Wicked is the Curse.

07 | To where they cannot wander.

Chapter Seven | To where they cannot wander.

Aire got her spirits to track the Bloodbound where they could after that.

Junhyn had pulled her off of the job seeing as the Bloodbound had spoken to her twice and knew her face. Aire was glad, or she tried to be. The news of Toothless Timothy haunted her in the night and her rising suspicion was only tampered down by her fear.

Aevran found her in the catacombs small library, a place of stained books and squashy chairs. He had known her long enough to sense her sour mood and simply sat on the edge of the couch and waited. Twenty minutes of silence reigned until she spoke.

"I think that the Bloodbound has a Wielder or two below the city hall."

Aevran set down his book, a piece about old pirates that emerged from Drakon's coast and stared at her. His gaze was heavy and unwavering, his eyes unlined. "Why do you think that?"

"I - got a piece of information about prisoners being held by the Bloodbound. Their eyes, their ears, their mouths and their hands restricted. Who else would be given such treatment?" Aire glanced at him, a stone of fear sitting heavy in her stomach.  There would be no option other than to help them if there were Wielders there.  Her pride, her beliefs left room for little else.

Aevran sighed, rubbing the scruff of his jaw. Aire scowled at the movement, knowing well that he just didn't want to answer that question. She poked him with her foot and he let out another suffering sigh. "I don't like where your mind is wandering, friend."

"I do not either." Aire tipped her head back, gazing at the rounded ceiling. The network of brickwork reminded her of the streets of Irial, just more ordered. There were stolen tapestries thrown up against the walls, eaten by moths and destroyed by the many hands they had passed through.

To speak her suspicions aloud almost made her feel like they would come true. "I think – I think there are Wielders being kept in the cells."

"Shite." Aevran stared at the ceiling with her. "Shit."

The library was empty, but that didn't stop her voice from lowering. The wicked curse under her skin was becoming harder to contain, but she didn't dare take more Eoban. Not with Aevran watching her like a hawk and the Bloodbound prowling the city. She needed her mind crisp – not hungering for Eoban to mute her wield, and not heavy from Eoban either. It was a fine line she had walked for years.

Only the Wield never reared it's head like this.

"I need to find out for sure."

"Aire..." Aevran straightened up on the couch. "Think about this please. This is not some opportunity to save some hapless soul. This could be something that gets your killed. You might think I am heartless, but I only care about keeping you alive. Life in this dismal city would be unbearable if you were executed."

Aire wired her jaw shut. There were a hundred arguments she could throw out, but Aevran was dogged in his ways and if he grew desperate, he would actively make sure she never discovered who was being held by the Bloodbound. It was an honour to be his friend, and yet sometimes, a nightmare. "I will think about it. "

"Good..." He heistated. "It has to be just rumours, Aire. In a few days, the Bloodbound will be gone and this will leave your conscience."

She settled back on the couch, her mind whirring. "Will you read to me?"

"What would you like to hear?"

"Something about far away places. Somewhere that isn't here."

"What about a story about the great bulls of Cearnia, where the country nearly dissolved into war over them."