Skulduggery 2

by Logan Jacobs

  “Are we staying out here?” Cimarra wondered.

  “You both are,” I said as I put the reins in Dar’s hands. “If shit goes bad, you get out of here and get to Selius.”

  “Are you sure you want to go in alone?” Dar asked as he took the reins from me.

  “I won’t be alone,” I began, “I have a part to play to make sure Penny is okay and that all goes according to plan. Promise me, you’ll get out of here.”

  Dar stared straight ahead with a set jaw.

  “We will,” Cimarra responded and nudged the halfling.

  “Good,” I nodded to both of them, “keep an eye out.”

  “Wade,” Cimarra’s urgent tone stopped me, “if we don’t see you, and you get out, tell Hebal the miner meetup is at Nolandur Hall this evening.”

  “Perfect.” I smirked and turned back toward the dance hall in front of me.

  The sun’s rising marked when Rindell’s women would come outside and start waving to potential clients, so there wasn’t much time left for me to get in and out without too many eyeballs noticing me.

  As I got closer to the oddest dance hall in the realm, I could see Madame Rindell already outside, and she leaned against the door frame as she gave me a smirk.

  “Well, look who has decided to come first thing in the morning,” Madame Rindell said as she fanned herself with a feathered fan.

  “Your favorite customer,” I replied and looked around to see if any of the elves were there yet.

  “Back from the grave, and I’m the first person you come and see?” Madame gushed and increased her fanning speed.

  “People said I was dead?” I chuckled at her.

  “Well, after what happened with your gui--”

  “Let’s not talk about it,” I interrupted. “I trust you can be discreet.”

  “Of course,” she purred. “I couldn’t imagine life without seeing your handsome face every so often, Wade.”

  “I can’t imagine life without you, either,” I chuckled and covered my eyes from the sun that began to glow brighter.

  “You seem stressed. But I won’t ask about the guild thing.” She lowered her small rimmed golden binoculars to the tip of her nose, and her pale eyes held mine. “Why don’t you come in for some coffee? I know just the gal for you. You like them with fire … ”

  “Thank you.” I nodded and followed her in through the front door. Immediately, perfumes that smelled like sweet candies invaded my nose.

  “Ohh, I remember this one,” a blonde woman said through a yawn. She wrapped her leg around mine as she pressed her chest against me, and her brown dress looked like it dripped down her toned stomach. “Do you remember me?”

  “I uh,” I stammered as the sight of a half-naked woman this early in the morning caught me off guard. “I don’t.”

  “Miss Cocoa, why don’t you show Wade to our newest dancer’s table?” Rindell hollered from the front door.

  “Aw, but I want him,” the blonde pouted and flashed her eyes at me. “Don’t you want me to serve you?”

  “Cocoa, now!” Rindell’s shrill voice echoed through the empty dance hall.

  “Fine.” Cocoa’s fun spirit vanished, and she pointed to the far corner of the room. “Over there.”

  “Thank you,” I said and started to walk through the sticky floors of the hall. Then I sat down at the back table that overlooked the entire place.

  I realized I was in the furthest table, and I thought of the letter Cimarra had written telling the assistant his contact would be in the back.

  That looked to be me, now.

  “Can I get you some coffee from my spout, sir?” a familiar voice purred behind me.

  “Penny … ” I gasped and whipped around.

  “You owe me,” she sneered as she put a coffee cup in front of me.

  She wore a tight black dress, with white fluff balls around her chest and neck to simulate foam. There was also a handle that extended off her hips and acted as a belt around her waist. Her bright red hair was fixed up in twin buns, and a careful amount of circle rouge had been applied to her cheeks so she looked like a perfect porcelain doll.

  “It’s not that bad, really.” I covered my mouth as I looked her up and down. “What’s your name here?”

  “Fuck you.” She smirked. “Is everything set?”

  “Let’s hope so,” I replied as I took a deep breath. “You have the fake painting?”

  “I do, it looks and feels real.” She tapped the side of her dress. “Good thing the elves have deep pockets in their robes for this to fit in.”

  “Good, but listen,” I lowered my voice, “I’m your distraction for the elf. Cimarra wrote in the letter to the assistant that he was to meet someone at the back table.”

  “And you’re that someone?” Penny asked as she poured me a cup of coffee from the kettle chained to her wrist. “That should play perfectly, as long as he doesn’t recognize you.”

  “I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” I said as I checked the entrance for any elves. “If the commander doesn’t come first, then this will work.”

  “What if the commander does come first?” Penny asked as she set her kettle on the table.

  “Offer Rindell an extra coin if she can buy me some time,” I said as I nodded toward the madame.

  “Alright, let’s hope they arrive in that order,” Penny huffed as she walked over to the madame.

  As Penny talked with Rindell, I put up my hood, just in case the Commander came first.

  I just hoped he wouldn’t have many Elven Guards with him.

  “This will get interesting,” I muttered as I took a sip from my coffee and watched Penny approach me again.

  “She agreed to keep him and the guard outside as long as she can.” Penny smirked. “How do we keep finding ourselves in these weird situations?”

  “Beats the guild life though, right?” I chuckled.

  Penny nodded, and then we both turned at the sound of Madame Rindell’s high pitched greeting.

  “Come, come, it isn’t often we have a visit from your kind, my lord.” Madame Rindell ushered in a familiar face. “Have whatever you’d like on the house.”

  “Showtime,” Penny whispered as she walked through a pair of swinging doors behind me.

  I couldn’t help but stare at where her costume hugged her tight little ass.

  But then a slim shadowy figure stood in the doorway and faced me like a stone statue. He lowered his gold and turquoise hood and revealed his gray braided hair as he moved across the floor toward me.

  I turned my body and head to the side and kept my hood up, since I didn’t want to reveal myself, and I tried to calm my racing heart.

  This had to work.

  “This better not be a waste of my fucking time.” The elf’s voice was like melted butter. “Do you know who I am?”

  The elf remained standing next to the table, and his presence left a shadow on the floor where I stared.

  “I know they have accused you of something you didn’t do,” I said in a hushed tone. Then I pointed to the chair on the other side of the table. “Sit, act normal.”

  “There’s nothing normal about this,” the elf said as he sniffed the air and sat across from me. “Who are you, human?”

  “You don’t need to know who I am,” I said, and then I carefully glanced behind him, but Penny was still taking her sweet time on the other side of the door.

  And time was something we didn’t have a lot of.

  “Tell me,” the elf shifted in his seat, “why would a human even want to help an elf?”

  “Why does any creature do anything in this realm?” I responded and sighed in relief as the swinging doors opened. We needed to plant the fake and get the fuck out of here.

  “Can I interest you in some coffee, my lord?” Penny asked as she crossed in front of me and bowed to the elf.

  “I wouldn’t dare put my lips to anything in this godforsaken place,” the elf scoffed. “Leave us, he isn’t thirsty either.”r />
  “Is that true, handsome?” Penny purred as she glanced at me.

  “I would love more coffee, and please bring some tea for my elven friend.” I gestured to the elf.

  “If you bring me anything, I will spit it on the floor, human,” the elf huffed.

  “We don’t take no for an answer here, my lord,” Penny said as she hurried away back through the double doors.

  “I don’t have all day,” the elf began, “I have responsibilities to fulfill for the noble.”

  “Your only responsibility is to prove your innocence and to save your noble from the shame of having a rebel for an assistant,” I retorted, and it felt kind of good to be curt with one of the pointy-eared bastards.

  “Fine,” the elf sighed, “then tell me what you know.”

  “What I know … ” I paused as I heard multiple horses trot by and stop just outside the dance hall.

  “Out with it,” the elf smacked the table, “or I shall have your head right here.”

  The backdoors swung open, and Penny walked out holding a rattling tray of tea.

  “Your coffee and tea, my--” Penny gasped as she pretended to trip, and the tea flew from the tray and smashed onto the table. Hot brown liquid splashed onto my shoulder and drenched the elf by the sound of his screech.

  “You stupid skat!” The elf jumped up and sent his chair sliding across the room.

  “Fuck!” I shouted in mock outrage as I stood, too. I still kept my head down, but I noticed tea and coffee dripped from the fringe of my mark’s long luxurious robe.

  “My lord, forgive me, I am at your mercy.” Penny bowed low with the scroll tightly rolled behind her arm.

  “Where is the madame?” the elf huffed and turned to walk toward the door.

  “No!” Penny reached out and grabbed the elf’s arm. “Please, let me help.”

  As the elf turned back in shock at Penny’s touch, his coat swung open. In the same motion, Penny dropped the scroll in the side pocket that hung loose on the robe. It was a perfectly smooth and incredibly quick movement, and the only reason I saw it was because I was paying attention.

  Penny really was one of the best pick pockets alive.

  “You dare touch me?” The elf raised a hand to strike the pixie.

  “You were right!” I shouted as I moved to stop the elf’s hand. My heart thundered in my chest, and my legs felt like lead rods. “You saw someone that night.”

  The elf kept his hand raised, but his eyes focused on my exposed face.

  “I remember you.” The elf released Penny and lowered his hand that looked like marble.

  “Leave,” I said to Penny and nodded to the back door. She had done her part perfectly.

  Now, I had to figure out what mine was.

  “What was your name?” he asked as he approached me with wild eyes. “And what do you mean I was right?”

  “I know what you saw that night,” I replied as I held his eyes, and they grew brighter with each step he took toward me.

  “And what did I see, human?” The elf flashed his teeth into a crooked smile.

  “My great and glorious commander, what seems to be the reason for your visit today?” Madame Rindell’s voice rang out from the front.

  “I wish I had more time, but I don’t.” I turned my back on the elf and went to step toward the double backdoors, but my foot felt strapped to the floor by what felt like air pushing it down.

  Magic. What were the chances he would know this particular spell?

  “No, human--” The elf paused mid-sentence and sniffed. “What is that resistance I sense against my spell?”

  “Taranath!” Commander Vardreth’s voice boomed throughout the hall. “Assistant to Eleran the noble, do not move!”

  A few of the other dancers screamed and ran to get out of the way.

  “Commander, don’t harm the--” Madame Rindell began.

  “Silence!” Vardreth cut the madame off.

  “What is this about?” Taranath, the assistant, asked as he turned to face the commander. “I have cooperated with your maddening investigation, haven’t I?”

  I tried to lift my foot, but it was still stuck to the floor because of the elven bastard.

  All I knew was I couldn’t turn around and face the commander no matter what. He’d recognize me, and that would ruin the whole plan.

  Penny’s face peered through the back doors, and our eyes locked. The terror on her face mirrored how I felt.

  “Get out of here,” I mouthed to Penny, but she shook her head.

  “You have been obedient, but I received something that grabbed my attention late last night.” The commander’s boots clicked closer against the floor. “Now, it’s probably nothing, but I would like you to back up with your arms raised.”

  “Nothing?” Taranath scoffed. “This sounds like you’re about to arrest one of your own kind.”

  “No, nothing like that.” His boots stepped closer. “I’d like to make sure of something, that’s all.”

  “This human said he can prove my innocence,” the assistant bargained.

  “We’ll get to him in a second,” the commander sighed. “Now, please come here.”

  I just needed the elf to stop his magic, then I would make a run for it.

  “Are you arresting me? Answer me!” Taranath shouted, and his voice shook as he stepped toward the Commander.

  I felt some pressure release from my foot.

  “Human, don’t you move!” the commander ordered.

  I nodded and made sure he only saw my back.

  Did he have any of the Elven Guard with him? Were there any out back? Would I be able to escape?

  Penny’s eyes were wide as planets as she remained by the door.

  “Okay, that’s far enough.” The commander stepped quicker and shuffled around the assistant behind me. “Open your arms out by your sides.”

  “Eleran will not be pleased about you doing this,” Taranath hissed.

  There were a few moments of silence until the commander’s hand touched the scroll.

  “No, I don’t think he’ll be pleased at all,” the commander said as he unfurled the scroll.

  As he did, I felt my foot release.

  “How is that even … it’s not!” Taranath cried out. “That’s not mine! I didn’t take it!”

  “You were going to sell this to that human,” the commander began. “Do not resist, or you will die right here for treason. Taranath, you are--”

  “It’s not mine!” Taranath’s voice repeated, and as he did the smell of magic rushed into the room within a gust of air.

  “Don’t resist!” the commander shouted.

  Before I could move toward Penny, I was lifted off the ground as if the Ancients called me up to the stars. Then I was twirled around to see the scene in front of me.

  “Do you realize who I am?” Taranath snarled with his hands raised.

  “Stop! Guards!” The commander was floating in the air like I was, and his body contorted as he tried to fight the magic with his own.

  Three of the Elven Guard ran in but were halted by an invisible wall of wind made by the extended hand of Taranath. Then they too lifted off the ground.

  The room began to swirl like a tornado had just landed. Tables and chairs crashed against the walls, and the front windows imploded into the hall. The tiny shards of glass flew around the room like a flock of deadly birds.

  “You have accused me!” Taranath closed his hands, and as he did, the wind fell quiet as if the room took a deep breath in.

  “Taranath, you are not helping your cause,” the commander panted as he struggled against the force of the other elf’s magic.

  Then the room exhaled with a gust of hot energy that sent me flying into the double doors where Penny was, and I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder when I landed and slid across the floor.

  “Are you okay?” Penny yelled from the ground next to me. “Can you move?”

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” I pushed mys
elf up and heard another rush of magic pop like a firework behind us. “He’ll destroy this place.”

  “No shit,” Penny said as she sprinted ahead of me. “Exit is this way.”

  “Get out of here!” I shouted to the other dancers as we ran through the kitchen area.

  Penny reached the back door first and swung it open to the back alley of the hall where a few dumpsters were.

  “Is Dar or Cimarra here?” Penny blurted as her eyes searched our surroundings.

  “I don’t know,” I panted and gripped onto my arm.

  “You’re bleeding,” Penny breathed as she touched my shoulder.

  “I’m fine,” I said and looked to her. “Are you okay?”

  “Let’s just get moving.” She nodded, and we ran down the alley where a unit of Elven Guard moved with spears in hand.

  “Get out of the way, humans!” one guard shouted at us as we moved aside for them to pass by.

  “This might’ve been the best-case scenario for us,” I muttered as the armored elves kicked in the back door of the dance hall.

  “As fucked up as that is,” Penny smirked, “I think you’re right.”

  We took a few more steps down the alley when a high-pitched whistle got our attention from the other end.

  “Dar, Cimarra!” I yelled as Penny and I ran toward the wagon where our friends sat waving at us.

  “Hurry, an elven battle is--” Dar covered his head as a deep explosion with a surge of heat hurled down the alley and into us.

  “We gotta get out of here,” I panted as the wagon rocked violently from the force, but steadied itself.

  A chorus of screams bounced around us from every direction.

  I glanced down the alley we just ran out of and saw a few of the Elven Guard laying lifeless with their armor ripped apart.

  We were in a war zone, but the funny thing was, it was the elves fighting the elves. Maybe they weren’t as invincible as everyone thought they were.

  “The assistant lost it!” Penny yelled and jumped into the back of the wagon.

  “Drive,” I commanded as I clung onto the side of the cart. “Why didn’t you get the hell out of here when the explosion happened?”

  “Aren’t you glad we didn’t?” Dar snorted as he whipped the horses into motion. “We’re in this together.”