Wintercraft (7 page)
Edgar stood up quickly against the shop wall, hiding himself in one of the curtains and Kalen raised his head, sniffing the air like a dog. It was hard to tell exactly where he was looking. He was just standing there, waiting, his fingers playing upon the handle of a dagger at his side.
‘Filthy rats,’ Kalen grumbled to himself, scraping his tongue under his nose to taste the dried clots of his own blood. ‘I’ll find ya. Don’t you worry. Kalen’s comin’.’
Something moved at the end of the alley and Kalen stood up straight and alert, his dagger raised ready to strike.
‘No!’ he snarled. ‘Not you. Get back!’
‘Lower your blade, Kalen, before I drive it through your throat.’ Kate heard the order before she could see who had given it.
Silas strode into sight, his grey eyes fixed upon the old man. Edgar tensed behind the curtain and Kalen shuffled from foot to foot, looking back over his shoulder, planning his escape.
‘You won’t be able to run from me this time.’ Silas walked right up to Kalen until he was close enough for him to stab him if he tried. Kate waited for the older man to make his move, but he just stood there, hands quivering, looking down at the ground.
Silas’s dark shadow swallowed Kalen as he stood over him like a predator. Kalen swiped his dagger in front of him, trying to force him away, but the weapon might as well have been made of wood for all the attention Silas gave it. He kept walking, making Kalen retreat instead. Then his hand shot out, clutching the old man’s throat, raising him off the ground and slamming him against the alley wall.
‘Ssssilasss!’ Kalen’s voice came out as a hiss.
‘Where is she?’
Kalen grinned beneath a moustache of clotting blood. ‘Why would I tell you? It’s ’cos of you I’m stuck in this rotten place. Argh!’
‘
Where?
’
Where?
’
‘She’s a strong one,’ said Kalen. ‘Oh yes. Maybe I’ll just claim ’er for myself, eh?’
Silas held Kalen firmly with one hand and drew a long sword from his belt with the other. The blade was so blue it was almost black, shining like a forged night sky. Kalen squirmed, trying to slash out again with his own blade, but he did not have the strength to land a good strike.
‘What exactly is your plan?’ said Silas. ‘Do you plan to kill me, Kalen? Many have tried, one of them even succeeded. But as you can see, it was not as permanent a predicament as some would have liked. You told me the girl would be in the bookshop. Tell me where she really is.’
Silas loosened his grip enough for Kalen to wheeze in a thin breath. ‘You’ll … kill me anyway,’ he said, chuckling horribly with each word.
Silas rested his blade upon Kalen’s shoulder. ‘And with good reason,’ he said. ‘Who was it who stood by while the High Council allowed one of the Skilled into their midst? Who was it who knew what that woman planned to do and yet said nothing -
nothing
- about it to me? If you had warned me about her, I never would have allowed her to get close. So do not
dare
to blame me for what has happened in your life when you had a hand in destroying mine.’
nothing
- about it to me? If you had warned me about her, I never would have allowed her to get close. So do not
dare
to blame me for what has happened in your life when you had a hand in destroying mine.’
‘What can I say? The gold was good.’ Kalen grinned, showing off rows of loose cracked teeth. ‘Course, that’s all spent and gone now. Heh-heh. Worth it, though. Ah, yes. It’s not my fault ya walked right into ’er trap.’
Silas’s eyes flashed with anger. ‘You are the same traitor you have always been,’ he said. ‘The council stopped looking for you years ago because they thought you were dead. I should have told them where to find you, but instead you went free. You owe me far more than your worthless life. So, for the last time, what have you done with the girl?’
Kalen’s face twisted into a look as smug as any man could get with a blade so close to his neck. ‘Losin’ yer touch eh, friend?’ he said. ‘Time was you’d have had that little banshee locked up and halfway to Fume by now, an’ I’d’ve been left dead and cold. Food for the rats, just for slowin’ you down. Better get a move on. The council won’t thank ya for keepin’ ’em waitin’.’
‘This one’s not for the council,’ said Silas, sheathing his sword, but keeping a firm grip on Kalen’s throat.
‘Then I’d finish ’er off quick. Dangerous, she is. Better off dead than breathin’. Wouldn’t take much, I reckon.’
‘This blood,’ said Silas, noticing the stains across Kalen’s robes. ‘Is it hers?’
‘Maybe. Maybe not. My nose took a good bashin’ along the way. She’s got company with ’er, see. Da’ru’s boy. He did this to me.’
‘Da’ru’s boy?’ Silas looked surprised. ‘Edgar Rill is here? In this town?’
‘Ha! Didn’t know that, did ya?’
Kate looked back at the curtain where Edgar was wrapped up with only his shabby boots poking out into the room. If he could hear the two men’s conversation he wasn’t showing any sign of it. Maybe Kalen
had
seen him in town somewhere, but how could a collector know his name?
had
seen him in town somewhere, but how could a collector know his name?
‘I’ll be sure to thank him for what he’s done to you when I find him,’ said Silas. ‘It’s just a shame he did not finish what he started.’
Kalen’s face hardened. ‘Hey, now. You and me. We’re friends, Silas. Soldiers. Let’s not forget that.’
‘I owe you nothing,’ said Silas. ‘You know what is at stake here. That girl could be the key to everything and you have let her go. Do you at least have the book?’
‘Have it? I’ve been ’ere all this time lookin’ for the cursed thing. I’ve been listenin’ from the cellars, sneakin’ into houses at night. If anyone was hidin’ it, I would know. It’s gone, Silas. Gone to who knows where.’
Silas tightened his grip and the old man whimpered. ‘If you had not lost it in the first place all of this would already be over,’ he said. ‘I would be free of this useless life and you might still have full use of your pathetic little mind.’
‘I tried!’ squeaked Kalen. ‘It’s not here, I tell ya.’
‘Then you have not tried hard enough,’ said Silas. ‘How do I know you have not just been hiding here, doing nothing, cowering away like the filth that you are?’
‘You don’t.’ Kalen grinned dangerously. ‘But at least
I’m
not some errand boy, trapped under a woman’s heel!’
I’m
not some errand boy, trapped under a woman’s heel!’
Kalen’s laugh turned into a hacking cough and Silas glared at him in fury. ‘The Skilled are our only link to
Wintercraft
,’ he said. ‘That girl is the only one they have not yet hidden from us and you are wasting my time. You should have stayed in your tunnels,
friend
, where rodents like you belong.’
Wintercraft
,’ he said. ‘That girl is the only one they have not yet hidden from us and you are wasting my time. You should have stayed in your tunnels,
friend
, where rodents like you belong.’
Kalen’s eyes flashed to the broken window, spotting Kate’s face before she could duck out of sight. Silas saw him look and turned towards the shop, giving Kalen the chance he needed. He swiped his dagger up towards Silas’s throat, but Silas’s hand moved lightning fast, grabbing the blade so hard that his palm dripped blood. ‘Too slow,’ he said, turning the blade inwards towards the old man’s chest. ‘Haven’t you learned anything, Kalen? The dead cannot die. You, on the other hand …’
‘Wait!’ Kalen cried, but it was too late. In one powerful move Silas thrust the blade up into his robes, driving the metal deep into his heart.
Kate squeaked with shock and threw a hand over her mouth as she looked away.
‘One death for another,’ said Silas, letting Kalen bleed freely until his lifeless body slumped down on to the cobbles.
Kate looked out to see Silas crouching down and pressing his hand to Kalen’s forehead. The air rippled strangely around him, like heat rising from a roof on a wet summer’s day, and everything seemed to slow down. Kate did not know what she was seeing. Silas was impossibly still, his eyes closed, concentrating on something she could not see. Kate had forgotten to breathe and only when the air settled back to normal again did the full horror of witnessing a man’s death hit her. Her knees felt weak and she stumbled back.
‘Kate!’ whispered Edgar, abandoning his hiding place to help her.
That was all Silas needed.
He saw Edgar move, drew his sword and strode towards the broken window. Edgar did not see him approach. His boots made no sound upon the cobbles and no shadow crept across the shop floor. Only Kate saw him standing there just two steps from Edgar’s back, his sword raised ready to strike.
‘Move!’ she yelled, pushing Edgar hard into the curtains as the blade pierced down. The sword missed, the point dug into the wooden floor and the metal rang out.
Edgar stood frozen against the wall. Silas was inside the shop, standing right in front of Kate. Both of his hands were on the sword, but he made no attempt to free it from the floor. He just stood there, looking at her.
‘Do you know who I am?’ he asked.
Kate nodded firmly, trying not to give away her fear.
‘Then you should know that no one escapes me once I have set my mind upon their capture. No bargains are granted, no freedoms or mercy are offered or given. You have something I want and I believe you can help me find something I need.’
Kate didn’t know what he was talking about and she didn’t care. ‘Where is my uncle?’ she asked, sounding far braver than she actually felt. ‘He’s not one of the Skilled. He’s not what you’re looking for.’
‘I know that.’ Silas tugged his sword from the floor and raised it a little, enough to make Kate flinch. ‘I knew it as soon as I saw his face. The eyes do not lie, Kate.’
‘How do you know my name?’
‘I have been ordered to find you,’ said Silas. ‘And I believe you may be of use to me. But first …’ He turned to Edgar, whose face was a picture of terror. ‘First I must put down the boy.’
‘No!’ Kate shouted. The blue blade whipped up to Edgar’s throat and stopped only a hair’s breadth from his trembling skin.
‘No?’ said Silas. ‘Why not?’
Kate glanced at the dead body out in the barrow alley. ‘Because I … I’ll go with you,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to hurt him. He’s not in your way. He won’t stop you from taking me. Will you, Edgar?’
Edgar shrugged his shoulders as much as the blade would allow. ‘I was going to give it a bloody good try, actually.’
‘I’m not going anywhere if you hurt him,’ said Kate. ‘And I certainly won’t help you.’
‘You will do as I say, or you will die right here next to your useless friend.’
Kate thought fast, not knowing what to do, but Edgar had a plan.
With Silas distracted he took his chance, heaving on the green curtain with all his strength, making the rusted curtain pole break from the wall and spilling the wooden rings from its end. He had hoped to catch Silas beneath the fabric, but it was too heavy and the curtain flopped straight down on top of his own head instead. Edgar scrambled blindly across the floor, dragging the curtain along with Silas right behind him. Kate grabbed the weighing scales from the floor and threw them at Silas’s knees, cracking the metal hard into his kneecap. The collector did not stop. He did not even limp, he just strode on, calmly chasing Edgar down until he finally managed to squirm out of the curtain and bolted straight out of the shop door.
Silas stopped at the threshold and Kate watched Edgar skid upon the bloodstained cobbles as he ran past Kalen’s dead body, fleeing the herb shop without even looking back. Her heart sank and fear gathered like a lump in her throat as she realised he was not coming back.
The door at the back of the shop was blocked by a rack of fallen shelves and a killer now stood between her and her only chance of escape. She was alone, unarmed, and there was no way out.
Silas sheathed his sword and turned on her. ‘The weak always run,’ he said. ‘There is no honour in killing a coward. Do not disappoint me by trying to do the same.’
‘You didn’t give him any choice,’ said Kate, trying to convince herself that it was true, that somehow Edgar had to leave her behind. ‘What do you want?’
‘You are a rare girl, Miss Winters. A diamond in the festering filth that makes up the rest of this worthless town. I have questions for you and you will answer them. Answer them to my satisfaction and your life will be made easy. Defy me and you will find me far less friendly than I have been thus far.’
‘You just
killed
a man,’ said Kate. ‘You burned my home, took my family and you just tried to kill my friend.’
killed
a man,’ said Kate. ‘You burned my home, took my family and you just tried to kill my friend.’
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