Page 26 of A Fable of Riddles and Redemption

But at least he knew where to find her: either in her vine-covered shed in the woods, or at the pottery shop. As far as he knew, Caliban did not know where she worked or where she lived—or even her name.

And Herrick hoped to keep it that way.

The fact that Caliban had watched her twice and asked about her once was more than enough to spur his protective instincts into gear.

But it would not do to follow her now and inadvertently lead Caliban directly to her. Besides, he had a patrol to attend to, so even if he wanted to—and he refused to admit to himself how much he did—he could not check up on her just yet.

If only he could cast out the human vermin as easily as the man he wished to evict had cast out the red pandas.

Herrick knew the thought was unfair and unkind, but he cared more about protecting Zorina than embracing those attributes just now, despite how infuriating she often was.

Caliban seemed to watch him with as much distrust as he felt toward the masked mage. Forcing a nonchalance he did not feel onto his face, Herrick turned and headed toward his current assignment, which thankfully was on the opposite end of Adael from the pottery shop where Zorina worked. The farther he could keep the piper from her, the better.

His patrol on the southern side of the city kept him occupied, but only just. Questions about Caliban and his obvious interest in Zorina swirled through his mind, and none of them had satisfactory answers. Mostly, they were the same questions repeating over and over again.

It was aggravating. Why was he thinking about her so much?

As Herrick monitored the city streets, a commotion from a nearby tavern caught his attention.

A blonde woman yelled obscenities at a man he could not yet see, but her disgust with him was evident as her loud voice burst through the open window. “I will not spend the evening with you, you despicable child! Do you not know who I am? I am the great singer, Carlotta Piangi!”

Herrick frowned at her words. He rather thought she sounded more like a toad than a diva.

Worse, however, was the familiar voice that replied: Jupp.

“Oh, don’t be like that, sweetheart! I’m the catch of the city guard! Any one of my colleagues can attest to it.”

Herrick rolled his eyes at the ridiculous claim, then entered the tavern to deescalate the situation. “He’s not,” he said gruffly as he approached. “Jupp, leave the lady alone.”

Jupp scowled at him. “Oh, come off it, Herrick. I don’t mean any harm. We were just flirting!”

“Ha!” Carlotta spat, turning her attention toward Herrick for the first time. Her blue eyes widened as she assessed him. “This man could be the catch of the city guard, though—not this ridiculous boy.” She shot Jupp an angry glare, then peered at Herrick again. “Him, I would spend an evening flirting with.” Her eyes darted back to Jupp. “You, I would ask to shine my boots.”

Herrick stood still with a stoic expression, not giving her any sort of indication that he would welcome such an atrocity. When he did not respond the way she clearly hoped he would, she huffed and marched out the door, muttering all sorts of unflattering complaints under her breath about how no one appreciated her vast talent.

Once she was gone, Jupp glowered at Herrick. “I nearly had her! Then you had to come and ruin my conquest.”

Herrick shot him a flat look. “Really? That’s not what I saw.”

The other patrons of the tavern laughed at that, making Jupp flush in embarrassment.

“He can’t help being more appealing than you, boy!” one of the patrons heckled.

“Ye’ll have yer chance with women when ye grow up a bit,” another exclaimed.

Jupp was not amused by this and quickly made his own escape.

With a shrug, Herrick also left the tavern, returning to his patrol once more.

Chapter nine

A Mystery

Herrick

When his shift ended at last, Herrick found himself at the pottery shop rather than at the barracks. How his feet had brought him there without his permission was a mystery.

But since he was already here…