Chapter Nine
Cottonmouth
Initial walk-by confirmed what he knew: that the vault was fortified and well protected.
Parandor was set up like a maze for a reason.
The temple of SunBringer to the north west, the vault to the southeast, and the Order’s main hall to the center of the whole Stronghold.
It meant that, no matter who tried to siege Parandor, and for whatever reason, that other sections could be cut off.
Paladins and clerics would descend upon the wicked fools who thought themselves strong enough to take on a holy army.
Too bad for his crew and Avelina that he never intended to rob the vault. In fact, he imagined they’d all die in that exchange. Well, it has to be believable. If he were going to get away with faking his death, it needed it to be so thorough that no one would question it.
They finished up their food and headed for Parandor as the sun turned burnt orange in the sky.
They’d have to stay the night at the tavern, which is why Grahm and Hog stayed behind to get rooms for all of them.
Best if they slithered in late in the night and went straight to bed.
Rat, Jed, Avelina, and Callum followed the crowd of people shuffling back into Parandor for the evening.
Unlike the northern entrance that was partially a train station, the southern entrance was a giant road surrounded by parked stalls for those meandering their way across the bridge into the Stronghold.
Guards stood at the archway, the iron gate ready to slam down over anyone at any time, but he’d never seen it actually closed.
Rat was ahead of them, talking with Jed animatedly while the pair ate out of a giant, oily paper bag. Callum caught the shift in Avelina, her body tensing as they approached the walls. He slung an arm over her shoulders, “Relax, ain’t no body gonna even look our way.”
In fact, no one had since they left the tavern.
Even with his tail, or Rat’s horns or Jed’s feathers, no one spared them a second look.
Always too busy with the heavy crowd of people shouting at each other, other men getting into scuffles that needed to be broken up.
No mind was paid to the four people minding their own business in dusty travel cloaks.
They passed through the gateway without a Paladin so much as asking to see their papers.
“How…is this possible?” she gasped softly as the four lingered near a building inside the walls.
“Told you, it’s all about confidence.” He grinned.
“Your poster was all over the train. I knew who you were the second I saw you!” she grumbled.
“True, but if we’d met like this? Me in a crowd of people, would you have even looked me in the face?” He cocked his head to see her face shift. A furious understanding bleeding into all her features as she sighed. He chuckled, patting her opposite shoulder. “It’s alright, Darlin’.”
She huffed, stomping out of his touch and down the street.
The group followed her, Rat and Jed because they were curious where she was going, Callum because he knew she was headed toward the vault.
A different route than he would have taken, but he usually took the scenic route through the city anytime he had to slither up into it.
The last time he came to Parandor, it was to see a man about a debt.
Avelina took the route he imagined a Paladin on a schedule would take, because it was quick and precise.
In a manner of minutes, she stepped out of the shadowed alleys into the open courtyard before the vault.
It was a giant, three-story building. Much like the rest of Parandor, built with beige stone, cracks of gold and black like marble.
Its pillars were shaped like dancing flames, and the sun embedded on the front of the doors.
A crest for the SunBringer glowing in the setting sun.
There was little light left from the sky, lanterns steadily being lit around the courtyard.
Bushes full of golden roses as well as short, charming trees framed the cobblestone.
She stumbled back into the shadows, into Callum’s chest as a man in full plate armor stepped out of the gardens into the courtyard, deep in conversation with someone else. In fact, a whole pack of paladins in their golden armor, crisp capes, and boisterous voices stepped out.
One thing he didn’t account for, that suddenly filled his skull, was what did he do if any of those fuckers recognized Avelina.
Him? He was just another guy in a city full of all sorts of people.
Travelers, citizens, Parandor was a hub of people seeking refuge, rest, or riches. Rat and Jed? Regular people.
She was the daughter of the Knight Commander, recently slaughtered.
“I’m surprised you let me do that,” she breathed, as if thinking the exact same thing. “What if I just ran away?”
“And go where?” He bent over to whisper in her ear.
“I could get on the train.”
“You got coin to pay for tickets?” he snickered, slithering so that they were both leaning against the side of some building, looming in the growing shadow of night.
“Fine, I’ll walk. You taught me I can just walk in and out of anywhere, so I’ll just walk away.”
“Walk where? Once again, little viper,” he teased against her ear lobe as they both studied the people weaving in and out of the courtyard ahead of them.
“Yer forgettin’ just how lost ya are. Little girl in the wide-wide world, sure ya could walk away but we both know yer not lastin’ a night on ya own.
Go on, stomp off, I’m not gonna stop ya. ”
That was a lie. He would absolutely stop her.
She was too integral to his plan; she was not going anywhere.
But Avelina didn’t call his bluff. Instead, she curled up more into the safety of his chest, his arms like armor as they wrapped around her.
He put one hand under her chin and pointed her attention across the courtyard.
The other pressed to her soft stomach and kept her pinned to his chest. Callum reveled in the way she shivered despite being burning hot.
Her warmth seeped out of the fabric of her clothes.
“Didn’t think so,” he chuckled. Callum opened his mouth to tell her where to go, or that they were taking a different route, when a door opened nearby.
The four of them turned to glance back at two men stumbling out into the alley, clearly drunk.
However, it was the gleaming armor under a floating lantern that made them freeze in place.
“We’ve talked about this, Gavin. Charles, both of you are forbidden from returning here, and you know…”
Lantern light crawled up the alley and the Paladin glanced up in time to catch Avelina’s face.
Her damn, precious ruby hair was a dead giveaway.
A man, mid-twenties, barely old enough to fill out the armor stopped in his tracks.
The two drunkards he was dragging out by their ears also halted their fumbling steps to stare at her.
“I know you, don’t I?” either Gavin or Charles, both identical, floppy-haired men with bushy beards that stank of beer, asked. The one who spoke jabbed a dirty fingernail in her direction. “Yeah! Yeah, you’re that girl from the papers!”
“Avelina Dalethorn,” the paladin breathed like he saw a ghost.
“Lancelot, I swear, it’s not what you think,” Avelina put up her palms softly.
“I heard you’re a warlock,” the other drunkard gasped, clutching some wooden medallion to his chest. “Back off, foul creature!”
“Lancelot, please, you’ve got to help me!
” Avelina jolted toward them, out of Callum’s touch, but he didn’t have to stop her.
The two men tumbled over themselves to get away from her, howling like hurt dogs.
Rat and Jed bolted into the dark, knives out to stop the noise.
They needed to leave. The ruckus would soon draw the attention of others.
Lancelot, however, stood his ground. He summoned a golden spear from the air around him and pointed the tip at Avelina’s throat. Callum slithered through the shadow, taking the opportunity while the Paladin was focused solely on Avelina, to prime himself.
Time to take an abrupt exit. His boys had already confirmed for him what he remembered.
The only reason they came inside was for him to see it himself.
All of that wasn’t necessary if it kept their element of surprise.
They still needed to stir up shit with the other outlaws, there were still things they could do prior to this.
It’s still too soon, we’ll need a little more time to pass. The train wreck is still too fresh.
He calculated everything in his head in the few moments from when Lancelot leveled his spear at Avelina, and his little warlock breaking out in tears.
“Avelina Dalethorn, you are under arrest for the murders of—”
“I didn’t! That wasn’t me! It was Catalysta.
” A scream, wet and short echoed through the city.
Gavin or Charles is dead. The Paladin’s eyes widened at the utterance of The Voiceless One’s name in the dark.
Callum wasn’t religious but he knew that invoking another goddess, especially one in direct conflict with SunBringer, was a huge no-no.
Another yelp of pain was followed by a heavy splash and suddenly, other people stopped to stare down the alley. Both those drunkards are dead.
“Enough,” Callum growled. The Paladin Lancelot seemed to recognize he wasn’t alone too late as Callum darted across the cobblestone alley.
His blade barely caught the lantern light before it was painted crimson.
Short. Clean. The cut along the Paladin’s exposed, bobbing larynx gushed.
Clattering metal alerted others, but Callum already had Avelina by the armpit.
They raced away from the spot, finding his boys cleaning up their messes with the same sense of urgency.