Chapter 20

20

You want to wear that uniform, you put the good of the kingdom ahead of your personal desires.

~ Ranger Captain Targon

Kaylina didn't try to scream or bite the hand across her mouth, and it soon loosened. Even in the dark, she recognized the hard body behind her, the way the muscled arms gripped her, and the aura of her captor.

"You're not a Virt," Vlerion whispered in her ear as he lowered his hand.

"Nope," she whispered back. "I'm still an independent."

"With a leaning toward helping rangers, I hope."

"Helping one ranger whom I happen to like. I'm less enamored with the others."

"Even Doc Penderbrock? He's healed you and your brother. I thought you might be favorably inclined toward him." Vlerion took her hand and guided her to the back half of the root cellar.

"He's the one ranger I like."

Vlerion snorted softly as he un-shuttered a lantern, letting its yellow flame appear, the soft light warming his face from below. He glanced toward the pantry trapdoor as a footfall thudded on it and released Kaylina to grip the hilt of the sword belted at his waist.

"I don't know if I got the door fully shut," Kaylina admitted.

"We'll find out."

More boots thudded across the flagstone as the Virts searched the pantry and the rest of the kitchen. At least some of their people were aware that Stillguard Castle had an access point to the catacombs, but maybe Mitzy's bunch didn't know where.

"Did you hear their conversation?" Kaylina whispered.

"No. I was coming to see if you, with half the city looking for you, were unwisely visiting the castle everyone knows you leased."

"I haven't been unwisely visiting anything," she said, even if that was a lie.

"Are you certain? You've an atypical aroma about you."

Maybe that was the polite way an aristocrat told a person they stank.

"Targon's secret way out of ranger headquarters involved a trek through the sewers."

"It's hard to keep your route a secret for long when such a stench is wafting from you."

"No wonder you didn't greet me with a kiss." Kaylina was surprised he'd grabbed her at all. Maybe her anrokk blood really did magically compel him to be close to her. "I spotted Virts wandering around in my castle and was compelled by each and every god to sneak in and eavesdrop on them. I thought they might say something important."

"How did you know they were inside if you weren't here, unwisely visiting?"

"I happened to be walking past the castle on my way to see the poisoner my brother hopes will link Jana Bloomlong to the tainted mead. Really, Vlerion. I can't believe you suspect me of foolishness."

"Uh-huh. If you mean that paint maker, he lives two miles away. I also looked him up."

"We were taking the scenic route to avoid guards."

"There are castle and kingdom guards watching this place, and I think the boy across the river may be one of the spymaster's kids."

Kaylina hadn't spotted the second guard or anyone across the river, but she refused to admit she'd been foolish. Not when she'd learned information from eavesdropping.

"That's why I came through the catacombs," Vlerion added. "That and the fact that Targon ordered a number of us to search them. He thinks the preserve might not be the only place the Kar'ruk have infiltrated. I came here first." He pointed toward the ceiling—the castle above. "I had a hunch the purple glow would draw you."

"The possibility that I can lift the castle's curse—and get clues about how to lift your curse—is what drew me. Not some glowing plant."

"I appreciate you wanting to do that." Vlerion shifted the lantern to his sword hand so he could wrap an arm around her shoulders. "But your mission is to clear your name."

"So my brother keeps telling me." Kaylina hoped Frayvar was staying out of sight up there. She hadn't realized there were that many people watching the castle. "But, Vlerion..." She gripped his forearm, the muscles tense under his sleeve—he still had an eye toward the trapdoor, as if he expected an army to storm down at any second. "The Virts know about you. About the beast."

"After the incident in the castle dungeon, I'm not surprised."

"They're calling it a massacre."

He winced. "Perhaps not inaccurate."

"You saved the king and the queen." Kaylina hoped he forgave himself for the killing. Those people had been intruders, though she knew it wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't been. The beast would have killed them regardless. But that wasn't his fault, and she hoped he wouldn't come to believe it was her fault. But if she hadn't been in danger, would he have turned into the beast? Likely not.

"This time." Vlerion touched her hand on his arm and nodded to her. "And with your help."

"Yes, my tide-turning sling."

"Your sling was useful."

"Thank you. Let me tell you the rest." Kaylina glanced toward the root-cellar ladder, but no more footsteps came from the flagstones in the pantry, and silence wrapped around them. Hoping that meant the Virts had left the castle, she summed up what she'd learned from eavesdropping, including that the rangers had a spy or spies within their organization. She finished with, "We have to clear your name even more than mine. There's a lot more at stake if your secret comes out, right? You've said as much. And the Virts believe the rangers have been protecting you. It could start a war." She flexed her hand in the air, acknowledging there was already a war, even if nothing had officially been declared. But this could escalate matters.

"It touches me that you've come to care, but it's not possible to clear my name. The beast… is guilty of some of the crimes of which it—" Vlerion touched his chest, not distancing himself fully from that part of him, "—has been accused."

"But not the dead Virts that have been found these last few nights, right? The ones mauled by claws and left in the street by the canals."

"No."

"Oh, and there was a ranger. Just tonight. Did you know?" Kaylina wondered if he'd been back to his headquarters or if Targon had ordered him earlier to search the catacombs after finishing in the preserve. He might have recently returned to the city and come to check on her first.

Vlerion's eyes widened. "No. Who? Where?"

Kaylina didn't know the man's name but described him and the male taybarri that had been with Levitke.

"Cursed craters." Vlerion bent forward and gripped his knee, barely noticing when the lantern clinked on the ground. "That sounds like Ravcliff. He is— was a good man. He didn't deserve that." He shook his head slowly. "I was talking to him not two hours ago."

Kaylina rested her hand on his back. "I'm sorry." After a pause to let him process his grief, as much as one could in a short time, she added, "This is another reason to clear your name, though, right? We don't want any of the rangers to read that newspaper and start to believe…" She spread her hand. He'd told her that only Targon and a couple of the rangers knew his secret. To the rest, it would be shocking news. They might turn their backs on him. That might sting him nearly as much as the death of a comrade.

"As I said, my name can't be cleared. Not when I have killed."

"If not clear your name, then we can find out who's behind the murders. It's someone—or something—with claws a lot like the beast's. I saw the body, the marks." Kaylina curled her fingers and slashed them in the air in front of her neck.

"Yes, I've seen the dead as well."

"We need to keep the guy who saw you change—Hokkens, is his name—from telling more people about it. Definitely from printing it in that paper." Kaylina didn't know how to accomplish that. Find the Virt and bribe him? The way Targon was trying to bribe her? The Virt probably didn't need help opening a meadery…

"Rebel or not, I can't hunt him down and kill him to keep him silent," Vlerion said.

Kaylina was glad he didn't consider that an option even if it would have made the task easier. The Virts were humans—and kingdom subjects.

"No, I wasn't going to suggest that, but he was part of the assassination attempt." Kaylina waved her hand. "Can't you arrest him? And put him in a cell far removed from other people? And then lose the key?"

"I suppose if we can find him, arrest is a possibility, but if he's already told the other Virts…"

"He might be the only witness. And the others are skeptical. If you can silence him and make that newspaper disappear, then your secret won't come out."

Too bad Kaylina didn't know how to find Hokkens or the press. She regretted not bringing her brother into the castle with her. She might be a natural schemer, but he was smart, organized, and liked to do research like this.

"Thank you for wanting to help," Vlerion said quietly and pulled her into a hug, his arms shifting from her shoulders to her waist. He patted her gently, making her again long to solve his problems for him, to change the world—or at least his life—so he could find peace.

"You're welcome."

"I still want you to focus on clearing your own name."

"I'm not un focused on it." Except that was exactly what she was, as her brother would be quick to point out.

Vlerion leaned back to give her a frank look, but his hands lingered on her waist, so he couldn't have been too perturbed. "Once you're safe, you can help me all you wish. I'll keep an eye out and try to help you as well. As soon as the rangers deal with the Kar'ruk problem."

"And you stop the Virts from blathering about you."

He managed a smile, but it was far from a firm nod of agreement. "After checking the catacombs, I'll talk to Targon and see if he's made progress on finding the press. I also want to see what the rangers learned by questioning the Kar'ruk. As much as I would prefer my secret remain buried, the safety of the kingdom is my priority."

"And yet, you came here to fondle my waist first."

"I couldn't resist. I feared you would be here, drawn by the mystery of the plant and the curse. I came to warn you of the spies keeping an eye on the castle—and to chastise you for not prioritizing yourself." His rueful expression suggested he knew he was being hypocritical; he wasn't prioritizing himself either.

"To chastise me while waist fondling?"

"It's a more appealing way to do it than with whips and harsh words."

"I don't disagree."

A clank sounded, not from the direction of the root cellar or the castle above but from the tunnel that led into the catacombs.

Vlerion released Kaylina and drew his sword.

"Stay here." He left her the lantern and advanced into the darkness.

"You might need help." Kaylina bristled at the order, especially since she had her sling and could assist him, if only in a small way. She refrained from adding something tart, reminding herself that she would need to obey superior officers if she became a ranger, even a part-time ranger.

When Vlerion gave her a long look over his shoulder, she realized he'd given the order more because he didn't want her to be in danger—something that would rouse strong emotions in him—than because he thought she couldn't help.

She nodded back and stayed where she was, but she did set down the lantern and step away from it so she wouldn't be an easy target if someone made it past him. She also drew her sling.

Vlerion padded into the chamber that held a hidden cubby that had been used by the Virts to stash weapons. The darkness swallowed him, so she didn't know if he continued deeper into the catacombs or stepped to the side to wait for someone's approach.

Less than a minute after she lost sight of him, the sounds of a scuffle floated back to her. It was close—in that chamber.

A roar echoed from the stone walls. A Kar'ruk roar.

Kaylina readied her sling, poised to run forward to help if Vlerion called out.

Something clattered as it landed on the stone floor at the edge of the lamplight, then skidded into the shadows of a wall. A gauntlet? She couldn't tell, but it had almost startled her into slinging a round at it.

Thumps and grunts continued, then the sound of a blade clinking off stone. Or armor?

Kaylina couldn't help but creep forward, leaving the lantern on the floor and following the wall. The next grunt belonged to Vlerion and carried a hint of pain.

She hurried to the chamber's doorway but she couldn't see the fight in the gloom. How had Vlerion and the Kar'ruk even found each other? And did Vlerion have more than one enemy? She couldn't tell.

A moist thud sounded, and she paused. The sounds of the scuffle stopped.

Ahead, the shadows stirred, and Kaylina raised her weapon, not certain who had come out the victor.

"It's me," Vlerion said softly, walking into view with a fresh rip in his sleeve and parallel gouges in his leather armor. Claw marks? Fortunately for his ribs—and organs—they hadn't pierced the armor fully.

"Was it a Kar'ruk? Or an animal?" Kaylina remembered her earlier thought. "Or a Kar'ruk with a trained animal?"

"Just the Kar'ruk, but…" Vlerion frowned at the gouges in his armor, then looked around the chamber.

Kaylina lowered her sling. "Why would a Kar'ruk be coming to Stillguard Castle?"

"Maybe he's a mead enthusiast. Ah." Vlerion pointed toward the shadows, the gauntlet on the floor. "He was fighting with that instead of an axe. I managed to knock it off his hand."

Kaylina crouched to pick up the item that had clattered down and carried it closer to the lantern, almost dropping it when she saw it better. The word gauntlet might apply, but blades extended from above the knuckles, each several inches long. And sharp . Further, they were painted with that same blue concoction that marked the Kar'ruk axes. The blades didn't glow, or she would have noticed them before, but she was glad she hadn't touched one.

"Careful. Those are sharp." Vlerion pointed, then waved to his armor.

"I see. Wet too." With blood, Kaylina thought at first, but it was water.

"So was he. He might have fallen into that underground lake."

Kaylina blushed, remembering doing the same because the ledge had been so slick.

"It happens," she murmured, then thought back to the body the taybarri had shown her. "Could this weapon be what was used to murder people these last few days? That guy might have just killed your ranger friend."

"That thought crossed my mind. It would mean that at least one Kar'ruk has been here longer than we suspected. I suppose the group in the preserve could have been in the kingdom for a while too. Observing." Vlerion's jaw clenched.

"My brother and I probably weren't supposed to stumble across them. Maybe they would have gone on observing until…" Until what? She had no idea what they planned. "Oh, wait," she blurted. "Mitzy implied the Virts are working with some new ally. No, not an ally. Someone they're using who's using them right back. Could the Virts have hooked up with the Kar'ruk? Talked them into helping make the rangers look bad for the newspaper? And to further their cause overall?"

"It's hard to imagine the two groups joining forces or even seeking each other out for a discussion. There haven't been many instances of humans and Kar'ruk conspiring over the centuries. Usually, the Kar'ruk will, given the opportunity, kill our people on sight." Vlerion shook his head. "I'm more inclined to believe the Kar'ruk are up to something on their own and that the Virts are capitalizing on it."

"Why would the Kar'ruk be killing one person at a time and trying to make it look like an animal—or a beast—did it?"

"I don't know yet."

Kaylina held up the gauntlet. "Could this at least be used to prove someone is masquerading as the beast? A Kar'ruk?"

"It could be used as evidence to lend credence to that idea, especially if the blades match the wounds on the dead." Vlerion took it from her. "I don't know how closely the civilian bodies were examined, but Ravcliff's would have gone to headquarters for storage before being returned to his family for a funeral. I need to talk to Targon and show him this."

"Okay."

"Do you want to come with me?"

"Targon forbade me from returning until I've proven my innocence." Kaylina also hadn't yet gotten to try the new honey on the plant.

Vlerion's eyes slitted. "He won't forbid you from anything with me at your side." His voice came out as a menacing growl.

Kaylina patted his arm. "Go report to him. I need to find Frayvar, make sure the Virts are out of the castle, and…" She still wanted to help him with his problem, and she gazed thoughtfully at the gauntlet.

"Clear your name," Vlerion finished for her, his tone gruff. It sounded more like an order than a suggestion.

"Naturally, but…" Kaylina plucked the gauntlet from his grip, careful to avoid the blades. "I have an idea."

"Not one that involves getting caught with that, I hope." His fingers lifted, as if he might take it back from her, but he waited for her to explain.

"Hopefully not. If I can show this weapon to the right person, we can clear the beast of suspicion, at least when it comes to the recent murders. Look, it's got Kar'ruk blue gunk on the blades. That's a giveaway, right?"

Vlerion's grunt didn't convey as much agreement as she would have liked. Instead, he asked, "What right person do you have in mind?"

"The journalist writing those articles," Kaylina said. "He might be convinced to print a retraction."

"You just suggested the Kar'ruk and the Virts could be aligned. If that were true, the journalist would already know the truth and would be a part of the lie."

"I didn't say the convincing would be with words." She held the gauntlet up and made a swiping motion.

"Are you going to threaten him?" Vlerion arched his eyebrows.

"The Virts seem to know all about my supposedly magical powers now. I might be exactly the right person to intimidate a journalist." Kaylina showed him her brand and wiggled her fingers.

That earned her another noncommittal grunt. But he relented with, "Wait for me before looking for the journalist. If it makes sense, I'll do the intimidating."

"The Virts don't like you much. And don't you need to report to Targon?"

"That won't take long." Vlerion squinted at her. "Do you know where the press is located? Did your eavesdropping unearth that?"

"No, but we think it's outside the city. Maybe Frayvar and I can figure it out. We were already talking about hiding alongside the highway in the middle of the night and waiting for another newspaper-filled wagon to pass."

"That isn't your mission, Kaylina. And you shouldn't assume the Virts aren't dangerous to you."

"Oh, I'm not." She remembered the men casually discussing killing her. Mitzy hadn't wanted her dead, but she was only one person in the organization. "But, as a future ranger, I need to learn to court danger, don't I?"

"You only need to obey your superior officers when they order you to face it."

"So… no courting is involved?"

"No." Vlerion reached for the gauntlet. "I need to show this to Targon."

Kaylina resisted his attempt to take it away. " I need to show it to the Virts—specifically their journalist. If they're not aligned, it might convince him to retract the story without the need for intimidation."

"I'll return it after we compare the prongs to those found on the body. And I will assist you in searching for the press and journalist, though I suggest you prioritize?—"

"Clearing my name. Yeah, yeah, I know."

"You know, but you're not striving to do it."

"I will . Trust me. I want to open my meadery—I'm aching to make a batch using honey from the preserve—and I need people to stop trying to arrest, imprison, and execute me to achieve that goal. But first…" Kaylina tilted her thumb over her shoulder toward the root cellar. "Assuming the Virts got tired of looking for me and left, I'm going to have a chat with the plant while drizzling honey over its roots."

"You shouldn't chat with that plant alone."

"Frayvar is waiting for me outside. And the castle doesn't hate him the way it does rangers, so he can pull me out of harm's way if it attacks again."

"That boy would be hard-pressed to pull a carrot out of a garden."

"Carrots can have long roots and be tough. I'm much easier to deal with."

"Really." Vlerion looked pointedly at the gauntlet she hadn't yet released.

Kaylina made herself let it go and clasped her hands behind her back. "Really. I won't even court danger while I'm in the castle."

Vlerion grumbled under his breath—she caught the words vexing woman —but followed her when she headed toward the root cellar. Only after they climbed the ladder, entered the kitchen, and didn't see or hear anyone did he let her push him out the door.

"Don't forget to bring that back to me." Kaylina waved at the bladed gauntlet.

"The ranger trainee is giving the experienced ranger orders now? Targon will not be pleased by my lack of progress with instilling reverence in you."

"He's not pleased by much that I've noticed." She made a shooing motion toward the gate.

In truth, she wouldn't have minded Vlerion's company—and his sword arm. The plant's presumptuous branding had scared her. Even though the mark had helped her in the preserve, she had no confidence that it was for her benefit. The plant might be using her to some end that only it knew. By now, she couldn't dismiss the idea that it was intelligent and could be enacting a plan for its ancient masters.

But having Vlerion at her side, when the plant loathed rangers, was more of a risk than visiting it alone. For both of them. She would go out and find Frayvar before climbing to the tower. If something happened, he could run for help.

Despite her attempts to shoo Vlerion away, it wasn't until a moan drifted through the castle and a ceiling beam creaked that he stepped into the courtyard.

"Be careful," he murmured, giving her a long look over his shoulder as he walked toward the gate.

"Same to you. Watch out for Kar'ruk springing out of the sewers with fake claws."

"It was the catacombs." His eyes glinted with humor. "Civilized people don't traipse about in sewers."

"Listen, pirate." Kaylina pointed at the gauntlet. "Don't make me hope you fall and prong yourself on that."

"Such irreverence." He lifted a hand before passing through the gatehouse and disappearing into the night.

Even though she'd urged him to leave, Kaylina felt a pang of emptiness at his departure.

"It's for his own good," she told herself.

Lantern in hand, she headed through the bottom level of the keep, wanting to make sure the Virts had left before she looked for Frayvar. She'd no sooner stepped into the dining hall than a creak and bump came from the front of the keep. It sounded like the door blowing against the wall in the wind. The Virts must have gone out that way and left it open.

She crept into the great hall and reached the vestibule, spotting the open door at the same time as a dark lump on the floor. A person.

Someone dead? Fist tightening on her lantern handle, she stared at the inert figure and feared she'd made a mistake in sending Vlerion away.