Blackstone (Book 2)

by Honor Raconteur

  Unless…when the thought struck, his eyes narrowed in contemplation.

  Siobhan never let people watch her cry. She had this silly notion that just because she was a guildmaster, that she should never appear weak to the guild. Wolf knew better than she that the guild looked to her for guidance, not necessarily strength. That was his department.

  If he couldn’t readily find her, that must be it. Determined, he started looking for out of the way corners, deserted places that would give her privacy. It wasn’t an easy thing to find in this overly crowded city, but there were a few spots here and there. It took four false tries before he found her.

  As he’d feared, Siobhan lay curled up in a near-fetal position against the back city wall, nearly wedged between it and a building. Her hands covered her face, but he didn’t need to see to know she was crying.

  Instinct propelled him forward, and he had his good hand on her shoulder, drawing her into his embrace, before he properly realized what he was doing.

  Siobhan looked confused for a split second, jarred from her grief, but when she realized it was him she curled into his arms without hesitation. His good hand went up to stroke her hair, the iron one carefully placed around her waist so that it couldn’t accidentally hurt her. For a long time they just knelt there on the ground, holding on to each other, as he let her cry against his shoulder.

  She started to subside, her breath evening instead of coming out in hiccupping sobs. It’d be a fine time to offer some comforting words, if he could think of any. If there was something that needed killing, Wolf was the man to call. But knowing the right thing to say at the right moment, well, that was what they had Markl and Fei for. Still, he had to try.

  “It could have been worse,” he offered tentatively. “We could all have been in the city when it was attacked.”

  With a sniff, Siobhan nodded against his shoulder. “I know. And I’m thankful we weren’t there when it all happened, but…” her voice broke. “The Hall, Wolf. Our Hall. Heaven knows it wasn’t much, but it was home. And now, now there’s nothing left of it.”

  He’d like to have said something like It’s just a building, Siobhan, but in truth he’d gotten attached to the place too. He had a lot of fond memories of the Hall and there was a part of him that knew he could always retreat there if things became truly bad. To have it razed to the ground like that had wounded him. Tears sprang to his eyes but he blinked them back. Pressing a kiss against her forehead, he whispered soothingly, “I know. Shhh, I know. It’ll be fine. We’ll rebuild.”

  “It’ll take a while,” she sighed mournfully.

  “Nonsense. What are you saying? We have two Pathmakers now. We’ll make twice the money. We can build the Hall back before you can blink twice.”

  She gave a watery laugh and finally lifted her head from his shoulder. “That’s only if you and Tran can behave and not rack up any fines.”

  “Nothing to destroy right now,” he pointed out laconically. “I think even we’d be hard-pressed to find trouble at the moment.”

  “Point.”

  “And just think, we can make the Hall the way we need it to be this time.” Tears were still in her eyes, but she was gaining hold of herself. He used a thumb to wipe away the wetness on her cheeks in a gentle sweep.

  “You mean make Beirly’s workshop twice as large, as he always wanted, and make Conli a proper clinic to work in?”

  “Don’t forget the lofty rafters for our two sneaks. I think they’d break out in fits if you made them sit properly in a chair all day.”

  Siobhan’s mouth quirked into a rueful smile. “That’s true, isn’t it? We’ll have Beirly draw up the plans for a new Hall. Although I think it’ll take us a few months before we can go back and start rebuilding.”

  A few months sounded optimistic to him, but he wasn’t about to say so. “A fine plan.”

  Uncurling from him, she looked about, and only then seemed to realize where she actually was. “How in mercy’s name did you find me here?”

  “It took some hunting,” he admitted candidly. “Are you ready to go back now?”

  Taking in a shaky breath, she looked toward the ground for a long moment before nodding confirmation.

  That didn’t look like a firm yes to him. “Siobhan, if you need another moment or two, take it.”

  “No, I’ve been gone too long. People will notice I’m missing and start to worry. And we have enough to worry about without me adding to it.”

  Well, maybe what she needed now was something to focus on, now that her grief had run its course a little. He’d seen this cycle before with her. Something would upset her, she’d cry about it and be upset, then she’d pick herself up and get buried in work until her frustrations had passed. It was probably a better cycle than his, where he got angry at something and then went and beat it to a pulp.

  The thing that had brought him through the darkest times was dreaming of the future, imagining a better time that lay ahead. It was what let him survive those first terrible years after he was kidnapped from home and forced into a dark guild. It was also the thing that let him survive when Siobhan first bought him. He’d wanted so desperately to be a true part of the guild, that even though he felt awkward and out of place there, imagining a time when he was part of them had given him the strength to stay and change. He knew how important dreams were, and so he tried to give it to her.

  “You say Beirly wants this, and Conli needs that, but what do you want in our new Hall?”

  Wistfully, she responded, “I’ve always wanted a true bathing chamber. You know, like the ones they have in Wynngaard, with the stone tile work and the heated baths that you can soak in.”

  “That would be nice,” he agreed, equally wistful. “Do you think Beirly can build that?”

  “Is there anything in this world that Beirly can’t build?”

  “He claims there is, but I’ve yet to see proof of it.”

  “Right? I think he needs to build us one. Or two. I’m not sure if us women want to share with the men.”

  “I’m not sure if I want to share with Tran.”

  Siobhan poked him in the ribs for that one.

  Chuckling, he got to his feet and offered her a hand, pulling her up with him. Siobhan didn’t let go of him, but instead linked arms, which pleased him in a purely masculine way. The fact that she trusted him enough to let him see her at her weakest moment also stroked his ego. He probably shouldn’t feel flattered by that, but he did.

  As they slowly walked back to the inn, Siobhan asked, “What do you want? From the new Hall.”

  “A decent sized training yard,” he responded instantly. That one didn’t even require thought on his part.

  “Now that’s a practical suggestion,” she approved. “Hmm, what else should we do…?”

  They traded suggestions back and forth, which somehow led them to reminiscing about things that had happened in the old Hall. Sharing words of comfort and dreams, they walked at the pace of memories.

  ӜӜӜ

  Ryu Jin Ho set Wolf and Tran as his lieutenants, sending them out to teach how to prepare to defend the walls, as they were the ones that knew what to do. Wolf found this to be particularly challenging as he did not possess the skill with either words or pen to really convey what he knew to the men. It took effort on his part, and patience on theirs, but eventually they understood what he wanted and went about making it a reality.

  Converse didn’t have much in the way of trees, so setting pikes along the outer walls was out, but Beirly was making caltrops with the rest of the blacksmiths to make up for it. Wolf sent people out to find every arrow and throwing spear available in the city, ordering them to be collected every few feet on top of the walls. There was also oil and torches gathered to keep the army at bay.

  After the weapons and at least some of the defenses were put into place, Wolf focused on drilling the people so that they knew exactly where to go and how to respond when the army finally did reach the walls. Wolf had them
start at the base of the walls and on his signal, they would race into position and lift the right weapon. They did this repeatedly for two hours until he was satisfied it was well drummed into their heads, and panic or excitement wouldn’t make them forget it.

  Hyun Woo arrived that morning by path. Wolf saw from the wall when Grae brought him in. Wolf assumed that between Hyun Woo and Ryu Jin Ho that they would come up with a strategy on how to defend the city. But, Hyun Woo called for him and Rune barely ten minutes after arriving, asking that they meet him in the new Blackstone headquarters. Curious what this was all about, Wolf obeyed the summons and went to the inn, meeting Rune almost at the same time in the doorway.

  Rune fell in behind Wolf as they entered the main room and asked, “Do ya know why he’s asked for us?”

  “No idea,” Wolf admitted. “I guess we’ll see shortly.”

  The main room was madness, although after that first startled blink, Wolf started to see that it was organized chaos. Darren’s wife had stepped up, it appeared, and she was even now directing people to different parts of the inn, making sure that the right information went into the proper hands. Wolf stopped in front of her and waited to get her attention before asking, “Hyun Woo?”

  She turned and pointed to the far back left corner. “There.”

  “My thanks.”

  Rune moved ahead of him, acting as trail blazer to the back corner. It took a little shoving, and a great deal of patience, but they finally made it. A large, rectangular table was shoved catawampus into the corner with two benches on either side of it. Hyun Woo and Ryu Jin Ho both stood next to it, neither of them inclined to sit, and they looked up as the Wynngaardians approached.

  “Rune-xian, Wolfinsky-gui,” Hyun Woo greeted with a strained smile. The man had every hair in place but the dark circles under his eyes were a clear indication he had not slept well the night before, if at all. “You made good time. Come and sit.”

  After being on his feet the majority of the day, Wolf was glad to sit, even if only for a few minutes. “You called for us?” he asked, slinging his legs over the bench.

  “Indeed so. This is a perfect opportunity to teach you how to defend a city.”

  So even here, the lessons didn’t stop? Wolf couldn’t help but grin, delighted by that.

  “Also, we are strangers to this city,” Ryu Jin Ho added pragmatically. “You both know it better than we do. What problems have you noted?”

  “The walls are not sound,” Rune answered promptly. He sank onto the bench next to Wolf, more slumping than sitting. Then again, he had been doing most of the legwork on the northern side. “We have multiple holes in the wall.”

  Both strategists frowned hearing this, not one bit pleased with the news. “How big are these breaches?”

  “Depends which one you’re talking about.” Rune leaned forward, tapping a finger against the city map laid out across the table, explaining and pointing. “There’s two here that aren’t much bigger than a watermelon. There’s another here barely large enough for a small man to crawl through. There’s one long one here where multiple people could get through, but you’d have to belly crawl ta manage it.”

  “It’s the same story on the southern side,” Wolf added morosely. “Over the years, the section built near the beaches has eroded out at the base, leaving gaping holes that a determined force can use to enter the city with. I’ve got six of them altogether, ranging in size from a narrow path a man could barely squeeze through to something large enough a wagon could fit in.”

  “Where?” Ryu Jin Ho asked.

  Going off memory, Wolf grabbed a pencil laying nearby and marked them. “Here, here, here, here, and two here. The largest one is here.”

  Ryu Jin Ho didn’t say a word, but Wolf was laying odds the man was swearing up a storm in his head. “We don’t have time to fix all of those.”

  “No, we do not,” Hyun Woo agreed. But the man didn’t sound dismayed, but instead thoughtful. “Alright, my students, what are your thoughts?”

  “I don’t think we should worry about the ones a man can’t even get a weapon through,” Rune said slowly.

  “Wise,” Hyun Woo approved. “We are not builders, after all. Let the city repair its own walls. What else?”

  “It’d be nice if we can somehow turn the biggest breach into a trap.” Wolf rubbed a hand along his chin, trying to think quickly. “I’m not sure how to do it, though.”

  “It is good you see the possibility.” Hyun Woo’s expression was befitting of a hungry wolf in that moment.

  Wolf and Rune shared a suspicious glance between the two of them before they accused their master in near unison, “You know how.”

  “I have a notion,” Hyun Woo responded modestly.

  Rune cocked his head. “Wait a minute, didn’t ya tell me that no plan survives enemy contact, and that the best thing a good fighter could do was ta plan how ta start the fight and then adapt quickly after that?”

  “If it is a small scale fight,” Ryu Jin Ho corrected.

  “If it is a large scale battle, like this, then you make as many plans as possible.” Hyun Woo added almost casually, “And then you make even further plans for when your original plans go wrong.”

  Wolf filed that information away for future reference. “So the largest breach, what do you want to do about it?”

  Hyun Woo rubbed his hands together, as calculating as a fox. “Something devious.”

  ӜӜӜ

  They spent more than three hours at that table, planning and then making even more contingency plans. At the end, they all had their specific tasks to carry out. Rune was sent back to the northern section to inform people what to do. The first task, of course, was to do something about the breaches in the wall. Some of the people in the city would be assigned to those holes and ordered to fill them with anything they could find.

  All but one, that was.

  Wolf paused and looked out over the southern edge of the city, toward the flat plains and the sandy beach. He still didn’t know if the two strategists had concocted the best plan. Oh, it would no doubt work, but how well was the question. From the grimaces on their face, it wasn’t one they would actually choose to employ, but in only three days, there was a limit to how many preparations they could make. This strategy was radical but could be implemented in the time they had. It had certainly made Darrens and Siobhan nervous.

  Rune hadn’t been able to stay on task, as his skills as Pathmaker were still needed to get the last of the refugees out. He had instead explained everything to Markl, who had then taken over. Markl hadn’t been trained as thoroughly as they were on strategy, but the man had a mind that could be taught anything, and he’d gotten the hang of it quickly enough. It left Wolf in charge of the southern side with Fei, and Markl and Tran in charge of the northern section.

  Tarik came to join him at his side. “What are they doing?”

  Hmm? Following the man’s pointing finger, his eyes fell on a group of a hundred men that were running at full speed toward the city from the shoreline. Tran was in the lead, his long legs effortlessly devouring the ground, with everyone else gamely trying to keep up with him.

  “Oh, that. They’re working out the timing.”

  “Of?” Tarik prompted impatiently, giving him an exasperated look.

  “You know how we’re sending a group of five hundred around by ship to the southern shore, just in case the army comes around to this side?” Wolf waited for a confirming nod before continuing, “The timing of that has to be precise. We need to know exactly how long it will take for them to get here. So Tran volunteered to run practice runs with them all day until they had it down to the minute.”

  With a grunt, Tarik took this in, eyes narrowing as he tried to see over the distance. From here, people looked to be about as tall as Wolf’s pinky. “Isn’t that tiring?”

  “Not for a Teheranian.” Wolf chuckled, noticing that no one else was quite able to match Tran’s pace. They lagged behind severely now. �
�I think he’d best stop soon, though, otherwise it’ll just be him fighting the army off when they get here.”

  “I’ll say.” Tarik turned and pointed to a group of archers that were standing on the inner side of the wall. “And what are they shooting at?”

  “Oh, them? They’re practicing and figuring out the best vantage points.”

  “For what?” Tarik responded in confusion, scratching at the back of his head. “I heard we were going to take advantage of that huge hole in the wall on this side, but no one explained to me how.”

  “It’s not that complicated. In a nutshell, it’s—”

  From a distance, near the head of the stairs that led up to this section of the wall, Rune called out, “WOLF!”

  Was the kid back already? Wolf clapped Tarik on the shoulder and said, “Go ask Fei, he’ll explain it to you.”

  “Will do.”

  Moving off, Wolf quickened his step so that he went to Rune swiftly. “You’re back already?”

  “Grae is getting the last of the refugees out now,” Rune responded, a tired but satisfied smile on his face. The way his shoulders sagged ever so slightly, and the circles under his eyes said he hadn’t gotten enough sleep in the past several days. But then, none of them had. “What do I need ta do?”

  Excellent question. But Wolf wasn’t in charge of anything but this one section of the wall, so he didn’t know. “Track down either Ryu Jin Ho or Hyun Woo and ask them. They might need you somewhere. I only know about this part of the city.”

  Rune stopped and really looked around him, taking in the sight of all of the weapons leaning up against the stone walls, the people that were rushing up and down the stairs, and the preparations being made. “Are ya ready, then?”

  “The walls are. Our special surprise isn’t. It’ll take another day at least.”

  He followed Wolf’s gesture toward the breach in the wall and studied it with raised eyebrows. “That looks…interesting. Like a nasty surprise for them.”