enough to give me the second wind I needed to slam my boot into his temple. He immediately went limp.

Keterlyn appeared a moment later. “Did you kill him?”

“Don’t think so. He’s still breathing.”

She saw the arrow sticking out of me. “Gods damn it, Sigmund.”

“Don’t sound so angry at me.”

“I just fixed you up.”

“I’m a work in progress.”

I sat on top of Avokis, waiting for him to wake up. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long. His body bucked beneath me and his eyes shot open. He returned to consciousness with a long scream.

“You finished?” I said.

“You,” he snarled, “what are you doing here?”

“Just visiting,” I said levelly. “All I wanted to do was talk.” I gestured to the arrow. “And then you had to do this.”

“You broke into my home!”

“Actually, the girl let us in.”

“What girl?”

“The young blonde one.”

Avokis’s eyes rolled around frantically. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

I frowned down at him. That was bad. Keterlyn and I exchanged a look. “Avokis, are you alone here?”

“Yes,” he hissed.

“You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“Fuck you, Sigmund.”

“Avokis, I’m being sincere when I tell you that I need to ask you some questions. I need you to be completely honest with me. Do that, and I'll let you walk.” I hadn’t yet decided if that was true or not. A big part of me wanted to kill him either way.

“Ask your questions!” There were tears in his eyes. It should’ve been satisfying to see but I was too tired and my shoulder was starting to ache badly. The throbbing in my head also seemed to be intensifying. I needed to hurry this on before I passed out.

“Why is Lukan trying to get me killed?”

“You’re old,” Avokis spat, “you’re done, Sigmund.”

“Is that it?”

Avokis hesitated. There was something else. I grabbed one of his hands and roughly jammed one of his fingers back, not hard enough to break, but he still howled.

“Stop wasting my time,” I said.

“It’s Magoran!” he wailed. “He wants you dead. You wouldn't believe the things he’s been telling the king. He’s…he’s lost his fucking mind.”

“More detail, Avokis.”

“He keeps talking about old stories! About the Vald! About…about…” he seemed like he was about to start sobbing. My headache was getting worse, and the arrow was starting to burn, as though it had been set alight.

“About what?”

“About the stars. And…things that live amongst the stars.”

I considered that for a moment. It didn’t seem particularly useful. But if Magoran was telling Lukan about the Vald, then that was definitely information worth knowing. If Avokis was telling the truth, if it was truly Magoran pulling the king’s strings, then maybe we’d just uncovered the enemy.

“Keterlyn,” I said calmly, “bring me one of those candles.”

“With pleasure.” She promptly handed me one, the flame flickering eagerly.

I held the candle close to Avokis’s face, same as I’d done to Keterlyn not long ago. He didn’t burst into flame, nor did he start screaming or otherwise acting strangely. He simply turned his head away and tried to move out of reach. I touched the flame to his cheek. He screamed, no surprise there, and his flesh was slightly singed. Other than that, he was fine.

“Well,” Keterlyn said, “at least he’s not one of them.”

“You people have gone mad,” Avokis said.

“If only.” I set the candle down. “Keterlyn, any final questions?”

“Who killed Emrik?”

Avokis closed his eyes, as though he’d decided he was done with being questioned. “Islana. You know this. Why are you asking me?”

“Do you really think it was her?”

“I don’t know.” He paused. “Wasn’t it? Listen, I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not involved!”

I was inclined to believe him. Avokis was too pathetic to be the great evil behind all of our problems. He certainly wasn’t one of the Vald, and it was hard to imagine he knew anything about them all at all. His desperation and confusion struck me as sincere.

Which meant Magoran was the one we needed to go after.

I slowly climbed off of Avokis, wincing as my shoulder moved. My vision darkened around the edges. It wasn’t the first arrow I’d taken in my life, but I didn’t remember the last time hurting quite so much. Maybe old age was making me weak.

“I’m not going to kill you now,” I said to Avokis. “But if I see you around the Howling Hall, I will finally put you down. I suggest you get out of the city. Go elsewhere.”

And with those parting words, I staggered out of the room.