Tyla didn’t reach for it, but Earon leaned over her and took it. “Looks in order,” he declared, handing it to Tyla.
She glanced at it, then back to Lago. “When can we get the supplies we need?”
“I also took the liberty of ordering those. We should have them within the hour. My suppliers are well stocked. The foodstuff’s edible, easily carried, but it probably isn’t what you’re used to, Your Highness.”
Bonna snorted in disgust and looked away. Tyla ignored her. “If it gets us over the summit, it’ll be enough.” She took the quill Lago offered her and signed the promissory note, handing it to him. She wanted out of this place as quickly as possible.
* * *
Jarrett motioned Kendrick and Muzik back as he peered around a warehouse. Earon, Tyla and Bonna had just disappeared into an alley. A few young men were meandering at the opening of the alley, nudging each other and motioning after Tyla. Loosening his sword, he held his position. He could feel the touch of Tyla’s thoughts in his mind and knew she was all right.
“I don’t like the looks of those punks,” whispered Muzik at his back.
Jarrett waved him off. He didn’t want to be distracted from his connection to Tyla. He could feel Kendrick moving restlessly behind him. “This was a bad idea,” said the Nazarien. “We shouldn’t have let her go in there.”
Jarrett had wanted to come alone, but neither Muzik nor Kendrick would hear of it. He’d been forced to bring them along. Muzik attracted too much attention just by his size, and if anyone saw Kendrick’s Stravad features they’d been in more trouble than they could handle.
He started to tell them to shut up, but a shout from inside the alley brought him back around. The young men were milling about, throwing out their chests, posturing to make themselves appear larger. One of them shouted something back down the alley.
A tall, thin man appeared, waving his arms as if to force them back. One of the young men, a red-headed boy, pulled out a knife and clutched it along his palm and inner wrist, out of sight of the older man. Jarrett drew his sword and started toward the alley before Kendrick or Muzik knew what he was doing.
He moved so fast that none of them knew he was there until he caught the young man’s arm and stopped him from stabbing the older man in the back. Grinding the bones together, he forced him to release the knife, then brought him to his knees. Another one whipped out a club, swinging at Jarrett, but Jarrett sliced his arm, then spun into the next one, tagging him across the thigh.
The fourth threw down his shank and lifted his hands, his eyes widening in fear. Jarrett kicked the weapon away and glanced at the older man. “You all right?”
The man let out his held breath and nodded woodenly. “Thanks.”
Kendrick and Muzik skidded to a halt behind Jarrett. Muzik reached down and gathered the motley assortment of weapons in one huge hand. “You shouldn’t play with toys like these, boys,” he growled at them. All four reared back, staring up at the huge man with apprehension.
“I think we better go to that meeting,” said Jarrett, nodding at the warehouse.
The older man eyed them all. “Guess you aren’t with the Front Guard.” He held out his hand to Jarrett. “I’m Selig.”
“Jarrett.” He shook the hand and released him. Canting a look at the four young men, he motioned to the end of the alley. “You can walk on your own, or we can drag you. Doesn’t matter to me.”
They didn’t move. Jarrett reached down and grabbed the one kneeling before him. Curling his fingers in the boy’s tattered shirt, he started dragging him toward the open doorway. The boy scrambled across the ground and once inside, Jarrett swung him into one of the crates that lined the entrance. A smaller crate resting above it teetered and fell over, crashing to the warehouse floor. The sound echoed back at them. It was just the effect Jarrett wanted to achieve. He was through with clandestine meetings.
* * *
Lago’s head snapped up as a crash was heard in the outer warehouse. Tyla swiveled in her chair.
Jarrett appeared at the entrance, his sword drawn, the tip dripping blood.
Tyla immediately rose to her feet.
“You all right?” he said, his eyes fixed on her.
“Yes, are you?”
He gave her a grim smile. “Just fine.” His eyes shifted to Lago. “You might want to clean up outside.”
“How many did you kill?” Lago asked without a trace of surprise.
“None, but your man might need some help. He’s got a handful out there.”
Lago went to the door and disappeared. Tyla followed him, Jarrett slipping into pace behind her. Four young men were sprawled on the warehouse floor, guarded over by Muzik and Kendrick. One was holding his arm and another had a gash on his leg. Tyla knelt by the one holding his arm. He was about fourteen years old, raggedly dressed and filthy.
“Let me see,” she said.
He gave her a wary look, but removed his hand. She examined the wound. It wasn’t deep, but the dirt around it would cause an infection if it wasn’t cleaned and stitched. Hook-nose was standing over the other two, who appeared to be unhurt.
“What were you doing outside?” demanded Lago of the boys.
They looked away, sullen and angry.
Tyla shifted over to the boy with the rend in his pants. His wound was also superficial. She gave Jarrett a grateful look. They were all so young. By their filth and ragged appearance, these boys weren’t fending for themselves very well.
Lago grabbed one of the boys by his collar and shook him. “Answer me!” he shouted.
The boy curled his fingers around Lago’s hand, but he wouldn’t meet his eyes. Lago backhanded him and sent him sprawling again. When one of the boys moved like he might intervene, Hook-nose kicked him.
Tyla jumped to her feet. “Stop it!”
Lago rounded on her. “They weren’t following you because they were captivated by your beauty,” he said. Tyla was grateful he didn’t use her title.
“I know that.” She narrowed her eyes on him. “There are other ways to get what you want. Can’t you see they’re hungry and dirty?”
“Street scum,” snarled Lago.
Tyla gave him a withering look. “New recruits, perhaps.”
Lago lifted his head and studied her.
She motioned at the boys. “Do you really have the luxury of being choosey?”
“How do you think you’ll get them to tell you anything?”
Tyla gave him a cool smile. “Get them something to eat and get me any medical supplies you have. Then we’ll ask them the questions you want to know.”
* * *
Lago handed Jarrett a bag. Jarrett snapped it open and glanced inside. There were bandages, a few medicinal herbs that Jarrett didn’t recognize, and a suture kit. He closed it and set it aside, reaching for the bucket of hot water they’d heated on the small pot-bellied stove in the back of the warehouse.
“Nazarien?” Lago asked, gathering a handful of rags.
“No, Terrian,” answered Jarrett.
“Same difference,” muttered Lago.
“Not exactly.” He put enough emphasis in the words to tell Lago that this part of the conversation was over. “Why don’t you have this place more heavily guarded?”
Lago looked up at him, his eyes narrowed. “This is a temporary location. Very temporary. In fact, we commandeered it just today for this meeting. You won’t know where the seat of my operation is. I trust you about as much as you trust me.” He nodded at Jarrett’s sword.
Jarrett laughed. “Probably better that way.” He lifted the bucket and bag, striding to where the boys were huddled, watching the adults with wary expressions. He knew how Tyla planned to get the information Lago wanted, but he was a little uneasy having her show her ability so openly. In fact, he didn’t like this entire setup. Something still didn’t feel right to him.
Tyla took the bucket and the bag from him. She immediately set to dressing the boy’s wounds. Jarrett glanced ov
er at the red-headed boy he’d first disarmed. He was rubbing his fingers and watching Tyla with interest.
“You might want to take a look at him too,” Jarrett offered, nodding at the boy. “I might have broken something in his hand.”
Tyla glanced at the boy, then frowned up at Jarrett. Jarrett shrugged. He didn’t know what else to say. Lago was tossing packets of dried food at the boys. They tore into it and started stuffing the leathery-looking strips into their mouths.
“What is it?” he asked.
Lago tossed him one. “Bainburi. You’d better get used to it because this is what’ll get you over the summit.”
Jarrett opened the packet and sniffed it. “What’s bainburi?”
“Fish,” said Muzik with a grimace. “Hate the stuff.”
Lago eyed him closely. “And yet I’ll bet you’ve eaten plenty of it when necessary.”
“More than you can imagine,” said Muzik. “It damn near keeps forever.”
Jarrett took an experimental bite and passed the rest to Kendrick. It was salty and sweet at the same time, a strange rough texture against his tongue. He studied Lago again. “I still don’t understand why you don’t have more guards for this place – for yourself.”
Everyone stopped moving. He could feel their eyes shift to him. Even the four boys. Jarrett lowered his gaze to the red-head. The boy’s look was calculating, intense. He knew something.
“Why do you keep asking that?” said Lago.
Jarrett returned his attention to him. “I don’t know. It just doesn’t square with me. You being who you are, I’d think you’d have a larger contingent at your disposal.”
Jarrett could feel Tyla’s focus turn to Lago. He knew she was searching his mind. He hoped she was careful. He really didn’t want this man to know what she could do, at least not yet.
Earon broke the tension with an uncomfortable laugh. “Why the hell are we having a pissing match right now?”
Jarrett didn’t remove his stare from the bald man. Lago glanced away, his gaze passing over the four boys. “I fed them. Now how you gonna get them to talk?”
Tyla returned to her healing. “Let me finish this first.”
Jarrett gave Kendrick a pointed look, then directed it at the warehouse door. Kendrick dropped the rest of his bainburi in one of the boy’s lap and strode toward the door, loosening his sword. Selig followed behind him. The red-head was glaring at Jarrett.
“What’s your name?” Jarrett asked him.
“Go to hell, Ass-wipe,” he snarled.
“That’s a long name. Mind if we just call you Ass-wipe.” The boy bristled, but his companions snickered. Jarrett was struck with how young they all seemed.
Tyla finished bandaging the boy with the cut on his thigh and knelt by Ass-wipe, taking his hand. Although he continued to glare at Jarrett, he let Tyla palpate his fingers without protest. Jarrett suspected she was exerting a little control over him.
“Nothing’s broken,” she said, “just sprained.” She leaned back on her heels, her braid sliding off her shoulder. “Tell us your real name.”
“Nevis,” he said, then blinked in surprise as if he couldn’t believe he’d told her so easily.
“Why did you follow us, Nevis?” she asked.
Instead of watching her, Jarrett watched Lago. He knew the man was hiding something. He wondered if Tyla knew what it was.
Nevis looked at his hand. “Just to see if you had any money on you.”
“Filthy little pickpockets,” said Bonna in disgust.
“Look at me, Nevis,” Tyla commanded.
The boy looked up.
“Why were you following us? Don’t lie to me.”
The other three boys shared anxious glances, but they didn’t respond. Nevis squirmed, but Tyla held his stare.
“They paid us. They paid us coin.”
Lago’s expression shifted from curiosity to anxiety in an instant. Muzik shared a look with Jarrett.
“Who? Who paid you?” Tyla asked.
Nevis squirmed again, rubbing his fingers with his uninjured hand. “Real coin,” he said. “It bought us all meat pies.”
“Who gave you the coin?”
Nevis crinkled his nose in disgust. “Front Guard.”
Tyla released him and looked away.
Lago towered over the boy. “Are you sure? How do you know it was Front Guard?”
“We saw the panther.”
“What exactly did they tell you to look for?” asked Jarrett.
“Anything unusual. People acting strangely. We were to follow them and report it as soon as possible. They promised us more coin if we gave them any information. It didn’t matter what.”
“But we stopped you before you could report us, right?” said Earon. The worry in his voice was obvious.
Nevis tucked his knees in against his chest and rested his chin on them.
“No,” said Tyla softly.
Nevis glanced up at her, then at Jarrett. “Sern went to them as soon as we saw you on Foam Street. The rest of us kept following.”
“Shit!” cursed Lago, kicking one of the crates.
“This is a problem. We can’t stay here, waiting for supplies,” said Jarrett.
“Obviously!” snapped Lago, rounding on him. He rubbed a hand over his bald head. “I knew I was going to regret this.” He pointed at Tyla. “Wait here.”
Jarrett watched him storm into the glass-fronted office. He grabbed a pack off the desk and started stuffing papers and other supplies into it. Tyla rose to her feet and moved toward Jarrett.
He took her arm and drew her away from the others. “What’s going on?” he whispered, nodding at Lago.
“He’s not the rebel leader here. He’s just a proxy. That’s why he has only one guard. He’s maybe third or fourth in command.”
Jarrett exhaled. “Now that makes more sense.”
Tyla nodded.
Bonna followed Lago to the office door. “What are you planning to do?”
Lago looked out at them. “What can I do? If they get caught, I’m screwed.”
“I can’t go back to the brothel. Not now.”
“Obviously,” Lago repeated.
“The Baron isn’t gonna to like this.”
Lago stopped stuffing his pack. “You think the Baron wants Front Guard swarming all over us right now. Why weren’t you more discreet?”
Bonna crossed her arms over her chest. “How so? I did the best I could. You should have come to the brothel to meet them. I didn’t ask for this. It got dumped in my lap.”
As Tyla moved toward the office, Jarrett followed her. “Who’s this baron?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Lago, returning to his task.
Tyla moved past Bonna and reached for the pack, pressing it down on the table. “I don’t ask questions twice,” she said.
Lago’s eyes snapped up to her face and fixed there. Jarrett tried to hide his smile.
“The Baron calls the shots. He’ll know how to get you out of Kazden.”
Tyla’s eyes searched his face. Jarrett could feel the pulse of her power, but it was subtle enough that he didn’t think Lago would register it. “The boys won’t be hurt. I won’t allow it.”
“They’re street trash.”
“They won’t be hurt,” she repeated.
Lago swallowed hard. “They won’t be hurt,” he answered.
Tyla nodded and released the pack. “We’d better get moving now. I suspect the leader of the Front Guard’s a man named Lex Prestar. He won’t waste any time trying to locate us.”
Lago snapped the pack closed and swung it to his shoulder. “After you, Your Majesty.”
* * *
Tyla walked directly behind Lago. It was pitch dark in the streets, but still there were an awful lot of them moving through the night. They encountered a few clusters of people, threes and fours, but most of Kazden seemed to be at home, sleeping through the depth of the night.
Lago took them into
the most desolate parts of the city. Offal and foul smelling things choked the gutters and spilled into the streets. The piers ran right out onto the surf here and the waves bashed against the planks, spraying up over the moorings for the boats. Tyla could see a number of bobbing silhouettes in the moonlight.
They didn’t see any soldiers, but they saw many sprawled bodies in the alleys, sleeping in doorways or blocking the rough and rotted boardwalks that ran between the warehouses and canneries.
Lago brought them to one of the canneries, a dilapidated building that looked abandoned. The windows in the front of it were broken and the façade tilted precariously into the street, hanging by the support beams that crossed just beneath the tin roof.
Opening the door, Lago motioned them into the yawning darkness. Selig went first, while Lago glanced down both ends of the street to see if they’d been followed. Once the door was closed behind them, Selig uncovered the lamp he’d brought and shined a muted light into the cannery. Tyla saw rows and rows of tables, barren now, littered with strange, metal keys. She picked one off the table and turned it over in her hand.
“Never eat much fish, did you?” said Lago, taking the key from her. “It hooks onto a can and you crank it back, opening the lid.”
“The fish we ate didn’t come in a can,” said Tyla.
Lago gave her a cool smile. “I guess not, Your Majesty.” He motioned toward the back of the cannery. “Let’s go.”
Muzik moved close to Jarrett. Tyla caught the nudge he gave the Terrian, then he pointed into the rafters. Jarrett glanced up and she knew he marked the slight movement. “How many?” he muttered.
Muzik shrugged.
“Five,” said Tyla. “Three in front and two at the front door.”
Muzik gave her an amazed look, but Jarrett just smiled.
Lago led them to a heavily barred door. He ran his hand over the surface. “This was where they kept the valuables.”
“Money?” asked Nevis.
Lago gave him a disgusted look. “Fish eggs.”
The World of Samar Box Set 3 Page 28