Marie Brennan - Doppelganger

Miryo could not come out and ask; the Key’s tone was too clearly a dismissal. She made herself bow politely. “Thank you, Kasora. I’ll be sure to do that.”

Ashin came around the desk and led her out to the hallway. “I look forward to it.” And then the door closed behind Miryo with a thud.

“Have you wondered at all why Jaguar picked us?” Mirage asked as they rode.

They were well into the plains of southern Currel by the time she made up her mind to air the question, but it had been on her mind since they left Corberth. She asked it now because they were nearly to the domain border of Starfall, and once they got there they’d have other concerns to keep them busy. Riding, however, had been dull and uneventful, and had left her time to wonder.

Eclipse gave her an arch look. “ ‘Us’ ? What’s this ‘us’ I hear? As I recall, the commission was given to me .”

“Right. And Jaguar no doubt expected you to pick Willow as your partner.”

He shuddered. “Warrior’s teeth. I haven’t seen that girl since we left Silverfire, thank the Warrior. No, you’re right; it never occurred to me to look for someone else, and he probably knew that.”

“So why us?”

Silence for a moment. Their horses ambled on in the late afternoon sunlight, surrounded by the greenery of ripening corn. Then Eclipse shrugged. “Why not us?”

“We’re young .”

“But not inexperienced. You’ve had a commission before, after all. And did it ever occur to you that you were the one he really wanted, and I was just a way to you?”

“Okay, two answers to that. First, as you said, the commission was given to you .”

“Jaguar knew where I was. You were harder to find. And they say a witch has to know where you are, to send things to you. Besides, how would you have reacted, if the commission just showed up in your lap that way, by magic?”

“Is that how it was delivered?”

He nodded. “Dropped out of thin air, with a note from Jaguar explaining the situation.”

If Eclipse was right about witches needing to know their target, that meant the witch in Corberth had known where they were staying. Mirage ground her teeth. He had a point about her probable reaction, though, if the commission had been sent straight to her. “All right. Second point, then. What’s so special about me?”

“You’re a damn good Hunter.”

Mirage shook her head. “I’m a good fighter. That’s all. When it comes to skulking and spying and all the other things we do, I’m no better than anyone else.”

“Well, you’re better than some .” He grinned at her. “Willow?” It had the desired effect; Mirage began laughing. “You’re not bad at the skulking and spying. And Jaguar’s got some kind of liking for you; always has, what with letting you into Silverfire late. Maybe he wants to see you get good opportunities.”

“Or maybe he expects danger on this job.”

That sobered both of them up. They rode silently for a moment before Eclipse shrugged again. “Bring it on. I haven’t had any excitement in a while, either.”

They found no excitement on the remainder of the ride. But both Hunters sat straighter in their saddles when they approached the border of Starfall; riding through the witches’ domain in a daze would not be a good idea.

After a night in Samalan, a town just on the Currel side of the border, they rode east, then left the road and crossed the border when there was no one in sight. Mirage half expected to feel something marking the boundary, but there was nothing; she was only certain they were in Starfall when they reached the foothills. Soon they were riding through a sparse forest of cypress and pine, and she felt uneasy; large areas of the domain were supposedly uninhabited, and she had seen no one, but what if someone was spying on them magically? Camping that night was worse. Even though they lit no fire and were as silent as possible, she felt as though their presence must be glaringly obvious. Surely their trespassing would bring punishment.

Now why would I feel that way? We’re here on Hunt, after all. It’s not trespassing when you have permission .

With that thought, she was able to see her emotions as if from the outside, and it became much clearer. More spells. Bloody witches. It makes sense, though; nice security measures, which make anybody skulking around suspect every shadow. I assume it doesn’t affect witches or Cousins .

She voiced her thoughts to Eclipse, and his face lightened. He, too, had been feeling the pressure. Understanding its source did not make it go away, but they were better able to ignore it after that, and managed some sleep at last.

The next day saw them winding through increasingly higher peaks, these covered in more obviously cultivated forests, with orchards of apple, pear, and pomegranate. They kept an eye out for Cousins tending the groves, and gave the highest peaks a wide berth; that was the heart of the domain, the one large settlement. The Primes who ruled the witches lived there, along with their daughters in training. Neither Hunter wanted to approach the seat of their power.

By midafternoon they were near the valley that held Tari-nakana’s private house, from which she had conducted much of her business. Among the many benefits of magic was the ability to work from a place other than an administrative center—which, along with other perks, was why every Lord in the land, and half their governors, took on witches as advisers.

After a short debate, they agreed to rest for a few hours, and continue on once night fell; even though they were entering with permission, they preferred to do so in relative secrecy. Mirage took the first watch, and spent it in a tree. It wouldn’t protect her much from magic, but it would do nicely against roving Cousins, if they had such things as patrols. She would, were she in their shoes.

But no one appeared, either during her watch or Eclipse’s, and after night fell they approached the house.

It was small, and much less sumptuous than Mirage had expected from the witch whose prominence in the Fire Ray had only been exceeded by that of her Prime. She had not indulged in the kind of extravagance some of her sisters did. There was, however, a lovely garden in front, filled with hyacinth and other blooming flowers, which Mirage saw as they scouted the surrounding area. It had not yet had time to become overgrown. The witches had hired them quickly in the aftermath of Tari-nakana’s death.

Eclipse was a short distance away, barely visible in the gloom. His uniform blended into the shadows; she wouldn’t have seen him if she didn’t know he was there. Glancing at him, Mirage signaled in Silverfire’s hand-code. See no tracks. Go forward ?

He signaled agreement, and they slipped through the garden into the house.

In retrospect, Mirage realized they were lucky there had been no traps in the garden. She wasn’t sure what there could have been—snares or falling trees would have broken the presumed mode of subtlety—but if the assassin had gone for more direct methods, they might have found out the hard way. Start thinking, little girl. You’re not on a picnic ride in the sun anymore .

The house had the dead feel of a building that is deserted. Mirage was relieved, even though the hairs on the back of her neck kept expecting someone to jump out. But there was no one there, and the copper disks apparently kept them safe from Tari-nakana’s wards. She wondered briefly what the wards would have done. Then she wished she hadn’t. She could think of far too many gruesome possibilities. Front hall, sitting room, kitchen. The food, protected by spells, was still fresh; Mirage and Eclipse sniffed and tasted it cautiously, but could find no evidence of poison. Makes sense. If he used a quick poison, it would have been blatant, but a slow one probably would have been stopped in time. And then she would have been very suspicious . Laundry, maid’s room; Tari-nakana would have been unlikely to go there, but the Hunters checked both rooms nevertheless. Nothing.