until they reached the stretch of fallow field where the iron market was being rebuilt. Aiden nodded at the two watchmen on duty by the ruined gates, then made for the far eastern end. Leaning against a newly built stall, he pulled out his pipe, clearly settling in.
Hektor cocked his head. “Why are we here, Aiden?” he asked. “There are guards.”
Filling the bowl of his pipe, Aiden just shrugged. “You’re here ’cause you don’t trust me not to start somethin’. I’m here to make sure no one else does.”
“The Candler’s Row folk?”
“Nope, our folk.”
“Then shouldn’t we be hoverin’ around the closes that lead to Candler’s Row?”
Aiden shook his head. “They’ll meet here at the iron market.”
“How do you know that?”
“ ’Cause this here’s where we always met.”
As his brother stuck a twig into the nearby lamp, Hektor stared into the darkness. “Got called into the captain’s office today,” he ventured.
Aiden just grunted in reply.
“He figures no one even remembers how the trouble ’tween us started.”
Aiden touched the twig to his pipe, drawing in a deep breath. “What would he know about it?” he said, once the pipe caught.
“Does anyone remember?”
“I doubt it. It was long afore Granther’s day. But it don’t really matter how it started; it’s here now, and we’ve gotta deal with it now.”
“Yeah, but how?”
Aiden blew a long trail of smoke into the air. “I got no idea,” he admitted. He glanced sideways at his younger brother. “So, what else did you and the captain talk about?”
Hektor started. “Nothin’ much else really,” he said a bit too quickly.
“Bollocks. He offered you the sergeancy.”
“I didn’t tell him yes or nothin’.”
“Then you’re an idiot.”
Hektor started. “What? But everyone knows it outta be you.”
Aiden gave a bark of derisive laughter. “Why? ’Cause I’m the oldest?”
“No, ’cause ... well, ’cause you’re ... All right, yeah, ’cause you’re the oldest. It’s your turn.”
“Bollocks.” Aiden stared out at the pale half moon. “I knew he’d never name me sergeant, Hek,” he said quietly. “Not after the inquiry an’ all.”
“Nothing was proven,” Hektor declared loyally, and Aiden chopped a hand down to silence him.
“Nothing needs to be proven. Everyone thinks they know what happened. They think I went to Candler’s Row that night to even the score for Charlie Woar.” He took a deep draw on his pipe. “And I shoulda,” he said more to himself than to Hektor. “Charlie and I are friends. It should have been me that went that night, not Da.”
“Da? But I thought ... everyone thinks ...”
“That he followed me? That he pulled me off a man on Candler’s Row? That the man almost died an’ Da an’ the Iron Street Watch covered the whole thing up ’cause I’m a Dann?”
“Well, yeah.”
Aiden stared out past the gates, his expression unreadable. “Sometimes you get boxed in by what people think,” he said. “So boxed in you can’t hardly breathe. It starts makin’ your choices for you. I wanted to do justice by Charlie, but not like that. I wanted to find the folk that sowed those nails and bring ’em in, but the street wanted revenge, an’ they wanted it fast or they’d get it themselves. Da knew that. That’s why he went. But he wasn’t thinkin’ straight neither. He was drunk an’ angry, an’ he jumped the first man he saw on Candler’s Row. If I hadn’t followed him, he mighta killed ’im.”
“So you covered it up an’ took the blame? Why?”
“Made more sense. Da was a respected member of the Watch, an’ I’ve been the family troublemaker since I was a little. Like I said, you get boxed in.”
“You coulda told folk the truth.”
“No one wanted to hear it, Hek. Just like now.” Aiden turned a suddenly intense look on his brother’s face. “You figure the fire was an accident?”
“The Guard said it was.”
“But do you figure it was?”
Hektor stared out at the blackened field. “I dunno. I guess not, probably,” he admitted.
“An’ if you figure not, what do you expect the street to figure? They figure it was set deliberate. An’ they want the score settled, an’ they want it settled by me, ’cause that’s what I do for ’em.”
“But the Candler’s Row folk ain’t stupid,” Hektor protested. “They gotta know it too, an’ they’ve gotta be waitin’ for you to make your move.”
“Right. But the longer I don’t, the more likely it is that Linton or someone else is gonna. Or worse,” he added, “someone from Candler’s Row’s gonna figure the best way to belay our strike is to make their own.”
“So what do we do?”
Aiden shrugged. “Folk expected Da to lead with his fists. They expect me to do the same. But they don’t expect you to, an’ that’s a good thing. It leaves you free to make your own choices. Maybe you can sort somethin’ out. You’re smart.”
“The captain said I had an even temper,” Hektor noted sarcastically.
“That’s just compared to mine. You’re a compromise, Hek. The captain don’t want any Dann promoted, but the Watch and the street does. He didn’t just post your name though, did he?”
“No, he asked me if I would take it first.”
“ ’Cause he don’t wanna to look like a fool if you say no. He wants things to look smooth, even if they ain’t.”
Hektor rubbed his face. “It’s all too complicated,” he complained.
“Then make it simple. Do what’s right by the family. Take the promotion. We need the money.”
“But what do we do about Iron Street and Candler’s Row? Do we ask a Herald to mediate or somethin’?”
Aiden snorted. “Mediate with who? They’re all shopkeepers and tradesmen by day. The Guard said it was an accident. That shoulda been the end of it, but it wasn’t, ’cause they’re all vigilantes by night. The Heralds can mediate all they like, but it won’t change folk, ’cause they don’t wanna be changed.”
“Then we have to make ’em change,” Hektor argued. “An we gotta start by provin’ the fire was an accident.”
“How?”
Hektor straightened. “By askin’ someone who knows about this kinda thing,” he said. “Someone they respect. We ask an Artificer.”
“And this is where the fire started?”
Standing in the charred ruins of the market’s one permanent forge, Daedrus turned an expectant look on Hektor.
“Yes, sir. There’s been a lot of rebuild around the perimeter, but not here in the middle. No one’s wanted to go near it as yet, I ’spect. The Fair Master died inside.”
“I see, yes, very interesting, very interesting indeed.”
The retired Artificer had been puttering about the iron market for over an hour, muttering to himself and drawing an ever-growing crowd of onlookers beyond the gates. “I think I should like to bring in a few of my colleagues as consultants if you don’t mind,” he said. “If you could send someone to the Compass Rose Tavern and have them bring back, oh ...” he waved a hand absently. “... whoever happens to be there.”
“Yes, sir. Paddy?” Hektor jumped as Padreic appeared at his elbow immediately. “You know where the Compass Rose is?” When the boy nodded vigorously, he gestured. “Off you go then on your first assignment.” As his brother took off at a dead run, Hektor turned back to the old man. “Was there anything else, sir?”
Tugging at the plaster bandage on his forehead, Daedrus nodded. “Well, it would help me to come to a more accurate conclusion if I could consult with someone knowledgeable in the circumstances under which this area would be made use of. Do you know of anyone like that?”
