The Memory of Darkness (on hold until October)

35 - Lady of the Manor

Coren winced as another wave of pain swept through his skull. Combining the sleeping draught with brandy had been a terrible idea in hindsight, but he had wanted oblivion. Anything was better than flashbacks of men being cut down by rampaging skeletons, or the sound of Hallan's neck being snapped. He didn't consider himself to be easily unnerved, but there were some things that just weren't meant to be seen.

He could scarcely take in what Father Dominic told him. Felix murdered and Gretchen taken. He had wished he'd been conscious enough to assist them, but as Dominic pointed out, Lorcan wouldn't waste a second chance to kill him.

He ran his fingers through his hair, as if it would ease his discomfort. "What do we do now?"

"We leave as soon as possible," said Dominic. "Once the Guards had taken Felix away I started packing up his belongings. We need to go before Lorcan decides to come back and find out what he and Miss Gretchen were up to. I'm surprised he hasn't already."

"What about the body?" asked Coren. "Would he want to be returned to Kyrvell?"

"It would days to have him preserved enough to take back," said Dominic. "I can only hope he would forgive us for having him buried here. I've left instructions and payment for the funeral."

"It seems you've covered everything," said Coren, his sense of uselessness souring his mood even further.

"Everything except how to help Gretchen and the Princess. I don't know if there's anyone in Seltiria who would have a clue where to start."

A sliver of an idea cut through Coren's discomfort. "There may be in Nelmeid."

"Nelmeid's a big place," said Dominic. "Good luck finding anyone useful."

"I might not need to," replied Coren. "I think Felix already did. Before we left Kyrvell he requested that should anything happen to him, I have his magical texts and items sent to a man in Talmeraine. I have his name and address."

The Priest raised his eyebrows. "That's a long way. How much time would it take to contact him?"

"I honestly don't know," replied Coren. "At the moment he's the only lead we have." He climbed awkwardly to his feet. "You're right, we should leave at once. I was going to purchase a new horse, but that will have to wait until Kyrvell."

"No it won't," said Dominic. "Arcturus found his way back here. The town's in such uproar that nobody cared about an expensive looking horse roaming the streets without a rider. He's in the stables."

"I wouldn't have thought him clever enough," said Coren, astonished but relieved.

"If he had any sense he'd have gone the other way," the Priest responded. "I'll need your help to load the cart. Then we can settle our expenses and go. I want to put distance us and my brother as soon as possible."

XXXXX

Arianna lay in bed facing away from Lorcan, pretending to be asleep, refusing to acknowledge his presence. He had lain down next to her, on top of the covers, and draped one arm around her waist. They lay in silence for a while, until he sighed deeply. "Are you awake?"

"I am now," she lied, slurring her words for effect. "What do you want?"

"Your company," he replied. "Nothing more."

Arianna gritted her teeth. Revealing that she knew about the soldiers' deaths would show that Gretchen had been rather talkative. She didn't want Lorcan to try to find out what else the girl knew. It was in their best interests for her to keep quiet, for now at least. It wouldn't be easy, his recent actions had lit a spark of anger within her. If there was one thing she knew about sparks, it was that they could quickly become an inferno.