Smoke choked me immediately so I went to mist, gathered all our belongings quickly and then stayed mist as long as I could to account for the proper passage of time. Rematerializing, then, I began throwing things onto the ground below the window. We'd been on the second floor at the General's insistence—the better rooms were there.
Warn and Solis were beneath the window quickly, gathering our things and taking them out of harm's way. I was coughing hard when I got the last of it out, while soot and sparks flew around me. The smoke was too thick, almost, to see through and I had to climb over the windowsill, leaping for the tree limb I'd jumped from to begin with. My arms barely caught hold of it while I coughed and gagged. I dangled there, still coughing my lungs out and hanging on in desperation. The smoke had nearly gotten me and it took a while for me to stop coughing long enough to realize that Solis was shouting for me to drop down—the entire building was burning and the tree had caught as well. I let go of the limb and Solis and Warn caught me.
Our night was spent in the stable where we gratefully cleaned ourselves up in buckets of water after the fire was doused. The inn was a complete loss, however. The fire was extinguished merely to keep other buildings nearby from suffering the same fate.
Horse blankets laid on hay served as beds for us and we all slept. I was almost too tired to put up a shield around the stable, but I made sure it was done before I dropped off in complete exhaustion.
"Liss, wake up, girl," Solis tugged on my elbow. I'd been dreaming that I was in bed at home, my head on Roff's shoulder. Light filtering through the stable window was blindingly bright as I blinked my eyes open.
"I'm awake," I muttered, sitting up on my horse blanket and rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands. Dust motes and tiny bits of hay were suspended in the early morning light inside the stable. I smelled all of it, along with the remnants of a smoky haze left over from the burning of the inn.
"The General wants to see the bodies of the innkeeper and his family before they're buried," Solis said. I stopped rubbing my eyes and looked up at him.
"I want to see them, too." I stood quickly and went to find my boots. I'd slept in my clothes, so I pulled my boots on as fast as I could and clattered down the ladder right behind Solis. The General and Warn were waiting below for us, and we headed toward the healer's house quickly.
The bodies were in a shed behind the healer's home—all three victims were lined up on rough, makeshift tables inside it. They were all burned, but less so than the ones who'd murdered them hoped.
All three throats had been cut and they'd likely been dead already, bleeding out while the fire was set. The General saw the knife wounds right away and growled. Solis sighed. The fire had destroyed any scent of the attackers—none of it remained with the bodies, but I figured I had a good guess as to who'd done this. The same ones who'd beaten two others who lay in comas yards away inside the healer's home.
When we went looking for other lodging after examining the bodies, we learned that the HC's messengers had arrived. They hadn't spoken to anyone upon arrival and were now closeted inside the HC's rooms at the other inn. Would we find out what their messages contained? My money was on the negative.
* * *
"This one tried to kill himself after he was caught." Lisster had the man by the collar, shoving him into a chair beside Lissa's desk inside her study. Aryn sat behind the Queen's desk, his fingertips pressed together while he examined the intruder. He was young, like all the others, and Lisster and Rush had captured him as he scaled the wall to get away from Lissia.
"How?" Aryn wasn't looking at Lisster—he was still examining the young male, who swallowed uncomfortably.
"Poison—Lindis seeds."
"I see. Did the ones who hired you supply these?" Aryn's voice held strong compulsion. Grant sat nearby, recording notes on his handheld computer.
"Yes," the young man bobbed his head.
"Who hired you?"
"Said his name was Ibbett. Offered me a lot of money if I could get maps for him. Maps of this place plus some of the other cities."
"Did he say what the maps were for?"
"Said he wanted to sell them."
"Where did you meet Ibbett?"
"Hraede."
"I have a suggestion," Tony folded in with Gavin. Kiarra had given them the ability when they agreed to be alternate Spawn Hunters. They'd already gone to help with two batches of Ra'Ak spawn during Lissa's absence.
"What is the suggestion?" Aurelius and Garde walked through the door—they'd come quickly when Lisster called for them.
"Let's place compulsion on our boyo, here, and follow him back to Hraede." Tony grinned. He'd only gotten better over the years at espionage.
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Lisster shrugged and grinned.
"How quickly can we get counterfeit maps drawn up?" Gavin asked.
"Not long at all," Lisster said. "Lynx, one of Conner's mates, was an artist before he became Saa Thalarr. He still paints and draws. I'll ask him." Lynx showed up moments later and was given information on the maps required. "Let's see your drawing skills, young man," he laid an artist's tablet and pencils in front of the spy. The young man, shivering and blinking in astonishment at all the people who were simply appearing inside the room from thin air, lifted a pencil and began to draw.
* * *
"We're moving out tomorrow morning?" I asked, unsure whether I understood this turn of events. The HC held the ceremony with his seven bodyguards the night before—they'd bought four bottles of the best wine to be had in Windle for it. We hadn't been invited.
"We're moving out tomorrow morning," Solis confirmed. "Everything needs to be packed up; we'll leave here before dawn just to make sure the army is ready to head out at the right time."
"All right," I sighed and turned back to my tea. We'd rented a house—the widow who lived there had gone to visit her sister for two days while we needed a place in town.
* * *
Morning arrived, mist-covered and muffled as I stuffed the last of my belongings into my duffle and slung it over a shoulder. I hadn't missed riding, either, although Brownie was happy to get out of the stable. The General rode before me, with Solis beside him and Warn next to me. It didn't take long to get to camp, where everything had been taken down, loaded up and made ready to go.
Red Hand was mounting up already when we arrived; the HC and his henchguards had gotten there shortly before we did. The two injured men had been left behind in Windle and honestly, the physician didn't expect them to live much longer. I blew out a sigh at the thought.