Page 19 of Wraithwound

“Oh! This isn’t suen power?” he said loudly enough for others to hear.

Lena shook her head, a placid smile on her lips. “Here, I’ll walk you over to the correct stall.”

The vendor’s face was frozen in rage. No doubt, he’d just lost a sale and a hefty payday for reporting the purchase of the sedative. James turned to him, a sheepish smile on his face and set the bottle down.

“Apologies for the mix up,” he said and turned to follow Lena and Corvin. She continued walking, both men trailing her until she found a quiet alley and could be sure no one else was listening.

“James, meet Corvin. Corvin, James,” she said pacing in the alley. Both men shook hands albeit a little awkwardly.

“Where’s Oscar?” she asked, concern worming its way into her thoughts.

As if on cue, he entered the alley and made his way toward them, glancing between Lena and Corvin.

“Nice to see you again,” he said by way of greeting. Lena gave him a small wave.

“Corvin, can you tell them what you told me about that particular merchant?” she asked, suddenly exhausted.

“The vendor you were engaging with is an informant for the Commander’s guard. Anything sold at that stall is tracked and reported,” he said.

James’s face flushed while Oscar’s paled.

“How do you know that?” James asked.

“I do a lot of business in the market,” was all that Corvin offered.

“Have you found Camille? Has she been infected?” Lena asked.

James and Oscar looked at each other, confused. Good.

“The particular sedative you were going to purchase is known for its ability to sedate very large or very strong creatures,” Lena said.

When neither man answered, Corvin added, “People have been caught using it to sedate the infected. Guards have tracked sales that led to infected both inside and outside of the city. One such sale was tracked to the Agricultural District last year and another to the Textiles District just last month. The beheadings extended to the entire family, both times.”

James recoiled at the information. But Lena wasn’t surprised. That would explain the tension that seemed to suffocate the city and increased efforts by the guards to staunch any dissent.

“James met a guard who frequents a tavern. There’s a chance he might have more information about Camille. We thought we might be able to get him alone—” Oscar said.

Lena didn’t want to hear any more. She could guess where this was going. Corvin seemed to echo her sentiments. The usual light in his eyes fading into something harder.

“Half the city’s residents are informants,” he said. “If not for the Commander, then for the High Priest or the Council who, despite their denials, work directly for him. Informants are rewarded for any information they provide, whether the lead is successful or not. The terror they get to bestow, independent of whether the accused is guilty or not, serves its own purpose. Be more careful next time.”

“We will,” James said nodding.

“We should go,” Corvin said, extending a hand to Lena. “I’ll walk you as far as I can.”

Lena gave them a curt nod before taking Corvin’s hand and heading back into the bustling market. They were almost at the exit when a commotion broke out in front of them. Corvin tucked Lena behind him.

“Hey, you!” a guard shouted, drawing a dagger from his belt.

People around them scattered, revealing a young man holding an empty jar.

“Begging in the market has been outlawed.” The guard walked over to the young man and used his dagger to tap on the empty jar.

“I— I’m not begging.” The young man took a step back from the guard, his face pale.

“Liar,” the guard said, eyes narrowing.

“I— I came to buy aloe for my nan. Sometimes the wax sleeves leak,” he stuttered.