Avondale (21 page)

She gathered up the goods she had stolen. She needed to fence them before the city returned to life as usual. She didn’t want to be seen lugging around stolen property and she knew she needed to find a new place to stay. Normally, she preferred to trade the goods she acquired for other goods or services. She got a much better return in trade than in coin, but with all that was happening in the city, she felt that coin would be her best option at the moment.

In her mind, she debated the possibility of going with Tiberius. The thought of never seeing him again was too painful, and yet the idea of leaving the city was preposterous. No one had ever left Avondale and returned. Once a person disappeared into the mists, they were never seen or heard from again. She had no desire to throw her life away, and yet part of her kept imagining what it might be like facing the unknown side by side with Tiberius and his friends. She had always been a loner, never trusting anyone. She didn’t know if she could change, if she could really learn to trust Tiberius, much less love him.

The streets were abandoned, but the evidence of the previous night’s revelry was in plain sight. The streets were filled with trash, broken bottles, and the smell of stale wine mixed with vomit. She hurried into what looked like a common hovel in a section of the city that appeared more rundown than the rest. She knew the look was carefully cultivated and as she knocked on the rickety looking door, she was met by a large man with a dangerous looking knife in his hand.

“Lexi,” he said in a gruff voice. “What are you doing here?”

He was busy looking out into the street for any sign of danger, but the street was empty. He opened the door slightly and Lexi slipped through.

“I’ve got goods to sell you, Rubin” she said.

“That’s what I like about you,” Rubin said, barring the door and leading her through a filthy corridor back into a larger room beyond. “You’re a smart girl, always with an eye out for opportunity. If you came and worked for me, we could make a lot of money.”

“Thanks,” Lexi said without much enthusiasm. “You know I prefer doing things my own way.”

“Yes, yes,” the big man said, opening the door to a room that was as a posh as any in the Earl’s palace. “But being alone is dangerous, especially for a girl like you. I heard that two men were killed a week ago by a young woman. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“No,” Lexi lied.

The room was immaculately clean, and there were valuable objects against every wall. Paintings, tapestries, statues, weapons, even jewelry was piled almost haphazardly around the room. A huge desk with a scale occupied the middle of the room. There were overstuffed chairs around the desk and thick rugs covering the floor. The big man dropped into a well-used chair behind the desk.

“What do you have for me?” he asked.

“Just a few items for your collection,” she said, setting a tow sack on the desk.

Rubin took his time going over each object. Lexi leaned against one of the chairs. She knew there were other people nearby, even if she couldn’t see them. She preferred to stay on her feet, just in case she needed to make a run for it. People in her line of work had to be prepared for the fact that a fence might find it easier to just kill her rather than pay her for what she brought. Normally, she only brought in one or two objects at a time, usually to trade for something else she needed. This time she was wanting coin, and even though she wouldn’t get half of what the stolen items were worth, she was still expecting a hefty bit of coin.

“You’ve got a good eye Lexi,” he said. “All your items are choice. You looking to sell or trade?”

“Sell, this time,” Lexi said.

“I’ll give you twenty silver marks for the lot.”

“Twenty gold,” Lexi replied.

“Now you’re trying to rob me,” he sputtered. “I don’t even have twenty gold crowns. What do you think I am, a fat merchant?”

“You have the coin,” Lexi said. “You just don’t want to part with it.”

“I’ll give you ten gold crowns.”

“Ten gold, ten silver,” Lexi countered.

“You keep bringing your goods to me,” Rubin told her as he dropped the coins into a small pouch. “That’s ten gold,
five
silver, and that’s only because I like you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Lexi said, holding up a hand.

“Don’t be a stranger,” he said as he tossed the pouch to her.

“Thanks,” Lexi said, before hurrying back out the door.

Lifting the beam that the big man had used to secure the front door to the hovel made Lexi nervous. She was exposed and something told her danger was close by. She wrestled the heavy beam out of the rack that held the door closed. Then she bolted out the door, glancing over her shoulder, but not seeing anyone behind her.

Lexi felt nervous, she wasn’t used to carrying so much coin. In fact, as she thought about it, she had more money in the coin pouch that she had tucked into one of the hidden inner pockets of her tunic than she had ever had at one time before. She didn’t like that the money made her a target. She preferred to stay below the radar, and she hoped that the usual brigands that loitered around the fence’s hovel would be with the crowds near the Earl’s palace and not following her. A pouch with ten gold crowns was more than enough for most outlaws to kill for.

Lexi hurried around the wide city. She didn’t know when Tiberius would be banished, or what it would be like when it happened, but she had a few things to take care of before that happened. Her first stop was the last place she’d seen Tiberius. She knew he would need what was in the pack he’d hidden a couple days earlier. It was actually fortuitous that Ti had been planning to leave. Everything he would need would be hidden behind the stack of old crates just outside the gate that led down to the city’s produce fields.

She was surprised to find two packs instead of one, but after a quick examination of the contents, she hoisted them both and began her journey to the south side of the city. It was a long walk and the packs were heavy, but a couple hours later, she found herself near the city’s southern gate. The city still seemed deserted, and she hoped her luck would hold a little longer. She needed horses and tack. She made her way down to a stable and made a quick pass, looking to see if anyone was around. The smell of the horses was strong near the stable, a mixture of sweat, oats, and manure. She ducked inside and found half a dozen horses in the various stalls. She decided only to take four, but she needed saddles too.

After exploring the stable, she finally came to a tack room. She found saddles, but they were heavy. It took all of her strength to heft the leather saddles. She carried the first one to the nearest stall and set it on the ground. Then she went back for a blanket. She had never saddled a horse, but she had seen it done a few times. She found horse blankets and carried one to the nearest horse. She opened the stall and stepped inside. The horse eyed her and puffed air out its mouth, causing its lips to flap.

She realized that she was out of her depth, but she was determined to get the horse saddled.

“Easy,” she said. “Easy there horse. I’m not here to hurt you.”

The horse ducked its head twice, as if it understood what she had said. She raised the blanket up and realized that she wasn’t tall enough to saddle the horse. She could toss the blanket across the horse’s back, but not the heavy saddle.

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” she said as she slipped out of the stall.

The horse watched her with a bored expression. She needed something to stand on if she was going to get the saddle on the horse. She went back into the tack room and was rewarded with a set of wooden steps. The steps were even heavier than the saddle, and the best she could do was drag the wooden steps out into the main room of the stable. She decided she would be better off moving the horses out of their stalls and to the steps, rather than trying to move the heavy wooden box.

She went back into the tack room and found a bridle. The first horse was waiting for her.

“Okay,” she told the horse. “I’m going to put this on you now, let’s just stay calm. Everything is going to be alright.”

The horse, seeing the bridle, lowered its head and Lexi slipped the bridle over its ears and adjusted the bit into the horse’s mouth. The beast nodded as if it approved. Then Lexi swung the stall door open wide and led the horse out. It was a docile animal and waited while she stepped up the three-step stool and settled the saddle onto its back. Then she fastened the straps that hung below the animal’s belly and led the horse outside where she tied it to a post. There was still no sign of anyone in the city.

She went back in and repeated the process. She could tell that the horses she was stealing weren’t thoroughbreds. Most likely they were plow horses, but they were used to being around humans and didn’t seem to mind that she really didn’t know what she was doing. She saddled three more horses and slung Tiberius’ packs over the saddle horn of the last horse. Then she used the long reins to tie the horses together and led them up toward the big gate on the highest level of the city. The horses balked a little at the stairs, but after some encouragement, they followed Lexi easily enough.

She was almost to the gate when a man stepped out in front of Lexi. He had a scar on his face that ran from his cheek to the mangled flesh of a ruined ear, and then up into his greasy hair. He smiled at her, revealing black teeth.

“You’re a strange one,” the man said. “What are you doing with those horses?”

“Let me pass,” Lexi said. “I’m not looking for trouble.

“Hand over the money Rubin gave you, and maybe we’ll let you live.”

Lexi sighed. The poor wretch wasn’t even good at stealing.

“Not likely,” she said confidently.

The man didn’t have weapon that Lexi could see, but she guessed he had something hidden in his filthy clothes.

“Why’d you wait so long to make your move?” she asked.

“Just to see what you were up to,” the man said as he moved closer. “I ain’t the type that horns in on another man’s action.”

“But you’ll take a woman’s hard earned money, is that how it works?”

“Lookie here, I’m not an unreasonable man. I know Rubin gave you gold and silver. I tell you what. You come with me, give me the gold, and I’ll protect you.”

Lexi laughed.

“What’s so funny?” the man said, his brows knitting together so that his face was pinched with anger.

“You don’t look like you can take care of yourself, much less look after anyone else.”

“I’ve killed plenty,” the man snarled. “Don’t think I won’t do the same to you, little girl.”

“I think the only thing you’ve ever killed was a good time,” Lexi said.

The man was reaching into his shirt for a weapon when a horse behind Lexi neighed and then kicked. The man in front of Lexi had an accomplice who had been sneaking up behind her, but he had come too close to the horses and one of them had kicked him in the shoulder. The man went sprawling into the street, screaming in pain. The horses began to sidle away from the screaming figure on the ground. Lexi turned to them and spoke softly.

When she turned around the first man was gone. She didn’t know if he had simply abandoned the plan when his accomplice got hurt, or if he was waiting to ambush her. She moved on, continuing to try and soothe the horses and keep an eye out for the incompetent rake at the same time.

She reached the gate unmolested and waited for the soldiers who were stuck guarding the wooden structure to appear. After a few moments they did. There were three of them, all with spears and wearing armor.

“What’s this?” asked one of the guards.

“I’m leaving the city,” the girl said. “Could you open the gate for me?”

“The gates don’t open for anyone,” said the guard.

“Not the big gate,” Lexi said. “Just that small door there.”

She pointed at the side door that was built into the larger wooden gate. No armed force had ever attacked Avondale, and no traders had ever approached the city. The walls protected them from the huge creatures that sometimes climbed the mountain, but as far as Lexi could remember, the big wooden doors of the gates had not been opened in her lifetime. The north gate by the Earl’s palace, and the southern gate which was where Lexi had taken the horses, both had smaller doors to allow people in and out. The walls sometimes needed maintenance and occasionally people were banished, a fate considered worse than death in Avondale.

“I can’t do that without my captain’s orders?” the soldier informed her.

“Could we ask your captain?”

“He’s not here,” said the soldier.

“He’s with everyone else watching the banishments,” another of the three soldiers said.

“So if you let me out, no one will know,” Lexi said.

“Can’t do it,” the first guard said again. “Why would you want to leave the city anyway?”

“It’s obvious isn’t it,” said the other soldier. “She’ll be taking those horses to Commander Rafe and the Earl’s son.”

“They don’t deserve horses,” said the first soldier.

“Look, I’ve got some gold here,” Lexi said, holding out three of the gold crowns the fence Rubin had paid her for the stolen goods. “Can’t you just let me slip out? No one needs to know.”

The soldiers looked at each other. The first one shrugged and the second one nodded. Then they turned back to Lexi.

“Three gold crows each!” said the first soldier.

“Don’t be greedy,” said the second.

“It’s alright,” Lexi said.

She pulled out the coins and gave three to the first two men. The third soldier just shook his head.

“No,” he said. “I don’t want your money. What the Earl is doing to Commander Rafe isn’t right. You tell him Nory said so.”

“Okay,” Lexi said. “I will.”

“Open the gate, Nory,” said the first soldier.

“Wait, you’ve got those horses saddled wrong,” said the soldier named Nory.

He showed her what each of the straps were and how to cinch them up properly. He adjusted the stirrups on the dark horse that Lexi had first saddled and was using to lead the others so that she could ride if she wanted to. The other two soldiers watched quietly nearby. Once Nory and Lexi had the horses saddled correctly, he opened the small door and held it for her.