Page 55 of Trapped By Claws
"If he has anyone here at all," Black Claws grumbled. He turned over one of the cupboards. The top cracked in a jagged split.
"He's got someone," Lishen responded. "It's the only thing that explains how fast he's burning through it and everything else. It's treason. Keep looking. Look for anything. Any proof."
"Why doesn't the king just execute him if he's so convinced?" Black Claws demanded. He shoved over the stool, then kicked open the guest bedroom again. Blue Ridges had gone into the storeroom. From the rustle and clatter and shattering that came from inside, he was doing a great deal of damage.
Lishen turned on Black Claws and seized him by the tunic, his eyes flashing with rage.
"The king wants proof first. Evidence that Corvin has betrayed us by harboring a human."
Black Claws scoffed, but his voice shook. "So the king needs proof of something he already believes? Seems foolish. You know he's guilty, Lishen."
"Perhaps. That doesn't change the need for proof. The king likes his fun. These charges are no fun without proof," Lishen growled.
The fae ransacked the cave, overturning furniture and smashing anything they deemed suspicious. I huddled in the hidden nook, heart pounding, willing Tagger to stay silent. He burrowed against me, his dark-purple eyes glittering through the thin slice of light that pierced our hiding place. I held my finger to my lips.
Not a sound, baby.
He tucked his head against my arm.
It seemed to go on forever, the two fae ruthlessly searching every inch of the cottage. Finally Lishen spoke again, his voice tight with frustration. "There's nothing here. No sign of any human. Not even another female." He spat a curse.
"I told you," growled Black Claws.
"Silence!" Lishen snapped.
Black Claws cringed and then bolted out of the room as the larger fae lifted his armored hand.
Blue Ridges chuckled darkly. "I'm going to hang back here. That otter'll come back soon. Asha said he commanded it to remain. It probably just went fishing. I'll gut it and string it up. Good lesson for the flesh scraps about what happens when he considers disobeying the king."
I hugged Tagger tighter. The otter wriggled in my arms, but he remained silent, poking my neck with his nose and whispers.
Please don't make a sound, baby. I closed my eyes and pressed my head to his.
Lishen gave a careless wave of his hand. "Do as you wish. But do not delay in returning. If the king gives the word, the hunt begins in a matter of hours. The skin scraps will be good for a chase, even if his mate dies fast."
"It won't take that long." Blue Ridges closed the door behind Lishen. He then strode over to the stool and sat down facing the door, as if he expected Tagger to return at any minute.
Rage burned within me. Over the years, I had met so many despicable people. And this waste of fae magic was one of the worst. I picked up the mini-crossbow and checked the bolt. Good. Perfectly in place. He'd have one hell of a headache when he woke.
I slid the panel back slowly. The stew continued to bubble and simmer on the stove, the lid rattling occasionally as the logs hissed and popped.
Blue Ridges continued to stare at the door, ready to pounce when Tagger returned.
My upper lip curled as I took aim.
Then, easy as breathing, I squeezed the trigger. The tranquilizer struck him dead in the back of the neck.
With a half-uttered curse, he grabbed at his neck and slumped.
I rolled out of the hiding place and struck the ground feet first.
Tagger leaped down and chittered. "That's right, Tagger," I said, setting the crossbow aside, rage like ice in my heart. "We're going to conduct our own interrogation."
ANSWERS FOR ME
It didn't take long to bind Blue Ridges. I put him in one of the chairs and lashed him to it with prickly ropes from the storeroom, not taking any care to be gentle. He'd be down for maybe another five minutes or so if I did nothing. And that was all I needed.
It was high time I got answers.
