“I see many choices,” she said. “Find what suddenly gave Garrick testicles and then cut them off. Join this Deathmask and solidify your position as second in command. Weave your own plans to remove Garrick. Accept your diminished role, and wait for the inevitable dagger to remove you completely.”
“I’m tired of the games,” Veliana said. “I have no time to investigate Garrick. He’ll move against me soon, I know it. I promised Deathmask an answer by tomorrow night.”
“Will he kill you if you say no?”
Veliana laughed. “He might. I know nothing of him.”
“Then how can you trust him?”
“Because I’ve fought him. He didn’t kill me when he had the chance. He never showed fear, even when I had the chance to end his life. He’s brutal, terrible, and driven. Whatever his goal is, he’ll succeed…I guess I’m scared I’ll be in his way.”
Zusa twirled her daggers and motioned for another spar. “Then join him, and do so without pause or regret. Garrick has turned against you, inviting this betrayal. Hear Deathmask’s plan, but always watch and listen. Every plan can be turned to your favor.”
It was Veliana’s turn to be on the offensive, and she took to it with a wild fury that worried Zusa. Normally the woman was more controlled. This Deathmask must have upset her greatly. Did she feel guilt for betraying Garrick? Or was she too proud to agree to anything that left her second in the Ash Guild? Whatever the reason, her daggers lacked their normal grace, and she had to leap away several times to prevent blood from staining the floor.
“Restrain yourself, girl,” Zusa said at last, after a desperate thrust nearly opened her throat. “If this choice disturbs you so much, I will choose for you, so you can concentrate and not kill me through your carelessness.”
“I’m sorry,” Veliana said, sheathing her daggers and leaning against the wall. She sounded terribly out of breath. “I should go.”
“No,” Zusa said. “I have a question for you as well. Someone murdered Alyssa’s child. I must discover who.”
“Someone killed Nathaniel?” she asked. “I thought you’d persuaded her to move him up north and out of the city.”
“I had. She called him back. He died on the northern road.”
“It wasn’t the Ash Guild, I promise. I’d never let Garrick do something that low, and he’s not yet reached a point where he can plan something so large behind my back.”
“Are you sure?”
She paused a moment, thinking, and then sighed.
“No, I’m not. His control might be greater than I’ve realized. My opinion of him was far too low, and it has blinded me to his ambitions. He’s not content to be a puppet. Still, I can’t think of a reason why he’d have killed Nathaniel, nor how he’d even know the boy was on his way. Is there anything else?”
Zusa took her dagger and scrawled the symbol found at the caravan exactly as the soldiers had shown her.
“That,” Zusa said. “Tell me all you know of him, this…Watcher.”
“We first heard of him about three years ago, but honestly, he might have been killing us for longer. Given the amount of infighting, and the Trifect’s war against us, we probably blamed others for his early murders. But then we started finding these runes, an eye here, or the letter ‘W’. Perhaps he thought us dense, or his confidence hadn’t grown yet. Either way, he started killing more, and leaving his marker larger, clearer, and often in blood. He kills thieves of all guilds, with seemingly no preference. Every guild has accused the others of secretly harboring him, but we’ve never had an ounce of proof. Whoever he is, he has a profound hatred of all thief guilds, and he’s also incredibly good. Far too many have died by his hand, and those who survive can only speak of a face shrouded in shadow and hidden by a hood and many cloaks.”
“Has he ever attacked the Trifect?” Zusa asked.
Veliana shrugged. “If he has, we don’t know about it. Not that any would tell us. But if this is the first you’re hearing of him, then I doubt he’s struck at the Gemcrofts before.”
Zusa frowned, for this didn’t match up with the surrounding events. Why would this Watcher turn on them if his enemy was the thieves?
“I must find him,” Zusa said. “Is there anything you know that can help me?”
“Find him? What for?”
“He killed Alyssa’s son. I must give my lady her vengeance.”
“If the Watcher killed him, something else is going on. Perhaps he thinks you’ve secretly colluded with one of the thief guilds. Maybe he was confused. Or maybe he’s just insane and out for blood. We know nothing of him.”
“Regardless the difficulty, he is my prey, and must be found. My honor is sworn upon it.”
“Then I wish you luck,” Veliana said as she sheathed her daggers and swung her cloak over her shoulders. “Many have tried, and no lead we’ve ever found has panned out. He might as well be a ghost. If you wish to find him, your best bet is to scour the streets at night and listen for the sound of combat. If you don’t catch him in the act, I doubt you ever will.”
“Will you not stay, practice your spells?”
“I should be going. Deathmask seeks his answer, and I must prepare until then.”
“Good luck,” Zusa said, bowing. “May you make the right decision, and in time, find peace with my lady and her family.”
Veliana pushed open the door, and as the chill wind blew in, she sadly shook her head.
“Long as Thren Felhorn lives, this war will continue. Too many fear him, and many more live in the palm of his hand without ever knowing. He’s a bitter, angry man. Sometimes I think all of Veldaren will burn before the end.”
“Perhaps it is not Garrick you should plot against, but Thren,” Zusa said.
Veliana’s smile turned bitter.
“We did, once,” she said. “I’ll see you next week. Safe travels.”
“To you as well.”
Zusa had hoped discussing with Veliana would illuminate matters, but instead it made things worse. An assassin killing thieves for several years, and not once had any of the guilds discovered his real identity. Who could be that skilled? And what had drawn that skill against her lady? What would happen if she did find him? Did she have the ability to take him down?
Only one way to find out, of course. Dawn was fast approaching, less than an hour away. Still, in that last twilight moment, perhaps she might find word of the Watcher.
She scoured the rooftops, an eye always kept on the streets. She saw several deals, a whore earning her pay, and two men dying so their killers might make off with their gold. No Watcher. Up on the rooftops, she was alone.
“You must have left people alive,” Zusa whispered to herself as she watched the sun rise. “You’ve hurt many opponents, though none will work together. But I am not one of them. I will piece it together. I will discover who you are. Perhaps, in time, I will be the one leaving my mark for you.”
She returned to the Gemcroft mansion, and in her room she slept through the day. Come nightfall, she had an underworld to interrogate.
*
H aern woke to the sounds of the door banging open against the snow. A sliver of light lanced across his eyes. Dawn was fast approaching, but the snow magnified what little light crept over the horizon. He rubbed his eyes, then looked again. Matthew was dressed in many layers of coats and furs, and his two older sons were dressed similarly. A glance around showed the daughters still slept.
“Need to break the ice so our cattle can drink,” Matthew explained, keeping his voice low so not to wake the others. “Forgive me, but it’s an early morning here on the farm.”
“Forgiven,” Haern said, rising. He pulled his cloak tight about himself. He needed to piss, and he wasn’t looking forward to the excursion in what little clothing he had.
“Here,” said Matthew, tossing him a coat. “It’s an extra, and with what you paid me, you certainly deserve it.
