Dragon rider, p.25
Dragon Rider, page 25
Jai grimaced and pushed his way out into the cold night air, searching for the well the barkeep had told him about. It was easy enough to find, positioned beside a ramshackle outhouse that stank to high heaven.
Jai was glad the rain had stopped, but the wind was still bitterly cold.
Within minutes, Jai was dunking his head in a bucket of well-water so cold that he’d had to drop the bucket with force to break through the layer of ice that had formed upon it.
Somehow it was more a relief than a shock as he scrubbed himself with the sackcloth, wringing the grime of the last few days onto the soil by the well. He supposed he had warmed up while he’d soulbreathed, and his mana reserves were still just enough to keep him from shivering more than a little.
Then, he heard it. Or rather, Winter did, pulsing with alarm.
Soon enough, he heard it truly. Crashing amid the brambles. And voices. There were men, stumbling in the darkness.
Jai ducked behind the well, listening intently. He could just about hear them.
‘. . . killed ’er dead, throwin’ that knife.’
‘You think I care Tullia’s dead? I owed the fucker money.’
This second voice was female, and educated, even more so than the bandit Frida had killed. She spoke on as feet stamped and shuffled on the frozen ground. These men were cold. Impatient.
‘Now boys, have I looked after you tonight?’
There was a chorus of ayes. More than before. Jai peered over the well’s edge and felt his stomach lurch with shock. There were almost a dozen men there.
Hungry, lean men. He could smell them. Smell the booze, fresh on their breath. Whoever this new arrival was, she’d likely given it to them as payment. Jai dreaded to guess for what service.
‘I’ve no mind what you do with that Dansk bitch,’ said the woman. ‘Or her savage servant . . . but I suggest you turn her in for the reward. I’d say that’s pretty generous of me, it being my tavern’n’all.’
More ayes followed. So . . . this was the owner of the other taverns too. A wealthy woman . . . what could she want with the likes of them?
Jai shifted his grip on his blade, trying to remember how much mana remained within him. Would those last dregs give him the strength to put up a fight?
‘So lads, I’ve only one thing to ask in return. I’ve need of the white dagger that killed poor Tullia. You said, did you not, that she was soulbound, and Dansk by her accent?’
‘Yes ma’am,’ came the enthusiastic response of the first speaker.
‘Then that’s all I need. Her dagger. And the body of whatever little beast she’s bonded to. If it was small, it must be but a pup.’
There was a clearing of someone’s throat, and then Jai saw someone shoved forward to the front of the group.
‘Camilla, please . . . she showed us her majicking. Lights in the dark. And she . . . like he said, she killed Tullia.’
Camilla sighed.
Jai peered at her from behind the well.
She was well-heeled, though she wore trousers rather than the traditional smock or petticoats of a Sabine woman. And she was older than she sounded, for her dark hair was dusted with grey. She looked out of place standing before the pack of vagrants.
Yet she spoke to them as if this was just another day for her. Jai had no doubt who employed the bandits in these parts. And they’d walked right into her tavern.
Camilla raised a finger and stabbed it the way they had come.
‘You think a Dansk would give two shits about sparing the lives of a few bandits if she could kill them soon as look at them?’
Her question hung in the air and she sighed again at their silence.
‘If she’s a Dansk in fancy clothes, it means she’s a noble on the run from that slaughter at the palace. And if she let you lot see her and live to tell the tale, that means she wasn’t strong enough to kill the four of you and keep you quiet.’
Silence.
‘Noble means money, lads. And you can keep all of it.’
That did it. The ten men began to murmur among themselves. Some slapped each other on their shoulders, while others muttered under their breath, psyching themselves up.
Jai had only one card left to play.
‘Winter,’ Jai breathed. ‘I need you.’
Chapter 54
They stormed into the tavern in a thunder of feet, but without a single word spoken. Clearly, they wanted to catch their targets asleep.
Behind them, Jai darted forward in a half-crouch, gathering Winter onto his shoulder as he did so.
He stuck out a hand, catching the door before it slammed shut, and slipped in after them. He needn’t have hurried.
Ten men, plus Camilla, stood uncertainly in the gloom of the tavern interior, an assortment of staves, clubs and knives held out in front of them.
‘On,’ Camilla hissed. ‘Find her.’
Again, one bandit was shoved forward, a trembling lad no older than Jai. He was handsome, in a fragile sort of way, the effects of poor living yet to hollow his cheeks. His weapon, little more than a rusted spear, shook in his hands as he crept closer to the maze of curtains beyond.
‘Go on, lad,’ one of the bandits whispered. ‘Slit her throat for us and you can have a double share.’
The boy hesitated, then drew a tight, quick breath and ducked beneath a hanging sheet. Seconds passed, with the other bandits peering into the still, curtain draped interior.
Jai held his breath, still crouched in the lee of the door. The men were now advancing, step by faltering step. And up in the rafters, a sinuous form leaped from beam to beam.
Jai sensed Winter reach Frida. Felt a flash of concern, then triumph. The handmaiden was awake . . . and she’d know that if Winter was there, something was amiss.
Camilla muttered beneath her breath.
‘Cowards. You should rush the bitch.’
She was so close to Jai that he could have reached out and tied the woman’s bootlaces. Instead, he rose, ever so slowly. Waited for it . . . and . . .
A boy’s scream ripped through the air. Men stirred from their sleep, shouting in confusion.
Now.
Jai lunged, clapping a hand over Camilla’s mouth, and slamming the flat of his blade so hard against the tavern owner’s throat that she choked through his fingers.
‘Right, then!’ Jai yelled.
A handful of the bandits spun around, and Jai yanked Camilla’s head back, just as Frida had done to him before. Winter pulsed with relief and Jai knew Frida was safe.
‘You think you’re facing one soulbound,’ Jai growled, forcing Camilla to step deeper into the gloom. ‘But you’re facing two.’
More bandits turned now, and confused sleepers stumbled into the open, weapons drawn. Frida remained somewhere in the darkness behind them.
‘Frida! Are you all right?’ Jai bellowed.
There was silence. And then, the body of the boy erupted from the sleeping area, tangled in a mess of clothesline and ragged sheets. He slid to a stop at the arrayed bandits’ feet.
‘I’m not all right,’ Frida called out, now visible as more curtains fell. ‘I’m angry.’
Camilla twitched in his grasp and Jai pressed his lips close to her ear.
‘Try me,’ he hissed in a voice tinged with as much madness as he could muster. ‘Warm my hands with your blood.’
The twitching stopped. Jai urged Winter into the rafters once more, closing his eyes to send her out of harm’s way. She did as he requested, sensing his urgency.
‘You’ve miscalculated,’ Jai called out, searching for fear in his opponents’ eyes and finding it. ‘So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re all going to line up against the bar. My friend there is going to walk to me. Once we’re safely away, our beasts will follow. Don’t think about coming after us. We’d kill you all where you stand, but you’d not be worth the mana.’
He closed his eyes and sent a desire to Winter. Above, a guttural growl set bandits spinning, weapons pointed at the darkness above.
‘Sound like a mouse or a pup to you?’ Jai asked.
He drew an exaggerated, impatient breath, and shoved Camilla forward a step, letting the sword’s edge slip around until it pressed against the base of his captive’s skull.
‘Move,’ he said. ‘Or your boss’ll be breathing through her throat. Then who’ll pay for your drink?’
A few of the bandits took notice of that, but still they glanced at each other, indecisive. Without Camilla, they lacked a leader. Well, Jai would give them a very motivated one.
He relaxed his blade a fraction.
‘Speak,’ he hissed.
Camilla was only too happy to oblige.
‘Move,’ was all she said. ‘Swiftly!’
Bandits shuffled aside in angry silence, as did the rest of the tavern’s patrons. Frida took a few wary steps forward, waiting for a clear path to the door.
A clap sounded from the fireplace. Then another, and another.
Jai flicked his eyes to the side and saw the bald, rotund man who had raised a tankard to him earlier.
‘A fine performance,’ the man laughed, his words slurring ever so slightly. ‘Why, I’ve no’ seen better in Latium’s Colosseum.’
Jai ignored him and dug the blade’s tip deeper into Camilla’s neck.
‘Do as the boy says,’ Camilla snapped. ‘Ignore this drunk cunt.’
‘Now, now,’ the bald man said in a broad Samarion accent. ‘See, you were right the first time. That Dansk lass over there’s had barely enough mana tae throw that poor dead lad across the room. Nobody soulbreathes at this time of night unless they’re desperate for it.’
‘Shut your mouth,’ Jai spat. ‘Or my beast’ll give you a new one.’
A growl from above punctuated his words. The man lifted his eyes with an amused glance.
‘’Tis no mouse,’ the man said. ‘But it’ll be nigh’ the same size, I’ll wager.’
‘Rufus, there’s a damned sword to my neck,’ Camilla growled at the man, before turning back to her accomplices. Jai didn’t like that the pair knew each other by name.
‘Boys, I’ll pay you all for the night’s work,’ Camilla pleaded. ‘Just step aside. Let the bitch through.’
Rufus stood, swaying on his feet, even as the bandits did as they were bidden, sidling toward the bar with clear reluctance.
The man pointed at Jai with an unsteady finger.
‘As for the boy, well, he’s got ye’ in a fair pickle, and he’s no’ lyin’ that he’s a soulbound either. But he’s probably out of mana too, if his shiverin’ earlier was anythin’ to go by.’
Camilla perked up at that.
‘Now, even if he had the guts tae put that rusted old thing through your throat. He’d be pretty quickly cut tae pieces. And milady over there, well she’ll no’ make it out alive either. Especially if yon’ lads over there take your side.’
The newly woken patrons were listening intently. Jai did not like where this was going. He swallowed, hard.
‘We’ve hardly any money,’ Jai called, instilling as much confidence as he could into his voice. ‘Show them, Frida.’
Frida was swift to yank the purse from her bag and pour some of its contents into her hand. She tossed these into the room, and the coins rolled across the floorboards.
‘Coppers and brass,’ she said.
‘Now, you’re after her iridium blade, or do I no’ have ye pegged, Camilla?’ the bald man went on.
Jai’s heart fell at that. The blade . . . it had value. And Rufus had let the whole tavern know.
Camilla nodded ever so slightly, then let out a whimper as Jai jabbed the blade hard enough to draw blood.
‘So you see, lads. The real prize ain’t in her capture. It’s no’ her coin. It’s yon dagger there. A whytblade. Made of iridium. So rare, there’s only a handful of blades like it in all the empire. Why, a Gryphon Guard’d bugger his own mother just tae have a shard of it.’
The tavern’s occupants hung on every word he said. And slowly, eyes turned to the blade in Frida’s hand. A simple, short blade, made of pale metal. Even in the dim torchlight, it was almost as pearlescent as Winter’s scales. It was unmistakeably unusual, though Jai didn’t know if this Rufus spoke the truth. Frida’s silence told him it might be. He was sure he wasn’t the only one who thought so.
‘Give me a scenario where I come out alive, Rufus,’ Camilla hissed at the bald man.
‘There isn’t one,’ Jai growled back. ‘Not unless Frida walks out unharmed.’
He grasped the woman by her long hair, earning himself another whimper. Frida took a few steps into the open, her hand raised threateningly, as if she were about to cast some charm or spell.
Rufus ignored it, even strolling in front of her pointed fingers.
‘Now, I tell you all this because I’ve somethin’ tae offer any or all of yous. My services. You see . . . I’m for hire.’
Rufus spread his hands. He was a large man, broad shouldered and so tall he was but a few inches from the low rafters. Were it not for his enormous belly and red-tinged face, Jai might even have guessed him a soldier. But in his state? Jai was surprised the bandits were even hearing him out.
Rufus reached down to his side and slapped a short scabbard at his hip. It was unusually thin, almost a rapier, but just wide enough to have a cutting edge.
‘Mersss . . . enary services,’ he half slurred, half burped, then gripped his hilt with a flourish.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then laughter came. At first a few chuckles, then gales from both patron and bandit alike. Only Jai, Frida and Camilla remained tight-lipped, for it was their lives that were in danger.
The man remained silent, seemingly oblivious to the mirth of those around him. He stood apart from the rest, closer to the entrance, with the bandits still crowded at the bar, and the patrons peering out from the curtained sleeping area further in.
‘Openin’ bid?’ Rufus asked, proffering a palm.
More laughter. The big man was deadpan, but Jai found none of this amusing. The old drunk had turned Jai’s plan on its head. With a blade worth an apparent fortune in Frida’s hand, there would be little chance they could leave with it still in tow. And from the look on Frida’s face . . . she wasn’t ready to part with it.
‘Leave the blade, girl,’ Camilla called out. ‘And you’ve got a deal.’
‘You’ll let us go, will you?’ Frida spat in response.
One of the bandits raised a hand, turning to his comrades.
‘Listen here lads,’ he said. ‘Methinks Camilla there ain’t the one who ought’ be negotiating. Seems to me it’s us boys are what’s twixt her and the door.’
He stabbed a dirty finger at Camilla.
‘No share for you, you ol’ sinner.’
Camilla spat a curse at him, even as Jai blinked sweat from his eyes. Somehow, his hostage had suddenly become worthless.
‘Only if’n we get a share,’ one of the patrons called. More weapons were drawn, as a large party of those overnighting in the tavern began to rise to their feet.
‘Oi,’ bellowed Rufus. ‘I said, who’s gonna hire me.’
One of the bandits was within a few feet of Rufus, and now he stomped up to the old man.
‘Shut your ugly mug,’ he said, bringing his head close. ‘We’re doing bisnis here.’
Rufus smiled broadly, his feet scraping into a fighting stance. The big man leaned away and Jai saw the scabbard’s top glow.
‘Make me.’
Chapter 55
The bandit lashed out . . . but his fist never made impact. Rufus’s blade thrummed, once, flaring bright.
There was no blood. Only the man’s steaming stump, and the meaty thud of his arm falling to the floor. Rufus kicked out with his foot and sent the man skidding across the floor in a crackle of broken ribs.
‘Now,’ he said. ‘Who’s got an openin’ bid.’
Rufus sheathed his sword and raised his palms non-threateningly, even as pandemonium broke out in the Phoenix. Men scrambled away from him, while bandits rushed to the side of their fallen comrade.
The maimed man looked dazed, staring at his stump as he wheezed out a mouthful of blood. Jai saw with a heady mix of horror and amazement that the wound had been perfectly cauterised with that single, white-hot stroke.
‘See, I could take yon blade,’ Rufus called out. ‘But I’m no thief. I’m here tae save seein’ my favourite tavern burn while yous fight it out. Unless . . . someone else wants tae get a taste?’
He spoke slow and loud, his voice carrying despite the sudden rush of voices and feet.
‘You surprise me, Rufus,’ Camilla choked aloud. ‘What secrets have you been hiding?’
Jai could only stare, his mind incapable of processing what he had seen. Rufus was . . . soulbound? And had a whytblade of his own?
The heavyset man ignored Camilla, instead repeating his demand.
‘Openin’. Bid.’
‘Ten denarii,’ called a tavern-goer. He was forced to raise his voice over the gurgling moans of the dying bandit.
‘Fifty,’ said a bandit, suddenly entirely disinterested in his gurgling comrade.
Rufus grinned broadly, splitting his silver-red beard with tobacco-stained teeth.
‘Payment comes first,’ he said, nodding to the bandit who had spoken last. ‘So you eejits better have the coin on you. Same goes for you, Dansk girl.’
The bandit’s grimace almost matched the one on Frida’s face. Jai didn’t think that slovenly crew had more than two coins to rub together. But he and Frida were hardly better off. And Rufus knew it.
‘How do we know you’ll keep your word,’ one of the tavern-goers called out.
Rufus glared at the man, then tugged back his shirt, pointing to a tattoo there. The mark of a true, anointed Samarion. Truth-tellers, lest they be damned to hellfire. Rufus stabbed a finger in Camilla’s direction.
‘Tell ’em, Camilla. Why you allow me tae drink here, day after day. Have I ever skipped a debt or broken the rules of this place?’
Camilla hesitated, then inclined her head as much as Jai’s blade would let her.
‘No,’ Camilla allowed. ‘Your word is good here. For all that’s worth, since it’s clear I know you not at all.’
