“A black dragon?” Kari repeated with some surprise. “But you don’t really know anything about him other than his assumed name?”
“That is correct,” the earl returned. “He’s like a ghost, appearing and disappearing at will. He’ll be active for months but then disappear, sometimes for days, other times for a year or more. But the effects of his work tend to ripple through my city long after he fades back into the darkness, and every time he makes an appearance, his damnable Black Dragon Society becomes so much more of an issue. This habit of periods of activity followed by long absences is why I’ve come to suspect he may be a dragon; it would fit with what little I know about them. We’ve been trying to capture him for decades but have had no success whatsoever. I’ve long suspected that BlackWing may be only one guise, and that he assumes several different forms that make finding him nearly impossible.”
“And he’s been fighting against you for how long?” she pushed.
Black gave that some thought, and Kari’s gaze followed his when he spared the marshal a short glance. Marshal Saracht appeared to be in his forties at the most, though Kari suspected early to mid-thirties was more likely. She assumed it meant BlackWing had been around longer than the marshal had been alive.
As she awaited the earl’s response, Kari turned back to him and looked him over more closely. She noted that he was wearing a white tunic and black trousers similar to those in the painting she’d seen downstairs. She was sure he was far too canny to be seen wearing the same armor as whoever she’d met in DarkWind, if this were indeed some elaborate ploy, but he otherwise looked exactly like the man who’d asked her Order for help, right down to the baleful black eyes. While the earl thought it was a black dragon impersonating him, the level of perfection made Kari wonder if it was a doppelganger.
“I’d have to say close to sixty years now,” Black answered at last, but then he waved a finger in the air as if calculating. “Well, fifty-seven to be exact. Yes, I remember, it wasn’t long after the turn of the century. I was up in DarkWind meeting with Alexander Bosimar, who was the Duke of Brunswick at the time.”
The earl looked distant. “One night, while we were passing the time indulging in a game of chess and a fine aged bourbon, we were attacked by some underworld assassin, though it wasn’t a succubus like the one we’re dealing with now. We killed it—Alexander was a fine duelist, as is his son, and as was his grandson—and, since there were no subsequent attacks, we were satisfied that the matter was closed. But then I remember… on the return trip, I passed near Talon Rock, and this gnoll shaman came and told me that a shadow was closing in over me and my county. I ignored her as mad at the time.”
“A gnoll shaman? Near Talon Rock?” Eli repeated.
Black fixed Eli with his cold-eyed gaze, but despite his earlier attitude toward the half-corlyps, he nodded.
Eli turned to Kari and said, “Tor’s from Talon Rock… or he was, before he was orphaned and brought back to DarkWind by some soldiers.”
“You think maybe he’s related to this shaman?” she asked, and Eli shrugged, so Kari turned back to the earl. “And since then you’ve had BlackWing to deal with?”
Black nodded. “Since the day I got back from that trip.”
“But the Black Dragon Society’s been around since I was… alive the first time,” Kari countered. “And so have you.”
“Not like this,” Black explained with a dismissive wave. “The Black Dragon Society was originally just a thieves’ guild with delusions of grandeur. They were around long before I even assumed the title of Earl of Southwick County, and were a thorn in the side of my predecessor. They always acted like they were a secret society, but they were petty thieves and little more. They’ve always been a pain in my arse, but they were never a threat to my rule or the people of the city; as I said, they were pretty petty, even for a thieves’ guild.”
He sighed. “Once BlackWing assumed control, though, he turned them into an assassin’s guild and a major black market. They still operate the same criminal enterprises they did before, but under BlackWing, they began competing with the Blood Order of DarkWind and the Five Clans of Oge. And then, of course, they started trying to murder me.”
“Are you aware that my Order thinks you’re BlackWing, and that you’ve always been the head of the Black Dragon Society?” Kari asked.
The earl gave her a sour look but seemed to be putting effort into not lashing out at her again. “I am well aware of that, yes. That’s why I tend not to ask your Order for help or allow any more of Zalkar’s people into my city than absolutely necessary to help keep the peace. You have to remember something else, Lady Vanador: Your Order hasn’t always been kind to half-demons. Not so long ago, you used to hunt our kind along with full-blooded serilian demons. You should remember that from your… previous life.”
Kari conceded the point with a nod. She didn’t want to argue, especially since they were already far off-topic. “Well, all the same, I’m here to help you get rid of this assassin who’s now made two attempts on my life,” she said. “Since it seems I’ve already spoken with BlackWing, why don’t you tell me what you know so far? You’ve already said you know it’s a succubus; tell me what else you’ve figured out.”
Black deferred to the marshal, who began, “The killings started several weeks ago. At first it looked like random killings, but once we had a few of them, we started to notice the details that pointed to it being one assassin. What we couldn’t find, though, was any connection between the victims: They are of different races, genders, creeds, professions; it doesn’t fit what we would normally expect from a serial killer. So, trying to track down and capture this assassin has proven trickier than usual.”
“Things got even stranger after the first half-dozen murders, when we started to find puncture wounds on the necks of some of the victims,” Marshal Saracht continued. “Our immediate concern, of course, was that we might have a vampire in our midst, but that theory was quickly altered when some of the murders began taking place in daylight. While the vast majority of the murders have happened at night, the few that occurred during the day that also had bite marks pointed to this being a succubus, not a vampire.”
Kari was impressed that the marshal was familiar enough with vampires and succubi to make a distinction. “Well, she’s a half-succubus,” Kari corrected, which surprised the marshal and Black—and Kari found that somewhat comforting. “She’s also half-syrinthian, and she seems to be drawing life energy from as many people as she can. I don’t know exactly what she’s up to, other than the usual murder and mayhem, but she’s far more dangerous than any assassin you’ve probably ever dealt with before.”
“If BlackWing came looking for your help, then I’m inclined to agree,” the earl said, and Kari didn’t correct him by telling him they suspected it was a trap. The earl then turned toward Eli and asked, “So who is your companion?”
“This is Elias Sorivar. He used to work for my Order before the Apocalypse. Since he’s had a run-in with this succubus now and is familiar with hunting demons, I thought I’d bring him along. Is that going to be a problem?”