Shadow of a Slave (The Blood Mage Chronicles Book 1)

by Saffron Bryant

  Aldrick smiled, although the expression didn’t reach his eye, and snatched his dice into a fist. “This isn’t a request. I’m just telling you how things work.”

  Sweat prickled across Ash’s forehead and Rae’s hand on his arm warned him to stay quiet.

  “But don’t worry!” Aldrick said, the dice resuming their mad dance across his knuckles. “It’s not all bad. The Red Wave has a lot to offer its loyal members; isn’t that right, Sinder?”

  Sinder lifted a frothy tankard. “Very right, sir.”

  “We’re not criminals,” Rae said, voice soft.

  “I told you, we have people with many different skills here. This is my offer, and I should warn you there is no room for negotiation. You will heal my people when they need it; in exchange, you will be given food. I will also make sure you have more jobs than you can possibly handle; in exchange, you will give me ten percent of any profit you make.”

  “Ten percent,” Ash said in a strangled voice. That was almost all the money they usually had to put away for their journey.

  “You will also have the Red Wave’s protection. You won’t have to worry about being attacked by thugs again. I understand you had quite a rough introduction to Lower Trading…”

  Ash reached up to his nose. It had long since healed, but the memory still made him wince.

  “Do we have a deal?” said Aldrick.

  Ash and Rae exchanged glances and nodded, stomachs sinking; it wasn’t as though they had a choice.

  26

  “Come and meet the crew,” Sinder said, wrapping an arm over Ash and Rae’s shoulders.

  He turned and propelled them away from Aldrick and toward the rowdy tables. People stared at them over the tops of their tankards; some sneered and some glared, but only one smiled.

  “Are these the new kids? Oh, I can’t wait to meet them! Come and sit over here with me!” A young girl with short-cut hair skipped out of the rabble.

  Sinder sighed. “This would be Tup.”

  “So glad to meet you!” Tup said. She shook their hands. “I’m probably one of the few, mind you, but that doesn’t mean a thing. Sit, sit!”

  She dragged them to the nearest empty table and sat opposite. Her fingers skittered across the wooden surface in an erratic rhythm and she bounced in her seat.

  “Tup?” Ash managed to say.

  She opened her mouth, but Sinder answered first. “As in, can’t shut-up.”

  Tup’s eyes narrowed across the table at Sinder. “Better be nice, Sinder, or you might find yourself short a few coins.”

  Sinder scowled. “I think you’ll find it a little harder to pickpocket me now. I’ve learned your tricks.”

  “Really?” Tup arched an eyebrow and lifted one dancing hand to reveal a shiny gold coin. She dragged it across the wood with one long finger. “Then I suppose this is mine.”

  Sinder’s hands flew inside his jacket and patted across his chest. “You little minx! Give it back!”

  Tup grinned and flicked the coin across the table. Sinder snatched it up and tucked it back inside his jacket with a scowl.

  “Tup is the best pick-pocket I’ve ever seen,” he said with grudging respect. “Keep an eye on your valuables when she’s around. I swear sometimes it’s like she’s using dark magic.”

  Tup winked. “It’s all just sleight of hand, Sindy, don’t worry. Maybe one day you’ll learn to catch up.”

  “I told you not to call—”

  “Anyway,” Tup said. “You don’t have to worry about me taking your stuff. Red Wave code… we don’t steal from each other.”

  “That’s reassuring.” Ash stroked the iron coins in his pocket.

  “As I was saying, there might be quite a few who aren’t too happy to welcome you into the gang. They won’t do anything of course—not while Aldrick is happy to have you. Nobody would risk crossing him. I once heard he—”

  “Tup,” Sinder said. “At least take the time to breathe. I’m meant to be introducing them to everyone, not letting you eat their ears off.”

  “I’m just offering a friendly face. You know they may not see many…”

  “Why would everyone hate us?” Rae said.

  “See many people our age around?” Tup said. Before they could answer she continued. “Nope. That’s because you don’t get accepted into the Red Wave until you prove yourself. You’ve got to do something, you know? Of course, there are lots of urchins that work for us, but they’re more like contractors if you know what I mean. Cheap labor; they’re not actually part of the gang.

  “I got in because I’m the best thief they’ve got. But as far as most of these people are concerned, you’re just a couple of Upper Trading snobs who happen to know a bit about herbs. And let’s face it; everyone in the Red Wave knows something about herbs, if you get my meaning.” Tup winked. “Then of course—”

  “The point Tup is eventually getting to,” Sinder said. “Is that some folks here may feel you haven’t earned your place. But just wait until the next time one of ‘em gets stabbed and their guts are hanging out. Then they’ll be grateful you’re here.”

  “Oh! Like last month, when we had all that snow, and there was—”

  “Tup!”

  “Sorry.” Tup grinned and went back to dancing her hands across the table.

  “As she so humbly said,” Sinder said. “Tup here is part of the thieving division. They’re up at the far end. If you need something stolen, they can make it happen. For a fee.”

  “But I’m the best,” Tup said.

  Sinder rolled his eyes. “You’re all right.”

  Tup arched her eyebrows and flicked her hand. A gold coin appeared between her index and middle finger.

  Sinder’s hand flew to his chest. “Oh, for Fel’s sake.”

  Tup cackled and dropped the coin in front of him.

  Ash’s mouth dropped. He’d been watching Tup through their whole conversation. She hadn’t moved from the other side of the table. How could she possibly have reached into Sinder’s pocket without any of them noticing?

  “That’s amazing,” he said.

  Tup winked. “Poor Sindy just makes it too easy.”

  Sinder scowled.

  “Please, continue the introductions,” Tup said, waving at the room.

  Sinder cleared his throat. “That next table is what we call our protection squad.”

  He indicated a table of beefy men with arms almost as big as Ash’s whole body. They sat close together and the wooden benches bowed beneath them. They played cards but none of them said more than two words in the whole time Ash watched.

  “Best not to get in their way,” Sinder said. “They—”

  “They’re not supposed to hurt anyone in the Red Wave,” Tup said. “But they get angry quick and sometimes they’ve been known to lash out. Poor brutes. If I—”

  Sinder’s head fell into his hands and he stared down at the table. “I should have Aldrick send you away on some job.”

  Tup grinned and leaned back so that her smooth leather boots rested on the table. “It’s my day off. But please, continue.”

  “I’m trying,” Sinder said through gritted teeth.

  Some of Ash’s earlier panic faded. Despite the dislike he felt emanating from the other tables, he couldn’t help liking Tup and Sinder. Their back and forth was obviously an old routine, and he sensed a lot of respect between them despite their antics.

  Rae’s shoulders relaxed beside him and the death grip she’d had on the bottom of her shirt eased.

  Ash didn’t let down his guard but allowed for the possibility that some of these criminals might not be all bad.

  “The few you see sitting by themselves in the corners are assassins,” Sinder said. He nodded to the shadowed spaces.

  Tup shivered. “They give me the creeps.”

  “They’re very good at what they do,” Sinder said.

  “Don’t you feel… wrong being part of a group that kills people for money?” Ash said.

 
“Better they’re working for Aldrick than free-lancing. He has rules see. No children. No innocents,” Tup said.

  “So they only assassinate bad guys?”

  “Ideally. Although I’m sure if you looked at it closely, you’d see a few gray areas.”

  “That’s their business,” Sinder said. “We just mind our own.”

  “And what division are you in?” Rae said.

  Sinder drew himself up with a smile. “Management.”

  Tup snorted. “In other words, lazing around and getting drunk on other people’s hard work.”

  Sinder’s smile turned into a scowl. “I make sure people like her stay out of jail. Grease the palms of certain City Watch officials, and make sure things run smoothly.”

  “Big job,” Rae said.

  “You bet. Then we’ve also got what they like to call ‘legitimate business owners’. They make money from gambling, prostitution, fighting pits. Those things that all cities have but no one likes to admit to…”

  Ash followed Sinder’s gaze to a table of overweight men and middle-aged women in expensive clothes who drank deep red wine.

  “They mostly keep to themselves,” Sinder said. “Unless they need something.”

  “Don’t want to get their hands too dirty,” Tup added.

  “Other than that, there are a few smugglers, a few kidnappers, some drug dealers, and all the other fine citizens you’d find in an organization such as this.”

  “Sounds delightful,” Rae said.

  “It’s not so bad once you get used to it,” Tup said. “I was a bit worried when I first got my invite. But let me tell you, thieving for Aldrick is way better than pick-pocketing on the streets. The other thugs leave me alone, see? Don’t want any repercussions coming their way from the Red Wave.”

  “You all live here?” Ash asked.

  Tup snorted. “No way. This is more like a club-house. For group meetings or catching up. Although I believe Aldrick and management stay not far from here.” She studied Sinder with narrowed eyes.

  Sinder held up his hands. “I’m not saying anything. You know that’s confidential.”

  “I could find out if I wanted.”

  “And risk getting on Aldrick’s bad side? You wouldn’t.”

  Tup slumped in her chair. “Bastard. Just wait until I become management.”

  “Keep dreaming, squirt.”

  “The point is,” Tup said, ignoring Sinder and turning her attention to Ash and Rae. “If you get in trouble, you just come here. There’ll be someone who will know how to help you.”

  “Aldrick said he’d be getting us more work,” Rae said.

  “One of you waits in your usual spot near the Crooked Scythe,” Sinder said. “You’ll find yourself getting a lot more business than you thought. The other one stays here during the day, in case you’re needed. There’s always someone with injuries here, so you’ll have something to keep busy.”

  Tup’s eyes narrowed and she leaned forward. “They won’t be working together?”

  Ash squirmed and dropped his eyes to the table. He hunched his shoulders and twisted his lip, doing his best to look as little like Rae as possible. The last thing they needed was someone in the Red Wave guessing that they were not just brother and sister.

  “What—?”

  “Let it go, Tup,” Sinder said. “None of your business, hear me?”

  Ash’s heart thundered faster. Did Sinder know? And if he knew, Aldrick definitely knew… or was he just being paranoid?

  Tup’s gaze flicked between Ash and Rae two more times before she leaned back in her chair. “None of my business, of course.”

  “Good,” Sinder said. “Now will you two be wanting a guide back to your place?”

  “Uh—” Ash said. “No, we should be—”

  “I can take ‘em,” Tup said. “I was going out anyway.”

  “Can you handle more of her?” Sinder said.

  Tup snorted. “Come on. I bet he brought you the long way. Where’d they come from?”

  “Forge near Breckle Street.”

  “Easy!” Tup jumped to her feet.

  Ash and Rae followed Tup up the stairs and through the door to the outside. Tup nodded to the man leaning beside the door and danced down the street on their right. The journey back to the forge took half as long as the journey to the Red Wave headquarters.

  Ash let out a long sigh. Home.

  “Here we are, safe and sound,” Tup said.

  “Thanks,” Rae said.

  “Anytime!” Tup sauntered backwards and faded into the shadows of the next street. Her voice weaved out from the darkness. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing a lot more of you.”

  27

  Ash slouched against the stone wall of a building, hidden in the shadows of an alley. He studied his fingernails, taking on the classic characteristics of a Time-Waster, though most of his attention stayed focused on the mouth of the alley where it opened onto a busy main street that bustled with foot traffic and the occasional wagon.

  Rae and Tup leaned on the wall to his right, and Sinder stood to his left.

  A broad-shouldered man sauntered into the alley. “What are the new kids doing here?”

  A lanky man with shadowed eyes followed a step behind him.

  “In case anything goes wrong,” Sinder said. “And the boss wanted them to get a feel for the business.”

  The broad-shouldered man thrust out his hand and gripped Ash’s. “Nate; at your service. This is Rusty.”

  The thin man nodded.

  “But really, what could go wrong on a simple Chromium snatch?” Nate said.

  Rusty made the sign of Fel over his chest.

  Sinder shrugged.

  “All right. You’re the boss. We’ll get into position—you’ll know when the party gets started.”

  Nate and Rusty left the alley and disappeared into the press of bodies beyond.

  Ash’s stomach formed tight knots and waves of anxiety poured off of Rae, soaking him. They didn’t want any part in the Red Wave’s criminal activities but they’d been given no choice. The busy marketplace also brought them closer to the City Watch than they were comfortable being. Regular patrols in shining, blue uniforms marched past the entrance of the alley and made Ash’s breath catch in his throat.

  “Just keep calm,” Sinder said. “We do this all the time.”

  “Yep. Gotta keep our Chromium stores up,” Tup said. “Otherwise how would upper management be able to prance through the upper districts?”

  Sinder rolled his eyes.

  “I heard they kill anyone caught with it,” Rae said.

  “I don’t plan on getting caught,” Tup said. “But I do plan on getting a head start on Nate and Rusty. They’re just as likely to tip the Watch off as create a distraction.”

  “Oh no you don’t,” Sinder said. “You wait for the signal.”

  Tup’s grin widened and she pushed away from the wall.

  “Tup!” Sinder snatched for the back of her shirt but she ducked out of the way and his hand closed around thin air. “For Fel’s sake! Tup get back here!”

  Tup winked at him over her shoulder and melted into the sea of people.

  “Bloody girl,” Sinder said. “She’s going to get herself killed one of these days.”

  “What should we do?” Rae said.

  “Nothing. Just stay out of the way and don’t look suspicious. If things go wrong we’ll meet you back at the hideout.” Sinder strode to the mouth of the alley.

  Ash tried to keep a casual pose as he peered into the mass of people.

  “There’s the wagon,” Rae whispered.

  A wagon decorated with blue and silver flags trundled up the flagstone road from the main gate. Two guards marched on either side while an armed man sat on top holding the reins of a brown horse. Casual shoppers dived out of the way of the noble wagon and pressed themselves against the stalls, and each other, to avoid notice. The guards studied the crowd.

  Ash ducked his head and ret
urned to studying his nails.

  A sudden shout echoed over the dull murmur of the crowd. “You bastard! Sleep with my wife, will you?! I’ll show you where to stick it, you bloody git.”

  Ash’s head flew up in time to see Nate hurl Rusty into the middle of the street—directly in the path of the wagon. Rusty stumbled, fell, and sprawled across the cobblestones. The brown horse snorted and reared up, making the wagon roll back. The man on top jerked the reins and hauled the horse to a stop. The two guards tensed and their hands flew to the swords at their waists.

  Rusty stood and tugged his sleeves up away from his forearms. “She only came to me because I can give her something you can’t.”

  “Bastard,” Nate said. He barreled across the road at Rusty with balled fists. “I’ll break every bone in your body. I’ll snap—”

  Everyone on the street stopped to watch the commotion. They gaped and dropped their shopping baskets to the ground. The wagon guards let their hands fall away from their swords and strode toward Nate and Rusty.

  Rae tapped Ash’s arm. “Look.”

  A figure, half-seen, weaved through the distracted crowd and stopped beside the wagon. Tup’s face flashed through a pool of sunlight and she paused long enough to wink at Ash.

  “She’s not going to do it right there in the middle of the street,” Ash said, heart clenching.

  “Looks like she is.”

  Ash wanted to yell to Tup, tell her to stop, but any move he made toward her would only put her in danger. What was she thinking? Ash swallowed, throat dry. Tup had been more than friendly to him and Rae since they’d been dragged into the Red Wave; the last thing he wanted was to see her put to death by the City Watch. He stood frozen, eyes locked on the scene before him.

  “I’d like to see you try!” Rusty bellowed.

  “That’s it.” Nate lunged forward.

  “Enough!” One guard grabbed Nate and pinned his arms behind his back, while the other caught Rusty. “One more word and I’ll arrest you both for disturbing the peace!”

  Nate glowered at Rusty as if he’d barely heard the guard but he kept his mouth closed. Meanwhile, Tup stood like a shadow near the back of the wagon. A casual observer would take her for another curious citizen, but Ash saw a shimmer of silver flash in her hands and disappear into her shirt.