The Thief's Gamble

by Juliet E. McKenna

  'Shiv!' Darni bellowed like a rutting bull and Shiv spared us a glance.

  Acid fire tore into my leg and I nearly paid the ultimate price for being distracted. I shrieked like Drianon's own eagle and this bought me a second to recover myself. Darni was fighting two on one now, and I was facing serious trouble. He was not as big as the others but he was quick and strong and whipped his blade around mine with terrifying ease. I was being driven back step by step until I felt the fire crunch under my boots and scorch my legs.

  The man I fought sneered at me with savage glee. I honestly thought I was lost. Sapphire light ripped past and the triumphant face exploded into a blackened ruin as it shot backwards. I gaped stupidly; we all did in a mad moment of stillness that seized friend and foe alike.

  'Move!' Darni shoved me through the dying fire and the three of us bracketed Shiv as he wove coruscating, multicoloured light round the ring of earthen ramparts.

  A flash like forked lightning knocked two more backwards into scorched hulks of flesh and brilliance shot from Shiv's hands to the embers of the fire. Red light, bright as a new day, flashed across the ground to finish off the wounded and then shot through the air to crown the crest of the ring with flames where reinforcements died in screaming agony. Saedrin, how many were there? How many were waiting outside? I thrust away rising panic with real difficulty and concentrated on my own private mayhem, realising with some unoccupied fraction of my mind that I was whimpering. Piss on that, I thought. I joined in with Darni's litany of curses at the top of my lungs.

  Down in the blood and death of the ring, another fell as his sword exploded into red-hot razors which tore his face apart. Those remaining now realised they were trapped and redoubled their efforts, defence giving way to desperation as they fought to get to Shiv and kill the magic. Now they were screaming back at us, my ears only hearing nonsense but recognising the vicious hatred in the tone. Terror built in the pit of my stomach and threatened to come howling out at any second. Now I was screaming at myself as much as the enemy.

  Darni yelled something I missed but Shiv dropped his handfuls of blue fire and began to weave a multihued web of power. In an instant, black shadows began to ripple down the length of our swords, vanishing like smoke in the air. I landed a blow on the man in front of me: the mail on his shoulder parted, the flesh beneath melting like tallow and smoking with a revolting stench. Geris moved to follow up when his opponent shrank away from the deadly darkness and nearly took a thrust in the ribs from the side. Shiv saw the danger and the man screamed like a girl as his arm fell apart under a blast of green light, the small bones of his hand and wrist scattering like runes. He sank to his knees and I finished him through the back of the neck.

  It took me a few maddened moments to realise the fight was over, my ears still ringing, disoriented. Crazy shadows ran round the ring as Shiv's wall of fire flared one last time and then died. We braced ourselves for new dangers but none came. Darni broke from our frozen group and ran up the rampart, yelling defiance into the night.

  Sudden terror flashed through me as a hand gripped my arm but it was only Shiv. I caught him as he sank to his knees, face deathly pale and eyes dark-shadowed like a man in a fever, his breath coming in tearing gasps.

  'Darni!' I shrieked, my voice rising, scant moments from hysteria. He looked back from the crest of the ring.

  'Geris, help Livak, it's Shiv!'

  Geris came and helped me lay Shiv down. I dragged the corpse out of the fire, my stomach rising at the sickly roasting smell. No time to be sick, I threw more wood on the embers and stood, not knowing what to do.

  'Spirits, the red bottle.'

  Geris carefully poured a mouthful down Shiv and he coughed weakly.

  'Wine, no mead. Thanks. Now, get some wine and heat it with some honey.'

  I obeyed with shaking hands. Shiv's colour improved a little and his breathing slowed. Geris tended him with single-minded concentration, loosening his shirt and checking him for wounds, ignoring his own bloody arm.

  A dark shadow came over the top of the ring and I had my sword ready before I realised it was Darni, his eyes bright as a wild dog's.

  'Well?' He kept his face to the night as he returned to the fire.

  'He's exhausted but a good night's sleep should see him right.' Geris' tone was calm and confident as he went to his leather case of parchments.

  'What are you doing?' I asked in bemusement.

  He looked at me as if only just realising that I was present.

  'Something to help Shiv sleep.' He showed me a sheet of neatly written couplets and then spoke the complex syllables over the fallen wizard. His breathing became deeper and more normal as the tension left his long body.

  'Is that this aetheric magic?'

  'Yes.' Geris frowned. 'It's never worked that quickly before. I wonder what it is about this place?' Frustration edged his tone.

  'What else can you do?'

  'Not much. Shit! The old books say they could heal wounds, cure fevers, all kinds of things. All I can do is put him to sleep. If only—'

  'If a bitch had balls, she'd be a dog. Don't knock it, sleep's what Shiv needs.' Darni stripped off his blood-soaked tunic and shirt and began to wash the worst of the gore off himself.

  'Are we safe?' I asked stupidly.

  'For the moment. I couldn't see any sign but they might be regrouping.' Darni glanced round the carnage. 'I'd be surprised if they came back but we'll be ready.'

  As he wiped himself dry with the remains of his shirt I saw several broad purple scars on his shoulders and chest. A fresh cut on his arm was oozing slowly and his knuckles were bloody and raw on both hands. He turned and I saw there were no marks on his back.

  'There's a small green bag in my kit, Livak. I'd rather not get everything bloody…'

  I fetched it for him and winced in sympathy as he poured neat spirits on his wounds before trying to dress them.

  'Here, let me.' I worked fast and he grunted approvingly.

  'That's fine. Now, let's look at that leg.'

  I had forgotten my own wound, crazy as that sounds, but as soon as he mentioned it I felt as if I'd been kicked by a plough horse. I sat and watched numbly as he cut away my breeches to reveal a deep gash. The fire had scorched my leg as hairless as a high-priced whore's but there were no burns, which was a relief given the way they fester.

  'This'll need stitches,' Darni said in a matter-of-fact tone. 'Do you want to do it yourself?'

  'Hang on.' Geris finished cleaning the long, shallow slice in his own arm and came over.

  'This is going to hurt,' he said unnecessarily as he clamped his hands on my thigh.

  Darni wiped it with a spirit-soaked wad of lint; I managed not to vomit or faint but it was a close thing. He worked fast but, by the time he was finished, I was shaking and dripping with sweat.

  'Get some sleep. Geris and I will stand first watch.'

  'Urn.' I could not trust myself with words and rolled myself in my cloak next to Shiv. Slowly my heart stopped pounding and the terror and elation of the fight receded. The shakes took longer to subside, just leaving me with the thumping pain in my leg. I closed my eyes and listened to the crackling of the fire. It reminded me of childhood illnesses bedded down in the kitchen and I screwed my eyes shut on sudden tears.

  'Livak?' I was amazed to realise Geris' low question had woken me. I blinked up at his face, bleak with strain and tiredness in the grey light of dawn.

  'Could you keep awake for a while? I've got to sleep.'

  I sat up and rubbed my face, grimacing at the ache in my leg. 'Surely.' I looked round. 'Where's Darni?'

  'Here.' Darni was sitting at the top of the slope keeping watch, tense like a good hound.

  'Don't you want some rest?'

  He shook his head. 'I couldn't; a fight like that leaves fire in the blood for hours. I'll rest later; I don't think they'll be back.'

  'Who were they?'

  'Bandits, I suppose. Probably out of Lescar, a group
whose Lord came off second-best in some challenge.'

  I squinted up at him, hair and beard still matted with blood, face cheerful and relaxed.

  'Poldrion's ferry will be busy today,' I observed at last.

  He grinned. 'I don't think he'll take many of these without fixing a price first. I wonder how many he'll tip over the side halfway.' He surveyed the corpses littering the grass with an untroubled air.

  'I hope he'll credit you with a commission. Where did you learn to fight like that?'

  'Lescar, fighting for the Duke of Triolle ten years back.'

  'You're good.'

  'I've got to be good at something.'

  I let it go. 'What's wrong with Shiv?'

  'He exhausted himself. You can't throw power like that around without paying for it.'

  'I didn't realise,' I said in a wondering tone. 'I really should learn more about wizards.'

  Darni stretched his arms above his head, grimacing as he tested his injuries. 'Before they realised I had no power as a mage, I attended some of the lectures. There's a dangerous old bastard in Hadrumal called Otrick; he's about the best there is with air magic. Anyway, he gives a lecture posted as “Why don't wizards rule the world?”' He gestured at Shiv's motionless frame. 'That's one reason.'

  I wondered what the others were but did not like to ask.

  'Otrick gives new students practical lessons too; I've seen some carried out of his hall.' Darni looked at me and smiled. 'Not being a mage isn't all bad, you know.'

  The sun rose higher, Geris woke and we ate a breakfast made tasteless by the blood-soaked surroundings. Flies began to gather and we set about the revolting task of shifting the dead so we could get out without the horses going hysterical on us. Shiv slept on but his colour was back to normal, he stirred from time to time and his twitching eyes showed he was dreaming.

  'We might get more trouble so we'll take some armour,' Darni ordered and we wrestled with the less mangled corpses. When I finally got a mail-shirt off, I was surprised to realise it was nearly right for me in length. I looked at the bodies with new interest.

  'Stumpy lot, aren't they? You'll need to put two of these together for Shiv.'

  Geris paused. 'Shiv can't wear armour; all that metal round him screws up the magic.' He put down the sword he had been cleaning and began to inspect the bodies more closely, pulling his dagger out. 'Yes, they are all rather short.' I wondered queasily if his academic interests included anatomising, but to my relief he contented himself with cutting away clothing.

  'Darni, this is all rather peculiar.' He moved round the dell, removing helmets and coifs.

  'How do you mean?'

  'They're all very similar; they're all yellow-haired for one thing. How often do you see that?'

  Darni peered at a few of the faces, bloodless with livid purple lips and tongues or revoltingly mottled depending on the way they had fallen. He shrugged, uninterested.

  'So they're all related. Bandits often work in families, you know that.'

  'So many of them? So close in age?' Geris looked puzzled.

  'They're just robbers trying their luck.' Darni produced a pair of snips and began taking some of the excess out of the hauberk I had selected.

  'Looking for what? We're hardly a merchant's train loaded with coin.' Geris sat back on his heels. 'All we've got worth stealing is the horses and they weren't their target.'

  'That's because anyone who went near them got their head stamped on,' Darni grinned.

  Geris did not look convinced. 'I'm going to have a look around.'

  'Don't go far and be careful. Yell if you see anything.' I watched him leave with concern, half inclined to go too, but Shiv chose that moment to wake.

  'Is there any water?' he croaked. 'My mouth feels like the inside of a muleteer's glove.'

  I fetched him a cupful. 'How are you feeling?'

  He propped himself on one elbow and wrinkled his nose at the leathern taste of the water. 'I've felt better but I'll recover.'

  'You scared a season's growth out of me.' It was supposed to be a joke but it did not come out right.

  'I think I used up a season's growth.' He sat up and looked around. 'Saedrin! What a mess!'

  Gens reappeared, looking dissatisfied. 'They didn't have any horses.'

  'Their mates will have taken them back to wherever they are hiding out. I don't suppose we got them all.' Darni threw the mail at me. 'Try that.'

  I draped it round myself, grimacing at the prospect of that weight on my shoulders. 'Good enough.'

  Darni began lacing the rings together with leather thong. 'I should be riveting this, you know,' he muttered with dissatisfaction.

  'No, listen,' Geris persisted. 'They did not have horses; I'm telling you they came on foot.'

  'Out here? We're leagues from anywhere. You must be mistaken.'

  'I've been looking at their tracks. I know what I'm talking about,' Geris insisted with uncharacteristic force. I looked up from the swords I was trying for weight.

  'Go on.' My own sense of unease was returning.

  'There are no signs of horses anywhere. Look at them, none of them are booted or spurred for riding. They were on foot!'

  'So they're holed up somewhere dose and watching the road.' Darni was not convinced. 'We'd better get out of here before they come back. Let's get working.'

  Now Geris had got me wondering. As I went round searching for my darts, I looked more closely at the nearest body and shoving aside my revulsion, pulled apart the remnants of the clothing.

  'This is odd.'

  'How so?' Geris came over and Shiv looked at me with interest.

  'Well, these clothes are certainly old and worn but he's all clean underneath.' I bent closer. 'Look, there's old blood here on the linen, I'd say from lice or fleas.' I ran a finger over the marble-cold flesh below. 'He's spotless, not a bite anywhere. He's clean too, scrubbed.' I moved to the next roughly intact corpse. 'This one's the same.'

  'So they've got rid of their vermin. Where's the mystery? Have you ever had lice? Believe me, you don't want to keep them.' Darni concentrated on his work.

  I sat back on my heels. Darni was probably right, but I didn't think we had read the runes right here. What was I missing? I searched further.

  'None of them have any coin on them.' I rummaged in a few belt-pouches and pockets, brushing aside the flies and trying to ignore the smell of blood. 'None of them are carrying anything personal at all. No rings, jewellery, nothing. What's this?'

  I showed Geris a patch of raw skin on an arm. He looked on the others but could not find anything similar.

  'A stray shot from Shiv?'

  'They're all dead, that's all I need to know. Come on, I want to get out of here as fast as we can.' There was an edge to Darni's tone that forbade further investigation or speculation. Geris muttered something and returned to cleaning his sword and Shiv started to get slowly to his feet.

  We were soon packed up and ready to return to the road.

  'Are we going to do anything about all this?' I paused on our way out of the ring and looked back at the pile of dead.

  Darni shook his head. 'It'll take too long to get fuel to burn them.' He gestured to the far side of the rampart. 'They'll take care of it.'

  I looked at the waiting ravens and swallowed hard. Thirty or more bodies should see the birds well fed for half a season. * # *

  Back on the road the clean air blew the scent of death out of my nostrils, and I felt better. We paused at the next ford and all stripped to wash the last of the blood from ourselves and our gear. Geris tried to get me to use a pool further down the river for modesty's sake, but I was having none of it; not with Drianon knew what bandits lurking in the area.

  'I still think that was all a bit strange,' I murmured to Shiv as I dried my hair, one eye on Darni whose ears where muffled in soap as he scrubbed at his beard.

  'I agree.' Shiv pulled his shirt over his head. 'I can't think why I didn't pick them up when I did that scrying. If
they weren't on horseback, they should have been in the area I covered.'

  'Maybe they rode in so far and then came in on foot,' I said dubiously.

  'Why would they do that?'

  'I've no idea.'

  We rode on in dissatisfied silence.

  Friern Lodge,

  40th of For-Autumn

  Casuel grimaced as he stepped carefully out of the coach, alert for muck; it was going to be important to make a good impression. He tugged at the skirts of his coat to pull out some of the creases and frowned at the scuffs on his boot where some overladen yeoman had trodden on his foot.

  'Is this it?' Allin looked round at the huddle of little brick houses.

  'Well, I don't think we need to ask directions,' he replied tartly.

  They stared at the broad brick frontage of the manor standing four-square and imperious behind the tall iron gates on the far side of the road

  'That's a lodge?' Casuel couldn't blame Allin for sounding incredulous. Lord Armile's dwelling might have started life as a hunting residence but he doubted if any of the original building was left by now. He looked thoughtfully at a straggle of cottagers waiting by a door in the paling where hard-faced men in grey livery rested on halberds and periodically let a few through, palms brushing briefly.

  A horn sounded behind them. 'Make way!'

  Casuel stepped into a handy doorway before a coach rattled past, wheels spraying Allin's skirts with mud from the rutted road. The horses' hooves crunched briskly up the gravelled driveway and Casuel watched with a qualm of regret. He would have made a far more imposing arrival if he'd hired a vehicle, he realised belatedly. Still, the expense could not have been justified, could it?

  'Come on, Allin.'

  He picked his way across the road and approached the guards, head high and back straight, ignoring the curious glances of the peasantry. Allin copied him, Casuel pleased to see she was finally managing something that approached fitting dignity.

  'Good afternoon. I wish to see Lord Annile's chamberlain.' Casuel made a carefully calculated half-bow and looked expectantly at the man with a ribbon sewn around the stag badge on his jerkin.