Caracara's Hunt

"So it is Claus," Arawn murmured, finding it just as hard to believe.

He was a little proud to have noticed him first, but if being truthful, it was pure coincidence. He was simply taking in the crowd when he noticed a… presence among the n.o.bles.

"Let"s go closer," Rain said and pulled him along toward the stand where the n.o.bles sat.

Arawn threw a last glance at the beautiful crimson bird on the stage, then focused on not getting separated from Rain. Once he gained his own life, he could watch such shows for as long as he wanted. There would be time for it later on.

It wasn"t easy moving against the crowd, but slowly, they got closer to their target. Claus sat on the stand without ever looking down. All his attention was on the stage and the performance there.

To Rain"s surprise, there were only two other mercenaries around. They were probably bodyguards, but their eyes were also on the show. Arawn and Rain stood nearby for good ten minutes, ready to duck to avoid attention, but no one even turned their way.

"They"re not wary at all…" Rain murmured, looking nonplussed.

"There might be hounds around," Arawn said in a soft voice.

If they were colluding with the mercenaries, they would most likely watch over them to make sure they weren"t betrayed. Based on Corwal, hounds seemed very hands on in their dealings. Whenever possible, they wanted to do everything by themselves.

Since Claus wasn"t moving, Rain brought them behind the n.o.ble"s stand, near where the carriages were waiting for their masters. Drivers sat on the benches or stood around in small groups, chatting and smoking. Most of them were complaining about not being able to witness the show despite being so close to it.

Arawn shared their feelings, but he had other problems as well. He knew they would have to tail Claus to his residence, but he didn"t know how to tail anyone. Would he give Rain and himself away by his incompetence?

When the show finished and Claus came out, it turned out that Arawn wasn"t given the chance. Rain didn"t trust his skills even more than he did.

"Go back to the inn and tell Val we found Claus. I"ll return in the evening once I know where he stays."

"Shouldn"t I come with you to help in case of an emergency?" Arawn asked. It was a fact that in a fight with superior numbers, he would be much more useful than her.

Rain gave him a look. "Without you, there won"t be an emergency."

That hurt a little, and Arawn grumbled under his breath. He wasn"t that bad, was he?

They separated then, with him making his way back to the inn. The unfamiliar streets confused him a few times and he got lost, but in a while, he managed to find the way back. When he was about to pa.s.s through an alley to get to the inn, a whisper reached him.

"Arawn, here!"

He looked around and, seeing n.o.body around, ducked into the alley. Betty stood near the entrance, and once his eyes acclimated to the dark, he saw Val standing deeper inside. There was a bruise on his face, and he was holding himself up against the wall with a pained expression.

"What happened?" Arawn asked in worry, running over to examine Val.

The man straightened right away. His lip was split, but he still had all his teeth, and the bruise around the lip wasn"t disfiguring. It looked like… somebody had simply punched him.

"We got into an argument," Val said, lightly touching his mouth and wincing. "We can"t stay here."

"Wait, where"s Rain?" Betty demanded, strolling toward them in large strides. "She"s not with you."

Arawn"s head snapped up and he nodded. "Oh, about that…" He quickly told them about who he met in the main square.

Both Betty and Val looked at him as if he was delusional. "You"re not expecting me to believe that, right?" Betty asked.

"But it"s the truth. Rain is following him right now. She said she"ll return once she finds his home."

"That helps us but…" Val looked around the alley with a frown. "Earlier, when we left, we were followed. We ambushed the man, knocking him out, but he had friends." He touched the bruise again as if unable to leave it alone, and winced again. "They"ll be back soon."

Arawn was about to ask how those people weren"t dead yet when two things rushed to his mind. First, Val and Betty weren"t Corwal, so killing wasn"t their preferred way of dealing with problems. Second, those people probably belonged to the king, or at least were on the side of the law. If they were found dead, h.e.l.l would break loose.

"I"ll stay to wait for Rain," Betty said. "You go find a place for us to spend the night safely."

Val nodded, and Arawn followed him out of the alley. Unlike with Rain, they no longer walked the main streets. Their path consisted of various alleys, most of which didn"t lead to dead ends. Some did, however, and they had to backtrack until they found another alley that didn"t.

As they walked, the streets got progressively worse. The once simple but well-built houses became dilapidated and crooked. Their earthen walls were crumbling, one small piece at a time.

Children, who ran around, were dirty and barely dressed. They approached Arawn with eager eyes and outstretched hands, but their parents swiftly pulled them back. One woman even fell on her knees and begged forgiveness from him when her child touched his pants.

Arawn tried to pull her up, but she didn"t listen, and Val dragged him away. They were supposed to not attract attention, so stopping for even a moment was a bad idea.

In a while, they found an old abandoned house, though calling it that was already giving it face. The thing was nothing more than three walls to defend them from the wind and half a roof to shield them from any rain in case it came back. The ground was overgrown with weeds, and it sprouted from everything, even the wall itself.

"Are we really staying here?" Arawn wondered.

"If you have a better suggestion, lead me there. Otherwise, shut up and help me place my blanket down."

Arawn diligently closed his mouth. Val didn"t know the city any better than him and was trying his best. It wasn"t great, but the Gutter hadn"t been an expensive villa either.

In the evening, they started a fire and sat around it to warm themselves. Arawn went to pick up the two women and found Rain without a scratch. She didn"t say anything at first, but her eyes were shining with predatory lights. "I know where they are," she said without any preamble when they reached Val.

"Your mercenaries or the girls?"

She grinned like a cat and dropped down next to the fire. "Both. I saw them myself."

"My sister?" Val demanded in a tight voice, his gaze growing feverish. "You saw my sister?"

Rain tilted her head a little, thinking. "I think so, but I can"t be sure. It might have been the princess too. When I was watching from the roof of a nearby building, I saw a girl walk by the window. I was too far away to make out her features, but it was certainly a young girl, and I saw Claus" mercenaries playing cards and dice outside.

"We need to go there!" Val tried to stand up, but in a moment of excitement, he forgot his new reality and tried to rely on both his arms. Imbalanced, he dropped right down, looking a little silly.

The excitement faded from his face, replaced by an empty stare at where his arm had once been. His lips formed into a straight line, denying the way out for any words he might have spoken.

Arawn glanced at Rain, and she looked at him as well. They could read the guilt and the awkwardness in the other"s eyes. There was nothing they could say to make the situation better, but not saying anything was also saying something.

"We need a plan first," Betty said, breaking the silence. "Since we"re unwanted presences here, we need to be swift and decisive. Our best chance is to sweep in before they expect us, s.n.a.t.c.h the girls, and escape."

"Sounds easy, but what then?" Rain said, looking at the flames before them. "It"s the princess we"re talking about, and I think we should face the fact that the whole ploy might have been cooked under the king"s nose. Can we be sure he"s not aware of it?"

"Maybe, but it could also be that the hounds are hiding the girl in the capital for a reason. It"s always easiest to keep things hidden in plain view," Val said. His voice was perfectly calm.

Rain frowned. "Doubt that. With Claus flaunting his presence this much? It could be that the king came up with this plan himself, but... I don"t think even he would be cruel enough to lock up his own child."

Arawn knew nothing about politics, so he had planned to stay out of the conversation, but Rain"s last statement reminded him of something. Unlike them, he actually knew the king. They weren"t best buddies, but he had an idea of what the man could and could not do.

"He"d do it," Arawn said in a low voice. "He"s done it before."

"What?" All three people turned to him, and Betty poked him on the side. "Are you some lost royal heir? A b.a.s.t.a.r.d son of the king? I was always wondering why you"re so important to everyone."

Arawn pushed her hand away with a glare her way. "I"m not, but when I was in the castle, for a time, I saw the prince locked up in the western wing. He wasn"t allowed to leave it and no one was allowed to enter, besides a few servants that brought food for him. For years, he was abandoned and left to his own devices."

"That"s… How could anyone be that cruel? Wasn"t he the prince"s father?"

"He was, but he didn"t like him. I was young myself back then and don"t know the details, just that I had a spiritual friend. The prince had more s.p.a.ce to run about than I, but he was just as caged, unable to leave.

"So he could certainly lock up the princess, if that served his purpose."

"That means we"ve got a problem." Rain picked up a table leg from the firewood they had collected and poked the fire. "We can"t just save the girl and bring her to the castle asking for a reward."

They were silent for a moment, thinking. When the fire caught onto Rain"s table leg, Val spoke up. "Why bother with any elaborate plan? Just bring her openly through the streets, shouting about how you saved her from some evil kidnappers. If you make the saving public and don"t accuse the king of anything, he won"t have a reason to kill you on the spot."

"And when we"re out of the public eye?" Rain asked with a scowl.

"Run, as fast as you can. Don"t wait for any reward and just run to Mairya where he won"t reach you."

Rain didn"t bother to hide her contempt for his suggestion this time and rolled her eyes. "And you think a king whose plan was foiled by me won"t come seeking revenge? I"d be lucky to have an intact corpse after he"s done with me and my people."

They argued for another hour, not settling on any solution. Val was bursting with ideas, but none of them were good. In reality, he didn"t care one bit what happened to Rain and her mercenaries as long as he got his sister back. All his ideas were just to quicken the process of them going to rescue the girls.

In the end, Rain couldn"t take him anymore. She jumped to her feet and dragged Betty up as well. Together, they went into the night, disappearing in one of the many alleys surrounding them.

"Do you think they"ll return?" Val asked after they could no longer be seen.

"It"s gonna be your fault if they don"t," Arawn said while preparing his blanket for sleep.

Val cast a glance into the dark street, then put out the fire and went to rest. His plan for the rescue was really simple: He was going to take his own advice and grab his sister before riding off as fast as his horse could manage. Arawn even had a feeling the whole Katalan family may relocate to a more remote area in Mairya in the near future, like on the opposite border from Ayersbert.

It sounded like a really smart choice too. "Maybe I should ask him if I can come along as well?"

Once he saw the princess, there would be nothing holding him in Ayersbert. He would like to meet the prince as well, but it wasn"t a necessity, and he hadn"t heard anything of the prince since he had left the Gutter. It was like Ayersbert didn"t even have one. There was never a mention of anyone besides the king and the princess.

Silvester was nice, but it wasn"t a necessity to train under him either. Now that he thought about it, it was even preferable not to. The man was Corwal"s friend, after all. If Arawn went to stay with him, there was a good chance he would run into Corwal, and he wasn"t yet ready for that reunion.

"Maybe in ten years. Any earlier and it might not end well."