by Tina Hunter
The moon was high in the sky but it still looked like a big black nothingness around her. Once the shore was more than a few canoe lengths behind them she saw the orange. The sky was bright ahead of them with the glow from the flames. Surely the guards would have put it out by now? There was a whole river of water right beside them.
“Looks like the attack is going well. Probably a great many casualties,” Brutus said. His tone said he was trying to make a point but Dorjee was too tired to try to figure it out. Lynn didn’t respond, either, so there was no clue from her.
The orange got closer and so did the shadows on the water.
“Do you think they made the ferry move?” Lynn asked Brutus, breaking the silence.
“If they did, it would be over there.”
Dorjee wanted to turn around to see where he was pointing but couldn’t make her body move again with Brutus so close.
“Alright. Let’s head there first. Worst case, we can row upriver to the ferry from there,” Lynn responded.
Dorjee felt the canoe change directions. They were still heading toward the fire, but further away from it too. The opposite shore must be close by.
Dorjee kept her eyes trained on the blackness, her eyes making shapes out of the shadows on the water. She almost fell asleep again when she realized the shapes she’d been watching in the dark were actually small boats and canoes. Lots of them. And just beyond them were the lights of the town. They had made it across.
“This will be tricky. Brutus, can you direct me while I steer us around them?” Lynn asked. Brutus grunted in what sounded like a positive response.
Their canoe wove through the small boats and canoes. Almost all of them looked empty and were just floating downriver. Dorjee tried to see what was inside them as they came close but that would require her to move. Not even her leg going numb had made her move yet.
Dorjee could feel Brutus moving every once in a while. Probably giving hand signals to Lynn, directed them towards one of two big boats that stood out against the lights of town. It must be the ferry.
“Is this the one we want,” Lynn asked as they came up beside a ferry.
“Mmhuh,” Brutus mumbled.
A man on the deck of the ferry appeared with a Crystal Light and shone it down on them.
“Just a man without a paddle and nothing to sell,” Brutus called up to him. That seemed to be the response the ferryman was waiting for because he waved them forward to a low door in the side, like the one she had walked through to get on the ferry. It was on the side opposite from the shore and, since the fort was preoccupied, Dorjee supposed no one would notice them loading a bunch of crates onto the ferry in the middle of the night.
Brutus held the canoe close to the ferry so Lynn could hop up and, once Brutus pulled the canoes forward, Lynn and the ferryman pulled the crates up one by one from the second canoe.
Which left her alone with Brutus for the first time since she had hit him in the head with her boots. Lynn was far enough away that Dorjee felt the fear seeping into her bones.
Brutus put his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to turn to look at him. He glared at her. “I thought you would have told her by now,” he said in a whisper. “So, you either haven’t had the chance, or she really is an amazing actress. Which is it?”
Dorjee felt frozen under his glare. She didn’t have enough strength to use her magic to defend herself should he attack her. She could only assume that Lynn didn’t want Brutus to know Dorjee had told her, so it was in her best interest to keep the ruse going. She shook her head and tried to curl herself up into a ball. A smaller target was harder to hit. Brutus’ only reaction was to lean in closer. In the dark, she couldn’t see any facial expression.
“Well then, I guess that’s a good thing,” Brutus said letting go of her shoulder. “I don’t want to have to hurt you, Dorothy, but if you try to tell her, it will force my hand.” He leaned back and stared off at the fire across the water. “This situation is bigger than either of us,” he said “and right now there is nothing you can do to change what will happen. The only choice you have is whether you get hurt as well.”
Dorjee could feel tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. Lynn had a plan for everything, couldn’t she have a plan for this too? She tried not to feel scared, or like she had betrayed Lynn in some way, but the way Brutus spoke made her feel like this truly was a hopeless situation.
She watched Lynn and the ferryman pull the last of the crates out of the second canoe. Soon she and Brutus would be expected to climb onto the ferry. How was Lynn going to get out of this one? And would Dorjee get away with her?
Fourteen
~Saturday Really Early In The Morning On The Ferry~
LYNN WIPED HER brow after lifting the last crate out of the second canoe. Her arms burned from the strain, and she was sure that her balance beads were once again out of magic. Despite the smell of frost in the air and the cool wind, Lynn was overheating. And it wasn’t just from the strain, she was nervous. In the back of her mind, ever since she had rescued Dorothy from the jail cell, she’d worried about this last part of her plan. Her letter to Dorothy told the girl go through her luggage and remove the non-magic laudanum. With that gone, Lynn was sure to survive their murder attempt because no matter how many ways she tried to think about it, she couldn’t see any of them trying to kill her with brute force. No, they would go for something painless for everyone involved. She couldn’t help think about Patriza and her warning that she would need this laudanum. It just made sense.
Unfortunately, unless Malack took it upon himself to get into her luggage as well as deliver her message to Gregorio, she couldn’t know for sure which Laudanum they would give her. And there always was the possibility that Brutus here was actually a cold-blooded killer in which case all her planning would be for nothing, anyway.
Lynn looked over at the hulk of a man and saw Dorothy curled up in a ball at the bow of the canoe. He was probably threatening her again. Perhaps she should have let Brutus lift out all the crates... but then there was a chance he might notice that something was off and more of her plan would unravel.
“All done,” she said to the back of Brutus’ head. She pulled herself out of the now-empty canoe and onto the ferry. Once Brutus navigated back to the door, she helped Dorothy up next. Brutus said nothing, but he didn’t seem pleased at having the two of them alone together for any amount of time.
Lynn kept her hand on Dorothy’s shoulder and physically put herself between Dorothy and Brutus. Hopefully not enough to call attention to it, but enough that she felt Dorothy relax a little. Poor thing. Lynn would send her away as soon as possible.
Once Brutus was out, the ferryman hooked the front canoe with a long stick and pushed the two canoes off into the river. It was a waste, but better than having to hide them on the ferry. Besides, they would blend into the mass of other empty and not-so-empty boats.
One floated within eyesight. Three men laying at odd angles covering the bottom of the canoe. That her uncle had felt nothing for these men who had given their lives for a false cause made her feel better about trapping him in the vault. She wondered if the soldiers had found him yet? Given the size of the fire, it would still be some time before it was out, but it seemed to be more under control now.
It was a brilliant distraction. Brilliant, but callous and heartless.
“This way,” the ferryman said, leading them inside the ferry proper, dragging the large, wheeled cart with the crates behind him. This wasn’t the same boat they had come up the river in, but it was close enough. They entered the lounge, exited towards the bow of the boat and then found the lift used to put large and heavy items into the hold below. There was no one else on board to help, so Brutus manned the ropes while the ferryman steered the flat, square platform as it lowered into the bowels of the boat with him standing on it. Once at the bottom, Lynn heard him moving the cart but couldn’t see anything down there.
Brutus strained to see down there as
well. She wondered if he’d be lurking around outside the lift the whole trip back downriver. The ferryman called up quietly and Brutus pulled him up.
Dorothy stuck to Lynn, keeping one hand on her arm or back at all times. The tension came off the girl like a strong perfume. She never planned for Dorothy to be anywhere near Brutus or the others again. It would be difficult for her, but she wasn’t sure sending her off to Gregorio in the middle of the night was such a good idea either. Not since she was an escapee from the fort jail cells. If she were to be caught again... well, it would be best if that didn’t happen.
Lynn turned around and looked Dorothy in the eyes. “You can’t travel right now,” she whispered. Dorothy’s eyes grew wide as she gathered what that meant. “The best way to keep you safe is if you stay with Brutus until morning.”
Dorothy opened her mouth to protest but Lynn held up her hand to stop her.
“As long as they never know, you will be safe. Promise me that you will keep yourself safe?”
She locked her eyes with Dorothy’s. She knew the girl was scared, but she had to make sure she would be safe. For some reason, that seemed more important than whether she was about to survive the next few hours.
Ok, maybe not more important. Maybe, just as important.
Whatever thought process Dorothy went through, it ended with her nodding her head. She had to believe Brutus and the others would keep her safe. The girl wasn’t part of their contracts. She was just a bystander.
Brutus’ hulk approached them and she turned to look at him. His face was as unreadable as always, but she smiled at him, anyway. Must keep up the deception.
“When are the others meeting us?” she whispered to him.
He shrugged his shoulders, “Whenever the ferry can dock at the port again.”
“Well, Dorothy has to stay with us until morning, anyway. It wouldn’t be safe for her to travel right now.” Lynn turned to Dorothy and pointed back towards the lounge. “Why don’t you go get some sleep? You look like you are about to fall over.”
Dorothy stood still for a moment, the only part of her moving was her eyes as they darted back and forth between Brutus and Lynn. Finally, she jumped forward and gave her a hug. It shocked Lynn for a split second, then she wrapped the girl up in her arms. It was a tight squeeze, the kind you give when you almost need the other person to hold you up because you are so overtaken with emotion. Lynn truly felt guilty at that moment. Not for her uncle, or the men who had died in the boats. She was so sorry she had dragged Dorothy into this mess she called her life.
Dorothy finally let go and wiped away a tear from her eye. “Thanks for getting me out of that jail cell,” she said quietly.
“You’re welcome, darling. Don’t worry. You’re safe here. Go get some sleep.”
Dorothy nodded her head and walked away from her and Brutus. Lynn had to take a few deep breaths to compose herself or she’d betray what she knew to Brutus.
Brutus said nothing about the hug. Or about sending Dorothy away. He just stood there, watching her. The ferryman had gone, and it was just the two of them left.
“Are we allowed at the railings, or should we go inside as well?”
“As long as no one sees us we can stay out here,” Brutus said, though he didn’t move towards a railing at all. She rolled her eyes at him and walked around his bulk to the railing that faced the town. She didn’t need to watch the fire anymore. The town was quiet. A few oil lamps burned in the distance. Probably the town square, but the rest lay dark. Even the moonlight, now unobscured by clouds or smoke, didn’t show her any people or things. Just lumps and shapes in the distance. Brutus finally walked up to lean against the railing beside her.
Would he do it now? Before the others came on board? Considering Simon’s weak disposition, it seemed likely. Best get a few things out of the way first.
“I’m not sure what you did to scare Dorothy so much, but I expect you to help me keep her safe until she ends up at the Morendi village.” She looked him in the eye, trying to gauge a reaction from him. “I want your word on this. That you won’t hurt her.”
His eyes took on a sad and far-away look, but he nodded in agreement. “You have my word that I won’t hurt the girl.”
Lynn supposed that was a good as she would get out of him. Then he surprised her by letting out a heavy sigh. “Well, I’m glad this is almost over. Drink?” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a flask. A flask he would have had on him the whole time. If this was poison, then it didn’t matter that Dorothy never made it to her luggage. He would have taken the laudanum before leaving to cross the river, long before Lynn had written the letter to the girl.
Lynn smiled at him, “That is an excellent idea.”
“To the woman who just executed an impossible theft,” Brutus said, raising the flask to her. He put the flask to his lips and damn it if she couldn’t tell if he was actually drinking or not. She tried to watch carefully but she couldn’t be sure.
He pulled the flask away from his mouth and wiped his lips with his sleeve before offering it to her.
What if it wasn’t laudanum at all? What if they had brought their own poison? Lynn took the flask and considered it for a moment. There couldn’t be any hesitation, and she had to concentrate to keep her hand from shaking.
“To the team I was sent with,” she said finally. She raised the flask to Brutus and to the shore where Simon and Teodor would be waiting.
And then she drank. It was a poor malt whiskey, but it would cover any taste of poison well enough. She drank deeply, praying to all the gods that ever were and ever would be that she was drinking the magic-infused laudanum or just plain whiskey.
She didn’t feel anything as she pulled the flask from her lips. She tried to pass it back but Brutus was looking out over the water towards the town. He hadn’t even watched her drink. Maybe this wasn’t poisoned?
She nudged his arm to get his attention and tried again to hand it back to him. He pushed it back into her hands.
“I think you need it more than me. My conscience wouldn’t be too happy with me for causing so much death tonight.”
“I beg your pardon,” Lynn said more than a little offended. “I had nothing to do with those deaths. They were going to do what they did whether or not I was there. The only difference I made was to ensure we got the crystals out of the fort instead of the group who sent all those men to their deaths.”
Brutus raised an eyebrow in her direction but said nothing. Either he didn’t believe her or didn’t care. She supposed it didn’t really matter what he thought of her, but part of her wanted him to believe her.
“You know,” she said, absently taking another sip of whiskey, “I think it’s time for the Black Shadow to retire.”
He turned to look at her with surprise. She was glad to get a little reaction out of him. Maybe telling him something true would encourage the same. “I mean it,” she continued, “I’m done with all this. Have been for a while now. That’s why I tried to quit that day. Darkan forces you to make the kind of distinctions I did tonight, about where I fall on the line of good and evil. I’m good at stealing, I’ll admit it. I’m not so good at surrounding myself with death and the people who think killing others is a good way of life.”
She’d hoped to get a rise out of him with that, but if anything he was more stoic. Perhaps she had gotten to him. Surely he didn’t want to be the one killing her.
“Why do you work for Darkan?” she asked. The whiskey was making her feel much more relaxed. It was definitely... well, she was almost positive it wasn’t poisoned. Perhaps he meant to do her in with a blow to the head. Or slit her throat. The thought of him trying to attack her was laughable. He might be bigger than her but she could defend herself. He must know that.
“I wasn’t always a healer,” Brutus said. He still wasn’t looking at her. “I killed people for Darkan. I was good at it. And when I had had enough, he decided that didn’t excuse me from my contract with him.”
“I’m sorry, but I guess I didn’t realize how little I talk about myself until now.” He shook his head. “Did you really think the whiskey was poisoned because of what I told you?”
Lynn smiled and breathed a little easier. “Yes. I did.” She leaned over the railing next to him. “It’s rare to meet someone who used to kill for a living. What changed your mind?”
Brutus studied her as if weighing how much to tell her. The wind picked up and almost blew her hood right off her head. Out of instinct she slapped it back down, but then realized that there was no one around to see her. She took off the hood and let it fall around her shoulders and unpinned her hair. Her long braid fell down between her shoulder blades. She felt more at ease than she had in a long time, if a little tired. Well, she’d had a very long night and a very long day before that.
“It was a woman,” Brutus said breaking into her thoughts. She looked back at him and he seemed to struggle to get the words out. She offered the flask, and he only paused for a moment before taking a long drink from it. Definitely not poisoned. But much stronger than she had given it credit for. She felt a bit light-headed, and that normally didn’t happen to her after just half a flask.
He wiped his mouth with his sleeve again then passed her the flask again. She took one last sip then put the cap on. No point in being falling-down drunk when they met up with the others. She would have to have her wits about her.
“She was wonderful to me. She worked in a building I often visited and she sought out my company on several occasions. Then Darkan had a falling out with a man who happened to be her father. And the only way to send a message was to send him her head.”
Lynn had to swallow several times to keep her stomach contents from coming out of her mouth. “How horrible,” she said. “What did you do?”
