“Fine.”
The smuggler reached the stairs and led her down them slowly, his head bowed as he did. She followed behind him, prepared with both the shadows and flame for whatever she might encounter.
At the bottom of the stairs, Carth stopped. Bright light illuminated the room. It was paneled entirely in wood. The floor was planked and a plush carpet was rolled across it. Flames crackled along one wall, leaving a hint of smoke drifting in the room, but otherwise the room was well ventilated, the smoke blowing out of the room somewhere high overhead.
Carth’s eyes were drawn toward the people in the room. Rows of tables with benches and chairs filled the room. Others sat at the tables—men she’d seen at the docks—making her realize this was a smugglers’ hole. Most sat quietly, eating and drinking, though some played games of dice and others played a board game that reminded her of Tsatsun.
It was a tavern.
“This is where you brought me?” Carth asked.
“You wanted to see the leader. This is where you have to find her.”
As Carth stared around the room, a comment sank in. She turned her attention back to the smuggler, a smile crossing her face. “Her?”
The smuggler nodded.
Interesting. Carth hadn’t expected the leader of the smugglers guild to be a woman. Maybe they would be able to find some common ground.
She took a seat at a table, and a waiter hurried over, bringing two mugs of ale. “What’s your name?”
The man looked around him before sighing. “Ronald.”
He took a long drink of his ale, though Carth ignored hers. Every so often, he cast a furtive glance around the tavern.
Carth found herself looking with him. Would she see the woman who ran this tavern? So far, all she saw were men. Even the server—a man with a gray apron tied tightly around him, his belly protruding beneath it—had been a man.
Her gaze drifted back to him, and she noted him watching, his hands clasped over his belly as he watched her with a strange expression on his face.
It took Carth a moment to realize why. She was the only woman in the tavern.
Others made a point of not looking at her, though she sensed their attention and knew that they were fully aware of her presence. Carth smiled inwardly. This was nothing like what she had expected.
“Where is she?” Carth asked.
“She’ll come to you. Once she hears that you’re here, she’ll come.”
They waited. She had questions. Many questions. Was this woman responsible for attacking those Carth cared about? If she wasn’t, maybe she knew who had been.
Given the numbers in the tavern, she doubted she would easily be able to fight her way free were it necessary. And if she did, she didn’t know if she would be able to find her way back through that brick doorway. She didn’t remember the combination of stones to press to open it.
She sat, prepared for whatever might come, and waited.
Eventually, a door opened on the other wall, and a woman entered who caused Carth’s breath to catch.
She had dark hair, pale skin, and deep brown eyes. She had a certain sway to her walk, one that practically dared the men sitting around the tavern not to look.
“Lindy,” Carth breathed out.
The woman looked just like Lindy, as if finding her perfect twin.
The woman scanned the tavern, a hard edge to her eyes before they settled on Ronald and then Carth. She offered a half smile as she meandered through the tavern, stopping several of the tables before making her way over to Carth. When she stopped, her demeanor changed. Her hint of a smile faded, replaced by a sudden sternness. Her body was tensed, coiled like a snake as it readied to strike. Carth noticed a slight bulge beneath her dress, and realized that she was armed as well.
“You aren’t meant to be here,” the woman said.
Carth sat up, leaving her mug of ale untouched. “No? And where am I supposed to be?”
The woman turned to Ronald. “What were you thinking, bringing her down here?”
Ronald’s eyes widened. “I was thinking I didn’t want to die.”
The woman harrumphed. “You worry more about her than me?”
“She was the one with the knife.”
With a flourish so quick that Carth almost didn’t see it, the woman brandished a pair of knives in front of her. They were of a different make than the poisoned blade Carth had. There was a dull sheen to them, but the edge was sharp.
“I have a knife as well,” the woman said.
“Come on, Marna. I didn’t have much of a choice. Didn’t you tell us to do what was necessary?”
Marna’s eyes narrowed slightly and she laughed. She might look like Lindy, but her manner of speaking and the edge to her were nothing like Lindy. This was a woman used to being in charge. This was a woman used to being obeyed. Lindy had struggled with running the hospital, struggled with her growing responsibilities within the city.
Marna waved at Ronald. “You can go. I think I will sit and talk with your friend here.”
Ronald glanced to Carth, and she realized that he waited for her to give him permission. She nodded once, and a relieved expression crossed his face. He hurriedly stood, pushing the stool back so quickly that it started to tip, forcing him to grab it.
Marna got to it first. She snatched the falling stool, righting it, and then sat upon it just as quickly. Carth barely had time to react before Marna was seated across from her.
This was not just a woman accustomed to being obeyed. This was a dangerous woman.
“So. You wanted to find me.”
“You don’t seem terribly surprised to see me here.”
“Why should I be surprised to see you? You’ve been busy organizing everyone up there. Truth be told, I was expecting to see you long ago.”
Carth glanced around the tavern. “You’re responsible for this?”
“If you mean this place, organizing these idiots into something more cohesive, then yes. If you mean something else, then I’d ask you to explain.”
“You know women are being attacked?” Carth had a suspicion that Marna was quite aware of what took place in her city. A part of her wanted Marna to admit that.
“The attacks. Yes. An unfortunate thing. It’s a good thing you were there to protect those people.”
Carth shook her head. “I couldn’t protect all of them.”
“Neither could I.”
“Who have you lost?” Carth asked.
Marna considered her, her gaze unsettling. “What happened? Did you lose someone you cared about?”
Carth nodded.
Marna leaned forward. “And you think that perhaps I have something to do with this?”
“I thought that you might.”
Now Carth wasn’t sure. The assassin had been looking for a woman like Lindy, and Carth assumed she’d been the target. But what if the assassin had sought Marna?
Carth’s gaze drifted around the tavern and she began to have a different realization.
Was this where Marna had hidden?
“You knew,” Carth said.
The pieces started to come together, like a game falling into place for her. Her heart started to thunder in her chest, and she knew that she was right. She could play the pieces out, moving them in such a way that she would see how Marna had used the similarity between her and Lindy to her advantage.
Marna had known she was hunted and had hidden here, staying protected from whoever the assassin was.
“Do you know who it was?” Carth asked.
Marna stared at her blankly. “I thought perhaps you might be angrier that I used your friend.”
Carth clenched her jaw. She was angry enough, but she wouldn’t let Marna see it. All of this had to be part of her game. “I want vengeance. That’s all.”
“Then you’re a fool. I thought the shadow walker was cleverer than that. Perhaps those rumors were wrong?”
Carth resisted the urge to grab her hidden knife. A part of her
wanted to take it, stab it into Marna’s chest, but it wouldn’t bring Lindy back. It wouldn’t bring the vengeance she sought. She needed to control her emotions, control that had not been difficult until recently. For some reason, losing Lindy had changed that for her.
“What do you know?”
“Nothing that will bring you the answers you seek,” Marna said. “Nothing that will bring your friend back.”
Carth fixed her with a hard stare. “I need answers. If it involves me tearing through your entire network to get them, I will do so. Don’t think me helpless.”
Marna flourished her knives so quickly that Carth could barely see them, slamming them into the table on either side of Carth’s arms, creating a cage. “And don’t think me helpless either.”
Marna sat back, crossing her arms and leaving the knives in place as an unspoken threat. “I’m sorry I can’t be of any more help to you. I thought it best to allow you to make your way here, show you that there is little you can do at this point. And again, I’m truly sorry about your friend, but this way, others won’t suffer.”
“They’ll learn that you still live.”
“Will they? I think rumor of a greater threat will reach them.” Marna stared for a long moment and then stood from the table, leaving Carth alone, the pint of ale in front of her untouched.
Carth realized that she had been well and thoroughly played, without even realizing that it had been a game.
15
Carth made her way into the hospital. Her mind raced with what she’d seen of the underground tavern. Somehow, Marna had used her.
No… she hadn’t used Carth, she had used Lindy. She had sacrificed Lindy so that Marna could survive, so that Marna wouldn’t be attacked by this assassin and whoever had hired him.
Evie caught her at the door and turned to her. “What is it?”
Carth gripped her knife, sending shadows swirling around it. She had only vaguely remembered unsheathing her knife, barely recalling pulling it out. “I know a little bit more about why Lindy died.”
“You learned who hired the sellsword?”
Carth frowned. “Sellsword?”
Evie shrugged. “Assassin. Sellsword. Whatever you want to call it. If we knew the poison…”
“I thought Alex knew what was used.”
“She thought so too. Now she’s not quite sure.”
Carth scanned the hospital. The cots were empty today, the people who’d died over the last few weeks long since burned, and those who had been injured now recovered. She should be pleased by that fact, but it troubled her that so many had to lose because of the smuggling in the city. Worse, for it to end, she needed the help of someone who could manage the city, to bring the fighting to an end. This was not something she could do herself. She needed Lindy.
“Jamie and Alice left today,” Evie said.
Carth sighed. At least there was that. Having recovery—even if it was an injury that had come by her hand—and foot—meant something. They could get married, live their lives.
“Where did they go?” Carth asked.
“Out of the city. She wanted to get away from here. And he… he wanted nothing to do with us.”
“How certain are you that this was a sellsword?” Carth asked. She thought of Timothy, and how he’d been hired to abduct her, though in reality he had a different task. There were others like him, others with a similar skill set. Before Lindy had died, she’d even considered going to him for help.
“I don’t know. There are many known to use poisons. If we could be certain what poison had been used, it might make it easier to find, but…”
Alex had thought she’d known the poison, but was no longer certain. Now Carth had to figure out which it was. Once she did, then they could search for who had used it.
Carth looked around the hospital. What would she do now? Without Lindy, she didn’t know where she would go, who she would coordinate her movements with, none of it.
She felt lost without her friend.
Yet… she shouldn’t. Planning and strategy were what she was good at, though connecting to the local resources was something she wasn’t always good at. It was the reason she had left Dara in Reva. It was the reason Lindy had been successful here. Now she would have to figure out how to connect to those who were left behind in the city.
The network was hers. There had been no doubting the fact that she was responsible for coordinating it. It would take time, and it would take her remaining more actively involved, but was that the best use of her time?
She turned back to the door, looking away from Evie. As she turned to leave, Evie spoke up. “Where are you going to go?”
“I need to get a few more answers before I can decide.”
“What kind of answers?”
Carter thought about her response. What would she do? Should she stay in the city? Or should she continue to attack, going after the assassin who had killed Lindy?
Maybe the right answer was a combination. It was one that she would have to take some time to determine, but she would have to act.
Daylight shone on the deck of the Goth Spald, dispersing any shadows Carth could use. There were hints of them, especially around the mast, and down underneath the deck of the ship, but they weren’t easily accessible. It wasn’t that Carth couldn’t use shadows in the daytime, only that she had less strength with them, and less potential. It forced her to rely on the power of the flame.
Carth tapped her foot as she waited. The salt breeze blew in from the north, carrying with it a hint of a chill. It was almost enough to make her think longingly back to her time in Nyaesh. That was a time when Lindy had still been alive.
She waited, knowing that there was only so much time she could wait. She had to know, though. Before she made a decision, she had to know.
Movement along the street caught her attention. Carth used the power of her flame magic, helping her pick out the distinct signature of Alex making her way towards the ship. When she reached the dock, Carth met her as she came up the ramp. Alex carried a heavy satchel with her, and a sheen of sweat glistened on her cheeks.
“I brought you all the different poisons I can think of.” Alex set the satchel down and crossed her arms over her chest. “I still don’t think that’s safe for you.”
“It wasn’t terad,” Carth said. “It was my mistake, we had prepared as if it was terad. We’d been using the narcass leaves thinking that they would protect us. But it was not terad.”
“I warned you that you should have given me a chance to figure out what we were dealing with. Going in without knowing… that put you in danger. That put her in danger.”
“I discovered the reason why Lindy was targeted. There was a woman in the underground. Marna—”
“Marna?” Alex asked quickly. Her breath caught, and she shook her head. “If Marna was involved, we need to be careful.”
“You know about her?”
“I’ve heard the name. It’s hard to get anybody who knows Marna. She keeps herself hidden, protected.”
“Why haven’t you told me about her?” Carth asked. “Why hide it from me?”
“Because she’s dangerous, Carth. She runs the smugglers in a way…”
“In what way?”
“In the way that you would like to run your network. If you go after her, be careful.”
Carth intended to be careful, but she would discover what secrets Marna kept from her.
16
The poison dripped down the back of her throat, leaving her skin burning, the sensation that of fire racing through her. Carth allowed the poison to seep into her, letting the awareness of it surge until it became unbearable. Only then did she reach for the power of the flame and shadows to burn it off.
Alex watched her from behind the counter in the herbalist shop, her eyes narrowed and a worried expression furrowing her brow. She said nothing, having long since shared her concern about Carth’s plan to test every poison that she could. What more could Alex sa
y that would deter her? Carth needed to know what poison had been used, so that she could determine who was to blame for the killings.
Sweat beaded up on her brow, and she wiped it away, smearing it across her forehead.
Her legs buckled, but she stabilized herself, drawing on the strength of the shadows to keep standing. It wouldn’t do for her to allow Alex to see how weak the poison made her. The woman might refuse to provide her with others, and Carth was determined to know exactly what poison had been used.
“It feels like fire,” she said through gritted teeth. As much as she might want to hide the effects of the poison, there was nothing she could truly do to ignore them completely. Allowing herself to feel the poison as it worked through her, to experience what others would have experienced, made that impossible, and Carth was determined to know the way the poisoning felt, to feel it as it incapacitated her. “My skin. My insides. My blood.”
As she said the last, she sent another surge of the flame magic through her. It was a cleansing sense, one that heated everything inside of her, scorching away the effects of the poison. So far, she hadn’t encountered a poison that she couldn’t eliminate, but she knew they existed. Facing Hoga had demonstrated that there were particular poisons that she couldn’t counter. That was why Alex was here. If it came to it, the herbalist could dose her with narcass or with any of the other antidotes she possessed. It wasn’t ideal, but what choice did she have? She needed answers.
“Srirach,” Alex said with a nod. She started toward one of her shelves, pulled out a vial of reddish powder, and tipped a small amount onto the counter. The light caught it in such a way that the powder appeared to sparkle, going from a deep red to almost purple. “One of the worst ways to go, from what I hear. For most, the burning persists until you can’t stand it anymore and pass out from the pain. It’s a lingering sort of death. Horrible, really.”
Carth licked her lips. It was unpleasant, but then, she had the advantage that she knew how to counter it and didn’t have to subject herself to the ongoing misery of the poison. Not like others would have. They would continue to suffer, and would continue to face the fiery torment racing through their veins.
Shadow Found (The Shadow Accords Book 6) Page 9