Chapter 11

Grabbing at Smoke

Ilkar was struggling with denial. Erienne's despair and posture added a sense of déjà-vu to the entire mix of emotions. She sat there, hunched forwards, her hands on Denser's shoulders. Her face showed exertion, although the power she was channelling was minimal. It was all she had left.

Ilkar had been there, a lifetime ago, a world from here. Hirad injured, Ilkar weakened and unable to cast, dripping mana into his friend to keep him alive while ignoring the fact he wasn't long for this world himself. Denser behind him, helping. Until Erienne had come and saved them all. But now she was the only mage able to cast, and she had overdone her shield, drained herself so effectively it was impossible for her to cast a spell of any description, let alone a BodyCast.

She sagged sideways. Jandyr hurried over. 'Unconscious,' he muttered. If Ilkar was any judge, it wouldn't last long. This kind of exhaustion in a mage rarely did.

The door opened and in came Thaler. Ilkar saw Thraun tense when he was followed by Regis, then Sirendor. At last, Will came through. Thraun caught the little man in a fierce embrace and pressed his face against the top of his head. It was a mark of how shocked Hirad was that all he managed was a vague smile and a nod at Sirendor Larn. The barbarian in his enviable confidence had never doubted they would come back.

Ilkar cleared his throat. 'Sirendor, listen.'

'I know. Regis told us. Where's Shani?'

Ilkar shook his head. 'Giving us space. She can't do anything.' Erienne jerked back to consciousness and stared. Her lower lip trembled.

Hirad's gaze fixed on Thaler. 'This is your fault.' The Temerian, for once, refrained from commenting. Hirad wasn't appeased by his silence. It was so typical. He needed someone to blame. 'You had to know there could be an alarm system. Regis knew.'

'Hirad, don't.' It was the first time The Unknown spoke since they were here. He placed his hand on Hirad's arm. 'Regis knew because he heard those men talking. Blame me if you want to blame anyone. I wasn't fast enough.'

'But Thaler …'

'Thaler doesn't see the future any more clearly than we do. It's no one's fault. Not this time.'

'Erienne!' Thraun's shout cracked through the air like a whip. The Dordovan had resumed her position next to Denser. Her face was sweating with her effort to achieve something. And for a moment it looked as if she did. The external signs of injury on Denser's shoulder vanished. At the same time, blood spilled from Erienne's nose, dribbling down her front. She didn't notice.

Ilkar was with her in an instant. He grabbed her hands and forced them away from her husband. 'You aren't helping him by killing yourself.' Erienne struggled against his grip. Then she broke, crying helplessly.

'Erienne.' Denser's voice was barely above a whisper, but they all heard him. Erienne shoved Ilkar away and moved closer, putting her hands on his cheeks. 'Erienne, come here.' He took one of her hands in his. He had to make a visible effort to do so. 'Come closer.' She did. Ilkar couldn't hear what he was saying to her, but Erienne was shaking all over. When she pulled away, his eyes were closed. His chest fell and didn't rise again. Thraun knelt next to her and put an arm around her. The Unknown walked over to Thaler and Regis.

'I ask you to leave us for the night. The vigil is ours to hold.' The two men almost fled. The Unknown stared down at Denser's motionless form. He remained silent for more than a minute, as if willing Denser to open his eyes again and tell them he would be fine and they should stop making such a fuss. When at last he spoke, his voice was very quiet and hoarse. 'By north, by east, by south, by west. Though you are gone, you will always be Raven and we will always remember. The Gods will smile on your soul. Fare well in whatever faces you now and ever.' He took a deep breath. 'I have failed you. I am so sorry, Denser. I have failed you. Erienne, we will leave you for a couple of hours, if you wish.' The mage nodded. 'We will be back in a while for our vigil.'

'Was that a threat or a promise?' Ilkar asked once outside.

The Unknown shrugged. 'A bit of both. Will, you check on her in a while. See she doesn't do anything desperate, but don't be seen if you can avoid it.'

The little man nodded. He looked shocked. 'Think about it,' he said after a few moments. 'Really think about it. Alun. Her boys. Lyanna. Now Denser.'

The Unknown fixed him with a firm look. 'I know. You, Jandyr, and Thraun are all the link to her past she's still left.'

Will rubbed a hand over his face. 'We need to watch her. I know what I'd do, and we can't let her.' He looked at Thraun. 'That's your job. You get through to her, more than any of us. You need to help her get over this.' The blond man nodded, still staring silently at the door. Will smiled. 'Good man.'

They waited for more than two hours before returning to Erienne. Will looked in twice to find her sitting next to Denser, holding his hand. She didn't notice him. Eventually, she emerged, her face tear-streaked, and said they could come in. The rest of the night they spent their vigil in silence. Thraun, Will and Jandyr were never far from Erienne, and even though none of them spoke, Ilkar had a feeling she needed her three old friends. The Julatsan struggled. With tears, with the realisation that the scars his short time as Denser's protector had left on The Unknown's soul were still there and now bleeding, with the fear of what this would do to him and to Erienne. It cost him half the night, but he managed to shake all that off. When he had, he did what the vigil was for: Remembering, branding Denser and who he had been into his soul. Making sure the promise The Unknown had made in all their names would be upheld. He didn't doubt it for a second.

Ϡ

The Raven emerged from the room as one the next morning. All of them subdued, all of them with dark shadows under their eyes. The Unknown went to find the three natives to join them in the vampiress's living room. Their hostess was nowhere to be seen.

'I understand,' Thaler said upon entering, 'if what happened means you step down from the contract.'

The Unknown shook his head. 'We don't. On the contrary.'

Hirad cracked his knuckles. 'This just got personal. They'll pay.'

'What about our captive?' Regis asked.

'Will be questioned, then released.' The Unknown rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'I told you, we're not murderers. So … what did Denser's life buy?' His tone was bitter. They all knew whatever it was, it hadn't been worth losing one of their own.

'We ran into something,' Sirendor said. 'Thaler reckons a ghoul.'

Regis frowned. 'How odd.'

Will glared at him. 'You warned us before we went. Now it's odd?'

Regis looked at them. 'Very odd. You see, I warned you because it was a possibility, even if unlikely. Normally you find necrophages around fresh corpses. Not where there are only ancient bones and ashes.'

Thaler nodded his agreement. 'Not really. So what is a ghoul doing in a place like that, with no food?'

Regis cleared his throat. 'I think the answer is simple: There was food. I know this isn't a question you are going to like, but it just struck me: What did your sister look like when she was delivered to you?'

All colour left Thaler's face. 'No.'

Regis raised his hands. 'We don't want to jump to conclusions, but I think we shouldn't be surprised by any degree of cruelty. So let's hear what happened in that crypt.'

The recounting of their venture was greeted with a very solid silence. Hirad broke it after a while. 'So basically it comes down to the fact that we shouldn't have split up. We'd have taken that thing out, and Denser …' He swallowed the rest of the sentence, unable to give voice to the loss.

'I don't know. If there's one ghoul, there can be more.' Regis's chin rested on his hands while he spoke, causing his speech to sound slightly halting. 'Add a cemetaur or two, maybe none of you would have come back. Don't underestimate these things. So many of you would have a hard time fleeing through narrow corridors and fighting them with steel is close to impossible.' He leaned forwards. 'Did you find something, at least?' Will and Thaler produced what they had taken from the lab. Sirendor studied the Temerian carefully. He, too, had shadows under his eyes and was very quiet. Apparently the encounter with the monster had frightened him deeply. Shani took the vial, opened it and sniffed. She frowned and passed it on to Regis. The vampire's eyebrows shot up.

'Interesting,' he commented.

'Care to elaborate?' The Unknown asked.

Regis and Shani looked at each other. By means of an answer, Regis rose, walked outside, and came back in with a twig of one of the yew trees in his hands. 'Smell that. Then this. This seems to be a very concentrated extract of yew needles. I think these people do more than kill.'

Shani scowled at the vial. 'Well, at least not only with knives.' The two medics exchanged another glance. The Unknown opened his mouth to speak, but Regis forestalled him.

'Yes, I care to elaborate. The yew tree is toxic, we've established that. But it has other uses than silent murder. Well. Some would call it that. Women use yew extracts to terminate a pregnancy. Although it isn't the safest way in the world, it is an option and I suppose this organisation makes money with that.'

'Is this forbidden?'

Regis smiled. 'Generally, no. Under controlled conditions it is perfectly legal. But if a woman doesn't want anyone to know, she will not go to a public hospital. She'll find a quack who does it on the quiet.'

The Unknown gave him an inquiring look. 'You speak like someone who knows a lot about it.'

'I do. And while I gladly discuss ethics, now is not the time.'

'Fair enough,' Thaler said. 'I had a look at the writings we took. You got this right, Regis.' The vampire raised his eyebrows at the use of his name. 'They have documented their patients. About two thirds of them die.'

'Unnecessary, even for that method,' Shani stated. 'I'm sure they don't even have a real medic, just some … barber.' Regis raised his eyebrows at her. 'You're both, you don't count. Thaler, did you find anything else in these scripts?'

The Temerian extended one of the parchments to her. Shani started reading and paled. 'Seems to be a study of some sort where multiple patients were given some substance. Third hour after injection: patient convulsing and declining fast. Patient died in the fourth hour. Third hour after injection: Patient shows minor signs of cramping. Fourth hour after injection: convulsions. Fifth hour: symptoms abating. Sixth hour: patient not responding but breathing. Terminated. Third hour after injection: patient delusional. Terminated. Third hour after injection: dilated pupils, minor convulsions. Fourth hour: still convulsing but responds. Fifth hour … fifth … No.' She looked at Thaler who nodded grimly. 'How?'

The Temerian shrugged. 'I wouldn't know.'

Shani cleared her throat. 'Fifth hour: first signs … signs of mutation. Sixth hour: pupils still dilated but clearly a slit. And that's all we have, end of the parchment.' She let her hand sink. 'Thaler, what does it mean?'

The spy remained silent.

'I think you know what it means, Shani,' Regis said calmly. 'For the Raven I will explain. Mutations are what Witchers have to go through in order to become … well, Witchers. Now I've only met one Witcher in my time, and that one had slitted pupils among other exterior signs of mutation.'

'He still does, vampire. Don't use past tense, that makes him sound dead.'

Regis blinked and nodded. 'Of course. After what I heard it is hard to believe he isn't.'

'Only a dead Witcher is a good Witcher. Is that it?'

Regis sighed. 'This particular Witcher is my friend. So, no, Thaler, I prefer him alive. Anything else in these notes?'

'Well. Quite a lot, and there's more where this came from. Abortions, mutations, medical experiments that don't sound very scientific like how the body reacts if you inject sanies into an eyeball.' He threw the notes carelessly onto the table. 'There, look at them. Good practice for your language skills if you have the stomach for it.'

'Anything about the murders?' Will asked softly.

'No. That's the only thing I find nothing about. A cesspit it is, but it might be the wrong one.'

'Or,' Regis mused, 'that's the basis in Pont Vanis. But I suggest we delve a little deeper into the shit that's leaking out of this particular pit before abandoning it. We might miss something useful floating in the faeces.'

Shani stared at him. 'Regis, your language suffered since last we met.'

He smiled. 'I'm not too old to learn, and I learned from someone with a penchant to use colourful but very accurate metaphors. Sometimes you just have to be blunt.'

'Couldn't agree more. Only thing I don't get is why you fucking care.'

Regis shrugged. 'Well. One, I've got nothing better to do right now. Two, I have no one else. Not that I am unable to socialise. But you know what I am, I don't have to hide. And if I do something stupid and obviously not human, I am sure you will let me know. So let me help in turn. Without weapons, but with my mind.'

'You were quite effective without weapons,' Ilkar pointed out.

'Not effective enough. And I try to avoid fighting. You see, such situations are hard on my self-control. There are amulets that help, but …'

Will jumped, silencing the vampire. 'Ilkar! All this time I forgot.' He reached under his clothes, took off the pendant, and passed it to the elf. 'I got so used to it I never noticed it's there. I'm sorry I kept it so long.'

Ilkar smiled. 'That's fine, it's supposed to work that way. You don't notice it when you don't need it.'

Regis looked curious. 'May I look?'

The Julatsan hesitated, then he handed it to him. 'Sure. I'd be very interested to know if you can tell me anything about it.'

The Unknown frowned at them. 'Later. We have more pressing matters. A question: How hard will it be to get a funeral for someone foreign? A proper one.'

Thaler smiled thinly. 'Not hard. I'll see something is arranged.'

((I am a little shocked about what I did there. I love Denser. No, really. But I've got to get rid of someone, I knew that from the start, so there it goes.))