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‘I know that.’
‘Do you?’ Kipp pressed. ‘We’re worried —’
‘Don’t be.’
‘Oh, it’s that simple, is it?’ Cal’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Thea sighed. ‘Let’s talk about something else.’
‘Like?’
‘Like…’ She cleared her throat. ‘Have you ever heard of fallen Warswords?’
‘No…’ Cal said slowly. ‘No one in particular, in any case. I know it’s possible, though. The power can become too great for a warrior…’
‘So you don’t think someone like… someone like Vernich… could be one?’
Kipp’s nose wrinkled at the Bloodletter’s name. ‘You know I’d be the first person to think that after what he did.’
The image of Kipp’s face caving beneath the fists of the older Warsword swam in Thea’s vision. It was one of her worst memories of Thezmarr. Cal shuddered as well.
‘But I don’t think he’s anything more than a cruel bastard,’ Kipp finished. ‘Why do you ask?’
Thea tried to give a casual shrug. ‘I followed him and Seb the other night.’
‘And?’
‘And I heard them talking about the Daughter of Darkness from the prophecy… Saying she has risen. And that she’s after something. A weapon of sorts, it sounded like.’
Both Cal and Kipp were staring at her.
‘Vernich said he’s going to get it…’
Her friends exchanged sceptical looks. ‘You should ask Hawthorne about it,’ Cal suggested.
‘That’s like trying to get blood from a stone.’
Cal shrugged. ‘I don’t know about this thing with Vernich… But Hawthorne has done it before – hunted down a fallen Warsword, I mean. He would know the signs. There were stories going round a few years back.’
Of course Hawthorne knew about it. That didn’t help her one bit, though. She sighed. ‘Forget it. I don’t want to think about it anymore. I want to talk, to have fun.’
‘You missed us, huh?’ Kipp said with a wink.
‘I wouldn’t go that far.’
‘Horseshit. It pains you to be without us.’ He raised the jug in salute. ‘Well, never fear, wraith slayer, we’re here to stay.’
‘Speak for yourself,’ Cal sniffed. ‘I can think of better places to be than this damp shithole.’
‘There’s always a booth for us at the Laughing Fox!’
Cal threw his hands up. ‘Great, I’ll just forfeit my hard-won apprenticeship and pop over to Hailford, shall I?’
Thea felt the smile tugging at her mouth as she listened. However idiotic they were, her friends were good for her soul. They soothed the ache in her chest, a loneliness that had yawned wide open since Wren, since Hawthorne…
It must have shown on her face, because Kipp’s gaze slid to hers. ‘You know you can talk to us, right?’
‘I know.’
