Jackal Among Snakes

A window jerked open quietly on the second floor of an inn, and then someone slid into the room: a man armored in black. Someone else occupying the room sat up anxiously at the sudden entrance yet let out a sigh of relief when she laid eyes on the person. She threw off her sheets and rose to her feet.

“You’re supposed to look out windows, and walk out doors, Ganbaatar. When will you do things normally?” she said, wreathing herself in the discarded sheets.

Ganbaatar stumbled a little, coming to lean up against the wall. “When the term ‘normal’ applies to me.”

As he slouched down and pulled off his boot, the woman stepped up to him with brows furrowed in concern. In the light, one could see her blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. She knelt down just as she wrenched his boot off. One of his toes had been completely crushed.

“You searched the vampire out, didn’t you?” she said, voice sharp as a whip.

“I found him, actually. He had white irises—the eye was as helpful as ever,” Ganbaatar countered with a pained voice, pulling off the black wrappings around his head to reveal his golden-thread hair and elven ears. “He was alone. I took my chances.”

“And lost, from what I see,” the woman knelt down.

“Svetlana…” Ganbaatar trailed off. “I surprised him. I took him off guard. Even despite that… I only barely avoided death thrice. Now… now he knows.”

Svetlana held her hand out, a magic matrix swirling before her hand. Slowly, his crushed toe began to regain some of its structure. Once it was done, she lowered her hand. “Had I come with you, this would not have happened. Had you allowed me to help, this would not have happened.”

Ganbaatar flexed his toes, then rebutted, “You don’t know these fiends as I do. I left the sacred forests of my people to hunt them down. The glass eye—”

“I wish you’d never found the damn thing,” Svetlana shook her head and rose to her feet. “The past two months since you’ve gotten it, all you’ve done is seek out those it displays.”

Ganbaatar looked away. “I won’t ask you to continue on if you don’t want to.”

“All I wish is for there to be a reason you brought me along, Ganbaatar,” she said, blue eyes fixing on his own. “My aunt is a Magister of the Order of the Gray Owl, and I heard tell that she’s here, visiting with Margrave Ivan. What’s more, vampirism is illegal within all the cities of Vasquer. You need not go about this alone.”

“But I—”

“Could you beat him?” Svetlana interrupted. “You surprised him, and yet you lost.”

Ganbaatar seemed to debate that internally. “No. I don’t think I could, especially not if he’s alert, now.”

“Is he recognizable? Any distinguishing features?” Svetlana pressed.

Ganbaatar laughed. “It’s harder to forget him. A great hulk of a man, taller than me by two heads. He had elven ears… though he could not be of pure elven blood. Perhaps he is one of the offshoots, those born outside the sacred forest…”

“Then we go to my aunt. Failing that, we seek out the margrave,” Svetlana declared.

not an active threat—I saw him feed. He knocked a man unconscious and drained him of some blood, then let him be. To

against Ganbaatar’s recently healed toe, and he

on the streets?” she said pointedly. “You ambushed him, yet you came

at his toe, no response

#####

left from the inn they were staying at with Vasilisa as quietly as they could manage. Both moved with great haste towards the distant ferry on the edge of the island, eager to see if the

“Do you think…”

standing beside him. Instead, a great dragon’s maw lunged out towards him, roaring. Every muscle in his body surged to action, and he

Yet nothing else happened.

He took deep breaths to calm himself, then looked towards where

the scene, but she wasn’t quite laughing as hard. Instead… there was some caution in her eyes. Slowly, Hegazar came to regard Argrave much

be out here in this dreadfully cold wasteland, his hair having gone white… yet now I find a more urgent question on the tip of my tongue: why does His Majesty possess such a terrifyingly large pool of magic?” he used a respectful address, but the words seemed

asked, a question

her, he relaxed somewhat. She was just as off-kilter as he was, likely

seemed like the stage was set for you to head to war…

analysis of their disposition. She

Argrave called out. “It’s quite a long

#####

letting others do your work for you, Your Majesty?” Hegazar remarked

the sandy coast just outside the ferry in a small circle, the two like a smaller mirror of them. As though to demonstrate a point they wished to make, Vera sat on Hegazar’s lap, wrapped in his arms—evidently, something had brought them back together. Argrave wasn’t exactly sure

And there was something worth getting out here. I certainly feel of much better use—things are starting to come together. I think I know why you’re out

down. “I don’t like

business. You asked us to meet you here. I trust it’s for

white hair he’d donned to feign being a snow elf. “My hair hasn’t gone white. I’m wearing this for a little deception of mine. And

Hegazar nodded in agreement of

“The people here don’t know what I look like. The Magister I’m travelling with… she definitely doesn’t. I’m working something to make

strange stone disc. Practically locked us all inside until we were brainwashed—no ‘persuading’ done at all. Maybe that’s why Traugott went off the deep end.” The bald man raised his brow. “And I’m told you were the one to give the old man his lead to that disc. That doesn’t matter, not for now.

lip, deliberating. “The one thing my faction lacks is spellcasters. The north remains staunchly undecided. The former Quadreign crownlands have an abundance of magic users—magic users that can be swayed and brought to the

the great favor you owe him… to speak nothing of what I believe you owe me,”

he

said as she gripped Hegazar’s leg. “And there is quite a pressing matter to deal with: namely, the nightmare we are all aware looms on the

honestly. “Not the nightmare part, but

that we shouldn’t do something so foolish as fishing in troubled waters… right, dear?” Hegazar looked down at Vera, and she nodded back at him. “Right. I don’t know what came over Traugott, but I much like living. Given the breadth of your knowledge and Castro’s predestined support, we can offer

raised a brow.