The Strategist. Gerrard Cowan. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Gerrard Cowan
Издательство: HarperCollins
Серия:
Жанр произведения: Историческая литература
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9780008121822
Скачать книгу
lady,’ Cranwyl said.

      Drayn could sense the smirk beneath the beak. The effrontery! ‘I just do my best. But it’s not very hard. You’re easy to throw off the scent, you know, very easy.’

      Drayn exhaled and dropped to the ground, bum thumping on the floor.

      ‘But I heard you in the library.’

      ‘No, you didn’t. You thought you heard something, but it wasn’t me. I might have had a hand in it, though.’

      ‘How?’

      ‘Well, I know all the creaks and cracks of this house, you see. I can make it speak for me, just by tickling it in the right place.’

      He removed his mask. After all these years, it still surprised Drayn how young he was, with his smooth skin and bushy brown hair and sneaky, bright little eyes. He could not have been more than, what, thirty? He had been working since before she was born; he had started working when he was her age, he said. Fancy that!

      ‘You are too good,’ she said. ‘You’re as good as the real beaks. You’re not a beak, are you?’ She laughed, secretly hoping that he was. That would be great fun.

      Cranwyl returned the laugh. ‘If I was one of them, I’d be in Lord Squatstout’s Keep right now, not sat here, that’s for bloody sure.’

      He looked up to a shelf on the wall, where an old clock ticked.

      ‘Come,’ he said, the laughter gone from his voice. ‘Your mother will be expecting you.’

      **

      Drayn had dressed in her finery, as she always did when dining with her mother. It did nothing for her mood, or for Mother’s.

      ‘Did you know, girl, that there are rats in the yard?’

      Mother shot a hard glance in her daughter’s direction, as if Drayn had herself introduced the vermin.

       I suppose I did bring that baby thingermewhatsit into the outer barn, but that isn’t necessarily connected, is it?

      ‘No, my lady, I did not know.’ Sometimes she used a different voice when she spoke to Mother. More proper. She hated herself for it. ‘But I will work to rid the property of them, with the assistance of Cranwyl, if it so pleases you.’

      Mother shook her head. ‘You are not a rat catcher. I will speak with Cranwyl in the morning.’

       I could absolutely be a rat catcher, if I wanted. Anyway, I could help Cranwyl catch rats, that’s for sure. He definitely wouldn’t mind.

      ‘Eat your food.’

      Mother was wearing her black dress tonight. It looked good on her, with her grey hair. Drayn thought so, anyway. She’d never say it, though.

      Drayn turned to her plate. Some kind of seabird looked back at her, its stewed eyes swimming in its head.

      ‘I’m not hungry,’ she said, hoping Mother would let her leave and knowing that would never happen.

      ‘Eat.’

      Drayn turned the bird over, so she could at least avoid making eye contact. She hacked off a piece of pale meat and looked to the walls. More old people, looking down at her. No doubt they had to eat this muck in their day as well.

      When she was about halfway through the bird she put down her knife and fork, hoping the remains would be swept away before Mother could notice. Sure enough, a shadowy figure came out of the darkness and lifted the plate, muttering something as he went. This was a house of mutters and shadows, all right.

      Drayn had a question on her mind, and was in no mood to mutter. She looked at Mother, carefully weighing her options. Was she in a good mood? Was she ever in a good mood? Who knew?

      ‘Mother.’ Never Mum – always Mother.

      The lady in the black dress looked up from her bird, whose beak she was about to inhale.

      ‘Yes?’

      ‘I heard that something happened after the Choosing.’

      ‘Really? I wasn’t there.’

      Mother was lying – she had been there, after Drayn had gone home, and she knew what had happened. The head of the House of Thonn always knew what was happening on the Habitation.

      ‘They say there was something that came from the sea.’

      ‘Who say?’

      ‘They.’

      ‘They say a lot.’

      ‘Is it true?’

      Mother sighed. ‘You would find out, anyway, I have no doubt. Yes, something came. It was very strange. A black ship, far bigger than a fishing boat. It came from across the Endless Ocean.’

      ‘That cannot be.’

      ‘That is what we all thought, too. But it was there. And yes, I was there, and yes, I did see it.’

      ‘What was it?’ Drayn’s eyes were wide.

      Mother shook her head, and shrugged, as if the question didn’t matter. Drayn hated when she did that.

      ‘No one knows,’ Mother said. ‘It all happened very quickly. The Choosing had actually just finished when the thing appeared.’

      ‘What was on it?’ Drayn’s voice was now a whisper.

      Mother gave her a curious look.

      ‘You will not tell your friends?’

      Drayn shook her head. She only had one friend, anyway.

      ‘I did not see them myself, but they say there were two creatures.’

      Drayn swallowed. ‘What kind of creatures?’

      ‘A woman. And another … being.’

      Drayn nodded. This can only mean one thing. ‘Another Autocrat!’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘What do they want?’

      Mother tutted. ‘How am I supposed to know? I am sure it’s nothing to worry about.’

      ‘Thank you, Mother.’

      But Drayn thought there was something to worry about. Creatures did not just appear from the sea, not ever in all of history, apart from Lord Squatstout himself, may he live forever. She could tell that Mother felt the same way.

      **

      ‘You’re always getting me in trouble with your mother,’ Cranwyl said. ‘When’s it going to stop?’

      ‘When we catch the black cat. Not before then.’

      Drayn brushed a branch from her face. She lifted the torch higher, careful to avoid the trees. The last thing they needed was to set fire to the woods. That would definitely get Mother going.

      She pointed the light towards an outcrop of brown boulders.

      ‘That’s where I last saw her,’ she said.

      ‘Or him.’

      ‘That’s where I last saw him, her, it, whatever. She was looking at me with her red eyes, and she seemed hungry.’

      ‘So we are here to catch a hungry cat beast?’

      Drayn nodded. ‘We can easily take her, you and I.’ She put a reassuring hand on Cranwyl’s shoulder. ‘It’s just a cat. No match for us, definitely not.’

      ‘I thought you said it was a very big cat.’

      ‘Well, yeah, but still. No match for us.’

      There was a creaking behind the boulders.

      ‘You know what that sounded like to me?’ asked Cranwyl.