The steam rose from Yensa’s bowl in aromatic waves that made Kiri regret her choice. She leaned forward to take in the scent and the sight of it while Yensa stirred the hefty chunks of vegetables through the thick white broth. Kiri’s simple slabs of meat and bread seemed sad by contrast. As good as the White Elk’s smoked elk was, that stew had to be amazing.
“You can look all you want,” Yensa said. “You aren’t getting any.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Kiri said, and took a big bite of elk to take her mind off it. It really was delicious, succulent even.
“I never got the chance to ask after your trip.” Yensa set down her spoon without taking a bite. “I can’t imagine why you wanted to go off by yourself like that. Did you have fun? If fun was what you were after, of course. Or did you have spiritual enlightenment in mind?”
“Some kind of enlightenment,” Kiri said. “And I wasn’t alone, really. There was someone with me.”
“Someone?” Yensa went back to stirring the stew. The steam was subsiding a little. “Someone who? Why so mysterious, Shaela?”
The pseudonym reminded Kiri exactly why she was being so mysterious. She shook her head and smiled at Yensa. “Maybe I’ll tell you sometime, but for now, it’s a secret.”
“Men who want to be kept secret are never any good, Shaela,” Yensa said, shaking her head. “You should give him up. He’s probably married; that’s the main reason a man wants his sweetie to keep him secret.”
Kiri laughed. “I’m sure he’s not,” she said. “Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“You do seem independent,” Yensa finally took a bite of the soup; Kiri had to wait for her to finish chewing and let out a satisfied mmm to hear the rest of her thoughts. “I’ll give you that. I had a wonderful holiday, myself.”
“Oh, good.” Kiri was glad of the change of subject. “What did you do?”
Yensa launched into a long account of her entire holiday. She and Cole had visited one of his cousin’s in the country. They rode Cole’s horses, of course, and Yensa explained that this always led to their being treated like highborn’s everywhere they went. The horses were so fine the assumption was natural.
“Speaking of highborns,” Kiri interrupted. “Do you know a girl named Mina at the Academy? She seems like a highborn.”
“I should say so!” Yensa said. “Princess Mina is the King’s niece. She does, however, attend some classes at the Academy. Not that she needs to. Some highborns do it to while away the time. It’s a game to her, actually.”
Curiosity had once again broken Kiri’s resolve to try to talk as little as possible about things that might pique Yensa’s curiosity about her. She turned the conversation back to the other woman. “Oh? Is that not what school is to you?”
“Please, Shaela, this is a serious career for me.” Her point was somewhat dented by the fact that she was speaking through a mouthful of stew. “I’ll be expected to bear one child for every year I don’t spend bent over a ledger.”
“Don’t you want children?” Kiri was surprised. “And aren’t they inevitable, anyway, even if you don’t?” She could think of only one married woman who hadn’t had at least one baby in Westfall Valley. And that woman had never seemed happy about it. Having children had never seemed like a choice, not for married women.
“There are ways to avoid them, innocent girl,” Yensa said. “And I do want one or two, eventually. Cole isn’t pushing for them. His horses for now are enough of a baby and legacy for him.”
“So, anyway, about Mina?” Kiri found her curiosity still unsatisfied. It would be easier if she felt comfortable to ask about Mala directly.
“Why are you interested in the princess?” Yensa slurped another spoonful. “I didn’t think you were a royal watcher.”
“I just heard her talking.” Kiri looked down at her barely-touched elk. “There was something about a party.”
“There’s always a party,” Yensa said. “I think tomorrow they are having a going-away ball for Lord Useph’s new wife. She’s been a big hit, though she’s almost as much of a country bumpkin as you. At least she’s from Westfall proper and not the high country. I saw her once, and I must say I never would have guessed it!”
“Going away party?”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Useph is the lord of the desert,” Yensa said. “I thought you knew that. I assume they are going home.”
Kiri chewed another bite of elk, slowly and thoughtfully. Was this truly her last chance to see Mala? Should she, finally, stop avoiding her?
~
The boys were chafing at the bit to make a real score. Tagg had held them back for the last few nights. Since he’d as much as begged the Firebrand to keep an eye on them, he didn’t dare to make any moves she would feel compelled to stop. That meant all petty bullying was out, and that was the Outsider’s main fare. She hadn’t declared protection over the richer districts with the city walls, but he didn’t dare to make a move there for fear of the Thief Lord. He had enough to worry about in that area already.
He had to step lightly with his plans now. If everything worked to Tagg’s satisfaction he would be able to pretend to the Thief Lord’s agent that he had had nothing to do with foiling the Enforcer. It was very different to escape punishment because of the fortuitous intervention of an outside force than to engage in clear defiance. He didn’t intend to do anything that was openly against the Thief Lord. No one who did that would be allowed to survive, no matter how difficult he proved to be to kill.
The people in the Outside were too poor to afford many vices, so there was nothing to sell them that the few honest merchants didn’t already offer. The Outsiders’ pockets were growing light, and their muttering loud when they returned to their warehouse on the third night since Tagg had spoken to the Firebrand.
They men had full bellies, at least. Tagg had decided the Firebrand couldn’t begrudge them that. It hadn’t really taken any bullying at all to get the tavern keeper to feed them stew and fill their tankards without asking for a single coin in return. Their reputation took care of it and Tagg was able to keep a friendly manner about him. If the Firebrand had been watching there would have been no word for her to say about it. Unfortunately, their reputation would only hold so long before Tagg would need to have the boys bash some heads to refresh the people’s memory. It would be so much easier if he knew when the Firebrand was going to be around, so they could bash heads between times. She couldn’t always be watching. The possibility that she could be watching at any time stayed his hand more even than the sure knowledge that she was there would have.
As the boys prepared to turn in Tagg could tell that he was close to having some real disruptions in the ranks. Most of them weren’t bothering to keep him from hearing how unhappy they were, but it was the whispering that he really worried about. Quiet plotting rarely led to good things for a leader.
“I’m going to go talk to the Thief Lord’s agent,” Tagg said to the group, raising his voice over their mumbling. “Find some more work for strong boys like us. There might not be much for us here in the Outside now that the Firebrand has showed up, but I’m sure that those that are willing will find good work with me for the Thief Lord.”
Nobody argued with him. By now they knew better than that. Some nodded, and a few even made noises of agreement. That was probably as good as it was going to get, so Tagg left them to their grumbling and set out on his errand.
The night was at its darkest. The moon, a waning crescent, wouldn’t rise until well after midnight, and a layer of clouds obscured the stars, too thin and high to reflect much of the city’s few lights back. There were few lights in the Outside, and after leaving the lamplit interior of the warehouse Tagg had to move slowly until his eyes adjusted enough that he didn’t walk straight into a wall. Even then, he couldn’t make out much more than the shapes of the buildings. It wasn’t a good time to be outside for anyone. A man was in danger of falling and breaking his neck as much as running into thieves like the Outsiders.
Tagg had already sent a message to Neal, but he was still waiting on a reply. He would check in for it at daybreak, but that wasn’t why he had left so early. The person he actually wanted to find was the Firebrand. If she was watching somewhere out here, maybe he could spot her, perhaps call her out for a heart to heart. Their arrangement needed some adjustment. If she couldn’t take the Enforcer out very soon, the Outsiders wouldn’t have to worry about him anyway. They would destroy themselves.
Tagg moved up the slight slope to a dark corner at the start of one of the many passages that led into the maze-like neighborhoods. He placed one hand on the wall beside him. It was so dark he needed it just to know where he was. He stood still for a while, scanning the rooftops around the Outsider’s warehouse. If the Firebrand was watching him, likely that was where she would be. Tagg blew out a long slow breath, and resisted the urge to tap his foot. He could see no shape silhouetted against the faint glow of the cloudy night. It was very possible the Firebrand had long since gone to her bed. Even she had to sleep. But having left, he couldn’t go right back in now. He might as well keep an eye out until it was time to check for Neal’s message.
His limbs grew stiff and cold waiting in the growing chill of the night. He removed his hand from the wall and leaned his head against it. Sleep beckoned to him and he closed first one eye, and then the other. To keep his mind occupied he counted the visible rooftops and tried to figure out which one belonged to what building. It wasn’t so simple to tie the dark shadows to the way they looked by day.
Tagg’s eyes were so fixed on the rooftops that he almost didn’t see them. The shapes were low, very low, hugging the ground. They were moving, slowly, and though they were low they were big, too big to be alley cats or even stray dogs. Tagg realized with a chill that they were all moving toward the Outsiders’ warehouse. He thought he knew what was happening now, and his fears were confirmed when one of the creatures' heads turned enough to show a glint of harsh red eyes. Though his palms grew clammy with dread as the shapes drew nearer to the warehouse, Tagg felt an equal surge of relief. These were the Enforcer’s dogs, coming to collect on the Outsider’s debt, and they would not find him. He could hardly believe he had been about to possibly give up the Firebrand’s help just to keep his gang together. These creeping beasts were the real danger he feared, and he had escaped it by sheer luck.
The dogs reached the building. Two leaped up and through the boarded windows as though they weren’t even there, scattering shards like toothpicks. The others burst in through the doors. That’s when the screaming began. Tagg did not stay to listen. His last sight of the warehouse was the tall silhouette of a man wearing a long coat, standing in the splintered remains of the doors.