Chapter Five
I want to see you.
The note said nothing else, and it was not signed, but Konrad knew who had sent it.
The fog still hadn’t lifted, and the trees were dripping wet when he stepped beyond the city gates into the marshlands. Beads of dew twinkled on the branches, and half-frozen water sloshed and splintered underfoot, eerily loud in the hush. He strode through the hazy atmosphere, sure of his path, unconcerned by the fact that he could see only a few hand spans in front of him.
The serpents glided into position on either side of him, coalescing out of the mist like puffs of steam.
Be gone, he told them silently. I go where you must not follow.
You go to meet the apothecary, said Eetapi.
You think she does not know? said Ootapi.
She might guess, he conceded. But I do not
