A Dance Of Death

relationship to the Gemcrofts.

“What is it you know?” she asked. “Tell me all of it, and no lies. The gods help you if you’ve put Tori in danger.”

“We’re in no danger!” Laurie shouted, the uncharacteristic display startling Madelyn back a step. Feeling naked without Tori in her arms, she crossed them and sat beside Lily. Laurie looked away, and she could see the anger fuming behind his eyes. Good. Only seemed right he be as angry as she was.

“At least, I don’t think so,” he said when he’d calmed. “But things are changing fast, and never did I think the Watcher would be so stupid.”

Madelyn’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

“You brought him here?” she asked. It felt as if her husband were playing a sick joke on her. “But he…I heard Ingram’s announcement. The Watcher was supposed to hang tonight.”

And suddenly his wounds made perfect sense. Overwhelmed with rage, she dug her nails into the flesh of her arm hard enough to draw blood. Her precious mansion, her only place of safety, housed one of the most notorious killers alive?

“He broke out,” she said, and her husband never contradicted her. “And after he broke out he came here. Damn it, Laurie, was he seen?”

Laurie sighed.

“Torgar says they were.”

The words hit her like a blow to the chest.

“He’ll find out,” she said, meaning Ingram. “And then he’ll come here. We can’t be caught housing fugitives, Laurie. We have to turn them over!”

“Alyssa won’t allow that and you know it.”

“Then turn over Alyssa!”

He slapped her, hard. She leaned back in her chair, holding trembling fingers against her bleeding lip.

“Alyssa Gemcroft is a member of the Trifect,” Laurie said. “And the Trifect does not hand over its own, not even to kings. I don’t care how many of the city guard Ingram sends, they won’t cross our walls.”

Panic crept up Madelyn’s spine, and she was helpless to stop it.

“We don’t have enough men,” she said.

“Torgar’s already sent runners to hire every available sellsword in the city, regardless the cost.”

“But the mercenaries are all in league with the merchants. We can’t invite them into our home! They’ll outnumber our house guards!”

“Damn it, woman, enough! Do you think I’m a fool? I have enough problems trying to keep the damn Merchant Lords from ruining us, I need no grief from you. If Violet gains popularity, and it will, what do you think will happen then? If they ever have the coin to challenge us, to spread out beyond Angelport, nothing stays certain. Nothing stays safe.”

He said the last word with a cruel edge, for he knew her paranoia and phobias. The open sky was a torment. Unlocked doors were a danger. His shouting upset Tori, who released Lily’s nipple and began to wail. Lily shushed her, rocking her back and forth while shifting her to the other breast. Madelyn watched her rub the other nipple across Tori’s upper lip, and she thought of all that might happen because Alyssa had brought the Watcher and his whore with her from Veldaren. She thought of what the city guards might do to such a helpless thing if they came crashing through the doors. It sent her to tears.

“Why?” she asked. “Why are they even here?”

“Who? The two? Alyssa brought them to hunt down the Wraith. It was her gift, to bring Taras’s killer to vengeance.”

“She gives us poison and calls it a gift, and yet she stands equal to you in the Trifect. This is madness, Laurie. Utter madness.”

He went to her and wrapped his arms about her waist. When he kissed her lips, she kissed back out of reflex, and nothing else. They both tasted blood.

“I promise nothing will happen,” he said. “Ingram can only do so much. He needs us, no matter how much he wants to admit it. Without us, our guards, our trade, and our influence, the Merchant Lords would have him hanging naked from a pier for the ravens to tear apart. Without us, he cannot stop Ulrich and his madness from starting a war he can’t hope to win. He’ll bluff and bluster, but the man is a superstitious coward. Do not fear him. When he knows we will not relent, Ingram will turn away.”

“I pray you are right,” she said, pulling away from him so she could join Lily’s side. After Tori was burped, and her bit of spit-up cleaned, Madelyn accepted her back into her arms. Lily covered herself and excused herself from the room. Now fully alone, the two looked at one another, as if neither had anything to say.

“I should go check with the healer,” Laurie said.

“Go then.”

With him gone, she rocked Tori back and forth until the baby slowly settled back into a shallow sleep.

“I’ll keep you safe,” she whispered to the baby. “Always and forever.”

She returned to her own room, summoning her servants. Her arms tired, she passed Tori over to the wet nurse, then waited for the inevitable. After an intolerable length of time, one of her servants came to her, as ordered.

“They’re here,” she said.

Madelyn went to the front parlor, her servants in tow. From the window, she could see the entire front yard, including the gate. At least fifty mercenaries lined the surrounding wall, many of them unfamiliar to her. On the other side stood a contingent of the city guard, and they seemed not at all surprised when Torgar refused to unbar the gate. Madelyn had a servant open the window so she might hear the exchange.

“Not happening,” Torgar said, his deep voice carrying easily. It helped he was shouting, as if he wanted all of Angelport to know he couldn’t give two shits about the city guard. “A few money-grubbing peons come saying one thing, and I got Lord Keenan of the Trifect saying another. Who you think you should be believing?”

The leader of the guard looked flustered, and he tried to match Torgar in both volume and depth. He succeeded at neither.

“We come only to search the premises for murderers wanted by Lord Ingram. Even if your Lord is uninvolved, those we seek might be hiding within.”

“You brought a whole lot to be just searching.”

The guard sneered at him.

“It’s a big mansion.”

Torgar was hardly one to be outdone.

“Well then, let me help you out. My asshole’s pretty big too. Think they’re hiding there?” Down went his trousers. “Here, take a look. You see anything? Come stick your hand up and search; you look like you’d enjoy that sort of thing. Oh damn, right, I’m not a little boy. Ah well, have Ingram come on down instead. He’d probably enjoy a poke.”

Even at her distance, Madelyn could tell the guard leader’s face was beet-red. Beside her, one of the servants blushed and looked away. Madelyn, however, wished she could throttle the big idiot. She wanted them to leave without incident, not be provoked into an unnecessary fight.

“You dare insult…” the guard started to say before Torgar interrupted him.

“Stop it, already. You want in? Well, you aren’t getting in, not unless you come back with a shitload more than what you got. We got walls, gates, and enough swords in here to cut you all down in seconds should you try breaking in. So either draw your blade, man up, and actually do something…or get the fuck out of here.”

Without even waiting for an answer, Torgar put his back to the guard leader and returned to the house, buckling his pants up as he did. Behind him, the guards stood looking strangely helpless. Madelyn held her breath, waiting for their response. Several of them were swearing, and none looked happy, but they marched back toward the castle in formation.

When Torgar stepped through the front doors, Madelyn was there, and she slapped the lug across the face. He smiled down at her with a wolfish grin.

“I wouldn’t do that again, milady,” he said.

“Are you out of your mind?” she asked him, hoping her harsh tone would hide her discomfort. Torgar shrugged as Laurie appeared, having watched from another room.