Magic Underground: The Complete Collection (Magic Underground Anthologies Book 4)

by Melinda Kucsera

  The parchment’s weight in her pocket felt heavier than it should, and her finger ran along its edge until a sharp sting answered. The pain settled the turning in her stomach.

  Bredych sighed. “I wish you woulda said somethin’ to me. ’Bout your doubts.”

  His reversion back to their childhood tongue reminded her of their mother, and the pain in her stomach returned. “When Ma died—”

  “Don’t.”

  “When she died, I had nothin’. Ya were the one who convinced me I’d find a home with the Order, but I only did it to be with ya. Yer all that I’ve left in this world. Without you, I’d’ve ended up at Lady Essia’s, and we both know it.”

  “So why doubt the Order if we gave you a home?”

  Shendra pressed her forehead against the cool stone wall, and her long, dark curls hid her tears. Tomorrow, if she passed the test, her hair would disappear along with her freedom. “It’s not that I regret gainin’ a home and a family, but at what cost? I’ll never be Shendra again. Everything that’s me will disappear, and in its place will be an Amaskan. A killer. It’s one thing to speak of killin’ and another to actually do it.” She was aware of his hand moments before it rested on her shoulder and resisted the urge to shrug it off. “I’m not talkin’ about the horse manure I repeat to the Masters ’bout servin’ Justice. I’m talkin’ about murder, Bredych. A woman’s gonna die tomorrow.”

  “Lady Essia of Tovias, owner of the only brothel this side of the mountains. Only fool brave enough to skirt the law right here in plain sight of the King, much less in front of the Order.” When she opened her mouth, Bredych shushed her. “Back when you were on the streets, she came after you. She had plans for you. I knew she was bad news, Shen, but I didn’t know everything until….”

  Until the job. It’d been right there in front of her…

  Bredych and Shendra gathered at a small table where parchment after parchment lay stretched across its wood. Across from them sat their master, his fingers dancing across the table as he spoke. “Shendra, your first target is Lady Essia of Tovias. This job comes directly from the King, so ready or not, your initiation into the Order happens in three days’ time.”

  “Can I ask what her crime was?” She knew, but she needed him to say it out loud.

  Elish tilted his head to study her face a moment before replying. “We will always tell you your mark’s crime against the Thirteen. For one to deliver Justice, one must understand why it is necessary. While the Lady runs a brothel, her real money comes from the buying and selling of women.”

  “That’s not legal,” said Shendra, earning herself a glare.

  “That would be why the King has ordered her killed, unofficially of course,” said her brother.

  Shendra bit her tongue. Killing was against the Thirteen as well, whether or not it was for Justice. Not that the Order would ever see the irony.

  “Lady Essia’s sneaky. She prays on those vulnerable, those too poor to do naught else but sell themselves for half a penny.” When the master’s eyes fell upon her, she’d felt smaller than a rain droplet. “Girls like you once were.”

  Master Elish slid a small scrap of parchment across the table toward Bredych, whose face paled when he read it. She leaned towards him, and he crumpled the parchment into his fist before she could see what was written upon it. “We had our eyes on you from the moment your mother died.”

  Her heart cried in protest at her Master’s words. Bredych had said coming after her had been his idea… Was it another lie to keep her where they wanted her?

  “Even still, Lady Essia almost reached you first. Another day and you would’ve been another girl gone missing.”

  “I still say Shendra would have seen through the Lady’s lies,” said Bredych, but Shendra shook her head.

  “That time on the streets—between the sharp pains in m’belly and the cold ache at night, I would’ve agreed to near anythin’ iffen it meant a solid meal and a warm bed.”

  “Which is what the Lady counts on.” Master Elish shuffled through the stack of parchments before he continued. “It’s not as if she would have told you what you’d be doing at the brothel. Nor would she have exposed you to it immediately. Our Lady Essia is smart. Sly even.”

  The writing across the pages blurred slightly. Four years since the Order had taken her in, yet Shendra could paint a picture of what could’ve been. “Let me guess—she’d rattle off some promise of food and a bed in exchange for some housekeepin’ maybe. Like dishes at her inn or somethin’ simple. Get a good month’s time in with that warm bed and good meal, and then I’d-a-owed her.”

  “Exactly. You would have been in her debt. She would have been well within her right to take it out of you or have you hauled up before the local constable if you didn’t make it right. Of course, she’d lie about how much you owed and the laws that backed her. What’s a starving kid like you going to know about the law?”

  Bredych stood, his lithe frame pacing between the chairs and the wall. Every time he passed her, his foot knocked against the leg of her chair. Whether accidental or intentional, the repetition made her eye twitch. She didn’t blame him. They both shared a healthy imagination. Not that they needed one after the Master read the parchments. The Order and the King had ten years’ of history on Lady Essia’s. “So how does she sell folks? I imagine that’s much harder to sneak by the Boahim Senate,” asked Bredych.

  Another question danced on the tip of Shendra’s tongue, but she held her peace. This one would wait another breath or three.

  Master Elish ran a hand across his bald head before he answered. “That question had us stumped for a decade. We could have killed Lady Essia a dozen times by now, but we’d still be left with too many questions and a possible slave trade out there. Our informants know she tends to sell those who give her grief or those who are too old or broken for her brothel. Ships come from across the Harren Sea, so she’s trading with people outside of Boahim.”

  The idea that continents other than Boahim existed still spun Shendra’s young head. The Order’s library held more books than her mind had been able to imagine as a child. “You believe yourself capable of your task, which you are, but you must be careful. She spins words with a poison stronger than those you’ve studied,” said Master Elish.

  “Master, I get why this Lady Essia’s a danger, but twice you’ve given me information that’s raised questions in my mind.”

  “Such as?”

  “For one, why were ya watchin’ me after our mother died? I can understand my brother watchin’ me, but why the Order?”

  “And…?”

  She ran her tongue over lips too dry. “And why do ya think she’ll be able to get her hooks into me? There’s somethin’ ya ain’t sayin’—somethin’ on that parchment ya been worryin’ on for the past twenty minutes.”

  Their master’s fingers paused at the page’s edge. Beside him, one candle flickered and died as the wick drowned in wax. Master Elish poured the excess into the bucket beneath the table and used another candle to relight the wick. “When your father died, your mother had little to support herself on, much less children. A year after his passing, your mother was set to meet with Lady Essia—”

  Bredych ceased pacing, his hand still curled into fists.

  “Your mother made an appointment—though we don’t know what the end result would have been. Before her engagement, she met with us.” Her brother bit off a curse as their Master continued. “She needed money, and we needed someone who could get inside and feed us needed information. Everyone we sent in from outside was too suspect, no matter how good their training. Your mother already had a connection with Lady Essia. She had access we did not.”

  “Ya used her, and it got her killed.” When Shendra spoke the words, she thought her brother would leap out of his skin. Instead, he resumed his pacing. The kicks to her chair were harder now. Hard enough to bounce her in her seat.

  Master Elish frowned. “You’re mother’s death was unfortun
ate.”

  The candle’s flame shook when Bredych’s fist hit the table. “You set’er up to die and call it ‘unfortunate’?” Bredych’s sharp laughter left bumps across her arms that danced in rhythm to the candle’s flame.

  “It was a poor choice of words. Regardless, your anger marks you unready to lead the Amaskans. Jobs must serve Justice, not vengeance. No one would blame you, Bredych, for needing some time.”

  “I’m ready, if for no other reason than to keep you from it.” Her brother’s shadow framed the wall for a moment before he strode from the room.

  How long had he known the truth about their mother’s death? Had he known when he’d rescued Shendra from the streets? Beneath the table, her legs shook.

  “Now do you understand why the Lady must be brought to Justice?”

  Shendra nodded automatically. The Lady had killed her mother, so why couldn’t she bring herself to kill the woman? Was it cowardice or something else?

  Master Elish picked up the crumpled parchment and spread it out across the table in front of her. The candlelight flickered as he left through the single door, and her fingers trembled as she brought the page within view. The familiar handwriting slanted heavier than usual, its tiny print bearing smudges from the butt of her palm.

  If yer readin’ this, I’ve failed in findin’ what this Order wanted me to. They swore they’d look after ya both, but they’d tell me anythin’ ta serve their own purpose. These folks’re sneakier than the rain down a sewer grate, and all for their precious justice. If your father’re still alive, so many things would be different.

  I needed the money—I ain’t gonna lie to ya. I was all set to sellin’ whatever I had to with Lady Essia when them Order folks found me. Like them stories yer father always told, I was a spy for ’em. That Lady be pure evil if ever evil existed. The things she made them girls do. Ya must stay away from ’er at all costs. When she found me out, she nabbed some of my hair when I was sleepin’. I know it ’cause she told me so when I woke the next morn’.

  Rolled over and there she was, just a starin’ at me like she had some secret. I didn’t peg ’er for a mystic or nothin’, but I wonder. She said she’d a secret, and if I wanted to live, I’d keep her secrets like she kept mine.

  I told them Order folks what I saw her doin’, and then I wrote this for the both of ya. They told me they’d give this note to ya once Shendra was older, and I’m hopin’ they’ve done what they said. Shendra, ya must look so grown up by now. I wish I could see it. Whatever you do, don’t go trustin’ these weasels. While I knew what I was gettin’ into, I can imagine you musta lived a hard life without me and your Da. I’ve seen plenty enough street rats to know the life that leads to, but I hope you’ve found somethin’ better. Somethin’ learned.

  Shendra, ya know your brother. He’ll look after ya and all, but his temper’s gonna get him into trouble. Take care of him. Remind him of the good in life. Remind him of me.

  The page had landed on the table, its corner touching the candle’s flame. Shendra had swatted at the flame until it died, leaving a black charred corner behind. She’d folded the paper and shoved it into her pocket. Why did Master Elish show me this? Her resolve to join the Order wanted to flee with the rest of her, even more so now that she’d read her mother’s letter.

  Fewer than seven hours remained until they left for the job, and her mind was anything but clear. Bredych’s carefree smile held no hint of the man who’d stormed out of the meeting room a few days before. Her wounded finger caressed the paper. “Bredych?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are ya sure about this? ’Bout my joinin’ the Order? I know it’s what you’ve wanted to do since Da…but me? I don’t know. Fightin’ is fine, but killin’?” Her brother nodded, and she asked, “Even if they’re the reason Ma died?”

  “Especially if they’re the reason.”

  She shivered at the blankness in his eyes.

  A day’s journey by horseback. That was all that lay between Shendra and her mission. That and a good night’s sleep. For all that she begged for rest, Shendra’s mind spun circles around her worry. When the knock on her door repeated itself, her eyes gave up in their attempt to stay shut. She held her sword before her—even here. Especially here.

  The door remained silent as she cracked it open. Bredych stood outside, his hood drawn up. “Couldn’t sleep. Figured we might as well set out for Tovias.”

  She opened the door wide enough to allow him entrance before closing and locking it. He laughed, and when she turned away from the door, he held her already packed bag. “Trouble sleeping, too?”

  “Of course. I think anyone would the night before they murder someone, evil or not.”

  “It’s not murder. It’s Justice.”

  Shendra frowned as she tucked her socked feet into black riding boots. Unable to sleep, she’d bathed and dressed for travel in the gear of a typical sword-for-hire, something to blend in with other folks heading to the city of Tovias. After dressing, she’d laid in bed until the pre-dawn hours and waited. Waited for her future, for a murder that would stain her. She’d shivered in the cold of her thoughts until his knock.

  Bredych sat across the foot of her bed, pointedly not watching as she donned her leather armor. Simple stuff, but when it came time, she’d shuck it off anyway. All it would do was weigh her down. Her fingers shook as she strapped her tabard to her belt.

  The hood of her cloak would cover her face in the early morning. Not that she had a scar to hide—not yet. Not ever if she failed her test. As if he read her thoughts, her brother rubbed his jaw where it met his ear. “Does the mark hurt?” she asked, as she stared at the circle marring his skin.

  “A bit. Like a cat scratch.”

  Fully dressed, Bredych carried both their bags to the stables where a trainee curled up in the corner, a book in his lap. A few battle-steeds neighed as they passed. Her brother had dreamed of the mark, whereas horses traveled in and out of her dreams. Shendra’s gaze lingered on the battle-steeds. The kindness in their eyes failed to match the muscular-bulk of their bodies. One beast rolled his eyes at her while another sniffed her outstretched fingers with anticipation. Finding nothing to eat, he backed into his stall with a sigh.

  “Better not let Master Elish catch you doing that.”

  She stuck her hand in her pocket with the tick of her eye. Her brother, upholder of rules. Past the horses of Amaskans in residence and beyond those battle-steeds in training, lay several dozen regular horses used for travel. They saddled two horses and tied their single bags into place before exiting the massive stables through the rear. Those on guard duty nodded them out as their horses matched pace. The barest hints of flesh-color breached the horizon, and Shendra tugged her cloak tighter across her shoulders. Neither of them spoke until well after the sun rose as they hugged the ragged coast line. Shendra flinched each time a gull cried out as they dove in and out of the surf for their morning meal.

  “You’re on edge.”

  She sighed as her fingers touched the note in her pocket.

  Bredych must’ve seen the motion as his hand shot out to stop three inches from her nose. “Give it here.”

  “Give what?”

  “The paper in your pocket. It’s the note Master Elish had, isn’t it?”

  Shendra shifted her weight in the saddle. When he gesticulated again, she handed the note over with a sigh. “Ya said ya didn’t know ’til Master Elish gave us the job.”

  Her brother nodded but remained silent.

  “Yer angry.” His horse picked up its speed, and she urged hers to keep pace. “Now yer almost happy to watch me turn my life upside down.”

  “Did it ever dawn on you that maybe I want the Lady dead? That maybe she deserves to die for what she’s done?”

  The vengeance poured out of him, and he kicked his horse forward into a gallop. The dirt road beneath her horse’s hooves shifted. Rocks stuck out from the dirt as they approached the coast, and she slowed her horse as he pick
ed his way around the rough edges. Bredych never slowed, his horse barreling through the salty air like one of the Thirteen rode his tail, and she lost sight of him for a while.

  Half an hour later, she caught a glimpse of a hooded figure on the roadside. When she stopped alongside her brother, he tossed a pebble at her.

  “What happened to yer horse?”

  “Damn thing bucked me and took off down that-a-way.” He thrust is arm in the direction of a small trail leading away from the cliff edge.

  “How long ago?”

  Bredych’s eyebrows tried to cross each other as he scowled. “Long enough that he’s long gone.”

  “I’m bettin’ he found a nice stream to drink from and is sittin’ nearby. Think ya can stay outta trouble while I take a looksee?”

  He waved a hand at her, and she turned her horse off on the smaller trail. Branches knocked into the horse’s flank as they passed through heavy brush, so she allowed her mount to find his own speed through the roughage. She’d traveled maybe ten minutes when she caught the gurgling sound of a stream. Another two minutes found fresh horse droppings and then the stream itself.

  Light hoof prints to the left and right confused her. She dismounted and tied her reins to a nearby tree before heading left. As she drew closer to the river, the prints shifted from dusty hoof prints to prints that marred the growin’ mud below. The prints were deep enough to leave little pools of water within them as they led to the water’s edge before disappearing. The prints were too deep; the horse was carrying a rider.

  She traced the prints back to her horse and followed the second set that veered to the right. These remained light all the way to the edge where Bredych’s horse stood head down, munching on a patch of green clover. For all that he appeared calm, his ears followed her every movement. “Steady,” she whispered as she approached.

  The horse continued munching clover though his ears followed her movements. Several birds took to the sky as she touched the reigns, and the horse raised his head in alarm. Shendra scanned the river for signs of company, but the trees shadowed too much and not enough all at once. After a quick glance around, she led the horse back to her own.