Storm Glass (30 page)

  He placed the stone on the cloth near her. When she touched it, he frowned.

  “Pretty.” She held it up to the light then handed it to me.

  The man scowled, but she ignored him.

  “What do you think?” she asked me.

  I hefted the stone. While it scattered the light in a pleasing way, it didn’t flash. Glass. I placed it back on the counter and touched the others. The same.

  “Pretty but ordinary,” I said. “You need a diamond with more pizazz.”

  “I can order anything you want,” the seller offered.

  “No thank you. I was hoping to find something today.” Pazia was quick to leave despite the man’s insistence.

  Out in the street, I drew in a breath of fresh air. “Now what?”

  “We find Fisk and another seller.”

  The afternoon hours sped past in a blur. The showrooms all seemed identical; the sellers all had similar smooth personalities. Prices and incentives remained constant. And they all offered us glass. Exceptional glass of top quality that I haven’t seen before, but glass all the same. Not a real diamond to be found.

  As the sun sank into the horizon, we entered the last shop. This time a man and woman teamed up to make the sale. The woman was effusive with her compliments to Pazia.

  “Look how the diamond pendant lights up your gorgeous eyes,” the saleswoman said, holding a mirror for Pazia to see her reflection. “Why the green just comes alive doesn’t it?”

  Pazia beamed, getting sucked in. The diamonds were all mounted in jewelry. The woman slid a huge marquise-cut stone onto Pazia’s right index finger.

  “The ring will highlight your elegant hands. No one will be able to stop staring at you.”

  Before the saleswoman could put any more jewelry on Pazia, I bent to examine the ring.

  “I don’t like this setting,” I said. “Do you have any loose stones?”

  The woman glanced at the man behind the counter. He withdrew a tray full of diamonds of various sizes and shapes. I touched each one with a finger, but again every one was beautifully cut and polished glass, which caused me to wonder who manufactured them. Without the magic flash, I would have been hard-pressed to call these fakes.

  “I don’t like any of them,” I said.

  Pazia pouted with disappointment.

  The woman ramped up her sales pitch, disagreeing with me. “Look at her.” She pointed to me. “You probably picked out your friend’s clothes only to have her ruin your efforts with that tacky cloak. You, my dear, are a ray of sunlight who deserves to be glowing with diamonds. Don’t let her jealousy stop you. People will always be jealous of you. If you have it-flaunt it!”

  The saleswoman was skilled. She had pegged Pazia’s personality and would soon have a sale.

  “It’s getting late,” I said. “Your
mentor
at the Keep will be concerned. Why don’t you think it over and we can come back tomorrow.”

  “Excellent idea,” the woman said. “I just hope you get here before Councillor Jewelrose’s wife tomorrow. She’s been eyeing that ring, and her birthday is today. The Councillor is so sweet. He always gives her gold to buy her own presents. She’s my most loyal customer.” She tsked, removing the ring from Pazia’s finger. “But I’m sure I’ll be able to find you something…”

  A worried crease formed on Pazia’s forehead. I pulled on her arm, guiding her to the door. I waved with my other hand. “Thanks for the offer.”

  The door opened before we reached it. Two men entered. They blocked our way. Swords hung from weapon belts. Apprehension slid down my spine, lumping in my guts.

  “Your friend isn’t ready to leave,” the man on the left said with a slight lisp. His bottom lip had been cut. Blood-soaked threads from the stitches protruded from the wound.

  “Yes, she is.” I nudged Pazia with an elbow. “Her mentor is waiting for her. You don’t want to make us late. Her mentor has
powerful
friends.” Come on, Pazia, I thought, say something, do something.

  Bloody Lip stepped closer. “I’m sure her mentor will understand about the…delay. Our girl spent so much time helping you, I’m sure you don’t want to be rude by rushing off. In fact, we have a whole other room filled with…surprises. Bex, why don’t you show this lady-” he stabbed a finger in my direction “-the back room while her friend completes her purchase.”

  Bex reached for me. I dropped all pretenses and yanked my sais from my cloak. Ramming the weapons’ knobs into the man’s solar plexus, I shouted, “Pazia, help me.”

  The man gasped, but recovered fast. They both pulled their swords. The saleswoman brandished a knife. I remained close to the men, deflecting their blades toward the ground. Pazia stood immobile.

  “Fire,” I yelled.

  Finally she moved. Small flames erupted on the men’s shirts. The woman squealed. Chaos manifested into four pairs of flailing limbs, swatting at the growing fire on their clothes. The motion reminded me of the flesh-eating beetles Tricky had used to attack me. Suppressing a shudder, I grabbed Pazia’s hand and hauled her from the room.

  I didn’t let go of her until we reached the market. We paused to catch our breath and I put my sais away.

  Pazia’s flushed cheeks and the wild glint in her eyes meant either fear or excitement.

  Fisk appeared at our side. “What happened?”

  “They tried to use strong-arm tactics.” I tucked a few loose strands of hair behind my ear.

  “Not good. Did they have the required items?”

  “No. Except for Bloody Lip and Bex, they were just like the rest.”

  Fisk considered. “I’ll spread the word to my clients about the fake diamonds, but the seller who used the swordsmen will be out of business by tomorrow.”

  “I thought you didn’t work with black market dealers.”

  “I don’t. But I’ll make sure they know about Bloody Lip and Bex. The other dealers don’t want customers to be afraid to buy from the black market. It’s bad for business. I’ve no doubt when the others are aware of the situation, it will be taken care of in record time.”

  I mulled over the implications and decided I wouldn’t be upset to know Bloody Lip and Bex were run out of town. My thoughts then turned to the lack of real diamonds.

  “Do you think the rogue Moon Clan faction is funding their activities by selling these fake stones?” I asked Fisk.

  “Must be. We’ve run out of dealers to contact.”

  “They looked so real,” Pazia said. “I almost…” She sighed.

  “Someone is manufacturing them. Should we try and trace them back to the source?” I wondered if I could produce such high-quality glass. It would be an interesting challenge.

  “I can take you back to one of the dealers you met with today,” Fisk said. “Perhaps he’ll tell you his source.”

  “Let’s talk to Zitora first. See if she has any ideas.” I pulled my cloak tighter as an icy wind blew through the market, causing the lanterns along the street to pulse. A hint of moisture clung to the air with the promise of rain.

  We agreed to meet tomorrow afternoon.

  “Keep the clothes for now,” Fisk said, gesturing to my disguise. “And walk straight back to the Keep. The gossip is that two student magicians are looking to buy diamonds to enhance their magic. Play it up, so when you start asking for a big quantity of large diamonds no one is surprised.”

  Pazia and I headed toward the Keep. She had been subdued since we escaped from Bloody Lip. A few people walked along the quiet Citadel streets. I wondered how Ulrick’s day had gone.

  About a block before the Keep’s entrance, two men stepped from the shadows and approached us.

20

PAZIA GASPED AS
the men drew closer, but I reached for my sais, wrapping my hands around the hilts. The motion helped steady my frantic heartbeat.

  “Magic, remember?” I whispered to Pazia. “You’re powerful.”

  “I’ve heard you two are looking for sparkles,” the man on the left said. He wore the plain gray coverall of a factory worker. Tools hung from his belt. Any one of them could be used as a weapon. His companion also wore coveralls, although the larger man’s were covered with dark stains. Blood or grease, it was hard to discern in the lantern light.

  I waited for Pazia to speak. When the silence lengthened to uncomfortable, I said, “We’re looking for
real
sparkles. If you don’t have anything good, we’re not interested in doing business.”

  The man nodded. “Thought so. Watched you go to all those others. You’re looking for magical sparkles. Question is, can you afford it?”

  “My family owns the Vasko mine,” Pazia said.

  I tried not to show my surprise. After all, I was supposed to be her friend. But the Vasko mine was famous for the quantity and quality of rubies, making the owners the richest people in Sitia. And she just took one hell of a risk, telling two strangers about her family connections.

  “Care to see our wares then?” he asked, grinning.

  Remembering our run-in with Bloody Lip, I asked, “Where?”

  “Right here.” He glanced at the big man. “Egg?”

  Egg removed a pouch from his pocket and handed it to his friend, who opened it and poured diamonds into his palm. The four diamonds caught the light and held it. About the size of a teaspoon, they were the largest stones we’d seen all day.

  “May I?” I asked.

  He nodded. I picked up one of the diamonds and almost dropped it. The stone flashed cold, stinging my mind with a vision of an icy plain. Cold burned through my fingers then settled into a steady vibration. I had the same reaction with the other three, and I hurried to return them to him.

  The salesman had been watching me. There was frank interest in his light brown eyes.

  “What do you think?” he asked.

  “They’re adequate, but we’re going to need bigger stones. The larger the better.”

  “Big?” he asked with an incredulous tone.

  “If you can’t supply them, perhaps we could negotiate with your supplier?” When he just stared at me, I added, “We’ll pay you a finder’s fee, of course.”

  “But, you’re students…”

  “Come on, Pazia, he’s wasting our time.” I pulled on her arm, but the man hurried to block our path.

  “Pazia Cloud Mist?” he asked as if afraid of the answer.

  She gave him a cold stare. “I told you my family owned the Vasko mine.”

  Color leaked from the man’s face.

  She studied him with an intense alertness. Kidnapping and ransoming Pazia would bring in more money than selling a few diamonds, provided they could capture her. Curare would work, but it was near impossible to find.

  “Can you help us or not? I have a riding lesson.” I gestured with impatience.

  “I’ll hook you up, but we get twenty percent of the purchase price as our fee.”

  “Ten percent,” I countered.

  “Eighteen.”

  “Twelve.”

  “Sixteen, or it’s not even worth our time.”

  “Fifteen.”

  He sighed. “Agreed. Let’s go then.” He started walking down the street. Away from the Keep.

  “Go where?” I asked.

  “To our supplier.”

  We followed him back the way we had come. I wondered if one of the black market dealers had tried to sell us fakes first and we didn’t give them enough time to bring out the real stones. I kept alert for any signs of Bloody Lip and Bex.

  We approached the alley where the black market dealers had their showrooms, but instead of leading us to one of them, the man knocked on the back door of another building.

  The building’s front was on Jewelers’ Circle.

  A person opened the door and the man explained our reason for being there. We were taken to a small room. Lanterns on a single table blazed. Black velvet covered the top.

  A woman entered. I caught a glimpse of the room beyond her before she shut the door, confirming my suspicions we were in one of the legitimate jewelry stores.

  The woman’s hair had been pulled into a complex knot behind her head. She scowled at the two salesmen. “Why did you bring them here?” she demanded.

  “They wanted to purchase big stones. But we still get our fifteen percent.”

  “If they can pay,” she said, giving us a pointed stare.

  “I don’t think the daughter of Vasko Cloud Mist will have any trouble with payment.” The man grinned with a greedy glint in his eyes. “We’ll leave you girls to work out the details.” He left with Egg right behind him.

  The woman perked up at hearing Pazia’s name, but she eyed my clothing, clearly not impressed with my display of wealth. “Let me guess. You’re two seniors from the Keep and you want to buy a few diamonds to help increase your magic.” She sighed. “I’ll sell you all you want, but let me warn you. The extra boost of power won’t help you to be assigned a cushy job when you graduate from the Keep.”

  I waited for Pazia to start, but again felt compelled to fill the lengthening silence. “We’re not interested in landing good assignments. We’re interested in obtaining diamonds of a specific size and quality.”