“Is that the name of the Shieldsman who tried to stop us?” Bartholomew said. “Squealed like a pig when I sliced his gut open.”
“You son of a—” Rand charged at him, but didn’t get far before Codar’s dirk was at his throat. Rand had the satisfaction of seeing the cowardly nobleman flinch, however.
“Codar, if this worm makes another move, cut out his throat.” Valin’s cane clicked behind him as he made his way around. Gone was the calculating, visage he usually wore. Replaced instead by the controlled rage that was the reason he was the most feared man in Dockside.
“Now is not the time to be brazen, boy,” Valin said. “I could just as easily tear that armor off your body and give it to one of my men. It doesn’t belong to you anymore anyway. But in open battle, a Shieldsman is worth his weight in glaruium, and I’m feeling generous toward a fellow Docksider who rose so high and fell so spectacularly.”
“You said...” Rand cleared his throat. “You said you wanted Redstar and his people gone. Leaving Torsten alone in a castle where he has no allies left is murder.”
“I consider it a calculated risk. I won’t have my people seen assassinating a member of the royal family. Necessary or not, that kind of attention is bad for business.”
“Then let me help him. Together we can see an end to this silent invasion, and then I’ll do whatever you need. Even if it means helping this worthless sack of shog.” He pointed to Bartholomew, who seemed amused at the title.
“And risk my opportunity to move during the Dawning while the castle is distracted?” Valin said. “Or losing you?”
“I’ll give you my yigging armor!”
“Do not think for one second that this is a negotiation, Mister Langley.”
“Isn’t everything you do?” Rand replied. His head turned, and the point of Codar’s blade pushed gently into his jaw.
Valin wasn’t entertained. “Bartholomew, make sure his highness doesn’t scamper away.” Everyone glanced over to find Caleef Rakun crawling to the exit, hoping nobody would notice him. Bartholomew stomped down on his ankle. The Caleef cried out, then whimpered.
“Bring him.” Valin waved them forward to look down upon the arena. Codar didn’t leave Rand much choice but to follow.
A cleaning crew was busy dragging away the two halves of the Drav Cra warrior’s body. Nobody cared to swab up the blood or entrails. The crowd trickled out, seeing as how the foreign warrior perishing was likely the main event. The giant, Uhlvark, sat on some rocks, chomping on a cow’s thigh as if it had once belonged to a chicken.
“I think it is time you understand exactly where you are,” Valin said. “You’ve spent too much time away in grand castles, you forget who owns this district. You think I don’t know the threats you made to poor Gideon Trapp about exposing my shipments there?”
Codar shoved Rand against the rail, then pressed the point of his dagger against the weak point at the base of his skull. Valin leaned over next to him.
“My friends!” Valin called down to the dwindling crowd. “Why do you leave? I have a special performance for you. I give you a traitor’s sister, and the only one who can save her would rather keep his pride!”
There was motion down by the lower entrance to the arena. Rand extended his neck to get a better view and saw Sigrid shoved out by a group of thugs. Her clothes were shredded beyond recognition. Whistles sounded all around the arena as the crowd returned to their seats. Ale showered down from flagons and drenched her wild hair.
“Rand?” she cried out as she spun, voice cracking. “Rand!”
“What is this?” Rand asked. “What in the name of Iam are you doing!” The angrier he got, the harder Codar pressed the blade into the back of his neck. Too fast a move and he’d be dead before he got a finger on Valin.
“Teaching you some respect.” Valin flicked his hand. One of his men in the stands tossed Sigrid her Drav Cra bow and quiver.
The giant finished his meal at the same time and noticed her. The single eye in his pear-shaped face went wide. “Prettyyy giirl,” he said, enough drool to fill a tub dripping from his lips. The ground shook as he stood, then more as he lumbered toward her. The quake sent Sigrid staggering, but she grabbed the bow and arrows and found her footing.
“Please, let me out of here!” she screamed. “Rand!”
“Let her go, Valin!” Rand felt a kick and dropped to his knees. Codar’s blade slipped around in front, pointing at his trachea. One of his arms was wrenched behind his back and Codar’s boot pressed against the back of his legs. The Breklian was extremely well-trained.
Valin leaned in and whispered into Rand’s ear. “I need you to listen and listen close, boy or your strong, pretty sister will be split in half by that oaf in ways you don’t want to imagine.”
“Please, Valin, be reasonable. She’s a good Docksider. Please.”
The giant grasped at Sigrid, but she rolled out of the way, tearing a bit more of her dress. The crowd yapped in delight.
“Reasonable?” Valin grabbed Rand’s jaw and pulled it so near Rand could smell the wine on his breath.” I trade in favors and gold. You come here, with nothing to offer me but your sword and your identity. And you dare try to push away my generosity?”
“Whatever you want, I’ll do, just let her go. I’m begging you.”
The giant charged again, and Sigrid struggled to thread her bow. Rand now knew how well she could do it, but nerves had her hands shaking like Rand's had his first day of training under Sir Torsten and Sir Wardic. She got a shot off, and it slashed the Giant’s shoulder on the way to stabbing into the stands, right next to a drunkard’s head.
The giant grabbed her. She stabbed an arrow into his wrist, and he flung her aside. The fall wasn’t far, but the magnificent creature didn’t know his own strength. Her side hit the sand, and she rolled all the way across, slamming hard into the wall. The giant’s eye narrowed with rage, and he roared.
“Valin!” Rand screamed.
The giant took two clumsy steps, then Valin raised a hand. “Stop, friend Uhlvark,” he said, barely needing to raise his voice. “Please, return to your room.”
The giant did as commanded and looked up toward them. “Yes, Papa…” he said. Then he grabbed the stripped cow bone and ran off through the lower gates. The crowd moaned in disapproval as if watching the ravaging of an innocent woman was worthwhile entertainment.
“That is but a taste of what will happen if you betray me, Rand Langley,” Valin said. Codar released him and stepped in front of his leader, leaving Rand hanging onto the railing to keep from collapsing. He could barely feel his legs. Some of Valin’s men ran out and grabbed Sigrid. She got a swing in at one with an arrow, slicing his calf, but he slapped her. Her gaze found Rand’s as they dragged her away, and all he could do was wish he’d listened to her and they’d run.
“You’re worse than any of them,” Rand whispered once she was gone.
“You’re going to hurt my feelings.” Valin clacked toward the other end of the room. Bartholomew wore a smirk, but the Caleef looked horrified. A foreign rebel, the most human of them all.
“Now, you are going to help Codar free Unger so that he may cause all manner of chaos for the city guard in his mad quest for vengeance,” Valin said. “Then, you will meet Bartholomew and the Caleef at the South Corner gates, and help transport him south to his people. If you are discovered, the Crown will blame you, the deserter who tried to kill the Prime Minister and you will not say otherwise. If you do this, your sister will come to no more harm, and you will find a fruitful place in my employ.”
“I’ll never work with—”
Valin clicked his tongue and wagged his finger to silence him. “If you fail in any of this, your sister will taste all the rotten men of Yarrington until they’ve had their fill. Only then will I allow her to die.”
Valin turned to leave, and before Rand could shout at him, Codar smashed him in the side of the head. He hit the floor like a sack of dirt, his vision blurry a
nd blackness closing in.
“You went off to serve in the King’s Shield, and you forgot where you’re from,” Valin said. “Now, boy, I hope that you remember.”
Rand looked down into a full mug of ale. He didn’t drink from it, only stared until the foam dissipated, and he could see his pale reflection in the amber liquid.
“You may as well have one,” someone behind him said. “Codar says his people drink their full before every battle. It takes away their fear. Dulls their pain.”
Rand glanced back and saw Valin limping toward him across The Vineyard, wearing a warm smile. His brothel was mostly empty now that it was the morning of the Dawning. A few stragglers remained, unable to spend even a day avoiding sin.
“I want to feel everything,” Rand said, squeezing the mug so tight his fingernails made marks in his palm. He’d been kept in a small room below The Vineyard for two days, forbidden from seeing his sister or talking to anyone.
Now Rand knew he’d led them straight into the house of a snake. Their father always told them to stay away from Valin because before you knew it, you’d be working for him. It was a slow end, like the venom of a Shesaitju sand snake, breaking you down piece by piece until your body seized.
Valin had his fangs in Rand now, and there was no wriggling free. He just had to focus on the task at hand. Torsten was a mighty warrior, and there was no man in Pantego closer to Iam. If anyone could end Redstar’s insurrection, it was him.
The legs of a stool screeched. Valin lifted himself onto the velour seat, wincing. Codar stood a short distance behind, just out of sight and easy to forget about, ever vigilant.
“I hope there are no hard feelings between us,” Codar said.
“You threatened my sister’s life.”
“I threaten lives daily. Don’t take it personally.”
Rand squeezed the mug harder until he could feel the area under his thumb ready to crack. “Don’t you have more fights to put on?”
“Even I take a little break this holiest of days.”
Finally, Rand decided to look at Valin and noticed the luminescent paint under his eyes. All the children of Iam wore it on the day of the Dawning, spread onto their faces by priests during morning service. It shimmered with Iam’s light and also allowed people to observe the eclipse of the sun without winding up as blind as the priests themselves.
“You don’t deserve to wear that,” Rand bristled.
“Is it my fault you were too stubborn to see the right path in front of you? You’ll thank me in the end. A man like you could do far more for this district at my side than in the King’s Shield, and get rich doing it.”
“Gold isn’t everything.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong,” Valin said, slapping the bar. “The only reason places like Dockside exist is so the pampered ingrates on the other side of the fence can feel better about what they have. We’re a frame of reference, kid. A novelty.”
“And men like you will keep us there forever.”
Valin chuckled. “Ah, the eternal battle. Pragmatist versus dreamer. I’ve met countless men like you who thought the same, yet I’m still here, and men like you end up dead or in a gutter more often than not.”
“Is there a purpose to this conversation?”
“I have every right to check up on my investment before he leaves. But really, I came to invite you to see your sister one last time before you go.”
Rand turned so fast he knocked over the mug, ale quickly spreading across the bar. “If you hurt her anymore.”
“She’s fine, I assure you. I have no desire to harm her or to see you fail—on the contrary, I root for all my people to rise as far as they can.”
“We aren’t your people.”
“Such the perfect little Shieldsman.” Valin slid off the stool and made his way to the stairs. “Come, I’ll take you to her.”
Rand followed him up to the second floor overlooking the lobby of The Vineyard. Curtains leading into semi-private rooms lined the walls, usually all full, this morning they were mostly open. They did pass one with deep moans emanating from within. A thug stood guard out front. Rand’s heart fell to his feet, thinking Sigrid was inside, but Valin continued past.
He turned down a hallway running along the empty, outdoor balcony. It was a quiet day, snowflakes fluttering about from a patchy, blue sky. A perfect day for the dawning. Too many clouds and the eclipse would have been barely visible.
They turned again and reached a door guarded by two thugs. All that was beyond it was silence.
“Let him in,” Valin ordered.
“The screaming wench finally got a client?” one of them joked.
Rand had his forearm against the man’s throat in a heartbeat, pinning him against the wall. “If you touch her, I’ll rip out your tongue.”
“Relax, Rand,” Valin said. “I said she would not be harmed unless you betray me, and my word is my bond.”
Rand backed off, then noticed Codar in his peripherals. The mustached Breklian stood directly behind Valin, his weapon-hand, whether full or empty, was concealed behind his back.
The thug coughed and rubbed his neck. “Someone ought to teach this knight some manners,” he rasped.
“A lesson I am certain you wouldn’t survive,” Valin said. “Now, let him in.”
The other guard rattled through some keys and gave the door a push. It creaked open, and Rand saw his sister curled up on a bed, a metal cuff around her ankle that kept her chained to the bedpost. A ratty dress was draped over her body, but at the very least, this one wasn’t ripped and adequately covered her.
His whole world melted away, and all that remained was her. Rand ran in and wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her shaking like she probably had been since a giant tried to have his way with her. She had a few scrapes on her forehead from falling in the arena, and her hands were cut up far worse.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Did they lay another hand on you?”
“Not since the arena,” she replied, voice shaking.
He squeezed her again, then held her at arm’s length. “I’m so sorry for letting us come here. I should have never trusted him.”
“No, ye shouldn’t have.” She forced a smile. It stung Rand’s heart to see how difficult it seemed for her to do.
“And I was always so good at listening to Father, too.”
“He’d be so disappointed.”
Rand laughed, then his features darkened. He would’ve been. The day he died in a riot at the docks, crushed by fallen debris, was the day Rand promised to help fix Dockside. He’d failed in spectacular fashion. He couldn’t even protect his own sister.
“I’m going to get you out of here,” Rand said.
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “Ye’ve got to finish what ye started.”
“You’re not fine. Valin is a monster, and if I don’t do what he says he’ll… I won’t let him hurt you anymore.”
“I’m tougher than I look.”
“I don’t know... you look pretty tough.” This time he got her to actually smile. It was a sight he’d missed more than anything. All his wallowing, he’d forgotten how much he enjoyed being around her. Sigrid was his best and only friend.
“What’s he makin ye do?” she asked.
Rand bit his lip and looked to the floor.
“That bad?” She took his hand and pulled it to her face. Her skin was cold, like the empty room. Everything was freezing these days. “Don’t tell me, just promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t let this city fall to the Drav Cra for me. I can handle whatever Valin throws at me; I been practicing with Trapp for years. But I can’t handle ye being crushed again.”
Rand held his head high. “By the morning, after the Dawning, Redstar will no longer be poisoning the ears of the King. He and his people will return to their frozen tundra where they belong.”
Or Torsten will die trying. He didn’t add that last part, but it was the
truth. A part of him felt like he might betray Valin, help Torsten, and rush back to kill Valin and save Sigrid before the king of the underworld knew what hit him. But now that he saw her, frightened and alone in a room meant for Valin’s whores, he knew exactly what he had to do.
There was a hard knock on the door. “All right, enough,” one of Valin’s thugs grated.
“I’ll be back for you before you know it,” Rand said. He took Sigrid in his embrace again, wishing he didn’t have to leave.
“Just come back the same man ye are now,” she whispered into his ear. “I missed him, and I don’t want to lose him again.”
“You won’t.” Rand kissed the top of her head. “Ever again.”
Two sets of hands grabbed him and pulled him from her. He didn’t fight it. Not with her life in the balance. Instead, he held her gaze until the door slammed shut. Just before it closed, he could see the stark terror in her eyes. Worse even than when those Drav Cra monsters had her by the neck.
“We have our opening,” Codar said. “Time to go.”
Rand allowed a final wave of sadness to wash over him, then turned. Valin was gone, leaving only Codar and three thugs behind. Their grand raiding party to break Torsten out of his cell.
“No farewell from your boss?” Rand questioned.
“None required.”
He set off down the hall, and Rand followed. They headed downstairs to the exit where another one of Valin’s cronies handed Rand’s sword to Codar.
“Try anything, and it will find its sheath in you,” Codar warned, then presented the weapon.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Rand said as he took it.
“Walk straight, head down. Remember, you are the most wanted man in Yarrington, but the people are distracted, the guard is light, and few would know you at first glance.” Codar snapped his fingers, and a man dressed in rags stood from the bar and shuffled over. His eyes were burned out—as were any priest’s, but he banged into every table on the way over. Most went through enough training at the convents to move fluidly despite lack of sight, learning how to rely on faith and senses. He held a bowl filled with luminescent paint made from the poppies that grew on the banks of Mount Lister, and it sloshed over the rim as he swayed.
The Redstar Rising Trilogy: (Buried Goddess Saga Box Set 1: Books 1-3) Page 97