Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [11]
The Claw did as he was told, and the light extinguished itself.
"Now you'll never get lost on your way home in the darkness," she said.
"As you wish, Princess Mariko." His palm illuminated again. "I'll be…" he said, impressed by the usefulness of such a gift. "I'm touched." He closed his palm and picked up his gauntlet.
"I'm sure a man in your position will find it… helpful." She reached up and gave him another quick kiss. "I must be off now. I have much work to do."
"Yes," said the Claw. "As do I."
"Same time tomorrow night?"
The Claw nodded. "Same time."
Princess Mariko turned and disappeared into the darkness, her form of light dismantling as it slipped off into the shadows.
The Claw smiled as he watched her go. After taking one last look at his palm, he too turned and headed off into the night, toward the seedy darkness of Erlkazar's underworld.
+++++
In the corner of the courtyard, where the shadows from two intersecting walls overlapped in complete darkness, a figure watched. Mariko had tried very hard not to be followed, doubling back more than once, traveling in the shadows, and checking her tracks.
But the figure was good at watching her. He knew her patterns and where she would look for trackers. The figure knew how to observe her without being observed. He knew that she frequently left the royal palace late at night. He knew that she would often be out until just before sunrise. What he didn't know was where she went or with whom she met.
That was why he had followed her here, to the northernmost courtyard outside the palace.
The princess crossed the open space, stopping halfway across to speak with someone. From the darkened corner, the concealing walls blocked part of the figure's view. He could not see who Mariko had met here in the middle of the night. The moon was high and bright, leaving very little room to move without being revealed. So the figure waited.
He watched her cast a spell on something, then she leaned back, pulling another person's hand-a man's hand-into view. She cast another spell, then, after some further conversation, she leaned up to give the man a kiss.
Knowing what was at risk, the figure leaned away from the wall, craning his neck to get a better view. Had the princess turned at that moment, she would have seen the figure's dark hood, lit by the moon's rays, would have seen the smooth, pale skin of the figure's forehead illuminated by the unusually bright night.
But the princess did not turn, and the figure pressed himself back against the concealing wall.
"The princess and the Claw," the figure whispered. "This is bigger than I had thought."
The princess turned away from her evening rendezvous and returned to the shadows on the eastern edge of the courtyard.
Just as he had before, the figure slunk away, following the princess into the shadows.
+++++
From the rooftop, a man in a cape and wide-brimmed hat watched the princess and the Claw being watched by a figure in the shadows. It was not easy to see the figure, for it had taken great care to conceal itself in the darkest part of the courtyard. But the man in the hat had followed the figure here just as it had followed the princess.
High above all the action, the man chuckled quietly. This was a strange turn of events. Never would he have thought he'd find the Claw as part of this. He suspected the figure had been equally surprised to learn of the princess's relationship with the king's assassin. Who would have thought it? The kingdom's most beloved royal paired with the kingdom's most-rumored and least-understood figure. Maybe there was something to this tall, dark, and handsome bit after all.
This night might turn out to be much more interesting than he had thought.
The rendezvous below broke up, and the princess disappeared back into the shadows.
"Go on," he said, talking to the figure, though he knew it couldn't hear. "Follow her."
Predictably, his quarry did, skirting the edge of the high wall, following the shadows to the edge of the courtyard and out of sight.
"Time to go." Getting