by T. A. White
“Was it blond Lucius or the brown haired Lucius?”
Tate paused. She’d forgotten that she never told him which was one and two. “The blond.”
He cursed. “He might seem nice, but if he made a threat he’d see it through to completion.”
That wasn’t a surprise. She’d gotten the same feeling from him.
“What he wanted was simple, and Jost has given me authority to play along. It cost us nothing and might have solved your situation temporarily.”
“No, that’s just what he wants you to think. All you’ve proven is that I can be used as a weapon to get you to do whatever he wants.” Dewdrop looked miserable.
Tate needed to fix this. Kids like him tended to disappear when they thought it might protect those they loved. He might run if he thought it would keep her and Night safe. She didn’t intend to let that happen.
“Won’t he be in for a surprise when he finds out otherwise?”
Dewdrop’s gaze jerked to hers. His smile was tentative when it came, but it released a knot Tate felt in her chest.
“This is still a bad idea,” he told her.
“Or a good one in disguise.” She turned and walked away.
“No, I’m pretty sure it’s a bad one,” Dewdrop said, eyeing the man who had just stepped out of the shadows.
Blade’s black eyes were enigmatic as they rested on Tate and Dewdrop. He didn’t look surprised to see them. Figures slipped from the houses and windows until Tate and Dewdrop were surrounded.
“A welcoming party, how unexpected,” Tate said, looking around them. They were boxed in by men, each rougher looking than the last.
“Lucius has a network of pickpockets and thieves who watch this entrance,” Dewdrop said. “They probably went to warn him as soon as we set foot down here.”
“He’s always prepared, I’ll give him that.”
Misgivings were already beginning to crowd in on Tate. Maybe she should have listened to Dewdrop and gotten out while she could. It was too late now.
“Blade, so good of you to come and escort us to your master,” Tate said, pinning a cheerful smile on her face. There was no need for them to know how uneasy it made her to be greeted by a gang of roughs before they got anywhere near the entrance to the catacombs.
“I must say we were surprised to hear of your arrival,” he said. True to the name Tate had given him, blades were strapped to his belt, along his wrist and probably several other places that Tate couldn’t see. “I thought you were supposed to be at the excavation site for the next few days.”
She shrugged. “It got boring. Things happened. Thought I’d drop in on old friends.”
“We’re friends now?” He arched one eyebrow, his face looking vaguely amused. “Last time we spoke that was a term you refused to apply to us.”
That was true. She did go out of her way to explain how they were not friends since friends, at least in her definition of them, did not kidnap each other. That’s the sort of thing an enemy did. Or at least someone who had the potential to be an enemy. Not a friend.
“I decided that you had a point and were right in this one instance.”
“Uh huh. What is it that you want?”
“I need to see the Luciuses.”
He studied her, his head tilted as he thought.
“Come along. I suspect he will want to see you too.”
Blade turned his back and disappeared in the shadows from which he’d arrived. His friends faded back into the cracks, leaving Tate and Dewdrop standing in the street alone.
“Still think this is a good idea?” Dewdrop said.
Tate didn’t answer and ventured after Blade.
Chapter Eighteen
“Tate, you came.” Lucius Two stood and welcomed her with wide arms, pulling her into a hug before she could dodge. “What an unexpected pleasure.”
Tate drew back and made a show of patting all of her pockets.
“Don’t worry, you didn’t have anything worth stealing,” he said with amusement in his voice. He sounded certain.
Did that mean he had tried to pick pocket her?
He was right. Her pockets, at least those in reach of his hands, were empty. She tended to stash things in her boot, experienced as she was in how easy it was for a pickpocket to liberate people of their possessions.
“And Daniel, our prodigal son. You’ve been missed.”
Dewdrop glared at the other man but didn’t respond. A statement like that from Tate would have seen all sorts of snarky responses.
“Have you come at long last to buy your way out?” Lucius asked.
Blade took up a position against the wall, leaning casually against it as he took out a blade and started cutting up a piece of fruit.
“You know I haven’t,” Dewdrop said. “That kind of money is only accumulated after a lifetime of jobs.”
“And your present lifestyle does not lend itself well to the type of work that would allow you to make this sort of money.” Lucius’s smile was lazy and self-satisfied. He looked like a cat all too pleased with itself.
“We haven’t come here to discuss Dewdrop’s present circumstances,” Tate said before Dewdrop could say anything else. She didn’t want to go too far down that road. She had a sense that all that waited in that direction were traps made up of honeyed words and threats veiled as silken promises.
“Oh? Why have you come?” Lucius looked mildly curious. “I don’t remember inviting you to call on me.”
The words were said in a mild tone of voice, but Tate could hear the threat under them. As a Night Lord, Lucius had a reputation to protect. He couldn’t be seen as being called to account like a puppet attached to strings. That meant he could very well make an example of them for daring intrude on his territory without invitation.
It was all a game. One with deadly consequences.
Tate studied him, her head tilting. She smiled. It was friendly and out of place given the situation. Lucius’s mask cracked as confusion peeked through.
“And here I thought we were friends. Friends call upon each other, especially when they have information to impart.”
Lucius looked interested. Tate thought he might, given his previous interest in this situation.
“Of course, friends. Why didn’t I think of that?”
Blade chuckled softly from his position against the wall. Tate ignored him.
She looked around the room. Where was the other Lucius? She had gotten the sense last time that he was the dominant one in this pair. She wanted him present before she started bargaining.
This room was different than the one she’d escaped from during their first encounter. Like the rest of the catacombs under Aurelia, it was built from the distinct black stone that abounded in the area. She knew if she laid her hand against it, it would be warm, like living flesh. It’s why she suspected that despite being underground she wasn’t freezing. The entire catacombs temperature never varied more than a few degrees no matter how hot or cold it was on the surface.
The room was welcoming for all that it was underground and made entirely of stone. If it weren’t for the lack of windows, Tate would have sworn they were in a wealthy merchant’s home in the Upper city.
The Lucius’s had an eye for quality and it showed here with their treasures spread out in opulent splendor.
“Where’s Lucius One?” Tate asked.
“One? Do you mean to tell me I’m not first in your affections?” Lucius said, pressing a hand against his chest. “I’m hurt and slightly insulted.”
“Don’t be. He’s One because I met him first.”
The playfulness dropped from him. “Fair enough. He’s not here. He’s out on business.”
Possibly in another set of tunnels very similar to these? Maybe retrieving his smuggler’s cache even as they spoke.
“His business wouldn’t happen to take him a few hours south of here would it?” Tate asked.
Lucius cocked his head. “That’s a very specific question.”<
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“I have a very specific reason for being here.”
“So you’re not just here to catch up with old friends.”
Tate kept a pleasant expression on her face. She was the one who’d started the friend’s thing as an excuse to be here. She couldn’t go back on that now.
“I have more than one reason for visiting,” she said.
“I thought so. Should we get down to business, then?” Lucius straightened and gestured with one hand at a couch across from him. Tate sat, Dewdrop taking up a position at her shoulder.
“You’re not going to sit?” Lucius asked as he leaned back in an armchair.
Dewdrop’s jaw tightened, and he gave him a defiant look.
“Dewdrop,” Tate said. She nodded at the seat next to her. He took a deep breath, releasing it slowly before taking a seat.
“So well trained,” Lucius said, watching them with slumberous eyes. “Like a dog whose owner snaps her fingers. Too bad you couldn’t be so obedient when you were still part of the family.”
Dewdrop stiffened, his hands clenching into fists.
“Perhaps if his family had paid more attention when it mattered and not thrown him out like trash, he wouldn’t have had to find a new place to belong.” There was steel in Tate’s voice. He might have known Dewdrop longer, but Dewdrop was her friend now. No one would insult him in front of her.
Lucius’s gaze rose as he studied her with interest. She would guess he wasn’t used to people taking him to task. He and his friend by the same name had screwed up when they tossed Dewdrop out. Their loss was her gain.
“And there you were to pick up the pieces.”
“Someone had to,” Dewdrop said, raising his chin in defiance.
Lucius’ gaze lingered on Dewdrop as he fiddled with the rings on his hand, twisting them round and round.
Knowledge that he’d made a mistake when casting Dewdrop out was there in his face. Tate thought she saw a glimmer of regret even. She blinked and it was gone, leaving her to wonder if she’d imagined the look.
“We didn’t come here to discuss Dewdrop,” Tate inserted. She had a feeling they could go round and round on this subject. This wasn’t the place to discuss this. Not here in Lucius’s stronghold. If he decided to take back what he’d thrown away, there would be little Tate could do to stop him. He could order his men to kill her, and she’d be hard pressed to fight them off even with Ilith’s help.
“What did you come here for?” Lucius propped his head on one hand. Blade popped the last piece of fruit in his mouth, cleaned the dagger on his pants and then put it away before folding his arms over his chest, one hand resting near the blades at his waist.
“Information, of course.”
“I do believe you’ve got our relationship backwards. I come to you for information and as a result I leave Dewdrop alone even though he has yet to pay the wearguld. You don’t come to me for the same. Not without something to bargain with.”
Dewdrop shifted restlessly next to her. Tate laid her hand on his arm. She had no intention of using him as a bargaining chip.
“I think you’ll want to hear this,” she said.
Lucius studied her, noting the determined expression. He waved for her to continue.
“The Silva Doyenne, Tala, has been arrested for the murder of the Kairi man and the Academic, as well as my poisoning and attempted murder.” No reaction from Lucius or Blade. Each having all the expression of a wall. No matter, that very lack told Tate what she wanted to know.
“And I care why?”
“Because Tala’s your patron. She’s your inside woman, the one paying you to smuggle Silva bones into the find.”
“That’s a pretty big leap.”
“Not so big. The Silva need a way to establish a claim on the site. It’s too far outside their territory to claim ancestor rights and until yesterday there were no bones that could be tied back to them. That means they needed to create a link. What better way to do that than a group known for accepting jobs of a dubious nature for the right price.”
“There are many groups like that.”
“But only one whose Night Lord attempted to blackmail me for what I know.”
“Could be the bones you discovered were moved by the Academics to prevent anybody from usurping their claim.”
“I’m sure that was what you and Tala wanted everyone to believe. It might have worked if Dewdrop and I hadn’t discovered a smuggler’s cache in a cave connected to the tunnels.”
Lucius sat back, his hands tented in front of him as he studied Tate and Dewdrop.
“Again, there is nothing that ties this to me.”
Tate waved that away. “I don’t have to prove it was you, and frankly I don’t care who did it. Right now, I need information.”
“You’re trying to get Tala acquitted of this murder,” he said.
“Now who’s leaping to conclusions?”
“Why?” Lucius ignored her words, concentrating on the root of the matter.
“Because she didn’t do it,” Tate said. “And the people arresting her are a pair of incompetent nitwits using their position of power to intimidate others.”
“People are arrested every day for things they didn’t do. The Doyenne is a powerful woman. I’m sure even if she did kill those men and tried to poison you she will get away with minimal to no punishment. As for the pair of lack wits, there are even worse in far more powerful positions in our society.”
“I can’t do anything about them, but I can make a difference in this.”
“How idealistic.”
Tate smirked. “Hardly. You forget, whoever did this tried to kill me. If the investigation stops with the doyenne, that person or persons gets away. I find that unacceptable.”
“Revenge. A girl after my own heart.” Lucius’s fingers tapped the chair arm as he thought, his eyes staring into space.
Tate waited, muscles tense.
“Even if I confirmed that she smuggled bones into the tunnels to establish her people’s claim, it would do nothing to prove her innocence.”
“I know.”
“Then why come here.”
Now it was Tate’s turn to study him. How much did she share? How much was relevant?
“This is a puzzle. One that is only revealed as more and more of the picture comes to light. I need to know if she arranged to have those bones placed there so that other pieces can be put into perspective.”
Lucius sighed. “You are intent on causing trouble. Lucius One, as you call him, will not be happy about this.”
“You’ll help me?” Tate wanted to be clear.
“Yes, Tala arranged for us to help her.”
Tate knew it. Jost, at least, would be pleased to have this information confirmed.
“She is not the only one who has employed our services.”
Wait, what?
“What do you mean?”
He gave her a smug smile. “Hers is not the only money I accepted for services rendered.”
“Who else employed you?”
Lucius flicked a piece of flint off his pants. Tate wanted to shake him until the answers popped out. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”
“Why can you tell me about Tala but not this person?”
“Because we don’t know,” Blade said, coming to stand by Lucius. “They arranged the job with a dead drop. We never saw their faces; they never saw ours. It’s to prevent either of us fingering the other in case someone is caught.”
“But Tala didn’t use this method?” Tate asked.
“The Silva prefer to meet those they do business with face to face. Their honor demands it,” Lucius said. “That same honor keeps them from giving up their accomplices when arrested.”
Tate sat back. One part of the puzzle was solved, but it left gaping holes in the rest.
“Don’t fret, little dragon. I can’t tell you who employed me, but I can tell you what they wanted.”
Tate straightened.
; “For a price.”
Of course. The most important piece of information came with a price tag attached to it.
She didn’t want to ask because she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to pay.
“What’s the price?” Dewdrop asked when Tate didn’t.
“Nothing as dire as either of you two are imagining.” Lucius snorted, seeming slightly insulted. “It’s rather painless. Just information, that thing that keeps the world spinning.”
And brings it to a crashing halt. That’s the thing about information. It could be your best friend, your savior, but it could also hoist you with your own rope. Too little and you make bad decisions. Too much in the wrong hands and everything could work against you.
“What is it that you want to know?”
Lucius leaned forward. “How did you come to find the smuggler’s cache? The only reason we knew about it is because the tunnels were once part of Tala’s people’s empire. They knew the back way in, but the Academics have yet to discover the warren under their mosaic room.”
Tate rubbed her fingers against the couch fabric, debating the merits of revealing how they’d come to use that exit from the tunnels. It seemed like a harmless enough thing to tell. “Quite by accident. We triggered one of the traps and were cut off from the exit. We had to find a new way out.”
“Trap? There should have been no traps in that room,” Blade said. “We had to make sure before our people put the bones in there.”
“Yes, it wouldn’t do if they had triggered something and ended up dead. It would have given the whole game away.”
Tate shrugged. “Don’t know what to tell you. You missed one. The trap transported us to another room, which meant we needed to find a way out. It just happened to lead to the cave with the cache.”
“What was in this room?”
Tate studied him. She’d like to keep the contents of that room secret. Especially from a known thief.
“Nothing,” Dewdrop said. “It was empty.”
“No artifacts? Perhaps something else?”
“Nope, nothing,” Tate lied.
She and Dewdrop waited as Lucius studied them, trying to decide if he believed them.