man, her gown parting slightly to reveal her firm, lightly tanned legs, which she crossed to add to the effect.
'You don't even know what I'm going to ask,' she said in a haughty, teasing voice.
'I don't think that will change the answer,' he said as he scratched his neck, 'but ask away.'
Myrmeen looked around, making a show of it. 'Is there somewhere we can go that's more private?'
Johannas angled his gaze toward her companions. 'That depends on whether or not they come along.'
A throaty laugh escaped Myrmeen. She had softened him up enough, she decided. 'I wish to trade some currency,' she said. 'I seem to have a surplus of pearls from Amn.'
The man shook his head, his expression slowly becoming serious. 'And how many Roldons do you have to exchange?'
'More than a thousand,' she said. 'This trip, anyway. You see now why my personal assistants follow my every move.'
He breathed out heavily. 'Yes. That is a healthy sum.' Glancing at some papers on his desk, he rattled off the rate of exchange as of that morning. 'Naturally there will be a short period of waiting while the coins are authenticated-merely a formality, you understand.'
She shrugged. There was a slight rustle of cloth as she shifted in her chair. She had to get him away from the exchange in a manner that would make the accompaniment of her guards seem reasonable. Her only reason for playing the seductress was to unnerve him, and hopefully shake his otherwise stolid sense of judgment.
'Is there nothing that can be done to speed up the process?' she asked. 'Perhaps we could go where you could authenticate the coins personally and hurry the exchange.'
The lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. 'Am I to assume that these coins are fresh from the vats and have not yet cooled?'
'That would a reasonable assumption,' she said, and gave the name of Lucius's contact who had said that Johannas was experienced in such transactions. Stolen coinage from Amn would have engraved numbers that could be traced.
'You understand that I can only pay half the going rate? The coins will have to be melted and recast-'
'Of course,' she whispered, absently wetting her lips. 'Now it's my turn to say yes to whatever you desire.'
He rose from behind the desk. 'Wait a few moments, then follow me into the alley at the rear of this building.'
She nodded and watched him leave. The man had been a thorough professional the moment he realized that he was about to make a personal profit. She turned to her fellows, who had been unobtrusively following his movements. Burke nodded, and she casually walked through the crowded establishment, the Harpers directly behind her.
Within moments they were in the alley. Johannas was already waiting. Two men stood beside him, each carrying a large black bag. Before Myrmeen could give her companions the command to take all three men, Burke, Reisz, and 'Varina had sprung at them, shoving them against the next building's wall as they placed their blades at the men's throats. The pair of bags dropped in unison. Notably absent was the clink of shifting coinage as the bags struck the ground.
'Are you sure you want to do this?' Johannas said without emotion. 'I have a reputation in this city. Steal from me and you will be hunted down for what you have taken. Kill me and prepare to die in return.'
'All I want is information,' Myrmeen said. 'You can keep your money.'
'I see,' Johannas said as he glanced toward the blade held tightly at his throat. He shifted his gaze to Myrmeen as he raised a single eyebrow. 'This is not necessary.'
'Let him breathe, but stand ready to cut him if he tries to run or call for help,' Myrmeen commanded.
Burke eased off with his knife but kept his grip on the man's velvet topcoat. Ord stood to the back of the group, beside the door, ready to deal with anyone who made the mistake of entering the alley from the trading house. He suddenly became acutely aware of the deepening shadows in the alley, though the sky above had not changed to a discernable extent. The alley ran the length of the trading house, which had been deeper than the glass temple or the house of the griffon. Buildings blocked the alley at either end, but there was a narrow passage that appeared to lead back to the street they had traveled or forward to the next street. The alley formed an H and they stood at its vulnerable apex. Burke wondered if Cardoc was with them as he watched the shadows lengthen and again looked up to see a bright, perfect sky.
A rustling from the shadows made Ord start. 'Burke,' he called, 'there's something you should look at!'
Burke shook his head. He was not about to give Johannas the opportunity to escape. 'Quiet, Ord.'
Myrmeen licked her lips, which had suddenly become quite dry, and said, 'You handle the financial end of a lucrative business run by a man named Kracauer. He sold children for a living. You handled the money. Ivan Nehlridge took care of the freight, the human cargo. Now Kracauer and Nehlridge are dead. You're going to tell me everything you know about the children that were sold to the Night Parade fourteen years ago, during the great storm. My daughter was one of those children. I want to find her. You will help me contact the Night Parade and together we will find my child. If you do not cooperate, there won't be enough left of you to fit into those sacks your men brought with them.'
Johannas smiled. 'Those sacks are already occupied. You should take a look.'
Myrmeen glanced down at the sacks and saw her own shadow lengthen. 'Let me see that,' she said to Varina. The warrior gave the bag a quick kick, and the bag's mouth came open, its contents spilling out. Myrmeen gasped as she saw a human head roll in her direction. Then she recognized the face as that of Martyn Johannas.
Burke looked away from the face of Johannas's perfect double when he heard Myrmeen's small cry of surprise. The doppleganger took advantage of the man's distraction by shoving his own shoulders back and drawing a breath. His frilly shirt burst apart and a black, gore-drenched arm shot forward, snatching Burke's hand. It twisted the hand savagely, causing the warrior to drop his blade. Another hand erupted from the man's stomach and caught the falling weapon, then drove it at the warrior's chest.
Varina had seen the incredible display. She shoved the man she guarded to one side as she lashed out with a kick that knocked the weapon from the gnarled second hand of the creature that held her husband.
Johannas, or whatever the monster's true name was, threw Burke to the opposite wall without effort. It then began scratching at its neck once again. Myrmeen finally understood that it was not a human gesture at all. As it clawed at its skin, great gobs of pink flesh tore off, revealing a charred, blackened surface beneath.
'You should have taken our warning,' the thing said. 'To appear during the day is abhorrent to our kind. But we were forced into it by your foolish tenacity, which you are now going to pay dearly for.' The doppleganger tore away the rest of its fleshlike covering and revealed a black, misshapen head. Only the perfect white teeth and glaring red eyes broke the monotony of its night-black flesh.
The shadows grew and deepened at either end of the alley, sealing it off. Myrmeen heard the chattering laughter of creatures that had plagued her dreams since she had been a child. She had come to Calimport in search of members of the Night Parade. Now, it appeared, she had found them.
Ord reached for the door, but it was covered in shadows and would not budge. The black-skinned creature looked at Myrmeen and laughed. It gestured with the additional two black arms that jutted from its stomach and chest, the palms open in a gesture of regret. 'If they had told me you were so beautiful, I would have arranged to have you to myself for a time before I killed you.'
No one had to give the order to attack. Reisz was about to slice the throat of the man he held when another creature emerged from the shadows, a man whose body seemed to exude darkness. The shadow man hauled Reisz from its companion, throwing the fighter at Varina. The humans fell to the ground.
Myrmeen backed away as the black-fleshed monstrosity rushed toward her. She snatched Burke's knife from the ground and cut away the flowing skirt of her dress. Hurling the fabric at the creature's face, she sidestepped it easily and spun to kick it face first into the opposite wall.
All I want is my daughter! We don't have to fight! she wanted to scream, but she knew her words would not gain the warriors the respite they needed if they were to escape from this trap. Her own weapons were bundled in the parcels the warriors had left at the stables. She knew that each Harper wore a sword and carried at least one dagger. Reisz had kept a scimitar strapped to his back. Ord carried a pair of steel truncheons. Reisz, Ord, and Varina were on their feet, drawing their weapons. Burke was still down.
Varina had come best prepared for a deadly encounter. The leather gloves covering her hands flared at the
