Savage Fire (Tales from Wildhearth #2)

Chapter 19 - Didn't Take Your Medicine?

Illando hadn't expected to be dragged back to Palharr District so quickly, but this could not wait. Bronco and Ellewyn had a prisoner, and though the vulkin pack-leader had been tight-lipped over the howl-wire, it was clear this captive was linked to the cult.

He had considered going alone, still unsure about how paranoid he should be right now, but in the end he decided the risks of getting caught on his own outweighed those of someone sharing whatever information Bronco had for him. So, leaving an impatient Noelle in the enforcer infirmary, he set off with Ferrow and Farler. He considered them trustworthy – at least for now.

The trio traversed the enforcer tunnels of the Silk and boarded one of Wildhearth's lumbering tram-carriers to the outer districts. As the engine clattered into life and the machine's great wheels began to turn, Illando weighed up how much he wanted to share with their watchguard compatriots.

The carriage cleared out when the enforcers entered, which gave him a small measure of satisfaction. Despite the mess in the outer districts, closer to the real centre of power, citykin knew that the wolves were not to be trifled with. He leaned against the rattling wall, arms folded, his face settling into a brooding frown.

A half hour later they stalked out into Palharr, briefly alarming the kin waiting at the main tram-carrier station before vanishing into the alleys. Staying clear of the main routes, Illando led his escort towards the rear of Bronco's lawhouse as instructed, still mindful of the eyes likely stalking his steps.

At the rear entrance of the looming structure, Pack-Leader Ellewyn was waiting for them.

"Thanks for coming," she said, craning her head to look past the three wolfkin.

"Nobody followed us," Illando grunted impatiently. "Want to tell me what we're doing here?"

"Not out here. Come on." Beckoning, the watchguard turned and opened the small gate in the lawhouse's outer chain fence.

They filed in after her and the gate clanged shut, its heavy padlock and scent key being fastened back in place before Ellewyn led them to a small door in the structure's massive rear wall. It would have been easy to miss, dull grey metal barely more than a blob of shadow against the backdrop of the hardened ceramic brickwork. No guards stood outside it – no one to see them enter.

Bronco, it seemed, was taking no chances.

The door led to a back stairwell. They encountered only two guards, one at the base and one near the top, both wearing the shoulder-guards of charcoal grey and armed to the teeth. Wary eyes watched them as they ascended, and Ellewyn exited on the fourth floor of the lawhouse, leading them into a broad grey-panelled hallway. They took a sharp right almost immediately, moving along the rear wall where small, square windows looked out onto the district. White light fixtures fizzed gently overhead as they walked.

Just as Illando's patience was starting to thin, Ellewyn took a left turn, moving back into the centre of the building. They passed through a double door flanked by another pair of watchguards, and he found himself looking into a large, grey room. The smell of cheap muskbrew pricked at his nostrils. A sheet of almost opaque armour-glass filled most of the opposite wall, and a single desk with a sleek, silver-hulled computing rig squatted off to his right, connected up to a bank of screens.

There were three watchguards inside: a technician at the computer, a tall, slim guard with a sharp muzzle, and Bronco, who currently loomed over a muskbrewer with his back to them. The Pack-Leader turned as they entered holding a steaming mug in one big paw.

"Commander," he said, raising the mug slightly in acknowledgement.

"Alright, Bronco, I'm here," Illando replied bluntly. "What is it?" He stepped past Ellewyn, eyes flashing to the screens and across to the glass. To the right of it a small, solid metal door had been installed, with a gleaming new scent-key lock built in.