hawk & sable

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE,

HAWK & SABLE | TWENTY-ONE

  THEY FOUND HER, a crumpled heap on the ground, attacker nowhere in sight.

When Ciri hadn't returned after an hour, they'd sent Io out to search for her. Io had found her here and fetched Ronan— that was the Crow, in a hurry. Between the two, they'd carried Ciri to a corner before the latter had headed off to find help.

Laurence stood next to her now, face grim, watching her limp body laid on a bed in Gui Yan Gong. Carrying her back to Zui Hua Gong would bring them to William's attention, and questions would be asked. The healer Iron Wolf they had brought in was inspecting her unconscious form.

"Head injury," he announced after a bit of prodding. "She'll be unconscious for a bit. Just moderate, I think, probably hit her head when she fell."

The Briar reached into her pocket and took out a knife, small and sharp. "She dropped this. It's hers, not the attacker's."

Only a few people were gathered in the bedroom. Danna Pang took the blade. "No blood. She took it out but didn't have a chance to use it, and Ciri's fast. This attacker is fast as the wind, then. Fuck."

'The attack wasn't to kill." The Wolf straightened. "Or they did a very poor job. Blunt damage. Don't even think a weapon was unsheathed. She was slammed against the wall— you could see the bruises on her left side."

Danna took that in and gave it some thought, tapping her chin. "They could have finished her off while she was unconscious. But they didn't. This couldn't have been an assassination attempt."

"Not a coincidence," Laurence said. "She's prodding too close. But why her?"

"If she was targeted because we went to the Du's, it makes sense," Rhys mused. "They wouldn't dare attack me. I'm wiccai. If it was just a general attack, Ciri walking alone in the dark would have made her vulnerable."

"Two attacks in one night. One fatal, one not. We're being played with." Danna placed the back of her hand on Ciri's forehead, still clutching the knife in the other. Laurence watched, trying to keep himself uninterested and cool, ignoring the searing panic rising in him second by second..

She was attacked. And he wasn't there to protect her. All the people who spoke of the legendary Little Sables never talked about how they were at their weakest. Laurence had seen Cassalyn Diao in a similar state mere weeks ago. He'd laughed, then, at Marcus' panicking and horror. He knew what that felt like now.

This was more than just friendly protectiveness. This was trouble. But he understood the appeal.

Not the first time he'd been in love. He liked to consider himself a bit of an expert.

Veronica had been like this, when consumption finally started finishing its job. He'd only caught a few glimpses of it, near the end, when he had finished his work in Kon Ria. He had rushed home, dropped off all his things at Borewood Street, and went straight to her home.

She died two days later.

The Wolf placed a glowing hand on her arm, shutting his eyes, concentrating. Healing her, probably. Laurence didn't dare ask. He turned to the women gathered in the room. "Any idea who it was?"

The Briar hesitated for a bit. "The attacks aren't lining up."

"What do you mean?" Danna removed her hand, taking a step back.

"The two former deaths were all knives under the sternums, right?" A nod from the other two in the room. "Huang guniang— that's the maid who was killed— was killed by a knife to the throat. And Ciri's attack wasn't even lethal."