“How disappointing but useful,” and she laughed. “You three have not screwed up this city. Bastion … it could cope with far worse. It could cope with invasion. Not that the south are going to get this far but you get the idea.”
“If the south got this far we’d have bigger problems than the Nightwalker.” Trimas paused, thought for a second, then turned to Daeholf. “No offence.”
“None taken. But while we have solved the great mystery at the heart of Bastion’s justice system, we haven’t exactly done the same for the person who nearly killed me.”
“I can see why you’d like a refocus on things.”
“We found … something … out…” Zedek said, going distant.
Daeholf thought that conversation could perhaps wait a while.
“We have two serial killers,” he tried instead, “and we instead defeated the second most powerful legal entity in this city. Trimas, I do not want you to look into the Governor and find something on the Emperor.”
“Now wouldn’t that be awkward.”
“So what do we do next?” Daeholf wasn’t sure himself. The last day had been a total and intense surprise.
“Do we wait for the city to calm down?” Trimas asked.
“You really are worried about this,” Zedek noted.
“I am trying to learn from past mistakes.”
“This city can bear some disquiet,” Elena explained. “It will not hang the Governor and invite an imperial march.”
“But the underworld might fight a civil war.”
“Then the guard will need to stand strong.”
Daeholf heard it in her voice. “You miss the guard more than ever.”
“Yes. They need everyone. If we can catch the Nightwalker then perhaps I can rejoin them…”
Daeholf deadpanned, “So that’s why you put up with us,” then broke it to wink.
“You are certainly people who have to be put up with.”
Zedek had an idea. “Won’t they give you your job back for catching Vika?”
Trimas offered an answer. “People like horseshit being cleaned up, but you never lead the parade doing it.”
There was then a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Erik stuck his head round. “I dunno if you heard, but the Thieftaker has been killed.”
Trimas still had his mouth moving so he spoke first, caught the fact he was about to say yes and instead made a strange squealing noise.
Daeholf started smirking, so Elena said, “We didn’t know, but thank you for telling us. We better get out and look into that.”
Erik looked at Trimas confusedly, then shut the door.
“How the fuck did you ever get on in the senate.”
“I got thrown out.”
“Not too bloody soon.”
“How many people know we know?” Zedek asked.
“The people in this room, the Governor and the people in that room and Vika. One is dead and the other won’t be talking.”
“Then the world really won’t ever know.”
“Does that bother you?” Daeholf asked Zedek, genuinely interested.
“I… I don’t know.”
“It offends your sense of history?”
“Yes…”
“Just imagine, if you ever go back and write a chronicle of human events in your time here, the elves will know more of what happened than the people did.”
Zedek grinned, and Daeholf nodded thoughtfully.
*****
Bang.
The ram thundered into the gate again.
Bang.
How much longer could it hold?
Bang.
He peered out nervously over the parapet and down at the besieging horde. Pin-cushioned with arrows, the savages still worked on, either immune to or too stupid to feel pain. He loosed at them again, futile though it seemed. Given enough arrows, eventually one would fall but there were so many more, an endless horde of howling brutish demons baying for his and his people’s blood.
Bang.
Animals. They bred like rabbits but they howled like wolves, ugly pig faces but bulky and hairy like bears. All wrapped up in crude armour, swinging rough steel weapons, attacking the walls savagely, trying to get at the civilised people within. He could feel their rage, rising like a cloud from them. For some it was too much as they fell to attacking each other in their fever, not caring who they hacked at, so eager to get to the enemy. One would fall and others would then jump all over the body, tearing it apart, clawing and biting in their unchecked bloodlust. He turned back, disgusted. He couldn’t watch them eat their own corpses. But he had to stay strong. It was his job to keep them out. To save his people. The last bastion of the world against the demons outside. He put a hand on the stone. The walls were high and strong and the enemy were too stupid to build ladders to go over them. All they knew how to do was smash. And smash they did.
Bang went the ram.
Bang. Bang.
They bayed his name.
Bang.
Vesek awoke in a sweat, sitting bolt upright in bed.
The wind was blowing hard outside, howling in the eaves, rattling the shutters and making his poorly fitting door crash in the frame.
He breathed out slowly. It was nothing. Just the weather and a dream.
He lay back down. The humans again. Another dream about them attacking his city. It wasn’t accurate of course. He’d seen that from the humans they’d captured and more so when he’d arrived here in Bastion. Whilst they seemed every bit as stupid as the stories told by his people, the humans didn’t eat their own dead and they didn’t even know his people existed, much less know where they were to launch an attack on his homelands. He smiled. Their ignorance was colossal. He’d seen them fight too. They were not the unstoppable killing machines of his dreams, whatever wild stories he’d heard recently from events far off to the south and east. Any army that came at his people would suffer a high cost before they even got close to endangering any of the proud cities.
There were a lot of humans though. That part was certainly right. But each elf was worth ten humans. Or more than ten in his case, he thought with pride. But … he couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he was in danger and his smile quickly fell.
The building that housed his lodgings had been attacked a few nights before, though his rooms had been spared. Some people had been calling it ‘the purge’ though no one knew for sure who had instigated it, or against whom, or even what the real purpose behind it had been. He’d not been a target so far it seemed but there had been an attack nearby on one of his neighbours. They seemed innocent enough as far as humans went, however that was setting a pretty low bar. There was no telling with humans. Maybe it had been planned, maybe his neighbour had caused offence in some way. Or maybe it was just random.
Oh he knew all about that, his own targets having appeared random, stumping their useless authorities, so far anyway. But not knowing the who or the why troubled him a bit. Being on the other side of the experience was new and uncomfortable. The raiders had been close. Too close.
That was what had caused the nightmare, he was sure. Oh, being among the humans was bad enough in itself, but he’d never really felt that threatened by them before. Now there was a chance that he could be attacked unaware. And if anyone was to be singled out for being different then who better was there for them to choose than him?
It was cold in the room, very cold. The fire had died down and he only really had his blankets for warmth, but the cold helped focus his mind. He couldn’t stay here now, that was certain, not until he knew more about what was going on, whether he was at risk. But neither could he just up and abandon the city. There was a reason he was here in Bastion, an important reason. He was on a mission here, one that he wouldn’t abandon, couldn’t abandon. He had to remain in the city, that was not in question.
In many ways moving would be a good thing. He’d started to become a bit too comfortable here, looking at the
same walls every day. In some ways it was starting to feel like home and the thought frankly revolted him. This place could never be his home. For both safety and comfort, it was time to move on.
Where, though, was the question. He’d spent a lot of time exploring the city, making maps and drawing buildings and probably knew it as well as anyone else did by now. He checked off the requirements on his fingers. He needed somewhere secure, somewhere that he could lock down easily but at the same time had enough escape routes for him to get out if it was attacked. Perhaps somewhere in the sewers. He considered this for a moment but dismissed it quickly. The stink of humans was bad enough in the streets. The thought of trying to live near their effluent very nearly made him sick. Perhaps there was something to spark an idea in his notes and drawings?
He got out of bed carefully, wrapping the blanket around him, and tended the fire, getting it going again enough to warm the room a bit and give him a little light. He lit a couple of candles and sat at his table, pulling out the satchel that contained the documents of real worth rather than the facade paintings that littered the room. Perhaps ‘facade’ was too strong a term he thought for a moment. He did enjoy the art, though it was not the reason he was here.
He emptied the satchel out onto the desk, rummaging through the papers. Where would be a good place? Somewhere that he could also operate out of as an artist? No. That didn’t matter for now. Safety had to come first, he could return to his cover later.
The wind blew again and threatened to scatter his papers so he weighted them down with some of his painting materials. He noticed that some of his building sketches were on the top of the pile so he decided to start with them. Maybe he’d drawn somewhere appropriate? Walls, gatehouses, barracks, watchhouses. No good. He turned one piece of paper over. Ah. That might do. That might do nicely.
And the irony of it made him smile.
*****
“He’ll see you now.”
Elena looked up from where she was sitting in the hall outside the Governor’s office. She forced a smile. She’d been waiting there for hours and if it had been her making the request, or perhaps order, for someone to be here, she’d have stuck to the time that had been indicated. Still, sometimes people liked to flex their power over you, remind you who was in charge. Making them wait on you, no matter how useful a service they’d managed to provide, was one way to go about that. She thought about that for a moment. Maybe he was just busy. A lot had happened recently after all. She stood up, nodded to the aide and entered the room.
“Ah, Sergeant. Glad you could make it,” the Governor said, looking up from his desk as she entered.
Sergeant? Elena thought to herself. Interesting. “It’s no trouble,” she said politely as she adopted a formal at-attention posture.
“Yes, indeed,” the Governor said. “So I’m assuming you know why you are here?”
“I think there’s still a few details to wrap up with the Thieftaker,” Elena said carefully.
“At ease, Sergeant, at ease.”
“As you say sir,” Elena said, adopting a slightly more relaxed pose but not relaxing even slightly.
The Governor noticed and gave her an amused look. “Relax. Sit,” he said, indicating a chair.
“As you say,” Elena said. She sat down carefully. This was not quite what she’d been expecting.
“So, there are a few details left over from our previous meeting. A few loose ends to tie up as it were.”
A few loose ends? “Might I speak freely sir?” Elena said.
“From what I’ve heard about you, it’s something I’d expect. And indeed be disappointed if you didn’t.”
“Um, okay,” Elena said, a little surprised. Once again the past was causing extra difficulties. She gathered herself quickly. “Can I say that you seem remarkably relaxed given the situation?”
The Governor laughed. “I’m not sure what good would come of running around in a flap. Some might even decide that was cause to lose faith in me and my administration. And given the circumstances we face at present, I don’t think that would be a good thing.”
“No. I can see that.”
“You’ve not really had a lot of exposure to politics have you?”
“Never really been in the position for it.”
“No. Of course. But one thing you learn quickly is that you have to be able to move fast with events. People in charge who flap and hesitate tend not to be the ones who get what’s needed done.”
“Rushing into things isn’t always the best way to go either,” Elena said automatically, before catching herself. She paused, biting her lip.
The Governor studied her. “You do like to speak freely don’t you? I can see that the information I have does you better justice than I thought,” he said, looking amused.
“I spoke out of line. Sir,” Elena said.
“As far as this meeting goes, I encourage it,” the Governor said. “As far as this meeting goes,” he added, more seriously.
“Understood,” Elena said.
“I take your point though. And you’ll be reassured to hear, I have given the situation some thought.”
“Sir.”
“Of course you’ll probably have heard of some of the more official plans already. Street talk, watch grapevine, that sort of thing.”
“I’ve not really got access to the latter,” Elena said.
“Ah, yes. I see. You have been reinstated of course.”
“I have?”
The Governor laughed. “I’d have hoped you’d have gathered as much from how I have been addressing you. Sergeant? I thought you were supposed to be a detective?”
Elena looked at him for a moment. You’re a dangerous man, she thought to herself. Always trying to keep people off balance, play them your way. “Whilst I like to follow leads, I don’t like to assume things,” Elena said. “That can get me into trouble. I prefer definitive evidence when I can get it.”
“Of course,” the Governor said, showing no reaction to her candour. He picked up a prepared scroll from his desk, reached over and handed it to her. “This reinstates you with immediate effect.”
Elena took the scroll and looked at it. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “But I’m not sure how long it will be before Vika’s replacement gets rid of me again. The last thieftaker only tolerated me because I was good at my job. Or I thought I was anyway.”
“That neatly brings me onto another thing. I have taken direct but temporary control of the watch in this city. I can’t say I’m exactly thrilled by any of the candidates that have presented themselves so far. Your position will not be a problem.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Let me be clear though, this is not a sign of me giving you favour. Whilst in some small way I am indebted to you for bringing the situation with the Thieftaker directly to me, rest assured that if you try to take advantage of the situation in any way, our next meeting will be far less cordial.”
“Understood. Sir.”
“And I’m sure I can trust you not to poke too much fun at the various captains through the city by relaying my lack of confidence in promoting any of them.”
“None of them would believe me anyway, if they even decided to talk to me in the first place.”
“Vika kept you on when she did because you were a good investigator. I have no reason to doubt her original view and I regard her sacking of you as, perhaps, hasty. Which brings me onto our last important topic.”
“Sir?”
“As I’m sure you are aware, we still have a killer stalking our streets. I want him caught.”
“As do we all sir.”
“You will be heading up the investigation again. The current imbecile nearly started a riot I gather. Try to find him something useful to do but don’t let him get in the way.”
“I’m not sure I follow. It won’t just be me?”
“No, not at all. Catching this killer is the city’s top priority, after settling down the unrest that the Thi
eftaker’s demise has caused. We can’t be seen to be doing this half-arsed. You will have access to any and all resources you need to catch the killer and bring him to justice.”
“That sounds like quite a lot of power. That’s not going to go down well.”
“That’s been taken care of. The captains are in the process of being appraised of the new situation. Let me be clear on a couple of things though.”
“Sir?”
“I’m not putting you above them. You are not the new thieftaker. Aside from your lack of political nous for the job, I’d have mass resignations and possibly a riot on my hands if I tried anything like that.”
“Sir,” Elena said, nodding unhappily.
“You still answer to and report to your commander. I will, however, be making it clear that they are not to interfere in your investigation. Any doing so will be answering directly to me. They will give you what you need but no more. And that is the second thing. You are not to abuse this power. If I get reports that you have been taking advantage of this investigation for your own ends, you too will be answering directly to me.”
“As you say sir.”
“One final, minor thing. As an officer of the watch and an official of the city, you can be trusted on this. Those Bounty Hunters that accompanied you, however apparently well meaning, cannot. They are now your responsibility. If they get out of line, it comes back on you. I trust you can keep them in order and out of trouble.”
Elena looked at him. Ah. Well she should have been expecting that. And it wasn’t as if she could say no, was it?
“Understood sir. I’ll keep them in line.”
“Make sure you do. Dismissed.”
*****
The captain looked up from the parchment he’d been handed, still scarcely able to believe his eyes, and fixed the messenger with a glare.
“Have you swapped the messages?”
“No?”
Hmm, the man sounded nervous. “Are you sure?”
“No!”
“Did you read it?”
“Of course not sir. I must protest at this line of questioning.”
“This is the guard son, that never works. Go call everyone together for a meeting,” and the captain turned and soon slumped into the comfort of his chair.
Knives of Bastion (An Empire Falls Book 2) Page 44
