Raven Girl

Chapter 12

Elias knocked on the door. They had taken him up a spiral staircase to the top of a tower. He shielded his mind with a barrier of steel until the nerves he felt seemed far away, as if they were happening to someone else. Panicking would get him killed.

The most beautiful woman he'd ever seen opened the door. Her hair was long and flaxen, and she had a pale, pointed face. Her eyes were darkened with eyeshadow, giving her a predatory look, and she wore a close-fitting black dress. She was taller than he was, which unnerved him.

Elias bowed. "My lady."

"Commander, to you," she said, her voice like silk. "What is your business here?" She stepped aside, allowing him in.

Elias walked slowly past her, running an appraising eye along her figure. She lowered her lashes in reply and shut the door. He found himself in an office room that was sumptuously decorated in monochrome colours.

"I have a... proposition for you. But may I ask your name first?" Elias made his voice sound as suggestive as possible. If he fooled her by acting attracted to her beauty...

She was surveying him in a cool, calculating way. "Svetlana. Yours?"

"Elias."

"And what is an Easfallian doing so far from his home?"

Damn. Of course she'd guess. "I journeyed to meet you, of course. I have acquired information about Ravenna's government – secrets that would enable you to crush it from the inside."

Svetlana slunk closer – too close, her face in front of Elias's. "I'm listening," she murmured, her voice little more than a purr.

Elias forced himself not to back away, and instead stepped a little closer, so his baritone words rumbled across her skin. His lips brushed her neck as he spoke. "It could be yours, if you agree to my bargain."

"And what do you want... in return?" Svetlana asked in his ear. A cool hand threaded through his hair, and he fought back a shiver.

He lifted his head so they were eye to eye. Her sensuous lips curved in a smile. "To be part of your organization."

Svetlana's lips met his, but only for a moment – Elias staggered back as something pressed against his abdomen. A handgun.

The woman tossed her head back and laughed. "Nice try. Now start talking or you'll be full of holes."

He caught his breath. "Beautiful and deadly."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, drop the act. It irks me. Why are you here?"

There was a crash and a shout from below. Svetlana froze, glancing at the floor, and Elias thanked the gods for the others' impeccable timing. He disarmed her swiftly, efficiently, and struck her temple before she could defend herself. She crumpled, unconscious – but she would awaken in a moment.

Elias stuck the gun in his belt and raced for the desk. His hands shook as he rattled drawers and rifled though stacks of paper. A map... He needed a map, a plan of Blackthorn Fortress... He snatched something. Ink formed a web of lines. It was Knife's Edge – it had to be. A chart of the currents, the rocks...

Elias could have kissed it. But boots pounded on the stone steps outside the room.

He flung the door open before they could reach it, both scimitars in his hands. They had been sheathed at his back, where his bulky coat concealed them. The blades sang as he cut through shrikes, whirling down the steps. One ran up to meet him and he kicked him in the chest, sending him toppling down the steps and landing on two of his fellows. He leaped over them and continued on his way.