The City of Thieves

by Kyle Alexander Romines

  Panting for air, Berengar rolled off the corpse, and his attention fell on the dead man’s companion crawling along the floor. He pried the corpse’s sword free of its sheath, pushed himself to his feet, and approached with sword in hand.

  The monster hunter threw his hands up to shield himself. “Mercy, please!”

  Berengar drove the sword down through his heart, an act that earned him a reproachful look from Faolán.

  “Don’t worry. There’ll be plenty for you before we’re through.” He beckoned the others through the doorway. “Come on.”

  Godfrey cast a look at the corpse as he stepped over the body. “That was murder. That man was trying to surrender. The Acolytes may be butchers, but the guards are just following orders.”

  Berengar limped forward. “If they want to live, they should stay out of my way.” He could worry about his conscience when Morwen was safe. “Faolán, find her.”

  Azura stooped to retrieve the lockpick on the way out. Faolán led the way, and the group quietly advanced through the tower. The smooth stone floor felt cold against Berengar’s bare feet. When they caught an unsuspecting patrol unawares, Berengar made quick work of one while Faolán mauled the other. They hid the bodies in empty cells and continued on their way. The tower was well guarded with the added security provided by the Acolytes, but there was more than enough room to maneuver. Although Berengar would have slaughtered them all in a rage if he could, he kept silent for Morwen’s sake, mindful of his weakened state. Leaving too many bodies in his wake meant alerting the guards all the sooner, and they would need precious time to escape the palace after recovering Morwen.

  Faolán came to a stop at the end of a corridor. Voices carried nearby. She’s close. Berengar’s fist tightened around the grip of his blade. He readied himself to spring into action.

  Azura gently touched his shoulder and spoke in a whisper. “Wait.”

  A moment later, he heard a door open, and numerous guards emerged from a cell they locked behind them. Once they were no longer in earshot, Berengar stole forward and prepared to hack away the lock with his sword.

  Azura held a finger to her lips. “There are others nearby. We don’t want to draw more attention.” Using the lockpick, she picked the lock in short order.

  Morwen was inside, strapped to a chair. Her staff and satchel lay on a table nearby. “Berengar!”

  “Did they hurt you?”

  She shook her head. “Valmont planned to test my powers first.”

  Berengar’s anger diminished, if only a little, at the sight of her unharmed. “I told you this city was dangerous.” He severed the ropes holding her, pulled her to him, and patted her head. “Don’t do that to me again.”

  She went to reclaim her staff and satchel. “We must hurry. Valmont could return at any moment. Teelah is in the next cell. We can’t leave her here to suffer at the torturers’ hands.”

  Azura appeared offended by the very suggestion. “In case you’ve forgotten, that goblin has tried to kill us twice now. Besides, there’s no time. We must recover the cursed blade before Völundr realizes we’ve escaped.”

  Morwen put her hands on her hips. “She’s the only one who knows where King Lucien is.”

  Godfrey appeared confused. “Am I missing something? The king is here in the palace, isn’t he?”

  “We’ll fill you in later.” Berengar let out a reluctant sigh. “Morwen’s right. We need her.”

  Azura uttered what was very likely profanity in the fairy tongue. “Foolish mortals. Now I’m to risk my life to rescue a goblin…” Lockpick in hand, she marched to the door to the neighboring cell.

  When the door swung open, Berengar charged into the cell. By the time the monster hunters turned to face him, he was already halfway across the room. Faolán tackled one man off his feet, Berengar cut down two more, and Godfrey bashed a fourth over the head with his walking stick. Morwen used a spell to stick the final guard’s blade in its sheath, and Berengar cut his throat.

  “You.” Teelah had clearly been treated more severely than Morwen. Dark green blood ran from cuts, and her skin was bruised. “Why come back for me?”

  Morwen approached. “I want your word that you won’t attempt to harm me or my companions if I let you go.”

  Azura’s mocking laughter filled the chamber. “The word of a goblin? She’ll murder you the first chance she gets.”

  Teelah regarded Azura with contempt. “And I suppose you’re worth trusting, fairy? It’s your kind who delight in ensnaring humans in wishes and deals.”

  “Your word,” Morwen insisted. “You know where they’re keeping King Lucien. Tell us where he is.”

  “You’re a strange human, even for a magician. Very well. Help me escape, and once we’re beyond the city gates, I will tell you all I know.”

  “That’s good enough for me. Hold still.” Morwen set her free.

  Berengar stared Teelah down. “Don’t make us regret this, goblin.”

  Before she could reply, raised voices sounded outside the cell.

  Godfrey started toward the door. “I take it they’ve found the bodies. I suggest we take our leave before they find us as well.”

  They withdrew from the cell and began their descent through the tower. Torchlight loomed below the winding stair, where guards approached in greater numbers. Berengar started toward them, sword ready.

  Morwen stayed his hand. “There are too many.” They retreated up the tower.

  Godfrey shepherded them through a narrow passageway. “This way. Hurry!”

  The corridor led out into the sunlight. The companions raced along a stone bridge. The cool wind caressed the warden’s face, lending him new strength. The outer gate remained open, at least for the moment. If they failed to reach the wagon before the alarm went out, the guards would seal the entrance, trapping them within the palace walls.

  Fortunately, the neighboring tower was sparsely guarded, and they made their descent without encountering opposition. Their path took them to a high-rise balcony that looked over the throne room.

  At the sight of Valmont conversing with a number of the king’s advisers below, Azura ground to a stop, and her voice rang through the chamber. “Völundr!”

  Valmont looked up at her, and their eyes met. Azura’s wings fluttered, but Berengar restrained her before she could take to the air.

  “What are you doing? He has the blade!”

  “There’s no time!” Berengar understood her urgency. If they left now, they likely wouldn’t enter the palace again without an army at their back. Still, they couldn’t very well recover the cursed blade if they were dead, and the throne room was too well guarded for her to make a stand.

  Valmont ordered the guards after them, and Azura reluctantly followed the others. They ran down another set of stairs and escaped the palace through a servant’s entrance, where an archer stood guard. Berengar clamped a hand around the man’s mouth and restrained him until he stopped kicking, and Teelah armed herself with the archer’s bow and arrows while he concealed the body. After waiting a tense interval for the patrol to pass them by, they ran to Godfrey’s wagon and concealed themselves in the back.

  Godfrey took the reins, and the wagon slowly rolled toward the gate. Berengar watched the sentries on the walls through gaps in the wagon’s covering. The gate remained open. So far, so good.

  “Peace, brothers,” Godfrey said when he arrived at the gate. “Bishop Valmont sends his regards.”

  A sentry started to usher them through the gate when bells tolled to sound the alarm. “Halt!”

  Godfrey spurred the wagon forward and charged the gate before the guards could close it. Arrows cascaded from above, littering the wagon’s covering. The walls shrank behind them as the wagon gathered speed. The sound of hooves came from a host of approaching horsemen. Escaping the palace was only the first step. They weren’t safe until they were beyond the city walls.

  “Hold on!” Godfrey turned the wagon onto a crowded road, and the chase was
on.

  Pedestrians fled before them as the wagon hurtled down a busy street. Jostled about, Berengar tightened his grip on the wagon. An arrow from Teelah struck the closest enemy rider in the chest, and the goblin unleashed three more arrows in rapid succession. Each arrow found its mark, but for every horseman downed, two more took his place. The watch had eyes everywhere. They weren’t making it out of Dún Aulin without a fight.

  One horseman drew near enough to grasp at Morwen’s ankle. He nearly succeeded in pulling her off the back, but she kicked the man in the face, and he fell away.

  “Can’t you go any faster?” Berengar called to Godfrey over his shoulder.

  “I’m a friar, not a horseman! In case you’ve forgotten, we spend most of our time on foot.”

  They took a sharp turn, rounding a corner, and pedestrians scrambled to get out of their path as the wagon veered to one side of the road. The effort failed to throw off their pursuers, who continued to close in on the wagon.

  “Keep it steady, Godfrey!”

  “I’m trying my best!”

  Morwen tugged on Berengar’s sleeve. “Don’t look now, but there’s trouble ahead.”

  They were headed straight toward a watch outpost. Archers began taking aim at the wagon and its driver.

  Berengar swore. “Go help Godfrey. We’ll handle this lot.”

  Morwen grabbed her staff and climbed beside Godfrey at the front of the wagon. Berengar hoped her wards would be enough to deflect the archers’ arrows. Meanwhile, the approaching riders threatened to overwhelm them.

  A gust of wind came from Azura’s beating wings, and she shot off the wagon. The fairy landed behind a rider on his saddle, and her fingers closed around the dagger sheathed at his side. “I’ll take that, if you don’t mind.”

  Before the man could react, she pulled the dagger free and threw him from the saddle. Azura fell back alongside another horseman, and a well-placed kick sent him over his horse, which continued dragging him behind. When one of Teelah’s arrows struck another rider, missing Azura’s head by inches, Azura shot her an ugly look, drawing the closest thing to a smile Berengar had seen from Teelah.

  Godfrey turned off the street onto the main road. “The gate’s just ahead!”

  Teelah nocked another arrow and scurried to the front of the wagon, and Berengar cast one more look at Azura and went after her.

  Looks like trouble. Archers lined the walls. Worse still, guards armed with swords and spears had assembled on foot to block their passage.

  “Shut the gate!” a sentry cried out.

  Teelah shot at the first man to reach the lever, and he toppled over backward. Fire from the archers forced her to pivot and shoot in their direction. It wasn’t long before another guard reached the lever.

  If that gate shuts, we’re dead.

  Azura flew to the wall and fended off sentries to keep the gate open long enough for them to squeeze through.

  Berengar turned his attention to the guards blocking the wagon’s path. “Brace yourselves.” The wagon gathered momentum, speeding toward a deadly collision.

  Azura whistled to the riders’ horses and caused them to divert from their course and form a stampede. Some guards fled in a panic; others were trampled underfoot. The wagon and its occupants passed through the gate unharmed, and before Berengar knew it, Azura sat beside Morwen in the driver’s seat, wearing a self-satisfied smile.

  They were free—for the moment.

  Once they were beyond the reach of the sentries’ arrows, they took the horses and left the wagon behind. Morwen squealed with delight when she realized Godfrey had fetched Nessa from the Coin and Crown. Berengar was equally pleased to discover the friar had loaded their belongings into the saddlebags.

  They did not linger. It would not be long before Valmont sent more hunters in pursuit, and they needed to put as much distance between themselves and Dún Aulin as possible in the meantime. After the others selected new mounts from among the guards’ horses that had accompanied them from the gate, the companions set out in haste.

  Berengar knew Valmont would have the road to Tara under watch, so they headed west instead, riding as if Balor and all the Fomorians were at their backs. Azura and Teelah were excellent riders, and Godfrey quickly proved himself more than capable of holding his own in the saddle. The route was not without danger, as venturing so close to the wilds brought them into proximity of Cathán’s army of monsters.

  The company sought refuge at Cobthach’s Hold, which they reached just before sunset. An eerie silence hung over the abandoned outpost. As the constable at Tulach Mhór had suggested, there were few soldiers stationed near the wilds to begin with. Horst and the other scouts were probably the fort’s only inhabitants before they were attacked in the Elderwood, leaving the hold unmanned. With all the recent happenings in Dún Aulin, it was unlikely the watch had bothered to allocate replacements.

  Given the defensive fortifications in place, the hold was the safest place for them to find lodging. It remained a foreboding place to take up residence, even if only for the night. The fort was built by Cobthach Cóel Breg, who murdered his brother, Lóegaire Lorc—one of Leinster’s first kings—to seize the throne. Years later, when Lóegaire’s son Labraid defeated his uncle’s armies, Cobthach retreated to the hold, but Labraid had it burned with Cobthach and his men inside. In the centuries that followed, scouts stationed at the outpost occasionally reported witnessing Cobthach’s ghost wandering its grounds.

  After finding shelter for their horses, the companions quickly set about exploring the fort. Berengar was careful not to let Teelah out of his sight in case the goblin went back on her word now that they were free of Dún Aulin. He needn’t have bothered. Azura watched her even more closely. The dynamic between the two bore truth to the enmity fairies and goblins shared in the old tales.

  They settled in the main hall for the night. A chill lingered in the air even once they got a fire going. Berengar tried on a pair of boots left behind by one of the outpost’s previous inhabitants. They were as close to his size as he was likely to find, if a tad on the small side. A similarly abandoned tunic proved a better fit. The scouts hadn’t left much in the way of armor, but he managed to find a shield to go along with his sword.

  Aware of Morwen’s gaze, he tried not to show his residual discomfort from the beating Winslow had inflicted. He didn’t argue when she forced him to drink a healing drought and a potion to help with the pain.

  Recent ordeals had left them all tired and hungry. Fortunately, the outpost was fully stocked with enough rations to last for months. They discovered a storeroom filled with brined meat and fish, dried grains, candied nuts and fruits, and other varieties of preserved foods. Berengar, ravenously hungry after days without food, devoured one heaping portion after another. Grateful for the reprieve, he eased himself beside the fireplace and held his hands to the flames. Although battered and bruised, he wasn’t seriously injured. With a little rest, he would be back to his old strength soon enough, even if he remained acutely aware of his axe’s absence. Without his cloak, armor, or battleaxe, he hardly felt himself.

  Morwen took a spot next to Faolán, who curled up in her lap. “Where will we go in the morning?”

  Berengar stared into the flames. “Tara. The High Queen must know of Valmont’s treachery.”

  Teelah bristled at the suggestion. “Then you go alone. I’ll not trade one cell for another.”

  “What makes you think you have any choice in the matter?”

  The goblin flashed her fangs in a sign of displeasure.

  Azura shook her head. “There is no time to seek your queen’s aid. Now that we have eluded his grasp, Völundr will send others to eliminate King Lucien while he continues his search for the remaining half of the cursed blade. We must reach Lucien first and restore the true king to the throne.”

  Berengar held her gaze. “I’m in charge here.”

  “Then it is fortunate I do not require your permission. You are free to g
o in search of your queen. The magician, however, stays with me until she has fulfilled our bargain.”

  “Bargain?” Morwen’s brow arched in confusion. “What bargain?”

  Azura smiled widely. “You haven’t forgotten our ficheall game, have you? An unspecified favor—I believe that was our deal.”

  Teelah regarded Morwen with an expression of incredulity. “You made a pact? With her? I thought you were cleverer than that.”

  “I didn’t know she was a fairy at the time…”

  “I don’t care what she promised you,” Berengar snapped. “Where I go, she goes too.”

  Azura rubbed her hands together. “Then it appears you will be joining us on our quest. She could not refuse even if she wished. Magic would compel her to honor her word.”

  Berengar looked to Morwen. “Compel?”

  Morwen shifted uncomfortably. “It’s true. There’s a reason it’s unwise for humans to enter into bargains with fairies.”

  Azura patted her on the back. “Cheer up! It’ll be over before you know it. Once King Lucien again sits on the throne and the cursed blade is back where it belongs, you might even find yourselves thanking me.”

  Berengar narrowed his gaze at her. “You’ve caused us nothing but trouble so far. I don’t trust you any more than I trust the goblin.”

  Azura’s sunny expression didn’t falter. “Is he always like this?”

  Morwen laughed. “More or less. You caught him on a bad day.”

  Berengar shot her a reproachful look.

  “What? It’s not a bad plan, all things considered. If we return to Dún Aulin with the real Lucien, the city watch will turn on Valmont and the pretender.”

  Still angry at having been tricked by Azura once again, Berengar just grunted. Maybe she was right, but he didn’t have to acknowledge it. He turned his attention to Teelah. “Time to make good on your word. Where’s Valmont keeping the king?”

  The goblin’s reptilian eyes flitted toward him. “The fairy has him in a barrow hidden deep in the Elderwood. The scouts here helped conceal the location. You are not alone in your search—Cathán also seeks your king.”