Assassin of Curses: (The Coren Hart Chronicles Book 3) by Jessie Eaker (best novels in english TXT) 📕

Merrick gave a pained smile. “Of course. Now, what are you looking for again?”

“The Griffin’s Key.”

Merrick closed his eyes and held the finder out. “Please show me in what direction the Griffin’s Key is located.”

The finder immediately started to glow. We waited for it to begin to move. But after a few moments, the glow died.

He tried it again. But with the same result.

Merrick looked at us a bit fearfully. “I’m sorry. But it can’t locate an object by that name.”

I glanced to Fumiko and our eyes met. Even though it was Zofie’s face, her disappointment was perfectly readable.

What were we going to do now?

As we rode back to the castle in the carriage, I kept the shade up and watched out the window at the passing scenery. The late afternoon sky had become cloudy, and the air had developed more of a cold bite. By evening, we would likely get either freezing rain or possibly snow. The grayness matched my dark mood. We hadn’t been able to learn what we needed.

Lord Merrick had been uncharacteristically patient as we tried a few more combinations, but the finder stubbornly refused to home in on the key. He had explained to us that we had to have the exact name of the artifact. And like the Mirror of Bygone Tears we had searched for previously, some things were just blocked from being located. In desperation, we even tried finding Wynn and Lilith, but they didn’t show up either. Also likely concealed. We finally had to stop because Fumiko signaled she was reaching the end of her endurance. So we had thanked him and quickly left.

What were we going to do? It all seemed so hopeless. Hopefully, Spraggel and Rourke had located some lead. I sighed. But before we had left, they had said things did not look promising—there were only a few more places to check. If it wasn’t for the fact that Lilith had been prepared to kill for it, and Advisor Yonge had reached out all the way from the Kuiojia Empire, I would have thought it was all make-believe.

I rubbed my eyes. I glanced over at Fumiko across from me. She had turned sideways in her seat with her back against the carriage’s sidewall and curled up into a ball, with her head resting on her knees. It was hard to tell if she was asleep or not. The moment we had entered the carriage, she had dropped the illusion and fell back into her seat completely exhausted. She had done an almost perfect job of impersonating Zofie. But watching her in action led me to believe there was more to her skill than just looking like the person. She became that person. As I watched her, I couldn’t help but ask the question: Exactly what were you trained for?

I shivered. It was getting cold in the carriage. Blankets were kept under our seats, and I was tempted to pull one out. Maybe even try to catch a nap myself. Tonight promised to be another long one. But I resisted. If Fumiko was sleeping, I might disturb her.

So I stuffed my hands into my jacket pockets and was surprised to feel something inside one of them. Pulling it out, I discovered a piece of carefully folded paper. That was odd—my pockets had been empty before. What was even stranger was that it had my name written on it in a flowing feminine penmanship I did not recognize.

Opening it revealed a brief note from Nadine. She must have slipped it into my pocket when she hugged me. It was carefully written, and I noticed there was not a single cross-out.

Dearest Coren, it read. Apologies for this hidden note, but it is the only way I could get this information to you discreetly. My sources tell me, Risten has been scouring the eastern part of the kingdom for one of the ancient artifacts. Something to do with a key. She seems quite determined to get it. So determined she’s been leaving a trail of blood in her wake. But recently, she’s shifted strategies and appears to be waiting for something. She was last seen in Iron Landing and in the company of a man named Wort. Please be careful and stay away from that town.

I am not sure what Wynn did to my Risten, but it’s like she’s a different person. She’s become heartless. I’ve also heard she was the one that made the attempt on the princess’s life. This is totally against her character, and something must be driving her to do this. Something horrible.

I know you have other challenges at the moment, but I beg you to hear this mother’s plea: please save Risten. You of all people I am confident can do this. It was not signed.

I sighed. Nadine must have been watching Risten closely over the years to notice the change in behavior. And she was right. Something horrible had happened—a Dark Avenyts. I would definitely save Risten if I could, but I wasn’t exactly sure how. She was far too dangerous to even get close to.

But what really surprised me was the man with her. Lord Wort Dilyston. Risten had a death grudge against the man and had sworn to kill him. He had murdered her master. The Risten inside likely raged every time he was near.

I frowned. While I wanted to save Risten, and it hurt me to even think it, but I had to get Zofie back first. Assuming we could ever find this Griffin’s Key. There had to be something we were overlooking.

I glanced at Fumiko only to find her eyes open. She still rested her head on her knees, but had turned her head in my direction, her face impassive.

“We should interrogate our prisoner again. I believe