Chương 35: Suspicions (and discoveries)

The city of Sorrishen sits on sloping land that gently makes its way down to a rocky beachfront. Small stone islands dot the coastline. Only the more skilled sailors make it past the treacherous reef to dock and use the trading port. The builds are made out of stone. I find it fascinating, especially after coming into my skills. They are generally one to two stories high at most, and are more likely to sprawl instead of keeping their space stacked efficiently upward.

The stone itself is sandy in nature, known as sandstone, and can be cut into bricks. It's back breaking work, but results in interlocking blocks that, when stacked together, give amazing stability. No hint of magic there. Just a feat of engineering. Fishing on the reef is plentiful and a large portion of the wealth of this state. That and stone carvings and glass blowers. One of the better spots for these artisans to practice.

But even the beauty of the sandy stoned city escapes me as the darkness I feel below us bleeds through to me. It's done nothing but grow with every mile we've traveled. Until it's thick and cloying. So bad I can almost taste it. If I spend too long examining it, it's suffocating. Blood has seeped in and infected the magic. It's the only possible explanation. There are so many levels of wrong to ground underneath us, that I don't know how to deal with it.

I haven't been able to get Xan alone all day, and I can't speak in front of Mithris. The bad thing is Jax also feels it, through me. It's made him jittery and sensitive all day. A fast trot nightmare. Mithris pulls up as we pass the entrance of the city, tipping his head to the guards on duty. They wave us past. It makes me wonder at the security of all our cities. Nightshade lives in the midst of everyone and no one seems to guard against comers and goers. Which means that the Blood Sect is just as welcome.

If they've infiltrated all the orders so smoothly, then they're everywhere. Just biding their time for whatever it is they're after. Perhaps it's because we simply look like residents of Arralesh. If we were from other continents, I think they'd react differently.

"Eyes and ears, you two," Mithris says so quietly I'm not sure how I heard it. He's right though. I've never set foot in this city before. The afternoon sun is strong, even with the chill to the breeze when it assails us. I can taste the salt on the air. Hear the clash of the water against the shore and rocks, just over the mild din of the city. It's the setting I imagine for the occasional sea shanty I've heard. Mithris pulls up shortly, right outside a large sprawling barn.

I wouldn't have expected this in the middle of the city, but here we are. Sandstone walls flow into wooden stalls, most of which are currently full. I don't count them all but a glance tells me it's probably about two dozen of them.

"How many nights then?" A short, sandy haired youth looks up at me, taking Jax by the reins. I glance at Mithris.

"Just one to start with, perhaps longer," he says and tousles the kid's hair. I'm hesitant to leave my horse, but I notice Jax immediately calms under their touch and figure he'll be okay.

"He likes his carrots chunky." I say eliciting a smile from the small groom. What we stayed in last night might have called itself an inn, but this is one of the ones bards create the songs about. Walkways round the level above us, leave the courtyard open to the stars. There are rooms I can see all around us, but down here, there's seating, fire pits, and tables. Underneath the rooms is a check in area, and a massive bar that rings all the way around about half of the structure.

Seats are pulled up to the serving bench. The remaining quarter of space has tables and chairs. Just in case it rains. The ambiance makes me want to stay here forever. But the people I sense make me want to run away. Whether it's the remnants of dirty power that linger around a person after long time exposure, or that these people are all Blood Sect members, I can't tell. All I can tell is that I have no appetite.

"Taria. Grab food with Xan, I'll check us in." Mithris walks over to the long welcome desk. His gait has changed. It's more of a casual lope than a purposeful stride. He blends right in with the general populace in here. None of them would guess he's an assassin. If I didn't know, I wouldn't either. The chalkboard menu here is much longer than that of the previous inn. Relative in size really. I order a sandwich each for all three of us and smack Xan on the back of his head. I can't imagine eating the food though.

My stomach is churning. The hum in here is different, accentuated by the stone and wooden accents, like the elements softly bounce of it. Yet, the melancholy notes are particularly discordant in here. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. My own power is hesitant to reach out, to push its way through the quagmire around us. It's worried.

"Taria?" This time Xan pokes me, and shoves a sandwich in my direction just as Mithris rejoins us and grabs his own. The smell of the food almost makes me heave, but I push it down. I need sustenance to be able to pull on my power – and I have a bad feeling I'm going to need a lot of my own energy while we're here. He motions for us to follow him and we climb a flight of stairs as he lets us into a room. This is much larger than I expected.

It has two single beds made up like couches around a small table, and leads through into a room with a larger double bed. There's a small wash room to the side as well. All the inns in Sorrishen are what I'd call deluxe. It's a pity the underlying power around us makes me want to run.

"We're barely an hour behind the others," Mithris mentions between bites. I want to comment that he did make us leave before dawn, and that we rode the horses like we were running from a fire. But I refrain.

"You want us to scout out the town and listen?" Xan asks, but it feels like it's more of a statement. Mithris nods.

"Find out anything you can. I'll check my informants." He glances toward the door with a frown before ripping another bite out of his meal.

"Everything here feels like it's about to explode," I say, watching Mithris for a reaction. He simply focuses on me for a second before watching the door again.

"How so?"

"Underlying tension." He doesn't need to know that I mean the power around us more than the people. Although how anyone couldn't sense this, I don't know.

"Everything about this city feels like it's wrong. Whatever Sevrin was trying to get across, it's nothing good." Mithris nods and stands up, popping that last bite into his mouth.

"A Nightshade division won't immediately effect people, but it will have an impact on all those around it. Fencers, thieves, doctors. There are so many people who ride our coattails. We have to smooth this over."

"Can you tell us what it is yet?" Xan asks, their exasperation showing. Mithris shakes his head.

"Not supposed to yet. Just keep your eyes and ears open. I'm hoping you'll catch things I don't because I've been here often."

"Fine then." Xan isn't fooling anyone. They're not fine. There's a part of me that sees Mithris' earnest aura and understands that this is just how he is. He holds a pride in the order I've rarely seen, but it's taken me these last two days to realize it. He puts his hand on the doorknob and looks over at us.

"Look around the town, observe. Meet back here at the start of the setting sun." He's gone before I can answer.

"So, the power can feel the weird atmosphere too then?" Xan asks, tone serious for once. I nod.

"It's more than that. There's Blood Magic here. It feels just as wrong as when we fought those constructs. There's a similar tang to the air. Death. Blood. Everyone here smells like they're soaked in it."

"Not what I wanted to hear. I guess we better head out." Xan smiles but I can see their heart isn't in this. Strange city, weird vibes… not somewhere I would have chosen to come without being sent here, even if the architecture is gorgeous. It's much like Korrien when it comes to bustle around the marketplace. Whispers surrounding mysterious deaths, about the current Court makeup, and about thieves in the night. All the usual sorts of things. Except the deaths in this case.

From the chatter we overhear, it appears there have been dozens of travelers missing over the last month or two. When they show up, their bodies mostly exsanguinated Whispers of myths about vampires. Of ancient doctors with blood letting practices. Every death has been suspicious, but left no traces. That's serial killer sort of stuff. Technically assassins are serial killers, but we don't have the same mindset. Not usually. There's no compulsion to kill. We're just good at it.

There's no specific trademark way we kill. We're given the contracts that best match our talents. And there's no specific arranging of limbs or body parts, no trophies taken—unless a contract specifically asks for it. I don't want to admit to the sensations I'm feeling. Because I can already taste where this is headed. It smacks of a vile sentiment, of things beyond the natural order, of blood and pain. I know all of this is connected Blood Sect. The trouble with the Nightshade.

The murmurings of body counts among the populace. And I have no idea how to tell Mithris.

"You've been awfully quiet. Usually, you make me shut up when we have to act the part of subtle interrogator." Xan elbows me. I do my best to smile, but I think it comes out more scowl-like.

"Want to clue me in?" Xan pushes a little more, and I can tell they're concerned about me.

"I'm fine, you don't need to act like you're our protector," I snap out, suddenly grumpy.

"If I didn't know you so well, I'd take offense to that."

"You don't know me well."

"I beg to differ."

"I'll make you beg in a totally painful way." Xan chuckles as we near the inn.

"See. Bet you feel better now." They're right. My chest isn't as tight, and the possibilities running through my head have decided to abate and clear up. Now I'm more focused on the actual information. Even if I don't like it.

"Thanks," I say and don't speak again until we're in our room, gearing up into our actual uniforms. Uniforms makes us sound like an organized military. Outfits? Accoutrement? Clothes.

"Everything here is centered around the Sect," I say quietly not knowing who might overhear. Maybe if I refer to them that way it won't set off any triggers.

"All things considered, are you really surprised?" Xan is calmer than I'd anticipated. I seriously think that over. I'm not surprised. It's been eating at our heels since we fought the constructs. At first dodging our thoughts, and then falling into our laps. Xan isn't most people and knows me well enough to understand that I needed irrefutable proof for myself before saying anything. How would I tell Lennick or Aarron? Is this what they wanted us to sense on our own?

Instead of hand feeding us their own suppositions?

"It's everywhere here. Like silt overlaying the ground. This dirty, slimy layer that's suffocating the power beneath it, while using it to grow." Xan cringes.

"That sounds positively ugly."

"It is." It's odd. Usually this comes much easier to me. Talking about this with Xan. But the hum is louder, more discordant now. The longer I'm in this town, the more desperately the powers I can sense are reaching out to me. Its sensations are staggering, almost to a point where I can't think straight. I take a breath and crouch down, breathing in and out like we're taught in basic training. Like my parents taught me when hunting, when handling plants. All of it is around us. From the very air we breathe.

So I breathe.

"Do you need to sit down?"

"No. Just center myself. The scent, the taste, it's all around me now. It's hard to shake free of the filth." Xan chooses to plop themself down on the floor and watch me.

"So you're saying it's definitely Blood Sect. We're here because the vessel was right that the Orders have been infiltrated." I shake my head, even though that's not entirely accurate either.

"Not just that. I think the world is being slowly acclimated. The ground here is used to this horrible consistency now. There's familiarity to the sensation, to the way the ground moves and feels. It's sluggish and yet clings to the power like a leech."

"Sucking the power from the earth?" Xan sounds confused, looks it too. I guess I'm not making much sense. Then again, I don't actually know how Blood Magic works.

"No." Damn it. Come on brain, work. There's a heady sense of pain emanating now I concentrate on it too. The hum has become a low scream that won't stop, making my head pound. Then it occurs to me. Just how to explain it.

"It's sucking the power into itself. Forcing it. Coercion. Making it bend to the will of someone who can't use actual magic. Who isn't a conduit. Who is making everything happen purely through blood oppression. Whoever this is, they're defiling the elements in the process."

"Well, that's the best description of Blood Magic I've ever heard." I whip around and find Mithris standing just inside the door.