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“Why?”
“New protocol I set in place.”
“When did you change protocols?”
“This morning.” Right after I awoke, I refused to add.
“Damnit, Cas.”
“You say that a lot, you know.”
An ominous mechanical whine drew our attention back to the aquatic phenomenon.
“What the hell is inside that thing?” Phalen voiced what we all were thinking.
Draven’s shoulders tensed. “Send extra guards to my mate.”
“I already tripled the amount in the event of an alarm.”
Draven eyed me. “Let me guess, a new protocol you just came up with this morning?”
I pressed my lips tight. He already knew the answer.
Phalen watched us closely. “Anyone want to tell me what’s going on with you two?”
“No,” we answered in unison.
Two whistles rang from up the shoreline, a common alert from our scouts. Phalen whistled back.
“Look alive, gents. Here it comes,” he whispered.
Chapter 6
Casimir
A turbulent mass of clouds and mist slid around the bend, racing like some self-contained freakish storm gliding atop the water. No one with half a brain would ever mistake this impenetrable-looking haze for naturally occurring fog.
“That smoke is moving faster than a freight train. Someone should have noticed it miles upriver,” I reproved, running through guesses of where the breakdown in communication had occurred. We had protocols in place for such things. Lots of them.
Draven nodded, his mouth set dourly. “Why did the alert take so long, Phalen?”
“Because that,” he answered, pointing sharply to the swirling anomaly, “didn’t exist miles upstream.”
I shook my head. “You’re saying it appeared out of nowhere?”
“No. Warm mornings after a cool night always produce some degree of mist. It coalesced into whatever that is, less than three minutes ago.”
“Did it now,” was Draven’s cool reply.
Phalen and I shared a look. Calm Draven was a scary Draven.
Hundreds of Shadows took up posts along the banks on either side and directly behind us. I could feel even more souls dotting the roof of Embour, which stood hundreds of yards behind us, beyond the trees. More Shadows would be hidden at their stations by now, fanning out in all directions.
The barometric pressure rose, popping my ears. The traveling plume swung wide across the river, closer to the opposite shore. Just as it would have passed beyond the length of the dock, it altered direction, swinging in a wide U-shape to circle back towards us.
Definitely not your average fog.
I lifted a fist and signaled for the security forces to maintain position. There was nothing to fight. At least, not yet. Worry tightened its hold, wondering what had become of the two Shadows Phalen sent inside the damned thing.
