Читать книгу Blood in The Air - Katherine Wood - Страница 8

The elf snarled, as did Kari. “You said I would be working with a lead tracker from the Watch. as our investigations are connected. This half-breed, she is probably one of them!” He looked mildly annoyed.

The older elves looked disappointed. The one on the left, with the silver streaks above his ears and grey robes, cleared his throat. He didn’t look very happy. “What I think my colleague means to say is that perhaps working with a demokin, whilst hunting a dangerous felon with demonic connections, may involve a conflict of interest for the corporal.”

Kari understood about three words of that, but she knew it was insulting. She bared her teeth and snarled.

“Kari, I mean, Corporal, I think he was asking if this would be difficult for you as you may have personal connections to hell through your racial heritage,” the Prince said diplomatically. “Lord Shalandalan, Lord Isililothina, Lord Aleanrae,” he nodded to the three elves, “let me assure you that the corporal has no familial connections or loyalties to the underworld and has been in service to the City for many years.”

Kari, confused and insulted, decided it was her turn to speak. “I have no loyalties to hell, demons or criminals and I’m insulted if you think I do.” She turned to the prince, “Your Highness, I don’t understand why I must work with elves when we have royal magicians in the City. Wouldn’t it make more sense to be assigned with one of them?”

Prince Kevan looked at her and smiled. Kari felt the smile right down to her toes and her eyes went back to being blue. No wonder he was more popular than his older and more arrogant brother. Prince Piron, the heir to the throne, was not a favourite, and he made difficult decisions about taxes and funding in the areas the King had allocated to his control. Currently Prince Piron controlled the budget for the Watch, and he had made some questionable cuts. Kari had thrown a desk through a window when she found out. The costs had then been taken out of her pay, which resulted in more breakages; she was still paying for a few of those items. Prince Kevan, on the other hand, was the “spare” and therefore lived the life of a Palace playboy. He stepped out with the most beautiful ladies in court, and, out of court, sponsored the arts and community projects and was generally very charming to everyone. Kari had once been assigned to escort him on a ride outside the City, and had actually enjoyed it.

“Corporal, the elves are also hunting a powerful mage who is importing demon contraband. This has now become a matter that needs co-operation between both peoples as the sources the elves have investigated have all pointed back to the City.” He turned to the elves, “Corporal True has also been investigating disappearances in the more deprived areas of the city, prostitutes and beggars usually, and we think they may be connected.” The Prince turned to look at Kari, and smiled again. “Corporal, your reports of missing people –”

“Someone actually reads my reports?” she interrupted. Kari was shocked anyone had even bothered to read her reports, since she had been investigating the disappearances of various drug addicts, low level dealers and prostitutes who she usually used for information, though her superiors had told her she was chasing shadows, as whores and addicts go missing every day.

“Yes, and they have coincided with large shipments of demonic materials making their way to the streets and into Elvish territory. This is why, Corporal, you will be working with Lord Aleanrae to discover the source of the shipments.”

*

“Then, after belittling the streets, people, market, constables and bull pen he then decided to set up his own office in the largest interrogation room. I swear, Bill, I would have ripped his throat out if he hadn’t decided to leave, in order to, and I quote, ‘review the meagre notes that have been made thus far’.”

Bill swallowed a chuckle and decided to have another sip of his drink before asking, “So what was it you threw at him then? A chair? Or an entire desk this time?”

“Just a chair,” Kari grumbled, then grinned herself. Bill always had a way of calming her down. She didn’t know if it was blood speaking to blood, since he was demokin himself, or if it was just his easy-going manner; but things were never as bad as she first thought, when he was around. Easy-going was a phrase rarely associated with a demokin, as they were usually so highly-strung they went on a rampaging murder at the mildest slight.

“Seems like I picked the right day to have off then!” Bill Dawkins was not only Kari’s friend but her lieutenant and one of the best on the Watch.

At that moment her stomach growled loudly, and she did have the chagrin to look embarrassed. She had just eaten a large meal, but Rosie, Bill’s wife and mother to his six children, ladled some more of the stew onto her plate and then gave Kari a look. This particular look had been practised over the many years they had known each other and quite blatantly said “you’re not eating enough”.

“Kari, he is new and you’re going to have to make some allowances until he gets settled,” Bill said, always the diplomat.

“Allowances! He is the rudest, most ungrateful person I have ever met, and I grew up in hell!” She exclaimed.

Bill just sighed and glanced at his wife, who was trying really hard to smother a smile. They had heard this a hundred times before from Kari, something always firing up her temper. After having known her for ten years, he knew the difference between her being angry and her complaining. When she was complaining, you laughed as the chair or desk hit the wall and smashed into tiny pieces. When she was angry you ran very quickly away and that still wouldn’t be enough. He had only seen her angry once. He didn’t want to see it again.

“I don’t understand what elves have to do with demons anyway,” she said sulkily, her temper winding down now she was soothed by food and friends.

“The demons killed the heir to the Elvish throne, you know that.” He looked at her, seeing her clear blue eyes had lost all traces of gold.

“That was two hundred years ago, surely they can let it go now, it’s not like Princess Seelarul is going to come back from it.” Kari moved the last dumpling around on her plate, trying to absorb the last of the gravy.

“Princess Selaruil, Kari, and because of the attack the elves now have devoted two hundred years of study to anti-demon magic. They have some of the best anti-demon mages in the world and this elf they have assigned to us is apparently one of the best. He also has connections to the Elvish royals apparently and the high council so you probably should make some allowances.” It was his turn to give her the look now. This particular look was also a regular, and said “stop being so obstinate you wilful child, and do as I say”. “And before you ask, Captain Trollock and I were told yesterday about this, and I did some checking up on it today.”

“You knew? Of course you knew, you always know. Well, I will say my goodbyes and leave then,” she said and huffed out of the room.

Dawkins heard noises and giggles upstairs and turned to his wife with a smile, “Do you think she’s getting better at controlling it? Her demon side? Something like this would have really upset her a few years ago.”

Rosie considered for a while then smiled and shook her head. Bill and Kari were two peas in a pod to her, with sometimes a brother-sister attitude and sometimes a father-daughter. She had known Kari since she was in her early teens; Bill had found her in street gang when he was newly married to Rosie and had adopted her into their little family.

“Remember when you first brought her home? Fresh from the street and still smelling of sulphur? She was so angry and I wondered how she would ever fit in with us, until I saw her with Lewis. He was bawling his eyes out and she calmed him right down just by being near him. That’s when I knew she was special, that the demon wasn’t all she was. It seems to get less every year.

“I just wished she still lived with us. I could keep a better eye on her then. She turns up here with fresh cuts and bruises every day, they can’t all be from patrolling on the beat! I think she’s going out at night again.” Rosie sighed, she didn’t know what Kari did, but it definitely wasn’t good. When Kari had lived with them and snuck out, Bill had tried to follow her, but she had a way with losing unwanted eyes. The most he had ever managed to find out was that she went where there were known demokin populations or portals sites. Of course where demons were you could also find every kind of vice and corruption known to man.

“If she was going to tell us about that she would have ten years ago when we took her in, and I don’t think it’s anything we should be worried about anyway. She’s a demokin, it’s different in each of us and I think she feels a need to go out and do whatever it is she does.” Bill wrapped his arms around his wife and leant in to kiss her neck. “But with us around I don’t think she feels it as much.”

Kari came back in then, one child balanced on each hip with another four trailing after, Lewis, now taller than his adopted auntie at only ten years old, bringing up the rear. She kissed them all once more, and Bill and Rosie too, then left for her own rooms a few streets away.

She wandered idly along the streets that were considered friendly by day and menacing by night. The City was a centre of commerce and as such, parts of it were ludicrously expensive even with a depressed housing market. This had been caused by the great banking crisis three years ago. It had turned out that ‘The Friendlye Banke’ had in fact been run by unscrupulous humans who had lent money to some very irresponsible people who had no intention of returning it. They had then disappeared, thereby unable to return the vast amounts of now stolen cash. This had caused that bank to collapse and the monarchy to buy it out, raising taxes and making life miserable for the general populace. Kari always thought that if you named something as being friendly then you were asking to be swindled. It should really have been named the ‘Big Fucking Scary Banke’.

She lived on the edge of the cheap part, in a large house, but only two streets away from the small, squalid ones. It would have probably only cost an arm and a leg these days, instead of mortgaging her first-born like a few years ago. The problem was she didn’t have any money to spare, or not enough for a house anyway, though she probably could lay her hands on an arm and leg, if only that was an actual currency they would accept! Unfortunately, she didn’t have much money, and most of that went on replacing bits of furniture she inevitably smashed anyway.

Something wasn’t quite right, though.

The streets were empty, which meant the people round here could smell trouble. Since most of the locals were the underbelly of society they had an ear to the ground where trouble was concerned and knew when to stay in, no matter how many tricks they lost that night.

But wait, they weren’t totally empty. There was one man walking slowing towards her. No, not towards her, actually, his eyes were focused on the Palace that rested like a giant glittering butterfly on the hill behind her. His eyes seemed to reflect the glowing light of it. They were still glinting when he glanced down to take a knife out of his pocket. Only one thing went through her mind in that moment. Demon.

Present time.

Shit. Shit. The Prince and demons were dealing together. Which Prince, though, Piron or Kevan? Please not Kevan. Drac-Shemal was serious business, one of the top demons in hell, the Prince of Dragons. If he was involved someone was going to die, and Kari was not around all the time to keep demons from killing everyone in the Palace. Speaking of the Palace, she was smack bang leaning over a dead demon with her knife dripping blood, in the Queen’s Courtyard without any sort of authorisation. This was not good.

For a human, carrying the body of a dead demon was difficult, as they were big and heavy. Some species of demons also had very strange ideas about personal hygiene so just going near them was a horrific experience. Kari was, however, a lot stronger than the average human, and the smell didn’t really bother her (She had grown up in hell, which had a unique odour of sulphur, stale sweat, blood, decaying things and, oddly, cherries) so she lifted the dripping corpse up onto her shoulder and climbed back over the wall. Most people would not be familiar with the various ways to dispose of unwanted corpses but Kari, unfortunately, was quite experienced at this. Her favourite way was the river, though it was sometimes awkward if she bumped into a local criminal who was also disposing of a body. Usually they both pretended they hadn’t seen each other and steered clear of trouble for a few weeks. Azri could be a bit of a problem, though, as they were noted if they turned up floating. So that left her with only one option.

Still moving silently through the back alleys she found what she was looking for, a night soil cart. The two men were busy collecting the refuse outside a disreputable bar which gave her enough time to throw the corpse on the back and make a dash for it. It quickly sank into the waste, so that only a few claws and tufts of hair were visible.

Kari wandered nonchalantly down the streets again back to her small set of rooms in Mrs Ling’s house. Even though the moons were well and truly out, the small wrinkled woman was still awake and knitting in her rocking chair. Mrs Ling had rented out the top floor of her house for years, ever since her husband had died. The story she liked to tell was that he had been a pirate and had stolen her away from the faraway place she was born. In reality he had been a cloth merchant and retired to the city with his wife only to die two years later.

“Good evening, dear. How are Bill and Rosie?” She looked up and smiled, her face rearranging its wrinkles, some stretching and others compounding. After Kari’s mumbled reply, she went on to say, “Leave your shirt out and I will wash all that demon blood out in the morning.” When Kari’s eyes widened in surprise the little old lady just smiled again.

Since being mystified by both Mrs Ling’s kindness and apparent knowledge of exactly what Kari did was nothing new to her by now, Kari gave up and went to bed, though not before leaving her shirt out.

*

“So you’re just going to swan in here after I have done all the hard work, glance at my notes, and then command me about like your own personal slave?” Kari had had enough, and it was only half past nine in the morning. She had technically been on shift only half an hour, but had been summoned to the office at six that morning by the snobby elf sitting before her and then commanded to do all sorts of demeaning things. This was the last straw. She drew the line at bringing freshly brewed coffee for the elf.

“I am reviewing the information you have gathered thus far, and bad handwriting and poor hygiene aside, your notes seem to be quite thorough,” he replied haughtily, not even looking at her.

“What do you, mean bad hygiene? I wash every day!” She exclaimed, then thought about what he had said, which had in fact been a sort of compliment if in a back-handed elf way.

“If you wash every day, then you wouldn’t smell of sulphur,” He did look at her then, but not at her face, instead perusing the dented breast plate, slightly frayed sleeves of her padded surcoat and patched trousers of her uniform. He, however, was once again impeccably dressed, in a long blue robe that skimmed the floor. His hair had also been done in a practical yet incredibly intricate braid that reached down to his waist.

“Well at least I don’t look like I’d tumble over in a breeze.” Yes, she thought, got you on this one.

“No, of all the things in this room Corporal, you are the least elegant,” he replied, not at all flustered or even seeming to care what she had said.

It took a moment for Kari to realise he had, yet again, insulted her. She was about to rip his face off with her claws when a thought occurred to her, “So, Elathir, why can’t you just track the demonic artefacts?” she said, trying to steer the conversation away from her personal deportment.

“Because every time we get close to discovering where the items or substances came from, everyone we wish to speak to suddenly disappears,” Elathir said through gritted teeth. His demeanour had changed from annoyed tolerance to downright malicious rage.

“So you failed,” Kari had found a nerve of her own to strum.

“It is not failure when everything you had vanishes and everyone who originally looked into it dies in one attack.” His eyes seemed to glaze over in memory. “Four elves went into that farmhouse, none returned, and the explosion killed the animals in every field for a half-mile radius. Another four to add to the list of murders by your kind.” The last part he said with genuine hatred, he didn’t even try to hide the expression of disgust on his face.

“What do you mean ‘my kind’?”

Before he could answer, six men were carrying something large and heavy on a blanket into the room. Immediately following them was the smell, which caught up quickly and then decided to greet everyone in the room simultaneously. The men seemed not to notice the chaos the smell was causing and placed the big, heavy blanket down in the middle of the room. When they moved back she managed to have a good look at the mess covering it.

It was an Azri, and it was covered in...

SHIT!