The Grim Company (43 page)

‘My legs? You mean to say they’re not there?’ He looked down in mock astonishment. ‘Why, I do believe they’ve walked away of their own accord. Perhaps out of frustration at having to listen to the same question
every single day
.’

The boy looked confused. Eremul couldn’t help but feel a shred of pity for him. ‘I’m Eremul,’ he said. ‘Is that who you’re looking for?’

The young waif scratched his head and repeated his name a few times before nodding. ‘That’s it!
Eremul
. I was told to give you this.’ He reached down inside a filthy pocket and withdrew a rolled note. ‘The lady who asked me to deliver it gave me six coppers.’

He took the note. ‘Was this lady strangely pale and distinctly unmemorable?’

The boy nodded. ‘She scared me. But Bran delivered the note last time and he returned with a
whole
silver! He bought us sugar cakes and so much cider we were both sick everywhere. It was real funny.’ There was a hint of sadness in the urchin’s voice. Eremul felt something cold worm its way inside his chest.

‘How is Bran?’

‘He’s dead, mister. The coughing sickness killed him just last week.’

Eremul sat in silence for a time. Then he reached inside his robes and withdrew two silver sceptres. ‘One of these coins is for you,’ he said. ‘The other is to bury your friend. You know the whereabouts of Bran’s body?’

‘Yes. I hid him under some leaves in an alley near the Warrens.’

‘Wait here. I’ll be back in a moment.’ He wheeled himself inside the depository. A quick incantation later and the magically concealed words on the note were floating in the air before him. He read them once, gasped softly, and then read them again just to be sure.

He burned the note and fetched his quill and ink to pen his own brief note to the Collectors, instructing them to bring a young boy’s body to the cemetery near Crook Street for burial.

Survivors

 

 

 

Sasha wanted to scream.

It had been a week since they’d fled Farrowgate and taken refuge aboard
The Caress
. She had spent almost every waking hour of the last seven days alternating between seasickness and an insatiable, terrifying craving for more of that blessed silvery powder to shove up her nose. She would have killed anyone on board the small caravel for even a single line of the stuff. In fact, she would have killed at least one of them just for being so unaware of how close he was to pushing her over the edge.

Right on cue, Cole swaggered up to her. He had a big grin on his face. ‘We’ve just received a message from the White Lady,’ he said. ‘This is it, Sash. No more waiting. The army is on its way.’

Sasha sighed with relief. First they had needed to await a response from Thelassa after Brianna had sent a message indicating Magebane had been recovered. Then another message had been sent to a contact in Dorminia and they had needed to wait for his response. Finally, they had required confirmation that the army was on the move. At last, it seemed, things were in place – and not before time. She felt as though she was going crazy.

‘Friends and allies,’ said Brianna loudly, drawing the attention of everyone aboard the vessel. ‘The time has come to push ahead with our plans.’

The two Highlanders rose from where they had been lounging against the central mast. Jerek shot Sasha an angry look. She scowled back. The man hated her, she knew, and the feeling was mutual. The dark-skinned Shamaathan joined them from where he had been talking with the equally strange
pale-skinned
woman at the helm. The two of them made an extreme contrast.

Still, neither unsettled her quite as much as the scabrous, leering face of Cole’s new friend. She had caught the convict looking at her more than once. The hunger in his glittering stare had reminded her of things long buried in the past. The girl in her wanted to run away from him.

She wouldn’t run. Men like Three-Finger and Jerek the Wolf thrived on signs of weakness. It had come as no surprise that the two seemed to get on well. What was more disappointing was that Brodar Kayne also shared in the apparent camaraderie the three had struck up. Despite herself, she was growing fond of the battered old warrior and his kindly blue eyes.

Brianna squinted at the assembled group. The noon sun was hot and growing hotter by the day. Spring had finally given way to summer. ‘We will wait until night falls,’ said the White Lady’s adviser. ‘Then we shall sail west along Deadman’s Channel under the cover of darkness. If necessary, I will blanket the ship in magic to disguise our passing. Davarus Cole will disembark near Dorminia. The rest of us will continue on and join up with our forces at the specified point.’

Brodar Kayne scratched at his jaw. He had finally got around to shaving, and he looked a good deal better for it. ‘Who’s in charge of this army, if you don’t mind me asking?’

Brianna frowned. She was a plain-looking woman, tall and thin and dressed in unremarkable blue robes. Still, Sasha had seen what she could do when she had chased off the Watchmen on the other side of the channel. No one had died in the spectacular magical assault – and she suspected that had been Brianna’s intent. It had been a display of restraint that was a complete contrast to the brutal Tyrant of Dorminia. As the days passed, Sasha had found herself starting to admire the woman.

‘Each of the three mercenary companies is led by its own general,’ replied Brianna, in response to the old barbarian’s question. ‘However, General Zahn has overall command of the army. He is a peerless warrior and a fine tactician.’

The dark-skinned assassin spoke. ‘General Zahn can be volatile,’ he warned in his soft, sibilant voice. Apparently he had somehow escaped the noose back in his homeland. The
near-death
experience had clearly left an indelible mark on the man.

Some scars never heal,
she thought.
We can cover them up and tell ourselves we’re fine, but the wounds are there for the world to see.
She needed some more moon dust. She needed it so badly she could feel her palms sweating.

‘Sumnian mercenary generals achieve their positions entirely through prowess in battle,’ the assassin was saying now. ‘Any man who is part of a company is free to challenge for the leadership position. All he has to do is defeat the current general in a fight to the death. General Zahn has not been challenged in a
very
long time…’ He let the last sentence trail off ominously.

‘He likes to fight with no armour,’ Cole added. ‘And he’s huge. Bigger than anyone I’ve ever seen.’

Three-Finger scowled. ‘He threatened to fuck me up the arse.’

The assassin rubbed at his neck. ‘The general is a man of strange humour. But he is a formidable leader. Do as he says and do not question him.’

‘It is my hope that Salazar’s death forestalls the fighting before either side takes many losses,’ said Brianna. ‘I am Dorminian myself. I do not wish to see my people killed in a war to remove a tyrant they hold no love for.’

‘Fear not, Lady Brianna,’ Cole said, unnecessarily loudly given everyone else was only a few feet away. ‘I made a vow long ago.’ He paused for a couple of seconds to look them each in eye. ‘And when Davarus Cole says he will do something, you can consider it done. Salazar will die.’ With a flourish, he unsheathed Magebane from his belt and brandished it in the air. It caught the sun and glinted prettily, much to his evident satisfaction.

Sasha groaned inwardly. Jerek wasn’t quite so circumspect. ‘I’m sick of seeing that fucking thing,’ he growled. ‘Put it away. Better yet, use it to shave your chin. You look like a cunt.’

Much as she disliked the bastard, Sasha had to agree with Jerek. ‘You’re going to be surrounded by a great many men at the militia camp,’ she said. ‘Some of them might recognize you. You should get rid of the beard. Cut your hair, too. I’ll help.’

Cole looked as if he was about to protest until Brianna spoke up. ‘Yes, a new appearance. A more rugged look. As befits a man of action,’ she added with a small smile.

That seemed to do the trick. Cole looked thoughtful and then nodded.

‘You must avoid suspicion until you are inside the city,’ Brianna continued. ‘Our contact will take care of the rest.’

Sasha had wanted to send word to Garrett and the other Shards, but Brianna was insistent that their messenger spend as little time in Dorminia as possible. The White Lady had shown her hand when her agents tried to assassinate Salazar the last time, and the tyrant would be on the alert for more of the strange pale women. If the messenger was somehow apprehended, their plot to kill the Magelord would fall apart.

Something occurred to her. ‘Where’s Isaac?’ she asked. The manservant had been remarkably quiet ever since
The Caress
had liberated them from the chasing soldiers. For some reason Cole had taken an instant dislike to him.

‘Over here,’ came the manservant’s muffled voice. He was hunkered down next to a pile of crates, scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment. ‘I was just composing a little something. An ode to heroes, you might say.’

Sasha frowned. ‘Is that a lute?’

Isaac glanced at the small wooden instrument beside him. ‘Why, yes it is. I can hardly believe it survived our adventures.’

Brianna looked impressed. ‘The lute is one of my mistress’s favourites. Do you play it well?’

‘Passably well,’ the manservant replied modestly. ‘I still have much to learn.’

Brodar Kayne shook his head and gave them all a rueful grin. ‘Knowing young Isaac, I reckon that means he’s skilled enough to make stone weep. Is there anything you can’t do, lad?’

The manservant shrugged, a slightly wistful expression on his face. ‘I strive to learn a little about everything. Still, there are a great many things of which I am ignorant.’

‘Such is life,’ the old barbarian replied sagely. ‘You’re a handy man to travel alongside, Isaac. Saved our skins more than once, I reckon.’

Jerek nodded. ‘Aye,’ he said. ‘You did all right.’ From a sociopath like him, Sasha thought, that was about the highest praise anyone could expect.

Cole seemed to be growing increasingly agitated. ‘Yes, well, we had our own adventures, didn’t we, Three-Finger?’

The ugly convict shrugged. ‘Sure. If you count being imprisoned in one shithole after another and almost drowning as adventures.’

‘What about the great escape? Don’t you remember how I rescued Soeman?’

‘Yeah, but he died anyway. That flying Augmentor put a bolt in his scrawny head.’

‘And I made him pay for it,’ Cole responded grimly.

‘It was me that did for him.’

Cole’s face darkened. ‘And how many Watchmen did
you
kill? Let’s see.’ He raised a hand and began counting on his fingers. ‘One. Two. Is that it? Funny, I can’t seem to recall any more. There must have been at least a dozen in the boat I blasted from the water—’

‘I’m sure your heroics are worthy of many a tale,’ Brianna cut in politely. ‘But your greatest deed of all lies before you. We sail at sunset.’

‘Maybe we can spend a few hours ashore,’ Isaac suggested. ‘This region was once home to the Fade. I believe some ruins still exist nearby. I would like to study them.’

‘I could do with a break from the ship,’ Sasha added hopefully. They had docked only once in the last week. Brianna had wanted them ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

The wizard frowned. ‘I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Captain, we’ll anchor for the afternoon.’ The pale lady at the wheel raised a hand in acknowledgment and then began to guide the craft towards the shore.

Brodar Kayne flexed his legs. ‘I could do with a stretch,’ he said. ‘Put some life back into these limbs.’ He turned to Isaac. ‘I’ve a mind to hear that song you’re working on, once it’s finished.’

The manservant smiled and nodded. Cole scowled nearby. Sasha shared his annoyance, though for entirely different reasons. She wiped her sweaty palms on her trousers and rubbed at her nose. The blackness was there, clawing at the edge of her consciousness, but she wouldn’t let it in.

She caught Three-Finger eyeing her and scowled back at him. He licked his lips and turned away, and she couldn’t quite stop the shudder that passed through her.

The land was unsettled and surprisingly barren this far north of Thelassa. While still technically within the domain of the City of Towers, the poor quality of the soil and the proximity of the ancient Fade ruins nearby stopped anyone from settling the area.

The sun was a red circle in the sky, bathing them in a fiery glow that was unseasonably hot even for early summer. Sasha finished cutting off the last of Cole’s hair and watched the dark brown locks tumble to the grass. He was sitting on a barrel, staring anxiously ahead as if expecting her to slit his scalp open at any moment. She had been sorely tempted, but self-control had won out. Just.

‘Done,’ she said, blowing the last few strands of hair from the blade in her hand. Cole jumped up from the barrel and turned to her, an anxious expression on his face. ‘You look better,’ she said, and surprisingly she meant it.

Cole ran a hand over his shorn scalp. He drew Magebane from his belt and held it up before him, admiring his reflection in the flawless steel. ‘Good job, Sash,’ he said with a grin. ‘I wonder if Garrett and the others will recognize me.’