David Dalglish - A Dance of Blades

“The strongest of whatever you have,” he said. “Oh, but make sure it doesn’t taste like piss.”

“As you wish,” she said, batting her beautiful green eyes at him. He watched her go, admiring her figure. With enough coin, he knew he could have her. Shame he had to spend the night at Alyssa’s mansion. Tight figure like that, there was so much he could do to…

“Arthur! Welcome!”

Arthur stood and tore his attention away from the little tart.

“William,” he said, offering his hand to his younger brother, who had been William Hadfield before he’d changed his name to Ket to protect his family from embarrassment. “My apologies for being gone so long.”

“No need,” said William. He was as tall as Arthur, and had the same eyes and hair. “I figure you have your hands full handling a grieving mother, am I right?”

“Hands aren’t full just yet, but she’ll give in to me in time.”

The lady returned with his drink, and he accepted it gratefully. After a sip to test its flavor (about somewhere between sewer water and burning oil) he took a large gulp. As it set his throat aflame, he chuckled at his brother.

“You’ve been late with your last shipment,” he said, holding back a cough. Damn that stuff was strong. “I’m a little curious as to why.”

William’s smile drooped, but only for a moment before he fixed it, this time far more fake.

“I should have figured a leisurely chat was not in store for me this evening. The gold was stolen from us as we smuggled it into the city, and through no fault of our own.”

“No fault? Is that so? A convenient excuse to not pay me my half, wouldn’t you think?”

William sat down, and Arthur followed suit. The two stared at one another, a quick, silent exchange. Arthur knew William was trying to decide how much he should tell, and what his reaction might be. For once, he hoped his little brother told the truth, the whole damn truth.

“Have you heard of the Watcher, by any chance?”

Arthur was too surprised to hide his reaction.

“Should I take that as a yes?” William asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I have, but tell your tale first, and then perhaps I can better explain mine.”

William waved over another servant girl, who brought him a vintage of wine in a long slender glass.

“Well, whoever that bastard is got lucky,” he said after taking a sip. “Stumbled upon us while we were lifting the crate over the wall. Killed my men, took the bags of gold, and then do you know what this motherfucker did? He scattered it across the street. Middle of the day, high market, and he just tears them open and flings ‘em to the crowd. Not the first time he’s done that to us, either, but usually with smaller amounts. Scary, really. If he’d throw away that much coin, then there isn’t a chance we can bribe or deal with him. He’s out to kill us, all of us, not just Serpents. Wish I knew what we’d done to piss him off.”

“Normally I’d doubt the ability of one man to kill so many of yours,” said Arthur, “but I’ve seen it for myself. Lost six soldiers to the Watcher. Wrote his name with their blood. He took some of the gold, but not all, thank the gods. Another day or two and I’ll have the rest outside the walls and ready for you. Alyssa thinks all of it was stolen, which will help make up for what we lost.”

“I can exchange most of it into Neldaren crowns with my merchants, and amusingly enough, by buying large quantities of food and wine from Keenan. Something quite appropriate about laundering the Trifect’s gold using the Trifect themselves. Any large increase will take some time, though. When will you be ready to pick up your portion of what we’ve exchanged so far?”

“Keep it safe for now. Things are too chaotic. That’s one of the other reasons I’ve come. Tomorrow is Nathaniel’s funeral, and come nightfall, you need to make sure your men are prepared. Alyssa’s hired at least a thousand mercenaries, perhaps far more. She’s going to let them loose upon the city.”

William’s face darkened. “Is she mad? What could we have done to spark such animosity…unless you blamed her son’s death on us?”

“I told her the Watcher was in the pay of the guilds to keep her from asking too many questions. I never could have expected this reaction.”

William flung his half-empty glass to the floor. “Of course not. You’ll throw us to the wolves to make your life easier. Always have, always will. What do we do now? We can’t face that many on our own.”

“Then don’t do it on your own. Spread word to the rest of the guilds. I want Alyssa humiliated by this course of action. She needs to doubt herself, her decisions, so she might trust me more. She is not in my pocket, not yet. In time she will be, I have no doubt, but until then I need your help.”

The redness gradually left William’s neck as he leaned back in his chair.

“I think I can convince the others, though I have little time. A single night to prepare a counter-ambush? Thank you for not telling me sooner. I like having to pull plans out of my ass.”

A hardness entered Arthur’s words.

“You chose this life, not me. I came here the moment Alyssa was away, now deal with it.”

They glared at one another, but finally William relented.

“So be it. But what will you do about this Watcher? He’s making life miserable for the both of us. If he left the city, then he’s certainly caught wind of our scheme, or at least part of it. A wrong word whispered to Alyssa and you’ll hang.”

“We’ll hang, you mean.”

William smirked at him.

“I live my life in the shadows. She already wants me dead, and is about to spend a fortune trying to achieve that tomorrow night. But you? You live your life in the light. The only place you can hide would be with me. Are you prepared to crawl through the gutters and eat shit to save your own ass?”

“I think I might prefer the noose.”

William stood, their conversation clearly over.

“Then you need to make sure the Watcher fucking dies.”

Z usa watched the ceremony from the rooftops, her long cloak wrapped tight about her. With only a few days of warning, the crowd was smaller than it might have been. She recognized various merchants, wealthy nobles, and a few members of Connington’s distant family, plus Leon himself. All were from within Veldaren or its surrounding estates. Tradition would have expected a long enough delay for Laurie Keenan to travel from Angelport, but Alyssa seemed to care less and less about tradition with each passing day. Zusa didn’t blame her.

The bones had been placed within a small sealed coffin. As they lowered it into the ground, Alyssa stepped forward to address the crowd. She wore a dress of black and dark blues, and she’d smeared ashes upon her face. Behind her the sun dipped below the walls of the city, and in the twilight she made her decree.

“It is despicable that such a thing could happen,” she said, loud enough for Zusa to hear. “Worse that I might be expected to deny my son vengeance. So many of you here have made peace with the thieves, and in doing so, stripped away every shred of your pride and dignity. I will not! Those who prey on us, steal from us, kill and poison to claim their power, they die tonight. Go home if you must, or stay here if you fear the streets. But this night, only this night, must you fear them any longer. Veldaren aches for a purge, and I will be the one to deliver it. Cry out at me if you wish, but it will change nothing. The gold is spent, the orders are given. Let the blood flow.”

She looked to the rooftop, directly at Zusa. She nodded back in return. That was the last command. There was no turning back. Spinning about, her cloak billowing silently behind her, Zusa raced to the front of the mansion and vaulted off the roof. When she landed, it was amid the gathered group of mercenary captains, who had been ordered to wait opposite the funeral.