He steps past her, knuckling her lightly on the shoulder.
“I mean it,” she says. “This is serious.”
Glint spins on the balls of his feet. “And in all seriousness”—he holds out his hand—“I have a lot to tell you too.”
She stares at his hand for a moment before slipping hers into it. Glint leads her through the entryway and into a main chamber laden with heavy furniture.
He gestures to a sofa upholstered in rich leather. “You’ll be happy to know I solved your little mystery with the trinkets.”
She stops short. “Wait, what?”
“The charm you said came from your dead thief’s squat—”
“Yes, I know what you mean by the trinkets. You found out they’re from Rattle?”
“Who?”
“Rattle. The man who gave me the etch.”
He drops onto the sofa, his brows drawn together. “Missing an eye…thinks awfully highly of himself?”
She nods as she takes a seat at the other end of the couch. “That’s him. So you already know he’s the killer?”
“Well, that’s a bit of a leap.”
“He has to be—there was a charm in Lavi’s room too. Problem is, I can’t figure out his motives. Why is he in Ostgard to begin with? And why did he help me take out Noble, not to mention give me a fortune in rubies without a second thought?”
“Oh, I know why he’s here—he told me himself. As to the situation with Noble…wait, did you say rubies?”
“He told you? What?”
“And his real name is Evant. This Rattle moniker is clearly part of a persona he’s constructed.”
Myrrh chews her lip for a moment. “I think I could use a glass of wine.”
Glint smiles cunningly as he hops to his feet. “I have a number of lovely vintages. Something I feel a gentleman should never be without.”
“Speaking of indulging, I’m surprised you remember me showing you the trinket.”
A few bottles of wine stand on a buffet table against the wall. Glint picks one up and selects a pair of goblets.
Midpour, he turns and fixes her with a level stare. “I remember everything from my last visit.”
As he turns back to the wine, Myrrh plucks at the midnight-blue fabric that’s trying to slide off her thigh entirely. Somewhere in the recesses of the house, dishes clatter. She wonders, briefly, whether Bernard feels slighted by Glint taking up residence here without bringing his loyal cook.
“Do you remember asking me to run away?” she says as he starts back with the glasses in hand.
“And I remember kissing you. Before you pushed me away, that is.”
His eyes are locked on her face. Myrrh looks away.
“You were drunk. You weren’t yourself.”
“Maybe I was the closest to myself that I’ve been in some time,” he says in a low voice.
Her eyes stay on her lap while she speaks. “Those weren’t decisions to make after too many drinks.”
When Glint reaches her side, he steps very close to hand her the glass. “Maybe not, but who says we always have to be the responsible ones? Aren’t you tired of it?”
She cups the bell of the glass in her hand, staring at the ruby-hued contents.
“I think you should tell me more about Rattle.”
He sighs as he retakes his seat and stretches out a leg on the sofa cushions. “That, my dear Myrrh, is a long story. And a sad one, I suppose. Evant and I were friends once, down in the Port Cities where I built my modest trading venture. Sometimes we simply drank together and talked about the shifting tides of commerce on the Gray Sea. Sometimes we had business arrangements. I’d buy a load of his silk because my ships were heading north where the nobles pay a premium for the cloth. Or he would help me distribute a load of giftwood carvings I finagled out of an unwary seller.”
“So he’s not the career thief he claimed to be?”
“No, that part of his story is true. I just didn’t know it until he swindled me. I got too trusting and didn’t ask for a deposit during one of our transactions, and that was the last I saw of him. Until I tracked him down in a brothel in Tangesh, of course.”
“So what did you do when you found him? Beat him up?”
He smirks. “Surely you know that’s not my style.”
No, she supposes it isn’t. “You decided to match his swindling with one of your own I’m guessing.”
“Evant needed to learn some humility, and I thought I’d be a good teacher.” He laughs quietly and shakes his head. “Remember, I was just nineteen or twenty, and it hadn’t been that long since I lost my mother. I was quick to anger and had far too high an opinion of myself. Things surely would have turned out better if I’d just involved the trade authority. But here we are—no sense in regretting the past.”
“What did you take from him?”
A faint hint of shame darkens his cheeks. “You may have noticed the expensive replacements he wears for the eye he lost.”
“You didn’t…”
“I mentioned I was young. His betrayal cut me deeply because I had few friends to begin with. I was lashing out.”
“As far as I could tell, he’s found suitable successors for the items you stole.”
Glint shrugs. “I’m sure he has. Anyway, after that there was no going back. Over the next couple years, our rivalry reached a point where we spent more effort and coin undermining each other than we did on growing our own businesses. I was as much a pirate as a trader—I suppose in that regard I have Evant to thank for my current choice of profession.”
“You make it sound like you hadn’t seen him in a while. What ended your fight?”
“If the Port Cities hadn’t become such intolerable places to live when people like Emmerst took over their leadership, I probably would have lost everything in the quest to bring him down. Instead, I focused my efforts on one last strike before vanishing from the coast and starting over here. I suspect that final blow is the reason he’s followed me to Ostgard.”
Myrrh glances at him over the top of her glass. “What did you do?”
“Hmm, well…I’d known for a long time where he kept his most prized valuables. Along with the woman he’d taken a deep fancy to. He kept them together in a manor set in the hills above Ishvar. Suffice to say I convinced the woman she had far better prospects elsewhere, and I was apparently so persuasive that she not only left, but also absconded with most of his loot.”
“I probably don’t need to ask what form your persuasion took.”
He smirks as he sips his wine then balances the goblet on his thigh. “I don’t know where you arrived at such a scandalous opinion of me. But for your information, I merely sent a letter asking to meet her. We spoke for a long afternoon in the conservatory of Evant’s beautiful home. I told her the truth about how Evant had befriended me when I’d lost everything only to betray me most callously. Maybe she’d already started to suspect her lover wasn’t everything she’d first imagined. Regardless, she escaped with his treasure two days later.”
“If it was the woman who robbed him, why did he chase you here?”
“Oh, I made sure to let him know I’d put her up to it. I may also have exaggerated the extent of my interactions with her.”
Myrrh sighs. “So he’s here to retaliate.”
“He showed up at my doorstep in Lower Fringe a few days ago. I wasn’t home, but Bernard conveyed a rather long string of threats. That’s when I remembered where I’d seen the symbol from that charm. Evant had dealings with a particular ring of miscreants called the night blades. They follow a trickster god known as Skorry—he’s supposed to grant them the ability to perform thieves’ cantrips or some such nonsense. The diamond and daggers is Skorry’s sign.”
“That doesn’t explain why it’s being planted at the scene of the murders. Rattle gave one of those charms to Nab. There was one near the front door of your place in Lower Fringe. And another in the r
oom where Lavi died.”
Glint takes a sip of wine, his eyes distant while he seems to consider. “Regardless of what I think about Evant, he’s not a heartless killer. Are you sure it’s not a coincidence?”
“I’m not sure about anything. I’ve only checked those few places—Ghost syndicate hasn’t lost anyone else. One of Sapphire’s dealers has been missing for almost a week—I suppose I could have the woman’s home searched. But I’m still trying to understand Rattle’s plan. What threats did he leave with Bernard?”
“He said he intends to own the city so I can watch my hopes crumble. He’s going to swallow the syndicates one by one until every criminal in Ostguard calls him their king. Among other things.”
“So that’s why he wanted a place in Ghost syndicate. He tried to convince me that I was something special—I just had to prove it by dealing with Noble. But really, he probably saw a naïve young thief who wouldn’t recognize she was being manipulated until he’d seized her syndicate from her.”
Myrrh’s stomach turns sour when she realizes Rattle was right. She was naïve.
“Hmm. I suspect his plans for you went beyond taking over Ghost syndicate. As you recall, he’s under the impression I seduced his beloved. I’m guessing he thinks there’s something between us and that’s why he turned up in Rat Town.”
Myrrh curls her lip. “But he’s twice my age.”
“Surely you know men well enough to realize that’s no obstacle in their minds.”
She tugs at her dress again. It keeps riding up.
“So tell me about these rubies,” Glint says.
She pulls the little pouch of gems from her handbag and tosses it over to him. “Noble hired a mercenary army. Rattle gave me about twice this many so I could pay them to double-cross him. I was planning to give the remainder back, but I think I’ve reconsidered.”
Glint peeks into the pouch and lets out a low whistle. “Either he’s taken a stronger fancy to you then he expected, or he really, really doesn’t like me. Or maybe both.”
“Regardless, we have to know for sure whether he’s behind the murders. It terrifies me to think about how close he’s been to Nab—those thieves’ cantrips are real, by the way. Nab used one on me.”
“Oh really?”
“With a twist of his fingers, he sent me chasing after, as he put it, the person who hit me with the ugly stick.”
Glint tilts his head back and laughs. “And you fell for it?”
“I don’t even remember getting up from my chair. It was like the stories you hear about people tricked by fairies.”
“Perhaps I should have a talk with Nab. Straighten him out with regards to your physical attributes.”
“I’m afraid that’s a hopeless quest.”
“Then maybe I could show you what I think of your appearance?” he says in a low voice.
Glint’s tone is teasing, but there’s a darker, more serious edge to it. Myrrh’s heart flutters as he sets his wine aside and slides closer. He plants a knee on the sofa cushions, his other foot on the floor, and leans over her.
Myrrh breathes in his sandalwood scent as she meets his gaze. He runs a hand up her exposed thigh.
She closes her eyes. “I have to get back soon. Nab’s locked in a room with the queen of Rat Town’s gambling industry.”
Glint’s hand slides onto the fabric of her dress and over her hip bone to her side. She can’t help her quick intake of breath. “Plus I have to deal with Rattle. And Mink—”
He presses his lips to hers, cutting off her words. His hand slides higher, fingers finding the grooves between her ribs, thumb just under the curve of her breast. As he sinks down onto her, she feels his desire against her upper thigh.
Oh, sixes. She can’t do this. Not right now.
“Glint,” she says, wriggling higher onto the arm of the sofa. “It’s important. Mink has been trying to get you a message, but with the thieves’ path closed—”
“Mink is a grown up. Eventually, she and Resh have to step up and make decisions,” he says, hand sliding around to her back.
“Glint, two more of your people were killed. That’s what she wanted you to know.”
He blinks then slowly sits up, his fingers trailing over her body and lifting away.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“When?”
She shakes her head. “I’m not sure exactly. Do you really doubt this could be Evant’s doing?”
He drags a hand through his hair. “I really didn’t think so, but whoever or whatever the killer, it certainly seems to be targeting a disproportionate number of people I care about.”
“We need to figure this out quickly.”
Jaw clenched, Glint nods. He takes a deep breath. “You’re right. Any ideas on how to track Evant down?”
“Some. But he scares me. He said the etch is just one of his many tools. The cantrips are another. When you heard rumors about etch leaf, were there other substances?”
A look of genuine concern darkens his features. “Many. I don’t know whether they all exist, but if they do and he has access…Myrrh, he has to believe you’re unaware of my previous relationship with him. You have to keep up the charade.”
“Which likely includes getting back to Rat Town before he realizes I went looking for you. Problem is, with etch, he can follow my trail.”
“If nothing else, I consider it highly unlikely he could get past the guards and into Maire’s Quarter. He might suspect we met, but he won’t know for sure. We need to get you home quickly and make sure you are overheard expressing frustration over not being able to find me.”
“Do you think that will really work?”
“I think you’ll have to be convincing.”
“And then what?”
“We have to even the odds. You say you can track him down. Does that mean you might have an idea where he keeps his stash?”
She nods slowly. “I think I might.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
IT’S A COUPLE hours past dark, and chaos rules The Queen’s Dice. Even a full day later, patrons are more interested in getting fall-off-your-stool drunk in celebration of Noble’s demise and mourning for victims of the fire than in rolling dice or playing cards. Myrrh’s glad she paid Sapphire a hefty price in rubies to stand watch over Nab. The woman would probably be crying over the lost gambling profits otherwise.
Myrrh edges through the crowd, hood pulled over her hair in hopes no one will recognize her. Behind her, Warrell is not so circumspect. He’s decidedly unhappy about the way she left him in charge, and like a toddler, he pouts by pushing and shoving. Drinkers yelp and their eyes travel upward to decide whether to protest the brute shoving them aside. As soon as they recognize the big man, it dawns on them to take a closer look at the slight figure who just slipped past.
“Oh ho!” someone shouts. “’Tis the Queen of Rat Town finally come to slum with her subjects.”
A cheer goes up, and much to her dismay, ale fountains over the crowd as drunks knock their mugs together. She ducks as spray splatters her cloak.
“Now back off!” Warrell shouts, loyal despite his sulk. “Mistress Myrrh has business to conduct, unlike you worthless louts.”
Of course this brings another cheer and another toast, and Myrrh runs to avoid a second shower. She squeezes into the private high-stakes room where she deposited Nab before dawn, waits for Warrell to duck inside, then slams the door. Nab glares at her with an expression so sullen she can scarcely keep from laughing.
“You had no right,” he snaps.
Myrrh shrugs. “I thought you’d like a chance to practice your new trick. If you can misdirect Sapphire while she’s dealing cards, you could probably walk into an inner-kingdom throne room and make off with the king’s shoes.”
Sapphire turns her back to Nab so the boy won’t see her smirk. Clearly, he tried his new cantrip, and clearly, it failed.
Nab scowls.
&n
bsp; “Ah, I see,” Myrrh says. “Well, you’ll just have to keep practicing.”
He crosses skinny arms over his chest and snarls. “I’ll never improve my skills if you lock me up with nannies all the time.”
“Speaking of nannies, Warrell is going to take you back to the safe house, and he’s going to keep you in his sight until I get back.”
“What?” Nab protests
“Now wait,” Warrell adds.
“I’ll explain everything later tonight or tomorrow morning. There’s something I need to deal with, and until then, I don’t know any other way to keep you safe, Nab. And Warrell, you’re the only person I can trust to guard him and the safe house.”
The big man huffs and shoves his thumbs through his belt loops. “Fine. Until tomorrow. Come on, kid.”
When Nab doesn’t immediately rise from his slouched seat, Warrell wraps a huge hand around the boy’s upper arm. Nab starts to protest but then takes a second look at the big man and seems to think better of it. He casts Myrrh his iciest glare as Warrell leads him out the room’s back door.
“I hope he wasn’t too much trouble,” she says to Sapphire once they’re gone.
Sapphire gives an amused smile. “He actually almost caught me with his trick the first time. After that, it was fun to watch him get madder and madder. Like watching a squirrel rage while a crow plunders her nut stash.”
“I expect Rattle will show up at midnight. Can you send him back here? It’s a bit too loud up front for my tastes.”
A sly smirk tugs at Sapphire’s lips. “Speaking of Rattle, I heard he was the source of those rubies. Think he has any more to throw around?”
Myrrh forces a smile. “That’s one of the things I hope to find out. By the way, that dealer who went missing…did you ever hear from her?”
Concern furrows Sapphire’s brow when she shakes her head. “Haven’t heard a thing, and Darcy at the boarding house says her bed’s been empty.”
“You don’t know whether she had any interaction with Rattle, do you?”
“You think he offered her a better gig? Maybe some work warming his bed?”
“Obviously he has coin…enough he could attract a girl desperate to escape Rat Town.” She considers telling Sapphire her greater worry, but she doesn’t want the woman to betray her suspicions to Rattle.
Ruler of Scoundrels (Chronicles of a Cutpurse Book 2) Page 17