Venators: Promises Forged. Devri Walls

wolf abilities as well as your culture. There can be no mistakes.” He paused. “Unless you would like to educate them in the nuances of your species personally.”

      Silen’s lip curled in disgust. “Go. Get what you need, but I expect this to be remedied, Tate. Am I clear?”

      “Of course.”

      Tate headed toward the castle, but Grey was positive he was lying. No way he was going for a book. Not in such a hurry. Tate was going after Danchee.

      “I will teach you one thing about my people.” Silen picked up a throwing dagger and examined the tip, then slammed it point down into the table. “When a werewolf makes a promise, he fulfills it.”

      “Understood,” Rune said. “Kill Beorn.”

      “At all costs,” Silen emphasized. He jerked the blade from the wood and dropped it to the table. “But if one of you fails to return alive, my fellow council members will be most unhappy.”

      Needing to judge Silen’s reaction, Grey asked, “But would you be unhappy?”

      The werewolf stared him down, but Grey would not turn away. Silen’s shoulders finally relaxed, and his lip turned up at the corner—whether in amusement or respect, Grey couldn’t tell.

      “If the mission is a success, I might be interested to see what else you can do.” Silen stalked away. “So don’t die,” he barked over his shoulder.

      From the back, the girth of Silen’s shoulders was more apparent. The muscles flexed beneath his white shirt, and Grey couldn’t help but imagine what a nightmare that man would be in wolf form.

      Rune waited until Silen turned the corner before muttering, “‘Don’t die.’ Why does everyone say that?” She lowered her voice further, imitating Silen. “‘Here, go on this deadly mission. Do what it takes, but don’t die.’” She huffed in aggravation. “Is that a thing here? Like ‘break a leg’ or ‘good luck’? ‘Don’t die.’”

      Grey wasn’t really listening. He headed toward the side of the castle.

      “Hey,” Rune called. “Where are you going?”

      He stopped at the corner, not wanting to be questioned by Silen. He slowly peeked around just as Rune caught up.

      “Grey, what are you doing?” She leaned over his back, trying to see around him.

      “Cut it out!” he hissed, nudging her with an elbow. “I’m looking for Tate.”

      “He said he was going for books.”

      “No, he’s not.”

      The giants pulled the doors open, and Silen marched through. With the werewolf inside and the doors swinging shut behind him, Grey stepped around the corner. “Come on.”

      “Where? Why would Tate—?”

      “He’s trying to catch Danchee.”

      Rune looked completely confused.

      “Come on, didn’t you see the way they looked at each other? If Silen hadn’t been there, I think Tate would’ve broken its neck. And Danchee knew it. The thing was terrified.”

      They jogged across the front courtyard. The giants waved with fearful enthusiasm.

      “I think you have admirers.” Rune laughed.

      “If only all my admirers were worried I was going to kill and eat them.” Grey plastered on a smile to put the giants’ nerves at ease and waved back.

      “All? You have admirers?”

      She was kidding. The sarcasm was not subtle. But when a wound was raw, sarcasm bit. “Nobody crushes on the freak. You of all people ought to know that.”

      Her feet stuttered in the gravel, but he would not honor that by turning to check if he’d hurt her feelings.

      “Grey—”

      “Where did Danchee go?” He slowed, looking at the long path that led down the mountain. “He can’t move very fast unless he tunnels.”

      “Maybe he went inside instead?”

      “I don’t think so.” Grey spun in a circle, scanning the property. “Silen told Danchee to leave, and then he followed Tate inside. Even if Silen didn’t see Danchee, he could’ve smelled him in the castle . . . At least, I think he could’ve smelled him.”

      “I’ll tell you this, if I knew Tate was chasing me, you can bet I’d find a different way off this mountain. That man is scary.”

      She had a point. Danchee knew he was in trouble. He wasn’t going to go skipping down the path, waiting to get caught. Grey squinted into the sun, thinking. “If you were trying to escape the wrath of Tate, which way would you choose?”

      “Easy. I’d climb down.” Rune said. “Not that it helps our current problem. Climbing wouldn’t be your first choice.”

      “No.” He turned in another circle, this time scanning the open skyline around the council house. “But it would be my only choice. It’s either off a cliff or down the main path, and this path doesn’t have any tree cover or an alternate escape route for, what, half a mile?”

      “But can Danchee climb? His arms look like a monkey’s, but that’s it.”

      “Damn it. You’re right. With those squatty back legs . . .” Grey trailed off.

      “What?”

      “Those squatty legs make him an excellent tunneler.”

      “Yes, we’ve established that. But you saw that trail of dirt he left in the forest. It was huge. There’s nothing like that here.”

      “But what if”—Grey grinned—“Danchee tunneled vertically?”

      “What?” Rune shook her head. “No way. Not on that cliff we went down. It’s solid rock.”

      “But what about the other two sides? Are they rock? Because this side isn’t.” Grey motioned down the path they stood in front of.

      Grey and Rune ran toward the eastern canyon wall. Once they rounded the corner of the council house, the distance between the side of the cliff and the walls of the council house shrunk dramatically. What had been fifty feet was now rough and jagged. In some areas, the cliff face was no more than ten feet from the thick stone walls.

      Rune leaned to look over the edge. “Some areas are stable enough to climb.” She kicked at the lip, and dirt pinged down the side. “But other sections look like they’d come off in your hands. They’ve got some major erosion problems happening here.”

      “Sounds perfect for Danchee.” Grey strode ahead, looking around a curve in the council house’s wall, which blocked the view to most of the eastern side. But Tate was nowhere in sight. “Maybe they’re on the backside.”

      “Or maybe they already went over,” Rune pointed out.

      “There aren’t any dirt mounds,” Grey said.

      “With dirt like this, I wouldn’t start from the top either.” Rune strolled along right on the edge, one foot in front of the other. “No need. Go over just a little, and tunnel straight in. Hide my trail.”

      “You’re going to fall,” Grey said.

      “Don’t be stupid. My balance is pretty fantastic. Besides, I can’t see over the edge hugging a stone wall.”

      Grey scowled and took a step away from the council house.

      “I’m just saying, if we’re going to look for someone, we should probably actually look.” Rune glanced up at him. “What do you think Tate will do if he catches