The Shadowglass (The Bone Witch, #3)(47)

“She died, milord.”

“Ah, rotten luck. Was it a clean death?”



“No, milord.” I thought about Aenah’s last moments without regret. “It was not a clean death.”

“Well and good. I wished I could have run her through a few times with a sword myself, but I suppose you must be cautious around that lot.” He sobered. “I am very sorry to hear about Lady Polaire. She was a wonderful woman. What a fantastic minister she would have made, had she been Yadoshan. Would have given Stefan a run for his money if she’d fought against him in the commons, and she could drink me under the table if she’d had a mind to. She was well respected here, admired by my men. My heartfelt condolences.”

“Thank you, milord. She is—she is greatly missed.”

It did not take long for First Minister Stefan to make his appearance. The leader of the city-states was a tall man, easily several inches over six feet, and round as an ox. He was also heavily clad in chain mail, as were the assistants who accompanied him. “First Minister,” Kalen greeted him, a little warily. “I’m not entirely sure chain mail will be necessary for this hunt.”

“It’s always best to be prepared, wouldn’t you say?” Lord Stefan rubbed his hands. “I will leave the hard work to you and your friends, Lord Kalen, but the last time your Lady Mykaela put down our local daeva, she deigned to inform us only after the fact. While our army may not be up to speed when it comes to dealing with the nanghait, at least permit us to offer some backup, to save face if nothing else.”

“Can you promise me, then, that this has nothing to do with the games regarding the nanghait?” Kalen asked.



“I am afraid,” Minister Stefan responded, his cherubic face beaming with insincerity, “that I cannot make that claim.”

“Yadoshans,” Khalad sighed. “Lord Besserly, surely you can see why the practice should be discontinued?”

“Actually, good sir”—Lord Besserly drew back his cloak, revealing that he, too, was wearing armor—“I was rather looking forward to it.”

“Games?” I asked Kalen. “What do they mean?”

He scowled. “The Yadoshans are some of the bravest people in the land—and also the most ridiculous. There is a customary practice here called chasing the nanghait.”

“You seriously can’t tell me that means what it sounds like it means.”

“The opposite holds true, actually—it’s usually the nanghait that winds up chasing the Yadoshans. Hordes bait the nanghait before stampeding over each other when they get its attention, trying to avoid getting themselves killed before a Dark asha can bring down the daeva.”

“But that’s crazy!” Likh gasped.

“Lady Mykaela had been subjected to this insanity in the past,” Khalad said wryly. “It’s why she killed the nanghait without alerting the Yadoshans the last few times, although that’s never deterred them. I’ve heard of people camping out by the burial mound in the days leading up to its resurrection.”

“But don’t people die from this behavior?”

“There have been casualties. Buried with full military honors, even. Tea will need to put down the nanghait quickly, before any mishaps occur.”

“That’s easier said than done, Khalad!” I protested. “If Mykkie has been actively trying to discontinue the practice, then surely there won’t be as many participants this time around?”

I was wrong. As it turned out, a lot of Yadoshans had traveled to Thanh solely for this event, which was why I was seeing so many citizens armed to the teeth. “Thanh doesn’t have this many residents,” Lord Besserly told me.

I was aghast. “You consider this a celebration?”

“We celebrate life in different ways, Lady Tea. Yadoshans come from a long line of warmongers. We used to rule over the parts of the continent that’re now Odalia and Kion, until they decided we were right bastards and rebelled. I was told you grew up in Knightscross, milady. That’s as obviously an Odalian name as any, eh? We were too busy fighting each other to notice them break away until they’d amassed a good ol’ army of their own!

“We’ve given peace a chance for nearly three hundred years, and we’ve been liking it, but every now and then we get the urge to smash something. This is one of the best ways to go about it without causing anyone else too much trouble.”

“But I’m not going to let you be maimed or worse!”

“We’re all big boys, Lady Tea. We all know what we’re getting into.” The Lord Besserly was in his sixties, but the grin he shot my way was forty years younger than the rest of him. “We’re not used to having other people do our dirty work, but we don’t have much of a choice with daeva. We’ll stay out of your way—mostly. Who knows? We’ve made for good distraction for other Dark asha in the past. Maybe we’ll be of use to you too.”

“Are we really going to do this?” I asked Kalen as we led our unlikely and unwanted “army” out of the city, toward the nanghait’s last reported sighting.

“You’re not going to get them to change their minds,” Kalen grunted. “Focus on the nanghait. Whatever happens to the Yadoshans will be on their heads, not yours. They’re right about one thing—their ability to distract, not just the nanghait, but you.”