First: Running in the Bear Empire

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Deline skidded around a corner that was far too slick, looked down at the ground and realized that she was slipping on blood. Her stomach turned. There were two Claws on the ground, people she knew, and another one she didn’t know. One of them was still breathing.

“Catikee?”

“I’ll see what can done. Go.”

They finished the sprint to the nursery to find the doors barricaded, a spiky curtain-rod and two swords poking out at them from between pieces of furniture. On the ground, another stranger was down.

“Well done,” Deline breathed. “Lerthin?”

“Lady Dedenarrion? Lady, is it—” Continue reading →

First: Running in the Bear Empire
Previous: Target
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“Father Snake,” Deline panted, “I thank you for your protection, for your aid, for your comfort and your wisdom. Father Snake, thank you.”

They had saved all but two more Governors and had killed half of the assassins — although a couple by accident, as the powers of the Father Snake were strange to Deline and she found herself casting spells she didn’t know.

Deline, Catikee, and Carrone were sitting on the floor of the last Governor’s suite, all of them panting, all of them sweaty and sprinkled in blood.

The surviving would-be assassins were bound with whatever had come to hand, and the pink and green shield around Deline and Carrone was still dripping with what looked like venom.

“That—” Deline shook her head. “In ordinary circumstances, that would have been fun.”

“You should’ve been a bounty hunter.” Carrone patted her on the shoulder affectionately. Continue reading →

First: Running in the Bear Empire
Previous: Father Snake
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Sorry for the delay, guys.  I had a final.

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“You’re not the Snake.”  The words tripped out of the Fang’s mouth as if he had to say something.  “You’re not Father Snake, you’re the Bear, you’re just a Claw of the Bear, and there’s no reason – no reason I should be afraid of you.  You’re not-“

She leaned down until her face was a hand-span from his and stared into his eyes.  “I’m not?” 

He couldn’t look away.  “Tell me,” Aucheria growled.  The room shook again. “Tell me who, and tell me where.”

“Tell usss,” Deline hissed.  The Father Snake hissed. The room trembled. 

“All over, you can’t stop us.  There’s – we’re everywhere.” Continue reading →

First: Running in the Bear Empire
Previous: 65: An Emperor Indeed
Next: Target
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She stuck her head carefully back into the door of the Emperor’s Waiting room, guiding three Claw who she was fairly certain were faithful.  Aucheria lowered the bow and nodded.  

“Any luck with information?”  She and Carrone had been searching side- compound from here for what seemed like hours, but they had only been attacked once, and that by a confused and worried kitchen staffer. 

“A few things.”  Aucheria gestured to the side, where a Fang of the Serpent was bound, gagged, and looking a bit green.  “The potion of tongue-loosening is brewing, but I had trouble getting Mesaruxenne to agree to it, and without his consent-“ Continue reading →

First: Running in the Bear Empire
Previous: 64: A Long Journey Across the Hall
Next: 66: Father Snake
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Mesaruxenne and Aucheria, his two bath-attendants and two Claw guards, stared at Deline as if she had gone insane. 

No, she realized in half a heartbeat.  They were ready for trouble already, weapons all aimed at the door, and were staring at her as if they’d nearly just shot her.  Three people she didn’t know cowered off to one side; five people lay unconscious or dead off to the other side. 

She tapped Carrone’s crossbow and he lowered it; she sheathed her blade and bowed deeply.  She could barely see Carrone doing the same to her right.  

The part of her mind that assessed risk pointed out that she was exposing herself to a bunch of people with weapons, trained fighters and mages, and if Mesaruxenne  wanted her dead, she’d just offered up her neck.  Continue reading →

First: Running in the Bear Empire
Previous:63: Panic
Next: 65: An Emperor Indeed
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Deline pushed backwards, arched her back, and shoved into Carrone as she dodged the dart.

“Those blasted things.” he swore as he caught her, stumbling backwards. 

Deline dragged a hand into her belt pouch and pulled out some desiccated herbs and a pile of flower petals.  They weren’t quite the right ingredients –  Continue reading →

First: Running in the Bear Empire
Previous: 62: Breathe
Next: 64: A Long Journey Across the Hall
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You should be able to breathe for a bit.

You won’t.

Deline tensed, but there was no poison in the air — nothing of the sort would’ve survived the spells on the room, explaining why the Talon was awake already. It was the room of an Emperor’s wife, after all.  You couldn’t risk someone just walking in and poisoning a wife – or the Emperor himself. “Strange threats from a woman tied up on the floor.”

“Do you really think I was working alone?”  The talon coughed again and then hissed. “You saved my life.  You miserable-” she ended in a hiss as Carrone grabbed her hair and yanked, shoved a handkerchief between her teeth and tied another one over her mouth. 

“I know she’s having trouble breathing,” he muttered, “but she was going to have more trouble if she kept that up.  Here’s your trews. Who are we going for?”

“Put her in my trunk, if you would?  There should be room right now, but put down the duvet first.  We -” she wasn’t going to argue the we so instead she took a moment to pull on her trews.  “We’re going to find the Emperor. And, mmm. There’s more, but we start there.”  She pulled her weapons out of her trunk as Carrone grabbed the duvet, belted them on – and her spare spell-belt – as he put the Talon in the chest – and handed him her spare blades.  “This is going to be bad,” she murmured. “They’re in the Imperial Complex.” She hissed out something that wasn’t quite a word, more of a shudder voiced. “And they’re in the Claws.” Continue reading →

First: Running in the Bear Empire
Previous:61 – By Your Hand
Next: 63: Panic
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A dart flew over her head and thunked into the window. Deline rolled up to her knees and grabbed the knife she’d been holding to Carrone’s throat.  She gauged where the dart had come from, rolled up several feet away from where she’d gone down, and found herself facing empty air for a heartbeat.

She turned and ducked down as another dart flew, just catching the edge of her tunic as she listened, this time, were there — of course there weren’t footsteps. A breath, another breath — if they fled, they’d come back again. If she didn’t move, they’d be most likely to flee.

Carrone’s trews were sitting on the floor between them. She gestured quickly to him; he nodded, scooped up the trews, and shifted to the foot of the bed.

She counted down on her fingers: 3, 2,1 — on one, he popped around the side of the bed and threw the trews in the air. The dart went through them as she took the second she needed to spot her target and threw her dagger. Continue reading →