Free Hunter's Bounty (Veller) by Garry Spoor Page A

whoever she was hiding from, she would appear invisible. This meant Emara had to go first, with Kile following as closely behind her as she could and hoped that nobody came up behind them. In this way they slowly navigated the dark halls of the stronghold, looking for anything that might have looked familiar from a rat’s point of view. Kile was sure she could find the way out, but once they had gotten into the twist and turns of the hallways, it was clear that she had somehow gotten turned around. Instead of finding the exit, they entered a large gallery through the second floor balcony.
    The place was enormous with its huge arched ceilings and thick wooden beams. There were tapestries, banners and shields with coats of arms that she had never seen before, hanging from the rafters and mounted on the walls.  Far below them were old tables and chairs that had been pushed to the side and discarded, leaving the cold marble floor bare, save for a few stray bits of debris. A raised platform with a large wooden throne was displayed on the far side of the room, and upon that throne sat a man in black robes. This must be Ravenshadow.
    The tattered black robes concealed every part of his body, from his feet to his head with a large heavy hood that hung down over his face. The only parts of him that weren’t covered were his hands. Thin, bone white hands that floated in a sea of black cloth.
    The two girls began to move slowly to the other side of the balcony, to the hall on the opposite end, and hopefully to the exit. Emara had to face the black robed man as they walked, with Kile between her and the wall, in order to keep the illusion of invisibility. They were half way across the balcony when the doors just below them opened, and a rather irate Eric stormed into the room. He walked across the marble floor toward the black robed man known as Ravenshadow. This was the first time that Kile was able to get a good look at the young man that had tried to kill her during their time at the Academy, and she was surprised at how little he changed, of course that was only two years ago.
    He was a tall, slim man with greasy black hair that was matted to his head, narrow eyes and a sharp hawk like nose. He was dressed in dark hardened leather, wore knee high boots and a black tattered cape, not unlike the robes of Ravenshadow. All in all, he looked ridiculous, but it wasn’t what he looked like that surprised her, it was what he did next. He knelt before the dark robed man as a servant would before his king.
    “My Lord, I fear that the prisoners have escaped.”
    “Escaped?”
    There was no anger in Ravenshadow’s voice, or surprise. It was almost as if he had expected the events to happen.
    “Yes my lord.”
    “And how did they manage to do this?” He asked calmly.
    “I’m not entirely sure my lord. All I know is that the Mystic must have somehow rusted the shackles of the Hunter, since they were no more than dust.”
    The black robed man leaned back in his throne. Clasping his bone white hands together he brought them up to where his chin must have been under the hood. He held them there for a few minutes, as if to ponder what his servant had told him.
    “Bring me… this dust.” He finally said.
    “My Lord?”
    “The dust from the shackles. I want it.”
    “But my Lord, the prisoners are loose.”
    “They are of little use to us now. Let the uhyre handle the prisoners. Bring me the dust.”
    “My Lord, if Veller gets back to Aru…”
    “What? She cannot stop what has begun. My plan is now in motion. There is no stopping it now.”
    “Yes my lord, of course, but I was only thinking about…”
    “He will have to mind for himself, won’t he? If he can’t handle one little girl, then maybe he’s not the ally I require in these times. Now, do as I say, bring me the dust from the shackles, let the uhyre deal with the prisoners.”
    “Yes my lord.” Eric reluctantly replied as he slowly backed away from the black robed