Blackstone (Book 2) (29 page)

Oh. He hadn’t thought of that, but
yes, he would land in this situation again unless it was straightened out now.
Only he wouldn’t be so handily rescued next time because Siobhan wouldn’t be
with him and no one would have proof he was a free man.

Grae had taken charge of the
caravan, while Siobhan dealt with matters, and had led them to an inn up ahead.
They met up with them, the drivers still dealing with unhitching their teams
and settling them into the stable yard for the night. Even though Erik had felt
his heart drop out of his stomach because of the whole situation, it hadn’t
actually taken more than five minutes and most of the caravan didn’t seem to
even be aware that something had gone on.

He kept his mouth shut as they
went through the motions of settling into the inn for the night. Thanks to
Siobhan’s foresight, they were booked into a nicer inn on the north side of
town with enough rooms that no one had to share unless they wanted to. In fact,
the group took the whole second floor for themselves.

Siobhan stopped just long enough
to make sure that everyone was settled, then she marched right back out.
Worried about her going around alone at this late point of the day, Erik
automatically followed her. She seemed to take no real notice of him as she
weaved through the streets, heading back toward the main gates they had left
only an hour before. When she arrived, she cracked her knuckles, like she was
preparing for a good fistfight. She rolled her head back and forth on her neck,
too. Erik eyed this body language with the beginnings of trepidation. She wasn’t
going to go in there and start a brawl, was she?

To his relief, she did not
actually go to the gates, but instead headed directly into a building nearby.
He glanced at the sign hanging over the open doorway. City Administration
Office? Siobhan did not pause in the doorway but strode straight in.

The place was short, short enough
he could swear his hair brushed the ceiling. It was a single room with two
counters lining forming an L-shape and shelves upon shelves lining the walls.
Rolled papers and ledgers were shoved inside in every possible direction, and
Erik was convinced there was little in the way of organization in this place.
No one could find something the way this place was managed.

“I’m Siobhan Maley, Guildmaster of
Deepwoods from Goldschmidt,” Siobhan announced to the room in general. The two
bored clerks at the counter paused in their conversation and looked up at this
greeting. “I need to register a free man.”

Erik’s head snapped around and he
stared down at her in astonishment. She was registering him as a free man?!
Hadn’t she just said that she was going to deal with this on her way back? Why
the sudden urgency?

One of the clerks raised a hand
and waved her over. “Guildmaster,” his voice sounded like a bullfrog’s, “please
give me the specifics. You have a man that was a slave and now needs to be
registered as free?” The way he asked this suggested that she was insane for
doing so.

“That’s correct.” Siobhan set her
feet shoulder-length apart and met him squarely in the eyes. “You have a
procedure for doing that, don’t you?”

“Ah, well, yes.” The clerk looked
at his coworker, who seemed just as baffled by this. Erik knew why—slaves were
a pricey and important commodity here in Quigg. The idea of setting one free
was nigh unheard of. Erik was astonished there was a way to register a free man
in this city to begin with. Clearing his throat, he went back to a more
professional tone. “You have a bill of sale for this individual?”

Siobhan pulled it out of her
wallet and handed it over.

His eyebrows arched as his eyes
skimmed over it. “You bought this man in Robarge?”

“I did.”

“Then why register him here?”

“Because I want him to have the
freedom to travel if he so wishes to.”

It was in that moment that Erik
experienced an epiphany of sorts. Back in Converse, when he ate with her for
the first time, Siobhan had told him that eating with him made them friends. He
hadn’t believed her. Or maybe he had, but what she said hadn’t sunk in. But at
this moment, he realized she had meant every word. To Siobhan, the two of them
were friends. He was as dear to her as Beirly or Grae and she would do whatever
it took to defend him.

Even in the future, the actions
she took now would help defend him.

Tears pricked his eyes. Half the
time he’d known this woman, he’d thought her crazy. Or whimsical. Or reckless.
But none of that was true. Siobhan just had a different standard than the rest
of the world. To her, the people around her were the first priority. Always.
Everything else was second to that.

The clerk, with open misgivings,
pulled out a clean sheet from underneath the counter. “We can register him here
for you. Your full name and rank, please?”

Siobhan rattled off answers as the
clerk asked them. In the space of fifteen minutes, the form was filled out,
stamped and filed. Siobhan had a clean copy made for her, which she then in
turn presented to Erik with a bright smile. “Here. Now you can travel without
worry.”

Unable to help himself, he leaned
down and grabbed her up in a bear hug.

Siobhan flailed for a moment, but
laughed and hugged him back. “You’re welcome.”

“I still think you’re crazy,” he
whispered against her hair. “But I wish there were a hundred more like you. The
world would be a better place for it.”

“Wolf, I daresay that’s the
sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” From the watery sound in her voice,
the words had touched her deeply. “Now, let me down. Let’s go get dinner.”

He reluctantly let go and set her
back on her feet. In a manner reminiscent of their time in Converse, she took
his hand, and they walked that way back to the inn.

The drivers and caravan boss were
lively at dinner, throwing jokes back and forth and eating heartily. Of course,
they had every reason to be in good spirits, as they were making good time on
their journey and hadn’t encountered any trouble. For them, this was a smooth
trip.

Erik hardly felt the same way
about it. He sat in a corner and brooded, eyes staring sightlessly forward.
What happened to him after he left Deepwoods? The thought of staying in his
small village until he died of old age was incomprehensible to him. He had seen
so much of the world, true, but there was still so much of it he
hadn’t
seen. Could he be content to stay in Reske and work day-to-day without yearning
for more?

He didn’t know.

Aside from that, he knew that
there was another thing that urged him to stay with the guild. What Siobhan had
just done for him…it was above and beyond what most people would do. Only his
family and very close friends had ever done something of equal importance. The
way she acted towards him made it clear that she viewed him as family. Siobhan,
Beirly, and Grae felt like family to him, too. His heart gave a lurch at just
the idea that he might never see them again after reaching Reske.

What was wrong with him? He had
the chance to go home. Siobhan was taking him there herself. At first, he had
doubted that, but so far she had made good on every promise she’d made him.
Now, he knew she’d keep her word. So why did the thought of leaving her make
his heart tremble?

He longed for home but at the same
time, feared it. He had changed so much, so radically, that he wasn’t sure if
any of his family would even be able to recognize him now. They loved him, had
no doubt missed him, but he did not think home would feel the same anymore.

But that left the question, where
did he belong? At this woman’s side?

Troubled, he went back and forth,
arguing the matter internally. He was so lost inside his own head that Siobhan
dropped into the chair next to him, making the floorboard squeak, before he
realized she was anywhere nearby. Startled, his head jerked up.

“What’s troubling you so badly?”
she asked him bluntly, crossing her hands comfortably over her stomach. “That
guard from before?”

“Only a little,” he responded with
a long sigh. Worries weighed on him so heavily that he felt ten years older.
“In truth, I have no good memories of Quigg.”

Her head cocked in interest. “You
mentioned before you’d been through the place.”

The way she phrased her words, he
could either grunt and leave the subject alone, or elaborate. Erik looked at
her for a long moment, mentally debating. From the very beginning, he’d felt he
owed this woman a significant debt. Not just from the money she spent on him,
but for her kindness and patience. In all the time they’d known each other,
she’d never once demanded a recounting of his past or answers to her questions.
It made him respect her. So the part of him that longed to accept her overtures
of friendship had him opening his mouth and saying something he’d never
imagined he’d say to her.

“It was in this city I lost my
hand.”

Siobhan’s eyes went as wide as
saucers. “HERE?!”

“I was a dark guildsman,” he
pointed out in dark humor. “The only way I could have crossed into Robarge was
through a slave train, Siobhan.”

Her mouth opened, closed, and
opened again. She looked like a beached fish. “I guess…I never thought to
question how you got through Island Pass. So that was how.”

“Aye.” His eyes went blind as the
memory came back to him, vivid and strong enough to make his stump ache. “It
was outside of the city walls that I lost the hand.” In reflex, his other hand
came up to rub at it, only to be thwarted with the metal covering the area.
Grimacing, he let his hand drop again to the table’s surface. “I told you once
before, that I lost it in a battle, right?”

“Right,” she agreed, seemingly
holding her breath. It was the first time he had ever come close to telling her
what happened.

“In truth, it was right after a
battle.” He found it impossible to meet her eyes and instead stared steadfastly
at the ceiling. “We’d been fighting a rival guild, why, I don’t remember, and
it hadn’t been easy. Normally, fights like that are over quick, no more than an
hour’s work. But that day, they were tenacious and constantly running from one
point to another with ambushes and traps set up along the way. I was running
most of the time, only fighting when I could get close enough to engage. From
dawn to sunset, I was running and fighting, having no time to rest. By the time
that the evening bells tolled, and we’d won, I was exhausted. Beyond
exhausted.”

He dared a glance at her face and
found her riveted to him. Her fixed attention made it easier, somehow, to keep
going. “I went back to the main hall, intending to just find an empty cot
somewhere and sleep. I was too tired to think about food. But I never made it
there. I was within sight of the doors when my own guildsmen jumped me.” Erik
lifted his iron hand and looked at it, but not truly seeing it. “With them
combined like that, in my state, I was no match for them. They cut off my
hand.”

Siobhan let out a sound like an
enraged cat. “Your own guildsmen.”

“There is no honor in a dark
guild.” He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. “Imagine my surprise when
I went into a good guild next, and saw how well you take care of each other.
You three are more like family than a guild.”

“That’s what a good guild is
supposed to be like,” Siobhan said patiently. Rubbing both palms over her face,
she blew out an angry hiss. “Still, the fact that they would hurt you like that
just from jealousy…it’s mind blowing. I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“Don’t try to,” he advised. “The
moment you understand it, you become like them.”

“Sage advice.” Her head jerked up
as an alarmed expression came over her face. “Wolf. That old guild of yours.
They won’t possibly try to come back after you, will they?”

He waved this concern away. “It’s
ironic, but because they did that to me, they were beaten by a rival guild about
a month later. If I’d been at full strength, they likely would still be around.
It was the rival guild that sold me as a slave.”

“So it’s entirely because you lost
the hand that I was able to get you?” Her eyes went to his iron hand. “I now
have mixed feelings about what happened.”

“As do I.” 

From the other side of the room,
there was a call of, “Siobhan!”

Groaning, she pushed the chair
back. “A guildmaster’s work is never done, I swear.” She put a hand on his
shoulder, her touch gentle and sweet. “Thank you, Wolf, for the story.”

“You’re welcome,” he whispered.
Watching her go, he was overcome by the unfairness all over again. In a
different world, where he hadn’t been taken from his home and forced onto such
a dark path, he would have been able to stay. Stay, and be friends and an ally
with that incredible woman. It was the loss of that future, more than the hand,
that enraged him.

People drifted upstairs in twos
and threes, and finally, the last of them retired for the night. Having no need
to keep sitting there, keeping watch over people, he trudged up the stairs as
well.

The bed was a fine one, the
mattress just soft enough to give a man’s back some comfort, and long enough
that his feet weren’t hanging off the edge. So there was no reason for him to
be tossing and turning like he was. Erik finally dropped off to sleep after
some effort, only to wake up a short time later in a cold sweat, his hand
automatically reaching for the sword leaning against the headboard. Breathing
hard, he leaned over the side of the bed, nauseated from the nightmare.

Bad memories made the worst
nightmares.

Breathing slowly and deeply, he
got his stomach back under control. Judging from the light coming in through
the window, he couldn’t have slept for more than an hour or two. It wasn’t
enough rest for him after traveling all day, but the thought of rolling over
and trying again didn’t set well with him.

He moved on instinct, gravitating
toward the one thing that always squelched the nightmares. Taking the quilt and
sword with him, he moved on silent feet, easing out of his room and down two
doors. Putting his ear to the wood, he listened for the soft, steady breathing
of his guildmaster. His tremors eased, the nightmare fading, as he listened to
her breath. She was deeply asleep, not a concern in her world.

Comforted by that, he sank down to
the floor, putting his back against the wood. There he stayed, wrapped up in
the quilt, and just listened.

An interminable time passed before
the door directly across from him opened. Grae, looking mussed and half asleep,
stepped out. He took in the sight of Erik sitting there, leaning against
Siobhan’s door, but oddly enough didn’t look surprised. Erik felt
self-conscious in this position and somewhat trapped on the floor, but Grae
didn’t even ask a question, just crossed to him and turned so that he sat next
to him, shoulders brushing.

 Erik did not understand this
situation one bit. Why would the man not be surprised to see him like this? In
the middle of the night, no less.

In a hushed tone, barely audible,
Grae spoke. “Ever since I was a child, when something went wrong, I went to
Siobhan. Because she can face anything without flinching. Even if she can’t fix
the problem, I found that being next to her is comforting.” Finally he turned,
facing Erik directly, a lopsided smile on his face. In the dim lighting of the
hallway, it was barely visible, but Erik could still see it. “You and I are
alike that way.”

He also felt that way? That
everything in the world could be overcome as long as Siobhan was with him? In
that moment, Erik felt a stronger connection to Grae than he ever had before.
“I didn’t think we were anything alike.”

Grae found this funny, as he
chuckled, the sound breathy and low. “Me either, at first.”

A comfortable silence fell between
them. For once, Erik didn’t feel any tension coming from Grae. He decided to
just enjoy the moment, and went back to staring blankly at the opposite wall.

“You don’t do this every night,”
Grae ventured, tone cautious. His tone invited a response, if Erik felt
comfortable giving him one, or not.

“No,” Erik agreed, still not
looking at the other man. He struggled with what to say for a moment, finally
settling on, “I have no good memories of this city.”

“Ah. Siobhan mentioned to me that
it was here you lost the hand.” Grae, bless the man, left it at that.

“Aye.” After contemplating that
for a moment, he asked, “Is that truly all she said?”

“That and it was your own
guildsmen that did it. If they were still around, she’d go hunt them down and
do the same. She’s that mad about it.” Grae shook his head, snorting. “As
fierce as a lioness, our Siobhan. But the thing I don’t understand is why?”

“Jealousy. Fear. When I was
younger, I was new to fighting. Oh, I’d been trained in using the sword, we all
are in my hometown. I was far from defenseless. But actual battle experience,
that’s what I lacked. Over time, I got better. Stronger. Faster. I think it
scared them.” He let his head
thunk
against the wood. “They weren’t sure
if there was anyone in the guild strong enough to stop me, if I wanted to
leave.”

“So they crippled you instead?”
Grae shook his head, mouth tight. “That makes no sense to me.”

“Little does in a dark guild. Fear
rules there. Fear and jealousy.” Almost without his permission, his mouth
added, “It’s a miracle to belong to a guild as good as yours. You’re a blessed
man, Grae.”

“Oh, I know it, trust me. The
whole guild was created for my sake.”

“Have you thoughts of growing
larger?”

“Certainly, now that we’re making
enough money to support more people.” Grae ticked things off on his fingers.
“We want more enforcers, a trader, and an apothecary or surgeon of some sort.”

So they did realize that they were
short on the specialties an escorting guild needed, they just hadn’t been able
to do anything about it until recently? That made sense to him. After all,
Deepwoods was very new. The assurance that they would be looking for an
enforcer after this trip reassured him.

After another stretch of silence,
Grae said in realization, “I don’t know anything about Reske, or your family.
Will you tell me about them?”

Slowly, haltingly, Erik tried to
describe his home and parents and siblings. Whenever he paused, unsure of what
to say, Grae would ask another question, gently leading him along. Eventually,
it became more natural, and Erik started to ask questions in turn, learning
more about Grae and Siobhan’s families. (They had apparently grown up next door
to each other.)

The night passed easily, without
their notice, until eventually they grew tired of speaking and their rears went
numb from sitting on a hard wood floor. Calling it quits, both men gave each
other a genuine wish for sweet dreams, and went back to their beds. But this
time, as Wolf crawled back onto the mattress, he knew he’d sleep well.

ӜӜӜ

After spending half the night
talking in the hallway, Erik did not wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He
growled at Siobhan as she knocked on his door with a wakeup call, then growled
at Beirly when the man tried to get between him and the breakfast table. People
more or less deemed it wise to give him space until he had at least eaten, and
scattered to different tables.

With two plates of very good
omelets in his stomach, he felt less inclined to murder anyone. Siobhan sank
into the chair next to him, putting a mug on the table as she did. Using just
one finger, she pushed it his direction, like a woman distracting a hungry wolf
with a chunk of prime meat. “Good morning?”