Ash and Rae nodded.
“You can see part of his knife sticking out of his belt. It’s covered in spots of rust. A mercenary who took pride in his work would never let his knife get to that state.”
“You won’t hire him just because his knife is rusty?” Rae said.
“It’s a symptom. It means he doesn’t take his work seriously. That might mean he’s lazy and wouldn’t be any good if something bad did happen, or it could mean he’s not really a mercenary at all. Either way, it’s better for us if we steer clear.”
Ash peered into the corner. He could only just make out the man’s knife and only after staring for a good minute could he see the spots of rust that Sim was talking about.
“The group in the middle are obviously all friends. They’ll be looking for a big caravan traveling south so they can all go together. We don’t have enough to pay all of them so they’re no good.”
“What about him?” Ash nodded to a man at the table across from them.
“Ah, he’s been ordering hard drinks all night. See the way he’s rocking in his chair? He won’t be ready to go anywhere tomorrow. No, I think we’ll have that one.” Sim gestured to a man three tables over.
“Why him?”
“He had a drink with dinner, but that’s all. That tells us that he’s keeping himself fit for travel. His knife fits his scabbard and his leather vest is well kept, so he takes pride in his work. He’s also been scanning the door every time it opens—not in a panicked way, but in a way that says he’s keeping an eye on his surroundings. That’s what we want in a mercenary. There are a few other things but I can cover them another day. You two look like you’re almost asleep!”
Ash hadn’t even noticed his eyes drifting closed. Sim spoke to the mercenary in low tones before leading Ash and Rae upstairs to their room. In seconds, Ash drifted into dreams filled with mercenaries and rusty daggers.
9
A night bird flitted between the trees around the crackling campfire. Orange firelight danced over the trunks and spilled through to the road not far beyond. A cool breeze blew through the clearing but it was already so much warmer than the winds Ash and Rae were used to, it didn’t leave frost on the ground or freeze their lips to their food.
Ash bit his tongue as he studied his cards. It was a reasonably good hand, and unstoppable if the others had the right cards. Rae sat opposite him, the mercenary, Bravik, to his left, and Sim to his right.
They’d been playing for a good hour, ever since they finished dinner. A pile of coins glimmered in the firelight between them. Of course, Ash hadn’t started with coins but Sim had given him a loan.
“I’m beginning to regret giving you that money,” Sim said, glaring at his cards.
Ash grinned. He and Rae couldn’t help it; they had a way. Her voice whispered to him now, less than a whisper, more like a brush of wind on his neck, but he understood it all the same. She had low cards; if he bet big, the money was his.
Ash’s smile widened and he pushed all the coins in front of him out into the middle. “All in; time to put your money where your mouths are, old men.”
Sim scowled and pushed his money out. “You’ll own my whole cart soon.”
“Oh no, little man, you’ve pushed your luck too far this time,” Bravik said. “You’ve got almost no chance of your little sister having what you need. Gotta know when to quit.”
“Careful, Bravik, he’s tricky,” Sim said.
Ash waved at Bravik’s coins and kept his mouth shut.
“Well, don’t say I took advantage of a young lad,” Bravik said and pushed his pile of coins to the middle to join the rest.
They each held out their cards, starting with Sim. On its own it would have been an excellent hand, but it didn’t match well with the rest. Ash’s was the same.
“Ha, see I told you,” Bravik said, revealing his own hand which was better on its own than either Ash’s or Sim’s. He reached for the money.
“Not so fast,” Rae said, laying a gentle hand on his. She held out her cards, revealing a set matched to Ash’s.
“Great Talon!” Bravik said, hurling his cards at the ground. “That’s not right. The chances of that…”
He trailed off. His eyes narrowed and he stared hard at Ash and then at Rae.
Ash swallowed and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Bravik had barely looked at them twice before, but now he studied them and his face darkened.
“Come to think of it,” Bravik said. “You two look mighty similar.”
Sim cleared his throat. “C’mon Bravik, don’t be a bad loser. They’re just kids.”
“Talon’s balls they are.” Bravik stood so he towered over them and his hand hovered near his dagger. “Don’t know how I didn’t notice it before. Guess you keep your heads down.”
“There’s nothing to notice,” Sim said.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it? Just look at ‘em! Tell me they don’t look like twins. No wonder they’ve been winning all night! They’ve got dark spirits on their side.”
Bravik’s voice got louder and he gripped his knife, knuckles white. His usually stern but calm expression melted to one that neared panic.
Ash’s heart pounded in his chest and he could feel Rae’s own fear mixing with his. They shouldn’t have played cards. It was too easy to forget, too easy to tune into each other. Now they’d put themselves at risk. Bravik would try to kill them; it was the law. Ash swallowed, throat dry, and met Rae’s eyes. If the worst happened, they’d run for it; they’d go into the trees. They were small and could hide better than Bravik.
Sim held out his hands. “Now, Bravik, you’re getting worked up over nothing.”
“Twins, Sim! You’re harboring twins!”
Sim lost his friendly expression and he shot to his feet, seeming much taller than he had before. “Is that an accusation?”
Bravik faltered. “Well… look at them. Maybe you didn’t see it before, I know I didn’t. But if you really look at them…”
“That’s enough, Bravik! You’re overreacting to a card game.”
“I am not! You know what has to be done with twins.”
Death, Ash filled in the silence.
“And you know what happens to people who harbor them,” Bravik continued.
Death.
Sim rolled his eyes. “They’re not twins; there are no spirits at work, just a swindle. They’re urchins; of course they’re going to have some card tricks up their sleeves!”
Ash’s heart pounded. They’d managed to live longer than any other twins they’d ever heard of, but that could all end right here. They’d never be able to defend themselves against a trained mercenary.
Bravik frowned and his grip on his knife eased. “Tricks?”
“Of course it’s tricks!” Sim threw his hands into the air. “They got me just the other day. They’ve got hands faster than you’ve ever seen and they must have some kind of sign language or something like them Skordkin.”
Bravik’s gaze dropped to Ash and Rae, who did their best to look innocent and contrite. “Tricks eh?”
“Tricks,” Sim said with a firm nod. “And I warned them about it last time.”
Sim glared at Ash and Rae and then scooped up a handful of coins and held them out to Bravik. “I warned them the other day not to use card tricks on us, but clearly they didn’t listen. Here’s what you had in, there’s no honor in winning with tricks.”
Bravik nodded. “Quite right about that. There are some terrible cheats in the city.”
Ash’s heart stuttered as a tiny prick of light appeared in the darkness that was his future.
“Exactly,” Sim said. “The last thing we want is to foster them out here too.”
“Thank you, that’s very honest of you,” Bravik said.
Sim waved his hand. “Like I said, I warned ‘em not to do it.”
“They’ve scared the life out of me, that’s for sure. Bloody twins. Can you imagine?”
Sim suck
ed his cheeks and looked back at Ash and Rae. “I suppose they do look a bit similar. Lots of siblings do, mind you.”
“Yeah,” Bravik said. “Scared my bladder out, I’ve got to go take a piss.”
Sim chuckled. “Go ahead. Probably best you not see me give these two a walloping anyway.”
Bravik stood and shuffled away from the firelight, shaking his head.
Sim rounded on Ash and Rae.
“Th-thank you,” Rae said.
“We shouldn’t have played tricks,” Ash said.
Sim snorted and crouched beside them. “I know as well as you two do, that that wasn’t a card trick.”
Ash’s stomach clenched. “What do you mean?”
“Do you think I was born yesterday? Of course I know you’re twins. But if you want to make it to the capital alive, and survive after that, you’d better learn to hide it better. You may have managed to escape notice in Wichden but that won’t last in Falconwall.”
“You… you know?” Rae said.
“Of course I do. You just have to look at the two of you together.”
Ash hung his head and traced his finger in the dirt. Dead. They were dead.
“Then why haven’t you…?” Rae trailed off.
“I’m not going to kill you. My reasons for that are my own. But you two had better be more careful. And stay away from cards.”
“Of course,” Rae said. She shoved her cards away so they lay on top of the pile of coins.
Ash followed suit.
“Good. Bravik will be back soon. He’ll probably still be a bit shaken so I suggest you two pack it in and get some rest. Hopefully he will have forgotten all about it by morning.”
Ash and Rae shuffled to the other side of the fire. They lay down without talking, but a barrage of communication passed between them in the form of silent feelings: relief, fear, worry, gratefulness, confusion.
They closed their eyes and sorted through their emotions together before finally drifting off to sleep.
10
The wagon trundled around a bend in the road and the forest opened up before them to reveal a monstrous city, bigger than anything Ash could have imagined. It glistened on the horizon like a massive jewel lifted high into the sky on layers of buildings. Huts and hovels sprawled around its base and bunched up against the towering walls of the city proper.
Ash and Rae sat and stared with open mouths.
People and horses followed the road in both directions, churning up clouds of dust and wearing the ruts deeper into the dirt. Even from this distance, the smell of people and the scent of the city filled the air, cloying and yet intoxicating all at once.
Ash’s heart pummeled his chest. “Is that…”
“Falconwall,” Sim said with a grand wave of his hand. “The greatest city in the known kingdoms.”
Bravik snorted. “Don’t believe everything he says. He’s got slanted vision if ever I saw it.”
“Ten thousand people must live there!” Ash said.
“More,” Rae said.
“Much more,” Sim said. “Falconwall is home to more than eighty thousand fine citizens.”
“Eighty thousand,” Ash whispered. It was a number bigger than he could picture. He didn’t think he’d ever seen eighty thousand of anything, let alone people.
As they left the trees behind, the buildings on either side got thicker and the foot traffic grew closer.
“This is where I’ll leave you, if it’s all the same. I prefer the outer settlements to the main city,” Bravik said.
“Of course,” Sim said. “Thank you for your safe escort.” He tossed a bag of coins to Bravik who caught it and made it disappear into the pockets of his cloak faster than Ash could see.
Bravik nodded once and then turned off of the main street toward a tight collection of buildings.
“How can so many people live in one place?” Rae said. “It’s like magic.”
“This is nothing compared to some of the magic you can see here.”
Ash grinned and tapped Sim with his elbow. “Don’t start that again. I’ll admit this city is bigger than I thought possible, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to start believing fairy tales.”
“Still think I’m making it up about the magicians, aye?”
Ash nodded.
Huge metal gates hung above the city entrance. The passage through the thick city wall made a tunnel, guarded by two men in blue uniforms with gold trim. They held long spears and studied each person as they passed into the city.
Sim’s wagon reached the entrance and Ash clasped Rae’s hand. “This is it!”
Her eyes shone back at him and a grin split her face.
The shadow of the passage fell over them and Ash craned his neck back to look up at the gates. They disappeared into the roof high above him but the thick metal gleamed and he shuddered at the thought of it coming down and crushing him and Rae into the road. They spilled out the other side into a bustling marketplace. Colorful stalls lined each side of the road and people called out to passersby.
“This is lower trading,” Sim said. “Anyone can come and go, and sell what they like. I was going to take you straight through to Upper Trading. But it seems I have to set you straight on this magic business before we do anything else. Otherwise you’re just going to get yourselves into trouble.”
Ash and Rae shared a glance and shrugged.
Sim turned the wagon off the main street onto a quieter road that wound around the inner edge of the city’s wall. Stone buildings with hanging signs lined the other side of the road.
“Near the gate here is okay,” Sim said. “But anywhere else in the city; the closer you are to the wall, the more trouble you’re going to be in. I’ll show you the different districts as we go, but just remember that. If you’re not near the gate, stay away from the wall.”
Ash and Rae nodded.
They passed a window filled with dusty books lying open to old and faded pages.
“A bookshop!” Ash cried, leaning forward so far he almost fell from the wagon.
“Lots of those,” Sim said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him back. “We’re here to see magic, remember?”
They passed a clothes shop, an inn, and a shoe-maker before finally pulling to a stop in front of a lopsided stone building with a sprig of dried plant hanging in front of the door.
“This?” Rae said.
“This,” Sim said, hopping down from the wagon.
Ash and Rae followed suit and stood close together behind Sim.
“An acquaintance of mine, a magician, works here.”
Ash shared a look with Rae. Sim had shown them some amazing things, but that didn’t mean they’d start believing in magic. That was for children’s tales. Still… he was curious to see what Sim had in mind.
Sim pushed through the simple door and a bell above their heads jingled. An aroma of dried herbs and spices rushed to greet them, surrounding them in a heady aroma. Bundles of dried plants hung from the ceiling and long shelves laden with jars filled the rest of the room.
“Ferguson?” Sim called.
Ash turned to study the shelf on his right. A jar filled with mushrooms gave off a faint glow beside a jar that he very much hoped was not filled with eyeballs.
“Ferguson?”
“Yes, yes, I’m coming.” Movement at the back of the store accompanied the voice. A bent man wearing a simple gray robe squinted at them down the line of shelves. “Who is it? What do you want?”
Sim strode forward. “It’s me.” He came to a stop in front of a short counter at the other end of the store. Ash and Rae stood behind him.
“Sim!” Ferguson said. “It’s been a while. What do you need this time? More virility mushroom for your—”
“Shh!” Sim waved his hands and a blush crept up his cheeks. “No, nothing for me. I’ve just picked up these two assistants from the backwaters of the northern kingdoms and they adamantly refuse to believe in magic.”
Ash looked between t
he two old men, still not sure if he and Rae were the butt of some elaborate joke.
“Not believe in magic?” Ferguson spluttered.
“Pure fantasy apparently,” Sim said. “I was hoping you could give them a demonstration.”
“I should think so!” Ferguson said. “They’d be taken advantage of in two seconds flat in this city.”
He turned and rummaged through a collection of drawers at his back.
Ash took the time to study the rest of the store. To his right, a huge barrel that came up almost to his chest was filled with bones of all different sizes. He grimaced and stepped away.
“Ah, here we are,” Ferguson said. He held a simple stone, just bigger than Ash’s fist. “You two hold that then.”
Ash and Rae took the stone and held it between them. Ash’s heart fluttered but he trusted Sim not to let them get hurt. Then again, how well did he know the merchant really?
“Okay, got it tight now?”
Ash nodded.
“Good.” Ferguson frowned at the stone and waved his hands in a complicated series of patterns. “Stony, bony, all so lonely. Show these children magic’s not phony.”
Ash glanced at Sim, who was stifling laughter behind his hand, and rolled his eyes. The two old men were trying to make fun of them! Well, they were nobody’s fools. He would show them—
Warmth.
Ash’s eyes darted down to the rock. There could be no doubt now, it was getting hotter every second until it burnt the tips of his fingers.
“Wha—? Ow!” Ash said.
He and Rae dropped the stone at the same time. It clattered to the wooden floor with a dull thud.
Sim cackled. “No such thing as magic, aye?”
Ash and Rae stared at the rock, mouths hanging open.
“But—” Ash said.
“That’s not possible…” Rae said.
“Magic,” Ferguson said, tapping his nose.
“But you weren’t anywhere near it!” Rae said.
“I believe that’s the whole point of magic,” Sim said. He picked the rock up off the floor and put it on the counter in front of Ferguson.
Shadow of a Slave (The Blood Mage Chronicles Book 1) Page 5