Weasel Presents by Kyell Gold Page B

Fardew requires anything of you, he’ll summon you himself.”
    “I daresay,” Helfer said, returning the grin.
    He watched Alister leave the room and heard the coyote’s voice proclaiming loudly, “Mister Talison. Lord Ikling has informed me that he is on his way.” A nice touch, Helfer thought as he sidled down the Wolf stairs. Matching the two titles up like that subtly informed the rat that he had no real authority to order Helfer around.
    “Better than I’d do,” he murmured to himself. “I’d just ignore him.” It occurred to him that that was exactly what he was doing, and that thought cheered him considerably.
    He considered stopping by his chambers again to tell Caresh where he was going, but the chance that Dereath would be there or would have sent someone there to look for him was enough to send him directly to the palace exit.
    “Morning!” He waved to the same guard who had admitted him. The badger looked startled only for a moment and then grinned, waving back as Helfer jogged directly out into the street.
    Amazing how the place had changed in just an hour or two. The street he’d sauntered down after his fun with Norville was now packed with servants running errands, tradespeople laden with goods heading for market, and any number of less identifiable people making their way through the stream of traffic. Helfer took off in the opposite direction from the Lonely Cock, keeping his purse in one paw for protection.
    He rarely came down this way, but since he was leaving the palace to avoid Dereath anyway, he thought he might as well see if he could run into Volle. He was starting to get a little bit worried about what the fox might have gotten himself into. He shared Helfer’s love for adventure but without the common sense to realize where it was appropriate, sometimes. Helfer recalled the scene in the garden when they’d first met the cougar soldier, and laughed to himself at how blasé the fox had been about it, afterwards. Of course, he’d tried to match the attitude, marveling all the while that Volle had been so unconcerned about something Helfer, for all his daring, had never tried.
    For the most part, when the two of them went out, they went to the Jackal’s Staff or the Lonely Cock. But Helfer knew Volle had a tavern he enjoyed frequenting, and the tavern offered rooms and a particular other attraction that was not really to Helfer’s personal tastes. Besides which, they didn’t serve Vellenland mead, so he never had another reason to visit.
    It was down Feller Street, wasn’t it? No, perhaps Riverside Alley. He had been sure he’d known where it was, but each side street he turned down led only to shops he’d visited once or twice in his life, and the Reckless Knave was nowhere in sight.
    Another half hour of searching found him in a small open park that he was sure was nowhere near the tavern. At least it was a nice, sunny day, so when he sat on a bench to think, he stretched out, closed his eyes, and basked. The warmth of the sun felt good on his fur, especially with the slight breeze.
    “Lord Ikling!”
    Helfer’s eyes flew open. Blocking the sun was the silhouette of what appeared to be a six-foot-tall weasel. The scent resolved quickly. “Vin?”
    “You were dead asleep, you were.” Vinstrier flowed off the railing that had given him the illusion of extra height, around to sit on the bench. “What’cha doin’ out here?”
    “I was looking for a friend,” Helfer said. He stretched, ruffling his fur where he’d been sleeping on it. “And I was not sleeping. Just enjoying the sun.”
    “You call it what you want,” Vin said. “I seen corpses enjoyin’ the sun more than you was. What friend you lookin’ for? Maybe I seen him.”
    “Maybe,” Helfer said. “V--Lord Vinton. Red fox.”
    Vin made a show of considering. “Red fox, eh? Dressed all fancy?”
    “Maybe.” Helfer leaned forward. “Seen anyone like that?”
    “Well,” Vin said, “Maybe I have,