Messenger in the Mist. Aubrie Dionne

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ Not only was she exotic looking, she wore the glimmering translucent silk of the messenger’s embroidered coat, marking her importance.

      After the initial shock of her entrance, the people returned to their business and Star was able to seek the owner without being bothered. Everyone knew not to get in the way of a messenger. Not only were there fierce repercussions, but the carriers were trained in all manner of combat arts. Like her colleagues, Star’s reactions were fast, her movements fluid and unpredictable. Despite her small stature, everyone knew to leave her be.

      A broad woman with straggly chestnut hair and layers of aprons looked up quickly from a round of bubbling mugs and extended her calloused hand. “Hilda Plin. I’m the new innkeeper.”

      “Star Nightengale, messenger for the Interkingdom Carriers.” Star ceremoniously presented the letter from the guard. She waited patiently as Hilda read it over, trying to ignore the chorus of whispers behind her. They’d let her be, but their tongues kept moving.

      “Says here you’re to lodge with us.” Hilda clicked her teeth together in thought. Star could tell the old barmaid favored the arrangements. The royal family paid large sums for hired services. “You can stay in the honored guest room. Top of the stairs, first door on the right.” Hilda pocketed the paper and looked around, taking in the stares that people shot over their shoulders. “You’ve had a long journey. Go on up. I’ll bring you something to eat.” She handed Star a rough metal key.

      Star was relieved she didn’t have to sit amongst all the ogling patrons. Hilda must have understood when a woman needed her privacy. Star decided she liked the tavern’s new chief-barmaid. With a courteous bow, she accepted the key and ascended the crowded steps, pushing past the waves of dark faces.

      Once she secured the door to her room, she opened her coat and the bunnyfly tumbled out with a small chirp. Star took a blanket off her bed and gently placed the animal in the folds of cotton fabric. She filled a cup of water from the washbasin and positioned it in front of the bunnyfly along with the last crumbs of bread.

      As Star watched the animal nibble the stale morsels, she wondered again how such a sequestered, prized pet wandered into such danger. People couldn’t even get past the walls, and yet a senseless bunnyfly sneaked out, undetected. She sat by it on the floor, petting its furry head until the animal fell asleep. There was only one way it could escape. The fortress must have a crack in the facade so deep it penetrated through to the inner district, or a secret tunnel. Star stored the possibility away. She would think on it later. Now she had letters to sort.

      There was a woodstove by the window, along with a pile of kindling and matches. Star started a fire, the coaxed flames breathing warmth to her small room. With great anticipation, she opened her pack bag, spreading the letters out onto the floor. She knew she should rest, but the lure of the unknown was too strong to ignore. Star needed to know where her morning roving would take her. Quickly, she organized the rolls of stamped papers into piles. The streets of Ravencliff sprang up in her memory, each letter becoming a stop along the way.

      There were several letters for the inhabitants of the inner district, a place where they had an excess of money to spare on such frivolities as correspondence. Most of the letters were for the royal guardsmen of the castle. They had family members in both kingdoms, their orders taking them to posts without thought of their own personal agendas. Star always felt for those away from their homes. She would deliver their letters first.

      As the pile slimmed down, Star became more and more disgruntled. She possessed no letters addressed to the royal family, thus no way to visit the prince. Disappointed, she gave in to rest. The journey caught up to her, leaving her limbs sore and weary. The fire in the woodstove rose to full flames, leaving a heady, warm ambiance inviting sleepy dreams.

      Hilda’s boisterous knock woke Star just as she nodded off in front of the orange light. “Dinner.”

      Star rushed to the door, her mind still muddled by the haziness of sleep. She opened the door to see a large platter of meats and roasted potatoes, apple cider and gingerbread. Hilda had cooked a feast.

      “Hilda,” Star said, her voice husky with wonderment, “this is wonderful. Thank you!” Somehow, the opulence of the food made Star forget how long it had taken to arrive.

      But Hilda paid her no heed. In fact, she almost tipped the tray and dropped the food right onto Star. In a swift move, Hilda fell back a step, stumbling into the narrow hallway.

      Star reacted quickly, sliding her arms underneath the tray. Hilda stared wide-eyed into her room. If Star hadn’t reacted quickly, she would have been wearing her dinner instead of eating it. The innkeeper seemed like a hard woman to impress, but here she was, gaping like a schoolgirl watching soldiers march in a parade.

      “What’s the matter?” Star wondered if she’d somehow damaged the interior of her lodgings. “Hilda, are you all right?”

      “Why, I never…” Hilda mumbled. “That’s Nina’s pet.”

      It took long moments for Star to realize Hilda stared at the bunnyfly. The animal looked up from the makeshift bed with large and vacant eyes, a piece of crumb bread stuck in its whiskers. It cooed softly, a polite noise sounding like a question.

      Star’s memory referenced the entire catalog of names she had delivered letters to in Ravencliff, but could think of no one named Nina. The pairing was odd because someone wealthy enough to have a bunnyfly would obviously have enough money for regular correspondence. “I’m sorry, I do not know of a Nina.”

      Hilda’s eyes never left the bunnyfly. “Nina’s just what we call her here at the tavern. That animal belongs to Bellanina, the king’s daughter.”

      “Oh.” Star’s thoughts raced faster than Windracer could ever carry her. Suddenly the bunnyfly didn’t seem as ridiculous. “I found it on the moors. What should I do?”

      “The poor thing’s been missin’ for three days now. The king ordered every soldier on duty to keep their eyes peeled. The promised reward is great. Why, you should deliver it to the castle first thing in the morning.”

      “The castle.” Star tried not to smile as her heart basked in the thought. “Of course.”

      Chapter 3

      Breach

      The castle was the centerpiece of Ravencliff, like a dark cherry on a cream-frosted cake. Chipped from the onyx stone of the mountain, the walls were polished slates of ebony sprinkled with crevices of grainy gold, where black ravens pieced together their nests with hay. The marble hall towered above the other dwellings of the city. Framed by a stone fence high enough to shadow the sun in midday, it was a fortress within a fortress, the pinnacle of the city.

      It was easy enough for Star to gain access. Instead of presenting the royal seal on a letter, Star reached into her shirt and displayed the glittering bunnyfly. The guards stopped chattering in mid-sentence and parted before her like sheep before a wolf, the whites of their eyes growing with newfound curiosity. The path cleared and Star encouraged Windracer on.

      A guard broke the silence as Star rode past. “Where did you find it?”

      “Where no one is allowed to go,” Star answered over her shoulder. She was feeling a bit mischievous, holding her key to the castle in both hands.

      “Where’s that? The king’s brewery?” another guard quipped, igniting a series of rowdy laughter.

      “No.” СКАЧАТЬ