Circe's Gifts

Chapter 30

Kalliope fretted as the others ate and joked and the day grew later. She didn't like the company she kept just now, all these angry soldiers looking for something to fight and kill. She suspected they wanted a war because they would be paid to do what they would have done for free if no paid work turned up.

Kalliope didn't like these humans at all.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one, though. The woman who had rounded them up for the meal and watched with a scowl. Pela was a permanent guard at the castle and apparently of a high rank though she saw no way to be certain. Kalliope suspected that had been done on purpose to allow her more time to mingle with these mercenaries without them realizing they she weighed them for hire.

Kalliope only knew because she'd been trying to find a way to get clear of the group and happened upon the woman meeting with guards in castle uniform. Those guards had treated Pela with a great deal of respect

Pela proved too vigilant. Kalliope, so far, had found no way out from under her scrutiny, which had started to bother her. Kalliope thought about her friends up in that tower, waiting. If she did not show up soon, they might do any number of rash things.

She took another couple bites of food. Too much spice, the gravy thick and the meat soft. The others seemed impressed. She tried to pretend she was as well.

"All right, let's finish up," a woman called out from her table by the door. "Got to get you recruits out to the yard for inspection!"

Some of the people made a show of paying her no mind. Kalliope watched as Pela noted those people. Kalliope didn't want to be counted among them. She finished off her stew and joined the few who were already gathering at the doorway.

Pela nodded to her. Kalliope didn't like to have that kind of attention either. There was no way to win in this case. Soon about a third of the people had gathered around her while the others still ate and cajoled each other with tales of might and wonder. Pela left them to their meal, and Kalliope got the distinct impression that the meal was all they were going to get.

She led them out into the courtyard and asked that they wait there while she went to get the Captain. No one argued.

Kalliope looked up at the tower. It was her only chance.

A shame she hadn't been a hawk like Tiernan. Right now being a wolf was a decided disadvantage. Even, Gods help her, the ability to change into something small like a cat or a mouse might have been more help -- but here she stood with a dozen other would-be swords for hire. The day had gone late. She thought she could see the shape of a hawk in the high window.

Chance finally came her way. Actually, they were horses that came her way and picked up a touch of her wolf scent. The three animals, led by stable hands, balked as they neared her and in the confusion of horses, hooves, and curses, she slipped into the nearest doorway.

Kalliope had some distance to go to the tower. In fact, this building didn't even attach to the larger fortress, but it was her only chance to disappear. She found herself in a stable converted to storage, with weapons and foodstuff laid up for a siege or an army on the move. The place still held the scent of horses thought so Kalliope knew this had been a recent change. She scrambled along the rows of crates and sacks looking for another way out before someone found her.

She found a small window, high up in the wall, that she thought must lead the roof of the building next door. Pigeons roosted there, cooing with growing agitation as she neared. Damned birds would give her away if she came any closer.

She had no choice. Kalliope could hear Pela's voice outside asking where she'd gone. The stable would be the first place they would check.

Only one way out, and she couldn't do it as a human -- but a wolf might slip through that window.