Lura’s knife flew through the air toward Tanzik’s captor as rain drizzled down amid a clash of thunder. He swung his sword in one precise downward arc and the sharp clang of steel on steel rang through the air as the two blades connected. Lura’s eyes widened incredulously. She hadn’t expected someone of his age and size to be fast enough to block a knife like that. He rushed toward her and Tanzik threw the handful of sand he had gathered in his face. He stumbled and rubbed his eyes, giving Lura enough time to take out her bow as she ran back a few paces.
Tanzik made a move for the knife that Lura had thrown, but his captor swung down his sword. Another loud clang split the air as Lura shot an arrow that hit the hilt of the sword, knocking it out of his hands. Tanzik grabbed the knife and scurried out of reach of the man’s sword.
The rain began to fall in sheets, drenching them all and making the ground slippery with mud. Tanzik slicked his hair back as he struggled to his feet. His captor threw a right hook, connecting with Tanzik’s jaw. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he reeled from the blow. He slipped and fell in the mud, dropping the knife in the process. As he struggled to his feet, Lura nocked another arrow, but the man positioned himself behind Tanzik so she didn’t have a clear shot. Visibility was already low in the pouring rain, so Lura dropped the bow, took out two more knives, and rushed toward the fray.
The man ran to pick up his sword and as he bent down, Tanzik put his shackled hands over the man’s head to choke him with the chains. The man wrapped his hand around the hilt and immediately pushed backward with his legs as hard as he could. This caught Tanzik off guard and he hit the ground with a squelch as the man crushed him into the mud. He rolled over and ducked his head under the chain to escape, then grabbed a rock and threw it at Lura. She dodged to the side to avoid the rock and came at him stabbing and slashing with her knives.
He purposely took a few hits on his armor, knowing he couldn’t block all of her strokes. When he saw an opportunity, he slashed up with his sword. Lura twisted her body to the side to avoid the hit, but screamed in pain as the man raised up his foot and kicked her hard in the side. Tanzik grabbed the knife Lura had thrown and slashed at his heels, but he raised his foot and stomped. Tanzik bore the pain and pushed forward as hard as he could. Since the man’s balance was off with one foot on Tanzik’s hand, he was knocked to the ground. Lura fell on him, stabbing as hard as she could, her blade piercing through his neck. She screamed in rage as she stabbed again, just to make sure he was dead.
She moved away from the corpse and sat in the mud as the rain washed the blood and grime from her face and hair. She gripped her knives hard, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She felt dizzy and sick at the sight of the blood, but felt a firm hand on her shoulder. She looked up, ready to attack, but saw Tanzik holding a hand to help her up. She grabbed his hand and the two of them dragged the body inside the hatch where it wouldn’t be seen.
As they went inside, Tanzik leaned up against the wall and wrung the water from his hair. His left hand had been crushed and hurt immensely, but it wasn’t so bad that his fingers couldn’t move. “You okay?” He said.
“Don’t have a choice. You?”
“Hand hurts. Need to warm up, the rain was freezing.”
“All right, come on back.”
“I… don’t think I’m welcome here, I was a prisoner.”
“To the Empire, the Rooks don’t care. In fact, they sent me to off whoever that was and set you free. We took their money and denied the Empress a scapegoat.”
“Wait, you only did this for the money?”
Her eyes widened. “No,” she said slowly. “I mean, I… it’s nice to get paid for it, but I didn’t have to.”
“You—”
“Hey, don’t argue, just follow me so we can get you warm.”
Tanzik picked up his captor’s hand-and-a-half sword and strapped it to his back with the man’s sheath. Lura led him through the tunnels until they got to a place where they could warm up and dry their clothes in separate rooms.
A few hours later, they reconvened and Tanzik said, “Where’s Allena?”
“Mm. Yeah. About that.” She lifted her shirt to show him the still-healing scar from where she had been stabbed.
“Gods above, are you okay?”
She blinked. “No, Tanzik, she stabbed me.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“Well, I may have provoked her.”
“Lura…”
“And kidnapped her.”
“Lura!”
“She stabbed me!”
Tanzik put his face in his hands and groaned. “What happened?”
“It’s that thrice-cursed coin. She knows something about it. I confronted her. She attacked me, I threw a knife, she magicked it back at me and destroyed the coin, telling me ‘I can’t know.’ I was offered amnesty from the Rooks if I brought her in. Since they already had my neck on the chopping block, I agreed. Threw her out the window at the inn you were staying at and dragged her here. Got the kill order off my head and got some revenge at the same time.”
“I can’t believe you’d join the Rooks, I thought you hated them.”
“Shows how much you know about me. It’s a marriage of convenience, I don’t like them but I like that they’re not trying to kill me.”
Tanzik thought for a moment. He did remember Allena looked a little uncomfortable when they left Stormhall, and he did find it odd that Lura didn’t join them. But still, he found it hard to swallow. Something didn’t add up. “I’m sorry Lura but I don’t believe that she would’ve attacked you unprovoked.”
“She didn’t. I provoked her when I confronted her about the coin. I pushed hard and demanded answers and she left me for dead. Look, I don’t really care if you believe me, but you know she’s untrustworthy. She’s lied to us before.”
“So have you.”
Lura scoffed. “I was just trying to save my skin! Sure it was selfish, but I wasn’t going to stab you in the back. I’d have given myself up if you were ever in danger, and you do have to trust me on that.”
Tanzik met her gaze and scratched his beard thoughtfully. “I do. But there has to be more to the story.”
“There is,” she said, exasperated. “That’s what I’m trying to say, something terrible is happening. She knows something. And this isn’t…” She sighed and folded her hands. “Look, I’m a thief, okay? I’ve made my living drifting and grifting whenever I got the chance. I’ve told my share of lies and I’ve seen others lie, too. The way she lied, the way she looked at me, the way she apologized when she left me for dead? Whatever she’s hiding isn’t something valuable. There’s no gold or treasure involved, this isn’t some kind of coverup for her to take the money and run. This is life or death for her. And with the fear I saw on her, it’s probably life or death for a lot of people.”
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“She has to have a good reason.” The words felt hollow, and he knew deep down he was trying to rationalize, but Allena was his friend and he had been through a lot with her. But he could say the same with Lura.
“I…” She sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Maybe, okay? Fine. Maybe. She may have a good reason. But good reasons aren’t good enough when she’s willing to kill for them. Whatever her reasons are, I want to know. Don’t you?”
Tanzik raised his eyebrows as a shrug. “What do you plan on doing?”
“I want to have a private chat with her. Just me and her. And you, I guess. I’ve got a little leverage over her.” She pulled Allena’s key out of her pocket.
Tanzik hesitated. “You’re really willing to set her free just for this answer? You’ll be putting yourself back on the Rooks’ hit list.
“All right, then. Let’s see if we can talk to her.”
***
“Hey, my favorite crime boss!” Lura shouted excitedly.
Veza winced and took a step away from her. “I don’t appreciate this level of familiarity, Lurala.”
“I brought company.” She grabbed Tanzik by the arm and dragged him forward.
“Tanzik Albard, sir,” he said with a bow. He didn’t like showing deference to someone as despicable as the leader of the biggest criminal organization in Serevar, but valued his life more than his dignity.
“Gods, I’m not a lord, don’t treat me like that. And I know who you are, I just sent a client out with you. I take it that said loose end has been snipped?”
“Yeah, he’s dead,” Lura replied. “Someone’ll want to clean him up, we dragged him inside the tunnel so his body wouldn’t lead anyone here.”
“Appreciate the courtesy,” Veza said indifferently. “That nasty little grin of yours tells me you want something, can you be forthright or would you like to keep wasting my time?”
“Fine,” she said, dropping the act. “I want to talk to Allena. I think I can get her to give me the answers we’re looking for.”
“I have professionals on it, you can’t be as good as they are.”
“They’re not going to get anywhere,” Tanzik said. He felt Lura tense and her grip on his arm tightened.
“Yes, of course. You would know, wouldn’t you?” He was frustrated enough to not even try to hide his sarcasm.
“I’m a friend of hers.”
Veza’s eyes darted between the two of them. “Oh, you all know each other.”
Lura fought back a sigh. “Yes.”
“I don’t care about this. I can’t. You think you can succeed where my best and brightest haven’t? Fine. Take a shot. See how far it gets you. One chance. Otherwise we do it the long way. Could take weeks.”
Tanzik’s jaw clenched. The thought of Allena being tortured for information for weeks infuriated him. He felt helpless and knew she must be feeling so much worse.
“Unclench your jaw, Mr. Albard,” Veza said, eyes flitting between Tanzik’s face and his fists, which were also clenched. “This is a place of business. Your friendship and morals have no place here. Follow me.”
He led them to the room Allena was being interrogated in. The ruffians guarding it stepped aside and Veza and unlocked it with a heavy iron key. “Thanks, Veza,” Lura said.
“Don’t. This isn’t a favor and I’m locking it behind you. Knock when you’re done, someone else will let you out.” He ushered them in.
They heard a heavy clang as the large key turned the lock. Allena lifted her head weakly. She looked gaunt and exhausted, eyelids heavy, mouth open.
Tanzik rushed to her and got on his knees. He sat her up straight, gently putting his hand under her chin to lift her head. “What did they do to you?”
“Tanzik,” she whispered. “You look hurt.”
“Don’t worry about me, we’re going to get you—”
“Something to choke on if you don’t answer our questions,” Lura said quickly, interrupting Tanzik. She elbowed him and gave him an incredulous look. She bent down to whisper in his ear. “They can hear you, idiot.”
“We’re going to get you out,” Tanzik whispered to Allena.
Lura knelt down and looked at her, the edges of her lips curling with barely constrained anger. “Not yet. You answer my questions. You’re not getting out of this with your secrets. You want to live? You talk. You want to say here and rot? Fine by me. If you stay, you’ll either spill your secrets and die, or just die. But if you want to finally make something right out of all the harm you’ve done…” She took out the key. Allena’s eyes widened. “We have a deal?”
“No,” Allena said. “I’m sorry, I can’t—”
Lura got closer, hands gripping the arms of the chair Allena was tied to. “This is your only way out. Your secrets are not worth dying for.”
Tears clouded Allena’s eyes. Out of all the pain she endured, this was the worst. “I’m sorry, but they are.”
“I’m going to have to disagree with you, Allena,” Tanzik said. “Is it true? You attacked her?”
Allena’s tears began to drop. “Yes. But I had good reason.”
“No, you didn’t.” His voice was firm, but with a note of gentleness. “I care about you, but I can’t let this stand. You’re going to have to tell us.” He took her hand in his, his steady gaze resting on her. Allena’s heart warmed as she saw there was no judgment, no disappointment in his eyes or tone of voice. “But whatever is happening, we’re with you. If this is dangerous, we’ll protect you.”
“I’m not the one who needs protecting.”
“Then we’ll take care of whoever does.”
“Speak for yourself,” Lura said.
Allena looked at him for a moment. She felt the sincerity in his voice and knew he was telling the truth. She would be betraying everything she believed in, everything she fought for, if she told them. But she had already betrayed her friends. She nodded.
“Not good enough,” Lura said. “Say it.”
“I’ll tell you. Everything. I promise.”
Without hesitation, Lura tossed her the key. Allena gripped it tight and allowed herself a slight smile. She took a deep breath and focused. As she tapped into the energy of the Void, she saw in her mind’s eye the mechanisms keeping her shackles locked, and with a slight push, they fell open. She stood up weakly. Tanzik moved to help her, but she held her hand up. She just needed to stretch. As she put the key back around her neck, she took deep breaths and felt her strength return to her.
Lura looked at her knowingly. “I’m not putting myself at risk for you. You have to knock Tanzik and I out so they think you tricked us and escaped on your own. We can’t help you with this.”
“I understand. I’ll put you to sleep and blow the door open. I don’t want to kill anyone, so hopefully the sight of a real mage should scare them enough to give me an easy way out.”
“Sit back down, let’s stage the scene,” Lura said. Allena sat back down and Lura leaned over her. “So you grabbed the key out of my pocket here, Tanzik you stand beside me. Now do your magic.” Allena held her key close to her chest and reached out to touch their minds with a heavy sleep. They collapsed to the floor and she stood up.
She held out her hands and, with a roiling surge of magic, pushed forward and blasted the door off its hinges. She ran through the dust and wreckage, but stopped a few feet away as no one was chasing her. She looked around and used magic to heighten her senses to detect any nearby people. No one was around at all. She cautiously went back and woke Lura and Tanzik up.
“Good news, it’s clear,” she said.
“What?” Lura said groggily. “No, not good, there should be people out here. There were a few people when we came in.”
“There’s not,” Allena said. “It’s completely empty.”
Lura left the room and looked around, peering around corners. She muttered something crude under her breath and put her bow away.
“This is good, right?” Allena said, concern creeping into her voice.
“No!” She paced back and forth manically, hands gripping her hair. “Gods above, no! It means they know. It has to. There’s no way they’d leave us in there alone with you.”
“How could they hear us?” Tanzik asked. “We never spoke above a whisper.”
“I don’t know! But we need to leave. If they haven’t blocked the exit.”
“Where’s the quickest way out?” Asked Allena.
“Where we came from, takes us out to the river. Since we’ve crossed the Rooks, I don’t think we’re safe in the city anymore, so we need to get out.” She yelled in frustration and kicked the chair over.
“Lura, it’s freezing rain out there,” Tanzik said. “We won’t make it far.”
“Let me take care of that,” Allena said.
“Fine by me,” said Lura. “But once we’re safe, you tell us everything. This had better be bloody worth it.”
“I’ll keep my promise.”
The three ran as quickly as they could toward the exit. Every second that passed raised the tension a little more as the tunnels that once held a handful of people milling about and doing business were empty and quiet. At the end of the tunnel was a puddle of blood, but the body of Tanzik’s captor was gone.
They opened the hatch and exited the Rookery. Allena cast a spell that provided a shimmering shield above their heads to protect them from the fiercely falling rain that furiously lashed against it. Lura squinted to peer through the driving rain but saw no one around.
Suddenly, and without warning, the rain began to stop. Allena dropped the spell, hands shaking from the exertion. Tanzik felt a warmth spreading through his aching bones.
“Do you feel that?”
“The heat?” Lura asked. “Yeah. Weirdly unseasonable.”
Allena stepped forward and looked up into the sky. The storm clouds hadn’t disappeared. Her heart beat faster, harder. Her lips trembled and she thumbed her focus nervously. “Please. Lady Uthix. Don’t let it be what I think it is.”
But it was, and she knew that it was. It grew warmer. And warmer.
And then she saw it. Above the clouds, there was a great, dark shadow that was visible even through the already dark storm clouds.
Enormous shadowy wings unfurled, and Allena felt mud on her knees as she dropped to the ground, deaf to her own screams. She clutched her focus tight as terror overwhelmed her. Her worst fears were coming to pass.
The Phoenix had returned.