“I’ll hook you up, but we get twenty percent of the purchase price as our fee.”
“Ten percent,” I countered.
“Eighteen.”
“Twelve.”
“Sixteen, or it’s not even worth our time.”
“Fifteen.”
He sighed. “Agreed. Let’s go then.” He started walking down the street. Away from the Keep.
“Go where?” I asked.
“To our supplier.”
We followed him back the way we had come. I wondered if one of the black market dealers had tried to sell us fakes first and we didn’t give them enough time to bring out the real stones. I kept alert for any signs of Bloody Lip and Bex.
We approached the alley where the black market dealers had their showrooms, but instead of leading us to one of them, the man knocked on the back door of another building.
The building’s front was on Jewelers’ Circle.
A person opened the door and the man explained our reason for being there. We were taken to a small room. Lanterns on a single table blazed. Black velvet covered the top.
A woman entered. I caught a glimpse of the room beyond her before she shut the door, confirming my suspicions we were in one of the legitimate jewelry stores.
The woman’s hair had been pulled into a complex knot behind her head. She scowled at the two salesmen. “Why did you bring them here?” she demanded.
“They wanted to purchase big stones. But we still get our fifteen percent.”
“If they can pay,” she said, giving us a pointed stare.
“I don’t think the daughter of Vasko Cloud Mist will have any trouble with payment.” The man grinned with a greedy glint in his eyes. “We’ll leave you girls to work out the details.” He left with Egg right behind him.
The woman perked up at hearing Pazia’s name, but she eyed my clothing, clearly not impressed with my display of wealth. “Let me guess. You’re two seniors from the Keep and you want to buy a few diamonds to help increase your magic.” She sighed. “I’ll sell you all you want, but let me warn you. The extra boost of power won’t help you to be assigned a cushy job when you graduate from the Keep.”
I waited for Pazia to start, but again felt compelled to fill the lengthening silence. “We’re not interested in landing good assignments. We’re interested in obtaining diamonds of a specific size and quality.”
“Why?”
“Does it matter?”
She considered. “No. Tell me what you want and I’ll find it for you.”
“No. I have to see what is available. I can’t quantify our needs with numbers, but with feelings.” I waited for the inevitable disbelief.
But her posture softened and she grew wistful. “I understand. I’ve been a jeweler all my life and there are certain gems that just…speak to me.”
Unable to stifle my curiosity, I asked, “Why are you selling black market diamonds then?”
“The Commander of Ixia gives us so few stones I can’t meet the demands of my customers. When I was offered a chance to bring in more, I jumped. If not, I would have lost business.”
“Do the other jewelers sell them, too?”
“I don’t know for sure, but I suspect they do.”
“Does the Helper’s Guild know?”
“We’ve been doing business decades longer than the Guild. If you need a Guild member to help you shop, then you’re not a loyal customer and not worth risking discovery.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re asking a lot of questions.”
“You’re not the only one taking a risk. For all I know you could be working with the Sitian authorities.”
“The same could be said of you.” The saleswoman regarded me as if she were assessing the quality of a gemstone. “What’s your name?”
“Opal Cowan.” I couldn’t think of any reason to lie and any hesitation would increase her suspicion.
She cocked her head to the side. “The glass magician. No wonder you spotted the fakes.” She gestured to Pazia. “This is what you’re doing now? Making sure your friend doesn’t get conned? I thought the Master Magicians would have something better for you to do.”
“I’m still in school.”
The saleswoman nodded as if she understood. “All right. My supplier is delivering stones in the next couple of days. I’ll ask him about your request and we’ll see what we can do for you. Stop back in four days. Come to the rear door before the lamplighters get to the lanterns in the alley.”
“Thank you…?” Is topped, realizing I didn’t know her name.
“Elita Jewelrose.”
Elita escorted us to the back entrance of her store. In the alley we heard the click of multiple locks. Pazia and I walked to the Keep. The hour had grown late. Only a few people hustled along the empty streets. For a while the silence hung heavy between us.
A few blocks from the Keep, Pazia said in a churlish tone, “You can try to tell everyone I was surprised by the men who attacked us, and I was completely sucked in by the saleswoman. But no one will believe you.” She was right.
I laughed. “You can pretend all you want, but without me you would be wearing a gaudy piece of glass on your finger. I know it and you know it. I don’t need to tell anyone else.”
“You don’t have anyone to tell anyway. You think you’re so much better than the rest of us—we’re not worth your time.”
I stopped. “Hold on. You’re the one who thinks she’s so powerful and special.”
“No. I don’t think. I know. I am more powerful than all my classmates and teachers. But I treat everyone equally. I’ve made friends.”
“Equally? What a laugh. You’ve been nasty to me since the first day!”
“That’s because you thought you were too good for us. All you did was help the Soulfinder imprison the Warpers and you were lavished with special attention. And for what?” Pazia rounded on me. “One deed. One trick. No other talents and you just admitted to being a betrayer. You don’t deserve to be a student at the Keep. You’ve been given a free ride. And you didn’t even have the decency to be humble about your good fortune. No. You expected it and expected everyone to fawn over you. Well, I wasn’t going to do it.” With a grunt of disgust, Pazia strode up the street.
I hurried after her. My thoughts swirled in my mind. I didn’t act as if I deserved special treatment. What did she expect me to do? Leave the Keep? She slowed and I almost ran into her.
“Seems you have someone fooled by your noble routine.” Pazia pointed to a dark shape.
A person waited by the Keep’s gates. As we came closer, his features and agitation grew clearer. I steeled myself for the unavoidable lecture.
Ulrick shot Pazia a sharp look. “You trust her to keep you safe?”
Agitated by Pazia’s accusations, I clamped down on a sarcastic reply. “I’m here aren’t I? Why are you here?” I immediately regretted my harsh tone when he looked at me as if I had slapped him.
“It’s late. I was concerned when you didn’t return for dinner. Guess I shouldn’t have bothered.” He turned on his heel and stormed into the Keep.
Pazia smirked. “You’re going to drive him away, too, and prove my point about you.”
Her comment was one too many. My emotions knotted and I could no longer think straight. “Shut up, Pazia. You think you have me all figured out. You have no idea. Let’s just keep focused on the task at hand.” I headed for the administration building and didn’t bother to note if she followed me or not.
Zitora waited in her office. Two lanterns burned on her desk.
She sprang from her seat the moment she saw us. “Why have you been gone so long?”
We alternated in telling her about our day. Pazia reported our findings in a factual manner, omitting the reason for Bex and Bloody Lip’s attack.
“So all the black market diamonds are fakes? Interesting and surprising,” Zitora said. “Any guesses as to why?”
“Elita mentioned having to keep up with her client’s d
emands,” I said. “Perhaps the illegal diamond seller is working both sides of the street. Sell real stones to the jewelers who can tell the difference and sell fakes to the black market dealers who can’t.”
“A good scam,” Pazia agreed. “One that would pull in a ton of money.”
“But do all the legitimate jewelers sell these illegal stones?” Zitora asked.
Her comment reminded me about Elita’s agent. He and Egg knew we were searching for real diamonds. “Elita knows about the fakes. We don’t have any information about the other jewelers.”
“Then we should find out.” Zitora settled into her chair. “You and Pazia keep your appointment with Elita. We’ll set up a watch on Elita’s back door to see if we can spot her diamond supplier.”
A good plan. Yet I felt we had overlooked something vital. I reviewed the events of the day, searching for loopholes. “Fisk.”
Zitora glanced up from her desk. “Fisk?”
“We told him the black market diamonds are fakes. He planned to spread the word.”
“Which might scare away the supplier,” Pazia said.
“Go. Find Fisk. Make sure he keeps quiet,” Zitora ordered.
“Now?” Pazia glanced at the darkness pressed against the window.
“Yes.”
We hurried from Zitora’s office.
“Take off your jewelry,” Pazia said. “This time we don’t want to attract attention.”
“Do you know where Fisk is?” I pulled the ruby bracelets from my arm, unpinned the brooch and shoved them into my pocket. My hair clips followed.
“He lives above the Guild’s headquarters with his family. Come on, I have an early class tomorrow.”
We arrived at Fisk’s place without incident. Fortunately he was home and joined us in the Guild’s common room. We explained what happened with Elita.
“She’s well respected. It’s hard to believe she’s selling contraband,” Fisk said.
“Have you heard any rumors about the other jewelers?” I asked.
“No. But I’ll make a few discreet inquiries.”
“Have you told anyone about the fakes?” Pazia asked.
“Not yet. I’ll wait until we have identified the supplier.” Fisk stiffened and held a hand up for silence.
The door to the alley opened and a small figure slipped inside. Appearing to be around six years old, the boy signaled Fisk with a series of hand and arm gestures.
“Thanks,” Fisk said. He flipped a silver coin to the boy. The child snatched it from midair and disappeared in the same furtive manner as he had arrived.
“You were followed.” He frowned at Pazia as if waiting for an explanation.
“I was in a hurry.” She seemed unconcerned.
Unlike me. I was very concerned. “Do you know who?”
“A man. A little taller and muscular than average, according to Tweet.”
My mind raced over potential attackers. Blue Eyes, Tricky, Sir, Tal, it was quite a list. Worry gnawed on my guts, chewing holes.
“You learned all that from a child named Tweet?” Pazia asked.
Fisk gave her an icy stare. “Tweet is the only sound the boy can make since his mother cut out his tongue for crying too loud. She actually did him a favor by abandoning him on the street. Even without parents, the boy understands better than you the importance of keeping the location of our headquarters a secret.”
“Fine. We’ll corner this man and find out why he followed us.” She made to leave.
“Can’t you just read his thoughts?” I asked.
She shooed away my question. “Too many people around.”
“He’s waiting at the end of the alley. Not far at all,” Fisk said.
Pazia’s annoyance turned to anger. “My ability to read minds is very limited. Happy now? Are you going to help us trap him or not?”
In the end, Pazia and I left the headquarters and headed toward the Keep. Fisk would wait a couple minutes and then recruit a few Guild members to set up an ambush near the Six Heathers Inn.
My legs wanted to run as fast as my heartbeat. Keeping my gait steady was an exercise in willpower. An itchy burning sensation bored into my back right between my shoulder blades, pushing me toward panic. I kept a sharp eye out for magical spiders and beetles.
The Six Heathers Inn appeared deserted. No lights in the windows and not a sound escaped from inside. The beginning of the cold season wasn’t a popular time for visitors to the Citadel, but, even at this late hour, I expected to see a few customers.
A shrill tweet split the air when we rounded a comer. Sounds of a scuffle ensued. We raced back to the noise. Five gangly children sat on top of a man. His indignant cries of protest died in his throat when he spotted me.
“Kade?”
21
“ARE YOU GOING to call off your dogs or do I have to conjure a gale?” Kade asked.
“It’s okay. He’s a friend,” I said to the children sitting on top of the Stormdancer. They didn’t move.
Fisk appeared beside me. “Friend? Following someone at night isn’t friend-like behavior.”
“I feel an extremely annoyed thunderstorm nearby,” Kade warned. “Actually, I’m the one annoyed. The thunderstorm could go either way.”
Lightning flashed and thunder cracked. “I’m sure he has a good reason for being here,” I said. My ears rang from the clap.
Fisk nodded and the children slid off Kade, disappearing into an alley.
Kade stood and brushed the dirt from his brown pants. He wore a short tan-colored cape and had a leather backpack slung over his left shoulder. A few dead leaves clung to his shoulder-length hair, which appeared black in the semi-darkness.
“You do have a good reason, don’t you?” I asked.
He scowled. “Considering two of our glassmakers have been murdered and the other is missing, I thought I would find you and give you fair warning you might be next.”
I gaped as numbing fear flushed through my body. “Who…?”
“Indra and Nodin…pushed from the cave…we found them on the beach.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as if blocking an image. “Varun is nowhere to be found. Either his body washed away with the tide or he’s been kidnapped.”
“When did this happen?”
“End of the storm season—about a week ago. I really wish I could have used your glass orb to message Master Cowan.”
“What—”
“We can discuss it with Master Cowan in private.” Kade glanced at Pazia and Fisk. “I was just leaving the stables, when I spotted you crossing through the gate. I didn’t want to interrupt your evening with your friend, so I followed you to keep you safe.” He scanned the surrounding buildings with a rueful grin. All was dark, and a low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance. “Laid low by five street kids, though. I’m not much of a protector.”
“You would have used the storm to escape,” I said. Seeing Fisk and Pazia’s confusion, I introduced Kade to them.
Fisk’s eyes held a question.
“This changes nothing,” I said to him. “We’ll keep our appointment with Elita in four days.”
“Good. See you then.” Fisk walked away.
Pazia didn’t hesitate to take Kade’s arm and lead him toward the Keep. She chatted with him, asking questions about being a Stormdancer. I followed a step behind. My thoughts churned as my emotions seesawed from apprehension to grief. Questions without answers plagued me and I hustled Kade and Pazia along, hoping to get him alone.
Once inside the Keep, Pazia wanted to go with us to Zitora’s office.
“You have an early class tomorrow,” I reminded her. “This is just glass stuff. Boring to you, I’m sure.”
She said a warm good-night to Kade, shot me a frozen glare and headed to her rooms.
“I take it she’s not a good friend,” he said.
We climbed the stairs to the administration building.
“We’re working together on another project.” Foreboding silence sett
led on me as I escorted Kade to Zitora’s office.
As expected, a strip of lantern light glowed under the door. Zitora’s surprise at seeing Kade was quickly replaced by concern.
“What happened?” she asked.
He repeated his news.
“Are you sure Indra and Nodin were murdered?” she asked. “You knew they might be in danger, didn’t you have extra security?”
“We did. Two guards, both knocked unconscious. And there’s no doubt they were killed. If they fell, they would have landed closer to the base of The Cliffs. And we think they were unconscious when they were thrown from the cave and hit the beach.” Kade rubbed his leg. “It was late at night, and no one heard the ‘fall scream.’ It’s a distinctive shriek of fear that abruptly stops. It’s not a sound any Stormdancer can sleep through or ever forget.” He drew in a deep breath. “The next morning, we found their bodies and a few drops of blood and scuff marks on the floor of the cave. No signs of Varun.”
His explanation left one question in my mind. “Why them and not me?”
“The glassmakers were the only three besides you who knew the recipe. I’m guessing the Traitor Tal and his friends targeted Indra and her brothers after their attempt to coerce it from you didn’t work. Once they had the sand percentages, they would have only needed one glassmaker to help them craft orbs. The others…”
Thrown away. I shuddered at the image of Tricky threatening Indra’s life if her brothers didn’t tell him the recipe. They were a loving family and would have obliged in a heartbeat. Varun probably volunteered to go with Sir’s group. I understood all too well the desire to sacrifice for another family member. Did he know the sacrifice was for nothing? Did he feel the hot knife of grief ripping his body to shreds when he realized nobody was saved? Not if they wanted his cooperation. He would learn the truth later. If he lived.
My mind filled with what I had done to keep Tula safe. What I had promised to make the man stop.
“Opal, snap out of it,” Zitora said.
“Sorry.” I pulled my thoughts to the problem at hand.
“As we speculated before, the group wants to either put the Stormdancers out of business or use the orbs to bribe us.” Kade paused as if deciding how much information to share with us. “The glassmakers have always kept the orb’s exact recipe to themselves. As the strongest Stormdancer, my sister knew it and I planned to ask Indra…Well, you know how crazy this season has been. But if we can’t make orbs, then we would be at the mercy of those that could.”
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