Masters of Deception

by J C Kang

  Perhaps De Lucca used this as a changing room, though it seemed odd he would not only dedicate a concealed corridor for changing clothes, but set it off of the library instead of his office. Unless there were another secret door there, as well.

  She closed her eyes and brought up the image of De Lucca’s office, of the wall adjacent to this room. Nothing looked like a secret door trigger; but then again, who would’ve thought to use a book?

  Outside in the hall, boots continued to clack on the floors, back and forth, back and forth. Was that Sameer’s voice among all the other conversations? The walls muffled the sounds too much.

  For now, there was nothing to do but wait. She looked among De Lucca’s clothes. The material felt slick like silk, but also stretchy. The color was hard to make out in the darkness, but it was certainly dull and monochrome, opposed to the flashy clothes the locals liked.

  When she pulled the bottom drawer of the chest, it was heavy. With a stronger tug, it opened, revealing enough bars of gold to buy food to feed a small town for a year. The next drawer up had sheaves of paper, all with the same bizarre writing from his letters and ledgers before. One, though, was written in the local Arkothi script: a letter transferring ownership of all his assets to a Lucia De Lucca in the event of his death.

  Jie slid the drawer shut, then opened the last one. Her eyes lit up. Two sheathed knives lay haphazardly in the drawer. If De Lucca’s messy habits were any indication, he probably wouldn’t miss a blade. She pulled one from its sheath and appreciated the serrations on the back end. Definitely a combat knife.

  The trigger of the secret door clicked. How had she not heard anyone coming into the library?

  The door slid open.

  Chapter 13:

  Broken

  With more elephants than horses in Ayuri lands, Paladin training included only the basics of horseback riding. Sameer regretted that now, as he bounced up and down in the saddle. His knuckles blanched white from gripping the reins, and he sat as stiff as an embalmed corpse. If he had been tired before, he could now add a sore back, legs, and arms to his growing list of maladies.

  Nearing the Iron Avatar by the pyramid had sent a chill through him, though thank the Thousand Gods it had receded as soon as he passed, leaving only the physical pain and exhaustion.

  He would’ve loved nothing more than to go back to the Seafarer and throw himself into his bed. He should’ve stayed at Signore Cassius’ villa until Master Anish arrived. However, he had no choice but to accompany Signore De Lucca, who now rode astride his horse as if he’d been born in the saddle. He might believe the Mafia had broken into his office, but of course it was Jie who’d gone searching for any information about Sohini. Apparently the little half-elf wasn’t as stealthy as she thought, and now it was up to Sameer to create a diversion to help her escape with any clues she’d uncovered.

  So what if the Diviner and Mystics thought he was acting rashly out of love for Sohini?

  A bump in the saddle jostled tender places. He looked to see the buildings around him rising higher, from the one-story daub-and-wattle dwellings along the dark streets on the outskirts of the city, to the two- and three-story concrete row houses in the lamp-lit downtown.

  De Lucca’s office was near the end of a line of row houses housing several trade offices and banks. Above the door hung the same golden lion crest that gave his brothel an official look. Several Bovyans stood by the entrance, while others were out in the street, scanning the rooftops. Of the faces Sameer caught in the dark, none belonged to the men who’d attacked them earlier in the day.

  One of them jogged up and took De Lucca’s reins with one hand, while thumping his chest with his other fist. “Signore De Lucca, we have searched everywhere except your personal office, and there is no sign of the intruder. We have eyes on the windows and door, and no one except our men have come or gone. She has to be in there.”

  “She?” De Lucca looked at Sameer and raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think the Acerbi would use a woman.”

  The Bovyan frowned. “Our messenger should’ve told you about the half-elf girl.”

  De Lucca started to suck in a sharp breath, but stopped.

  Sameer buried a harrumph. As good as Jie thought she was, someone must’ve seen her sneak in.

  Jaw tight, De Lucca swung out of the saddle and beckoned Sameer to follow him.

  Sameer dismounted, nearly tripping when his foot stuck in the stirrup. Even on solid ground, his legs wobbled as he followed De Lucca past the iron gate and through the open double doors.

  Illuminated by several light baubles, the foyer was large and airy. Opulent furnishings were arranged on the marble floors. Whatever else could be said about De Lucca, he had a flair for the showy. His taste for the glittery might rival the maharajas back home.

  In comparison, Paladins didn’t accumulate wealth. Sameer pictured Elder Gitika in his mind. Dignified. Austere. He locked his gaze forward as they moved into the hall, ignoring the expensive artwork. They passed by three rooms with open doors to the left: a privy, an office, and a library. A staircase rose to the right. A smaller Bovyan, his face and clothes covered in ash, descended the steps and met them at the double doors at the end of the hall.

  Sameer watched him. Was this one of the men who’d attacked that afternoon? It was hard to tell through the dirt and shadows, and he didn’t afford Sameer a direct view of his face.

  “Master Phobos.” De Lucca bowed. “What has your investigation uncovered?”

  Phobos pounded a fist to his chest. “We heard her in the records room earlier, but my search turned up nothing. Your accountant had visited that room just a few minutes before we learned of the intrusion. He is upstairs now, looking to see if anything was stolen.”

  De Lucca’s eyes narrowed. He then turned to the double doors. Shielding the complex lock from their view, he twisted a dial back and forth. The lock clicked. He reached for the door.

  “Wait.” Sameer stepped forward and pressed his palms together. He spoke loudly, so Jie could hear him. “If the spy is in there, she might be armed and dangerous. Allow me to enter first.”

  While providing only a side profile of his head, Phobos looked Sameer up and down before turning to De Lucca. “Signore, the Southerner doesn’t even have a weapon. Allow my men to secure the room.”

  “Thank you for your concern for my safety, Sir Paladin.” De Lucca tipped his hat, then turned to the Bovyan. “Master Phobos, please assemble a team.”

  Thumping his chest, Phobos beckoned several of the Bovyans.

  Sameer shuffled on his feet. There had to be some way to get Jie out of there, even with his depleted energy. A Command? No, they’d barely worked for him so far, and he was too tired anyway. A distraction, maybe?

  De Lucca motioned Sameer back. “Sir Sameer, I am going to have to ask you to wait here. Information about my many business dealings is in there, and I can’t have just anyone seeing it.”

  “Of course.” Pressing his palms together again, Sameer backed away. It wasn’t as though he could fight a dozen Bovyans without a weapon, and certainly not when fatigue muted his connection to the Vibrations. Such an attack would quickly wear out his welcome in Tokahia and probably end all chance of finding Sohini. Jie was on her own, unless he could think of something on impulse.

  Five more Bovyans assembled by the door. Phobos motioned with his hands at the men. “On my signal, Loras and Baris, open the doors. Torus, take point. You two, flank him and take the far corners. I will enter just behind while you two flank me and secure the near corners.”

  They all pounded their chest. It was all so formal, so exact.

  Phobos jerked a hand to the door. His men executed his instructions with the perfection of a dwarf-made water clock, breaching the door and securing the room.

  “Clear,” Phobos called from inside. “She is not here.”

  Sameer blew out the breath he was holding.

  De Lucca turned to him, eyebrow raised.

  “Al
l the suspense had me nervous.” Sameer offered an awkward smile.

  De Lucca studied him, but then squared his shoulders and strode in.

  Sameer’s stomach churned. Had he been suspicious? He craned around the threshold. The office was even more luxurious than the lobby. And cold. Not unlike the sensation near the Iron Avatar.

  De Lucca walked over to his desk and stashed some kind of glass globe into the desk’s compartment. Studying his throne-like chair, he brushed it off and sat. Then he studied the papers. He folded up one and stuffed it inside his longcoat, while organizing the rest of the letters, save for one, into a single stack. He turned them over and looked up. “Sir Sameer, you may enter.”

  Sameer stepped in and looked around. The cold from before now crept over him. It felt almost like the pricking on the back of his neck that he’d felt during the Mafia ambush, and later near the Iron Avatar.

  He continued in. While the rest of the Bovyans stood at attention, Phobos was busy checking the hearth and then behind the curtains.

  De Lucca proffered the letter he’d set aside from the others. “Here is a draft of my first ultimatum to Don Acerbi. Your friend delivered the final version.”

  As Sameer neared, the cold seemed to crawl through his veins.

  No, not a cold. An emptiness. The Vibrations quieted. Was he the only one who noticed it?

  Fighting to keep his hand steady, he received the letter. The Arkothi words came slowly:

  Don Lucian Acerbi: Close all your brothels and opium dens, lest you meet the scorpion’s sting.

  The reference couldn’t be coincidence. Could it be that De Lucca had made use of Madura’s Golden Scorpions? Maybe he exchanged his prostitutes’ services to Prince Dhananad for the Scorpions’ help in defeating the crime families. It was time to test the theory. Sameer looked up from the letter. “Do you have scorpions in the Estomar?”

  Laughing, De Lucca waved a finger in a circle. “As far as I know, scorpions only come from your homeland. I was referring to Sohini.”

  The cold emptiness continued to prick at the back of Sameer’s neck. He set his fingers in the mudra for warding evil. “You shouldn’t use that term. The Paladin Order’s enemies are the Golden Scorpions.”

  “Oh?” De Lucca raised an eyebrow. “Sohini did not mention that.”

  How could she not? Sohini had always railed against the Golden Scorpions’ perversion of Bahaduur skills for their own selfish gain. Or perhaps De Lucca was being evasive. For now, though, there was no choice but to assume he was telling the truth about her.

  “Anyway,” De Lucca said, “I want to rescue her. Go back to your masters and see if they are willing to accompany my men on an attack on the Acerbi’s headquarters. I will send a man over in the morning.”

  Sameer clenched his fists. If only he could go now. Only he had no idea where the Acerbi were, and in his weakened state, he didn’t stand a chance against an army of mobsters. Even at full strength, his swordsmanship didn’t compare to Sohini’s; and if De Lucca had been telling the truth, she, along with several Bovyans, had lost their fight with the Mafia. No, he needed rest, and with no sign of Jie in the office, he wasn’t needed here. He nodded. “Thank you, Signore.”

  De Lucca motioned to another guard. “Escort Sir Sameer back to his lodgings.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” Sameer turned on his heel and left. No sooner than he exited the office than the cold receded. The Vibrations returned. What was it in there that felt so wrong? Nobody else seemed to notice it, but then again, none of them were Paladins. His eyes darted left and right as he looked for signs of a half-elf in a pink dress.

  Seeing none, he headed back to the inn on foot. Would Elder Gitika and Master Anish agree to assault a Mafia stronghold? The internal matters of a city outside the Paladin Mandate were none of their business. Still, Sohini was Anish’s responsibility. And even with her detached objectivity, Elder Gitika had an incomparable sense of compassion and justice. Surely she would agree to rescuing Sohini.

  One foot in front of the other, he tried to banish thoughts of Sohini and instead focus on his master. She was the paradigm of Paladinhood, everything he aspired to be. Patient. Objective. Dignified. He’d failed her in so many ways today. Gotten her injured, even.

  Up ahead, a crowd had gathered around the Seafarer at this late hour. All were dressed in bedclothes, chattering and pointing at the two-story stone building. Sameer stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck to get a better view. Several men wearing the black armband of the Signores’ police cordoned off the entrance to the inn.

  “What happened?” Sameer asked the closet man.

  “A murder!”

  “What? Who?” Sameer’s head spun.

  Another man turned around. “I’ve heard that one of the crime families crossed into this district and killed a guest.”

  The first studied Sameer from head to toe. “Yes, the victim is one of your kind.”

  Sameer’s heart leaped into his throat. Unless there were other Ayuri staying here, that meant either Elder Gitika or Master Anish had been killed. It didn’t make sense. One Paladin master was more than a match for a dozen men. Two… He twisted and pushed his way through the throng.

  At the front, a Bovyan with a black armband raised a staying hand, but then lowered it. “You can pass.”

  Sameer dashed past him and through the front door. Several men with black armbands came and went from the foyer. One was questioning the innkeeper.

  “What time did you say they came?”

  The innkeeper wrung his hands. “The third waxing gibbous.”

  Two hours before. Sameer’s gut twisted.

  “You were still awake?”

  He shook his head. “They were very insistent and woke me up. When I got around to unlocking the door, they barged in.”

  “Which crime family?”

  Sameer’s fists tightened. A bad feeling settled in his gut.

  The innkeeper shuddered. “The Acerbi, accompanied by someone in a featureless metal mask.”

  A Golden Scorpion! The mistress of De Lucca’s brothel had said one was in town, making arrangements for Prince Dhananad. It was no surprise they were allied with a crime family. It would explain why Sohini hadn’t returned from her attack—she would be no match for a powerful Scorpion, who might be able to block her power. Sameer cleared his throat. “Who was killed?”

  The inspector turned and studied him. “One of your kind. Perhaps you can help us identify the body.”

  Sameer’s stomach churned. Pushing past another man, he stormed up the stairs.

  “Wait,” the inspector called, hurrying after him.

  Sameer turned into their shared room. Chairs lay overturned on the floor. A light bauble lamp lay on its side on a table. Paintings hung askew. Their clean clothes were strewn about. None of their weapons were anywhere to be seen. And on a bed…

  The body was covered by a blood-stained sheet. From the smaller size…

  No. This couldn’t be happening. Bile rose in his throat. He staggered back two steps and put a hand on the table for support.

  The inspector withdrew the sheet.

  Elder Gitika. Throat slashed, bright eyes now dull and lifeless.

  Sameer’s world spun around him. Tears welled in his eyes. No, this couldn’t be happening. This was all his fault, for having acted rashly in the ambush. “My master, Gitika, of the Ayuri Paladin council.”

  The inspector placed a hand over his heart. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Everyone’s loss. But wait. He looked around. “Where is my other master, the male?”

  “The innkeeper said he left at the second waxing gibbous, and planned to visit Signore Cassius Larusso.”

  Just as they had planned. If only he had stayed, both he and Elder Gitika together could’ve defeated a dozen treacherous Scorpions. Now, she was dead. Sameer staggered over to the bed and knelt by his master. Her energy had joined the Vibrations, and would one day coalesce into the spark of anothe
r human being, to learn whatever life lessons the Thousand Gods deemed appropriate.

  Back home, all of her apprentices, past and present, would’ve bathed her body and dressed it in a pure white robe. Her naga would rest over her chest. Given her stature, all the nearby Paladins would’ve paid their respects before her body was cremated at sunrise. Just as the first Oracle had shattered his naga to represent the precedence of wisdom over martial skill, her apprentices would’ve broken her naga and mixed it with the shards of all the great Paladins’ nagas in the Crystal Citadel.

  In this faraway land, all of this was up to him. Tears blurred his vision. He brushed her lifeless eyes closed and folded her hands together over her belly. He looked around the room.

  His stomach dropped into his gut. Neither her naga, nor his, were anywhere to be found. The damned Scorpions must’ve stolen them, probably to melt down and make those hideous masks. Fists clenched tight, he rose.

  Chapter 14:

  Whispers of the Gods

  Cassius surveyed the dome room, wishing the last two signores would hurry up and leave so he could do some Divining. His gaze paused on Brehane and Makeda, apparently discussing the dome in their own tongue, from all that their body language revealed.

  How he’d love to coax the both of them into bed, Brehane for a second time and Makeda for the first. Really, Brehane alone would be enough, just to redeem himself. And maybe, just maybe…

  He shook the ridiculous notion out of his head. It was looking less and less likely, anyway. The only thing that spread faster than a good reputation was a bad one, and he was on the verge of earning the latter. If this Sohini was being held by Don Acerbi—which Cassius doubted, despite Signore De Lucca’s claims—rival Diviners would spread rumors of how he hadn’t been able to locate someone in his own city. Not to mention, he’d lose his opportunity to manipulate the Paladins into protecting the pyramid.