“Dozens of men moving in the city. We detained one, and he claimed he was working on behalf of him?”
“He was,” Finn said. “We discovered devices in the city. We are removing them so they don’t explode and lead to fires like occurred in the Jorend section.”
The Archer’s eyes widened. “I lost an uncle there. Devlin. He was a cobbler. Burned.”
Finn nodded slowly. He recognized the name. He would have been one of the six who had not been found again after the fire. “I’m sorry for your loss. The master executioner has granted immunity to those involved in removing the devices.” Finn frowned. “The Archers should help. Offer them a measure of protection.”
“You want us to work with these thieves?”
“Not work with them, but make sure that they’re protected against anybody who might attack while they’re removing them.”
“This is most unusual,” the Archer said.
“It is most unusual,” Master Meyer said, striding down the hall. “And I trust you will ensure that my wishes are carried out, Thelen.”
“I’m sure the magister and the jurors will hear of this,” he said.
“I’m sure.”
“And if the king does?”
Meyer took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “If the king does, then I will accept whatever responsibility is necessary. This needs to happen.”
The Archer nodded. “So be it. Care to tell me what these things look like?”
Meyer raised a hand, hurried down the hall and he returned with the device. “This.”
The Archer frowned. “I’ve seen something like that somewhere.”
“When?”
He shook his head. “I don’t quite remember. It’s just familiar, is all.”
“It’s dangerous, is what it is. We need to gather them. These crews are removing these items as quickly as they can, bringing them out of the city. When this is done, we will neutralize them so they don’t explode.”
The Archer mouthed the word explode.
He hurried off.
Finn looked over to Master Meyer. “Even if they get all of these devices, we still don’t know who in the city is responsible for placing them. We know Yelind sent them,” Finn said. “Had Sweth not been convicted, we would have had an opportunity to learn what he knew.”
“You have someone you can question, though.”
“You would trust me to do this?”
Meyer regarded him. “I think you are the only person I should trust. I didn’t recognize the true threat to the kingdom. Not the way that you did, Finn. I didn’t acknowledge that more was taking place than just an arsonist. I should have listened. Now, I will work with Wella to acquire the supplies necessary to neutralize all of these devices, but I think it’s important you be the one to proceed with questioning.”
Finn took a deep breath. Meyer would trust him with something so critically important? He needed to honor that.
Finn grabbed his cloak, slipped it on, and looked over to Master Meyer. “I will get the answers we need.”
“I’m afraid we won’t have much time. You will have to push, Finn. If you aren’t comfortable with that yet, I understand.”
“It needs to be done.”
“Be careful.”
“I know. I’m not after vengeance. I need to be after justice.”
“No,” Meyer said, but tipped his head, nodding slightly. “Be careful navigating through the streets. It seems there’s another out there. We will neutralize these fire starters.”
“We?”
He looked behind him. “Myself, Wella, and Lena.”
“Please be careful,” he said softly.
“I don’t think your sister will give us any other choice.”
He hurried out of Meyer’s home and along the street, and reached Declan Prison without any issues. He fished the keys out of his pocket, twisting one in the lock, stepped into the prison and closed the door, locking it behind him. Once inside, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He had never been to Declan at this time of night before, and he certainly had never performed any questioning at this time of night, but it seemed crucial to do so.
Finn paused and looked around the inside of the prison, taking in the narrow hall, the dimly lit lantern set into the wall, and the stale, almost foul odor that permeated everything. He reached the row of cells and motioned to the iron master standing guard.
“He’s in the chapel,” the iron master said.
Finn started to turn.
“The Hunter comes! All will quake—”
“Not now, Hector,” Finn snapped at him.
He hurried along the hall, up a flight of stairs and to the chapel. One of the iron masters—a younger man named Cor who he had spent some time drinking with in the tavern—stood guard.
“Heard you were coming. This one must be a particular bastard,” Cor said to Finn.
“He is,” Finn said. He glanced to the door. “Do you have him strapped?”
“We did it right away. We didn’t wait. I can go inside with you, if you prefer.”
Finn looked over to the closed door, shaking his head. “That’s not necessary. He isn’t going to cause me much trouble now.”
“If you need anything…”
Finn just nodded. “If I need anything, I will be sure to let you know.”
He pushed the door open and looked over to Rock. He was large enough that he filled the chair, though he was strapped down, still in his darks. He jerked against the leather straps but couldn’t get free.
“I remember the last time you were here like this,” Finn said.
“I bet this makes you pleased,” Rock said.
“None of this pleases me. We were friends, Rock.”
“Were. Can’t be friends with the hangman.”
Finn sighed. He’d wondered what he would do were his friends to come before him, but hadn’t known. Not really. Even now, Finn didn’t know if he could do it. This was Rock.
He stopped at the counter, looking at the implements. He needed answers. He needed them quickly.
“I’m going to give you an opportunity to tell me what I need to know.” Finn turned back to him. “I’m not going to go into great detail describing the technique I would use to draw the questions out of you.”
Rock sneered at him. “You don’t have the stones, Shuffles.”
“Perhaps not.” And he didn’t know. This was Rock, after all. Regardless of anything else, this was—or had been—a friend. “All I need is to know who hired Wolf. Tell me that, and this can be over. As I told you, I will offer you leniency.” Finn forced a smile. “Leniency doesn’t mean no punishment. You were involved, and given your past crimes, I can’t guarantee there won’t be a punishment involved, but I can guarantee it won’t be death.”
“I’m not afraid of death.”
“All men fear death,” Finn said. “Especially thieves.” Finn regarded Rock. “What would your niece think if they were to know that you refuse to answer? Do you think she wants to lose you like she lost her father?”
“Don’t you dare threaten my family, Shuffles.”
“So, they wouldn’t be pleased. I can’t believe you’d do that to them.”
“They were safe.”
Finn frowned. “So you got them out.”
Rock shook in the bindings. “When I get out of here, I swear to you—”
“You swear to me that you will do what? Hurt me?” Finn shook his head. “Haven’t you heard the stories? I’ve died and come back. I’ve been hanged and survived. I’ve been burned and walked out of the fires.”
Rock grunted, shaking his head. “Can’t believe you started to believe the bullshit spread about you.”
“And what is that?”
“Like you’re some sort of god.”
“Now, I know those are the stories spread about me,” Finn said. “But that doesn’t matter. The stories I care about are the ones that offer me a measure of protection. As you’ve seen, the
Archers work with me now. Not against me. Besides, if you don’t answer the questions the way I need, we both know how this is going to turn out for you. You have already been implicated in the placement of these devices. Seeing what happened with Sweth…”
“You don’t have the stones,” he repeated.
“I tried to give you the opportunity to answer questions without me taking the next, more aggressive step, but seeing as how you have no desire to do so, perhaps you and I will have to go into a different line of questioning.”
Finn grabbed for the ankle braces. Meyer had used them on Rock before, and they had been ineffective against him at that time, but he hadn’t used fire ash then. Finn didn’t necessarily want to use that on him now, but for him to get the answers he needed he was willing to take whatever measures necessary.
He strapped on one of the braces, quickly tightening it. He watched Rock as did so, securing it to his leg until he stopped kicking. He reached for another and tightened that one down as well.
“We will proceed until you provide the answers I need. At this point, I am afraid I won’t be able to take any leniency on you until I have a few more answers. Who hired Wolf?” Finn looked up at Rock. “It’s a very simple question.”
“I’m not telling you shit.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
Can I do this?
It was Rock.
And he was willing to destroy the city.
People Finn cared about would die.
Finn grabbed a fistful of the slender metal rods, carrying them over to Rock along with the jar of fire ash. Finn dipped one of the metal rods into the fire ash. “This compound is very similar to the one used in the device that you and Wolf decided to spread throughout the city.” Finn cocked his head. “Did I tell you we obtained a list?”
“Fish is too stubborn to give you that.”
“It wasn’t Fish. It was the Mistress.”
Rock said nothing.
“I see I have your attention. Yes. She had a list of all of the crews involved. As we speak, the devices have been picked up, and we know how to neutralize them. They will be carried out of the city, where they won’t pose any more threat.”
“Then you don’t need me,” Rock said.
“Unfortunately for you, I do. I need to know who hired Wolf.”
Rock didn’t say anything.
Finn pressed the metal rod up against his calf. “You will feel a little burning here. This is called fire ash. It’s quite unpleasant.”
Rock started to shout.
“Now, as I said, all I need is for you to tell me who hired Wolf.”
“I’m not telling you shit!”
Finn pressed the slender rod into his calf, sliding it all the way through.
He hadn’t known if he could do this with someone he had once called a friend.
But Finn had changed.
“Who hired you?”
“You can do whatever you want, but I’m not telling you a thing.”
Finn dipped another rod into the fire ash. “Then we will keep working.”
Tears streamed down Rock’s face. He had a dozen different metal rods slid into his calves, and he still hadn’t given up the information Finn needed. He was tough, though most bruisers were. Finn wasn’t surprised that Rock wouldn’t reveal anything, but he had hoped that he could at least get through to him enough for him to provide some answer. It was that answer he needed.
He been working for the better part of the night. Finn had lost track of time, though he suspected it had been several hours. By now, hopefully, the crews led by the Mistress and working with the Archers had managed to secure each of the devices and get them out of the city and Meyer, Wella, and Lena had managed to disarm them. If they hadn’t, Finn wouldn’t even know. For all he knew, the city burned while he was in there interrogating Rock.
“Just tell me who hired you. Once you do, all of this can be over.”
Rock looked up at him. “Didn’t think you had it in you,” Rock said.
“I don’t enjoy this,” Finn said.
Rock chuckled. “You could’ve fooled me, Shuffles.”
“Who hired you? I’m not able to stop until I get the answer. We’ve only begun with the techniques I have available to me. If you don’t share what I need now, then we move on to other, worse questioning techniques.”
Rock grunted, shaking his head. “Worse?”
“I realize you think this is terrible, and it is, but there are worse things I can do.”
“This isn’t so bad.”
“Do you want to hang? Worse, do you want to burn the same way that Sweth burned? I was there. The smell was terrible, but the screams were worse.” Finn grabbed a chair, pulling it close so that he could sit across from Rock. “I don’t want to do this. We were friends.” He made a point of emphasizing ‘were.’ “I know you’re a strong man, Rock. Even strong men have limits. Tie you to the pyre, get the flames working around you, and you would burn. I wonder if Master Meyer would even use as much accelerant as he had with Sweth. Given your role in all of this, he might choose to take it slowly.”
Rock hung his head, shaking it slowly. “I tell you, and I’m dead. My family is dead.”
It was almost enough to give Finn pause. “Do you really think that’s true? Wolf isn’t going to be able to work in the city again. If the Mistress is involved, there’s no way he’s pulling another job. He might not even survive.”
“I’m not telling you anything.”
“Then the city’s going to burn.”
“You told me it wasn’t going to burn.”
“Do you really think this is the last attempt on the city?” Finn shook his head. “Whoever is involved is not going to stop. They will keep trying. They want war with Yelind.”
“What do I care?”
“Maybe you don’t. Maybe you are telling me the truth that you don’t care what happens to the city. If your family left, then it’s possible you’ve got no reason to care. But I care, Rock.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want you to die.”
At this point, Rock hadn’t done anything that couldn’t be undone.
“It don’t matter,” Rock said.
“It matters to me.”
He looked up at Finn. “Wolf isn’t going to let this slide.”
“I know.”
“He’s going to come for you.”
“I know.”
“And eventually, he’s going to catch you.”
“No. He won’t. He’s going to get caught by the Archers. He is going to be sentenced. And he’s going to die. That will be justice for what he’s done.”
“Justice,” Rock said, shaking his head. “You talk about that as if you know what it means.”
“I know what it’s not. Vengeance. That’s what it’s not. And I don’t want revenge for what happened to me. I want justice for what was done. I want justice for those who have been lost. I want justice for those who still might lose.”
Rock breathed out slowly. “You can make sure I don’t hang?”
“I will do everything in my power to make sure you won’t.”
“You don’t have any power.”
“Maybe not. But I have more than I did before, and I have Master Meyer backing me.” As he said it, Finn realize that was true. If Finn were to recommend the sentence be more lenient with Rock, he had a strong suspicion that Master Meyer would go along with it. “I just need a name.”
Rock snorted. “I can’t believe you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t know what?”
“Wolf never stopped working for the Client.”
“Bellut,” he whispered.
Rock grunted. “Sure, if that’s his name.”
“I have his name.”
“Yeah? Well, did you know Wolf never stopped working for him? Pay was too good, you see. Didn’t matter that he’d gotten pinched or nearly so. Didn’t matter that the King got pinched and hanged. All that mattered was tha
t he got paid. The coin was always good. The Client is the one who had us moving those things.”
Bellut was involved.
And the only other name he had was Fol, though he didn’t know much about it.
“Who is he working with?”
“The Client? Can’t say I know that. He’s never really said. Wolf don’t bring me along, either.” Rock leaned forward. “I told you what you wanted. Now you have to go along with what you promised.”
Finn nodded slowly. He knew where he had to go and what he had to do.
“You going to do that, Shuffles?”
Finn looked over. “It’s Finn.”
Rock grunted. “Can’t even use a name, can you?”
“I’m not in the crew anymore. I don’t need a name.” He got to his feet. “I’m an executioner now.”
He pulled the rods out of Rock’s legs and carried them over to the counter, setting them down. When he was done, Finn headed to the door, pulling it open. He nodded to Cor. “Bring him to his cell.”
Finn headed out of the prison, into the early morning light. He was tired, but his mind raced, his heart pounding.
Of course they would be tied together.
He hurried through the streets. He remembered how to find Bellut’s home. When he reached it, he paused on the street, staring at the simple wooden door. He needed proof. That was the only way this would end.
Bellut’s home was in a nicer section of the city. He should wait for the Archers to arrive, and should have this done more formally, but the desire for answers—and, if he were honest with himself, maybe a measure of vengeance—stayed with him.
Here, Finn thought that he was beyond wanting vengeance.
It was one thing to feel compassion when it came to Rock, but Bellut was something altogether different. He had convicted Finn. He was the reason that Finn had nearly hung. He was the reason that others had suffered.
He knocked.
There was no answer.
Finn looked along the street, then tested the door. When he found it locked, that didn’t slow him. He employed his old skills to pick the lock and pushed it open.
It was empty.
The air was musty, but it had a slight stench of ash mixed within it.
One of the devices.
Maybe Bellut had been part of building them.
The Executioner's Apprentice (The Executioner's Song Book 2) Page 37