AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was time to intervene and give Cohen more rope and see if he’d hang himself.
“Of course, Mr President,” said Walker smoothly.
Cohen's expression darkened with suspicion as he glanced at Walker, but before he could respond, Silver interjected. "Of course, Mr. President. Walker will conduct his investigation with the utmost professionalism and integrity. You can trust that he will deliver accurate and unbiased results."
Cohen rose, brushing the sleeve of his expensive maroon jacket. “See that you do.”
Walker raised a brow at Silver. “That was interesting.”
“Yes. It looks like Greene might be a flashpoint. You know what to do. Keep an eye on Alys for me, Walker. She’s going to be there on an unrelated mission.”
ChapterFour
ALYS
Why couldn’t the mission be in an area controlled by the weather witches? Capitol was always warm and sunny during the day. This place was crusted with early spring frost and slapped at me with its cold winds as they rolled off of the lake.
The remnants of stone buildings were surrounded by woods. The circle, close to the lake, revealed a stone tower, perhaps thirty feet tall. Gravity vehicles parked nearby showed it to be inhabited, either by Northern Guard or by mercenaries contracted by the Guild.
This was one of the cities destroyed by a mage-Ridden, a person possessed by a Ridden. Using the powers of the spirit that had possessed him, the mage had gathered all the water from a lake and dropped it on a town, killing and destroying almost everything in the area. Because it was so difficult to separate the human from the magical creature, he died after using the spell. Which was unfortunate, but just the way it worked when a person became possessed.
Smashed flat, it wasn’t rebuilt even when the Guild reclaimed it a few decades later.
Durgion would be south, following the lakeshore. My eyes swept over the gray-green water as a long, low ripple cut across the waves. I shuddered. The worst of the mutated fish lurked in the deeper areas, and while following the lake edge was efficient, my nerves wouldn’t handle it.
The most remote areas were usually connected to a road that led to the city that ruled over their area. It was set up this way to make it easier for the population to pay their taxes. The lake’s presence to the north meant the road lay somewhere south, which was my current destination.
Icy leaves and undergrowth cracked under my boots as I picked my way through the forest, away from the lake and the tower, seeking a safer route. A sodden bog of a road split the trees, perhaps half a mile away. Frozen ruts scarred black mud, likely made by the wheels from farmers’ wagons. Brush snagged at my pants as I made my way to the edge of the road. It hadn’t been kept clear; regulations stipulated that passages like this needed to be cleared five or ten feet out from the road so carters and farmers could see what was going to kill them.
Or maybe so they could defend themselves, though the success rate was low. I’d guarded others on a similar road, near Uston, as they carried their tithes for delivery. Since the Southern Guard was busy in the Gulf with a catfish infestation, I’d escorted produce and animals and their associated people. The work delivered an odd kind of satisfaction, since the people were grateful when I killed the Ridden stalking them.
Back at home with my clan, before I became enslaved by the Guild, killing Ridden was simply expected of me. Kalderon shared a river border with lands controlled by the Ridden, humans possessed and warped by an unbodied race. Whatever other differences they had, the mouths full of sharks’ teeth and hands with bony claws made their status plain. Strong, fast, relentless—and they hunted in packs. I’d been one of those who had killed Ridden and managed to make it across the border.
I kill; I’m very good at it. None of the Stormdust clans believe in letting a tool grow dull, so I was given pretty much free rein to kill whatever I wanted. Whatever was threatening my people.
I wondered who handled my obligations now. Running from my clan lands that night so long ago was an impulse, as was killing the cut-rate mercenaries who’d been hired for border patrol in the Guild. Their crimes were ignored, since they were on the government payroll. After seeing their handiwork, vigilantism was called for. Escaping the people sent to bring me to ‘justice’ had just been fun.
Until Silver caught me.
The Judges hung me on the Tree. They got the truth out of me about what I’d done and found out I was pregnant at the same time. While execution was the standard penalty for vigilante killings, they’d put their heads together based on the circumstances. Lifelong indenturement for me was their brilliant solution.
If not for my son, I might have wished for death instead.
Stomping through leafless undergrowth, I made good time heading south. The movement kept me warm, while rain and ice slicked off my treated leathers. This slice of the world was all forest. The shaggy bark of the trees said Beech to me, though I had no idea what the other leafless trees were. And I wasn’t really sure I cared right now, given the chill and the danger around me. Icy trees would be prettier seen through a window, not out among them.
The sun was sinking lower when an unexpected and frantic terror hit me. Not my own; my fickle ability to sense emotions at a distance blasted me with several sources of fear. Some of the people’s fear was shaded with anger and protectiveness though, which led me to believe that a life or death fight was nearby, off the road. But mixed in with that anger and protectiveness was a kind of fear that struck me to my core.
I bolted in that direction; innocence has a texture, and at least one source was a child. And maybe I’d been accused of being a little too cold once or twice in the past, but I had a soft spot for children. Whatever trouble had found these people, I was going to help.
My breath steamed as I ran, and I ignored the fact that my fast pace left me sliding on occasional patches of ice. Undergrowth cut both sides of my face as it struck me, but I ignored the slight sting, and then I hit the cleared area around a farmstead.
I instantly spotted two groups. To one side of me, three Ridden gnawed on a still struggling and screaming man on the ground. He had a gun in one of his hands, but couldn’t seem to pull it into an angle to hit any of them. Once, he managed a shot. Only the bullet went off uselessly into the air, not even distracting the Ridden for a moment. Their clawed hands and shark-like teeth tore into his flesh.
But luckily for him, he seemed to have enough strength left to fight back. But not far from that group, another Ridden stalked a woman who was defending two children. The defender held a pitchfork, fending the Ridden off with awkward jabs. Unfortunately, I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep the creature off for long.
Shit.
Helping the man was more likely to get me shot, or injured, so I focused my attention on the other people. Luckily for me, the stalking Ridden was slight in build, no more than five feet tall. Basically, my size, which made thingsa littlebit simpler.
