Free 03 - Death's Legacy by Sandy Mitchell - (ebook by Undead) Page A

began to see patches of
actual woodland, his spirits rising incrementally with each canopy of foliage to
come into view. The leaves were turning the colours of autumn, evergreens
mingled with browns, reds and yellows, so that from a distance some of the trees
might have been pillars of frozen fire.
    “It’s beautiful,” Hanna said, as the Reikmaiden glided
past a patch of forest that stretched down to the very banks of the river,
making the water that reflected it appear to burn as it rippled with the wake of
their passing. She seemed stronger, although she still hadn’t recovered all her
former vigour, and Rudi felt quietly encouraged by her words. Since Gofrey had
woken her she’d seemed more thoughtful and withdrawn, although her underlying
strength of character was just as evident, and she’d shown little inclination
for small talk. “Remind you of home?”
    Taken by surprise at the question, Rudi could only nod. He
could picture the scene under the trees all too vividly; almost smell the leaf
mould, and feel the crispness of the frost-hardened leaves under his boots. That
was where he belonged, he thought, in the tranquillity of a forest glade, not
chasing all over the Empire avoiding murderous lunatics. Reading his silence,
Hanna squeezed his hand for a moment.
    “Sorry,” she said, “stupid question.”
    “It’s all right,” Rudi said, touched by her solicitude. This
was almost like having the old Hanna back, but without the propensity to sarcasm
and the hair-trigger temper. He tried not to think of it as an improvement. He’d
changed too in the last few months, more than he would have believed possible,
and he wondered for a moment what alterations she’d noticed in him.
    “Any idea where we’re putting in tonight?” he asked, hoping
to cover the awkwardness. Hanna shrugged.
    “I don’t suppose it matters,” she said, “they all seem pretty
much the same.” Since leaving Nocht’s Landing they’d spent most of the
intervening nights at similar riverside settlements, and passed many more during
the days, anonymous little islets of habitation that slipped past the railing
and vanished as if they’d never been. Some undoubtedly had. He’d seen a couple
of decayed jetties too, clearly long abandoned, although who’d built them and
why they’d left he had no idea, and he hadn’t felt much like asking any of the
crew. On a couple of nights the boat had just kept sailing, forging through the
dark, her running lights sketching her shape against the sky, but he knew that
Shenk would rather lay up until the morning if he could. Gossip was the
lifeblood of the river, and the news the captain gathered at these tiny
settlements could be vital, and the steady stream of letters and messages the
boat took on for forwarding at the next big town was a useful addition to her
revenue.
    “Wherever it is, we must be getting pretty close,” Rudi said,
glancing back over the stern. The sun was low in the western sky, tinting the
waters of the Reik the colour of molten gold, and he narrowed his eyes against
the glare. “It’s almost dark.” Something seemed to be moving on the water behind
the boat, but he couldn’t be sure what it was, his vision dazzled by the dancing
reflections.
    “What is it?” Hanna asked, aware of the subtle changes in his
body language that indicated tension.
    “I’m not sure.” He shaded his eyes with a hand, and , a dark
silhouette resolved itself slowly, shimmering in the nimbus of light that
surrounded it. “It looks like a boat.” Whatever it was, it was moving fast,
slipping through the water like a predator. The image rose unbidden in his mind,
a warning from his subconscious. The tiller was only a few yards away, Ansbach
leaning against it, ostentatiously unaware of their presence as he adjusted the
ship’s heading with small, precise movements. Rudi hailed him. “Ansbach!”
    “What do you want?” the steersman asked, his tone making