Page 16 of Storm of Shadows

“That’s not—” The barkeep’s expression hardens, and I cut my words short. Arguing with him will achieve nothing. If I want to look around, I have no choice but to rent the room for the night.

I reluctantly pick out four silvers and hand them to the thieving barkeep. At least I left Nolderan well prepared and filled my purse with all the gold I could find, as well as a few silvers. Since a hundred silvers make one gold coin, I estimate I’d have enough to rent the room for an entire year, but it’s a matter of principle. I’m careful not to let him see any of the golden coins inside my purse, or else he’ll demand even more for the room.

The barkeep retrieves a ledger from beneath his counter and dips a quill into a pot of ink. “Your name?”

Is it wise to give him my real surname? This is the first time I’ve left Nolderan, and I’ve no idea how much the rest of the world knows about us. If they know the Grandmage is—or was—an Ashbourne, will I draw unnecessary attention to myself? And I don’t know whether Arluin has any spies lurking here. If I give my true name, he might discover that I’m pursuing him.

“Whiteford,” I say instead.

The barkeep nods and scrawls Eliya’s surname across the page. “There’s also a deposit of two silvers, which will be returned to you in the morning in exchange for the key. The cost of any damage, however, will be deducted from this amount.”

It’s hard not to scowl as I reach into my purse for a second time. I place two silvers onto the counter with the rest of my coins. Only the gods know whether I’ll see my deposit again.

The barkeep swipes the six coins from the counter and puts away his ledger and hands me a key. I take it from him before he can rob me of any more silver.

“Oi, Melaine,” he shouts over to a barmaid laughing with a table full of sailors. “Take these two to room six.”

The barmaid looks displeased at being forced away from her acquaintances but doesn’t argue with her employer. She gestures for us to follow her upstairs. “This way,” she says.

The wooden stairs creak as we ascend them and feel far from sturdy. The owner must be too greedy to pay a carpenter to check the rungs. Zephyr at least has the sense to drift behind me, rather than adding extra weight to my shoulders and further unbalancing me.

Thankfully, I make it to the top without falling through the steps and hurry after the barmaid who’s already waltzing down the corridor.

“Here’s the room,” she says, stopping at a door with a metal six nailed onto it. “Make sure you return the key to Darius in the morning.”

I assume by Darius, she means the barkeep. She hands me the key, and I take it from her and unlock the door.

While the room is spacious, there’s only one bed. The blankets don’t look expensive, but at least they aren’t moth bitten. Zephyr drifts past me and onto the bed. He pads around before settling down and curling up.

Chests of drawers sit on either side of the bed, and one handle looks like it will fall off if pulled with too much force. Candles perch on top of the drawers, and a fireplace lies along the left wall. The only decorations in here are the plain circular rug lying at the foot of the bed and the mountainous landscape hanging above the fireplace.

“Ignis,” I say, igniting all the candles. Their warm light illuminates the room.

Natharius remains in the doorway, his eyes narrowed.

It seems I have no choice but to free him from my command of silence, or else he won’t be able to tell me if he finds a clue, and he’ll certainly revel in that. “You may speak again.”

He doesn’t and remains by the door, glaring at me. With how murderous his scowl is, I expected him to take full advantage of his freed tongue and start hurling threats at me. I suppose they’ll come later.

I scan across the room. If we can find anything the necromancers left behind, the Void Prince can use it in another tracking spell. “Start searching, demon. If you find anything of note—particularly anything belonging to the necromancers—you’ll bring it to me at once.”

His iridescent eyes simmer. I imagine his true crimson eyes are burning as brightly as wildfire beneath. The tendons in his neck tighten as he battles with the power of my compulsion. But as always, his resistance isn’t enough. He drags himself from the doorway and stalks across the room to the chests of drawers, without uttering a single word. Somehow, his silence is more frightening than his insults. Like the calm before a storm.

I turn to the wardrobe on the right and swing open the oaken doors. Must wafts out and burns my nostrils. I exhale sharply through my nose, trying to banish the smell, and reach inside. I feel through the darkness, but my fingers only find dust. The drawers at the foot of the wardrobe are as empty. I sit back on my heels and sigh. When I glance at Natharius, it seems his search isn’t faring much better as he tears open empty drawer after empty drawer. But it’s not time to admit defeat yet. There are plenty of other places to search. Like under the wardrobe.

I drop to a crouch and press my cheek to the damp floorboards. I can see nothing but darkness through the gap between the wardrobe and the floor, so I draw aether to my fingers and murmuriluminosto conjure a radiant orb. It slots through the narrow gap and makes the area as bright as day. Other than dead spiders and their long-forgotten webs, there’s nothing under the wardrobe.

I haul myself up and search the bed as thoroughly as I can, hoping to find even a loose thread—though I’m unsure whether that would be enough to fuel the Void Prince’s tracking spell. Zephyr growls when I try to lift the bed sheets. I give him a pointed look. “Don’t you dare growl at me,” I scold. “Not when you aren’t even helping us.”

He tilts his head, considering my words.

“This search would go a lot faster with an extra pair of hands. Or talons.”

Zephyr hesitates for a moment longer before surrendering his spot and fluttering over to the fireplace to search there. His talons claw through the ashy remnants of firewood.

I find nothing in the bed or beneath it, only more dead insects and dust.

I survey my surroundings, wondering if there’s somewhere we’ve missed. But then I notice Zephyr nuzzling something in the rug. Whatever it is, he can’t pick it up.

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