"A mistake?"
*Yes. A little one.* He fidgeted in her arms again. *Beneath the credenza.*
"Oh, my dear Saffron, it's okay." Vreva laughed and kissed him. "Truth be told, I nearly made the same mistake myself!"
Chapter Nineteen
Blood Tells No Lies
When Torius descended from Vreva's apartment, Grogul stood at the bottom of the stairs, his face a sickly shade of pale gray-green that his captain recognized as a serious case of distress. He'd obviously seen Capoli arrive, and assumed the worst.
"Captain ..."
"Outside." Torius waved farewell to Quopek and strode out the door, his bosun a half-step behind. The only carriage in sight had the crest of the Okeno Guard emblazoned on the door. "I need to stretch my legs. Let's walk back to the docks."
They strode briskly down the street. At the first corner, Torius nodded to the right and they turned. Out of sight of the inn, he started to breathe easier.
"Did you have to kill her?"
"What?" The question took him aback for a heartbeat. "The inquisitor? Oh, no. She scared the hell out of me, popping in unannounced like that, but she only asked a couple of questions about how Vreva and I knew each other." He rubbed his newly healed cheek and shook his head. "By the time Vreva was done lauding me with praise, Capoli thanked me. She even healed that scratch I took aboard the slave galley."
"She healed you?" Grogul peered at the faint scar and muttered a curse so inventively profane that Torius couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, sir, but that's just weird!"
"No kidding! I thought she was going to cast some spell to make me confess all my sins or something."
"That would have taken a while." Grogul grinned and shook his head.
"She sure made me nervous. I wasn't about to stand around waiting for a carriage and have her come out and ask more questions." He took a deep breath and twisted his neck to ease the knotted muscles. "I swear to Gozreh, this is the only time I can remember that I wished I'd been delayed by bad weather. As far as I'm concerned, we can't be out of Okeno too soon."
"Can't argue with that!"
Torius nodded down another street, and they turned left. "Let's skirt around the Fleshfairs. It'll take longer, but ..." Torius made a face.
They walked in thoughtful silence for a while, taking the streets that bordered the Fleshfairs and trying to ignore the stench of human misery. Torius felt better for the clearer air and exercise. As they rounded the corner onto the quay, however, Grogul's huge hand jerked him to a halt.
"Trouble."
The trouble took the form of two city guard carriages pulling up to Stargazer's dock. Guards tumbled out of one carriage, crossbows in hand. From the other carriage stepped Zarina Capoli and even more city guards.
"I guess we should have taken a carriage." Grogul murmured.
"Gozreh's guts!" Something had obviously gone horribly wrong after they'd left the inn. Had the inquisitor discovered the chest's illicit contents? Had she already apprehended Vreva and somehow wrenched from the courtesan her true identity? How the hell did she get here so fast? Torius cursed himself for taking such a circuitous route back.
Regardless, they had to get back to Stargazer, and two squads of Okeno guards barred their way. Trying to fight their way through would be foolish at best. Torius considered a diversion, but doubted that a bar fight, or even a warehouse fire, would deter the inquisitor.
Torius cast a professional eye at Stargazer. As usual when they visited Okeno, she showed all her teeth as a deterrent to slavers. Ballista bolts nosed out of the ports, crossbowmen stood along the deck and in the crow's-nest, and cutlasses, boarding axes, and pikes were prominently displayed. Then he caught sight of Thillion on the quarterdeck, bow in hand, watching the guards at the head of the pier. The elf's movements were slow and easy, but Torius saw his hand gestures. Fenric relayed orders, and topmen made their way to the crosstrees, ready to set sail, while the deck crew stood poised at the halyards, sheets and dock lines. The ship lay athwart the pier end, the remnants of the distant storm still fluttering the topmast pennant. She would bear away quickly once the sails filled.
A reckless plan began to form in Torius's mind, and he clapped his bosun on the shoulder. "I might be able to talk our way through this, Grogul, so don't do anything rash unless I give the word." Forcing a grin, he strolled casually toward the dock.
"And if you do give the word?"
"Then all Hell's going to break loose. It'll be cut and run like all the demons of the Abyss are on our heels."
"I'm with you, sir."
Calm. Just stay calm. She can't know. How could she? Torius cocked a curious eyebrow as they approached the mass of troops, and hailed the inquisitor. "Inquisitor Capoli." From her face alone, he wouldn't have recognized the woman. She stood with arms crossed, her formerly mild features set like dwarven stonework, nothing like the woman he'd watched greet Vreva so amorously. Torius gave her a benign grin. "Is there a problem?"
"As a matter of fact, there is a problem, Captain Vin. I must ask you some questions." Her manner reminded him of a shark swimming just beneath the surface, smooth and dangerous.
"If this is about my friendship with Vreva, let me assure you that there's nothing for you to be concerned about. As she told you, our relationship doesn't go beyond business. My business, that is, not hers." His disarming manner got him nowhere.
"Her business isn't my concern, Captain. Yours is. I have to ask you once again: How did you receive the wound that I healed for you?"
"As I said, we were attacked by pirates and forced to defend ourselves."
The cold smile that spread across the inquisitor's lips chilled Torius to the bone. There was no humor in it, only triumph. "Ah, but I happen to know differently, you see. Through the grace of Abadar, I've learned that it was not a pirate who gave you that cut, but an Okeno slaver."
"Really?" He shrugged and shot her a dubious look. "They might well have been slavers for all I know. When people board my ship with swords in their hands, I don't ask their occupations. I fight for my life!"
"Indeed." Her tone remained as cold as her smile. "Then perhaps you can explain why Abadar has also revealed to me that you're not, in fact, a merchant, but a privateer for Andoran, and a member of the Twilight Talons."
"A what?" Torius gaped at her in feigned disbelief, even as his heart seized with horror. He didn't know how she'd come by the information, but simple denial wouldn't work anymore. He might not be able to shake her suspicions, but perhaps he could unnerve the guards, or trick her into doing something foolish. "Inquisitor Capoli, if this elaborate fabrication is an attempt to get back at me for my association with your lover, I'll have you know that I'm not amused!"
"This is no fabrication, Captain Vin, and it has nothing to do with Vreva!" The inquisitor's expression and tone hardened even further. Without taking her gaze from his face, she drew a soiled handkerchief from her pocket and held it flat in her hand. Dark crimson smudges formed words upon the pale cloth. "You see, your blood's given you away. Blood tells no lies. Yours has told me your secrets, Captain Vin. Now, you'll relinquish your weapons and come with me for questioning."
Torius recognized the handkerchief as the one she had used to wipe the dried blood from his cheek, and read the betrayal in his own blood upon it: Torius Vin. Male human Andoren privateer and Twilight Talon. Wounded attacking slave galley near the Isle of Kortos, on the eighth day of Pharast.
Victory shone in the inquisitor's piercing golden eyes, but he had one more card up his sleeve. Flashing a dangerous grin, he gave Capoli a broad wink. "Ah, but there's one thing about me that Abadar has evidently not told you, Inquisitor Capoli. I was a pirate long before I became a privateer, and I'll ride a flaming horse straight to Hell before I go with you for questioning."
She gaped at him for a moment, and that was all Torius needed. Drawing a deep breath, he bellowed the command that he knew every Stargazer stood poised to follow.
"FIRE ALL!"
<
br /> Torius grabbed Grogul's arm and dropped to the rough planks of the pier just as the rippling cracks of crossbows and ballistae shattered the standoff. The bolts tore through the massed Okeno guards like a cavalry charge, sending a rain of blood, torn meat, and shattered bone falling around them. Thillion's voice rang out, ordering the topmen to let fall the sails, and the deck crew to cast off.
"Now, Grogul!" Torius bounded up, drawing his sword.
Guards bled and groaned around them, but Capoli remained standing, despite a bloody tear in her tabard. She widened her stance in their path and flipped her mace up into her hand.
"Halt!" The golden key of Abadar at her belt flashed, and Torius froze in his tracks.
Grogul, however, was not so affected. Lunging past his captain, the half-orc forced the inquisitor back by sheer mass, his kukri flashing. One of his blades met her mace and snapped with the impact. The other scored a cut through her tabard, but only skittered off the mail beneath.
Though his legs remained immobile, Torius found that he could still defend himself against two uninjured guards. His scimitar parried one stroke, and the other only grazed his arm. His backslash laid the first guard's face wide open, and the second ducked the spray of blood and shattered teeth.
"Come on!"
Grogul's hand closed on the collar of Torius's jacket and jerked him into motion. When his feet touched the boards of the pier, he found that he could run. Ahead, canvas billowed. The gangplank fell into the bay as Stargazer edged away from the pier. If they dashed for it, they just might be able to leap the gap.
On the quarterdeck, Thillion fired his bow as fast as he could nock arrows while shouting orders to spread more canvas. Snick's voice shrilled from the open firing ports as she ordered her crews to reload.
"We can make it!" Torius gasped, as he fought to keep up with Grogul's longer legs.
When the inquisitor's shout of, "Shoot them down!" rang out, Grogul was a full stride ahead.
A bolt buzzed past Torius's ear and struck Grogul in the back. The bosun staggered, but kept running. Then something hit the back of Torius's knee with a sickening crunch, and his leg folded under him. The rough boards of the dock rose up to smash him in the face, knocking away his sword. Grogul skidded to a stop, a broad red stain spreading through his kaftan. Turning back, the half-orc hurled his remaining kukri at the guards, and scooped up Torius's fallen scimitar.
"Run, godsdamn it!" Torius bellowed as he tried to haul himself to his feet. His leg collapsed, refusing to support him. A crossbow bolt transfixed his knee from back to front.
"Not today, Captain!" Grogul glared at their advancing foes and snarled a feral grin. Reaching down, he heaved Torius up and shoved him toward the fleeing ship. "Go!"
Torius tried to run, but his knee folded with his first stride, the pain snatching away his breath in a strangled gasp. Scrabbling forward on his hands and one good leg, he heard Grogul's roar of unbridled fury. He glanced back, unwilling to leave his friend.
The half-orc stood in a pool of his own blood, pierced by several more crossbow bolts. Yet still he wielded his captain's blade to deadly effect. Two guards sprawled at his feet, and he held the inquisitor at bay, parrying her strokes to keep her from her quarry.
The ship ...Torius knew he could make it. Even if he couldn't run, he could pull himself to the edge of the dock and throw himself into the bay, swim to the ship under covering fire from Snick and Thillion. But Grogul ...
Torius glanced back again, just in time to see the inquisitor vanish in a flash of light from her holy icon. Grogul's sword stroke met nothing, and he staggered. A guard exploited the misstep, plunging his blade deep into the half-orc's belly. Grogul roared and grasped the blade before the guard could rip it free. His backstroke removed the guard's head, but the wound was too great. He fell to the dock, coughing blood as more guards charged forward.
Grogul looked toward Torius, and his eyes widened in horror. "Torius!" One bloody hand rose to point beyond his captain.
Torius turned, his way to freedom inexplicably blocked by a pair of chainmail-clad legs and a gleaming mace. He reached for his belt knife, but Capoli was too fast. Torius heard a roar of anguish from behind him, and a shriller cry from the ship. Then the inquisitor's mace struck like a bolt of lightning, sending him into a pit of darkness.
∗ ∗ ∗
As the carriage rumbled up to the restaurant, Vreva laid a hand on Saffron's silky fur, whispered an incantation, and watched as her familiar faded from sight. "Careful, my love."
*You be careful! I'm not the one cozying up to an inquisitor.*
When the door opened, Vreva took the proffered hand of the carriage boy and stepped down as Saffron dashed silently into the shrubbery. The spell wouldn't last long, but he'd be hidden well enough by the surrounding bushes where he could observe.
Vreva's stomach fluttered, though she didn't know why. Zarina was back, and Torius was long gone. She'd watched Stargazer sail out of Yellow Harbor from her balcony. Her afternoon appointment had been a wearying dalliance with a slave merchant who had a fetish for peeled grapes. After he'd gone, a scalding bath and a glass of wine had eased her tension, but her worry persisted, her thoughts muddled with the memory of how ardently—and honestly —she had returned Zarina's passionate greeting.
"Mistress Jhafae." Kamalah greeted her with the ritual kisses. "You grace my humble establishment with your beauty."
"You're so sweet, Kamalah. I trust you got my note."
"Your table's ready, and your lady friend awaits your company."
"She's already here?" Vreva bit her lip. Eagerness, or ... "Very well, then."
Kamalah led her through the crowded restaurant. At the table, the inquisitor sat ramrod straight, staring at a bottle of Vreva's favorite wine and two empty glasses. Zarina looked up as they approached, smiled, and stood.
"You're early." Zarina took Vreva's hands and kissed her on the cheek.
Dear Calistria, what's wrong? Long years of plying her deceitful trade had taught Vreva not only how to expertly dissemble, but also to detect the subtle vagaries of deception in others. To the casual eye, Zarina seemed relaxed, but their brief touch betrayed an inner turmoil.
"And you're earlier. I hope your work went well this afternoon, and you won't have to rush off again."
"No." Zarina waved the wine steward forward, and the fellow quickly filled two glasses. "No, tonight I vow to give you my undivided attention."
"That sounds promising." Vreva touched her glass to Zarina's. "Have you decided that you like wine?"
"I wanted to ...share this with you." Zarina took a sip, and Vreva noticed that the wine rippled in the inquisitor's glass. "Forgive me, but my work this afternoon was ...trying."
"Well, we're alone now, so you can forget all that and relax." She reached out and took Zarina's hands in hers, kneading the tense muscles there. "I'll help you relax. Trust me."
"Trust." Zarina's features registered a spasm of pain, unmistakable, but instantly masked. She pulled her hands away and took up her wineglass again. "Trust comes hard for someone of my calling. Inquisitors deal with lies, betrayal, and treachery every day."
The comment shook Vreva to the bone. Then her unease was suddenly redoubled by a sensation of danger from Saffron. What had he detected? Vreva covered her distress with a sip of wine and fought to keep her expression serene and her voice calm.
"But surely you trust me, don't you?" When Zarina didn't immediately answer, Vreva felt a deeper chill of dread. "I certainly trust you, my love."
"Love!" Zarina's eyes fixed hers, startling in their intensity. "Do you really love me, Vreva?"
"You know I do!" Even as she uttered the words, Vreva knew that they were true. Somehow, she'd given her heart to her sworn enemy.
"You ..." Zarina paled, and her hands shook so badly that wine spilled over the rim of her glass. She ignored the stain and whispered disbelievingly, "You do!" The inquisitor closed her eyes for a long moment, her lips moving as if im
ploring Abadar for strength. Heaving a deep breath, Zarina straightened her shoulders and opened her eyes. In the candlelight, her golden irises seemed ablaze with holy fire. "Then tell me the truth about your association with Captain Vin."
Vreva felt the force of Zarina's command like a physical blow. Recoiling, she wondered what had gone wrong, how this had come back to Torius. She had seen Stargazer sail free of the harbor.
"I have told you the truth about Torius," she insisted, girding her nerve. If Zarina had discovered Torius's involvement with the Twilight Talons, Vreva would have to disavow him as she had Fieson. Nausea rose as she envisioned Stargazer in flames, her captain and crew dangling and writhing from her yardarms. "We've known each other for years, and although he's a bit of a rake, he's an honorable man. He helped me out of a recent difficulty, and I've helped him with his business. We're friends, Zarina."
"Amazing." Zarina continued to stare at her in a most unnerving manner, but her voice expressed a sense of wonder. "All true. Every word."
"Of course it's true." Vreva had little doubt that Zarina was using her divine arts to verify the truth, but she'd learned to weave truth into her deceptions.
"You're very good at this."
The statement stung her like the lash of a whip. "What?"
"You're very good. Good at deception, at seduction, at making people trust you, fall in love with you, need you." Zarina's stern countenance cracked. Tears pooled in her eyes, and her hands began to shake again.
"What do you mean by that?" But Vreva knew what she meant. Zarina had discovered that she'd been played false.
Zarina blinked rapidly, and her face hardened again. "Torius Vin is the spy we sought, Vreva."
"What?" She recoiled in unfeigned horror, pressing a hand to her breast. There she fingered her only escape, the fourth button from the top. Covertly plucking it free, Vreva held it in her palm, praying she wouldn't have to use it. There might still be a chance she could get out of this. "I ...don't know what to say!"
"Explain this to me, if you can!" Zarina flung a handkerchief onto the table so Vreva could read the words that damned Torius. "I spent the entire afternoon asking people about Torius Vin. He apparently neither buys nor sells anything here, but only comes to visit you! Tell me honestly that you didn't know of his association with Andoran. Tell me that you had no notion that he was a Twilight Talon. Tell me that it is only a coincidence that you befriended two spies, and had no knowledge of their activities. And by the grace of Abadar, tell me the truth!" Zarina slapped her hands hard onto the table and stood, looming over Vreva. At her belt, the golden key of Abadar glowed with divine light. Despite her menacing appearance, her eyes pleaded with Vreva, and in a barely audible voice, the inquisitor whispered, "Please tell me you that didn't know ..."
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