The City of Towers: The Dreaming Dark - Book I (14 page)

When his senses returned, he was lying on a hard stone floor. He opened his eyes, expecting to see the dim light of a prison cell. Instead he was surprised by bright illumination and a soft carpet beneath his head. His skull was still throbbing from where he’d been sapped, but no permanent damage seemed to have been done. Something seemed wrong, and then he realized—his manacles had been removed.

“Well, Daine. Who’d have thought we’d meet like this? Olladra’s done you no favors, I see.”

The voice was familiar, but in his dazed state Daine had trouble placing it. Rising to his knees, he struggled to take in his surroundings. By the granite floor and walls, he judged he was still inside the Daggerwatch garrison—perhaps an officer’s chamber? A tapestry covered the wall in front of him, depicting the famous battle between the sentinel marshals of House Deneith and the Bandit King of the Whistling Wood. But the voice had come from his right. Daine shook the cobwebs from his head and turned to face the voice.

A man sat behind a beautiful desk of Aerenal densewood. The seal of Sharn dominated the wall behind the desk. Daine’s vision was still slightly blurred, but he could see that the man was wearing the uniform of a captain. He squinted and the
stranger’s face came into focus. “Grazen?” he said, shocked. “Grazen d’Deneith?”

The captain laughed and stood up. “For a moment I thought the guards had done you permanent damage. Mourner soldiers aren’t well liked in Daggerwatch.” He walked around the desk and offered Daine a hand, pulling him to his feet. “But it’s Grazen ir’Tala now.”

Daine shook his head, trying to process this information. “What?”

“What can I say?” Grazen ran a hand through his golden-brown hair and smiled. “Love conquers all. I was a sentinel marshal back when we last saw each other, yes? I had an extended tour of duty in Sharn, pursuing a group of Lhazaar assassins. During my stay, I met a lovely young woman who just happened to be the sole heir of a wealthy estate, and after some thought, I decided to leave the house and settle in Sharn. It may sound like madness, I know, but I’m not the first to leave his house voluntarily.”

Grazen pointed Daine toward a chair, then returned to his desk. Daine sat down, still absorbing the information. “But …”

“What am I doing here? Like I said, I had served a long tour of duty here. When he heard I was staying, Lord Commander Iyan was quite happy to offer me a commission. So here I am today. I have a lovely wife, a vast fortune, two beautiful children—albeit unmarked—and a position that offers me considerable authority and respect. I’m glad to see that you’ve managed to do as well for yourself.”

Daine’s head had cleared, but he chose not to respond to the barb.

“But you were always one for lost causes, weren’t you, Daine? And look what it got you. According to Sergeant Holas, you didn’t even have a sword when they apprehended you. I wonder what your grandfather would say about that?”

Daine clenched his fists but held his ground. “Let’s get this over with, Grazen. I killed your man. I admit it. But it was an accident, and my companions had nothing to do with it.”

“Ah, yes. Your little motley crew. You always knew how to
pick your companions. Speaking of which, have you seen Alina recently?”

Daine was caught off guard. “What?”

“Oh, she’s here in Sharn. I just thought you might want to reminisce about old times. In any case, you’re mistaken.” Grazen smirked. “You haven’t killed anyone.”

He reached into a belt pouch and produced a platinum disk, which he tossed to Daine. The symbol of a feather was engraved on the surface, along with an assortment of mystical glyphs.

“Feather token. Only one use, but it’s a lifesaver if you find yourself plummeting to your death. If you live on the upper levels and you can afford one, you’re a fool not to—and Sergeant Lorrak is no fool. I suppose that I could have sent Lorrak to bring you in, but I hate to spoil a surprise. I’d stay out of Lorrak’s way, if I were you. He may be alive, but he’s certainly one to hold a grudge. And I understand you kept him from having a little fun.”

“Yeah, fun,” Daine said, thinking of the goblin girl. “Great crew you’ve got here. So the murder charge—you just made that up?”

“Would you have come if I’d just asked?”

“I don’t know.”

“At least you’re honest. Something that’s all too rare these days.” He studied Daine carefully. “What would you say if I offered you a job, Daine? It wouldn’t be easy, given that you were an officer for the enemy, but Cyre’s gone now and it’s not coming back. And I’ve got connections here. Feel like working for a winner for a change?”

“What’s that got to do with you?”

Grazen laughed. “I’ve missed you, Daine. Well, I’ll give you a few days to think about it. But a few words of advice: stay away from Alina. Stay out of trouble. And keep an eye out for Sergeant Lorrak. In light of our old friendship, I won’t ask what you were doing in Malleon’s Gate. But friendship or not, this is where my heart lies now. You haven’t crossed any lines. Yet. But if you do, I’ll be right there to bring you down.”

“Thanks for the advice, Grazen. It’s been great catching
up like this. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my
friends.”

“Of course.” He ran a finger over an alarm-stone on his desk, and two guards entered the room. “Minal, Dal, escort our guest back to his companions and see that his possessions are restored to him.” He looked back at Daine. “Think about my offer, Daine. And my advice. It might be the only chance you have left to do the right thing.”

Daine said nothing as the guards led him away.

Jode, Pierce, and Lei were waiting for him in the atrium.

“Daine!” Lei called. “What’s going on?”

“It was all a misunderstanding.”

“You mean someone
did
catch him?” Jode said. A servant brought in their weapons and began to distribute them.

“Something like that, yeah.” The servant reached him. She handed Daine his dagger and then gave him a longsword with a scabbard and harness of black leather. “This isn’t mine,” Daine said.

“Compliments of Captain Grazen,” she replied. “He said you’d lost your own blade.” It was a beautiful weapon, even in the scabbard.

Lei glanced at the weapon and frowned. “Daine, why …?”

He followed her gaze and saw the eye-in-the-sun sigil of House Deneith engraved on the pommel, glittering in the light of the cold fire.

“It belonged to an old friend,” he said. “Apparently he doesn’t have a use for it any more.” He considered handing it back to the servant, but a sword was a sword. Scowling, he buckled on the harness. “Now let’s get out of here.”

W
earing a Cyran uniform cloak to a Brelish garrison wasn’t one of Daine’s better ideas—not that it was his plan. Even though they weren’t in chains, Daine’s uniform was drawing unwanted attention, and they moved swiftly through the streets towards the closest lift.

“I think it might be worthwhile to spend a few sovereigns on new clothes, Daine,” Jode said.

Daine scowled. He knew Jode was right, but he hated the thought of setting aside the uniform. The war was over, and Cyre was no more, but as long as he wore the uniform, the nation still existed in his heart.

They walked most of the way in silence, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Pierce approached Daine and spoke quietly. “This situation troubles me, Captain.”

“What is it?”

“You say that we were brought here because this watch captain knew who you were, that he wished to give you a warning.”

And to gloat, Daine thought, but he kept it to himself. “Yes?”

“How did he know your identity? According to your story, the injured guard only saw you for a few minutes, and you never spoke your name. Yet this watch captain committed a significant force to apprehend you for what was apparently a nonexistent crime.” It was just like Pierce to cut to the point
of an issue. Many of the social aspects of human behavior were still an enigma to the warforged soldier. But he had fought for Cyre for almost thirty years, and his sense of tactics was at least as sharp as Daine’s.

“You’re right,” Daine said, “and it seems as if they knew where to find us.”

“Could you have been betrayed by our employer? This … Alina?”

Would she do something like that? Daine let his thoughts drift back, reflecting on his two years in her service. “I honestly don’t know. I don’t see what she would stand to gain.”

“If you aren’t certain this woman can be trusted, why are we working for her?”

“It’s not that simple, Pierce. We’re on our own now. Alina’s offering a great deal of gold, and we need money if we’re going to survive. I know it’s not something you need to think about, but most of us need to eat and drink, and after years of that gruel I’d like to be able to eat something with some flavor. We need shelter and security. And I want to get
my
sword back!” His voice rose with the last sentence. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

“Is that so important?” Pierce asked. “The sword you have been given is of similar quality and design. It appears to be almost identical. Why do you need to reclaim your first sword?”

“It’s not about function. That sword was a gift from my grandfather. It was the blade he carried into battle, and it’s all I have left of him. It’s the memory, not the weapon.”

If Pierce had been human, he might have shrugged. As it was, he paused for a moment, then continued speaking. “If not Alina, what about Lei’s Uncle Jura? It was his request that led us to Malleon’s Gate. Could it have been a trap of some sort?”

“He would have known we were there, but I still don’t see the motive. And the guard captain, Grazen, there’s nothing I can see that would connect him to Jura. Perhaps it is just a coincidence.”

“Perhaps.” Pierce fell silent. His mithral-steel faceplate was impossible to read, as impassive as any statue or helmet.

They reached the lift a few minutes later. “Good riddance,” the lift guard muttered when he saw Daine.

“I’m staying here,” Jode announced as they got ready to board. “We still need to investigate Rasial, and we’re already here.”

“What—?” Daine began to protest, but Jode cut him off.

“You need to get out of here, now. As long as you’re dressed like that you’re a brawl waiting to happen, and Pierce is almost as bad.” He counted out a few sovereigns. “Here, get new cloaks for both of you. Something nondescript. Brelish. Understood?”

Daine wasn’t used to taking orders from the halfling, but he knew Jode was right.

“I’ll see what I can find here,” Jode said. “Why don’t you go down to this Hareth’s Folly and see what you can find out there?”

“What about the temple?” Lei interjected. “I beat down a minotaur and now we’re going to forget about it?”

“I doubt it’s going anywhere,” Jode said. “We’ll work our way down the tower and get back to it once we’re back at the bottom. So, we meet back at the Manticore at, say, the seventh bell?”

Lei glanced at Daine. After a moment, he nodded. “Very well. But watch yourself.”

“Of course,” Jode said. “And Pierce? Make sure to trail back a little. When people are trying to have a nonchalant discussion … well, you attract too much attention.”

“As you wish,” Pierce said.

Jode produced a few more coins and tossed them to Lei. “Here. If you’re going to be nosing around the taverns, you’ll need to buy a drink or two.”

“Now that’s an idea I can get behind,” muttered Daine.