Sherman guarded the road leading to the east, toward Dominick’s house, as Kari wanted a paladin in that direction should trouble arise at the wizard’s home. By the same token, Piotyr guarded the southeast road, in case any trouble at Dominick’s home turned out to be the shadow demon. Sharyn watched the road toward the southwest, which led toward Black’s tower, using her skill set as a hunter and tracker to keep herself hidden from sight, in case Turillia came on foot. And finally, Deirdre guarded the road westward, toward the stable square.
As Kari had hoped, the marshal confirmed Lord Black had left his tower not long after Kari’s visit, and had refused the company of his guards. Kari was confident the message had been given to Turillia; it remained to be seen if the succubus sensed the trap, or walked right into it. Kari had given no indication to Lord Black that her friends would be guarding the roads leading away from the city hall, so unless Turillia came from an unexpected direction, she’d have no idea how many allies Kari had close by.
With her heavy cloak drawn around her, Kari sat down on a bench on the store’s front porch, hoping to blend into the shadows of night. She wasn’t sure how sharp the eyes of a half-syrinthian, half-succubus would be, but simply being out of sight and steeped in shadow was Kari’s best option that allowed her to maintain a good view of the city hall.
Water dripped from Kari’s snout, but she hardly even noticed its cold sting, or the minor itch that accompanied the water’s tickling path. The rain blew sideways now and then, chilling her face, which was about all that stood out from the cloak. She glanced up into the dark skies that continued to throw down the uncomfortable drops, and she couldn’t help but grimace. It would be dangerous for Markus to fly under these conditions, let alone land his majestic griffon on the angled roof of a building. While Markus wasn’t the key to Kari’s coming confrontation with Turillia, he would be instrumental in blocking off an escape route. If he couldn’t land on the city hall’s roof, then Kari might be alone against both Turillia and Emma, or Turillia might be able to escape through the bell tower.
Kari glanced to her right as a patrol came through the area. The two human watchmen didn’t even regard her sitting in the shadows of the porch. Their voices were muffled and they spoke in quiet tones; they obviously weren’t happy out in the cold rain. They had their cloaks drawn around them with the cowls up, so only the badges of their office and the Earl’s insignia on the cloaks marked them as guards. Within less than two minutes, they had taken stock of the square that fronted the old city hall, and then continued on their way.
Should be about twenty minutes before I see another patrol, she mused.
A covered wagon drawn by a single horse passed in the opposite direction. What would bring travelers out in this weather? Horses and carriages were rare on the streets of Barcon; most traders got their deliveries early in the morning so the streets were clear for foot traffic the rest of the day. The wagon had a single, cloaked driver, and Kari couldn’t make out any passengers or cargo in the back as it rolled past her. A flash of lightning further illuminated the wagon, but Kari still couldn’t see any detail in the covered portion.
At last the wagon rolled out of the square, and Kari turned back to the city hall. The sound of the horse’s steps and the wet mud splitting beneath the wheels faded into the distance. Something caught her eye when the lightning flashed again, and Kari heard the sound of a shutter closing even over the trailing peal of thunder. She rose and walked to the edge of the porch, amazed at how acute her night vision had become. Her ability to see in the dark as a rir was powerful, but when she looked out over the square, she began to see things as if there was a persistent flash of lightning.
She assumed it was Garra Ktarra’s blessing, and she noticed a strange set of footprints in the mud. The strangest part was that they started in the middle of the road. Kari realized whoever left them had jumped from the covered wagon. Her eyes followed the trail toward the old city hall, and at the end, Kari saw one of the boards nailed over the windows had been pried loose.
Kari drew her swords and dashed across the street in the pouring rain. Her heavy cloak had blocked the glow of Zalkar’s symbol. It was open now, and the light blue glow of her lord’s symbol illuminated her steps as she approached the breached window. Kari was nervous about entering through it; the succubus could be waiting just inside to strike. She pulled the wooden cover away from the window with a scimitar, and glanced inside as much as possible without presenting an easy target.
The interior was dimly lit by a reflection of some upstairs illumination. With the steady beat of the rain dulling her hearing and sense of smell, Kari wasn’t sure if Turillia was just inside waiting for her. She reached down into her heart, then, using the projection of Zalkar’s grace to see if the succubus was near. She detected nothing, so she pulled the board further away and scrambled inside. Fortunately, no one struck at her, and her projected aura detected nothing.
The old city hall was long abandoned. Kari entered into an open assembly room. While most of it was shrouded with cobwebs and old, ruined furniture, someone had been using the hearth for cooking. A cast-iron tea kettle hung inside the fireplace, and there was what looked to be an icebox a short distance from it. Kari wasn’t sure where Emma was getting her supply of food, but any doubts that Emma was living in the old city hall were dispelled. The portion of the assembly room that Emma had been using was clean and well-maintained, though that hardly struck Kari as odd. The demonhunter got the impression that as a manipulator, everything the mallasti girl did was carefully ordered.
What did strike Kari as odd was that the only muddy footprints inside were her own. Someone had entered the building after leaving a set of tracks in the mud outside; how had they left no footprints? She whipped her gaze to the ceiling, but the succubus wasn’t suspended from there waiting to strike. And again, her aura and the Blood Oath would’ve detected her.
Kari took in her surroundings. The building was warm, but it was uniform and clearly not from the hearth. Its fire was dead and had been for some time, no embers or traces of warmth within. The light from upstairs was stronger here. When Kari glanced up the staircase, the light’s tone and lack of movement suggested it was magical. There were no voices; perhaps Emma had fled the building when Turillia approached? It seemed unlikely that one or the other was already dead. It hadn’t taken Kari long to get into the building.
She concentrated on the aura she was projecting, but still couldn’t sense either demon. Memories of her days thieving on the streets of Solaris came to mind, and Kari went up on her toes and began stalking toward the staircase. She pulled her cloak closed to cover up the glowing symbol of Zalkar; Turillia had to be on the stairs or the second floor, so Kari wanted whatever element of surprise she could get. Still there were no voices, no sounds of movement. It was possible Emma had already fled and Turillia had given chase, but if so, that didn’t explain where Turillia’s muddy footprints were.
Kari crept up the stairs, keeping to the sides of the steps to avoid putting her full weight in the center, where they would creak. The sounds of her passage were minimal, and without the telltale glow of Zalkar’s symbol, she figured she could get to the top of the steps without giving herself away. The glow from upstairs became more intense as she neared the top. Kari barely flinched when the thunder boomed outside, rattling the walls of the old building. Carefully she crept up step by step. The stairs were built so she could perch one or two below the top and look into the second floor, hopefully without being seen.