Wayward Magic (Magic Underground Anthologies Book 2)

by Melinda Kucsera

  She’d know those stony eyes anywhere, especially when they were angry with her. Rather than alert Eli to something being wrong, she waved at her brother with a smile. “Malachi! Come join us!”

  He didn’t miss a step at hearing his dead name, though his right eye twitched as he claimed a seat with his back to the door. “I didn’t expect to find you here a day early,” said Bredych as he claimed a sip of her ale. “Please, introduce me to your friend.”

  Eli caught the innkeeper’s gaze and gestured for another drink. “I’m Eli,” he said as he held out his hand to Bredych.

  “He’s one of ours. Sent here to wait for us by Grand Master Bredych.”

  Her brother gripped Eli’s forearm before releasing it, his face unreadable. “Good! I take it you’ve arranged for a room?”

  Shara nodded and handed her brother the key. “Last door on the right.”

  When the ale arrived, Bredych took a lengthy sip while he watched Eli. His gaze rested on the hidden tattoo, then traveled to his feet before stopping on the nearby candle. “So, you were told to wait for us?”

  “I don’t know about us, but I was told to wait for another from the Order, yes. I assumed it was Shara here until you arrived. I didn’t realize they would be sending two. Exactly what’s your job that it requires two Amaskans?”

  She squeezed her mug between her fingers as her brother spoke. “There’s a mark in town. Some thief who tried to kill a Duke.”

  Close enough to the truth that I would fall for it, but will he?

  Eli frowned. “Tried? I take it the man failed?”

  “Indeed. The Duke lay in his gardens with his wife just this morning. The sun is an excellent soul healer.”

  Now it was Eli’s turn to grow quiet as he absorbed this information.

  “Problem is,” said Shara as she glanced around the room. “We need proof that he committed the attack. We have rumors but nothin’ more.”

  Eli whistled between his teeth. “No wonder you need my assistance.”

  “Indeed. Perhaps we should retire for the evening and start fresh in the morning. I don’t know about Shara, but I could use a little sleep before the day begins anew. I’m not used to traveling this far in a single day anymore.” Bredych stood and waited for Shara to follow his lead.

  For all that he puts the lack of trust on Elish, I’m fairly certain he doesn’t trust me either. The way he’s leadin’ me around by the nose like I’m brand new is downright insultin’.

  Eli caught the dynamic shift as well and the corner of his lips turned up. “What say we meet down here at first light? You can fill me in on the details,” he said, then nodded to them.

  Their mark left the room first, stopping at the second room down the inn’s only hallway. Once inside, Bredych motioned for her to follow him past the door and to their own at the hallway’s end. The room inside left much to be desired as a single straw bed lay against one wall and a single, lumpy chair rested against the other. No windows and one door left a single way in and out, something that was both a boon and a curse to an Amaskan.

  Bredych closed and locked the door behind her, then lowered himself into the sole chair. At first, he said nothing, and Shara seized the opportunity to remove her cloak and toss it over the straw mattress. She lowered herself down into a cross-legged position and waited.

  “Grand Master Elish won’t be happy to hear how you left your superior alone and asleep in the open while you attempted to…what exactly were you attempting to do?”

  Her cheeks grew warm, which she ignored as she took a calming breath. “I’d hoped to find our mark and deal with him before sunrise. I don’t need someone to hold my hand, ‘specially not my brother.”

  “This is why you’re sent with an escort. This right here. Name one task you’ve completed as your instructions dictated.”

  “If I’m to change the Order for the better, sometimes the rules have to be changed too. I know ya understand. You’ve been maneuverin’ yerself within the Order for that very reason. This ain’t the first time I’ve killed someone.”

  Her brother’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know who you’re killing?”

  “I assumed ya’d tell me, or Eli would.”

  Bredych dug in his bag and withdrew the paper she’d looked at earlier. “I take it you read this?” he asked, and when she nodded, he continued. “Eli isn’t our contact. The Order has no contacts in Lachail. Eli is our mark.”

  “He wears our tattoo, and he passed the greetin’ test.” The reality of what that meant smacked Shara in the face, and her dinner whirled around in her stomach. “I thought ya said he was Tribor? So, what, he’s both?”

  Her brother sighed. “Before you arrived at the Order, Eli was a new trainee, come to us from the Kingdom of Shad. When he passed his test and presented himself before the Council, he was rejected.”

  “Why? Did the Council change their—”

  Footfalls shuffled across the wood floor outside, and Shara froze. Her brother moved silently to the door and waited. Someone jiggled a key into a lock across the hall, and the door opened and closed, leaving the hallway silent. Bredych returned to the chair and said, “There was something…off about Eli. The Council felt it for lack of a better word, so they set him before a mystic. The moment the woman touched Eli’s head, she pulled her hand away as if she’d been burned by the evil of his thoughts and told us to check his ankles. That’s when we found the Tribor marking.”

  Shara’s hands trembled in her lap. I almost fell for it. Ten years in the Order, and I make a mistake like I’m fresh in training. Dammit. When she met her brother’s gaze, he nodded slowly. In one instance, she’d almost failed their task. “So how do we do this then? He ain’t Amaskan, no matter what tattoo he’s given himself. I assume that bit about the Duke bein’ alive was just a bunch-a-piss to throw him off?”

  “Since you think you can do this alone, you tell me.”

  “He knows who we are and probably why we’re here, so I say we do nothin’ tonight. He’d be expectin’ us.”

  “And tomorrow?” asked Bredych.

  “We feed him some details ’bout what we know ’bout this thief. String him along a bit, then kill’em when he’s convinced we’re here for someone else.”

  “Anything else?”

  Shara nodded. “We take turns keepin’ watch. If he thinks we’re after him, he might try and kill us first.”

  The corners of his mouth tilted up towards a smile, though he fought it. She’d gotten it right, or right enough that he was pleased, and she leaned back into bed. “Since ya got more sleep than me, ya get first watch.”

  “Not my fault you decided to sneak off,” said her brother, though he turned his chair to face the door.

  For all that she wished for sleep, her mind spun circles in the darkness as she puzzled over each mistake she’d made in the past day. When her eyes finally shut, a hand shook her shoulder, alerting her that it was her turn to take watch. Shara switched places with her brother, then stared at the door with her fingers prying open her eyelids.

  Thirteen, don’t let me fall asleep on watch.

  She widened her eyes and yawned as she watched the uneventful door. The knob moved a smidge, and she bolted upright. Moments ticked off in her head, and nothing more moved. When she reclaimed her seat, it squeaked, and the hairs rose across her arms. The doorknob remained still in the flickering candlelight.

  If I open the door, will Eli be standing there?

  Feet bare, she held her breath and approached the door. She pressed her ear against it, but heard nothing outside of a few snores from people in other rooms. In her mind’s eye, the door rushed open and slammed against her head, but in reality, it remained closed. Shara returned to the chair, her body flinching at every noise until pre-dawn blessed the sky with hints of light.

  Bredych and Shara waited downstairs for their “guest,” both wearing simple clothing rather than the black clothing they’d donned the day before. A bit of bread and fruit from the i
nnkeeper sat before them, but neither did more than pick at it in an attempt to look appreciative.

  On the other hand, their guest strolled in and helped himself to a fig. “I don’t know about you two, but I find the beds here quite comfortable. Nowhere else do I sleep so deeply,” said Eli with a smile. “Did you two rest well?”

  Shara tensed her thigh to keep from kicking the man. Her brother’s leg tensed in reaction to hers, and he forced a smile across his face. “We did, though I admit to missing my bed at the Order.”

  Eli tilted his head toward the innkeeper, who disappeared through a door behind the counter. “There’s few awake this early, so we should be good to discuss the job.”

  “You seem to have a friendly relationship with the innkeeper,” said Bredych.

  “I’m surprised you don’t know, but this inn is a common meeting place for mercs, thieves, Amaskans, you name it. Juidre’s good at making himself scarce when asked…at least for a little coin that is. You owe me a half-penny.”

  The ease at which Eli chatted with them caused doubts to creep in. Maybe he’s pretendin’ to be Tribor rather than Amaskan. Maybe he has no idea of our purpose in town and has no interest in killin’ us. Not until he knows what we’re doin’ here.

  “Speaking of the job, Shara’s leading it, so I’ll let her tell you the details.”

  She stared at her brother for a heartbeat before her brain found her tongue and she was able to speak. She hadn’t planned to be the one talking, though she’d had plenty of time in the night to think on the imaginary job. “It’s funny ya mentioned this place as a meetin’ place for thieves as that’s why we were sent here. Our mark, the thief, goes by Geilish. Perhaps his reputation precedes him?”

  Eli’s eyes widened at the name, and he gave a brief nod.

  “Rumors say he holes up here from time to time. If we can get the evidence we need ‘bout his attempt to kill the Duke, then we’ll have all we need to eliminate him.”

  “Sounds like a decent job. Though I admit, I’m worried you two might be chasing a rabbit down an endless burrow.”

  “How so?” she asked Eli, who frowned.

  “I’ve been here two weeks and haven’t seen Geilish even once.”

  Bredych tilted his head. “You know him?”

  “More like know of him. But it’s enough to know what he looks like and which room is his. Oddly enough, he prefers the room you two have. Nice defendable room at the end of a hallway. Did your information say where he frequents when he isn’t at the inn?”

  Shara shook her head. “I guess we’ll have to look around town a bit. See what information we can find out. If he’s moved on from Lachail, we’ll follow him.”

  “I can help with talking to the townsfolk. They know me well enough that they’ll talk,” said Eli.

  “I’d rather ya took the innkeeper—Juidre was it? Ya work on that, and we’ll see what we dig up from the townsfolk. Sometimes they’ll say more to a stranger than a friend,” she said as she stood. Bredych followed her lead as they both moved towards the inn’s door. “Meet back here in a few candlemarks? Say noon? We can exchange information.”

  She felt Eli’s eyes on her back as she left the inn, and she didn’t stop walking until she neared the town’s entrance, where she leaned against a business’s brick exterior. “What do ya think?”

  “You did good, but I would expect no less from an Amaskan,” said her brother as he ran a hand across his bald head. “Smart of you to name a real thief, but what are you going to do if we actually find Geilish?”

  Shara shrugged. “Eli wants us out of his town. I figure I’ll let him deal with Geilish, assumin’ he shows up here. Last I heard, he was down south goin’ after some ship.”

  “Geilish hasn’t killed anyone, but you’d let Eli kill him?”

  Her brother’s shoulders lay tense beneath his brown shirt, and she pursed her lips. “Look, Geilish ain’t innocent. He’s broken one of the Thirteen, meanin’ he’s due for some punishment. He’s harmed countless people with his thievin’. Who knows? Maybe someone’s died under his negligence. If Eli wants to add more blood to his list, that’s between him and the Gods. They can straighten them both out as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Has anyone ever said you make a lousy Amaskan?”

  The tone was one of jest, but the knot in her stomach tightened. Every job with her brother was the same: he’d act second and give her some means to lead the job, then criticize her every decision and action. “Maybe that’s because I never wanted to be one, but ya left me no choice. It was that or die. What else do you think a child would do?”

  Her words rushed out in a fury, and a merchant across the road glanced in their direction. Heat rose to her cheeks as she walked further down the alley. Bredych followed her and snatched her arm when he caught up. “It’s been ten years since all that, and fifteen is hardly a child. Are you still holding on to the idea that this was all a mistake?”

  “Clearly I am.” Though it didn’t erupt until this job. Why is that? Is it just the thought of ten more years following his instructions like I’m some thoughtless weakling?

  He swore and threw up his hands. “Either you are or aren’t an Amaskan, Shara. Which is it going to be?”

  “If I answer in the negative, would ya kill me as required?”

  Bredych’s hands trembled at his sides. “Shendra, you’re my only family left. I-I can’t believe you would ask me that.”

  The use of her dead name surprised her, and for a moment, she hesitated. “Brother, I love you, but you would kill our mother if you thought it would gain you the title of Grand Master.”

  His face paled, then he spun on his heal, leaving her alone in the alley. Where he went, only he knew, as she never saw him as she roamed the city looking for information on the wrong man.

  As noon approached, she found herself alone with Eli, who bought her excuse that Bredych was following a lead. Neither of them had found much to share, and both went their separate ways with an uncomfortable silence that stalked her long after the sun went down.

  Eli sat in the inn’s common room, eating his dinner and drinking as he’d done the past few days, and if he stayed on schedule, he’d remain there another candlemark or two. It was the perfect opportunity to see what evidence lay in his room.

  Of course, there was the matter of gaining entrance. The hallway lay in perfect view of the common room. For all that the inn was a gathering ground for the less scrupulous, the doors’ locks had left much to be desired as Shara’s picking rod had slid into her door easily. Twenty seconds turning and the lock had given up. Test completed, and all she needed was twenty seconds at his door without anyone being able to see her.

  With no way to blow out all the candles in the room at once, she tried her luck at the other inn, the Ebitai. Unlike the Katalhum Inn, dozens of townsfolk gathered in the common room to drink, eat, and play a little cards. Everyone from the wealthy in town down to the stablehands crowded around tables to enjoy the evening. When she walked in, the clamor died, but only for a moment as several townsfolk grabbed her by the elbows and pushed her into a nearby chair.

  “Join us, Master…?” asked a muscular man who smelled of iron.

  “Shara, Master Blacksmith.”

  He grinned at the title and poured her a drink. “‘Bout time you left the dank cave of Katalhum’s for the joy that is Ebitai.” She arched a brow at him, and he added, “Not that Katalhum’s is bad or anything, but a rather questionable element spends time there, and you’re too pretty a lady to be caught with men like that.”

  She laughed at the picture he painted. “Can I get the name of the man payin’ me such unseemly attention?”

  “Blacksmith Bahr, at your service.”

  A few others at the table introduced themselves, though less boldly, before returning to their conversations.

  “You seem unbothered by my shaved head,” she said.

  He bowed in her direction. “There are many holy orders in the Li
ttle Dozen Kingdoms which shave for religious reasons. Who am I to make assumptions on private matters? That’s between you and the Thirteen.”

  For all his strong words, Bahr refrained from glancing at the tattoo on her jaw and kept his eyes on his mug, a decision that had probably kept him alive in a town like Lachail. The man made for an excellent conversationalist as Shara continued to fill his mug. His laughter grew louder and at one point, when he was busy slapping the arms of another at the table, Shara dumped the contents of an herb packet in his drink.

  Amaskans trained in sleight of hand, though most never needed the skill, and for once, she was grateful. If caught using Lorl, she’d end up hanging in the town square as fast as one could sneeze. The drug itself was little more than a spiny, purple plant, but when crushed and ingested, the herb had a powerful magic that was illegal to use. Shara never left the Order without some. Most Amaskan women didn’t.

  His face grew flushed as he downed his drinks, and his words slurred as he joked about making himself iron shoes. She let him ramble as she spoke of the weather and other meaningless talks until he was well under the medicine’s effects. Then she leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Follow me.”

  Shara swaggered towards the door, and Bahr followed to a chorus of laughter and hoots by his friends. His feet stumbled a bit in the dirt as he followed her outside and down the alley, where she pushed him against the wall. “Big, strong man like yerself, a fight sounds good to ya.”

  “A fight sssounds good t’me,” he repeated, eyes glazed over as he focused on nothing.

  “You’ll go inside Katalhum and start a fight. Make sure to engage the man in gray who sits in the corner.”

  Bahr’s head nodded drunkenly. “Katalhum. Fight the man in graaay.”

  “Don’t kill anyone, and if anyone asks, ya never spoke to me. This was yer idea because ya didn’t like the man’s look.”

  “No killin’. Never talked to you. I don’t like him.”

  She gave him a gentle shove in the inn’s direction and followed a few heartbeats behind. Halfway there, Shara paused for a moment, face upturned to the stars. Thirteen forgive me for using one of your innocents. I only do this in service of Justice. Forgiveness asked, she pulled up her hood and tied it close about her face.