Weapon of Blood (19 page)

“Donning the guildmaster’s ring would
allow her to remove her master’s ring, but it would not force her to do so,”
Neera said.

“All right,” Patrice concluded after a
moment’s thought.  “Why don’t we go to the Grandmaster?  We explain what’s
happened, and have him deal with Mya.  If necessary, he could send an outside
team to kill her.  They wouldn’t be bound by the Twailin guildmaster’s ring.”

“Are you crazy?  Admit to the Grandmaster
that we’ve been duped by a stripling girl!  He’d likely have us all killed for
incompetence!”

Patrice blinked at the three incredulous
stares directed at her from her fellow masters.  Even Sereth agreed with Horice
on this one. 
Though if the Grandmaster did kill them all, I’d be in the
running for Master Blade.  And with the Blades behind me, Hensen would have to
—

“Enlisting the Grandmaster’s aid in this
situation would not be a safe course of action.”  Neera finished her wine and
put the glass firmly down, her tremor banished by either the potion or her own
resolve.  “We must take care of this ourselves.”

“So, we kill her.  But since she’s
wearing the ring—”

“She’s
not
wearing the ring!” 
Youtrin rattled the bottles and glasses with a slap of his huge hand to the
table top.  “The ring
prevents
attack from any Twailin guildmember.  An
archer can’t shoot, a swordsman can’t thrust, a poisoner can’t even put lethal
toxins into food or drink.  The ring won’t let them even try.  But our people
attacked
. 
They might have failed, but they
did
attack.  She doesn’t wear the
ring.”

“Youtrin.”  Horice put his hands flat on
the table and stared at the Master Enforcer.  “Did you even talk with the
survivors of that attack?”

“Yes, I did!  Mya killed two Blades assigned
to a flanking attack, and her bodyguard took out three of the others.  One
escaped.  So what?”

“The four on the frontal attack were
ordered to draw her bodyguard out so the other two could get a clear shot at
Mya.  They attacked him, not her.  None of them actually saw what happened with
Mya.  The only ones who attacked her were the two Blades who are now dead.”

“What are you saying?”  Suspicion put
sting into Youtrin’s question.

“I’m saying that
Mya
is not a
Blade
! 
Hells, she’s only been a Hunter for barely ten years!  There is no way she
could get the drop on two of my best people before they could even mark her.  Their
weapons were poisoned; if they’d so much as scratched her, she’d be dead.  No,
the only way she could have killed them is if they just stood there like lambs
waiting for the slaughter, which is exactly what would have happened if she wore
the ring.”

“So, I think we can all agree that Mya is
wearing the guildmaster’s ring.  And that it will be a serious hindrance to
killing her.”

Youtrin sagged back in his chair at
Patrice’s proclamation, nodding reluctantly.  “Even if she wasn’t wearing the
ring, we’d still have to get past her bodyguard, and he’s godsdamned
unstoppable!”

“That’s not entirely true.” Neera leaned
forward, and her years seemed to melt away with her eagerness.  “He
has
been bested before.  Horice, you should remember!”

Horice sat up suddenly, as if the memory
stung him.  “Yes!  Mya took some of my best Blades with her to capture him.  I
had forgotten.”

Neera smiled slyly.  “Yes, and it was
poison that subdued him, or rather, a very potent drug, was it not?”

Horice craned his neck around to look at
Sereth.  “You saw Mya bring the weapon to Saliez, didn’t you?”

Sereth’s blood ran cold as the masters all
turned toward him.  The last thing he wanted was to be the center of attention.  
He walked a razor’s edge between life and death every day, knowing that if his
reports to the Thieves Guild were discovered, he would find himself manacled to
Patrice’s interrogation slab before he could draw another breath.  But that
fear had become such an integral part of his life that he had no difficulty
answering in a calm, even tone. 

“Yes, Master, I saw them, but only in
passing.  The weapon was unconscious.  The rumor was that she wore a needle
ring, and tricked him into shaking her hand.”

“Yes, I heard the same rumor.”  Youtrin’s
thick brow knitted in thought.

“Wily bitch,” Horice muttered.

“Perhaps we should learn from her
cunning.”  Patrice’s plucked eyebrows arched with a thoughtful look.  “We’ve
tried approaching him head-on, and he’s met violence with violence.  We cannot
beat him that way.  A successful attack would have to be subtle.  If we could
lure him in somehow, get someone close who he didn’t suspect.”

“How?”  Horice looked at her dubiously. 
“He suspects everyone.  It’s his job.”

“But he acts outside his job on
occasion.”

“He does?”

“Yes.”  Patrice pursed her sensuous lips
and tapped them with a glossy fingernail.  “And he shows compassion.  I had
wondered about this earlier, but was unsure what it meant.  He saved one of my
people from a lethal fall the other day.”

“He
what
?”  Yotrin’s eyes widened
in blatant disbelief.

“I occasionally have people try to follow
him.  Without the cooperation of Hunters or Blades, I’ve been trying to train
my people in the skills of stealth and pursuit.  They’ve been getting rather
good, actually, and one young man shows amazing promise.  He was following
Mya’s weapon the other night, and miscalculated a leap.  The weapon intervened
and saved his life.  He even told him to be more careful.”

“Unbelievable!”  Horice leaned back in
his seat and shook his head.

“But his compassion might give us a means
to lure him in.”  Patrice looked to Neera with a raised eyebrow.

Neera’s rheumy eyes swept around the
table.  “If we work together, we might have a chance.”

“We may not be able to kill the snake,
but we can pull her fangs.”  Horice chuckled at his symbolism.  “Then we can
bring in an outsider to deal with Mya.”

“Agreed!”  Youtrin stood and reached for
the unopened bottle of wine.  Wrenching the cork free, he filled the four
glasses.  “I move that we cooperate to eliminate Mya’s bodyguard, and then
her.  We’ll take the ring from her dead body and elect a new leader.”

The masters all stood and raised their
glasses.

“Agreed,” they each said in turn, and the
crystal chimed as the glasses touched.

Sereth watched the four drink to their
plan while reviewing the meeting in his head and mentally preparing his
report. 
More fighting within the guild.
 
Hensen will appreciate this
. 
He felt an uncharacteristic surge of hope. 
Maybe it will even give me the
leverage to get out from under his thumb
.

Hensen admired the elegant drape of the
cloth swatch in his hand, ran his fingers over the lovely silver embroidery in
the black brocade, then frowned.  Black was just so…dark.  He let the swatch
fall to the table and picked up another; gold, this one, with highlights in an
elegant floral pattern. 
Too gaudy
.  It fell from his fingers atop the
others he’d rejected. 
Decorating is such a chore
.

A knock at the door interrupted his
scrutiny of the fabrics.

“Yes?”  He turned as his butler, a tall
and utterly boring fellow, peered into the room.  “What is it?  I’m busy.”

“My apologies, sir.”  His eyes widened
when he saw what Hensen was busy with, and he stammered, “A...uh…visitor, sir. 
A man.”

“At this hour?”  Hensen picked up a
swatch of red brocade and draped it over Kiesha’s bare shoulder. 
A nice
contrast with her pale skin
.  “Does this man have a name?”

“Sereth, sir.  He seemed eager to see
you.”

“Sereth?”  His eyes flicked up to Kiesha’s,
but she stood perfectly still, just as he’d ordered her to.  With a considering
look, Hensen said, “Show him up, Terrence, but make sure he’s unarmed.”

“Yes, sir.”  The butler left.

“Sir, I don’t think—”

“Hush!”  He glanced up to Kiesha’s lovely
blue eyes. 
Perhaps something in a blue
…  Perusing the vast array of
swatches, he found a nice blue pattern with gold accents.  “You should never
admit to not thinking, Kiesha.  One might think you vapid.”

“Yes, sir.”  She stared straight ahead as
he held the swatch against her skin. 

Kiesha wore only a sheer chemise, and the
rays of the morning sun shone through the fabric as clearly as they shone
through the window behind her.  Shifting to place the swatch against her other
shoulder, Hensen’s feet brushed the dull gray dress she had worn when she came
in with her morning report.  Wrinkling his nose—
That rag would offend anyone
with the least sense of taste!
—he kicked the dress out of the way.  Being
decorated like a piece of furniture had seemed punishment enough for her
offense of his senses, but it would be even better to have Sereth witness her
humiliation.

“Do you like the blue?”

“Yes, sir.”  Kiesha hadn’t even glanced
at it.

“Hmph.”  Hensen dropped the swatch back
with the others as another knock sounded at the door.  “Come in!”

“Mister Sereth, sir.”  The butler bowed
and ushered the assassin into the room.

Sereth took two steps and stopped, his
eyes fixed upon Kiesha’s backlit form.  Hensen watched the muscles in the
assassin’s jaw tense as he dropped his eyes and gazed intently at the floor.

Ahhh
, the thief considered,
perhaps a bit of discomfort will teach you a
little humility, too, my headstrong spy
.

“Come in, Sereth.  I’m doing a little
decorating, and I’d appreciate your opinion, as you’re such an observant
fellow.

Sereth approached, eyes still averted,
and spoke as soon as the door closed.  “Something important has come up.  The
new guildmaster’s ring doesn’t work.  The enchantment failed.”

“Hmm.  That must have been
embarrassing.”  Hensen picked up another swatch, this one a darker blue.  This
wasn’t the bit of news he’d expected.  “Why would a failed enchantment warrant
a visit from you at this hour?  Aren’t you going to be late for work?”

“It’s important because it means the
original ring was never destroyed.  Apparently only one guildmaster’s ring can
exist at any given time.  The masters think Mya wears it.”

“That
is
interesting.”  And it
explained why Mya had not requisitioned a new ring as she’d been instructed
to.  He held up the swatch in the light and admired the pattern embroidered
with gold thread. 
Yes, very nice
.  “But if Mya wears the ring, why
hasn’t she claimed the guildmaster position?”

“The others would never support her
claim, which means the Grandmaster would likely step in and have her removed. 
They think she put it on to protect herself from their assassins.”

“Which seems to be working.” 
And
makes our job that much easier
.  Hensen could almost feel the gold they’d
receive when the contract was fulfilled.  With a happy sigh, he draped the
cloth over Kiesha’s shoulder.  “Tell me, what do you think of this color?  Does
it accentuate her eyes well?”

Sereth’s eyes barely grazed Kiesha before
focusing on the pile of fabrics.  He pointed to a swatch.  “Not as well as the
lighter blue.  That one.”

“Hmm.”  Hensen picked up the swatch
Sereth had indicated.  “And what will the masters of your guild do about this
conundrum?”

“They plan to cooperate.  They’ve devised
a plan to kill Mya’s bodyguard.  If it works, they’ll move against her with an
outside contractor.”

Years of controlling his emotions allowed
Hensen to maintain an unruffled composure at this news. 
There goes our easy
money!
  With a surge of pique, he took out his frustration on the only two
others in the room.  He slipped first one, then the other strap of Kiesha’s chemise
off her shoulders.  The flimsy garment fell into a pale puddle at her feet, and
he lifted the swatch to her bare breasts as if comparing the hues.  To her
credit, she didn’t move a muscle.