Kiss of the Betrayer (A Bringer and the Bane Novel) (13 page)

Jade’s fingers itched to touch the weapon.

“May I?” Luc said as if reading her mind.

The old man hesitated. “You are interested in buying it?”

“Perhaps.” Luc’s eyes never left the blade.

Shivers of apprehension tingled up her arms. She was missing something.

The old man enthusiastically slid the weapon toward him. With the lightest touch, Luc ran his finger along the edge of the blade. His finger twitched. For a second, Jade thought he had cut himself. His hand wavered above the hilt and she wondered if he was afraid to touch it. With a deep inhale, he wrapped his hand around the handle and lifted the knife.

She watched his face, knowing that was where he’d betray his thoughts. His brow furrowed. He twisted his arm, palm up, and opened his hand. The blade never wavered from its spot in the center of his hand. His fingers curled and uncurled around the knife hilt.

After a few seconds, he closed his fist and looked at her. “Hold out your hand.”

She clutched her fist against her chest, not trusting that he wouldn’t cut her. “Why?”

“I want you to
feel
the dagger.” He held her gaze and something in the way he said
feel
piqued her curiosity.

She opened her hand and he laid the handle in her palm. An impulse to curl her fingers around the handle was too strong to resist. The handle grew warm and vibrated against her skin. She glanced at Luc and she knew he had felt the same thing. With effort, she opened her fingers and offered it back to him.

He gingerly plucked the weapon from her hand and turned to the shopkeeper, who was staring at them with a great deal of interest. “How much?”

A crafty smile spread across the old man’s face. “Five gold liats.”

“Five?” Jade exclaimed. “Are you mad?”

“Done,” Luc said and slammed the coins on the counter.

“What?” She spun on him. “You could buy ten daggers with that much.”

He glared at her. “But I like this one.”

The old man cackled, scraping the money off the counter and pocketing it into a leather bag at his waist. “Nice doing business with you, my lord.”

Obviously there was something special about the dagger, something Luc was unwilling to share with the shopkeeper around. She worried her lip. Hopefully he would explain himself once they were outside.

“Do you have any other weapons with these markings?” He indicated the embossed dragon. “I’d be interested in purchasing all you’ve got.”

There was some satisfaction in watching the greedy shopkeeper being offered a large sum of money and not having anything to provide for it. There was even greater enjoyment in watching Luc not get what he wanted.

“’Tis the only one I have, my lord.”

Luc slipped the blade into the waist of his pants. “If you acquire more, hold them for me. I will pay you five gold liats for each item.”

“Yes, my lord.” Greed blazed in the old man’s milky gray eyes. “I will, my lord.”

Luc turned and walked toward the door without another word. Jade scrambled after him. A stranger crowded the door, but Luc pushed past him and stepped onto the street, leaving Jade to plaster her body against a shelf of colorful feathers in order to not get run over. She let the customer pass and then followed Luc outside. He stopped and turned toward the shop again, staring at the door.

She glanced behind her but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “What is it?”

“That man…”

She looked again, but saw no one. “What man?”

Luc tilted his head back and stared at the sky, squinting as if reasoning out a problem. Jade didn’t know if it was against the sun or in concentration. What she did know was that he was acting very strangely. After a few seconds, he shook his head, turned, and started toward the ship.

“Wait,” she said.

He stopped and looked at her, but his thoughts seemed elsewhere. “We need to get back to the ship.”

“What about the rest of the supplies?” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “What about the dagger?”

He started walking again. “We’ll collect food on our way, but I don’t have time to gather the rest.”

She jogged next to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing? You’re practically running to the ship!”

He stopped and sighed. “I need to speak with Ravyn and Rhys.”

“About what?” Her patience was wearing thin.

Luc glanced around and spoke through gritted teeth. “About the book you sold.” He paused. “And about the dagger.”

She ignored his reference about the book. “What about the dagger?”

He stepped close. “It matches Ravyn’s.”

“So what? Lots of weapons are crafted in pairs. They were probably made by the same craftsmen.”

“Indeed.” He leaned in, his mouth inches from her ear. “There’s only one problem.”

Every time he was this near, her mind seemed to stutter. “W–what?”

“Ravyn’s dagger is one of the Bringers’ lost immortal weapons.”

C
HAPTER
T
EN

Thunder rumbled across the sky and the wind rattled the windows. The storm outside seemed to mirror the mood inside the ship’s cabin.

Luc had taken a chance trusting Jade, and from her response it seemed she knew what an immortal weapon was, probably from her father’s tales. Too many unknown pieces had been thrown onto the game board today: the dagger, the book she had sold to the shop owner, and the mysterious man who had bought it. His interest in Jade was not from simple curiosity, of this Luc was sure.

Siban leaned against the doorframe, while Rhys and Ravyn stood on the opposite side of the desk from Luc, staring down at the twin daggers. The knives were a perfect set.

“You say you thought this shopkeeper knew nothing about the seller?” Rhys said.

“Just that he was rich and interested in Jade.” Luc didn’t elaborate, hoping Jade would join the conversation willingly.

He glanced at her. She glared back. He attempted his most sincere look of pleading. With a haughty tilt of her chin, she crossed her arms and looked away. The woman was so damned stubborn.

“If there are more of these weapons in other shops, we need to find them.” Rhys glanced at Ravyn. “Are you feeling anything from the daggers?”

She picked up both knives and held them. After a minute she shook her head. “All I can sense is that they are a set, forged at the same time, from the same metal, by the same person. Nothing else.”

“Tomorrow we search every shop in Faela that might carry weapons.” Rhys ran his hands through his hair and released a heavy breath. “We need every advantage we have against Vile.”

“What do you have planned?” Siban’s question hung in the air.

Rhys glanced over at the imposing Tell. “We need to attack Vile before he has a chance to rally.”

Luc’s gaze settled on Siban. Only the slight tightening of his jaw showed the Tell’s unfavorable reaction. “You mean to engage him in the Shadow World?”

“I do not expect you to go, Siban. Your time in the Shadow World is still fresh—I know you are not ready. It will be too dangerous for any who aren’t yet at full power.” Rhys glided around the desk to stand next to Ravyn. “As difficult as it is for me to say it, Ravyn and I will be undertaking the mission.”

Ravyn’s arm slid around his waist, her eyes conveying the love and gratitude she had for Rhys. “He’d rather I stay home, locked away and safe—but he needs me. We’re stronger together.”

Luc rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Jade. She refused to look at him, but the tiny sniff and lift of her chin told him she was aware of his censure. He continued to glare. His friends were heading into the bowels of the Shadow World to face the Demon King and she stood there, unwilling to share information that might be helpful to them or even save their lives.

Ravyn drew his attention back to the conversation. “I think it’s time you two share whatever it is you’re hiding.”

Rhys looked at Luc and then at Jade. “Do you have information?”

Silence enveloped the room, all eyes turning to Jade. Her posture stiffened and she rolled her lips together, refusing to speak. The four continued to stare at her. For his own part, Luc was prepared to wait her out. She had no idea how stubborn
he
could be, but Ravyn wasn’t nearly as patient.

She released a heavy sigh. “Whatever it is, Jade, you can trust us.”

“If you’ve something to contribute, please, now is the time,” Rhys said.

Jade’s stiff exterior crumpled a fraction.

“We’re your friends,” Ravyn continued. “I hope you know that. We’d never do anything to hurt you.”

Jade looked at her. “I can’t.”

“Can’t?” Ravyn paused. “Or won’t?”

“It’s all the same,” Jade said. “I can’t and won’t tell you.”

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Rhys said.

Luc snorted and hooked a thumb toward Jade. “Trouble follows this one.”

She glared at him. “You’re one to talk.”

Ravyn moved around the desk. “We want to help.”

“Thank you, but I don’t need any help.”

“Then…” Ravyn reached to touch her. “Help us.”

“Don’t.” Luc stepped forward, intent on stopping Ravyn from using compulsion on Jade. “She needs to trust us, not be coerced.”

If Jade spilled her secrets against her will, it would only create more animosity between them.

Ravyn lowered her arms and nodded. “Please, you’re part of our family now.”

“Whether you want to be or not,” Rhys added, smiling.

Jade’s stiff demeanor softened a bit more, her expression changing from anger to helplessness. She swallowed hard. “I can’t tell you. I can’t betray…”

Luc waited for her to finish the sentence. Instead, she stared at the floor, wrapping her arms more tightly around her torso.

“Betray who?” Ravyn asked.

Jade shook her head, obviously still set against revealing Esmeralda’s existence. But things had changed. It wasn’t just about them anymore. Innocent lives were at stake.

“Her sister,” Luc said into the silence.

All heads snapped in his direction.

“Traitor,” Jade hissed.

He didn’t reply. No matter what he did, he couldn’t win.

“What of your sister?” Rhys said.

She continued to glare at Luc, refusing to answer.

“I once courted Jade’s sister, Esmeralda,” Luc said.

Ravyn shook her head. “But on the ship from Alba, you never said anything about knowing Jade.”

“Because I didn’t
recognize
her. It had been nearly thirteen years since I’d seen her.” His gaze drifted the full length of Jade’s body. “She has changed much since then.”

“More than you know,” Jade sneered.

“If you were once friends, why such hostility now?” Rhys asked.

It was Luc’s turn to remain silent. He wanted to hear Jade’s accusation. She’d been so young when her parents had been murdered and he’d yet to hear exactly what she believed happened. The Bringers needed to know about Esmeralda, but he wanted Jade to be the one to tell them. That, at least, she wouldn’t be able to blame him for.

“He betrayed us.” Jade’s tone was steady and cold. “Luc was supposed to deliver papers to my father, but he never came.” Her arms tightened around her torso, as if the memories were too painful to repeat. “But the Bane did.” Now she seemed either unable or unwilling to stem her angry words. “That night we were attacked, and it was his fault. He told them where my father lived.”

Ravyn gasped. Rhys stared at Luc, silently asking if what she said was true. As usual, Siban’s stare was steady and revealed nothing of what he thought.

Luc shook his head. “I did betray them, but not like she thinks. My father had given me permission to ask for Esmeralda’s hand in marriage and ordered me to deliver important documents to Jade’s father, saying it would help pave the way for me. It was the first time he’d ever entrusted me with more than managing my monthly allowance. I had every intention of going directly to their home, but on my way I stopped at a pub and had a drink with my friends to celebrate. One thing led to another and I found myself in a spirited game of cards. After several drinks I forgot about my task.” He cleared his throat. “I lost all my money and the very coat off my back to a stranger.” Shame pushed against him, still as potent after all these years. “The documents were inside.”

“What were the contents of the documents?” Rhys asked.

“I don’t know. When my father found out about my gambling and Jade’s family, all he said was, “Their blood is on your hands.” He didn’t speak to me for a month after that.” He stared at the floor, trying to talk through the shame that still gripped him. “He was so angry.” Luc looked at Rhys and shrugged. “It seemed best to never speak of the incident.”

The low moan of the wind whistled through the cracks in the door. Nobody spoke. What was there to say, really? Their deaths had been due to his recklessness. Nothing more mattered.

He chanced a glance at Jade. Her gaze was locked on the window, but he doubted she was focused on the rain beating against the glass. The mournful howl and creaking wood of the rocking ship filled the uncomfortable silence that stretched through the group.

“You said you gambled against a stranger?” Rhys said, breaking the lull.

“Yes.” Luc pulled his attention away from Jade and looked at Rhys. “I’d never seen him before and haven’t seen him…” He stopped, his mind racing. “Until today.”

All eyes turned toward him, including Jade’s.

“Today?” Ravyn said. “Where?”

“In the marketplace.” He held Jade’s gaze. “The man entering the curiosity shop as we were leaving.”

Jade’s defensive posture relaxed. “The man you thought you recognized?”

“Yes. At first I couldn’t remember, but now I’m positive it was him.”

“Yes.” Ravyn closed her eyes and ran her fingertip across her forehead. “That feels correct.” She pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed. “But…” She hesitated.

To everybody’s surprise, Siban added, “He feels false.”

Ravyn nodded. “Yes, it all feels false.” Her eyes opened and she glanced at the Tell. “The game feels false. The man was there for a reason.”

“For Luc,” Siban added. “The man came for you.”