The kitchen was well kept with pottery stacked about, and a warm, low fire in the cooking hearth. The room already contained two occupants. A beautiful woman with a generous figure and a mass of chocolate-brown hair sat at the kitchen table drinking tea, while a lovely blond nymph curled the woman's already impressively spiraled tresses. They wore matching silk dressing gowns of amber with embroidered white roses.
"This is Brita," Koh'in said, respectfully gesturing to the seated woman, and then lifted his hand toward the other. "And young Natasha. They must prepare each other while we talk."
"Koh'in, what is this?" Brita asked disdainfully, taking in Magiere's breeches and falchion. "You know the mistress doesn't allow visitors at this hour. And a dog?"
"They are from the city guard," Koh'in whispered, "and need to ask me questions about… the woman."
"Oh." Brita immediately stood up, and at full height she was taller than Leesil. She stepped directly in front of Koh'in as if to block passage. "Well, you can pose any questions in front of us. The guard helps us little enough, and troubles us plenty when some fop starts complaining. Ask your questions-and then leave him in peace."
Natasha set her curling rod on the stove and stepped close to Koh'in's side, crossing her arms in agreement. Next to the tall Suman guard, she looked like a tiny porcelain figurine.
"Yes," she said with some bitterness. "Poor Koh'in was attacked in the alley nearly a moon ago. The slashes on his throat are already healed, yet this is the first time you decide to look into this?"
"We don't actually work for the guard," Magiere replied, both empty hands in front of her, seemingly on the defensive. "We're working for the city council on another matter, but it might be connected to what happened. We may be tracking whoever attacked your friend here."
"Vampire hunters," Koh'in whispered to Brita.
Brita snorted and crossed her arms, crinkling her amber silk sleeves.
"That's what the council is spending taxes on? What happened, some pasty-skinned noble get his throat cut? But when it happens elsewhere, it's no concern of theirs."
Leesil shifted uncomfortably at how closely she assessed the situation.
"Can you just tell us what happened?" he asked tiredly.
Koh'in nodded. "I always make sure all the ladies are safe, alone in their rooms, before I lock up the downstairs."
Natasha wrapped her dainty hands around the large man's forearm. It took both hands to encompass the bulk of his limb.
"But before locking up," he went on, "I walk the outside, all around the house, to be sure no one remains, someone looking up at one of the windows, if you understand."
Leesil nodded.
"That night," Koh'in said, "I saw a red dress and blond curls in the alley behind the house. I thought one of the ladies had been called to a party and was coming home late. I hurried to take her inside. She was not one of ours."
"What exactly did she look like?" Magiere asked.
"Pretty. Small. Dark-blond rings of hair and bright blue eyes. So bright they made me think of gems, like they could reflect the light from the street lamps. But the mistress would not hire her to work here."
"Why not?" Leesil asked, and Koh'in frowned.
"Her dress was rich satin, but she looked…"-he searched for the right word-"cheap-not like Brita or Natasha. Perhaps it was her face, the way she looked. I cannot explain. I thought to help her, as she should not be alone in the alley. She smiled and asked me where we might go to be alone. Then I thought she was a poor street whore in a stolen dress trying to make coins from our patrons passing by. So I went to chase her off, and…"
The large man's eyes wandered, and he wrung his hands as Natasha leaned her head against his upper arm. He appeared shamed.
"She pushed me against the alley wall. Her mouth opened, and I saw her teeth come for my throat. They were like those of a numar."
"A what?" Leesil asked.
"A large wild black cat in my homeland," Koh'in explained. "Fanged above and below. I threw her off, but she was strong-so strong-and I ran. I did not know I was bleeding until back inside with the door bolted. This was not a real woman."
Natasha patted his arm softly. "It's all right. There was nothing more you could do."
"Did you manage to rip part of her dress or anything she was wearing?" Magiere asked.
"What kind of a question is that?" Brita snapped.
Magiere pointed at Chap. "He tracks. If you have anything that belonged to this woman, it would help us."
"Oh." Brita's demeanor softened. "Koh'in?"
The Suman shook his head. "No. I did not think of anything but to get inside."
Leesil hadn't expected much, but the man's description of the woman closely matched that of the tanner's son and the noble.
"So now you'll catch this thing?" Natasha asked.
"We'll try," Leesil said, for lack of a better answer.
Brita looked at them both and said, grudgingly but politely, "Thank you for coming. At least finally someone has."
With a few promises and good-byes, Leesil found himself once again climbing into the coach, but this time heading back to the inn and a hot supper. Only now, he found no joy or comfort in the thought of rest and warm food. One fact hung in the silent air between himself and Magiere.
"There are two," she said finally. "We're hunting two of them."
"If your vision was correct," he added.
"My vision is correct. And we've hunted more than one before."
"Do you think they're connected?" Leesil suggested. "Are we dealing with another pack?"
Magiere shook her head in uncertainty.
"The council can quake in their houses for all I care," Leesil added. "But I liked Koh'in-and Brita and Natasha. Besides the other common folk, the pier boys and such, these are the first people I've met worth protecting."
"And Chesna, who's now beyond our help " Magiere glanced sidelong at him. "We'll protect them. That's what we're here to do-so it seems."
Leesil leaned back. A fight was coming their way, and he smiled with a mordant sense of contentment for the first time since they'd left home.
Chapter 7
Past dusk the following evening, Leesil and Magiere finished another grueling day of wandering the length and breadth of Bela, speaking to as many people from Chetnik's reports as they could find. For all their efforts, they learned nothing new nor came any closer to beginning the hunt. Leesil's dark contentment faded shortly before lunch.
Magiere's concern over the price of coaches, mixed with his reluctance to ride on horseback, had resulted in a great deal of walking. Chap limped slightly, his paws obviously aching from the city's cobblestone streets. But even more frustrating to Leesil was their lack of progress.
Back at the Burdock, they sat in the common room in their dusty clothes, mildly relieved that the hard wooden stools let them get off their feet. Leesil took off his scarf and scratched his head freely, shaking out his white-blond hair.
"Are you having supper tonight?" asked Milous, the innkeeper. "We've a nice mutton stew and fresh bread. A few barrels of Droevinkan ale just arrived yesterday. It's the best."
"You are my hero," Leesil replied with a weak smile. "Stew and bread all around. Any spiced tea?"
"I'll see. And for you, mistress, the same?"
"Yes, spiced tea," Magiere answered tiredly.
"I'll bring it directly," Milous assured, and glanced down at Chap lying exhausted on the floor. "Hmmm, when you say ‘all'…"
"Just find a large bowl and pour some in for him," Leesil answered. "A bowl of water as well."
The stocky innkeeper sighed, shaking his head, and went off to fetch their meal.