 |
alydri wondered how she had allowed herself to get roped into Keisha’s insane plan. Of course, having stridently lectured her friend on goodness and decency had something to do with it. Angelo Enteiri stood beside her in the alley near the sprawling guild watching as flames blossomed from one of the buildings within its high walls and stained the night ruddy. It was past midnight and both of them had been pulled out of bed. The big warrior chafed his arms and stamped his feet. His bald pate was currently concealed under a voluminous hood.
“You never mentioned your friend was an assassin,” Angelo rumbled in the shadows, “Are we going to be implicated in a murder?”
“No, we’re trying to prevent one.”
“I’ve heard about your insane politics,” the big Tyrian said. He snorted a large gout of steam as he stamped the cold from his feet, “I didn’t escape the Searing to die in a foreign prison.”
“They aren’t my politics,” Kalydri protested, “You think the Emperor or the Celestial Ministry asks me for my opinion?”
Angelo did not normally complain. No doubt the lateness of the hour had something to do with it. From the start he had misgivings about the hastily constructed plan but he had not protested until now. Kalydri had counted on his fundamental goodness to sway him. His sardonic mein concealed a soul that would risk his life for innocent people and expect nothing in return. He was a natural for this job.
She often wondered what his life was like in Ascalon before the Searing but he would never speak of it. For the year that she had known him he comported himself with the unthinking honor of the old imperial knights that populated the beloved tales of her childhood. He dwelt in Cantha now, hiring himself out to guard caravans or perform the odd quest that required cunning and muscle. His status as a foreigner had been used against him on a few jobs and he was rightfully concerned about being played for a fool. Still, Angelo did not turn down an opportunity to help innocents, whether it was taking on a mob of Am Fah to protect a child or standing beside her in the freezing cold awaiting Keisha’s return.
The shadows stirred and Keisha appeared before them, her visage grim and strained with exhaustion.
“Come, I’ve hidden him over here. The fire is distracting them, but it won’t for much longer.”
Kalydri nodded and followed her friend into the blackness behind the compound. She could hear the startled shouts of its inhabitants scrambling to evacuate those who dwelt within. Angelo trod lightly behind her, metal clinking softly under his layers of cloak. Keisha stopped and their eyes strained in the darkness. There was a shape propped against the wall, head bowed and legs splayed out before it.
“I poisoned him,” Keisha said quietly, “I administered the antidote after he passed out. He will come around in a few hours and he will be very ill.”
“I can remove the toxins,” Kalydri offered, extending her hand to begin the prayer. Keisha shook her head.
“No, he will be easier to manage like this. I don’t think he’ll go with you willingly and by all accounts, he is a capable fighter. Wait until you’ve safely smuggled him outside of the city.”
Angelo knelt beside the figure and shook his head.
“He’s no warrior.”
“Mesmer,” Keisha replied, “And a very unhappy one when he comes around.”
The big warrior swore under his breath but lifted the limp form easily onto his shoulder.
“Here’s a map to Ama Svenka’s house and a letter from me telling her what I require. Here are some gems for her payment. She’ll take care of him.”
“Take care of?” Angelo rumbled.
“I need him to disappear. If we’re going to pull this off, I don’t want him easily located by a simple finding spell and I don’t want him escaping and going back to the scene of the crime. It’s Ama’s specialty.”
Kalydris frowned, wondering which of Keisha’s unpleasant friends from their Shing Jea days they would now be meeting. Keisha collected unsavory connections with the same ease as a dog collected fleas.
“Come with me,” Keisha said before moving lightly ahead of them, her graceful form hugging the shadowy walls like a startled cockroach. She seemed more anxious than usual, waving them back and then peering around corners as they reached cross streets. Once they left behind the teeming chaos of the burning guild compound, the way was dark and quiet. It was well after midnight and the law abiding were sensibly in their beds.
Near the gate to Xaquang district, Keisha drew them into a dim alley that smelled of animal droppings. She bumped into a large beast that snorted loudly near her ear and she leapt back, startled. Keisha removed the cover from a metal lantern, revealing an ox tethered to a cluster of barrels and harnessed to a cart.
“Lay him out here,” Keisha said, gesturing Angelo over to the back of the cart.
Kalydri gazed upon the face of the man they were saving noting how sick and pained he appeared in the shadowy light of the lantern. He was hardly breathing and his limbs appeared stiff as Keisha coiled silk cord around his wrists and ankles. She wrapped his eyes gently with a silken scarf and placed a down cushion beneath his head. Then, after enlisting Angelo’s help to wrap the man’s body loosely in blankets she rummaged around in a bag in the back of the cart and took an enruned brass collar and placed it around his neck.
“He probably expected to die, so I cannot vouch for his state of mind when he regains consciousness. Keep the collar on him unless you enjoy being hexed. As for the blindfold, it’s up to you if you want an angry mesmer to see your faces.”
Keisha passed the collar key to Kalydri then took a few more moments to push cushions and blankets around the man’s still form before Angelo helped her move empty barrels and crates into the cart around him. Once the man was hidden from view, the two of them jumped down off the back of the two-wheeled cart and huddled together in the lantern light.
“Take good care of him for me,” Keisha said, lowering her face, “I’m sorry I had to drag you into this. I’m counting on you.”
“That’s what I get for lecturing you,” Kalydri said, managing a sardonic grin.
Angelo was clearly having some misgivings but he nodded grimly and folded his thick arms. Kalydri had to admit it was one of the more dangerous and unnerving things she had been asked to do. Kidnappers were dealt with harshly, as should be the case. If they were caught, their story would sound foolish and the man they were protecting from danger would be even more vulnerable than before.
“I have to go,” Keisha said, “I have to get to the bottom of this.”
Kalydri embraced her and said a soft prayer for their safety. Then she watched the assassin move silently away, vanishing into the shadows and from her life once more.
“I don’t like this,” Angelo murmured.
“Neither do I, but if what she has told me is true, I would like it even less if we did nothing.”
The big warrior went to the front of the cart and untethered the ox, gesturing for her to get up on the high bench as he handed the reins up to her. He patted the beast’s thick neck, unconsciously revealing that there was a kind man beneath his gruff exterior. She had taken a risk asking him to help her with this task and she had no regrets.
They waited for the first steely light of dawn before daring to enter the streets among the other stirrings of the city. Before setting out, she checked on her charge, relieved to find him still unconscious. His skin was clammy with fever and he murmured softly when she touched his cheek.
The cart groaned and clattered over the cobbles as they wound through the mazy streets. Angelo walked beside the ox, playing the role of a hired mercenary set to guard her from the dangers outside the city. They blended in with the crowds of laborers and merchants newly risen from their beds and bending their backs to the task at hand. It was a happily uneventful journey to the southern gate and the traffic of carts coming and going was sufficient that the guards glanced disinterestedly at their battered cart and barrels and waved them through.
Pong Mei Valley’s freedom and safety was spread out before them and they abandoned the city’s smog and icy filth. There was a fine layer of frost upon the dead meadow grasses and the muddy road was festooned with iced-over potholes. Turning toward Arborstone, they moved from imperial Cantha into Kurzick lands. Once they were out of sight of Maatu, they drew to a halt and Kalydri had Angelo help her remove some of the excess junk from the cart so that she could sit beside her charge. Seeing this, Angelo climbed onto the bench and snapped the reins, driving the lumbering beast forward.
“Did she ever tell you who he is?”
“No. I assume someone important enough for the Celestial Ministry to want dead.”
Kalydri placed her hands upon the man’s breast and chanted, driving out his lingering sickness. She placed a soothing enchantment upon him, restoring him to strength. His throat tensed and he made an effort of swallowing, no doubt parched. Kalydri gingerly laid a hand on his shoulder and was not surprised when he flinched, his body quivering like a plucked bowstring.
“Easy, I won’t harm you,” she said, wondering if he was coherent after what he had been through, “I’m going to give you some water. Understand?”
He nodded, not flinching this time as she gently propped him up against her lap and pressed the rim of the flask to his lips. She pitied him as he struggled over this simple act. Finally he turned his face away, refusing more.
“Where am I?” he croaked, “Why am I here?”
“We have been asked to take you away from danger, to make you disappear without killing you.”
“What if I don’t want that?” he asked bitterly, “What if I had my own plans for self-preservation?”
“You were assassinated. The one who was ordered to commit the deed does not want the stain of your murder on her soul. This was the best alternative.”
“There is no need to do this,” the man said quietly, “I will not go back to the city if you let me go.”
“I’m sorry,” Kalydri replied, “We cannot risk your capture. It would implicate us in a serious crime and you may well end up in greater danger. I’m afraid you will remain our captive until the necessary steps have been taken to make you safe.”
“I see,” he muttered, his jaw hard with anger, “You do realize that at some point you’ll have to remove these bonds?”
“We are well aware of that. I am not working alone.”
“Two of you,” he said and she shuddered, wondering how he had gathered that, “Before things become unpleasant, you should consider my alternative and wash your hands of this affair. You seem decent people.”
“I gave my word,” Kalydri said, swallowing past an uncomfortable knot of dread in her throat. Mesmers did make her nervous and she sensed he might be playing upon that. She was almost convinced to do as he asked. It seemed reasonable.
“I am Bei Zhou An, leader of the Order of the Crystal Palm and you have made a terrible mistake,” he said harshly. She heard Angelo choke.
“No way am I taking his ropes off,” the big warrior rumbled, “Do you realize who that is?”
“Sounds familiar.”
“My people will come for me,” Bei snapped coldly.
“Your people will think you were killed in a freak fire. Your body will be ashes and they will move on,” Angelo said harshly, “So just be quiet.”
“I appeal to your hearts, please let me go,” Bei said, his voice harsh with pain, “You don’t understand what this will do to my loved ones. I have to go to them. Please.”
Kalydri bit her lip.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s a mesmer. They beguile.”
“I’m a human being and you wrong me, sir,” Bei replied in perfect Tyrian, “I plead to be released into the care of those I love. They will protect me and I will vanish. All I am asking for is a choice.”
“Angelo… maybe we should...”
“And have the whole of Crystal Palm crash down on our heads? I don’t think so. We take him to what’s her name. That’s what your friend is paying for and with good reason.”
“Perhaps I would reward you for your kindness,” Bei said calmly.
“I suggest you be quiet,” the warrior said, a dangerous edge to his voice, “The matter is decided and there is no choice.”
“Angelo, what if…”
“I’ll not be played for a fool. We make the delivery, collect the cash and have done with it. Content yourself that he was not murdered.”
“My apprentice needs me,” the man said, “As Lyssa is my witness, if he dies or goes mad, that will be a stain on your souls.”
“Quiet, I’m warning you,” Angelo rumbled.
Kalydri touched his shoulder and apologized under her breath. He shuddered again, but this time it was to weep.
<< Previous Next >>
|
