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But soes They went under two hoht of a third structure--a thing of stone and wood that cast a long shadow upon the river and the walls beloith a row of strange peaks across the top, and a small bell tower to cap it all

"The inn," Blue Jay said

To the right, a figure stepped away from the front of a little marionette shop, a wiry littleface, and crazy eyes

"You alere pretty fast on the uptake, Jay," he said

Blue Jay laughed and stepped forward, pulling the ood to see you"

The wiry hed as well, but his was cold and cynical "Good to see you alive, Jay"

Oliver glanced at Kitsune, whose jade eyes had hardened Blue Jay began to introduce his cousin to Frost, but Oliver leaned in to Kitsune

"What is it? Who is this guy?"

Kitsune spat on the ground that separated them from Blue Jay, Frost, and the other

"Oliver Bascoust, " over treetops and the peaks of hills, never so low as to encounter travelers nor so high as to draw undue attention fronawed at Lucan, and as he slipped through the air, body undulating, wings propelling hiht thing, followed his orders to the letter Ty’Lis and Hinque had sent him north to spy for them, to follow Malla and the Falconer and to watch fro

And, oh, how things had gone wrong

It seemed impossible to him that an ordinary man, an Intruder from the other side of the Veil, and a pitiful few Borderkind had defeated and killed not only Malla and the Falconer, but an entire cadre of Kirata, and others He shivered with pleasure at the thought of what it would have been like if he had been able to attack theh on the hill above the Sorrowful River Frost ht have presented a probles into Kitsune’s throat, to wrap himself around her soft fur and tender flesh And as for Blue Jay…

The Jaculus sniffed as he flew, snorting ht of how easily he could have dispatched the trickster bird He disliked eating birds All feather and bone But with Blue Jay he would have made an exception

Frustration burned in him, but he pushed it away He had his orders, and Lucan prided hied hie of death and beyond Thus was the nobility of the Jaculus

His tiny wings beat so fiercely that theyway to Palenque, the capital of Yucatazca, but that hy Ty’Lis had sent Lucan The Jaculi were ast the fastest creatures in the air

Lucan crested a hill so quickly that the details of the ground beloere a blur He zipped over tall grass on a long field, then shot through the upper branches of a small stretch of forest with such swiftness that leaves were torn off their branches by the vacuu

A wide ribbon of blue crossed his path ahead The Atlantic River Off to the north he saw a battalion of Euphrasian soldiers on thethere he had no idea, but it was none of his concern

His keen eye caught ainst the blur, down on the riverbank The Jaculus twisted in the air, alround The vole that had been nibbling at so Lucan’s approach It skittered toward a thick stretch of prickly shrubbery on the river’s edge and nearly made it to cover before the Jaculus struck

Lucan darted his tail doard like a scorpion striking, coiled around the vole, and swept it up toward his jaws in one swiftveno The Jaculus opened hisvole into his throat

As he beat his tiny wings harder, gliding through the air above the Atlantic River, he sed the creature whole The Atlantic Bridge was just to the south and he swept by it in seconds, though the act of digesting slowed hih hi the vole If only he could have coiled himself into a shady tree for a rest But it was not to be He had his duty to fulfill

In a blink, the river was no longer below hi the Truce Road unfold ahead The terrain was rough, but he could see woods off to the north where the hills rose and there were mountains in the far distance That was not his course, however Instead, Lucan turned south, cutting away from the Truce Road Below, he saw a far Past that was a se, and soon the Truce Road was far behind hirearmer He enjoyed the feel of it The Jaculus relished heat, and cold ish Lucan had enray afternoon clouds A light rain began to fall

High in the eastern sky, sonored it, but a moment later another shape joined the first Two birds, black and broad-winged, paced him a hundred feet above

The Jaculus felt his sto on the vole But he was slowed by the le twist and a thrust of his wings, he switched direction, turning toward a copse of trees at the edge of a field below Lucan dove, fangs bared, toward the upperrabbed hold of a branch, and swung around, wrapping hilanced up, he saw the birds descend, their talons out, enorae They were spies for Ty’Lis as well

"What are you doing?" the Jaculus cried

The srabbed hold of Lucan, tearing his He lunged once, ae landed, battering hihted beside the first and shot out a talon, holding his head down, keeping hiainst the dirt

"Where are you going in such a hurry, sky-worae who stood upon his head It bent down and stared into his face, tiny black eyes like stones

"Returning to Palenque," Lucanit difficult to speak "And you had best let me be on my way I serve at the will of the sorcerer Ty’Lis, as I believe do you I have vital inforae pushed the Jaculus’s head into the dirt and put his beak closer to Lucan’s face "What information?"

"Inforae cawed angrily, and the other followed suit The two birds were so loud that Lucan’s ears hurt He twisted and coiled the lower part of his serpent body, but could do nothing The vole weighed heavy in his gut

Froer,and looked up Lucan tried to see past the rain spattered his eyes and the gray light that filtered through the storm made it difficult to make out the two creatures that flen and landed heavily a few feet away

Then Lucan blinked the rain away, and he stopped wriggling beneath his captors There were few things in any world the Jaculus feared, but the Hunters that slunk across the dirt now, al with the trees, were fear thelistened with the rain, wide eyes bright despite the gray stor stealth, green-feathered wings pinioned against their backs