Page 70 of Master
"She left here over an hour ago to find you."
"Was something wrong?" My voice sounded breathless and hard to hear over the thudding of my heart. As a Vaktairewarrior, I trained to take the physical response from fear and channel it to strengthen in battle. Fear was useful to make us more aware. The Vaktaire called itbattle sense,and right now, my battle sense reared with such force, my knees wobbled.
"Not really. Clara mentioned she heard the mayor coughing when we were in the gym and wanted to check on him." The roll of her eyes signified Mei thought the errand bothersome, but not dangerous.
Why, then, did battle sense scream through my body?
I didn't like Parlow, but he hadn’t appeared dangerous. Now, the hairs on my neck rose, foreboding so strong I could scent it over the braising meat. That Clara could be with that male—no matter the reason made me want to murder him... slowly and painfully.
"I'm going to look for her." I turned, but Mei's tiny hand landed on my forearm. Her skin held the faint chill of worry.
"I'll comm Bartholomeus to meet you at the mayor's house." A sly smile touched her mouth. "If Atkins gave her a hard time, kick his ass. I never liked that putz."
I started to tell Mei not to bother Bartholomeus, but decided his presence might be the only thing that kept me from killing the mayor.
"Don't worry," I promised, my smile showing more teeth than usual. "I will."
I stepped into the garden, stilling, and centered my senses as I raised my face skyward. Mei said it had been over an hour. Still, Clara's fragrance hovered faintly, her floral, spicy scent like a trail of proverbial breadcrumbs. I follow it out of thegarden, then west. Her scent concentrated at the intersection. She'd paused here alone for at least a few minutes.
The mayor lived at the end of a side street in the most ostentatious home in the village. Made of white stone, his house glowed in the rising moonlight. Clara's scent saturated the air but grew bitter as I approached the house. Something here made her afraid, and my heart thudded in response.
The low growl breaking from my lips menaced the air. I leaped onto the mayor's porch, my fist pounding on the door so ferociously that I heard the wood crack and groan under my touch.
Nothing but stillness answered.
I paused, sucking in deep breaths to calm my erratic heartbeat. Why did I feel so afraid?
I attuned my hearing, catching nothing inside the abode save the scurry of rodents. Lifting my head to catch the breeze, Clara's scent grew stronger. I inhaled deeply, discovering her fragrance led not into the house but behind it.
Leaping from the porch, I followed my nose to the side gate. Her scent concentrated here, the bitterness growing as she moved through and into the backyard.
The back of Parlow's house was as garish as the front. A large pool carved from the same white stone sat in the center, surrounded by meticulously trimmed lawns and shrubbery.
I stepped toward the pool when another odor caught my attention, drawing me toward where the perfectly manicured grass gave way to the woodlands. Clara's scent dwelled here, doused in bitterness accompanied by another that explained her fear. Animalistic, musky with a metallic undercurrent as thoughthe battle and death their kind reveled in permeated their very pores.
Kerzak.
The sightings reported to the peacekeeper hadn't been mistaken.
My blood chilled, and if someone caught my odor at that moment, it would be very bitter indeed. My heart surged with fear for her.
I'd stumbled onto the answer to the mystery of who orchestrated the mumje attack.
Trouble was, Clara had stumbled here first.
Chapter 17
Clara
Well, this sucks!
I'd knocked on Mayor Parlow's door to no avail and turned to head back toward Mei's when I heard his voice coming from behind the house. I considered not checking on him since he sounded fine as far as I could tell, but guilt got the better of me.
Then, just as I passed through the garden gate, someone threw a bag over my head, and…here I am, carried along like a sack of Buck's beloved sweet potatoes. Normally, I'd scream my head off, but just before everything went dark, I noticed Mayor Parlow talking to a Kerzak.
A shiver ran over my skin that had little to do with the coolness of the night. I couldn't get a good look at the grizzly alien, so I didn't know if he was one of the creatures from the Hartouk Lenaii. What if those Kerzak came here seeking revenge?
Before another thought entered my brain, the bag that held me upended, and I went pouring onto the ground, arms and legs akimbo. My attempt to land both gracefully and safely shotto hell when I hit hard on my left shoulder, pain screaming down my body.
