Macready as if to forestall a duet of Islandser drinking songs. ‘He said to meet us here. He’s this tall, and he looks, um…’ She waved a hand vaguely across her face. ‘How do I describe him, Mac?’
‘Pretty,’ said Macready.
‘I wouldn’t say pretty…’
‘Do me a favour, Kelpie. The lad looks like something they paint on theatre ceilings. He might be wearing a brown cloak,’ Macready added to the innkeeper.
‘Him,’ said the innkeeper. ‘Aye, he’s upstairs with the other cove. A little under the weather, if you ask me.’
‘A scarred man?’ Kelpie asked intently. ‘Dark eyes, talks fast?’
‘Talks fast, right enough,’ the innkeeper agreed, blocking the path of one persistent moggy with his boot. ‘No, you don’t, old Tom. I’ll set the rats on you, so I will. Didn’t see any scars.’
Macready grabbed Kelpie’s elbow. ‘We’ll be going up to see them, if you don’t mind.’
‘Eh, help yerself,’ the innkeeper said with a shrug. ‘Come down and have a drink afterwards, youngster. I’m sure we have kin in common.’
‘More than likely, so it is.’ Macready steered Kelpie through the inn doors.
‘If any of those dratted felines have made their way inside, do us a favour and chuck them out the window?’ the innkeeper called after them.
‘Aye, I will!’ Macready yelled back.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Kelpie as they crossed into the empty bar and went up the rickety stairs to the rooms above. ‘If it’s not Ash, who is it?’
‘You’re not thinking with your brain,’ Macready scolded her. ‘His scars don’t show to the daylight folk. Eh, and it could as easily be a new cat in town.’
‘Just when we need a Creature King?’
‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ said Macready. ‘If there’s one thing our Ashiol isn’t, it’s a Power and Majesty. We learned that last time around.’
Crane waited in the corridor upstairs, his lanky frame folded against a door. Two ginger kittens were playing with his bootstraps.
‘I don’t think I want to know,’ said Kelpie, hesitating.
Macready rolled his eyes in Crane’s direction. ‘Will you not put her out of her misery, laddie-buck, and tell us if it’s our man in there driving every cat in this city to distraction just like the bad old days?’
‘It’s Ashiol,’ Crane confirmed.
‘Is he…’ Kelpie trailed off as if she wasn’t sure what question she wanted to ask first.
Macready could think of a few. Is he in one piece, is he sane, is he likely to kill us where we stand?
Crane looked haunted. His angelic face had aged a year or two since yesterday. ‘A couple of hours ago, he was the same crippled mess we saw when he was exiled from Court,’ he said. ‘Didn’t have enough juice in him to call a cat to dinner. Then dawn came…’ Crane indicated the kittens frantically attempting to climb up his legs and scratch their way into the room beyond. ‘Now he’s a full-blooded Creature King with animor leaking out of every pore in his body. It hit him hard. He’s half-drunk with it. I take it Garnet died just before dawn?’ Crane spoke casually, but Macready caught the hurt in the lad’s voice.
‘Don’t you start,’ Macready growled. ‘He’s not worth the mourning.’
‘Didn’t say he was,’ Crane shot back, defensive.
‘I need to see Ashiol,’ said Kelpie. ‘Is he…will he be all right?’
Crane shrugged. ‘He started raving when the animor hit him. Tore the Duchessa’s dress half off in the middle of the Floralia parade, accused her of being in league with the Creature Court.’
Macready grinned at the odd picture this conjured up. ‘I’d have liked to see that.’
‘The whole city thinks he’s a madman.’ Crane yawned, exhausted. ‘Saints, he is a madman. Worse than ever. I’ve had nearly two hours of his ranting. I came out here to give my ears some peace.’
‘Let me through to him,’ said Kelpie. ‘Now, Crane.’
‘Fine.’ The young man moved away from the
‘Pretty,’ said Macready.
‘I wouldn’t say pretty…’
‘Do me a favour, Kelpie. The lad looks like something they paint on theatre ceilings. He might be wearing a brown cloak,’ Macready added to the innkeeper.
‘Him,’ said the innkeeper. ‘Aye, he’s upstairs with the other cove. A little under the weather, if you ask me.’
‘A scarred man?’ Kelpie asked intently. ‘Dark eyes, talks fast?’
‘Talks fast, right enough,’ the innkeeper agreed, blocking the path of one persistent moggy with his boot. ‘No, you don’t, old Tom. I’ll set the rats on you, so I will. Didn’t see any scars.’
Macready grabbed Kelpie’s elbow. ‘We’ll be going up to see them, if you don’t mind.’
‘Eh, help yerself,’ the innkeeper said with a shrug. ‘Come down and have a drink afterwards, youngster. I’m sure we have kin in common.’
‘More than likely, so it is.’ Macready steered Kelpie through the inn doors.
‘If any of those dratted felines have made their way inside, do us a favour and chuck them out the window?’ the innkeeper called after them.
‘Aye, I will!’ Macready yelled back.
‘I don’t understand,’ said Kelpie as they crossed into the empty bar and went up the rickety stairs to the rooms above. ‘If it’s not Ash, who is it?’
‘You’re not thinking with your brain,’ Macready scolded her. ‘His scars don’t show to the daylight folk. Eh, and it could as easily be a new cat in town.’
‘Just when we need a Creature King?’
‘Don’t get your hopes up,’ said Macready. ‘If there’s one thing our Ashiol isn’t, it’s a Power and Majesty. We learned that last time around.’
Crane waited in the corridor upstairs, his lanky frame folded against a door. Two ginger kittens were playing with his bootstraps.
‘I don’t think I want to know,’ said Kelpie, hesitating.
Macready rolled his eyes in Crane’s direction. ‘Will you not put her out of her misery, laddie-buck, and tell us if it’s our man in there driving every cat in this city to distraction just like the bad old days?’
‘It’s Ashiol,’ Crane confirmed.
‘Is he…’ Kelpie trailed off as if she wasn’t sure what question she wanted to ask first.
Macready could think of a few. Is he in one piece, is he sane, is he likely to kill us where we stand?
Crane looked haunted. His angelic face had aged a year or two since yesterday. ‘A couple of hours ago, he was the same crippled mess we saw when he was exiled from Court,’ he said. ‘Didn’t have enough juice in him to call a cat to dinner. Then dawn came…’ Crane indicated the kittens frantically attempting to climb up his legs and scratch their way into the room beyond. ‘Now he’s a full-blooded Creature King with animor leaking out of every pore in his body. It hit him hard. He’s half-drunk with it. I take it Garnet died just before dawn?’ Crane spoke casually, but Macready caught the hurt in the lad’s voice.
‘Don’t you start,’ Macready growled. ‘He’s not worth the mourning.’
‘Didn’t say he was,’ Crane shot back, defensive.
‘I need to see Ashiol,’ said Kelpie. ‘Is he…will he be all right?’
Crane shrugged. ‘He started raving when the animor hit him. Tore the Duchessa’s dress half off in the middle of the Floralia parade, accused her of being in league with the Creature Court.’
Macready grinned at the odd picture this conjured up. ‘I’d have liked to see that.’
‘The whole city thinks he’s a madman.’ Crane yawned, exhausted. ‘Saints, he is a madman. Worse than ever. I’ve had nearly two hours of his ranting. I came out here to give my ears some peace.’
‘Let me through to him,’ said Kelpie. ‘Now, Crane.’
‘Fine.’ The young man moved away from the
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