Crown of Ash (Blood Skies, Book 4) (13 page)

“Grey Clan…
well…
maybe…
” Kane said.

A hatch opened
that led below deck
; it was
so carefully concealed Kane hadn’t even noticed it
before
it swung outwards
.  A
nother
tall grey-skinned humanoid emerged wearing a dark and tattered cape that rippled in the wind. 
Its eyes lock
ed
on Kane.

“Nice cape, Emperor Ming,” Kane spat. 

The creature growled something that might have been an insult.  It lifted Kane
up by the arm
as another crewman
undid
his chains.  Kane considered resisting, but
he knew
that w
ould be
dangerous until he knew where Ronan was. 

I’ve managed to screw
things
up so far
, he thought. 
I n
eed to make sure I do
n’t get any
one
killed
.

Stumbling and dizzy, Kane tried his best not to
trip and fall
as they led him
below deck
.

FIVE

HUNTED

Blacksand was a city in transition
,
a place h
obbled together by refugees,
outcasts, deserters and nomads.  Its architecture was a mishmash of scrap and converted caravan vessels, broken-down airships and jury-rigged freighters.  Plates of steel and stone had been fused together by mercenary warlocks to provide the semblance of outer walls.  Loose agreements between var
ious gangs, merchant bands and T
he Shard
helped maintain a semblance of order
, but since the
city
catered to so many travelers and bizarre tribes like the Mektesh and the Dorai’mara’kaar, as well as sea brigan
ds from the distant Nezek’duul I
slands across the Ebonsand Sea, Blacksand treaded the fine line between being cosmopolitan and just
being
completely disorganized. 

Danica
had a good view
of
both
the
pier and
the
dark
waters
through the dingy window
. 
I
ron tugboats
churned through the
polluted bay
,
and massi
ve crates of
boxed
goods
swung
in
webbed
cargo nets
.  The
dipping sun
shone
rust red
on
the glassy waves.  T
he spiked city walls loomed to
the north, and corbelled towers statio
ned all along the
docks
rotated
in place as
their motorguns
scanned
the waters for signs
of trouble.

She and Klos Vago sat at a corner table in
The Blood Rose
,
which was
a cross between
a
brothel,
a
t
avern and a
gambling den
.  Purple smoke made her eyes sting, and t
he air was heady with fish oil and musk, overcooked po
tatoes and watered down alcohol.

The Blood Rose
was essentially a dual-level bar with small private tables
in
the upper
seating area and dozens of crude wooden tables on the lower level.  Everything was
crafted
from
red and black wood, and the place was brightly illuminated
by
open windows and grill-covered skylights. 
P
ortions of
greasy seafood
were
served in trays lined with brown paper. 
The atmosphere was muggy and tasted of overcooked fish and tobacco.

Danica
saw merchants and drifters, mercenaries and killers, laborers
,
ex-slaves and runaways.  It was a place filled with the dregs of the borderlands, people who didn’t fit in
– or
else
who
didn’t
want
to fit in
–
with
the Southern Claw’s
laws and
plans. 
Looking at the displaced clientele reminded her
of
how
far she and the team still had to travel
.

It feels like it’s been years since we’ve been home
,
she thought
.  She wasn’t sure how she felt about the fact that s
he thought of the team’s mansion in Thornn as “home”.

She looked ac
ross the table at Vago.  He wasn’
t a remotely attractive human being
in any sense of the word
. 
His
scarred face was held together
with
jagged stitches, and his mismatched eyes sparkled with thaumaturgic augmentations.
  He
was tall and broad-shouldered
,
and
so
incredibly thick in
his
chest and arms
that the lower half of his body looked puny by comparison
.  His
thin
black hair
was pasted back against
his scalp, and
he had a preposterously
pugnacious jaw
.  He wore dark leather armor
, tall black boots laced up with metal straps,
and a .44 magnum in a shoulder-holster.

“You know that I hate you, right?” Danica asked.

“
Yes. 
I know,” he answered.  He always smiled, and that
just
made him more hideous.  His teeth were
rotted
from alcohol and tobacco, and he ground them when he spoke.  His voice was thick, like he
had a throat full of glass.  “And that’s too bad, Danica.
  I find
you
intoxicating.”  He took a drink and puffed
on
a massive cigar that smelled like a burning boat.

“Awesome,” she said, and she took a drink
of
her
black bomber
.  Danica also dressed
in
dark
leather
armor
.  S
he wore a
pair of
katar
s
under
her long armored coat and a Colt Python in a shoulder holster.  It
took
a lot
of willpower on her part not to use
either of them
on Vago, especially since his unnaturally beady eyes didn’t seem capable of pulling away from her
chest
. 

The
fish
at
The Blood Rose
was supposedly
the
freshest
in the city
,
and they offered their watered down drinks at a
cheaper rate than almost anywhere else in Blacksand
. 

Danica wouldn’t touch the fish.  Being in Vago’s presence had effectively quelled any notion of hunger. 

“Have I mentioned
that
I’m a lesbian?” she said bluntly.

“Once or twice.
”
H
e managed to both growl and smile
at once
.  “Did it occur to you that might be why I find you so interesting?”

Danica thought about that.  She lit a cigarillo
– the
decision
she’d made
a couple of years back to quit
smoking
had been almost entirely forgotten in light of recent events
– and
took another drink.  The bomber tasted meaty in her throat, like she’d taken a fresh drink
of blood
from a kill.

Weird.  I haven’t thought about that in a long time. 
The last time she’d been hunting had been with Cradden, back when they were both kids in what used to be North Carolina.  It was one of the few things she and
her brother
had been able to do and
actually
enjoy one another’s company, even if it had only been because they had to watch each other’s backs with Dad around.

“If you mean to imply
that
you intend
for
to hook me up with one of your bimbette
s, you can friggin’ forget it.”

“Danica,” Vago smiled.  His accent wa
s heavy, something European. 
“Do you know why I have taken you and your friends under my wing?”

“‘Under your wing?’” Danica laughed.  “Are you kidding me?  You
have us doing free work for you.
”

“In exchange for my
help
.”

“We were supposed to be gone already,” she said.  “If you would’ve helped us out quickly like you promised, my friends and I wouldn’t be hip-deep in shit right now.” 

“You should count yourself lucky,” Vago said slowly.  “Your Revenger friends want you. 
Badly
.  And I’m the only thing standing in their way.” 

He was right, but she’d never admit it.  From what little information she’d been able to get out of him,
T
he Revengers had come to the area near Blacksand for some other purpose, but something or some
one
had tipped them off about Danica’s presence.  Now that they knew she was there they
stuck
to the area like glue. 
Danica
had never heard of the wardens operating this far south before, but she supposed they’d been bound to run out of easy places to find inmates sooner or later, and the borderlands were a perfect place for harvesting new workers for the mines.

“
After my team gets back, we’re leaving
,” Black
said
.  She took another drink, knowing what came next.

“Yes,” he smiled.  “
Of course
.”
  He didn’t even bother trying to sound sincere.

Danica
didn’t think he actually wanted
to sleep with her
, or
for her to sleep
with
anyone
else. 
He didn’t really want
anything
except for her to understand that he could do whatever he wanted, and that she and her friends had no room to negotiate. 

I’ve met plenty of men like you. 
It
’
s all about the power play. 

Using Vago’s equipment, Danica had confirmed the large number of Killraven and Black Dog units patrolling Blacksand’s perimeter. 
Vago’s witches
had
cast incredibly powerful nullifying enchantments that kept
Danica from
being detected, but
the magic had been specifically crafted only to function while she was in Vago’s proximity
.  Until
Black and the others
finished their period of indentured
service
, they were stuck
.  T
here was no way the
y
could
take
on so many Revengers
. 

“I should be with my team,” she said as she pushed her food away.  She’d never been a fan of fish, especially
fish
that smelled like it had been overcooked and soaked in an extra lair of grease. 

“
Danica
,” Vago smiled.  “
D
id it ever occur to you
why
they might be looking for you?”

“I know
exactly
why they’re looking for me,” she
said
. 

The Revenger’s perpetual
quest
for
money
and power
pushed them to do horrible things.  It was alarming how quickly
even new recruits
lost
their
grip
on
humanity,
and
how easy it
became
for them to
disregard
the lives
they
took
. 
She only had to close
her eyes
for a moment
to clearly see
Black Scar in her
memory
:
halls of reeking steel and
b
urning cages, deep pits filled with slick red mud, a choking haze of diamond dust,
and
the screams of the dying
in
the steam-blasted halls. 
The wardens had
dug through black rock to a world below, a
place
filled with raw minerals
and gems
that kept them comfortable and isolated, rich beyond measure but segregated from the rest of humankind. 

She
wanted s
o badly to leave that place
behind
, but
she knew
a part of her would always be trapped there.

Contrary to what
she said
,
Danica wasn’t entirely sure why
T
he Revengers
were
trying to find her. 
She had trouble believing
Rake would
go through
so much
trouble
over a deserter
.