SoulQuest (16 page)

“If you wanna run with this crew you will,” said Swul. “Otherwise, Ekala won’t shut up about how the big, bad soldier-boy can’t hold his drink as well as some skinny chick from the slums.”

“You seem a lot friendlier than you were when we first met,” said Tanus.

Swul groaned. “Yeah, about that...”

“Ekala said you were almost killed by Dreadnoughts. She didn’t say much more.”

“Nah, she wouldn’t. Probably felt it wasn’t her place,” said Swul. “After I got exiled, I made my way to Barrows. You ever been there?”

“Yeah. Fishing town, right?”

“Right. I’d spent pretty much my whole damn life inside the forest, thought it was time t’ see the ocean. Thought I could find some work on a boat or somethin’.”

“Someone had other ideas.”

Swul nodded. “There was a Dreadnought outpost. Soon as they got sight of me, they came after me. I fought ‘em, naturally, but there were too many. That’s when Zarim an’ Ekala turned up. They saved my life an’ Zee offered to let me join his crew. Been here ever since.”

“Many of the Dreadnoughts are Illuminists,” said Tanus. “One of their doctrines is that others are servants of the Desolate One.”

“Others?” asked Swul.

Tanus mentally scolded himself. “Sorry. That’s what we called non-humans.”

Swul refilled his class. “So when I found out you were an ex-Dreadnought, I got kinda fired up. Then I found out we were going to be visiting Nephelm—both represent the greatest hits of the worst part of my life.” He threw back the shot and cringed momentarily. Evidently, inferno could still have an effect on him as well. “Then I saw what you did. How you risked your own neck for Oberon. An’ how you were willin’ to back me up once we find the bastard who killed him. That impressed me.”

Tanus nodded as he puffed his cigar. He removed it from his lips and stared at the glowing end. “And here I thought it was because I beat Ekala at cards.”

Swul laughed. “That’s what sealed the deal, brother.”

Tanus joined in the laughter and slid his glass over. “On second thought, I think I
will
have another.”

Swul grinned, pulling the cork from the bottle. “Now yer talkin’.”

On the bridge, the wheel was locked in autopilot. Zarim stood nearby, maps of Serenity and the surrounding area spread out over the table, his cloak and his sword hanging from the captain’s chair. When Ekala entered, she went to her captain’s side.

“We got a plan?”

Zarim pointed to a location on the map. “This is an airfield just outside the city limits. The cathedral is here in the center. There’s a city tram, but I think we’d be better served walking. We want to stay inconspicuous.”

“Hon, we’re traveling with a faerie and a guy with a shotgun for an arm. I don’t think ‘inconspicuous’ is really an option for us. Especially when we’re carrying weapons.”

“Well we’re gonna try,” said Zarim. “We don’t wanna risk attracting any Dreadnought attention. We have a cloak big enough for Tanus, right?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Good.” He shuffled through the maps, bringing up ones that showed the area around the cathedral more clearly. “Serenity is walled off from the rest of the world and access is pretty restricted, unless you’ve got the right papers.”

“And I’m guessin’ we don’t.”

He nodded. “But, I know a guy who can get us what we need. He’s going to meet us at the airfield.”

Ekala knew something was up. “What guy?”

“Just...a guy,” said Zarim.

He was hiding something. And she knew what that meant. “It’s one of Gax’s connections, isn’t it?”

Zarim said nothing.

“That’s why you disappeared as soon as we took off from Nephelm. You were radioing Gax, weren’t you?”

He huffed. “Look, I don’t like it any more than you do. You think I want to be deeper in his pocket?”

“
Deeper
?” asked Ekala.

“I meant to say deep.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Zarim sighed. “It was a slip of the tongue, okay? I’m tired and pissed off and just want us to finish this.”

“If we get into debt with Gax, we’ll have a lot more trouble on our hands than usual,” said Ekala.

“We’ve brought him some pretty good scores, it won’t be a problem. I promise.”

Ekala leaned against the table and crossed her arms. “It’s time we slowed down.”

He gave a half-hearted chuckle that showed his irritation with the situation. “Slow down? Babe, we’ve gone after three stones, and of those three, we’ve only managed to get our hands on one. We keep getting our asses handed to us and it’s time to fight back. The fate of the world is in our hands.”

“Even if we get these stones back, there are still two left. What’s to say Vortai won’t beat us to the punch with them?”

Zarim drew his gun from the holster and slammed it on the table. “This does.”

She stared at the weapon for a few moments. “You’ve officially lost it, hot stuff.”

“If we take out Vortai, that means he won’t be around to keep us from getting the other stones.”

“You’re talking about Ra’kad’s right-hand man. And you want to kill him?”

Zarim nodded. “You’re damn right I do. We’re supposed to be the greatest pirates in the world, but he’s made us look like amateurs. Twice.”

“Okay...” Ekala hesitated. “I’m gonna ask you something, and I want you to just think before you jump down my throat.”

Zarim placed his palms on the table, leaned over the maps and sighed. “Okay, go ahead.”

“Is this really about keeping Vortai off our backs? Because if it is, then great, I’ll back your play,” she said. “But if this is just about your ego, then we gotta find another way.”

Zarim shook his head. “I can’t believe you’d say something like that. Besides, you didn’t seem to mind when you killed that hunting dog of his.”

“I got nothing against puttin’ a bullet in Vortai’s head. But that’s the kinda thing that’ll bring a lot of heat down on our heads. And all I’m sayin’ is I think we’d fly a lot more smoothly if we didn’t have to hang that around our necks. And you know I’m right.”

After straightening himself, Zarim sat on the edge of the table. “You’re my second-in-command. What do you think we should do?”

“What sort of papers are we getting from Gax’s friend?”

“We’ll be posing as pilgrims.”

“Good, that gives us reason to be in the cathedral in the first place,” she said. “I’m thinkin’ a standard snatch-and-grab. Once we get into the cathedral, we find where he’s keeping the stones and we take ‘em back.”

“What about security?” asked Zarim. “Dreadnoughts aren’t exactly far from that part of the city. Might even have some in attendance.”

“That’s where the distraction comes in,” said Ekala. “Remember what happened last time we were in Delfor?”

Zarim felt a smile creeping. “Yeah, I do.”

“Think something like that will cause a big enough distraction?”

“Oh yeah, I think it will.” Zarim went to the ship’s intercom and turned it on. “Swul, Tanus, get your butts up here.”

Zarim switched off the intercom and walked to his chair, sitting down with his elbows perched on the arms. Ekala took another glance at the maps before joining him.
 

“Paranoid much?” she asked.

“It’s why we’re still alive,” said Zarim, just as Tanus and Swul walked through the door.

“Yer interruptin’ some fine drinkin’ time,” said Swul.

“Save it for when we get to Serenity,” said Zarim.
 

“You have a plan of attack?” asked Tanus.

“More like a plan of sneaking,” said Zarim. “Once we get into Serenity, Ekala and I will go after the Soulstones.”

“What about Dreadnought patrols?” asked Tanus.

“They’ll be too busy trying to stop the drunken brawl between a former Dreadnought and a faerie,” said Zarim.

“Come again?” asked Swul.

Zarim pointed at the pair. “You two. Get drunk. Fight. Cause a commotion.”

“Hah, ya really think that’ll work?” asked Swul

“Probably will,” said Tanus. “Provided you don’t go down too quickly.”

“Bottle says yer wrong,” said Swul.

“Done. Sounds like a decent enough plan.”

Zarim patted Ekala’s hand. “You can thank her. Knew there’s a reason I keep her around.”

The Excalibur arrived at the airfield outside the walled city of Serenity around noon—the time that Gax had informed them their contact felt it best to meet. Moving into Serenity during a high-volume period meant the border guards would be less likely to pay a lot of scrutiny to their forged documents. Zarim stepped off the platform first, wearing his usual cloak, the hood pulled high over his head. Ekala followed, dressed in a brown cloak. Swul struggled with his as he moved alongside her. And the one Tanus wore was barely big enough for him, but he managed to make it work.

“Hate this damn thing,” said Swul. “It itches.”

“It’s either that or your wings tip off the bad guys,” said Zarim.

A large throng of people had already gathered around the crossing. Dreadnoughts checked the papers of everyone who came through, ensuring that they had proper permission to enter the city-state.
 

“Where’s Gax’s friend?” asked Ekala in a hushed tone.

“Gax said he’d be in a red coat with a distinct mustache.”

“Seriously?
That’s
what we have to go on?” asked Ekala.

Zarim shrugged. “Hey, don’t look at me.”

“Zarim.” Tanus nudged him with his shoulder. When Zarim turned, Tanus gestured with his head. Zarim followed Tanus’ line of sight and saw a large man with a red trench coat. He had a bushy, blond mustache that twirled up at the ends, while his sideburns reached down to his jaw.
 

“That the guy?” asked Swul.

“Let’s find out.” Zarim walked towards him. As they approached, the mustache man noticed them, keeping a careful eye on all four.
 

“Can I help you with something?” he asked.

“We just came from Delfor,” said Zarim.
 

“Rough area, that is. Need an extra pair of hands t’ keep from bein’ robbed.”

“A friend says that’s not enough.”

He offered his hand. “Nice t’ meet you, Zarim.”

“You, too,” said Zarim. “Didn’t get your name from our mutual friend, though.”

“Just call me Hugo. Follow me.” He led them away from the crowd, over towards the hangars. “We don’t have much time, so I’ll make this quick.” Hugo reached inside his jacket and drew four small booklets. One of each was handed to the crew. “Here’re your papers. Three men, one woman. These visas are only good for three days. Make sure to be gone before the third day. Cover story is yer Illuminists from Barrows, making a pilgrimage to the holy land. If you get pinched, I never heard of you. Droppin’ my name won’t do you no good, ‘cause Hugo ain’t my actual name. Got it?”

Zarim nodded. “We got it. How much do we owe you?”

“Already taken care of,” said Hugo.
 

“Looks like we’ll have a debt to settle once we get home,” muttered Ekala.
 

Zarim ignored it. “Thanks for your help.”

“Don’t thank me, just doin’ my job. Now get outta here.”

Hugo moved away from them and Zarim led the group back into the lines.
 

“This is just what I didn’t want happening,” said Ekala. “Now we’re gonna owe Gax.”

“It’ll be fine,” said Zarim.
 

“I worked this kind of detail before,” said Tanus. “Most of the guys here, they don’t like doing this. Especially with a crowd this size. Just answer any questions quickly and don’t cause any trouble.”

“Why do I feel like all three of you are lookin’ at me?” asked Swul.

“Just your imagination,” said Tanus.

Next to each passage in the wall was a small booth where a Dreadnought stood checking the papers. Zarim went up first, handed the booklet and the guard looked at his information. “Where are you from?”

“Barrows,” he said.

“Purpose of visit?”

“Pilgrimage.”

“When do you plan to leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

The guard stamped the book and handed it. Zarim went through the wall and waited for the others to pass through. After a few moments, they came through, too. No one seemed to have any difficulty passing through the gates.
 

“Come on, should probably take us about an hour to reach the cathedral on foot,” said Zarim.
 

Zarim continued walking and his foot hit a snag. He tripped and fell forward, landing directly on his face. Tanus reached down to help him up. “You okay?”

“Yeah, that’s embarrassing,” he said.

“You ought to be more careful, my friend.”

Zarim, Ekala, and Tanus all recognized the voice. The man it belonged to stood nearby, a cane in his hand. He had short, blond hair and bright blue eyes. It was Templar. Tanus and Zarim both advanced towards him, but Ekala stood between them.

“Wait, not here,” she said. “Inconspicuous, remember?”

“Is that so?” asked Templar. He walked towards them. A woman stood behind him, a woman who had her head covered by a hood. “And why, pray-tell, would you like to remain inconspicuous?”

“I’d tell you, but then it’d give us away,” said Zarim.

“Come on, he’s not worth it,” said Tanus. “Not yet.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Zarim stepped back, but still kept his eyes on Templar. The skilled thief leaned on his cane, still smiling.

“I know where it is,” he said.

That caused Zarim to move closer. “You wanna say that again?”

“Not only that, but I can help you reclaim your prize.”

“Why should we trust you?” asked Ekala. “You’re the one who took it from us in the first place.”

“True, but that was before,” said Templar. “Come, I know a place where we can talk a bit more freely.”

From the station, Templar led them into a restaurant. He asked the hostess if his usual place was ready and she nodded and led them to the second floor of the business. It was a room with cushions instead of chairs and a table that was low to the ground. Once they entered, Templar gestured for his guests to sit wherever they like. He and the woman who accompanied him were the last.