The Eagle And The Nightingales

She scolded herself for neglecting that here in Freehold. Perhaps her instincts had been convinced that this was a kind of 'safe' place, like a Waymeet or a Gypsy camp_after all, there was someone else watching out for trouble and troublemakers here. Many someone elses, actually, most of them Mintaks, or extremely large humans of the Faire-strongman variety. The 'peace-keepers' generally kept the peace very effectively; their mere presence was enough to keep some types outside the doors.

But where the Haspur who was the King's Chief Musician was showing up_given that the possibility of two Haspur in the same city was vanishingly small_there might be someone following.

No. There would be someone following. The only question would be if it was a friend or a foe.

And the chances of the Freehold staff recognizing that sort of trouble if it walked in the door were remote. A 'friend' would be fine_a guard assigned to protect the King's Musician discreetly. But a foe_well, anyone following the Haspur would be hired by someone attached to the Court, and he would not be the kind to catch the notice of one of the 'peace-keepers.' He would not be drunk, nor rowdy_in fact, he would take pains not to catch anyone's attention unless the Haspur showed up again.

But this was not the first time that Nightingale had needed to watch for that sort of trouble. Free Bards were always acquiring enemies among Bardic Guild musicians, for instance, and the Bardic Guild had plenty of coin to hire experienced ruffians. So as she took her break between sets, she got herself something to drink and began to stroll the floor, watching the customers, seeing who didn't quite fit in.

There was a general feeling about the customers at Freehold. No matter how well or poorly or oddly they dressed, they all acted pretty much the same. They were here to have a good time in a place where very few people were going to make any judgments about them; that engendered a certain relaxed air. Even those who were here for the first time generally succumbed to that all-pervasive mood after a while. This was especially true of the crowd around Silas and the dance-floor.

That was why the three men sitting at one of the tables near the entrance struck her watchful instincts immediately.

They were not here for a good time. They had drinks, and they watched the dancers, but there was nothing relaxed about them. They weren't even paying any attention to Silas, and that in itself was unusual. She let her barriers down just a trifle, and her immediate reading was confirmed by the state of alert, slightly nervous tension she read in them, the edginess showing they were prepared to do something physical, and soon. These men were here on some kind of dirty business, and they didn't want anyone to notice them.

She also had the feeling that she had seen them before, but not in this part of town. There was a nagging something about them; their clothing was wrong somehow. They didn't match the clothing; that was it. It was just a little too new, a trifle too expensive, and they were not comfortable in it.

Still, that edginess, the waiting feeling, could just mean they were here to meet a lady of negotiable virtue.

Or someone else's wives.

Just because they were here and on edge, and they weren't regulars, that really didn't mean much.

Maybe.

Then again... They didn't show up until after the Haspur did, and they wouldn't have gotten through the door in time to see where he went. Now they're down here, near the entrance, just off the dance floor, in a spot where anyone arriving or leaving is going to have to pass them.

She took her own drink to a table nearby, where she could see both the corridor leading to the offices and the table holding the three men. She watched them out of the corner of her eye, feeling rather put out; this was one of Silas' better performances, and she wasn't able to give it more than a fraction of her attention. Silas always needed one set to warm up, and by the fourth or fifth of the night he was beginning to tire, making his second and third sets perfect for someone who really appreciated seeing him at his best. And tonight was his first night with the dance group, making him doubly eager to do his finest. Nightingale would have liked to be able to sit back a little and enjoy it. Although Silas wasn't really her type, the sensuality he radiated tonight was enough to stir a corpse, and that skintight leather outfit of his made it very clear that however else Silas indulged himself, he did not neglect his physical health.

What was even more annoying was the simple fact that she couldn't sit here forever; she had her third set to do shortly, and she would have to leave. She was debating whether or not she should ask one of the peace-keepers to keep an eye on the three for her when the Haspur finally emerged from the office corridor, and one of the three men caught sight of him and sat straight up, as if someone had stuck a pin in him.

Then he quickly slumped back down, but not before Nightingale had seen his sudden interest. And not before she saw him lean over and say something quickly to his two companions.

No more than a heartbeat later, one of his companions calmly got to his feet and reached out onto the dance floor for one of the dancers.

He just seized whoever was nearest; it happened to be a human male, dressed, as many of Silas' followers did, in a carefully crafted imitation of one of Silas' outfits.