by Ben Hale
“Say what you can about the dwarves, but they know how to eat.”
Ursana gingerly dipped her bread into her ale and tasted a morsel. She smiled and plunged it deeper into the mug, eliciting a round of laughter from the group. Following her lead, the rest of the thieves did the same. Jack noticed Roarthin staring at him with a curious expression.
“I lived close to your mountains, dwarf,” Jack said, irritated by the attention. “I know your ways.”
Roarthin continued to regard him with a spark of interest that had been absent before. Then he shifted to dwarvish.
“You are educated yet you became a thief. Why?”
Jack laughed and replied in the same tongue. “I’m not a thief.”
“Then what are you, Jack?”
Jack filled his mouth with a chunk of bread and shrugged. Then he turned away from the dwarf and asked Ursana what she thought of the view. Roarthin did not attempt to reengage him in conversation, but the question lingered in Jack’s mind. It was the second time in a month he’d been asked it, and he still didn’t have an answer.
He tried to consider what he would do if he wasn’t a thief. A merchant’s life would be dull beyond compare, while becoming a solider would require him to obey orders. He wrinkled his nose at that and looked at the endless vista stretched out below him.
His thoughts turned to stealing the godship, and the sheer excitement of riding the vessel into an island. But that had not been the only emotion. In the back of his mind he could almost see his mother’s look. The striking disappointment in her eyes was the same as when he’d taken the dwarven knife.
You’re better than this, Jack, she seemed to say.
Maybe I’m not, Jack answered.
Abruptly Jack rose from his seat and strode away, eliciting curious looks from his companions. Ignoring them, he ascended through the outpost to the signal fire at the roof. The dwarf on watch ignored him as Jack strode to the edge and sat, letting his feet dangle over the endless fall.
Thousands of feet below, the rolling hills descended to the glistening sea. To the north the mountain range went all the way into the water, with one island just off the coast, likely the summit of an underwater mountain. To the south, the trees ended at the Plains of Adbar, and Jack spotted a glimpse of the druid forests beyond it. As the sun set he stared at his distant home.
What would you have me be, mother?
The query went unanswered, and Jack sighed in regret. Perhaps this was the life he was meant to lead, to steal for coin and accept assignments from the Guildmaster, to defy what his mother wanted and forever see her disappointment in his memory.
“Mind if I join you?”
Jack turned to find Beauty standing behind him. “You shouldn’t startle someone sitting on a ledge.”
She laughed and took a seat next to him. “We both know you would never hit the ground—and you would probably enjoy the fall.”
“Probably,” Jack admitted with a smile.
For a while they sat in silence, with both lost in thought as the sun set. When the light had been extinguished she sighed.
“Are you going to tell me why you feel guilty?”
His laughter was sharp and mocking. “For stealing the godship? Why would I feel guilty?”
“You tell me,” she said. “Guilt is always apparent in the eyes of a sinner.”
The words were a direct quote from the book of Ero. “We’re all sinners,” Jack said with a wry smile. “Isn’t that why Roarthin despises us?”
“You don’t care what he thinks,” she said.
“True.”
“Then why do you feel guilt?”
He glanced at her before staring into the darkness. He didn’t have anyone he truly trusted, but he shared a kinship with Beauty that went beyond friendship. She too had lost someone to the Thieves Guild, and they had cast Skorn out together. If anyone would understand it would be her.
But he could not voice it.
Deep down it felt childish to say that his mother didn’t want him to become a thief, that the moment he’d joined the guild she was likely crying in heaven. She’d wanted him to do more—to be more than just a thief. And here he was becoming one.
He told himself it was just to stop Skorn, but he knew that would be a lie. He loved being a thief, and he’d never had so much fun as when he stole the godship. But once Skorn was defeated he would lose his excuse.
“It’s not guilt I feel,” Jack said, covering the lie with a disarming smile. “It’s regret that there was only one godship to steal.”
“I overheard you ask the innkeeper on the Boneyard if anyone had been killed,” she smiled. “You were worried about the people.”
“I was just curious,” Jack said.
Beauty smiled at his words. “You care more than you admit,” she said.
Jack grunted in irritation and turned away. “We should be more careful in the future.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “You? Careful? I never thought I’d hear you talk like that.”
He suppressed a smile. “Everyone learns,” he said.
Doubt remained in her eyes but after a moment she dipped her head. “One can only hope. Sleep well, Jack.”
She squeezed his shoulder and then stood and left, leaving him to his view. With the moon just beginning to rise and a host of stars in the sky, the hills below were indistinct and resembled a lumpy bed.
“You shouldn’t lie to the lady,” the dwarven sentinel said, speaking for the first time.
“What do you know, dwarf?” Jack growled.
He stood and left, half expecting the dwarf to talk again. Instead he looked upon Jack with a mixture of pity and annoyance. Jack resisted the urge to shout at him and descended to the room they had paid for. Slipping into the sheets he found himself wishing Beauty had not been so easily convinced.
Or that he could convince himself as easily.
Chapter 17: Retribution
Most of the thieves were up at dawn, but they had to wait an hour for Gordon and Ursana to come down for breakfast. Yawning, Gordon descended the steps amidst a round of jeers and laughter. He laughed it off and accepted a bowl of stew and a winter apple. Then he looked about and noticed Ursana was missing.
“Is Ursana still asleep?”
“Your penchant for sleeping late has rubbed off on her,” Lorelia said with a laugh.
He grinned. “Perhaps, but I hope that isn’t all I’ve taught her.”
“It’s your greatest talent,” Jack said. “What other skills do you have?”
Gordon shook his head. “Not much. She should have been up by now. I never rise before her.”
“Let her sleep,” Beauty said. “We’ve got a hard journey ahead and she could use it.”
“If I had known that I would have stayed in bed,” Roarthin said.
Thalidon struck him in the arm, eliciting a wince and growl from his brother. “You’re a dwarf,” Thalidon said. “We don’t tire like the humans do.”
“Doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy a good slumber,” Roarthin said, his lips twitching beneath his beard.
Gordon rose from the table. “I’ll get her. She wouldn’t want to make us late.”
Jack stuffed a few rolls into his pack and shouldered it. Then he looked at the view out the window one last time. With the sun rising on the lake below, the water reflected a blinding white, causing him to shield his eyes. He smiled at the tranquility of Cliffwatch, and resolved to return when he had time to enjoy the vista.
Gordon’s strangled cry shattered the calm. Heads snapped to look at the ceiling, and then chairs clattered to the floor as thieves rushed to his aid. Jack darted to the stairs and sprinted up them, beating Beauty and Lorelia by half a step.
He accelerated and caught a light bracket to launch him up another flight of stairs. Reaching the top, he bolted down the hall and turned to find Gordon standing in the hall, staring into Ursana’s room. Jack slid to an abrupt halt beside him.
Ursana lay on th
e bed while a dozen knives hovered above and around her. They glittered as they turned, some dipping and drawing blood across her flesh. One knife hung so close to her eye that her eyelashes brushed it when she blinked. Another spun lazily above her throat, its tip crimson from where it had grazed her. Ursana did not speak, but her expression was rigid with fear as she looked at the figure standing beside her bed.
“Hello, Jack,” Gallow said.
As the others slid to a stop, Jack took a step forward. Gallow’s expression became disapproving and he tapped a hand on the air above one of the blades, which sank into Ursana’s flesh. She started to cry out but reined it in, the sound drawing the blades closer, like wolves to a wounded deer.
“Learning new tricks from your devil friend?” Jack asked, annoyed that the assassin had infiltrated the outpost without him knowing it.
Gallow’s lips curled into a sneer. “He’s not a friend, but he has magic I’ve never seen.” He gestured to the hovering knives and they sunk a little deeper, several piercing skin and drawing blood. “My apologies,” he said coldly. “I should be more careful.”
“Let her go,” Beauty spit the words at him.
Gallow rolled his eyes. “Do you have any idea how often I hear those words? If I wanted to let someone go, I wouldn’t bind them in the first place.”
Dwarven soldiers rushed into the hall but Thalidon brought them to a halt, talking quickly to forestall them charging the room. They tried to shove past him but Roarthin stepped in as well, growling at them to hold fast. Then he glanced at Jack, clearly waiting for direction.
“You want the key?” Lorelia asked Gallow.
“Speaking the obvious is beneath you, Guildmaster,” Gallow said.
As they spoke Jack evaluated the assassin. Although barely out of his teens he conveyed a darkness that belied his youth. His bright blue eyes resembled chips of ice, sharp and cold. Dressed in green and black, he wore knives and his triangular throwing blade on his back.
“My patience wears thin,” Gallow said. “I do have another key to collect, after all, and your friend doesn’t have much life.”
“What is that weapon anyway?” Jack asked, gesturing at the assassin’s back. “I’ve never seen one like it.”
Confused by the sudden query, the assassin said, “An idalia, one of the few surviving weapons from the ancients.” He smirked at the reference, implying he knew exactly who Skorn was.
Jack grunted in irritation. “I was really hoping to get one for myself. Do you happen to know of a shop that sells it?”
As he talked, Jack eased his crossbow out of sleeve and into his palm. Gallow’s annoyance kept him from noticing. The other thieves looked between them in confusion as the tension mounted.
“You try my patience, Jack,” Gallow said. “And it comes with a cost.”
A shout echoed from outside Cliffwatch, followed by the sudden clash of blades. The dwarves in the hall bolted down the stairs with axes in hand. Shouts and screams came from outside the outpost, the tone indicating that cultists were falling upon dwarven steel.
The assassin sneered again. “Give me the key, Jack, before—”
“Did you buy it in Griffin?” Jack asked, scrunching his face in confusion. “It doesn’t seem like something you’d find in a Talinorian shop. Or perhaps Azertorn?”
“I’m not your wife,” Gallow snapped. “Why ask me for shopping advice? We have business to—”
“Where’s your professional courtesy?” Jack asked indignantly.
“Do you want me to kill your friend?” Gallow snarled, and raised his hand. “A flick of a finger will end her life. Now give me the key.”
“Do as he says,” Lorelia said. “We have no choice.”
Jack shrugged. “I don’t have it.”
“How can you not have it?” She swiveled to face him. “You had it when we left the Boneyard.”
“You think I was dumb enough to keep it?” He gestured to Gallow. “We have an assassin and a fallen god chasing us. I wasn’t about to carry it on my person. At least I am a professional.” He sniffed, his gaze sliding off Gallow in disgust.
The assassin’s eyes narrowed and his features tightened with rage. “You lie when your friend’s life hangs in the balance?”
Jack grinned and quoted a thief saying, “I only lie on assignment.”
“Do you take me for a fool?” Gallow snarled.
“I don’t think you want me to answer that,” Jack said, and snapped the crossbow up.
Too late, Gallow realized his mistake and lowered his hand. The floating blades dropped—but Jack’s crossbow bolt struck him in the hand, driving him into the wall. Pinned, Gallow could not give the motion that would kill Ursana. He growled in pain and fury and struggled to free his hand, but Thalidon leapt into the room first.
The dwarf raised his hands and clenched them tight, freezing the knives in place. He trembled as he used his magic to prevent them from moving, his teeth clenched in the effort.
“Kill him,” Thalidon barked.
“With pleasure,” Jack said, darting forward.
Beauty beat him to it, and used a speed spell to leap the bed and strike Gallow in the chest. Her fist drove him backward but he recovered quickly, tearing his hand from the wall. With blood dripping from his palm he reached back and drew the idalia. Then he sent it spinning about the room.
Jack swerved but it moved with him, spinning toward his throat. He drew his dagger and deflected it upward but it hurtled toward Lorelia. The speed of the weapon caused her to dive to the side, and it went for Thalidon’s back. Roarthin got there first and used a burst of fire to lift it above them. It cut through Thalidon’s hair, slicing a deep furrow in his scalp before returning to the assassin.
Gallow ducked a strike from Beauty and then caught her hand, throwing her into a set of shelves. Wood shattered as her body struck them and she collapsed to the floor. In half a second she was on her feet but Jack had taken her place.
In a clash of steel he attacked the assassin, driving him back. Gallow’s expression of scorn turned to surprise as Jack defied him. He swung his sword with expert skill, but Jack refused to give ground. Wounded and one handed, Gallow’s expression turned to disbelief. As Beauty joined the fight once more he swung his sword out, forcing them back. Then he darted to the window.
“Next time I’ll kill one of you first,” he snapped. Then he struck a hand down toward Ursana and slipped from view. Instead of the blades descending it was Thalidon that dropped. Knocked to his knees, he struggled to keep the blades from sinking into Ursana.
Realizing the dwarf could not last, Jack darted to Ursana and caught a foot just as Gordon grabbed the other. They yanked her off the bed and crashed in a heap as Thalidon crumpled. The blades plunged into the empty bed, carving deep before finally going still.
“I’m sorry,” Ursana said, tears streaming from her eyes. “I tried to call out but they just dug deeper. He just smiled like he wanted to watch me cut apart—I’m sorry I—”
“It’s alright now,” Gordon said, drawing her to him. “He’s gone.”
He held her as she cried. Then his eyes flicked to Jack and darkened. “Why do you have to antagonize everyone?” he demanded.
Still sitting beside him, Jack exhaled. “Because it works. Everyone makes mistakes when they’re angry.”
“You think this is a game?” Gordon growled. “That our lives are pawns for you to toy with?”
Irritated, Jack rose to his feet. “I didn’t see you doing anything.”
“I would have given him the key!” Gordon roared.
“You should have given it to him,” Lorelia said coldly, drawing Jack’s gaze to her.
“You think that would have saved her life?” Jack asked, heat rising in his words. “Gallow kills for pleasure, and would have cut her down just to watch her bleed.” He looked to Beauty and the dwarves for support but their expressions were doubtful.
“Was the key worth her life?” Roarthin asked.
/> “No,” Gordon said, fixing a cold gaze on Jack. “And I think this is where we part ways. Cultists we can handle, but not the head of the assassin’s guild. Come, Ursana, we should leave before he returns.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Ursana said. She sucked in a breath and turned blazing eyes on Gordon. “And Jack’s right.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “Ursana—”
Ursana pushed against Gordon and rose to her feet. He was quick to join her but she stood apart, her entire frame rigid. Blood spotted her clothing where the knives had cut her but she clenched her fists and glared at Gordon.
“Have you forgotten who he serves?” she asked. “Who Skorn was when he was our Guildmaster? Whatever power he wishes to gain, we cannot allow him to have it.”
“But he could have killed you,” Gordon plead.
She rounded on him. “Then I would have died for a purpose. Be a man, Gordon. We have an assignment to complete.”
She whirled and stomped from the room. Gordon stared after her, his shoulders slumped in defeat. Then he turned to Jack.
“You made a promise.”
“I believe I just kept it,” Jack said quietly.
Unable to refute the statement, Gordon went after her. Without a word, Roarthin and Thalidon left to care for the wound on Thalidon’s head. In their absence Lorelia stepped to Jack, her features tight with suppressed anger.
“I’m still the Guildmaster. Next time I say give someone a key, you do it.”
“I’m not in your guild,” Jack said, folding his arms. “And like I said, I don’t have it.”
She snorted in disbelief and shook her head. “Sometimes I hate you, Jack.” Then she too left.
Beauty sighed and stepped close. “Do you really not have the key?”
“Do you really want to know?”
She held his gaze and then shook her head. “No. But regardless of where it is, Gallow won’t stop coming for it.”
“If we can predict him, we can avoid him.”
“Now isn’t the time to be arrogant.”
“Intelligence isn’t arrogance.”