King of Dust

Chapter 21

Porcelain clinked as the burgomaster's wife awkwardly set her teacup down. Her hand shook violently as she held her cup, but I was unsure why. Her husband seemed very nice, and her son gifted. Toma, the burgomaster's son, sat to her right surrounded by the skeletons of several cats. They had been reanimated and breathed – or, at least, an imitation of breathing – demanding pets and a spot on Toma's lap. He dove nose-deep into a spell book, taking notes while the group and I chatted with his father. Urien's face cringed as he watched the cats walk about. The cats, like me, were abominations to him.

I was so tired. After the festival, we stopped at the inn as to not disappoint the burgomaster. Cautiously, Urien got us a room from some old friends. I would give him one thing: Urien was incredibly well-connected. Yra and I napped at the inn until sundown, and then we awoke at dusk. I had been forced to stay in a room with Yra, as Urien would not have us bunked together with Astrid, and we fought all afternoon over who would get to sleep in the bed. Long story short, Yra won.

Urien and Astrid had spoken in hushed tones in the room next to us, though not quiet enough to go undetected by my superior hearing. They talked on whether or not Astrid should offer herself up to Yra and I as dinner. Urien seemed abhorred by the idea, but Astrid remained unafraid. She trusted me, she said, and it made my heart flutter.

Now, as we sat on the couch across from the burgomaster's family, her hand gently touched mine. It brought a smile to the corner of my mouth, and I could not hide the blush on my cheeks. I wondered if my disguise blushed, or if it was merely a sensation that I remembered having once, long, long ago.

"I'm so glad you could come, Urien," the burgomaster said as he ate a tea cake. "We've been in desperate need of help for a few weeks, now."

"What seems to be the problem?" Urien asked.

"You and your new friends—" The burgomaster stopped mid-sentence to look at Yra. "What's your name, son?"

"Yra."

"Good. You and your new companions arrived at just the perfect time. People have been killed in Nessden recently and it's unfortunately tarnishing our reputation as the most wonderful place to live in Starkovia."

"Who has disappeared so far?" Urien asked.

"A few of the locals, people who had been here for years." Burgomaster Kovalev stirred some honey into his tea. "One of the Vasile brothers, Felix, has been murdered, as well as Petre Sorensson."

"Liliya's brother?" I interjected.

"You know her?"

"I grew up in Starkovia with her."

"He was helping out around town updating the infrastructure of Nessden when we found him."

My heart dropped. Petre had spent most if not all his life protecting Liliya from me, and now he was dead. I simply brought death everywhere I went.

"Anyone else?" Urien asked.

"There was one attempt on my wife's life."

The burgomaster's wife's hand trembled at the mention of it and Toma took her hand. "Don't worry, Mother," he said, lifting his eyes from the book. "I'm getting much better at magick. They won't come anywhere near us."

"Do you know who is doing this?" Urien adjusted the edge of his hood to cover more of his eyes.

"No. Not a clue," the burgomaster said.

"I'll do my best to get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, Toma, you should put magickal wards up around the house."

"Already did," the young man replied.