She caught a speck of it halfway up the building to her left. The rooftops. He was running away. Knowing her time was short, she jumped from one windowsill to another and grabbed hold of a ledge. Before she could pull herself up, something hard and blunt struck the back of her head. The blow smacked her forehead against the side. Her vision swam. Her stomach heaved.
“I’m sorry Zusa,” she heard a familiar voice whisper. “But this one is mine.”
And then her hands clutched only air, and she was falling.
18
H aern awoke with his head pounding and no clue where he was. The last thing he remembered was crawling across a rooftop, just before being struck from behind. Then he’d been thrown forward, off the building and to the ground below. Then nothing. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light. He saw stone walls. A dungeon perhaps? No, that didn’t seem right. More of a cellar, windowless, lit by torches.
“You’re awake.”
He looked up. A man and a woman stood before him. The man wore a red robe, his dark hair pulled tight behind his head. As for the woman, she looked vaguely familiar, as if he’d seen her before a long time ago, in a dream. It had something to do with the long scar that ran down her face, bloodying her eye. He tried to stand, but he was tied to a chair. Whoever had tied the knots knew what they were doing. There wasn’t the slightest give, and the moment he tested them, various chords across his chest and neck tightened, choking off his breath.
“Not sure I want to be,” he said, doing his best to relax. He’d known this was the fate awaiting him. He couldn’t make enemies of every guild and expect to live forever. Still, it seemed too soon. He’d accomplished so little. He’d die without mourners, without friends, without a legacy. A damn shame.
“Do you remember me?” the woman asked. “It was during the Kensgold. You were still a boy then, almost a man. We fought…”
And then he did remember. He’d seen her twice, once when his father had tried blackmailing her to turn against her guildmaster, then later in the attic of Connington’s mansion. Her name was Veliana, and the last time they’d met, she’d nearly killed him.
“You do remember,” she said, seeing the recognition in his eyes.
“I could never forget,” he said softly. “You showed me there would never be a life for me. Aaron was dead, yet you never believed me. You refused.”
She crossed her arms and leaned back against the stone wall. The man beside her remained quiet, seemingly content to let them talk.
“You could have let the smoke take me,” she said. “Why didn’t you?”
He shrugged the best he could, given the circumstances.
“It wasn’t right to. I was there when my father left you to die at the hands of that disgusting…Worm. I couldn’t do so again.”
His words hung in the air. When she spoke, her tone didn’t seem quite so hard.
“I spread word of Aaron Felhorn’s death after that night. I did it to hurt your father, but I’d be lying if I denied doing it for you as well. Aaron was dead, and it seemed true enough. What was the name you spoke to me that night? Something plain…”
“Haern.”
“That’s right. Is that who you are now? Haern the Watcher? I find it hard to believe you’re that same boy who spared my life. Do you know how many friends of mine you’ve killed? How many associates? You’re still Thren’s son, aren’t you? Perhaps you should adopt your old name, Aaron.”
“I am not!” he shouted.
In the corner, the dark-haired man laughed.
“Such ferocity. Well, there’s no doubt you’re skilled, and Vel here was lucky enough to get the jump on you after you were injured. Seems to corroborate everything we’ve heard about you, other than the demon blood. I’d sense that if it were the case. Still, your father cavorting with a succubus is an amusing thought.”
Haern shifted in his bonds.
“What is it you want from me?” he asked.
“Before I tell you that, I want you to understand just how powerless you currently are. I could kill you right here, that’s obvious enough. But I could also tell your father you’re still alive. How beautiful a game that would be, watching him tear the city apart house by house until he found where you hid. My curiosity is almost high enough to see what exactly he’d do. Would he greet you with open arms, or a dagger? Perhaps both?”
Haern glared. The man saw this and laughed again.
“Still, I’m in this for the coin and power, not the curiosity. I have a proposition for you, Aaron. Sorry, Watcher. Or would you prefer Haern? So many names, I find myself at a loss.”
“Haern is fine.”
“Very well then, Haern, my name is Deathmask, and I have a request of you. This is something I cannot do on my own, nor with just Veliana’s help. But you…you have no loyalties, no weaknesses, no aspirations other than killing. So my request is simple, really: help me end this war between the guilds and the Trifect.”
This time it was Haern’s turn to laugh.
“I’ve slaughtered hundreds of you thieves, and even with my help, the Trifect has sat on its hands and failed to do what needed to be done. Last night was a start, but it won’t work, we both know it. It’ll just anger them further. The retaliation will be terrible, if it hasn’t happened already. What could I possibly do?”
“Your name carries weight, believe it or not,” Deathmask continued. “Though really I should say your reputation does. Every thief fears the night when the mark he goes to rob turns out to be you. Even the guildleaders are frightened of you, except for perhaps Thren. A rampage of dragons wouldn’t make him soil his pants. But you have to understand something. All of these thieves, these underworld rogues, they’ve been trained since birth to survive. That’s all they know. They’ll claw and grab everything they can on their way up, but deep down, they just want to live, and live well. If you threaten that, you can turn them to your side.”
“No guildmaster would step down at my threat,” Haern said. “You’re a fool. They’d rather die than forfeit their wealth.”
“And that’s the other thing you must understand,” Deathmask said, grinning. “They have no honor, no code. They want wealth, and they want to live, but they won’t live without wealth, not when they’ve at last obtained it. So you must threaten their lives while at the same time offering them a chance to keep everything they’ve gathered. It can work. I know it.”
Haern leaned back in his chair, still not convinced.
“What is your plan?” he asked.
“Do you know how much the Trifect pays to employ those mercenaries? How much money they lose year in and year out from Thren burning their goods, from Kadish slaughtering their help, from Garrick looting their wares? They’re going bankrupt fighting this war, but they can’t stop, they can’t make peace, for Thren won’t let them. No one wants this to continue. Before the guild wars, everyone made a tidy profit and hardly anyone died. We had a system. But Thren took offense, and the Trifect overstepped their bounds. A fair mistake by both, but now everyone’s too stubborn to stop. Tell me, Haern, do you understand how protection money works?”
“I’m the son of Thren Felhorn,” he said, as if that should explain everything.
“Good. My plan is very simple; we take half of what the Trifect is paying for mercenaries, as well as losing annually from our destructive ways, and then accept it as protection money.”
“Protection for what?”
“The Trifect, their lands, and their possessions. We split the money evenly among the guilds. This way everyone gains, and the Trifect not only stops having us burn down their shit, but we even protect it!”
“It’d never work, you have to know that. Even if they agreed, it’d fall apart in months, if not sooner. Someone will get greedy. Someone will turn on another. I expected something cleverer.”
“As if your five years of trying to singlehandedly conquer the thief guilds has worked out so much better,” Deathmask said. “But you’re right; it would fall apart…unless we had an enforcer.”