The next coach that went past, Deyvid discreetly crushed the little vial against its wheel. It trundled off carrying the scent ofvanilla with it, hopefully around the city. Deyvid trailed along in its wake for the next five minutes before turning to the left and opening a new vial—primrose this time. He repeated the act twice more, each time with a different scent and a carriage going in a different direction. After the third one, he headed to the inn that he’d made arrangements at the day before, walked up to the bartender, and removed his cloak. “Here you are, sir,” he said.
“You just want me to stow it under the bar?” the man asked as he took the heavy piece of cloth.
“That’s all,” Deyvid affirmed. “If you could endeavor to keep it unless Prince Petur or I come for it, I’d appreciate it.”
The barkeep laughed. “Not sure what business the prince would have in a little place like this, but as it suits you, sir.”
“Thank you.” Deyvid then went up the stairs, to the end of the hall, and out the window there. He checked the position of the sun and estimated he had perhaps fifteen minutes, maybe less, before they came after him. He needed to move.
Deyvid got onto the inn’s rooftop, gauged the distance to the next building, and leapt. The houses in Delomar weren’t so conveniently close together that he could leap across the entire city, but he did manage to make it a fair few blocks before he descended again, pulled another vial out of his pocket, and reached for the coin purse under his belt. He pulled it out and dripped a few drops of licorice scent down onto the money, then called out to the group of children he’d seen playing by the fountain the day before.
“Who wants to make a copper?” he asked.
The first few to come over were wary, but when Deyvid readily held the money out to them, more children joined in. He soon ran out of coppers, and the smell of licorice was strong in the air.
“What we gotta do now?” one of the kids asked.
Deyvid smiled. “All I want you to do,” he said, “is run home. You don’t have to stay there, but you have to leave the copperthere. We’ll make it a race. Fastest one out of the square wins.” The kids stirred excitedly. “Ready? In five, four, three”—several of the children began to run early—“two, one!” he called out. “Go, go, go!”
The pack of kids took off, and Deyvid took a moment in the new quietness of the square to wash himself off in the fountain with the unscented soap he’d purchased at the apothecary. When he was as clean as he could be, he walked three blocks away to a warmly scented tea house that smelled of cinnamon and nutmeg and pulled up a chair for himself just inside the door.
“Welcome in, what’ll you have, sir?” the proprietress asked as she bustled over to him. “Oh, look at you, you’rewet.” She tutted. “That won’t do. Let me get you a blanket, eh?”
“You’re too kind, mistress, but I’ll dry off fast.”
She brushed off his excuse. “I know it’s a hot day, but you never can tell when you’re going to take sick, hmm? The strangest things can do it to you.”
Five minutes later, Deyvid had a dry blanket around his shoulders, a cool cup of milky cinnamon tea in front of him, and a bun studded with a type of berry he’d never tried before. He also had an excellent view of the road in front of him, which would either give him time to run if he needed to or a spot to simply watch the world go by.
“You just settle in, love,” the proprietress said with a beaming smile as she watched his eyes roll back in his head as he took the first bite of the scone. “And have a few more of those, hmm? You’re too skinny.”
“I think I will take another,” Deyvid agreed once he’d swallowed.
Half an hour passed. Forty-five minutes. A full hour. Deyvid’s skin prickled when he realized that Petur was out there searching for him now. He was a little bit surprised that noneof the other shifters had even passed this way. The scent trick was a good one, specifically designed for distracting shifters who didn’t tend to anticipate that kind of thing, but he hadn’t expected it to bethissuccessful. He was less than two miles from where he’d started, after all.
Fifteen more minutes went by. Half an hour. It wasn’t until nearly two hours were gone that the first member of the Corps ran by the front door. It was a man in partial shift, his head distorted with canine-like features. Impressive. And dangerous, Deyvid acknowledged to himself. If anyone was going to see through him, it would be a wolf shifter.
He watched, tensing slightly, as the unfamiliar figure paused by the door. After a few seconds, though, he ran on, and Deyvid relaxed. At two full hours, he could have returned to the barracks. And yet …
“Another pot of tea?”
“Just a cup,” Deyvid decided. “But I will take a few of those buns to go if you don’t mind. And some of the dipping cream?”
“Of course, of course. Bring the pot back if you can,” she said, spooning thick, lavender-scented cream into a small pot on the counter. “I’ll give you a break on your next order if you do.”
“I’ll do my best, madame,” Deyvid promised.
“Such manners,” she said with a smile. “What a lovely afternoon I’ve had with you. Be well, dear.”
“I’ll try.”
It wasn’t until he was six blocks away from the barracks that he picked up his first shifter tail. It was already past the deadline, so they wouldn’t be able to claim that they’d found him. Perhaps they were ashamed of how they’d performed because whoever it was, they didn’t come forward—Deyvid simply registered their presence. They were joined by another, and then another. By the time he made it back to the courtyard, he was being followed byevery member of the Shifter Corps sent to track him earlier, with the exception of Petur.
“Good effort,” Deyvid said dryly. “Why, I even saw one of you for, mmm, two seconds.”
“You cheated,” one of the younger members bit out. “You used our sense of smell against us.”
“You should have found something else to rely on,” Deyvid replied. “I made contact with over a dozen people in the city. You would have done better to ask around than to try to follow your noses.
