Ten Arrows

Chapter 21

It wasn't until I'd returned to my keep that I noticed just how much blood I'd gotten on my hooded cloak.

Whether I'd inadvertently splashed some of the sticky stuff on myself or accidentally dragged my cloak through one of the many blood puddles that had been present in Hartman's bedroom, I didn't know. I just remember being retroactively relieved that I'd turned my thoughtcloth black at some point during the break-in at Hartman's, which kept the bloodstains from standing out or attracting notice.

Of course, that may not have made too much of a difference, given how few people there were on the streets during the pre-dawn hours. True, if I'd noticed the blood earlier I would have been a little more anxious about my appearance as I walked home, but in the end I suppose it all worked itself out okay.

Theo and I had split up shortly after the encounter with Hartman in his bedroom, since we both had many things to take care of and a very short time to take care of them. I ended up navigating the streets back to my keep alone and on foot, since the late hour pretty much guaranteed that I'd be unable to locate a carriage to drive me home. The walk ended up seeming longer than I'd originally figured, and by the time I arrived at Tucat Keep I found myself surprisingly exhausted.

I was so tired, in fact, that I almost forgot to instruct the lone knight guarding my front entrance to fetch Janviel and inform him that I required him in the greeting room with all haste. The knight looked a bit surprised at my request but nodded his understanding, at which point he quickly locked the gates and the front entrance to the keep before rushing off to do as he was bid.

An unkind hour to be calling on Janviel, true, but he had to know that such things were occasionally required of Knight-Captains, even if their assignment was only temporary. If Cyrus hadn't informed him that being jolted awake at obscene hours was part of the job, he'd surely be learning that particular lesson shortly.

Once in the greeting room I removed my cloak. Rather than leaving it onto the chair I usually toss my cloak onto, I dropped it onto the floor right next to it, as I didn't wish to get blood on anything else. Then I checked the nearby writing table for letters or other notes that might be waiting for me. There were none at all, which is what I'd been hoping.

I was almost there. Very little could go wrong at this point.

Janviel would probably need a few minutes to rouse himself to wakefulness, which reminded me that I'd probably require a little pick-me-up as well, especially considering the rigors I now had ahead of me. I hadn't counted on that guard surprising me at Hartman's, true, but I didn't believe for a second that particular encounter was the sole reason for my exhaustion.

Mostly, it was from the blood. My senses were keyed up, and I was feeling shaky.

There's something that happens to you when you're around a lot of blood, something very primal. No matter what the circumstance, blood represents danger, and death, and when in its presence every part of you becomes aware of every drop, hoping to piece together some clue as to how it got there so that you might take some action that allows you to keep yours where it belongs. You simply can't witness large quantities of the stuff without becoming emotionally staggered by it, or affected somehow.

What I needed to do was to settle myself down, as well as ramp myself up... find some way to keep me sharp enough to be at my best without dulling my senses or turning into a quivering wreck. So, vimroot for energy, as well as something to calm the mind, but that wouldn't interfere with energy levels. Something like... leviathyme extract.

I opted to nip downstairs to my exercise hall so I could fetch the oils in question rather than remain standing around waiting for Janviel to rouse himself. If I were lucky, I could perhaps even grab a quick something to eat from the kitchen if there was time. Morning was fast approaching, and I knew breakfast would be set out in a few short hours, but my night wasn't over just yet.