Hunter and Fox Read Online Free

could squirrel himself in amongst deliveries as heroes did in the tales he spun.
    The bread was long gone and his throat was ready for a drink of some kind. Before he could lever himself out of his corner, everything abruptly changed. A few muted cries of alarm reached him but were quickly cut off, until all that remained was silence. Into that, she arrived. Finnbarr the Fox got his second look at Talyn the Dark. She would not recall the first, nor, he hoped, this one.
    The crowd shifted around her, none meeting her eye. All were anxious to get out of the way—nykur were not renowned for their forbearance. So that was what people saw, rather than Talyn herself—the great terrifying bulk of the green beast. They didn't look farther, or try to meet the hollow eyes of its rider. They did not want to draw her attention in any way.
    Finn noticed things because he was making an effort to take her measure. Taller than the rest of the crowd, he got an excellent view of the Hunter perched high on the back of the nykur with its slashing teeth and curved claws. She looked like a child on such a huge beast, but the glint of blade and pistol broke that illusion. Also, there was the body of some poor man strapped before her saddle—her hunt had obviously been a successful one.
    Sliding down from the creature's back, she paused a moment to whisper something into its curled green ear. A shudder ran down its back and its teeth clashed like bright swords. Talyn the Dark strode to the guards, talking so softly that again Finn could not hear what was said.
    She didn't seem like a danger—but he knew she was. He had experience to remind him. She had always needed just herself, and while that was sad, he envied her for it somehow.
    Talyn was the Caisah's creature, even more completely than the dreaded Rutilian Guard, or the relentless Swoop. It was a foul bargain she'd made for her life, when all of her people were outcasts.
    She turned, and he saw her properly as he hadn't since their last parting. Being Vaerli, nothing had changed about her; she was still dark-eyed and golden-skinned, and there was no wrinkle or scar on her face to show that any time had passed at all.
    Finn could not see her features properly from this distance, but he didn't need to. His recollection of her storm-cloud eyes was clear and he knew that even now they would be flicking over the press of people on the street. In such a way she judged who was a danger and who were merely sheep beneath her notice.
    She was not just a person to Finn. She was a life-changing event. He saw her as lovely when all others only saw her as frightening.
    Dark of eye, dark of will, dark of power
Pass me by until another hour
    That was the incantation meant to keep the Hunter at bay. It was paltry and ridiculous when faced with her. And even knowing what she was, Finn had no desire for her to pass him by.
    As if summoned, she was looking directly at him through the press of people. All sound suddenly ceased. Pity clutched at Finn's heart; there was such infinite sadness inside Talyn the Dark. The Vaerli lived through days beyond measure, and in her look was every moment of that tortured existence.
    He did not think she would recall him with one glance, but a small part of him longed for her to cross to him. Though what she would do after that was uncertain—their last parting had not been amicable.
    Talyn did not move; her face was a calm study, no expression or emotion bent it. She turned away suddenly and Finn was left feeling oddly upset. He watched her unload her terrible burden before leading the nykur into the Citadel, and found he was able to move only after she was gone from sight.
    She was not the reason he was here, Finn reminded himself forcibly. Shaking himself, he hitched his pack once more over his back and left the corner. His odd gift ensured that no guard noticed him depart.
    It had also allowed him to observe much, where others would have been prompted to