Twilight of Kerberos - [Shadowmage 01-03] - The Shadowmage Trilogy (Shadowmage; Night's Haunting; Legacy's Price) (80 page)

“Yes, I believe we should talk,” she said, and then surprised him by taking his arm.

They quickly left the Five Markets, with Lucius forced to make small talk about the activities of his guild as Adrianna remained conspicuously silent. It was not until they left the bustle of the markets and Ring Street, and had crossed the main thoroughfare of Meridian Street that she cut him short and began to speak her mind.

“So, tell me, what was our dear baron wanting from you?”

He briefly considered avoiding the question or engaging in some misdirection, but quickly remembered just who it was he was speaking to.

“His pet wizard has let him down in some mission to the Territories,” Lucius said.

“Ha! I told you that wizard was not fit to sweep the ground behind you!”

“So it seems. I am to go instead.”

“You agreed to it?”

Lucius smiled, as much to himself as anything. “The baron... made a good point.”

“Concessions to your guild?”

“Among other things.”

Adrianna looked at him curiously for a moment, then snorted. “Oh, Lucius, don’t tell me he appealed to your professionalism as a thief.”

He glanced back at her in return, his expression serious.

“Please don’t think I didn’t know how he was trying to play me. I am not stupid. Well,
not
that stupid.”

“So... What is the task?”

They turned into Rogue’s Way, the quiet street lined with street houses, one of which served as the headquarters for the thieves’ guild.

“Apparently his wizard has discovered some ancient artefact in the Territories. Did the research, found an old outpost and has dug it up. It seems the man has failed only in actually getting his hands on the object, something to do with old magics.”

“And you think you have the skills to succeed where he failed?”

“You know, Adrianna, I think I do. I may not have his book-learning and I may not have your power, but I think this is one instance where my instincts as a thief may trump you both.”

Adrianna smiled at that. “You might well be right, Lucius. Still...’

He closed his eyes.
Here it comes
, he thought.

“I’ll come with you. My own guild business is slow right now, and I can more or less trust the others to get on with their appointed tasks.”

“I thought you did not trust anyone. Why would you want to come anyway? The Anclas Territories are about the most Godforsaken place I know. Everyone there is poor and desperate, and conditions are hard.”

“Well, I am not going as a tourist. But as you know, I have a healthy interest in all things magical where the Old Races are concerned. Like any skilled practitioner. This could be a fascinating trip.”

“I have promised the artefact to the baron.”

“It is not the artefact that I am after, Lucius. It is the location. An ancient outpost, recently uncovered to reveal the secrets of the Old Races, how they thought, lived, and studied? Revealing their art, medicines and philosophies?” She laughed. “By all that is sacred, man, who
wouldn’t
want to go?”

Her words made sense. Indeed, she was saying nothing he had not thought himself during his meeting with the baron, but a quiet alarm was sounding in his head. Lucius knew that where magic was concerned Adrianna could not be trusted.

Then again, he did not get the feeling she was offering him a choice. What would happen if he did try to refuse?

“I was intending to leave tomorrow morning,” he finally said.

“Excellent. Get two horses with supplies. I have some errands myself to attend to,” she said, before looking back down the street from where they had come. “Until tomorrow then, Lucius.”

Lucius watched her walk away, a sick feeling of foreboding begin to cloud his initial excitement. With a heart somewhat heavier than it had been just a short while ago, he headed back towards the guildhouse.

T
HE MOOD IN
the council chamber of the thieves’ guild was one of muted excitement. Lucius could well understand it; the boss was going to be going away for a month or so. Now all the senior thieves present at this council had a chance to run their operations the way they saw fit, without interference from him.

Lucius raised a palm and slapped it on the long table to get their attention. Wendric, the lieutenant of the guild and Lucius’ second-in-command, raised a palm to emphasise the call to order.

“Just so you understand,” he said. “There will be no new franchises created while I am away. You get a good idea, keep it to yourself until I get back. You see a not-to-be-missed opportunity, let it slip past – I promise you, there will be plenty of franchises and wealth for everyone in the near future, and I don’t want anyone upsetting the cart with their mad schemes. Is that clear?”

Around the table, the senior thieves nodded and muttered their assent, a somewhat motley collection of men and women who had grown up within the guild and demonstrated the aptitude and trustworthiness to run their own operations. It was a simple system where money trickled up from the ranks, through the senior thieves to the guild itself, where it often became a torrent of gold. It worked, and so long as the money flowed, everyone was happy. Those who chose to buck the system and cream off profits for themselves tended not to stay too long within the guild. The worst offenders could expect a visit from the guild’s own assassins.

“Savis, don’t look to expand the prostitution rings just yet,” Lucius continued. “I’ll have some good news for you there soon but, for now, just make sure your girls stay safe and stay clean.”

Savis, a light-haired woman starting to push past middle-age, nodded. As the latest leader of the prostitution franchise, she would not want to make any waves.

“Pickpockets, stick to your restricted hours and locations within the Five Markets. Protection, carry on your good work – we have had some complaints from the craftsmen on Meridian Street about a gang hitting their shops and stealing valuables. Probably just some independents, in which case you know what to do, but make sure someone is always nearby. You protect their businesses, and you will find the craftsmen only too glad to pay you their weekly dues. They’ll consider it a bargain.” Again, mutters and nods.

“The assassins will continue to work their existing contracts, but don’t accept new jobs until I return.” Lucius received shrugs from the few assassins who had attended the meeting. An enforced period of relaxation was nothing to those men and women as their work, though highly paid, tended to be irregular, even in Turnitia.

“Finally, I want all senior thieves, whether they run their own franchises or not, to stay in touch with the beggars,” Lucius said, indicating Grennar seated next to him. “We pay them good money to be our eyes and ears in the city, so I expect you to use them.”

Grennar nodded and cleared her throat. “If I may... some of your younger pickpockets have started to stray around Ring Street, probably thinking everyone just keeps an eye on the Five Markets themselves,” she said. “That is interfering with our business. I want it to stop.”

The current ringleader of pickpockets, an old thief called Callum, shifted in his seat as he leaned across the table in an attempt to intimidate Grennar.

“These are kids you are talking about,” he said with a growl. “We can’t keep track of them all, not all day. Anyway, there is enough money to go round in Ring Street, don’t think you beggars have a sole right to it.”

Grennar leaned across the table to confront him, utterly unfazed by his demeanour. Lucius could not help be impressed once again by her nerve and he suppressed a smile.

“Actually, Mr Callum,” she said, speaking slowly as if he were the child. “We do have the sole right, as agreed by myself and your guildmaster. Ring Street is ours, but for the few provisions that I know you are already aware of. As for tracking children, if we can manage to watch them, then I am sure any competent thief can do the same. If need be, I can provide you with names...’

There were a few sniggers from the other senior thieves and Callum, seeing himself humiliated by a girl, and one outside of his guild at that, bristled.

“Now look here, girl,” he said, beginning to stand.

“Callum!” Wendric said, not raising his voice but putting enough iron in the word to demand attention. When he was sure he had the attention of Callum and the other thieves, he turned and nodded to Lucius, who continued.

“You will be civil to our sister from the Beggars’ Guild, Callum. As I said earlier, we pay them a great deal of money for their services, and I consider them vital to our operations in this city. You will rein your kids in or, so help me, I will find someone who can. Is that clear?”

For a second, Callum glared at Grennar who smiled back at him with all the sweet innocence of a young teenager. Then he threw up his hands in surrender and settled back in his seat.

“Do all of you understand?” Wendric said to underscore his guildmaster’s words, glancing at each senior thief in turn. Again, mutters and nods of agreement.

“I swear,” Lucius said, “if any of you don’t know the value of the beggars, you are not fit to be senior thieves. Not in this guild. Remember, Vos is a huge Empire and even they paid the penalty for dismissing the beggars.”

A hand went up further down the table. Lucius nodded his acknowledgement to Brynn, a young man barely into his twenties who had been allowed within the ranks of senior thieves due to the creation of a gambling franchise throughout the docks. Lucius had already marked him as someone with potential but with a tendency to leap into situations without thinking too hard about them first.

“What if I see a juicy cargo coming in from the sea? We can’t just let it go through, right?”

Lucius sighed and rubbed his temples with a hand, exchanging a look with Wendric.

“What did the guildmaster just say?” Wendric asked the young thief. “No new jobs that aren’t already on schedule. No one is going rogue while he is away. Is that understood?”

Brynn nodded, but Lucius could see the reluctance.

“Look at it this way,” Lucius said. “Imagine you are a big, fat, greedy merchant. You have a big shipment coming into the city, but you are worried about scurrilous thieves.”

That image drew a snigger from Grennar, though she had the sense to stop when she noticed Callum glaring at her again.

“You stock up on guards and informants among the dock workers... but nothing happens. Your cargo goes through, unmolested. So does the next one. Perhaps the thieves are no longer working the docks, eh? Or perhaps they are cowed at how powerful you are and won’t dare attack your shipments. So, you decide to maximise your profits and bring a really big cargo in, one brimming with gold.”

“And that is when we strike,” said Brynn.

“Indeed. My departure, as brief as it will be, is an opportunity we should not miss out on. Run our regular operations, but let any merchant, craftsman, soldier, or citizen live without us for a short while. They could do with the break, and when we come back we will find much richer pickings.”

“Clever,” said Grennar, nodding her appreciation.

“Thank you,” Lucius said. “Now, can I count on you all to watch one another to ensure no one does anything... ambitious?”

“Oh, you can count on us,” Savis said, rubbing her hand through Brynn’s hair. She ignored his plaintive cry to leave him alone.

“Any other business to raise?” Lucius asked, but no one stirred. “Good. Then I bid you a brief farewell, and entrust the guild to your command while I am gone. For goodness sake, please let there be a guild still here when I return.”

L
UCIUS OPENED THE
door briskly, his mind full of plans and questions in equal measure as he strode into the small storage room.

“Grennar, I was wondering – oh!”

He stopped short suddenly. Grennar had her back to him as she folded her dark shift. She was completely naked.

“Shut the door, Lucius, I would be happier if I don’t have the entire thieves’ guild gawking at me while I change.”

“Umm, sorry,” he manage to stammer. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Don’t be simple, man, I am sure you have seen this all before. And we have things to discuss. But do close the door.”

Lucius complied with her instruction, but was acutely aware he was confronted by a total lack of modesty. He also could not help but notice that, for a beggar, she was in extremely good shape, with pale skin completely free of blemishes – so far as he could tell at this distance.

She looked over her shoulder at him. “Don’t you think I am just a little too young for you anyway?”

He coughed, and dropped his eyes to the floor, wondering just why
he
was the one feeling uncomfortable.

“I was hoping your people knew something about Adrianna that I might not – like why she is so keen to come with me to the Territories.”

Grennar pursed her lips as she considered her answer.

“Understand this, Lucius,” she said. “Turnitia is doing well right now. It may not be free, it may still have lords and masters from the outside world, but we are doing alright. Business is up for everyone, and no one walks the city scared they might be picked up by Vos soldiers on some trumped-up charge.”

“This is true.”

“Moreover, this is a very good time for us – not just the beggars, but your thieves and, I daresay, Adrianna’s Shadowmages too. It would take an act of monumental stupidity to rock this boat and ruin things for, well, everyone.”

“What are you saying, Grennar?”

She sighed. “I am saying, Lucius, that I cannot and will not take sides. Not between you and Adrianna. Placing myself alongside that woman would lose me ties to a guild that has always been traditionally close to us. Placing myself alongside you would just be suicide. No one crosses Adrianna.”

“I see.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I am not unsympathetic to the position I think you will find yourself in, in the weeks and months to come. And while I do not want to upset the cart our Triumvirate is perched upon, I also have no interest in seeing the Shadowmages become all powerful.”