in Miiska. It was important that he find out what happened to Parko, not only for revenge, but for the safety of all of them.
"I'm sick of waiting every night," Ratboy said petulantly. "If Edwan doesn't come soon, I'm going out."
Teesha's mouth opened to answer him when a soft, shimmering light appeared from nowhere and began gaining strength in the center of the room. She simply smiled up at Rashed.
The light grew dense and swirled into the shape of a ghastly form floating just above the ground. A transparent man stared at Teesha.
He wore green breeches and a loose white shirt, the colors of his clothes vivid in the candlelight. His partially severed head rested on one shoulder, connected by a remaining strip of what had once been flesh. Long, dark-yellow hair hung down his blood-spattered shoulder and arm with the illusion of heaviness. His appearance was exactly the same as at the moment he'd died.
"My dear Edwan," Teesha said. "It has been lonely without you."
The ghost floated toward her as if the small distance between them was too much.
"Where have you been?" Rashed demanded instantly. "Did you find Parko's murderer?"
Edwan's movement stopped. His body half turned until his sloping head faced Rashed, and he stayed there in a long silence.
It was unusual for the ghost to appear visibly like this. His own appearance embarrassed him, and he did not like to see horror, revulsion, or even simple distaste in the eyes of others. Normally, he only appeared to Teesha, who never showed any sign of discomfort. But lately he'd taken to materializing in the most grisly detail whenever Rashed was present.
Rashed kept his expression emotionless on purpose. "What have you learned?"
"It was a woman called Magiere." Edwan's hollow voice echoed. He turned to face his wife as if Teesha had actually posed the question. "She hires herself out to peasant villages seeking to rid themselves of vampires and their like."
"I think I've actually heard that name," Ratboy chimed in, perking up now that his attention was stimulated. "It was a traveling peddler. He mentioned something about a 'hunter of the dead' working the villages of Stravina. But it has to be nonsense. There aren't that many of our kind. Not enough to make a living off of, if anyone was good enough to try. She's a fake, a charlatan. She could not have killed Parko."
"Yes, she did," Edwan answered, his words like whispers from the past traveling down an endless hall. "Parko rests in the Vudrask River, his head… his head…"—he stuttered briefly before continuing—"his head severed from his body. She cut his head off. She knew what to do."
Ratboy scoffed under his breath from the corner. Teesha simply sat listening and thinking. Rashed began pacing again.
He'd himself heard much about the occasional "hunter" traveling the lands, calling themselves by fanciful titles such as "exorcist," "witchbane," and "hunters of the dead." Ratboy was correct on one count. They were always cheats and mountebanks merely seeking profit by preying on peasant superstitions—regardless of whether those peasant fears were based on a hidden truth. But Rashed knew something more had happened this time, and Parko had died because of it. It was difficult, almost impossible, for a mortal to kill a vampire, even one who'd abandoned his intellect to run wild through the nights, lost to the Feral Path.
"And more," Edwan whispered.
Rashed stopped. "What?"
"She's coming here." The ghost now turned completely to face Rashed. "She's purchased the old tavern on the docks."
At first no one moved, then Ratboy rushed forward, Rashed stepped close, and even Teesha was on her feet. Their questions barraged the spirit, one upon the other.
"Where did you hear… ?"
"How can that be… ?"
"Where did she find out… ?"
Edwan's eyes closed as if the voices hurt him.
"Quiet," Teesha snapped. Both Rashed and Ratboy fell silent as she turned back to the ghost, speaking calmly and quietly. "Edwan, tell us anything you know about this."
"Everyone in Miiska knows the owner disappeared months ago." Edwan paused, and Rashed turned a suspicious glare in Ratboy's direction. "I listened to her talk with her partner. The missing owner owed money on the property to someone in Bela, so the tavern was sold off low just to pay the debt. This false hunter now holds the title to the tavern, free and clear. She will arrive late tomorrow and intends to settle here to run the tavern."
Rashed lowered his head, murmuring to himself. "Perhaps she is not such a charlatan. I didn't kill