Which she pretty much was.
You re bleeding, she said quietly.
It was a reminder he didn t really need. The wound in his thigh throbbed every time he took a step, but it seemed to have stopped bleeding on the ride downriver. The other stuff was superficial furrows and scratches no worse than you d get from a crooked whore trying to roll you. The old adage welled up in his head. Ignored gashes heal the fastest.
Used to it, he grunted. What am I going to do with you, girl?
Anything you want. The same low, colorless voice.
I am yours now.
Yeah. He rubbed at his eyes. Right.
He supposed the obvious thing was to take her to Archeth s place. But
Harath arrived with the wine, which was by now lukewarm. They sat in silence for a while, sipping, cradling the scant heat of the mugs in their hands. Presently, a serving maid came out and put a platter of cured fish portions on the table for them. Harath dived in.
So what you going to do with her? he asked, as if the girl were not sitting there.
That s not your concern. What you do is get back to your room, pay the rent, and keep your head down. I ll come by with the rest of your money in a couple of days.
Worried about those demon things, huh?
No.
Harath, nodding to himself as he chewed. Worried they ll track us, right?
You fucking deaf? I said no. I said I m not worried about them.
The Ishlinak jerked his chin. Yeah, doesn t sound like it.
Egar drew a hard breath, let it slowly out. He looked down at the backs of his hands. There was a gouge across the left one he hadn t noticed before.
Great.
All right, yes. This is some serious shit, he finally admitted, to himself as much as the Ishlinak. The Citadel are fucking about with things they don t understand. Things I don t understand, either. But it s black shaman stuff. Night powers magic.
Oh, you reckon? Suddenly there was a hiss in the younger man s tone. He leaned in across the table. Corpses of my fucking kin, Skaranak rising from the dead after we just fucking killed them! Faceless warriors that walk with the lightning! Night powers, you say? Are you sure?
Keep your voice down.
Jabbing finger across the trestle and into his face. You said we wouldn t kill any
Egar grabbed the hand at the wrist, slammed it flat to the table.
I said keep your fucking voice down.
He locked eye with eye, forearm tensed as the younger man tried to free his trapped hand. The struggle coiled and uncoiled, draining ache through muscles already hammered hard in the fight. He hung on. Make it look easy. Work the bluff. He tilted his head a little, inquiring. Kept the stare. Used it all to lean imperceptibly in and reinforce the downward hold. Harath heaved one more time and gave up, tried to pull away. Egar held on another couple of seconds to make sure, then gave him his hand back.
You were paid, Majak. Hiding among spaced and even words how badly he needed to get his breath back. Sometimes things don t work out the way they re planned. Demlarashan ought to have taught you that much.
Harath looked back sullenly. They were my friends.
Yeah? Well as I recall, when I came calling on you, your best guess was that your friends had sent me to murder you. Remember that?
You said
I know what I said. I didn t know what we d find in there. Now the fight is done, you re alive, and your purse is full. Pretty good outcome for a freebooter, I d say. So shut the fuck up and let me think.
Silence. They sat and let him think.
Obvious thing was to take her to Archeth s place.
Right.
But the Citadel were going to be watching Archeth s place, now more than ever, and out of sight to boot.
Couple of days ago, could maybe have sneaked her past the old cordon they had out there with nobody the wiser. But that was before you decided to go breaking bones and faces for fun. Now they ll have spies in beggar s rags along the boulevard and probably men with spyglasses in upper rooms across the street. No way to tell who s watching where anymore.
Nice going, Dragonbane.
Grimace.
Could try it anyway wrap her head-to-foot, maybe. Not exactly unheard of around here.
But he knew the scheme was dead in the water even as he hatched it. The Citadel would be looking for any possible way there was to discredit Archeth, and Archeth s tastes were widely whispered of. The arrival of a fresh female, however attired, would just fan the flames of gossip. It would get back to Menkarak for sure, and if the invigilator chose to do the needlepoint, stitch Majak freebooter to mysterious female to dwenda with gashes from a staff lance to the disappearance of a certain slave girl in Afa marag
No. Forget Archeth s place.
There s always
Egar shot the younger man a surreptitious glance, saw the way he was drooling over the girl like some street dog confronted with a bowl of fresh offal. Dumped the idea before it made it all the way to a clearly formed thought. He barely trusted the Ishlinak to keep himself out of trouble the next few days, let alone keep anyone else safe at the same time. Harath, with a stuffed purse and swelling bravado from their adventures and safe escape
At best, he d force himself on the girl by way of payment for the favor. Maybe have her running off screaming down the street. At worst, he d have her out on display at every mercenary watering hole in town while he told the tale for beers.
Forget it, Dragonbane. Worse idea than Archeth s place.
He wondered for a moment about Darhan, maybe some comrade of Darhan s from the Combined Irregulars
You don t want to lean too much on that tribal thing.
His old trainer s own words, against the early-morning rattle of staff practice. And a speculative look in his eye.
You re a fucking idiot, Dragonbane, that s what I m trying to tell you. You, and your loyalties. Going to get you killed one of these days.
He realized, with a slow seeping chill, that he didn t really know Darhan anymore perhaps had never known the man, save as a gruff elder-brother substitute when he pitched up in the city, callow and gawking, what seemed like a lifetime ago.
You ve been gone too long, Dragonbane. He knew it for the truth it had that solid, marrow-deep ring to it, like a clean ax blow going home. Times change, and men change with them. This isn t the city you remember.
You are alone here.
Suddenly, trusting Darhan with the girl and her story didn t seem like such a good idea.
Which left just the one option, really. He sent Harath home. Sit tight, wait for word. He doubted the younger man would be able to do either for more than a couple of days, but maybe that d be enough.
What will you do with me now? the girl asked him, when the tavern door had swung shut on the Ishlinak.
I m taking you to see a friend, he told her.
Outside, the night was starting to wear thin and gray but dawn was still a good few hours off, and the streets were as empty as before. Egar stood for a moment, checked for unwanted witnesses in doorways or at windows. Saw none, and beckoned for the girl to come out and join him. She limped to his side, favoring her left
