There it is.
Zarian slowed the stolen horse as the black iron gates of House Korrandis came into view.
The animal was exhausted. Its sides rose and fell heavily beneath him, foam clinging to the edge of its mouth.
Zarian dismounted and walked the remaining distance.
Two guards stood beside the gatehouse. One of them straightened when Zarian approached.
"Stop there."
Zarian stopped.
"Your business?"
"I am looking for a boy."
The guard looked him over.
"Who?"
"A boy. Caiden."
"Describe him."
"Fourteen. Black hair. Thin. About this tall."
Zarian raised a hand to roughly indicate the height.
The guard scratched his chin.
"Caiden..."
He glanced toward the gatehouse, thinking.
"Go to the records room. Far side of the gatehouse."
"Ask them there."
Zarian nodded.
"Thank you."
He crossed through the small side entrance and followed the corridor toward the room.
By the time he reached it, two people were already coming out, one carrying a bundle of papers under his arm.
Zarian stepped aside to let them pass.
Inside, a clerk sat behind a wide wooden counter surrounded by shelves of neatly arranged files.
Zarian approached.
"I’m looking for a boy named Caiden."
The clerk looked up.
"Description?"
"Fourteen. Black hair. Thin. He works somewhere inside the estate."
The clerk turned toward the shelves.
"Caiden..."
He ran a finger along the labels before pulling out a file from the section marked C.
He opened it and flipped through several pages.
Then stopped.
"Here."
Zarian leaned slightly forward.
The clerk read the latest entry.
"He’s outside."
Zarian’s expression tightened.
"When?"
The clerk checked the record again.
"Six o’clock."
"He’s been out since six?"
"That’s what it says."
Zarian glanced toward the darkening sky.
"When will he return?"
The clerk looked down the page.
"Usually around eleven."
"Do you know where he went?"
The clerk shook his head.
"No."
Zarian clicked his tongue softly.
Five hours.
He had finally found Eldrin...
...and missed him by minutes.
He looked toward the road outside.
"Then I’ll wait."
.....
A short distance away, beneath the shadow of an old building, two men stood watching the road leading toward House Korrandis.
One of them lowered his hood.
"It worked."
The other glanced at him.
"Kaiser?"
Kaiser gave a quiet smile.
"Your plan worked."
He looked toward the estate gates.
"We’re finally close to the boy."
His companion folded his arms.
"I still can’t believe that old man actually thought he’d get away."
"He didn’t need to."
Kaiser looked back toward the gatehouse.
"We needed someone to lead us to the boy. He did that for us."
"He’s the reason we have the boy’s whereabouts now."
Kaiser glanced at the darkening street.
"Good work finding him."
The other man nodded.
"So we wait?"
"We wait."
Kaiser pointed toward the road.
"You take this side."
"I’ll cover the other."
"If he comes out, don’t give him a chance to run."
His companion’s expression hardened.
"And if someone sees us?"
"We don’t make a scene."
Kaiser looked toward the distant walls of House Korrandis.
"We’re inside Maria, and we’re standing outside a Duke’s estate."
"One mistake and we’re the ones being hunted."
The other man nodded.
"And once we have him?"
Kaiser smiled faintly.
"We take him straight to Uthren."
He adjusted his cloak.
"If we deliver the last survivor of House Novaryn alive..."
He gave a quiet laugh.
"Promotion should be the least they can give us."
The two men separated, disappearing into opposite sides of the street.
.....
This must be the place.
Eldrin stopped in front of a modest two-story house tucked between several older buildings.
He looked down at the envelope in his hand.
The address Ennessa had given him matched the number above the gate.
He checked it once more before stepping forward.
A short rope hung beside the gate.
Eldrin pulled it.
A bell rang somewhere inside the house.
For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then...
"Coming!"
The voice was warm and clear.
Footsteps approached from the other side.
The gate opened.
A woman stood there, perhaps in her fifties. Most of her hair was still black, though thin strands of white ran through it, particularly around her temples.
She looked at Eldrin.
Then at the empty street behind him.
"Yes?"
Eldrin straightened.
"Are you Mirelle?"
The woman’s expression softened immediately.
"Of course I am."
Eldrin reached into his coat and produced the envelope.
"This is for you."
She took it.
Her eyes fell upon the seal.
For a moment, she simply stared at it.
Then a smile slowly appeared.
"Ennessa..."
She ran her thumb lightly over the edge of the envelope.
"She actually sent it."
Eldrin said nothing.
Mirelle looked up at him.
"Come inside."
"There’s no need. I only came to deliver the letter."
"Oh, nonsense."
She opened the gate wider.
"You’ve walked all this way."
"I’m fine."
"I’m sure you are."
Before Eldrin could protest again, she caught him gently by the wrist and pulled him inside.
He blinked.
"My lady....."
"Don’t call me that."
She shut the gate behind them.
"You make me feel ancient."
Eldrin glanced at her.
Mirelle looked back at him.
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"You really are young."
She continued toward the house.
Eldrin followed reluctantly.
The interior was nothing like House Korrandis.
It was smaller.
Warmer.
There were books stacked along the walls, potted plants near the windows, and a faint smell of something freshly baked drifting from deeper inside the house.
Mirelle turned around while walking backward.
"So..."
She looked him over.
"You’re the one she sent."
Eldrin frowned.
"Yes."
"Hm."
She stopped.
Her eyes moved from his black hair to his face, then down to his clothes.
It was an oddly thorough inspection.
Eldrin shifted uncomfortably.
"What?"
Mirelle smiled.
"Nothing."
Then she looked at him again.
"Actually..."
She laughed softly.
"What a good choice."
Eldrin blinked.
"I’m sorry?"
"Nothing."
She waved him onward.
"Come. You must be hungry."
"I’m not....."
His stomach betrayed him.
A quiet growl escaped.
Mirelle stopped.
Eldrin closed his eyes.
"...I was going to say I’m not very hungry."
Mirelle laughed.
"Of course you were."