Shadow of a Slave (The Blood Mage Chronicles Book 1)

by Saffron Bryant

  “How is she doing that?” Rae said.

  Ash shrugged. “Fast hands.”

  Tup’s hand flicked between the back of the wagon and her shirt, little more than a blur.

  “Both of you get off the road and away from here in the next five seconds, or I’ll march you straight to the cells,” said the bigger of the guards.

  “He’ll kill me as soon as you’re not looking,” Rusty said.

  “It’s either that or prison, you choose.”

  Rusty glowered but said nothing more.

  “Good. And if I ever see either of you causing problems again I’ll have you locked up.”

  The guards released them, and Nate and Rusty stomped down opposite sides of the street. They paused every few steps to glare at each other over their shoulders.

  The guards shared a look before they marched back to the wagon.

  “Tup!” Ash said.

  “She’s already gone.”

  Ash’s eyes flew into the shadows at the back of the wagon but Rae was right. There was no sign of Tup or any hint that she’d ever been there at all.

  The guards took up position on either side of the wagon and it resumed its lumbering journey up the main street toward the upper districts.

  Ash let out a long breath and wiped his hand across his forehead.

  “We should get out of here,” Rae said. “They’re going to realize it’s missing eventually and I want to be as far away as possible when that happens.”

  Ash nodded and together they hurried away from the main street and deeper into the alleys, making their way to the headquarters of the Red Wave.

  By the time they went down the steps and into the smoky interior, Sinder and Tup were already there, roaring with laughter.

  Ash and Rae slid into the bench opposite them.

  “That was amazing!” Ash said.

  Tup winked and a cube of silver metal appeared in her hand. “I am the best in the business.”

  “I think you need to admit it was only thanks to our fantastic distraction,” Nate said.

  He sat beside Tup and Rusty took a place beside Ash.

  Tup rolled her eyes. “I’ll admit it was amusing.”

  Rusty pretended to rub his back. “I think I broke my spine when I fell on those bloody cobblestones. Next time you’re the one that’s getting shoved.”

  Nate leaned back and gestured to his heavy chest. “No one is going to believe that you pushed me over.”

  “So much work for a little cube of metal,” Rae said.

  “A few cubes, thank you.” Tup produced seven more squares, just bigger than dice. She made a small silver tower on the table in front of her.

  Ash took one and closed his hand around it. He peered through a hole between his fingers into the darkness. The cube glowed like a small light. A pang of sadness twisted his stomach because the glow reminded him of Sim.

  Tup took the cube back. “That’s why it’s so expensive. I’ve heard the magicians use it too, although I don’t know what for.”

  “Who gives a rat’s ass?” Nate said. “The important thing is how valuable it is. What say we keep one for ourselves, split the profits?”

  Tup tensed and the smile on Sinder’s face froze.

  Ash and Rae sat very still as tension settled over the table.

  “Nothing wrong with getting paid for a job well done,” Rusty said.

  Tup scooped the cubes closer to her chest.

  “Aldrick will pay us our share,” Sinder said slowly.

  Nate and Rusty studied the four of them and then shared a glance.

  “Surely you wouldn’t object to a little bonus?” Nate said.

  Sinder cleared his throat and his hand dropped below the level of the table, out of sight. “I’m sure you’re not suggesting what I think you are…”

  Tense silence crackled across the table. It seemed to stretch on to eternity, until Rusty slapped the table with his open palm and let out a donkey-like laugh. “Ha! Ignore Nate. He’s always joking around. You wouldn’t really take a cut from Aldrick, would you, Nate?”

  Nate glanced at Rusty and a stiff smile twisted his mouth. “Nah, of course not. Was just a joke.”

  “Hmm, thought so,” Sinder said. “I’ll just take care of these then.” He scooped the cubes off the table and carried them across the room to where Aldrick sat in deep conversation with some of the other Red Wave officers. He and Sinder shared a few words and then Sinder came back to their table.

  Ash let out a long breath but tension clung to his shoulders. An uneasy air surrounded Nate and Rusty that made Ash squirm.

  “Oo, looks like Bailey is dealing,” Rusty said, locking eyes with Nate. “You know what that means?”

  “Easy winnings!” Nate said.

  They pushed away from the table and stood, towering over Ash and the others.

  “Thanks for a job well done,” Nate said.

  Ash nodded back but he didn’t relax until they’d both sat at the other table and been dealt a handful of cards. Only then did he let his shoulders slump and release a long sigh.

  “Don’t worry too much about them,” Sinder said. “They’re harmless enough.”

  “Yeah,” Ash said.

  “They give me the creeps,” Tup said.

  “Forget about them,” Sinder said. “It was a job well done. We deserve a drink.”

  He waved and a young urchin brought over four brimming mugs.

  “To us,” he said. “We make a pretty good team.”

  Ash lifted his glass and took a shallow sip of the bitter drink. “I don’t know if we helped much.”

  Sinder winked at them. “Don’t worry. My only job was supervision. The benefit of having you two is that if something does go wrong… you’re there.”

  “So really, I did all the work and you’re all going to get paid for it,” Tup said. “Maybe I should have listened to Nate’s suggestion of skimming off the top!”

  They all chuckled and the last tendrils of tension fell away from their group.

  28

  Ash tapped his fingers on the stained, wooden table as he gazed into the distance, contemplating the future. Thanks to the extra money the Red Wave had brought, it would only take a few more weeks for him and Rae to earn enough coins to get to the Institute.

  Tension hung in the air of the Red Wave base, thick enough to feel. Only a few people sat scattered amongst the tables, all of them silent. A big job was going down, Ash hadn’t been privy to the details, but most of the gang was out making it happen.

  Aldrick sat alone at his long table, twirling his worn dice across his knuckles.

  A clatter echoed from the stairs.

  Ash half-turned, his shoulders tense.

  Tup burst through the door and her gaze flicked across the room until it stopped on Ash. “We need your help.”

  Ten burly gang members stumbled in behind Tup with three injured men slung between them.

  Ash flew to his feet and rushed to the closest group as they lay an unconscious man on one of the wooden tables. Ash recalled the man’s name from the depths of his memory—Ransley.

  Blood oozed out from a jagged knife lodged in Ransley’s shoulder. He groaned and reached for the wound.

  “Hold him down!” Ash said.

  A man with a cut on his cheek snatched Ransley’s hands and pinned them at his side.

  “Tup, I need bandages and a bottle of antiseptic alcohol. They’re in my bag, front pocket.”

  Tup dashed off and reappeared a moment later with the items.

  Ash gripped the knife handle and pulled.

  Ransley convulsed on the table and cried out.

  Ash snatched the alcohol and splashed it over the wound.

  Ransley howled and a second man had to help hold him down.

  Ash washed away as much blood as he could and pressed a wad of bandage over the wound. He snatched a nearby man and placed his hands over the bandages.

  “Hold this tight. He’ll survive and I can stitch it
later but I need to check on the others.”

  “What happened?” Aldrick said.

  “Ambush,” Tup said. “Someone knew we were gonna be there. I’d bet my life it was those bloody Free Rangers.”

  Aldrick smacked his fist into his palm. “Talon’s balls!”

  Ash stepped around Aldrick and ran to the next table.

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  The man on the table opened his eyes. “Just a bump to the head; I’m fine.”

  Ash frowned and looked into the man’s eyes, but there was no sign of concussion. He looked up and pointed to the two nearest men. “You two, watch him. Do not let him fall asleep, and if he throws up I want to know about it straight away.”

  “Don’t worry about him,” one said. “It’s Sinder that needs your help.”

  Ash spun to the final injured man, Sinder. His skin had turned a pallid white and sweat poured off him. His breath came in panting gasps that bubbled in his chest. Ash’s heart squeezed. Of all the people, why did it have to be Sinder?

  “What happened to him?” Ash said.

  Tup appeared at Ash’s side. “He was knife-fighting some kid. I didn’t even see him get hit, but next minute he’s lying on the ground yelling and twitching. Tell me you can do something.”

  Ash pulled up Sinder’s eyelids to reveal bloodshot eyes that rolled and jerked. Ash searched Sinder’s body for any gaping wound but there was nothing.

  He tried to breathe, to be calm, but this was the first time he’d had to heal someone he actually knew and cared about. What if he did something wrong?

  He closed his eyes and took another breath. He couldn’t panic. Sinder’s life depended on him keeping calm. He reopened his eyes and his gaze came to rest on a tiny red line on Sinder’s palm. He snatched Sinder’s hand and brought it close to his face.

  “Come on,” Tup said. “Sinder is stronger than that. That’s barely a cut.”

  Ash sniffed the wound and frowned. “Poison.”

  “What?” Tup’s face paled.

  Ash let Sinder’s hand drop and massaged his temples. He wished Rae were with him, together they’d be able to work out which poison, but she’d been sent to a job on the other side of town and would never make it back in time.

  Aldrick appeared on Sinder’s other side. “You fix this. That’s your job.”

  Ash swallowed; there was no mistaking the underlying threat in Aldrick’s words.

  “Let him think,” Tup said.

  Ash spluttered, no one spoke up against Aldrick and lived to tell about it.

  Aldrick’s face darkened.

  “Just…” Tup’s voice wavered. “Let him think. For Sinder’s sake.”

  Aldrick narrowed his eyes but nodded once and returned his gaze to Sinder’s face.

  Tup deflated and all color fled her face. She met Ash’s gaze.

  Ash nodded once and turned his full attention to Sinder. He had to identify the poison; if he tried to treat the wrong one, Sinder would die for sure.

  He started at the top of Sinder’s head, mentally cataloging everything he saw. Sweating, bloodshot eyes, ragged breath. Writhing. But the area around the wound hadn’t blackened or festered—that ruled out Ricta venom. His legs still jerked so he wasn’t paralyzed—that ruled out Death Lily.

  Sinder’s breathing became even more erratic and it sounded as though he were trying to gasp through a thin layer of water.

  Fluid in the lungs, Ash added the note to his list but there were still too many possibilities.

  “Why aren’t you doing anything?” Aldrick said.

  Ash threw his hands into the air. “I can’t do anything until I know what it is.”

  “And are you hoping he’s just going to tell you?”

  Ash ignored Aldrick and turned back to Sinder. He’d gone rigid, as if stiff poles had been shoved inside each of his limbs, holding them away from his body.

  “Someone has gone to get Rae…” Tup said.

  Ash jerked his head. “She won’t get here in time.”

  Blood trickled out of Sinder’s nose, traced across his upper lip, and dribbled down the side of his face.

  Ash bit his lip. It wasn’t a good sign but it narrowed the possibilities down to three.

  “I need leaches, Petrichorn root, and Uber berries,” he said.

  Tup dashed from his side before he’d finished speaking.

  “So you know what it is?” Aldrick said, voice gruff.

  “No.” Ash ran his hand over his face. “One of those things will save him; the other two will kill him.”

  “How the hell is that going to help?”

  “I don’t know! If we do nothing, he definitely dies.”

  Muted conversation came from the rest of the room but a circle of empty space surrounded Ash, Sinder, and Aldrick. Everyone watched them out of the corner of their eyes, but nobody dared approach.

  Ash ignored the nausea rolling in his own stomach; if he made the wrong choice he’d kill Sinder. If Rae were here she’d know what to do, she always did, but she wasn’t and he had to fix this himself.

  “How long does he have?” Aldrick said.

  “Less than half an hour.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Tup arrived, her arms overflowing. She dumped the supplies on the table beside Sinder and stared at Ash. “Well?”

  But Ash still hadn’t worked out which poison it was. He wracked his brain for ways to tell them apart but they all presented the same way.

  He tugged up the bottom of Sinder’s shirt and stared at the skin beneath. “Did he have that before?” He pointed to a small patch of red.

  “What?” Tup said, leaning closer.

  “The rash.”

  Tup straightened, her eyes shining. “I don’t know. I don’t think—”

  Ash reached for the leaches. Only one of the poisons caused a rash.

  “He’s been scratching at that thing all week,” a man said from the crowd.

  Ash’s hand froze and he looked up at the speaker. “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah, he couldn’t leave it alone.”

  A chill went up Ash’s spine and he pulled his hand away from the leaches. Every spec of moisture left his throat and he struggled to breathe. He’d been seconds away from applying the leaches, seconds away from killing Sinder.

  He let out a long breath and forced the panic down. If there was no rash, then it probably wasn’t Lepodine, but that still left two options.

  Tup cradled Sinder’s head and wiped away some of the blood from his nose. “Ash, he’s not going to last much longer.”

  Ash tore his eyes from the leaches. He had to choose. Now. Sinder had stopped convulsing, meaning the last of his organs were shutting down. Ash snatched a handful of Uber berries. He crushed them in his palm and let the red juices run into Sinder’s open mouth. He kept going until all of the berries were gone, then he held his breath.

  Everyone in the room fell silent, watching.

  Ash gripped the side of the table, knuckles white. Sweat trickled down his forehead and coated his upper lip.

  Sinder continued to breathe in rasping gurgles. The berries and blood stained his face red.

  “Come on,” Tup said. “You’re okay.”

  Minutes dragged by like hours and every time Sinder breathed out, everyone tensed until he breathed in again.

  Anxiety grated at Ash’s nerves like a saw until he was sure he would snap. It had been too long, the berries should have worked. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to reach out for Rae, to warn her not to come back. Aldrick would kill them for sure.

  A vague sense of fear swirled at the edge of his awareness. Rae. He concentrated, pushing with all his might for her to understand, to turn away, to run.

  A single word came back to him, with the same clarity as if it had been spoken next to his ear. No.

  “Why isn’t he getting better? You’ve bloody killed him!” Aldrick said.

  “No, listen,” Tup said.

  Ash listened, but all he co
uld hear was Sinder’s breathing.

  “What?” Aldrick said.

  “It’s not gurgling.”

  Ash’s gaze flew to Sinder’s face. Tup was right; Sinder’s breathing was still ragged, but it didn’t gurgle. Ash’s shoulders slumped and his legs shook. Tears threatened to spill down his cheeks but he held them back by shear force.

  He collapsed into the nearest chair, arms wrapped over his chest.

  Ten minutes later, Rae flew into the room and ran to Sinder’s side. “Is he okay?”

  Tup grinned at her. “He’s going to make it.”

  “Oh thank Talon,” Rae said, letting her bag of medical supplies fall to the floor. She laid a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded, although he felt so exhausted he could barely speak.

  Rae sat beside him. “You’re so cold. Why aren’t you near the fire?”

  Ash shrugged. He hadn’t noticed the cold; he had been too focused on Sinder, but now the bone deep chill made him shiver.

  “Fire. Now,” Rae said.

  He shuffled to the fire where the others made room, and he sunk into the chair closest to the warmth with a long sigh.

  Rae draped her cloak over Ash’s chest. “It’s not even that cold in here.”

  Ash tried to reply, but his eyes drifted closed and he fell asleep.

  29

  Ash huddled closer to the fire and held a mug of warm tea to his chest. Steam lifted from the surface and drifted away under his breath. Rae sat beside him, leaning toward the flames.

  A steady pain throbbed at Ash’s temple and all his muscles felt as if he’d run for miles. He glared down at his drink, hating his traitorous body for hurting so much when all he’d done was squeeze some berries into a man’s mouth. He shifted and tried to ease the tension squeezing his shoulders.

  “You did well to notice the rash. I don’t think I would have seen it.”

  Ash frowned at her. “What rash?”

  “On Sinder.”

  “No, that rash on his stomach has been there for ages. It wasn’t Lepodine.”

  “Not on his stomach, on his legs. You did good to spot it.”