The Imposters of Aventil

by Marshall Ryan Maresca

  “What?” Jiarna asked. “Just because he’s a mage—”

  “Yeah, he’ll make himself a fish and cheat everyone,” social girl said. “Only natural folk playing in this game.”

  “Really?” Delmin asked. “An illegal secret game, but you’ve got that rule?”

  “You got a problem, mage-lover?” she asked. “You and your skinny boy here can go magic whatever you want somewhere else. All of you. Especially with no player.”

  Kaiana wasn’t about to let this girl kick them out.

  “We’ve got a player,” Kaiana said.

  “I told you magic boy can’t do it.”

  “I know,” Kaiana said, unbuttoning her blouse. “I’ll do it.”

  “You, napa slan?” the girl asked. “You’re going to dive with those boys?” She pointed to the other players taking position around the pool—all of them muscle-bound young men, many of them a good foot taller and wider than her.

  “Yes,” Kaiana said, handing her blouse to Jiarna. “Unless any of them are afraid of me.”

  “Pah,” the social girl said. “You want to breathe the drink, that’s on you.”

  “Kai,” Delmin said, his gaze firmly on the ground as she took off her skirt. “You know people have died doing this game. Like, a lot.”

  “You can swim, yes?” Jiarna asked, taking Kai’s skirt. Many of the other players and their friends were hooting and hollering at Kai in her skivs, but she did her best to ignore them.

  “Since I was born,” Kaiana said. She might not remember much about her early years in the islands before her father brought her to Maradaine, but she did remember the ocean.

  “Gentlemen,” the social girl called out to the crowd. “And lady,” she added, sneering at Kaiana again. “Welcome to crownball!”

  She pulled a pouch off of her belt, and emptied its contents into her hands. “Three crowns,” she called out, and threw them into the pool, where they splashed and sank to the bottom. Another girl came over to her holding two small leather balls—much smaller than a tetchball. The social girl took them and tossed them into the pool, where they floated. “Find, call, and claim for a point. First to five without tapping wins.”

  “Someone better tell me the rules quick,” Kaiana whispered.

  “Dive down, find one of the crowns,” Jiarna said.

  Kaiana nodded. That was easy. “Then?”

  “Then you surface and call out ‘crown.’ That’s crucial. If you have a crown and don’t call it, you’ll get tapped.”

  “Tapped?”

  “Pulled out of the game. Same if you hold on to the side of the pool for longer than a count of five. Once you have a coin and call it, then grab a ball and claim your point.”

  “So I get a point for finding a crown and grabbing a ball?”

  “You have to be holding the crown when you get the ball. Grabbing the ball without holding the coin—”

  “Get tapped, all right,” Kaiana said.

  “Right, but—”

  “Play!” the girl shouted. All the boys playing jumped into the pool. Kaiana did the same, making a line for one of the coins.

  Under the water, it was dim, but Kai could still see a bit. One of the coins was shining on the bottom, and Kaiana swam straight for it. Other boys, she saw, were searching around, but they seemed to be having a harder time spotting the coins. As she grabbed the coin, she saw several of them going up for air. Kaiana pushed off the bottom of the pool and jetted up to the surface.

  “Crown!” she called out, and looked around to spot one of the balls bobbing on the surface.

  Suddenly four hands grabbed her from every direction, pushing her back under. She hadn’t gotten a chance to catch a breath, and she thrashed trying to get free of the people holding her.

  One of the hands holding her twisted her arm behind her. She struggled to get him off of her, and shoved hard at him with her other hand. That was the hand that she was holding the crown with, and she dropped it as she pushed at him. She wanted to dive down and grab it again, but she needed to breathe.

  “Kai!” she heard when she surfaced. Delmin was yelling to her. “When you call, every other player can do whatever they want to keep you from scoring!”

  She swam closer, making sure not to come all the way to the edge. She didn’t want to risk tapping. “Anything?”

  “Pretty much,” Phadre said. “Though things like eye-gouging and choking are considered poor form.”

  “Crown!” someone called.

  “Got it,” she said, swimming back under, moving like a shark to the boy who called crown.

  She swept up from underneath him, yanking on his skivs as she ascended, and then grabbed the back of his head and pushed him down. He struggled and brought a clutched hand up to push her away.

  Kaiana grabbed his wrist and twisted, while working her legs around his neck to keep him under the water. His hand opened up, revealing the coin he was holding. Kaiana snatched it before it dropped.

  “Crown!” she called, and took a deep breath and dove down deep to the bottom. Several boys swarmed to where she had been on the surface, but she had already slipped away from there. They were hunting in the wrong place. From the bottom of the pool, her lungs were starting to ache. She could hold it. If she had ever needed to be her mother’s daughter, a fishcatcher of the Gotapa, now was the moment.

  There, bobbing on the surface, was one of the balls. None of the other players were near it. She launched herself up, hand outstretched, snatching it as she surfaced.

  “Point!” she yelled. She held up both the crown and the ball.

  “Crownball! Point to the napa thrall! All to your places!”

  The boys all swam to their places on the edge, and Kaiana did the same. The hostess claimed the crown and ball from Kaiana. Delmin was still in place for her, while Jiarna and Phadre were moving around and chatting.

  “Thought it was best if they handled that,” Delmin said. “Not my scene.”

  “Thanks,” Kaiana said, treading water. “I can see why these kids wanted to have this game.”

  “Are you having fun?”

  “I get to swim and thrash rich Uni boys,” Kaiana said. “This is glorious.”

  Delmin laughed a bit, then his eyes caught something. “Someone just passed a vial to a swimmer.”

  “Who? From where?” She turned to look at the other players, but didn’t see anything.

  “I can’t tell. I don’t know any of these people, and no one is in uniform. But I’ve got my eye on them.”

  The hostess threw in the crown and the ball. “Play!”

  “Get on that. Don’t worry about me.” Kaiana swam out and dove under. One of the crowns was near her, and she went for it. Another swimmer was charging at the same crown, but Kaiana was at it before him. She had the crown in hand and was about to spring up to the surface when she felt his fist in her chest. It wasn’t a hard punch, but it surprised her and forced air from her lungs. Reeling, fighting the instinct to gasp, she pushed away from him.

  He came at her, grabbing her wrist. She needed to get to the surface, needed to breathe, but couldn’t pull away. He wasn’t letting go, squeezing her wrist and twisting.

  She rolled in the water with the twist, losing her sense of where the surface was for a moment. She lashed out with her legs, planting them on his chest. She couldn’t get any leverage to push him off.

  Driving one foot into his face, she let go of the crown she was holding. Maybe that would get him off of her. He ignored that, grabbing her foot and pulling.

  Her lungs were screaming, and she couldn’t move away. He twisted her arm and leg behind her, keeping her trapped under the water.

  Then a sound struck them both, like thunder. Then again. Suddenly the water pulled away from them both. She gulped madly at the air as she found herself hurled up, landing b
y the side of the pool next to her assailant. He was gasping maniacally. It was almost as if he had forgotten that he needed to breathe until this moment.

  “Tapped, tapped, what the rutting blazes was that?”

  The hostess came charging over, and as Kaiana’s vision cleared, she saw that Delmin and Phadre were standing over her, their hands both charged with magic. They must have pulled her out.

  Delmin was barely able to stand as he stared down the hostess. “He was killing her.”

  “And you two are rotten, filthy mages! Cheaters!”

  “You’re going to say that while—”

  “Get the blazes out of here before—”

  “Before what?” Delmin’s voice echoed unnaturally throughout the hall. The girl backed away, her face paling.

  “Just get out,” she said quietly. “All of you get out.”

  Phadre handed Kaiana her clothes while everyone stared at the group of them. The faces were filled with fear and hatred. Kaiana wondered if this was the sort of thing Veranix, Delmin, and Phadre faced all the time.

  “Come on,” Jiarna said, approaching the rest of them. “We certainly don’t need these people.” She strode past like she was in charge of everything, bumping into the hostess as she passed. The girl lost her balance and went into the pool. “Terribly sorry.”

  Kaiana had her blouse on and pulled up her skirt enough for the sake of decency, and the four of them hurried out the door. Jeers and hisses chased them as they got outside.

  “I really should put the campus cadets on this,” Delmin said once they stopped. “I think that would be a good plan.”

  “I’m sure it wouldn’t do any good,” Kaiana said. “Whoever put this together must have a few in their pocket.”

  “Well, it wasn’t a total loss,” Jiarna said. “While everyone was paying attention to the three of you, I managed to get a vial from the group that Delmin saw.” She held up a vial, filled will a grayish-green liquid.

  “That’s not effitte,” Kaiana said.

  “You’re sure?” Jiarna said. “I mean, it is dark out here, we should get back to the carriage house.”

  “The one who attacked you,” Delmin said. “He’s the one they gave the vial to. And that doesn’t make any sense, right? Effitte makes you giddy and happy. He certainly wasn’t that.”

  Delmin was right. It didn’t make any sense.

  “Let’s get back to the carriage house. Maybe with the full vial, Jiarna can make some sense of it.”

  Veranix landed in the church bell tower. From up there, he quickly surveyed the street below. It looked relatively quiet, though he could see a patch of Knights of Saint Julian chumming around some pub on Tulip. A bit to the north on Vine, there were a couple Rose Street Princes. He knew this corner was disputed between the two of them, and the Waterpath Orphans were also encroaching in the direction.

  Waterpath Orphans. One of them—Yessa, from what he could tell—was coming up Tulip toward the church. Three women were with her, definitely not Orphans. Veranix couldn’t get a good look at them from up in the bell tower, but they certainly looked like they could be Birds. They had the same style as the ones he had tangled with before.

  Their approach got the attention of the Knights. The Knights stayed in place at their street corner, but they definitely noticed. Hopefully nothing would happen to give them further cause than that.

  Veranix made his way down the tower. Reverend Pemmick was waiting for him in the hallway. “It seems we have a parley on our hands,” he said. “I just heard a knock on the door.”

  “You’re oddly pleased,” Veranix said. The man was practically beaming.

  “I enjoy when peaceful solutions take hold.”

  “Let’s see if we’re there yet, Reverend.”

  “It won’t surprise you that I have faith.”

  There was another pounding knock. Veranix followed the reverend to the chapel.

  “I’m going to stay in the shadows by the rostrum,” Veranix said. “I’m all for a peaceful talk, but I’m not going to give them a target.”

  “There is wisdom in that, my friend. I’ll get the door.”

  Veranix moved up on the church podium and shrouded himself into the background. He toyed with the idea of creating an illusory version of himself in another part of the room, a target to give them in case they decided to attack. He wasn’t sure how to do that, and it might drain him more than he could afford.

  Instead he went for a circus trick, with a little magical enhancement.

  Three women approached up the aisle, with Yessa hanging in the back of the church with the reverend. They were decked out in leather and face paint, armed with knives, crossbows, and batons. The center one, with red Waishen hair, called out.

  “So where’s the Thorn?” Her Waish accent was like butter on a hot day.

  “Here,” Veranix said, making his voice echo throughout the room, so to them it sounded like it was coming from every direction. They all spun around, looking every which way.

  “Clever rutting trick,” the one with the batons and stockings said. “Come out and talk to us.”

  “Who am I talking to?” Veranix asked. “I would need to know it’s worth my while.”

  “We came from the Deadly Birds,” the Waish one said. “We thought you wanted to talk with us.”

  “That’s true,” Veranix said. “But who am I talking to? Names.”

  “I’m Hummingbird,” the Waish one said. “They’re Crow and Cormorant.” Crossbows and handsticks, respectively.

  “Pleasure,” Veranix said. Crow and Cormorant were both scanning the room intently. Trying to spot him. His shrouding made him hard to see, but not impossible. Sharp eyes could find him.

  Cormorant.

  Bluejay said Cormorant had been killed. Hunter admitted to it.

  Something wasn’t right.

  “Why don’t you talk to us square?” Hummingbird asked. “This game is tedious.”

  “Why don’t you first tell me what your grievance is with me?” Veranix asked.

  Hummingbird didn’t blink. “Two of ours are dead, and it’s looking like the Thorn killed them.”

  Crow and Cormorant fanned out to the sides. Crow, in particular, was coming closer to Veranix than he would have liked, her hand fingering the trigger on her crossbow a little too eagerly.

  “Just two?” Veranix asked. “I wouldn’t think the Birds would start an unpaid hunt just for that.”

  “Yeah, well,” Hummingbird said, looking around. “There’s business and there’s personal. Those girls were friends of ours.”

  Quiet as he could, Veranix took a few steps away from Crow, who was moving far too close for his personal comfort. This brought him closer to Hummingbird, who was keeping still. That didn’t make him any more comfortable.

  “Fair enough,” he said, maintaining the echoes. “But that wasn’t me who killed them.”

  “I don’t suppose you can prove that?” Hummingbird asked. “Any friends we can talk to who’ll vouch for you?”

  That sounded very Constabulary.

  Crow had crossbows.

  Cormorant had handsticks.

  And Hummingbird—he took a closer look at her. The face paint hid it, but now that he was close it was obvious. Inspector Rainey.

  Trap.

  “I’m very disappointed, Yessa.” He let his voice not just echo, but boom, shaking the rafters. “I don’t know if you were tricked, or part of the trick, but I expected better.”

  “I . . . I don’t know what you’re talking about . . .” Yessa stammered.

  “Maybe you don’t,” Veranix said. “But I’m sure Inspector Rainey here does.”

  “Rutting find him!” the false Cormorant shouted.

  Suddenly the door of the church kicked open, and a cloaked figure with a bow stormed in. “Look
what I found,” the Hunter said. “Three more Birds to send to the ground.”

  Chapter 21

  COLIN AND DEENA had taken a convoluted path from the safehouse to the church, making it look like they were trying not to be seen or followed. The real reason was to give this rutting Jester ample opportunity to come at them.

  They were now almost there, and he still hadn’t shown up.

  “I think this is a bust,” Deena whispered. “Let’s end this little game.”

  “I think you’re right,” Colin said. “Rutting mess, this all is.”

  Shouts and cries broke through the night air in the distance. Something was happening up by the church.

  “We should get out of here,” Deena said.

  “Or this could be our man,” Colin said. “Come on.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

  “Easy, Tyson,” she said, pulling away. “I’ve had just about—”

  Two arrows sang through the air and hit Deena in the chest, making a satisfying clang as they hit the metal plates. She fell down, mostly from surprise, as bursts of colored smoke filled the street in front of them.

  “Didn’t think you’d be running around so quickly, Sotch,” a voice in the smoke said. “I thought I got you good.”

  Colin dove into the smoke. He knew it wasn’t magic—nothing more than a chemist trick, and the Jester was in there.

  “But now I’ll have another play at you and the Prince, and that will be good for a shout.”

  “You want to shout?” Deena cried out. Colin could barely see her get on her feet in the smoke and moonlight, and he could make out a shadow of the Jester as well.

  “Still some fight in you!” the Jester snarled. Colin could barely see his bow come up. Knife drawn, he jumped in and slashed at the bowstring.

  The string snapped, and the Jester screamed as the ends slashed at his fingers.

  Deena was on him, sending two punches to the Jester’s chest. Colin slashed, getting a piece of his arm.

  “Oh, an ambush!” he said. Fast as lightning, he threw a series of punches at Deena, and then an elbow at Colin, cracking him in the nose.

  “Normally I’d be amused,” the Jester said, sending another blow at Deena. “But you hurt my fingers, and I take that very seriously.”