Later, the same relative, Connard Bingham, a shifty and conniving young man, announced to Bryant that he had gained the girl’s silence in the matter but it would require five thousand gold coins, an exorbitant amount. Bryant confessed his innocence to Connard, hoping his a second cousin, would help. Instead, Connard only laughed, explaining his innocence mattered not, his reputation would suffer either way if he didn’t pay the gold. Bryant put two and two together and realized that his cousin had set the whole thing up.
Upon hearing the story, Everet had recognized the con. The details might be different in other variations, but the basic framework was always the same. Put a man with money and reputation in a compromising situation involving a young woman, then squeeze him for as much money as possible. That the con artist and victim were both members of the royal family was an interesting twist and made the stakes even higher, but the game was always played the same.
Everet explained to Bryant that the amount of gold he gave Connard didn’t matter, the man would be back for more. Bryant was eager—and willing to pay whatever it took—to make the situation go away. This was perfect for Everet, he would charge Bryant a fraction of the gold that Connard was trying to extort from him, and Bryant would be in his debt.
First thing was to gain as many details as possible about the setup. Everet had Bryant tell him as many details as possible about the night in question: the mysterious girl claiming to be a victim, the other guests at the party. Everet drilled Bryant for hours, bringing every memory to the front of his brain. By the time Everet was done questioning Bryant, he had a solid amount of information to start using to track the girl down.
Everet instructed Bryant to get in contact with Connard, to explain that he intended to pay the girl’s demands but was having a hard time getting the amount of coin together and that it would take a few days longer. Crooks had one thing in common: greed always prevails over common sense. Connard might question the delay, but the promise of the large amount of gold was too difficult to resist.
It had taken three days of discreet inquires and bribes for Everet to track down the girl at the seedy tavern where she was a waitress, The girl was not quite a prostitute, but she was willing to do almost anything for the right coin. When she returned to her room, Shelley, the young girl, was more than a little tired after a long shift of dealing with drunks and her sleazy boss. She had just finished taking her dress off when she finally noticed she was not alone. A man had taken her chair and moved it into the farthest corner of the room from the window, to the darkest most shadow-filled spot.
She froze at the sound of his voice. “Shelley, Shelley, Shelley, you have been a naughty girl. What am I to do with you?” She turned towards the man, not bothering to cover her exposed body, she hoped the allure of her nudity would help her out of the situation. She was mistaken.
Shelley could not see the man’s face in the shadows, all she could see was the gleam of steel in his hands. The blade was the only thing far enough into the light to get a good look at. Shelley focused on it as he slowly and methodically spun the blade in his fingers like a top.
“Shelley, today is your lucky day, it might not seem like it at the moment but trust me it is. Normally in a situation like this, the simplest solution to my problem would be to kill you. But I am in a creative mood and think we might be able to come to a solution that doesn’t require such a drastic end. However, if I believe you are not cooperating or being less than truthful with me, I’m afraid the simple method will be used. Do you understand what I am saying?“
Shelley was used to dangerous and bad men, but the icy cold voice of the man with the dagger scared her like nothing before. She nodded, too scared to speak out of turn, she knew one wrong word tonight would end her life.
Everet could see the fear in her eyes, but he also noticed how she shifted just slightly, turning so that more of her exquisite young body was exposed to the soft moonlight. She was terrified yet crafty, which Everet found surprisingly interesting. He had never found woman particularly interesting before. Perhaps she might live through this after all. “Tell me everything about Connard Bingham….”
Everet flipped up the hood of his cloak, and entered the narrow alley behind the street cart. Slowly and stealthily, he moved through the maze of garbage until he turned the corner to the designated meeting place, a dead end alley surrounded by brick walls. The three men waiting, expecting to sheer a sheep, were about to tangle with a wolf instead.
When Everet came around the corner, Connard and his two hired thugs were waiting. Connard could tell from the bulk of the figure that this was not his expected victim, Bryant, despite the grey cloak that hid Everet’s features.
Caught off guard, Connard attempted to rid himself of this untimely intrusion with a menacing threat. “Be gone before you lose your life. This alley is occupied.” Connard hoped to get this stranger out of the alley before his cousin arrived. A witness would be terribly inconvenient.
Everet laughed. “Someone is going to lose their life today, but it is not going to be me, Connard Bingham.”
The laugh sent a shiver of fear down Connard’s spine, this stranger knew who he was, his appearance was no accident. Connard wasted no time in signaling his hired thugs to attack. Whoever the cloaked man was, he was about to pay for interfering with this setup.
The two thugs moved quickly to attack, Everet took a couple steps back, easing into the first alley. To the two thugs, it looked like he was trying to retreat. They smiled, confident that they would easily dispose of this untimely intrusion. But Everet was not retreating to safety, he was stepping back into the narrower confines of the first alley, forcing the thugs to move single file to attack him.
As the larger man in the lead raised his club, Everet moved explosively to his left, pushing himself hard against the brick alley wall. The thug’s club whistled past Everet and hit the hard ground with a thud. Using the wall as leverage, Everet pushed and collided with his attacker, pushing him back into the second thug. Everet’s dagger had found its mark, penetrating the larger man’s rib cage and sliding into his heart. Weakened by this mortal blow, the thug was unable to regain his balance and fell, knocking the second thug to the ground and pinning him down with his dying body. As the thug tried to push his companion off of himself, Everet threw his dagger with a flick of his. The narrow blade sliced into the would be killer’s throat.
Connard watched in horror as his hired goons quickly fell to the blade of this mysterious intruder. The lord took a reflexive step back, but realized he had nowhere to go. He was caught in his own trap. As Everet retrieved his blade from the dead man’s neck, Connard began to babble. “Wait don’t do this. I have money I can pay you. Please don’t kill me.” Connard was shaking, tears ran down his cheek, snot was bubbling into the man’s mouth, and urine ran down his leg—and from the smell, these weren’t the only bodily fluids leaving the terrified noble’s body. Connard had played the crooked game his whole life, conning and lying his way towards greater power, even bullying and stealing from his own family, but now that he was staring at death his true colors were showing. Connard was a coward.
Everet raised his dagger and slowly cut Connards cheek, leaving a shallow cut from his ear to his lips. The wound was minor, but would leave a permanent scar. Connard, too petrified to move, stood still while the blade sliced through his skin. Everet moved closer until his cloak covered face was almost touching Connard’s. His lips were inches from Connard’s ear. “Now listen carefully Connard, I am only going to say this once. Shelley no longer works for you, if you see her on the street turn and run to the other side. If she is in a tavern, leave it without hesitation. If I ever see you even look at her or try to make any contact with her again I will make you beg me to kill you. Do you understand? Nod if you do.”
Connard nodded through his shivers, blood was starting to combine with the tears and snot, dripping down his chin and onto his fine clothes. He dared not move his hands to wipe his face, fearing
any movement would cause the killer to end his life.
Once Connard nodded, Everet continued. “Your cousin Bryant has been quite stressed by your little games. When you leave this alley, IF you leave this alley, you will deliver a thousand gold coins to him. You will explain that there was a misunderstanding and that you are sorry for any inconvenience. You will ask his forgiveness and if he ever calls on you for a favor, you will comply without hesitation. You will never bring up this alley or me with him or anyone else. Do you understand?”
Again Connard fought through his shivers to nod his head, he was beginning to see a glimmer of hope that his life would not end here today, instead he’d do everything this killer asked.
“As for this wound, I would suggest getting it cleaned fairly quickly. My blade was covered in your men’s blood, who knows what sort on nasty bugs those vermin were carrying. You may tell people that you heard a scream and ran into the alley to help. You were attacked, but you overcame the both with only a small scar to show for it. I would clean up and change your underpants before seeing a doctor, but do not delay visiting your good cousin too long. I would hate to have to come looking for you.”
Everet stepped back slowly, then turned and walked out of the alley leaving Connard to compose himself. The second Everet was around the corner, Connard collapsed to the ground dry heaving. While he retched, he thanked his lucky stars for surviving his encounter with that devil. As he began to compose himself Connard thought about his cousin. Who knew his mild-mannered cousin, who seemed such an easy mark, was connected to such dangerous men. Connard would have to borrow the gold, but he vowed to have it in his cousin’s hands before dark. He was not dealing with that man again.
The next day Everet was sitting at his customary seat in the bar when Bryant walked in. Bryant signaled the bartender to bring two drinks and came to Everet’s table. Everet gestured to Bryant to join him. He sat down at the table and silently waited for the bartender to bring the drinks. Once the drinks were on the table and they had privacy, Bryant began. “I don’t know what you did, and I not sure I want to know, but I must thank you. My beloved cousin showed up at my doorstep last night with a heavy bag of coin, begging my forgiveness and vowing to be of any assistance he can be in the future, quite a remarkable change in tune from a week ago. “
Bryant slid two heavy looking bags of coin onto the table. “Here is the coin Connard delivered and here is another thousand of mine, if you need any more I will need time to get it.”
Everet reached across the table and pushed one of the bags back towards Bryant before accepting the other. “Connard’s gold will be more than sufficient. Keep your coin.”
Bryant was shocked, he had come today being prepared to spend a large amount of coin for the job well done. “Well, what else can I do then. You have removed a thorn that would have bled me dry, I certainly owe you more than Connard’s coins.”
Everet smiled. “Well actually there is a small favor I would ask of you…”
“Anything within reason,” spoke Bryant with earnest. He had escaped the claws of one villain, he was hesitant to jump into the claws of another.
“Tell me Bryant, does the king ever throw balls?” asked Everet.
Bryant was taken aback by this question, it certainly was not what he was expecting. “Royal balls are almost monthly occurrences. The king likes to remind his nobles of his palaces’ splendor and has visiting dignitaries and high born citizens come to Morthon specifically for those events. Much business is done during the dinners and in-between dancing.”
“Excellent, would it be too much trouble to gain an invitation to the next one?” asked Everet.
Bryant looked carefully at Everet, and realized he would fit in at court just as well as he did here in this dusty, dirty hole-in-the-wall bar. “It would not be a problem at all. Nor would it be a problem to introduce you as a business associate if you so desired.”
Everet smiled, Bryant Bingham was a perceptive man. His influence and recommendations among the royal families would be worth ten times the gold Everet had returned to him. “There is just one other thing. The girl who they used to blackmail you has had a change of heart. She has reformed her ways. “
Again Bryant was surprised by Everet, the man worked in mysterious ways but he obviously had a plan and Bryant was more than willing to play along—up to a point. “Okay, and how can I assist in her continuing reform?”
“Actually what I ask is rather simple. Connard introduced her as Lady Severa, a visiting daughter of an old family friend. No one at the party other than Connard and yourself know the truth of her past. I would like you to pretend that the lie was true. She truly is Lady Severa. If you could tell Connard that your mutual friend would like him to embrace Lady Severa, assisting her in growing into her role as a visiting noble-born lady, I would appreciate it gladly.
Bryant started to laugh. Everet was a sly one, the royal families would not know what hit them. Bryant was going to enjoy this. He was especially looking forward to the conversation with Connard. It would be nice to watch him squirm a bit. “It would be my pleasure to convey your message to Connard; I would also be delighted to participate by inviting the lovely Lady Severa to tea. A few public outings with myself and a select few of my friends will start the gossip running among the high-class ladies. They will all be dying to introduce themselves. Am I to presume you would like for her to gain an invitation to the next ball as well? I could also make a formal introduction between you, my good business associate, and the lovely lady during the dinner.”
Everet joined his new friend in laughter; Bryant Bingham understood perfectly what he was asking. Everet had found his way into the royal courts.
Chapter eleven
VERIN POINTED TO A strange plant and asked them what it was.
“Crimson Ocriplums,” retorted Ava.
Nathan gave Ava an incredulous look, how the heck did she know that one he pondered, as they walked through the forest with Verin.
Ava gave a Nathan a small knowing smirk, she had taken his aunt’s advice and started reading some of the books in her house on the subject. The first one she read, Herbology in Mithbea: A Study of Plants and Their Uses, had been as dry and boring as it sounded, but the look on Nathan’s face when she knew plants he did not was worth every dull moment.
While Nathan mulled over his newfound status as the herbology student instead of the teacher, Ava collected fruit from the small tree. There were a few recipes in the book she was currently reading, Advanced Salves: Cure Them or Cut It Off, for preventing gangrene that called for the fruit. If Nathan was going to insist on being a ranger-warrior-mage and keeps getting cut up and hurt, she would be able to help. And, as she was discovering through Balthazar, she had a natural talent for healing. Balthazar recommended she take up an apprenticeship in healing or with a herbalist. Ava wondered if she could do both at the same time. It was nice having a skill set of her own, and not just relying on Nathan and his family.
“Verin is there any Oxblood elm in this forest? I really would like to find some for the bark,” Ava queried, while giving Nathan a wink. Teasing him was a favorite pastime and knowing more about anything, especially the subject that he taught her, was just perfect.
“Yes. As you go further south, you can find them. We can head that way, there are some other things worth seeing in that direction as well.” Verin was impressed by the girl. He had been around when Nathan taught her and her family the basics of potion making but he hadn’t realized the extent of her knowledge about herbs and plants. Nathan might have been a good teacher, but it took a very good memory and sharp wit to decipher those arcane herbology books of his sister’s. It did not surprise Verin, he was used to being surrounded by smart woman. His sister Avera was the smartest person he knew.
As they walked deeper into the forest, a dull roaring noise filled the air. The normal forest sounds of birds and wind-swept branches were drowned out by the sound. Curious, Nathan and Ava glanced at each other.
Where was Verin taking them? they both wondered.
Verin smiled as he watched the two teens draw closer to the mysterious noises. The group followed a small path, which dropped them into a large ravine. As they walked through a thick patch of cedars, source of the mysterious roaring sounds was revealed.
Ava’s jaw dropped in awe. A large waterfall stood before her. The rushing water cascaded down in three dramatic drops. The first drop ran down to a ledge of rock about five feet from the top. There the water widen out, transforming from a roaring, narrow funnel of rushing water into a wider torrent. From there the falls dropped another twenty feet into a small pool the size of a bathtub. Here, it foamed and bubbled before spilling over onto an outcropping of rocks which spread the dropping water even further. By the time the water hit the large pond at its base, it fell in one wide blanket, gently touching down into the deep waters. It was a breathtaking sight. She turned to Verin. “It’s so beautiful. “
Verin smiled. He knew how much time Nathan and Ava had spent together at their special spot, the pond outside Elderwood. This place was secluded, majestic, and, once the mind got used to the constant dull roar of the rushing water, it was a peaceful place. In truth, it was one of his favorite places to come when he needed to think. He’d been positive that Nathan and Ava would find the place as comforting as he did; a location that would remind them of home in a small way. “I’ve spent many a summer afternoon swimming in that pond, it’s cool but refreshing. And if you are look carefully there is a small cave behind the bottom set of falls, you can swim right into it.”
The Missing Mage Page 6