House of Vultures by Maggie Claire (read my book TXT) 📕

are wrong if you do not see that the very things you hateabout Cassé are what Déchets values most. Now, will you join us,Iris?”

I can hear the frustrationin Siri’s voice; she will not ask me for aid a third time.You got the Ddraigs into this mess withAntero, I accuse myself guiltily.You brought the enemy right into their home. Youshould help fix your own mistakes. Yet theidea of jumping into a battle that I still do not understand leavesme cautious. “I will go with you, Siri,” is the best response I canmanage.

A burst of pain erupts on my face asmy mask is heated by Siri’s fire. The flames burn through the wooduntil my face is fully exposed. Then Siri’s claws etch the skin ofmy cheeks, chin, and forehead, her tongue quickly licking closedthe wounds. These motions are so fast that by the time the stingingpain of the scratches reaches me, they have already been healed. Ihave no doubt that my face now bears the same strange patterns thatadorn my arms.

“You need your mask nolonger, Iris. You are the first Cadogan of the Ddraigs. You cowerto none.” Siri’s long clawed talons wrap around me lightly as sheflies back to the Pith, to the place where danger lurks.

***

The spitfire of a woman Wolf had takenfrom Condor is tied to the trunk of a nearby ash tree. It is theonly way Wolf could think of to keep her from hurting any of hispack. She’d tried to bite Jackal, she’d attempted to run away, andshe’d even tried to claw Lynx’s eyes out when she approached with aglass of water. A gag had to be placed in the hellcat’s mouth, buther howling curses still manage to bleed through the fabric.Whoever approaches them now had to have been drawn to theirposition by her ruckus.

“Show yourself!” Wolfcalls from the perimeter around the House of Vultures.

Two figures emerge from the clearingwhere the House of Vultures dwells. A tall male in a dark mask witheyes that gleam like sunlight amidst shadows, and a smaller,nondescript female stomp through the grass in a rage. “Where isBittern?” the furious woman shouts as she trounces up to Wolf,unaffected by his presence. “What did you do with her, you ratbast—?”

Wolf motions to the screaming shapebehind him, his eyes never leaving the male. “Take her if you wish.The woman’s been an absolute menace since I rescued her from abeating. Are you abandoning your house for mine?” Wolf’s handreaches for the sword at his hip. “Keep in mind that if your answeris anything but yes, I will be forced to kill you.”

Goldeneye raises his palms up to hiseye level. “I am not so bound to my House that I would die for it.If I must join the wolves to survive, then so be it.”

“Untie Bittern now!”Grouse commands as she shoves a finger into Wolf’s side. “And whatdid you do with Mynah?”

With a curt nod of his head, anobviously pregnant Lynx waddles over to cut Bittern loose. “Mynahis free. She made her own choice to leave, just as she will decideon her own when to return to us.”

Brilliant light arcs into the skytoward the tree line as a whistle screeches through the air. Thesound turns into a loud encompassing boom as the trees crack andsplinter with the explosion, raining bits of wood and leaves ontoWolf and the others. Quickly Wolf pulls a knife, pressing it hardagainst Goldeneye’s throat. “Did you signal for that tohappen?”

Goldeneye gulps, eyes widening. “Youcannot be serious! I am here because I think you’ve got the bestchances of winning this fight. Why would I join you, and thensabotage you in the next breath? How does that plan benefitme?”

With a snap of his fingers, scores ofWolf’s people appear in the trees, weapons gleaming like thedreadful grins of monsters that lurk in shadowy corners. “Take downthe House of Vultures! Any that are left inside and out areconsidered our enemies. No mercy!”

A battle cry erupts as the fighterslope toward the House with an easy grace in their steps, Wolf rightat the front of the pack. No one bothers to think of Goldeneye,Grouse, or Bittern as they stand by to witness the massacre oftheir home.

“What about Wren?”Goldeneye asks the women, his eyes searching for any sign of themaster of disguises. “Did any of you see where he went?”

“I doubt he will stay withCondor,” Grouse replies as she helps Bittern stand. “He will mostlikely disappear into the woods.”

“Not as a namelessunchosen!” Bittern exclaims through her bloody mouth. “He’d neverchoose that.”

“No, but if any of uscould find a way to join another house without starting a war, he’dbe the one to manage it.” Goldeneye ends the conversation asringing clangs of swordplay echo through the forest. “He’llprobably just kill a low-ranking member of the House of Piranhasand assume his identity.”

“Or he’ll go down to theminor markets and start a following there. Who knows, maybe one daywe will all be begging to ally with the House of Wrens!” Grousecackles, the sound melding with the cries of the warriorsovertaking her former home.

***

The war for the House of Vultures isover quickly, a smoky residue staining the air as Wolf drags Condorout by his scraggly hair. Jackal runs his sword along Falcon’s sidebefore anyone can protest. She crumbles into a heap, blood poolingaround her feet as she tumbles. The House of Vultures burns bright;the flames of the fire licking the rotten wood are like the tonguesof ravenous beasts savoring the taste of their prey. They sizzlewith their approval.

“Where is the third onethat ranked among your elite; I believe his name is Wren?” Wolfdemands as he kicks the backs of Condor’s knees, shoving him hardto the ground.

Condor smiles wickedly. “You willnever find Wren. He’s too clever for the likes of us.”

Wolf leans low to stare at Condor’sgleaming eyes. “I will enjoy killing you. For everything that youdid to Mynah. Your end will be slow and excruciating. Every evildeed you’ve done to her will be repaid tenfold before I’mthrough!”

“Do your worst, BrotherMine.” Condor’s whispered words are slurred with his coughinglaughter.

The name rattles Wolf so strongly thathe almost drops