Paul Crilley - Night of Long Shadows

Cutter shook his head. “I want to talk.”

“That why you broke the ward? To talk to me?”

“Actually, I was hoping Tiel would come up, but this is fine.”

Bren strolled over to an armchair and sat down. Cutter followed him into the room and sat on the bed.

“Tiel doesn’t like creased bed sheets, Cutter. You’d better straighten them when you’re done.”

Cutter shook his head. “Why are you working for him?”

“That’s my business. What are you doing here, Cutter?”

“I want a favor.”

“Oh? What makes you think I’d do you any favors?”

“Because you knew Rowen. And you know she didn’t deserve to die.”

Bren sighed. “She stole from him, Cutter. He has a lot riding on this deal.”

“I couldn’t care less about any deal!” snapped Cutter. “I want payback.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I respect you. I don’t want to go behind your back.”

“You’re asking for my permission.”

“No. I’m doing this with or without your permission. What I’m hoping for is a bit of understanding. If you want to hunt me down after the deed is done, that’s your prerogative. But make no mistake. I’m taking him down, Bren.”

Bren thought about it. It went against every professional ethic he had, but he really did feel for Cutter. He was owed some personal justice. Bren leaned forward.

“How about this?” he said. “I give you one chance. Just one. I’m heading to the Tain manor soon. Have to do something for him. He’ll be leaving for some club to get drunk and cause trouble. His skycoach is on the roof. You do what you need to do. But if you mess up-if you fail-that’s it.”

“Bren, the only way I fail is if I’m dead.”

Bren shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Why are you doing it?”

Bren thought about it. “Because I liked her. Liked what she did for someone like you. Guess I thought if you could find someone like that, maybe I could as well. She was a good woman.”

Cutter stood up and held out his hand. “If I survive past today, you let me buy you a drink?”

Bren shook his hand. “A drink? With what I’m letting you get away with, you should buy me a whole tavern.”

Cutter nodded.

“Watch your back, Cutter. He’s no pushover. He’s got a few tricks up his sleeve.”

“I will. See you round.”

Bren stared at the empty doorway after Cutter left. After a moment, he shook himself.

“Guess I’ll have that drink by myself.”

The third day of Long Shadows

Sar, the 28th day of Vult, 998

Cutter leaned over the low wall and tried to calm his beating heart. The moment was here. He would finally get his revenge on the bastard who took Rowen from him.

The gardens of the Golden Tear rolled gently into the distance and merged invisibly with Cloudpool Park. Lightning stabbed out of the black clouds. A warm wind, rich with the smell of the coming storm, blew against his face, made his eyes water. He blinked and focused on the ground.

Bren was walking along the pathway. He stopped at a carriage with two hippogriffs harnessed to the front. He spoke to the driver, then climbed inside. Where was it he said he was going? Tain Manor? Cutter wondered what he was going there for.

No matter. Bren had said that Tiel would be leaving about the same time he did. That meant the halfling was probably on his way up to the rooftop. Cutter had chosen this place carefully to stage his attack. It was one of the most secluded areas in the park. All the guards were stationed at ground level. Nobody thought to place them up where the coaches were parked.

Col turned and rested his elbows against the wall. One of the trees that had been planted in a deep well of earth around the rooftop shielded him from the sight of anyone stepping out of the hotel. The rising wind soughed through the branches, rustling the leaves and causing the treetop to sway back and forth.

The door opened. Cutter tensed, ready to move, but it was a dwarf couple walking arm in arm. They climbed inside an expensive skycoach, then it rose gently into the air, turning gracefully and heading in the direction of Cloudpool Park.

Cutter forced himself to relax. Getting tense now would only tire him later, and he’d need all his energy for the fight ahead. He knew Tiel wouldn’t be a pushover. He’d seen what the halfling could do when he got worked up.

The door opened again. Cutter was half expecting more guests, so his mind stalled for a moment before registering that it was Tiel he was looking at.

The halfling walked toward a two-man skycoach parked close to the door.

Cutter pushed himself away from the wall and hurried across the roof, pulling out the Khutai blades. This was it. Rowen would finally get her rest.

He approached the skycoach. Tiel leaned over the side, rummaging around for something. Cutter took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then took another.

He stopped a few feet away.

“You going somewhere?” he asked.

Tiel froze, then looked over his shoulder. He frowned in annoyance. “Khyber’s ghost, don’t you ever die?”

“Afraid not.”

Tiel rummaged around some more, then straightened up, turning to face Cutter. He held two short swords in his hands, crossed before him. “Guess I’ll have to take care of you myself.”

“No, see, that’s not how it works. How it works is, I break your legs. Then I make you bleed.”

“Then what?” sneered Tiel. “You make me say sorry for killing your woman?”

“No. Then I watch you die.”

“Fascinating. But that doesn’t work for me. I have things to do.”

“Then you’ll have to cancel your appointments. You’re not going anywhere.”

Tiel sighed. “Much as I enjoy all this manly posturing-and don’t get me wrong, you’re very good at it-can we just skip to the end?”

“Which end is that?”

“The one where I slit your throat the same way I slit Rowen’s.”

Tiel charged, his blades a whirling circle of steel. Cutter moved backward, surprised at the speed of his attack. The points of Tiel’s swords flicked in and out, darting at Cutter like striking snakes. He moved his knives into defensive angles, blocking with the edges along his forearms. But he was pushed back by the sheer ferocity of Tiel’s attack.

It seemed he had underestimated the halfling. His swordplay was as fast as any Cutter had seen.

They moved across the rooftop, Tiel on the attack, Cutter on the defensive. He needed to turn this around. This wasn’t how it was meant to play out.

He let Tiel get closer, then jammed one of his blades down at an angle between the halfling’s arms. It caught the two swords for only an instant, just long enough for him to lean in and hit Tiel in the cheek with the hilt of the other knife. He wanted to use the blade, but couldn’t turn it around in time.

It did the job, though. It broke Tiel’s attack and sent him staggering to one side. The halfling threw his arm out behind him, pointing it at Cutter to keep him at bay. Cutter kicked it aside and stabbed down with his blade. He was too far back to cause a severe wound, but the point dug into Tiel’s upper arm and opened a deep gash. Tiel turned to face Cutter again, but Cutter was already pressing the attack, using the technique he preferred-coming in low with one hand and high with the other. It left him open to a strike in the stomach, but he considered himself quick enough that the low blade could double as defense.

It also had the advantage of drawing an opponent’s attack to what was considered a vulnerable spot.

Which was exactly what Tiel did. He saw the opening and aimed a thrust at Cutter’s midsection. Cutter let him come, then sliced upward with the low knife. He expected to take Tiel’s hand off, or at the very least slice open his wrist, but he’d played into the halfling’s plan. As he moved the blade upward, Tiel brought his other sword around in a sideways swing that caught Cutter in the thigh. His leather trousers absorbed the brunt of the attack. Even so, the sword sliced through and cut deep into his leg.