Soulwoven: Exile

Chapter Twenty-Six

~26~

Thirty-seven days before the destruction of Nutharion City

A -

Sure you'll have heard. They held a funeral. Sunfish to be named Hor. Poe is dead.

Dil sucked in a sharp breath. She was seated in Allenbee's office, where the Violet Lady had cleared off a desk for her to use when she was sorting through correspondence. The slanted light of late afternoon made a long tetrahedron on the floor, and the appetite she'd been looking forward to sating at dinner evaporated.

"Something interesting?" Allenbee asked behind her.

In Dil's memories Quay was waving in the rain, hugging her, telling her and Cole to take care of one another. Standing in the sunset, telling her she could go with them. Trusting her to lead them through the Estmarsh. Telling her he didn't care that she was a Wilderleng.

Nobody's going to die, Ryse had said. I'm sure of it.

It didn't feel real. Couldn't be real. She didn't want to bring herself to say the words.

"Dilanthia?"

"Quay's dead," Dil said.

Her throat closed up. Her chest constricted.

It can't be real.

"Read the rest," Allenbee said. Her voice grew much more attentive. "Blackarrow has a flair for the dramatic. There may be more."

Dil took a shaky breath and read on, out loud. "'No one certain where body came from, but most common rumor has it turning up by docks in Densel. No one's seen it but the Seven. Willow's in a fury. Says she saw Poe last year after he left city, and he was up to something big. Says rumors of his disappearance don't line up with things he told her. She and Thinshadow plan to investigate.'"

Willow. Blackarrow's unnamed source in whichever of the Great Houses he worked for. Thinshadow. Ense Pendilon, the heir to his house. Same age as Quay, and one of the men who'd been talked about as a potential new heir.

That was it for Blackarrow's first letter. She set it down.

Allenbee kept quiet, but Dil heard her drum her fingers on her desk. Dil was left with nothing to do but worry at the mysteries or let a deep, dark well of grief overwhelm her.

So she kept at the mysteries.

Found by the docks in Densel.

A second letter, sealed by white wax with a rose on it, lay beneath Blackarrow's. She tore it open, hoping for better news. Something to contradict Blackarrow.

Something to keep her afloat.

A -

I received your last message. I don't know what happened to that soulweaver, and I'm still asking, but I'm not likely to turn up much. I hear no rumors about the dragon inside the Complex. They all seem to be coming from outside. I suspect it's just rabble finding something to worry about.

Dil suppressed the urge to tear Whiterose's message in half. Below, there was a second letter from Blackarrow. She broke the seal with shaking hands.

Received your last message. Looking into why Seven not paying attention to rumors about dragon. Suspect they're after something big enough to distract them. Probably Koe's position. Hoping Thinshadow will let something slip to Willow to confirm. No news on Poe. Been gone so long I think everyone was expecting this. Inclined to believe it.

There were little wet spots on the letter, which was beginning to shake so hard it couldn't be read anymore.

A hand reached over her shoulder and removed it from her grasp, gently.