Dark Gods Rising

by Mark Eller

Chapter 14— Thief’s Trap

  Selnac crouched in the pristine alleyway and watched his partner’s glowing jade green hook slice through the building’s mortar like it was soft cheese. Jolson’s lines were perfectly straight and exactly square. When the first cut was finished Jolson twisted his hand so the buried hook’s point turned inward to catch upon the center of a block. He drew his arm back, and the block slid out of the wall. Moving forward, Selnac grasped the square section and moved it out of the way while Jolson’s hook plunged through the wall once more. Inside the building, guard dogs growled.

  “One more of those and we can crawl in,” Selnac whispered.

  “I won’t crawl,” Jolson replied, “not anymore.” He pulled another block out.

  Selnac continued accepting and moving blocks until the hole became large enough for them to walk through without crouching or twisting to the side.

  After setting aside the last block, he straightened, coughed twice, and wiped a small spot of blood from the corner of his mouth while wondering how much longer he could live this life. Though he was not yet old, he was no longer young. Some of his limberness was gone, and his muscles were no longer resilient. Age and illness had crept up on him, and this meant he was no longer as good a thief as he had once been when he taught Harlo, Simta, and Glace the trade. Of late matters had become so bad he had actually considered asking Glace or Del to take on his duties for Mother Brood. He would eventually have to ask, but Jolson’s advent meant the time was further off and besides, Glace still needed convincing along those lines.

  Selnac coughed once more and grinned at his new partner’s back. This job was easy money, and it was all because he had taken pity on the hellspawn’s attempt to feed and clothe itself. He had originally thought Jolson would be dull-minded and easily biddable like all spawn, but this was not the case. Jolson’s mind had frequently proven to be sharp, but he lacked the experience to go with it. The spawn had only the vaguest idea of how to make his way in the world, and this vagueness had slowly starved him until Selnac’s pity bid him to take Jolson under his wing. It hadn’t been an easy decision. The spawn was an uncomfortable being to be around. Its soul was dark, and so far as Selnac could tell, it possessed nothing resembling a conscience, but he was willing to chance Jolson’s presence if the spawn made jobs this easy.

  Once inside, Selnac followed Jolson into the jeweler’s back room. He drew his knife when Jolson cracked open the connecting door, but the knife proved to be unneeded. Mouths agape and foaming, two growling hounds pushed the door further open. When they saw Jolson, they stopped. Their mouths closed. Their tails drooped, and they cringed upon the floor.

  Contemptuously kicking them out of the way, Jolson led Selnac into the showroom. Their bodies low to the floor, the dogs followed, crowding as close to Selnac’s legs as they could.

  Selnac glanced down at the dogs, shrugged, put his knife away, and studied the room. He liked what he saw. Half a dozen filled jewelry cases sat on the floor, but those cases and the jewelry they held didn’t fill his interest.

  He looked to Jolson. “Diamonds are worth more, but take the rubies because they’re easiest to fence.”

  Apparently uncomprehending, Jolson shook his head. “What are diamonds? What are rubies?”

  Selnac gestured. “Diamonds are the clear stones over there. Sapphires are blue and emeralds are green. You won’t find many of those last two here, and that’s just as well. They’re too rare and too expensive to suit our needs. Rubies are red. You’ll see them set in rings and necklaces and other things. Take the finished pieces if you must, but I’d rather you looked for loose stones, and let’s not take more than a couple dozen. Jalem has done us no harm. I see no reason to ruin her.”

  “Why not?” Jolson asked.

  “I own an overdeveloped conscience for a thief,” Selnac answered. “I steal because I’ve lives to care for. I don’t steal to cause other people lasting harm.”

  Jolson peered into a case containing diamond bracelets and grunted. “These clear stones can be traded for the coins that purchase food? If I had known this I would have brought a sack of them with me. Hell’s roads are paved with these— diamonds?”

  “Diamonds,” Selnac agreed. “Leave them alone.”

  Since the store was not large, its stock wasn’t extensive. The nineteen loose rubies they found in a small drawer were all the store’s owner possessed. Most of the stones were small, but three were a respectable size. Selnac poured half of them into his belt pouch. Jolson grabbed the pouch and spilled in the rest before handing it back. Frowning, Selnac led the way to the hole Jolson’s hook had created. The dogs followed on his heels all the while, casting nervous looks at Jolson. Selnac pushed them back into the main showroom, but they crowded back in on him, refusing to leave his protection until Jolson walked up and kicked each dog in the side.

  With the dogs contained, Selnac closed the connecting door and led the way outside. Once there, he bent and picked up a block.

  “What are you doing?” Jolson demanded.

  “This place will be stripped bare before morning if we leave it open,” Selnac explained. “I want to put the blocks back in so the wall at least looks solid.”

  Jolson’s hook glowed briefly. He idly cut a deep groove into the wall. “Why should I care?”

  Selnac breathed a heavy sigh. “If the woman stays in business we can burgle her several more times before she packs up and leaves.”

  Shrugging, Jolson held out his hand. “Give me the block.”

  Selnac handed it to him. Using one hand, Jolson handled the heavy block with an ease belying his thin frame. After he set the block in place, Selnac handed him another. When the last section was in position, Jolson’s hook glowed once more. He slid the hook into the small cracks separating the blocks, ran it the length of every seam, and pulled his hook free. The wall before Selnac appeared whole, complete and flawless.

  “Handy,” Selnac said, rubbing at the strained muscles in his arms. Jolson didn’t reply.

  In the distance, a faint howl sounded in the still night air. Jolson jerked, and his elbow connected with Selnac’s chest. The blow wasn’t hard, but it staggered Selnac, stealing away his breath. His chest grew tight— too tight— before it relaxed.

  “Krastos hunts,” Jolson said.

  Pulling himself together, Selnac rubbed at his chest. “Lots of things hunt at night. We hunted rubies, and now we’re hunting for a fence. It’s best we do it quickly. A job like this will raise a stink in the morning so a fence will offer us only five to seven percent instead of the usual ten if we wait too long. Problem is my regular contact is a fat slug who goes to bed early and doesn’t wake up before noon. Means I’ll have to use Mathew Changer, and I don’t like doing that.”

  Jolson nodded. “I’ve seen these transactions before. I’ll take you to the tavern.”

  Selnac coughed and tasted blood. Maybe he should see a physic, but physics cost money, and he had people who needed rugdles more than he did.