by Tina Hunter
He pulled out a shockingly familiar locket. A red oval stone wrapped in gold latticework. She was sure it was her mother’s. He put it around his neck, and his fat fingers rubbed the locket to a sheen with his sweat.
“Where did you get that?” she knew she was giving herself away, knew she should play it cool, but this was her mother’s locket. The only thing left...
“It would surprise you to learn what people lose in this city. With so many new faces moving into my buildings it is hard to keep track of what belonged to whom and where they might be now. It’s a tragedy, really.” More rubbing, more shiny sweat.
So, when she had moved to town a year ago, he found her locket. The locket she thought she’d lost in the move. That she’d grieved over. That she had told him about when he offered her employment.
“You know damn well that belongs to me,” she said. She straightened her back making herself taller, looking down on him. “You need to give that back.” Her steel blade was at the bottom of her canvas bag, too far away to be of any use. How stupid of her to come into a Harpy’s den without a weapon.
“Never try to intimidate a man with all the cards, my dear. It’s unbecoming,” he said with a sigh. “I have no idea who this lovely little necklace belongs to, but it will remain safely in my possession for many years to come I promise you.”
“You know what I can do.” Her only weapon was knowledge, now. She had built up enough information that an anonymous tip to the Prince would have Darkan hung. “You can’t keep that from me.”
“Darling, you embarrass yourself. You’ve forgotten that you have no legal recourse here. There is no paper trail or proof of ownership. There is nothing you have or ‘can do’ that would convince anyone, anywhere, that this belongs to you and not me.”
Meaning that if Lynn went to the Minister of Justice to take him down, her mother’s locket would be taken as a prize - one of Darkan’s many collectibles - and she would never see it again just a surely as if it were to stay around Darkan’s neck. However, there was always a ‘but’ with Darkan. He wanted something from her, which meant that there was still a chance to get it back. She made herself deflate, hunch in on herself. She looked away from him, down at the floor and its stupid expensive carpet. She wanted him to think he’d won, and the grin in his voice said it worked.
“Now my dear, don’t fret. If you have your heart set on this particular necklace, I’m sure we can come to some arrangement.”
Monster. Evil, manipulative, monster. She turned her eyes up slowly, making them big, round, and sad with just a touch of hope too. She needed to find out what he wanted.
“Like what?” she whispered.
“Just a little job. The one that leaves tomorrow. Do that job for me and I will give you the locket in exchange.”
Just that? It must be some kind of job. Unless he planned on killing her after. Damn, he was probably planning to kill her as soon as she finished the job. Might as well get the details.
“What kind of job are we talking about here?”
“Oh, just a little thing. Definitely something within your capabilities.” Darkan waved his hands like he was conducting an orchestra. “You see, I need someone to collect a few crates of Blue Vollonite from Fort Eldridge...”
“Then you need a courier, not a thief,” Lynn interrupted. Darkan didn’t look pleased, but she only cared about what he thought of her when her life was in danger. He could suck an egg for all she cared.
“Well, you see my dear, there was a small problem with our accounting. We ordered five crates of raw crystal, but we actually require ten crates. So, I need someone who can help procure the additional five crates.”
“You need me to steal five crates of raw crystal from the Fort, plus pick up an order for five more? Is this like the Minister job where I say I need a month and you say you need it done in two weeks? Because a job like this would take more than a month....”
“You have seven days. With three days of travel, you’ll have four days before the order is scheduled for pickup. If you don’t steal it during that appointment, that is up to you. But I will require the full order delivered to me within two weeks.” He steepled his hands together in front of his face. “You know how much I hate missed deadlines.”
Missing a deadline for Darkan meant missing a finger. Magic can’t regrow a limb or finger, not normally, but it can heal up the stump. She needed her fingers, plus who really wants to lose one in the first place? He was such an asshole.
“Seven days? That’s impossible. There is no way I can do that.”
“Mind your tongue, Ms. Narin.” Darkan was glaring at her now. She may not be the type of woman to hold her tongue, but even she knew it was time to put the sweet-girl act back on.
“I do apologize, Mr. Darkan. But the prospect of such an endeavor has confused me greatly.”
“Quite alright, my dear. Why don’t I send some help along with you? In fact, Brutus here may be of use to you, and not just as a healer. I also have another gentleman, Teodor. Very good at fighting, not so good at finesse.”
So, he wants to send me some muscle, she thought. But would it be a good idea to work with Darkan’s men? She preferred to work alone and, aside from working with her cousin, she always had.
“And my nephew might be a good addition. Not very bright but loves the theater.”
Darkan’s nephew was a scrawny, bookish man, and he didn’t seem the actor type when they’d met. Some help was better than none, but it made her feel uncomfortable to accept it from him. “And you trust these people?” she asked.
“Trust?” Darkan laughed, “Of course not. But these particular gentlemen are bound to me.”
Bound by magic, she realized. Magical contracts through the use of a crystal bracelet were commonplace, but Lynn had thankfully never needed one. With Darkan though, it might be a good idea. The pain of breaking a bracelet was more than physical, and not something to mess around with.
“How kind of you to place your employees at my disposal,” she leaned towards him, placing her hands on his desk. “However, I’m still confused about the timeline. Surely this would be best planned out in meticulous detail prior to being executed?”
Darkan leaned towards her and the reek of body odor made her eyes water. “My dear, when a client requests something of me, by a certain time, I am bound by my word to deliver. I expect nothing less from those who work for me.”
Someone was needling him and he needed these crystals badly. She’d be able to ask for the moon and he would give it to her. He was stuck, and she was his only out.
“Your word is one of the strongest I’ve ever known. Yet it would make me feel so much better if we had this bound by magic as well.” She smiled sweetly while his smile faltered for a moment before he recovered.
“Of course,” he said with a worrying twinkle in his eye, “Whatever you need. Although, my terms for a magical contract require compensation should you fail to deliver as promised, outside of terms you are used to.”
It was her turn for her smile to falter. What now? “And what terms would those be?”
“Most of my employees are indebted to me in some way. You would be no different. And I think in this case twenty years of service, paid of course, would be more than fair.”
To recap: break into a highly secure fortress, steal ten crates of the most regulated substance on the continent, with a team she’d never met nor trusted, and if she failed she’d be stuck working for this creep for the next twenty years. Was her mother’s locket really worth that?
Lynn looked at the necklace around Darkan’s fat neck. The red stone that made up the bulk of the locket was covered in delicate and worn gold latticework. It had been a gift from her Grandmother when she died, and her mother had worn it every day from then until... that day. She could almost hear it calling to her, just like it did that first night. There was something about it that made her crave to touch it. Even around Darkan’s neck, she wanted to reach out to it. There was
magic in there, there had to be. It had to be why Darkan stole it.
And aside from the farmstead, it was the only piece of her mother left. There was no way she could let it stay on the neck of this awful man.
“Yes, fair,” she replied with added emphasis on the word. “And I believe it only fair to agree to 20 years of service while still receiving the locket upon my return.”
“Deal,” Darkan said with a frown.
“And a promise you will not kill me or have me killed should I deliver as promised.”
“You are a clever girl aren’t you, Ms. Narin?” Darkan’s eyes were narrow slits filled with rage. She swallowed slowly. So, he had planned on killing her.
“Do we have a deal?” Lynn held out her hand and forced herself to keep it from shaking.
“Deal,” Darkan said, though he didn’t take her hand. Instead, he pushed back from the desk and rummaged underneath it. Lynn let her hand drop to her side and watched him pull out a small box, engraved in beautiful patterns.
“Leave us!” he shouted. Lynn saw from the corner of her eye the secretary who had apparently never left, and Brutus quickly scurrying to door number two. But she didn’t take her eyes off Darkan and the box.
Standing behind the desk now, Darkan opened the box enough for her to see dozens of crystal bracelets inside. He grabbed one from the box and handed her another one. She took it gently and inspected it. The sigil was hard to see, but she could make out the shape of Truth. Only half of the bracelet was a crystal cuff, the other half was a simple leather tie.
Darkan rolled up his sleeve and Lynn saw his arm covered in crystal bands. It seemed like Darkan was collecting people. She really should have a lawyer with her. Magical contracts were dangerous.
She tied the offered bracelet around her wrist, the one opposite her balance beads. Once the magic was locked she wouldn’t be able to untie it so she made sure it fit comfortably. Darkan had found some unoccupied space on his arm to tie on another bracelet and then he held his hand out. She gingerly placed her hand into his massive one and tried to stand still when he gripped it tight, sweat spreading between her fingers. She’d never even seen a magical contract done before. Her stomach did flip-flops.
“I, Augustus Darkan, hereby agree to the following contract terms. Miss Evelynn Verta,” he took pleasure in using her full real name, “will procure, and deliver, ten crates of raw Vollonite crystals from Fort Eldridge. She will do this whether the men I send along with her are able to give her aid.”
Lynn didn’t like that, but this was her contract not theirs. If they died or something she’d still have to do the job.
“In exchange for completing this service, I promise not to kill or have her killed. Upon her successful return, I will pay Evelynn Verta with the necklace I currently have around my neck.”
“My Mother’s necklace,” she blurted. She didn’t know if it would matter or not but it was important to her that someone say it. Darkan’s eyes flashed with rage and he tightened the grip on her hand.
“If she fails to complete this service, I will still give her the necklace mentioned previously, but she will become my employee for a 20-year term. She will do so with or without pay–a matter to be negotiated at a later date.” Lynn glared and Darkan looked pleased again. She truly hated him.
“This service will be completed, and the product delivered to me, within two weeks. However, this magic is binding until death.”
That sounded ominous, but she was more concerned with the two-week timeline. Lynn quickly went through what they had agreed to and if there was anything he could use to get out of giving her the necklace. She also wondered if this was the most insane thing she’d ever done.
“Do you agree to the contract as stated?” Darkan gave her one of his horrible slimy smiles. She wanted to rip the bracelet off and throw it at Darkan’s face. But she had to get that necklace.
“I, Evelynn Verta, agree to the contract terms as stated.”
Darkan reached over and nicked his finger on a corner of the new bracelet. The blood welled for a moment before disappearing and his bracelet glowed.
“I too, agree to the contract terms as stated,” he said.
Lynn realized he was waiting for her to seal the deal in blood as well. She inspected the bracelet on her wrist and noticed that near the edge of the band there was a sharp point, easily kept from cutting the wearer accidentally, but certainly there. She hated using her hands to feed crystals, but she didn’t have much choice in the matter. She pressed the side of her thumb into the point and felt the blood being pulled from her hand into the crystal.
The bracelet glowed warmly.
“It’s done.” Darkan dropped her sweat-soaked hand, and she quickly wiped it on her dress. It was wet enough to leave marks on the fabric. A quick glance at her thumb showed no mark where she’d cut herself, apparently contract bracelets worked just like every other kind of crystal magic.
“I’ll send a carriage for you in the morning. Pack light.” Darkan sat down and waved her away. She could take a hint. Grabbing her gold and the canvas bag, she walked out of Darkan’s office with her back straight and didn’t look back once. But she could feel his eyes on her back as she left. They felt like daggers.
Three
~Too Early Sunday Morning~
THE CARRIAGE WAS large enough for the four of them to be sitting, though she would have preferred to not be touching Teodor's leg with her own. Had she known the men Darkan was sending were going to be so large, she would have dressed as a woman with a full Aguara style skirt but seeing as how she had dressed as a man she only had the single layer of fabric of her trousers separating her leg from his.
"You sure she's a girly?" Teodor asked Brutus for likely the eighth time since she had climbed inside. He’d said it leaning forward, as if that would stop her from hearing him.
"Yes, you daft bugger, now stop asking." Simon, Darkan's nephew, shouted.
Brutus was a wall of silence. He wasn't much of a talker it seemed, but the way he was measuring her over the top of his book made her spine tingle. Teodor was a Docker through and through. His slang was unique to the boat-loving folk who worked the Coastal docks, even Iridan’s, and hard to mistake. Simon was just as bookish and scrawny as she remembered, although now he seemed thoroughly annoyed with her - when he took the time to look up from his newspaper, that was. Apparently, he blamed her for being here. Perhaps he should blame his uncle. Lynn knew she did.
The sunlight was still slanting through the tall buildings as it came over the Upper Iridan wall. The walled city was the only foothold the Dukana Empire had on the entire continent, since the cove was stolen from the Kingdom of Aguara 100 years ago. People were already swarming the streets in a clash of Dukana and Aguara styles. Silken wraps and lace covered coresets for the women, and long, flowing shirts or tight vested tops for the men. It was one of the things she loved most about the city. The people weren’t afraid of playing with fashion norms. Of course, that trend was started by the Prince’s family. His wife loved to subvert the normal Dukana styles for the royals. It was a good thing the Prince of Iridan wasn’t the Crown Prince of the Empire. Many doubted his favorite wife would survive the Capital of Dukana Empire, with its strict rules on wives in public.
The crowds grew thicker, and the carriage slower as they approached the southern gate. When they had started heading this way she had wanted to ask why they weren’t using the river gate and just take a boat upriver, but the mood in the carriage made it clear that no one wanted to talk to her. Thankfully the answer was on the front cover of the newspaper that Simon used to block her from his sight.
“Unknown Criminals Set Fire to Cargo Vessels!”
That kind of act would shut down the river traffic for days, and it also meant that her spectacular theft last night would be disappointingly bumped to second page news.
When they finally reached the gate in the wall that surrounded Iridan, Lynn noticed far more guards then were normally pres
ent. Granted, she didn’t frequent the gate but normally Iridan Guards policed the gates without interference from the sparsely present Aguarian soldiers. Today, however, seemed to be different.
The blue of the Aguarian soldiers was easily distinguished from the red of the Empires’ guards. And it was the Aguarian soldiers who walked around the carriage, poking their heads underneath and inside, to inspect the passengers as well as what they were carrying. The scrutiny made her uncomfortable but she made her face passive and uninterested until they were gone. She wondered what was going on to cause such a change in routine? Was it the burnt cargo ships?
Once the soldiers had finished their inspection, she pressed her face as close to the glass as possible to see the exchange between them and the driver. She saw the driver pass a note to one of the Aguarian soldiers and within moments of reading it, they were being sent on their way. The Iridan Guards watched with confusion that reflected her own as they passed through the gate and into the Aguarian countryside.
That exchange gave her a better idea as to who was behind Darkan’s sudden interest in this shipment of crystals. Only an Aguarian with military connections would get them through the gate so quickly, and with only a simple inspection. She put that on the long list of things she knew about Darkan that would have him hung by the Iridan Prince.
The shanty town on the other side of the wall held enough people that the driver earned his pay navigating through it without hurting anyone. Soon the shouts of sellers faded behind them and Lynn leaned back in her chair to inspect her travel mates.
They had been selected by Darkan for a reason. She had been grateful for the help when he offered it, but it also felt like he was trying to control the situation since he obviously needed these crystals badly. She wondered if they had roles already assigned or if it was to be her decision?
"Well now that we are clear of the city, perhaps we should discuss what is to happen once we reach the Fort?" Lynn tried to be pleasant but the stares... no, they were glares she was receiving, were enough to make her pause. "Or perhaps we'll just continue to sit in silence until we get there."
