10
Unexpected Welcome
Rain had set in shortly after they left Mandar-Czar, keeping them grounded for long stretches as they turned northwest toward Barcon. Eli had stayed quiet about his past and the work he’d done for Bosimar for a few days; it wasn’t hard for Kari to tell that he was upset. She wasn’t sure if he was upset with her for lacking sympathy, or just dredging up bad memories.
They slept under Muireann’s wing during the rain-drenched nights, and Eli shared Kari’s blanket to lend his half-demon warmth to her. Even in so intimate a position, he still remained distant and quiet. He wasn’t unpleasant toward her, but Kari found his silence uncomfortable.
The storms cleared up before they reached Barcon, and they circled around to approach from the northwest, where the stable square was. They kept their mounts grounded; flying in might mark them as hostile. Kari motioned for Eli to hold up as the city came within sight, and he had his griffon trot a circle around Muireann and then stand close beside her.
Eli had proven to be a capable rider, and he bonded well with his griffon. Dougal was what Charles had described as a “pride leader,” and was both a loyal mount and a fierce fighter. He was also Muireann’s mate, and together the two were easy to manage.
Barcon stood dark and cold as Kari beheld it from a short distance away. Memories of her stop in the city at the end of the War came back to her, and she couldn’t help but contrast them against the memories of arriving in DarkWind on the return trip from Tsalbrin.
DarkWind had its problems, to be sure, but the sight of the city instilled Kari—and, she imagined, most other people as well—with a sense of awe and hope. DarkWind was a city of opportunity, and it had the strength of its temple district and the campus of the Demonhunter Order to dispel what ghosts the presence of the Blood Order conjured in peoples’ minds. Consequently, for all its problems, DarkWind was one of the most populous cities outside of the closed-off Strekan Province and was a popular destination for tourists and migrants.
Barcon enjoyed no such pleasantness.
From Muireann’s back, Kari thought the city resembled a great black dragon, its head the ebon tower of its resident earl, Kaelin Black. Aeligos had been certain that this entire scenario was a trap, and Barcon seemed like the sort of city that would swallow an unsuspecting person whole—even a demonhunter. Kari had no delusions that everyone in the city was evil or would be opposed to her; more likely, most of the people would support her efforts and wish to see her succeed. But the city as a whole—with its unpredictable earl, the Black Dragon Society, and now a half-syrinthian, half-succubus assassin prowling its streets—represented one of the most dangerous tests of Kari’s long and storied career.
Kari glanced at Eli and wondered if he knew what he was getting into. He had faced the syrinthian-succubus without hesitation, but she’d disabled him and made him look foolish for his efforts. Kari wasn’t sure if Eli was prepared to deal with that, the possible involvement of the earl, and, more pointedly, the city’s laws against the presence of serilian-rir.
“When I passed through Barcon a few years back, they were forbidding serilian-rir from entering the city,” Kari explained, and Eli nodded. “I figure if worse comes to worst, I can get you in as a deputized demonhunter. They should respect my authority as a hunter, especially since I’m here by Black’s request. But I’m not sure how far they’ll push the point with you.”
Eli snorted. “They’re pretty insistent about it, but being unwelcome is something I’ve gotten used to over the years,” he said with a grim smile. “We’ll go with your idea first if they don’t let me in the city. If that doesn’t work, though, I have this to fall back on.” He raised the sleeve of his tunic to show the Five Clans marking on his right shoulder. “There’s an assassin’s guild in this city, always trying to take control of it from Kaelin Black. They’re a nasty bunch, but they’re mortal enemies of the Blood Order in DarkWind, so my tattoo will pique their interest.”
“Black’s having issues with an assassin’s guild?” Kari asked. It seemed odd that a notorious crime lord like Black would be getting grief from an assassin’s guild. Why didn’t they just work together? “You don’t mean the Black Dragon Society?”
“Yeah, the Black Dragon Society. Everyone’s convinced that Black is the head of it, but make no mistake: They’ve been trying to kill him for decades. They know how profitable his businesses are, and they don’t like the fact that they can’t buy his favor. So, they’ve been trying to get rid of him and set up someone they can control as the new earl.”
Kari wondered how Eli had such insight into things, considering how long it’d been since he was a member of the Five Clans, but she figured old habits die hard. After all, she still recalled the tricks of the trade of being a thief and a street urchin in her younger days. She chuckled as she thought of the first time she mentioned picking a lock in front of Erik.
At the very least, she was glad Eli was speaking to her again. She shook her head when she considered his comments. “Wait, his businesses? Isn’t he a criminal boss?”
“Kaelin Black?” Eli returned, his brow furrowed. “Why would he need to be a crime boss when he’s the earl? Southwick is a big county, and a lot of business goes through it—and Black gets a piece of everything on account of his taxing authority. No, you’re confusing him with BlackWing, the head of the Black Dragon Society. Contrary to what a lot of people think, they’re not the same person. I’d be willing to bet most of the crime Kaelin Black gets accused of is just people griping about taxes and the fact that he’s filthy rich. But is that surprising with how long he’s been around? Or it could just be BlackWing and the assassin’s guild trying to hang their deeds on him to make him look bad. I mean, you can argue what Lord Black does is immoral, but it’s hard to be considered criminal when you make your own rules. Why break the law when you can just change or manipulate it?”
“Hmm, interesting point,” Kari said. She dismounted to lead the griffons into the stable plaza. “But BlackWing and Kaelin Black aren’t the same person? My Order has believed they’re the same man for, well, as long as he’s been in power.”
Eli met her stare evenly but shook his head. “A lot of people make that mistake,” he said. “More than likely, that’s what BlackWing wants, and something Kaelin Black has had to fight against for a very long time. Not surprised your Order treats them as the same person; that’s probably why Bosimar tried to keep us out of politics, especially in this county.”
“And how do you know all this?” Kari pressed.
“Well, it’d take a while to tell you everything, but the short bit of it is that Olgaryn—who was second-in-command among the brys and head of the Five Clans—allied with the Black Dragon Society from time to time to fight the Blood Order. BlackWing was so dangerous that—if you can believe this—even Seril didn’t like having him in the city,” Eli explained, and he chuckled at Kari’s reaction. “Yeah, there’s something about him that gave even the Devil Queen pause. If he was Kaelin Black, she would’ve exposed that and made a play to take over Barcon for her southern forces. Of course, that’s just speculation from someone who’s used his head as a shield for too many years.”