The moment she saw the coin curiosity and greed flashed across her face. “What do you want to bring in?”
“Nothing. We’re interested in exporting, not importing. I’m not talking to anyone besides your supplier. We’ll wait in the alley across the street for two hours. After that we’ll try somewhere else.”
Yaz and Brigid followed Silas back out. The moment he was clear of the building Yaz coughed and took a deep breath. Awful as the smell was, at least it helped clear his head.
“Should you have flashed that gold coin?” Brigid asked.
“Probably not,” Silas said as they walked across the street. “But I needed some way to get her attention.”
“From the look in her eye,” Yaz said. “I’d say you succeeded.”
They moved a few feet into the deserted alley. Yaz was grateful for the darkness so he couldn’t see what he was walking through. Some of it squished and some splashed, once in a while he even hit cobblestone.
The wait for the Thieves Guild representatives was mercifully brief. A trio of men emerged from the opium den and walked straight over to them. They didn’t have any obvious weapons which struck Yaz as a good sign. On the other hand, they might just be a distraction.
“I’ll back up Silas,” Yaz said. “Would you keep watch from the other way?”
“No problem,” Brigid said. She pressed her back to his and raised her walking stick.
Three new arrivals stood facing Silas. They wore dark tunics, torn trousers, and sandals. None of them appeared over twenty. Not exactly the top of the food chain, or so Yaz assumed.
The central man, a guy not much older than Yaz, with dark hair and skin said, “Talk.”
“We need a way out of the city that bypasses the gate,” Silas said. “We’ll pay anyone that can provide such a thing and that leads our horses out for us.”
“And you think we can provide you with such an exit?” the thief asked.
Silas shook his head. “Let’s not waste each other’s time. I know you use the old imperial sewers to bring in goods and avoid the gate tax. I could probably find my own access point and get out that way, but we don’t want to use your territory without permission. We’re peaceful people and wish to avoid conflict if possible.”
The thieves reached behind their backs and came up with long knives. “You want to avoid conflict,” the leader said. “Hand over everything you’ve got and we’ll let you walk out of here.”
Yaz laid a hand on Silas’s shoulder. “Let us handle this. Brigid.”
Silas stepped back to give them room. Brigid moved to his right as far as the alley allowed. The thieves’ knives only had six-inch blades. They had no hope of closing given Yaz’s and Brigid’s reach advantage. The way they were looking at each other suggested they knew it.
Yaz raised an eyebrow. “No shame in backing down.”
The leader snarled and lunged at Yaz.
His staff shot out like a striking serpent, hitting the thief on his extended fist, crushing his fingers and sending his knife clattering to the street.
The other two attacked together.
Yaz took the left and Brigid the right.
A hard strike at the wrist disarmed the second thief.
Yaz followed it up with a slashing blow to the left knee, sending his opponent to the ground beside his weapon.
Brigid took a more direct route, slamming her opponent’s head with a powerful overhead strike. He dropped and didn’t move beyond the rise and fall of his chest.
Silas took his place at the front and said to the thief still able to walk, “I told you we wanted to avoid a fight, not that we were willing to be robbed. Now, take a message to someone with actual authority. We’ll pay one gold scale apiece for safe passage out of the city plus five silver scales for each of our horses on delivery beyond the wall. Anyone else comes after us and you’ll be taking them to the casket maker. Clear?”
“Clear,” the thief said through clenched teeth as he held his shattered hand. “You know where the city cemetery is?”
Silas nodded.
“Midnight by the statue of Death. If the bosses are willing to meet, that’s where and when.”
“We’ll be there,” Silas said.
The still-vertical thief helped his limping friend to his feet and the pair of them shuffled off back to the opium den, leaving the third man where he lay. Perhaps someone would come collect him later. At least it didn’t look like he had anything worth stealing.
The group left the alley with Silas in the lead. Yaz had no idea what might be waiting for them, but a meeting at a cemetery didn’t seem like a good omen.
Caped and cowled, faceless and indifferent, that was Death, and her statue embodied those truths. Twelve feet tall and standing on a six-foot raised base, the statue of Death stared out over the City of Bells’ cemetery. Yaz couldn’t imagine what the people who built the cemetery were thinking. Wasn’t it depressing enough to have to bury a loved one without doing so with a robed ghoul watching you? That might have just been him. In the valley, when someone died their body was cremated and the ashes spread over their farm or somewhere near the village for those that lived behind the walls.
It was twenty minutes to midnight and a bright half-moon shone high in the sky. The day’s heat had dissipated, but the humidity remained. Midsummer had barely come and gone so they still had weeks of horrid heat to endure. Beside him Brigid hugged herself though he doubted she was cold. Standing in the deserted graveyard would give anyone a chill. At least the horses were untroubled by the oppressive atmosphere.
Silas had released Wicked from his pouch and the dragon skull was hovering around Death’s shoulder. An undead dragon skull seemed the perfect companion for the goddess.
“Think they’ll show?” Brigid asked.
“It’s easy money and thieves like easy money,” Silas said. “Someone will show up. Whether to do business or to try and rob us again is the real question.”
“Would they be so foolish?” Yaz asked.
Silas shrugged. “If they kill us, disposing of the bodies will be easy enough.”
“You’ve got a sick sense of humor, you know that?” Yaz asked.
“You’re not the first to say so. I…” Silas cocked his head. “Do you hear that?”
Yaz held his breath and listened. There was a faint tapping. Sounded like it was coming from the statue. He looked up, but Wicked wasn’t touching it. Anyway, the noise came from lower. He took a step closer.
A line appeared in the base of the statue and a moment later a door swung open.
Yaz scrambled back as a torchbearer emerged followed by a quartet of men armed to the teeth. One of the heavily armed men shifted, revealing a sixth man in the center of their formation. That had to be the boss. He was in his midfifties, lean and hard, with a cold expression that said he’d kill you as soon as look at you.
The guards parted and the leader stepped out in front. “You want to do business, roughing up three of my boys isn’t the best way to begin.”
Silas had nerve enough to grin. “You try to rob someone in an alley, you’d best be ready to face the consequences. You’re clearly a professional. I assumed you’d appreciate that. What should we call you?”
“Uncle will do,” he said. “No need to introduce yourselves. Silas Stormcrow wanted for murder. Yaz and Brigid, no last names given, also wanted for murder.”
Yaz’s heart sank. If he knew who they were, no way would he help rather than claim the reward.
“Ordinarily, I’d say you were my kind of people,” Uncle said. “Unfortunately, those two at least have guild bounties on them. I have to honor that and turn you in.”
“The Thieves Guild will honor a bounty from the Scriveners Guild?” Silas asked, his tone incredulous. “Why?”
“It’s a courtesy thing. We put bounties on runaways or squealers and the other guilds honor those bounties. How long do you think that would continue if we didn’t live up to our end of the bargain? I don�
�t suppose I can convince you to come quietly?”
Silas barked a laugh and Yaz readied his staff. He felt more than saw Brigid tense up beside him.
“If you wanted to bring us in,” Silas said. “You should have brought more men.”
“These four are my best.”
“That a fact?” Lightning sparked around Silas’s hands. “Any of them wizards?”
Uncle took a step back and his guards closed ranks when they noticed the magic crackling around Silas’s hands.
“Because if they’re not, you’ve got a serious problem.”
Silas thrust his hands forward and blinding light shot from his fingers. Yaz looked away for a second and when he turned back Uncle and all four of his guards were on the ground, little sparks shooting off their bodies as they twitched.
The torchbearer reached for his daggers, but a single hard look from Silas froze him in place. Yaz hurried over and disarmed him. Up close he looked younger than Yaz first thought, maybe fifteen at most.
As he took both daggers Yaz whispered. “Keep your wits and nothing will happen to you. Sit down and stay still.”
The boy slumped to the ground, seeming to keep hold of his torch out of reflex. When Yaz rejoined the others Silas stood over Uncle, arms crossed and looking none too happy. Brigid just seemed frozen in place, totally overwhelmed. He knew how she felt.
“Are they dead?” Brigid asked.
“Not yet. That was just a paralysis spell. It takes a lot less energy than a lethal blast. Besides, we still have things to discuss. Yaz, could I borrow one of those daggers?”
Yaz offered him the longer of the two blades hilt first. Silas pressed the blade to Uncle’s throat with his right hand then snapped the fingers of his left. The sparks vanished from Uncle’s chest and he seemed to relax a fraction. The fear in his wide eyes didn’t ease in the slightest.
Uncle opened his mouth and Silas pressed his dagger hard enough to draw blood. “I’m going to speak and you’re going to listen. My assumption is that you didn’t get where you are by being a complete idiot. Though given that you tried to attack a wizard head-on without a wizard of your own makes me wonder. Anyway, nothing’s changed except that instead of offering you gold, I’m offering your life in exchange for the use of your tunnels. Nod if you understand the situation.”
Uncle’s head bobbed a fraction.
“Good. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to put a curse on you. If you betray us, you die. When you’ve led us safely outside the city, I’ll remove the spell. I’m also going to put an identical spell on your torchbearer, who will take our horses out the front gate and meet us wherever the tunnel exits. We’ll be on our way and you’ll survive, wiser if no richer. Does that sound like a good plan?”
Another faint nod from Uncle.
“Excellent, now don’t move. Drawing with lightning can be tricky.”
Silas slammed the dagger into the ground beside Uncle’s head and began to chant. His finger glowed with white light and he drew a design above the thief master’s heart. It resembled a dagger made of lightning. When he finished drawing, Silas opened his hand and pushed the design into Uncle’s chest.
The thief gasped as it passed into his flesh but appeared otherwise unharmed.
“There.” Silas looked at the seated boy. “Now, you’re going to help us out as well. Hold still.”
Silas cast his lightning curse a second time, driving the dagger into the young man’s chest. A bead of sweat formed on the wizard’s brow when he finished.
“Now that we’re all set, we just have to wait until morning and we’ll set out,” Silas said.
“What about the rest of our prisoners?” Yaz asked.
“We can leave them as they are or kill them,” Silas said. “My spell will hold until I release it so we don’t have to worry about them doing anything inconvenient. Since they were going to trade us for the bounty money, I don’t have much sympathy. Whatever you decide is fine with me. If you don’t mind keeping watch, I need a nap.”
Silas lay down a few feet away, leaving Brigid and Yaz to keep an eye on the thieves. She moved to stand closer to him. “What should we do?”
“The last time we spared people we should have killed we ended up with bounties on our heads. Cutting their throats seems a bit harsh, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.”
“We’re doing that anyway because of the bounty,” Brigid said. “And I don’t want their lives on my conscience.”
“Spare my men and never return to the City of Bells,” Uncle said. “And I promise you’ll have no trouble from us.”
Brigid gave him a pleading look.
Yaz sighed. “Fine.”
He was torn between the part of him that was relieved and the little voice that said he was a fool for sparing them. Most surprisingly, that voice sounded like his mother, not his father.
Chapter 10
Ariel was sitting by herself in the dining hall when Callie walked in. The students were there for lunch, all sixteen of them. Ariel was the youngest at around twelve and the oldest was a seventeen-year-old boy named Kevin that had been with them for five years. He had pretty well mastered his bardic ability and would join the king’s service in a few months.
Callie sighed as the little girl fed a bite of meat to one of her dragons. It didn’t look like she’d made any friends yet. Only a few weeks had passed since Moz brought her and given what she went through it shouldn’t surprise Callie that she was still withdrawn. Deep down though Callie suspected it was more than that. Something about the dragons kept her from interacting with people.
After a quick scan of the room she spotted Amanda, a fifteen-year-old whose ability let her sense and control emotions. Callie had assigned her to be Ariel’s roommate in the hope that if anything happened to upset Ariel, Amanda could calm her before a dragon showed up.
When Amanda spotted her watching, Callie waved her over. The girl smiled and said something to her friends before trotting over. She was dressed in a trainee’s deep-blue uniform of tunic and trousers.
She bowed to Callie. “Yes?”
Callie nodded toward Ariel. “How’s she settling in?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. She seldom says more than a handful of words even when it’s just the two of us. I’ve tried to draw her out a few times, but it’s like pulling teeth. Her emotions are as smooth as a calm lake. No anger, very little sadness, very little happiness for that matter. It’s not normal. No one runs on such an even keel. It’s all ups and downs, highs and lows. But not her.”
“What about the dragons?”
“I don’t understand.”
“My theory is that the dragons are doing something to her mind to keep it under control. I was wondering if their emotions fluctuate the way a human’s would.”
“I never thought to check.” Amanda hummed a couple of notes then turned toward Ariel.
Callie grinned when she recognized the lullaby Amanda used as her trigger. She sang the words under her breath until Amanda stopped at the first verse.
“I can’t get a read on them.”
“At all?”
“It’s like my ability bounces off them without penetrating.” Amanda shook her head. “I’ve never felt anything like it.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” Callie said. “Dragons are highly resistant to magic. Still, I thought you’d get something.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. We’ll just have to be patient and let her come around in her own time. Once she gets to know and trust us, hopefully she’ll open up. Thanks for trying, Amanda. You can go back.”
While her student ran back to rejoin her friends, Callie considered her options. The truth was she really didn’t have any. As long as Ariel did nothing dangerous, Callie’d watch and wait. Hopefully Moz would come back soon. He was the only one that Ariel seemed to open up to. He might be the key to understanding the girl.
Ariel tiptoed down t
he hall toward the door to the courtyard where she was told she was to have her first lesson. Her roommate, Amanda, walked alongside. She wore the school’s blue uniform, the same as Ariel. Amanda seemed nice, but the dragons didn’t trust her at all. Considering everything she’d done to help Ariel settle in, she couldn’t understand why they didn’t like her, but the dragons must have had a reason.
Moz said these people were going to teach her how to use her powers, which was nice, but she already had a pretty good idea how to use them. All she had to do was ask the dragons to do something for her and they did it. What else was there to learn? Perhaps she’d find out this morning.
As they walked through an open area overlooking the second floor, Ariel flicked a glance to her left. The dining hall was empty at the moment. She didn’t really like eating her meals there, too loud and too many people. Playing by herself suited Ariel much better. Not that anyone treated her badly. If anything, the kids seemed nervous around her. How could she make anyone nervous? Ariel didn’t know that either.
One of her little ones landed on her left shoulder and glared around with his beady eyes. The dragons didn’t trust everyone at the school yet, so Ariel didn’t either. The dragons were the only ones she knew would never betray her. If someone had asked Ariel how she knew that, she wouldn’t have been able to answer them. She just knew it, right down to her toes.
“You okay, sweetie?” Amanda looked down at her with a worried smile. “You’re awful quiet.”
Ariel blinked and asked, “What should I say?”
“I thought you might have some questions. It’s been a couple weeks, but you haven’t even asked why you’re here.”
“Moz said you’d teach me to use my powers better. That’s good I guess. It’s not like I have anywhere else I can stay. The food is yummy here. The little ones like it too.”
Amanda gave the dragons a nervous look. “I’ll tell the cook. Not everyone can say their food is dragon approved.”
Ariel giggled. The little ones liked anything as long as they didn’t have to catch it. If they weren’t careful, they’d get so fat they couldn’t fly.
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