The City of Marble and Blood by Howard Andrew Jones

Author:Howard Andrew Jones [Jones, Howard Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Epic, Historical, Action & Adventure
ISBN: 9781982192945
Google: 6pYF0AEACAAJ
Amazon: 1982192941
Publisher: Baen
Published: 2023-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

VI

Another Volani was in danger, and likely slated to die, one whose fate had been completely avoidable. That dawn Hanuvar pushed through his anger, more frustrated by his own helplessness than anything else. Senanara had to be found.

Today was the Festival of Vanora, the Rite of Winter’s Unmasking. As the city was overflowing with people in full or partial masks until midnight, Senanara could be anywhere amongst tens of thousands. It was the one day every year where social station meant almost nothing. House slaves were traditionally granted a small gift and twenty-four hours of freedom. Masked men and women alike wandered in clothing that would normally be scandalous. Not for nothing was there a famous joke about Vanora’s second festival of delivery, nine months later.

Almost surely Senanara would know of her husband’s capture, and how impossible Adherval’s recovery would be. Even if she were to charm a revenant into cooperation, they were unlikely to know what cubbyhole her husband had been thrust into. She, too, would be feeling helpless, and angry. But unlike him, she had extraordinary power.

At that thought, he guessed what she must be planning.

He would have liked to have run his conclusion past Carthalo, but his old friend was directly overseeing today’s rescue plans. His youngest son Kester was one of the few left in the inn, and from him Hanuvar obtained a brown cloak and a half mask with wide, laughing eyes and outrageous eyebrows, a gaily painted thing of pressed fibers and resin with a long pointed nose and small cut outs to see through. He gave the boy a note, telling him to have his father open it if he didn’t return.

Kester eyed him in alarm, then promised that he would.

Inside the sealed paper Hanuvar had instructed that if Senanara drew undue attention to the Volani, Carthalo was to lay low. If there was no way to carry on, he was to implement their contingency plan to deploy the rest of their financial resources evacuating with everyone they’d recovered so far and attempt to free the others at some future date.

He prayed it would not come to that.

There was enough of a nip in the air that heavy cloaks were perfectly comfortable, which suited Hanuvar, though it probably disappointed a whole host of those who would have preferred to head forth in more daring attire. The garment allowed him to conceal a sword in a shoulder sheath, a weapon illegal for any but praetorians and revenants[13] to carry within city limits.

Carthalo’s headquarters lay only a few blocks from the forum. Normally Hanuvar might have reached the city center quickly, but with parties under way on every street, nearly a quarter hour of constant effort was required. Musicians stood in every other doorway, surrounded by dancers, almost all masked and many already blind drunk. Heedless of the weather, the younger men and women had stripped to revealing garments. Some of the men went shirtless, their skin dimpling in the cold. The women were wiser,

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