David Baldacci - The Finisher

I set out for Wormwood proper and soon reached the cobblestones. I was not looking where I was going. In truth, I was so wonky that I was unsure whether all I had just witnessed was simply a nightmare.

When I heard a low growl, I froze on the spot. Though first light was breaking, the clouds and rain made it still seem dark and the gloom was thick upon Wormwood. The growl came again and then I heard a sharp voice.

“Who is there? Speak now or suffer the consequences of your silence!”

I stepped forward and saw him. Or rather them.

Nida and his black shuck, from whence the growl had come.

Nida was one of the few Wugs belonging to what are known as the Pech race. He was thus short and thick with heavily muscled arm and legs. For sessions I had thought Duf Delphia was a Pech, but he wasn’t. Nida was dressed in corduroy trousers, a leather coat, a wide-brimmed hat to keep both sun and rain away and a pair of amaroc-skin boots. It was said that before he was hired to guard Valhall, he and his shuck had killed an amaroc on the edge of the Quag. If so, I did not want to tangle with either of them, for amarocs are fierce beasts with many ways to kill. Some say they can even shoot poison from their eyes.

“It’s me, Vega Jane.” I had apparently wandered near the prison in the village center.

Nida gazed up at me while his shuck sat next to him, as tall as Nida. He clenched a wooden club in one thick hand. “Leave here, female, now.”

He turned and marched off, his shuck, a canine as large as a calf, obediently following.

When I emerged from the gloom, I could see that only four prisoners were currently being held at Valhall, which had a wooden roof, and bars all around and a dirt floor. Having the prison open to the elements was deemed to make it even more depressing. And being in public, one’s shame was complete.

As I passed by the bars, a Wug slid forward on his belly and spoke to me.

“Cuppa water, female. Mouth’s so dry, feels like sand, don’ it? Please, female, please. Cuppa water. It can be from the rain. Just a cuppa, luv.”

A crash came and I jumped back as something shot past my head. Nida had smashed his club against the bars with such force, part of the wood had splintered off and nearly impaled me.

“You’ll nae speak to lawful Wugs, McCready,” he screeched. “Silence or the next blow will be to your head.”

McCready retreated to a far corner of the cage like a wounded beast.

Nida looked at me. “On your way, female. I will not say again.”

The shuck barked and snapped its jaws. I ran for it.

And something was running after me. I turned and looked back, prepared to run faster or even take flight. But it wasn’t the shuck. It was Harry Two.

I stopped and bent over, panting. Harry Two caught up to me and jumped around my legs, his tongue hanging out. He must have gotten out of my digs somehow and come looking for me. I knelt down and hugged him, and Harry Two calmed as quickly as I did. He licked my face once and then sat on his haunches, gazing up at me.

“You must be hungry,” I said.

We walked back to my home and I fed Harry Two with the last bit of food I had. As he ate by the fireplace, where the flames had long since expired, I sat drenching wet on the floor, my knees to my chest, and gazed around the room. This was all I had now. John was gone. And now our parents were gone too. And with a sickening feeling, I realized that I would have to tell John about our parents. How would he take it? Not well, I thought.

And what would happen when Non told what I had done? Would I end up in Valhall like McCready? Begging for a cuppa water?

“Vega Jane!” the voice called out from the other side of my door.

I turned at the sound of my name. I also recognized the voice. It was Jurik Krone.

I OPENED THE DOOR, revealing Krone standing there. I could see that he was armed with a long-barreled morta and a sword.

“Yes?”

“You were at the Care this light?” he barked, the anger clear on his features.

“Was I?” I said dully.

He drew closer. I felt Destin tighten and turn hotter around my middle.

“You were,” he said firmly.

“So what if I was?”

“Non has accused you of attacking him.”

“Why would I attack Non? He’s three times my size.”

Krone looked me up and down. “But that is not all.”

I knew what was coming. I waited for him to say it.

“Your parents are gone from the Care.”

He leaned in closer so his face was nearer to mine. “What did you see, Vega? You need to tell me. What did you see there?”

I felt my fingers curl into a fist. I squeezed it so hard I felt the blood stop flowing to my fingers.

“I don’t have to tell you anything.”

“That answer is not good enough,” he snapped.

“Go to Hel!”

“Do you want to go to Valhall for this?” he asked with maddening calm. “Or worse?”

He put a hand on his sword. I felt Destin turn ice-cold against my skin.

“Krone,” a voice said.

We both turned at the same time.

It was Morrigone.

I looked around for the carriage but did not see it. It was as though she had materialized in our midst on the Low Road.

Krone looked perplexed by her appearance.

“Madame Morrigone,” he said stiffly. “I was just about to arrest this female for criminal acts against other Wugmorts.”

Morrigone drew closer, her gaze fully on Krone.

“What criminal acts?”

“She has attacked Non outside the Care. He has given evidence of this. And Hector and Helen Jane have disappeared from the Care. These are serious matters that must be brought before Council.”

“Have you spoken to Thansius about this?” she asked.

“I have only just been made aware —”

She interrupted him. “What does Non claim she has done?”

“He caught her leaving the Care. He was about to arrest her for that when she attacked him for no reason.”

“Attacked him? How?”

“Non says that she struck him a terrific blow and knocked him out.”

“A Wug as large as Non was knocked out by a fourteen-session-old female,” she said skeptically. “I find that very, very difficult to believe, Krone. And you simply accept Non’s word for this?”

“You say that Non is lying?”

“You’re saying that Vega is a criminal based only on Non’s statement.”

“Did you know she has taken up residence here, in her old home? A Wug under the age of fifteen cannot live by herself, but she does not care for rules, do you, Vega?” He glanced menacingly at me.

I didn’t answer Krone because I was unsure how to. I looked at Morrigone, whose gaze held steady on Krone.

“I am aware of it, Krone. As is Thansius,” said Morrigone in a low, even voice that still managed to carry more menace than his louder words. She stared at Krone for a few moments longer. “Unless there is anything else, Krone, I think you may safely leave us.”

Krone stared at me and then Morrigone. He bowed curtly. “As you wish, Madame Morrigone. But I trust this will be followed up appropriately.” Then he turned and marched swiftly away.

Morrigone waited until he was out of sight before turning to me.

I started to say something, but she held up her hand. “No, Vega, I do not need to hear anything. I will speak to Non. He will not refer charges.” Her gaze dipped to my hand. I looked down and saw that it was swollen and cut from where I had struck Non. I hastily slipped it into my pocket.

“I am sure you had good reason,” said Morrigone quietly. Then she added, in a more heated tone, “For Non is a git.”

I was about to smile when I found her piercing gaze upon me. Neither of us spoke for at least a sliver.