Sworn in Steel (66 page)

Me, I just stood in the entry and smiled.

“Hello, Longreach,” I said.

“Alley Walker,” he said. “I’d heard you were back. Didn’t think you were that dumb.”

“Please,” I said, stepping into the room. “It’s just Drothe. I don’t go in for the street names.”

The bodyguard looked at his boss, who in turn looked at me. Longreach then looked toward the doorway.

“They’re fine,” I said.

“Who?”

“The guards you’re wondering about.”

My fellow Gray Prince gave his man a nod. The man moved toward me.

“You hire that Djanese Mouth again, is that it?” said Longreach, inching around his desk. “Have him glimmer my people down?” He shook his head. “Not a good idea,
Alley . . . Drothe. From what I hear, you haven’t been back in Ildrecca long enough to take a shit, let alone collect your people. Bad time to risk a war”

“I’ve been back three weeks,” I said. “Even on a straight diet of cheese and wheat, I don’t take that long.”

Longreach smiled. “Funny. But you’re not in a position to be making jokes.”

“Neither are you.” I nodded, and a bit of the shadows stepped forward and laid a blade across the Gray Prince’s throat.

“Breathe too heavily,” said Aribah in Djanese, “and I’ll take the wind from your lungs.”

“She says she thinks there’s a draft in here,” I said.

The bodyguard spun around, then turned back to me.

“Tricky one, isn’t it?” I said. “Who to stab first? Let’s see if this helps you make up your mind.”

The bodyguard’s eyes went wide as I moved to the side and Brass and Garnet and Degan stepped through the doorway. When his sword dropped to the floor a moment later, I wasn’t sure if
it was due to choice or shock.

I strolled into the room. “Good choice.”

“So they were right,” said Longreach, his voice tight as he tried to watch me and talk without actually moving. “Crook Eye was just the first move: you’re trying to cut
us all down.” He spit. “Fucking street trash.”

“And proud of it.” I stopped before the bodyguard and looked up at him. He quickly sidled out of the way. I sat down in his chair. “But that’s not why I’m
here.”

“Oh? Well, if it’s not to start a war, then you better kill me, because that’s what you’ve got the moment you walk out of here.”

“It’s to get your attention,” I said. I scooted the chair forward until it was close enough for my feet to reach the desk, then sat back and set my heels on his papers.
“As you may know, I did a bit of traveling of late. See the world, expand your horizons. All that crap. But aside from a few interesting new friends I picked up on the way . . .” I
paused to nod to Aribah, who sniffed in turn. “I did manage to learn a few things.”

“Who thought something like you could learn anything?”

“Imagine my surprise as well. Try to keep a djinn from burning out your insides, and you end up becoming a better person. Who knew? But the point is, I found out something very interesting
about people and survival and respect. Turns out if you have people who are similar to one another, how they treat each other is how others eventually treat them as well. Take cordwainers: If you
have three cordwainers living on the same street and they all spend half their time making shoes and the other half berating their fellows, not only do you end up with fewer shoes, but you have
fewer people willing to buy the shoes because all they hear is how terrible each man’s work is. By attempting to build themselves up at the expense of the other—”

“Is this a fucking
joke
?” gasped Longreach. “You’re talking about trade guilds, you idiot. It’s what they use to keep the fucking cordwainers and cobblers
and whatever else you want to name from fucking over the whole industry. They’ve been around for centuries—it’s not a fucking revelation.”

“Ah, good: You’ve heard of them. That saves us time.”

“What?”

“What I’m thinking of,” I said, leaning back slightly in the chair, “is something like that for us. The Gray Princes. Only not so involved, and not so . . . structured.
More of a council.” I looked past him to the
neyajin
. “A tribal council, if you will.”

Her eyes smiled back.

“What?” said Longreach again. “You want to . . . what?”

I sighed and looked back at Degan. He shrugged, as if to say, “I told you so.”

And here we’d thought Longreach would be the easiest one to persuade.

I turned back around.

“All right,” I said, “let’s try this: What do you know about Djanese assassin schools . . . ?”

‘An unalloyed pleasure: a fast-moving, funny, twisting tale in an evocative setting with great characters . . . Read this book. No really,
read this
book
’

Brent Weeks

‘A beguiling, lively urban fantasy’

SFX

‘A dark, gritty fantasy for fans of the Thieves’ World novels and Glen Cook’s Garrett P.I. series’

Library Journal

‘This was a pleasure to read – full of intrigue, colourful and realistic characters, and a fast-paced, action-packed plot . . . Doug Hulick is definitely an author
to watch. Highly recommended’

Civilian Reader

‘A story that entertains from beginning to end’

Fantasy Book Critic

‘
Among Thieves
delivers exactly what one wants from a story along these low lines: good times and grand larceny by one of the year’s most promising new
voices’

Speculative Scotsman

‘A pacey, well thought-out romp . . . a fun, solid read full of desperate duels and cunning twists’

Total Sci-Fi

‘Douglas Hulick’s debut is a mouth-watering beginning to an all new thief-fantasy . . . This unrelenting, action-charged novel goes far in building anticipation for
its sequels while maintaining a high level of quality as a standalone. The characters will charm you, captivate you and amuse you’

LECBookReviews.com

‘An exciting fantasy debut . . . and a story that entertains from beginning to end’

Fantasy Book Critic

‘
Among Thieves
is my fantasy debut of the year . . . It’s a brutal, brilliantly told, gripping and very exciting read’

Walker of Worlds

‘If you’re a fan of mysterious, exciting, and action-packed epic fantasy, you should definitely pick it up . . . I promise you, it’s a hell of a read that you
won’t put down until you finish it’

Ranting Dragon

‘
Among Thieves
is more
Locke Lamora
than
Night Angel.
It is a cunning and well-scripted action-adventure with a surprisingly complex character
at its heart. I expected guilty pleasure and found genuine entertainment’

Pornokitsch

‘I could not turn the pages fast enough as the story was riveting, a bit twisty turvy, and highly innovative.
Among Thieves
starts out slicing and dicing, and
finishes with a bang. Mr Hulick is an author to keep an eye out for’

Fresh Fiction

Douglas Hulick has been reading fantasy literature for almost as long as he can remember. He suspects this penchant for far-away lands of yore led, in part, to his acquiring a
BA and MA in Medieval History, and likewise to his subsequent study and teaching of European Historical Martial Arts. It most certainly resulted in his authoring several short stories, as well as,
now, two novels. Douglas reads and writes and plays with a rapier in Minnesota, where he is often surprisingly tolerated by his wife (who also fences) and two sons (who do not). All of them
read.

Sworn in Steel
is his second novel, following on from
Among Thieves
.

By Douglas Hulick

Among Thieves

Sworn in Steel

First, a hearty thanks to my writer’s group, the inestimable Wyrdsmiths: Eleanor Arnason, Naomi Kritzer, Kelly McCullough, Lyda Morehouse, Sean M. Murphy, and Adam
Stemple. I don’t say it nearly enough, but I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you guys. Thanks for your sharp eyes and wise words.

Likewise, a deep bow of gratitude to my beta readers, Justin Landon and Haddayr Copley-Woods. If the devil is in the details, I would be hard-pressed to ask for better devils than you.

I’d also like to thank all those who were so forthcoming with their help and expertise on topics myriad and sundry, whether or not I ended up using the information you provided
(writing’s like that some days): Jean Hetzel, Elizabeth Kalmbach, Kellie Hultgren, Ernesto Maldonado, Patrick Bailey, Terry “That Guy” Tindill, and quite a host of others,
I’m sure I’ve failed to remember. Thank you, one and all.

Also, thanks to my two boys, Evan and Cameron, for putting up with me during this book. It wasn’t always easy, I know, but you guys were great sports.

And lastly, a profound thank-you to everyone who took the time to drop me a note, stop by the Web site, shoot me a tweet, or generally checked on the progess of things. Three years is a long
time to wait between novels, and to a person, every one of you has been gracious, understanding, and encouraging. I couldn’t have asked for better readers if I tried. You guys are the
best.

First published in the US 2014 by New American Library,
A division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc

This electronic edition published 2014 by Tor
an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-0-230-76494-1

Copyright © Douglas Hulick 2014

The right of Douglas Hulick to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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