The Shadowmage Trilogy (Twilight of Kerberos: The Shadowmage Books) (84 page)

“Someone who is both thief and wizard,” Lucius finished for him. “A Shadowmage.”

Sighing, Lucius rubbed his chin thoughtfully as his mind raced. His guild always needed attention, of course. Put a group of thieves together in the same city and their bickering alone would keep you busy. But, this was a quiet time for the guild, with no major operations planned for a while. And the baron was right, in a way. It had been far too long since he had engaged in anything more complex than petty larceny. Here was a chance to put the full repertoire of his skills to use, to achieve something that no one had accomplished before. In spite of himself, Lucius found himself warming to the idea and, in the back of his mind, was already working out who to appoint as lieutenant of the guild while he was absent. Then he caught sight of the glint in the baron’s eye.

You unbelievable bastard
, Lucius thought.

This was, of course, exactly what the baron wanted him to be thinking. For all his skill and experience, Lucius still found himself being played. It was then the baron landed his final blow.

“I have been giving a lot of thought to the concessions you asked for in our last meeting,” he said.

“Oh, I see,” Lucius said with an ounce of scorn creeping into his voice. “I perform this task for you or you withdraw your support for my guild.”

“Dear me, Lucius, no, what a thing to say. We have already agreed those terms, and I am not a man to go back on his word. Certainly not. No, no, I was thinking that if you were to do me this favour, then it is only right and proper that I perform a similar service for you. After all, we are both ultimately men of business.”

“I’m listening.”

“It also helps me to have a thieves’ guild that is both strong and grateful, of course, but we are all driven by self-interest. Specifically, I was thinking of encouraging the taverns and wine traders to take over the Five Markets by night. You know, liven the place up a bit after the day, as it gets deathly quiet when the sun goes down. I would need you to promise me that the pickpockets will stay away from the place initially – can’t have partygoers suddenly losing their purses, after all – but I would be happy to permit, no, encourage your delightful ladies of the night to ply their trade there.”

That would open up a whole new market, so to speak, Lucius thought. “That could be doable.”

“And of course, with this heightened tension between the Pontaine nobility, things could easily get nasty, very quickly. We have our own way of handling these things in Pontaine, of course, but perhaps it would be of interest if I said I would guarantee all such work within thirty miles of the city to be automatically turned over to your own guild’s assassins?”

“It would be of interest, yes...”

“Finally, your guild is beginning to boom but it has still seen better days. I will pass on two parts in every hundred we take from the merchants of this city in tax, straight over to your guild. In exchange for a few more names I want to add to your, umm, theft exemption list.”

Two per cent of the merchant taxes, though Lucius. That was an awful lot of money. He began to wonder just how rich a Pontaine lord could become, if de Sousse was throwing his gold about in such a fashion for a mere trinket.

He looked up at the baron and gave a rueful smile.

“Okay, you can stop playing with me, Lord Baron. On behalf of my guild, I gratefully accept your offers.”

“And my artefact?”

Lucius narrowed his eyes as he considered the baron. “If this artefact is so powerful and, thus, so valuable, how can you trust me not to run off with it?”

The baron smiled wolfishly. “Two reasons, my dear Lucius. First, I would hunt you down. I would dedicate a great deal of money and resources to do so. Oh, you might evade my efforts for a few years, perhaps forever, but you would never be able to rest easy wherever you fled to.”

“In that, I believe you.”

“More importantly, I think you are a professional. I don’t believe you have any great wish for the kind of power an artefact like this can bring. I
do
think you would be interested in the reputation, the prestige inherent in recovering an item like this, and doing so in the service of, in all modesty, a rising lord of Pontaine. That, I think, is worth a great deal more to you than anything else I am offering.”

Lucius sighed. “I think, Lord Baron, that you are probably right. Tell me what you know of his artefact, and it will be yours as quickly as I can move.”

CHAPTER NINE

A
FTER HAVING SPENT
much of the afternoon within the Citadel, with its stagnant corridors, rank soldiery and floating aromas of food and wine, the Five Markets actually hit Lucius with a breath of fresh air. The vendors, standing with their wares under a host of multi-coloured tents and awnings, were at full tilt in their selling, this period of the day being the busiest for many.

“Did you enjoy your meeting with the baron?” Adrianna said, her voice a whisper in his ear.

Lucius turned to face her, but was momentarily surprised to find no one standing next to him. He looked about the market in suspicion, and finally located the Shadowmage, sporting her familiar black tunic, her long black hair tied up behind her head. She was lithely pushing her way through the crowd within the market, still a sling-stone’s throw away from him.

Insisting on talking to her normally and without magical assistance, Lucius stood waiting as she walked toward him, his arms crossed in expectation.

“It went well enough,” he said when she was finally within earshot. “Though we both noticed your absence.”

“I made my peace with de Sousse in our last meeting,” Adrianna said in reply. “I have no wish to endure more of his false flattery, nor engage in a debate as to why he still lacks a Shadowmage bodyguard.”

“You are going to refuse to provide him with one?”

Adrianna shrugged. “It is not a priority, you might say. But I foresee a time when not sending one of us to babysit him will be more trouble than actually doing it. When that happens, he will find himself served well enough.”

“I have business at the guildhouse,” Lucius said, then he hesitated. “Will you walk with me?”

“Yes, I believe we should talk,” she said, and then surprised him by taking his arm.

They quickly left the Five Markets, with Lucius forced to make small talk about the activities of his guild as Adrianna remained conspicuously silent. It was not until they left the bustle of the markets and Ring Street, and had crossed the main thoroughfare of Meridian Street that she cut him short and began to speak her mind.

“So, tell me, what was our dear baron wanting from you?”

He briefly considered avoiding the question or engaging in some misdirection, but quickly remembered just who it was he was speaking to.

“His pet wizard has let him down in some mission to the Territories,” Lucius said.

“Ha! I told you that wizard was not fit to sweep the ground behind you!”

“So it seems. I am to go instead.”

“You agreed to it?”

Lucius smiled, as much to himself as anything. “The baron... made a good point.”

“Concessions to your guild?”

“Among other things.”

Adrianna looked at him curiously for a moment, then snorted. “Oh, Lucius, don’t tell me he appealed to your professionalism as a thief.”

He glanced back at her in return, his expression serious.

“Please don’t think I didn’t know how he was trying to play me. I am not stupid. Well,
not
that stupid.”

“So... What is the task?”

They turned into Rogue’s Way, the quiet street lined with street houses, one of which served as the headquarters for the thieves’ guild.

“Apparently his wizard has discovered some ancient artefact in the Territories. Did the research, found an old outpost and has dug it up. It seems the man has failed only in actually getting his hands on the object, something to do with old magics.”

“And you think you have the skills to succeed where he failed?”

“You know, Adrianna, I think I do. I may not have his book-learning and I may not have your power, but I think this is one instance where my instincts as a thief may trump you both.”

Adrianna smiled at that. “You might well be right, Lucius. Still...’

He closed his eyes.
Here it comes
, he thought.

“I’ll come with you. My own guild business is slow right now, and I can more or less trust the others to get on with their appointed tasks.”

“I thought you did not trust anyone. Why would you want to come anyway? The Anclas Territories are about the most Godforsaken place I know. Everyone there is poor and desperate, and conditions are hard.”

“Well, I am not going as a tourist. But as you know, I have a healthy interest in all things magical where the Old Races are concerned. Like any skilled practitioner. This could be a fascinating trip.”

“I have promised the artefact to the baron.”

“It is not the artefact that I am after, Lucius. It is the location. An ancient outpost, recently uncovered to reveal the secrets of the Old Races, how they thought, lived, and studied? Revealing their art, medicines and philosophies?” She laughed. “By all that is sacred, man, who
wouldn’t
want to go?”

Her words made sense. Indeed, she was saying nothing he had not thought himself during his meeting with the baron, but a quiet alarm was sounding in his head. Lucius knew that where magic was concerned Adrianna could not be trusted.

Then again, he did not get the feeling she was offering him a choice. What would happen if he did try to refuse?

“I was intending to leave tomorrow morning,” he finally said.

“Excellent. Get two horses with supplies. I have some errands myself to attend to,” she said, before looking back down the street from where they had come. “Until tomorrow then, Lucius.”

Lucius watched her walk away, a sick feeling of foreboding begin to cloud his initial excitement. With a heart somewhat heavier than it had been just a short while ago, he headed back towards the guildhouse.

T
HE MOOD IN
the council chamber of the thieves’ guild was one of muted excitement. Lucius could well understand it; the boss was going to be going away for a month or so. Now all the senior thieves present at this council had a chance to run their operations the way they saw fit, without interference from him.

Lucius raised a palm and slapped it on the long table to get their attention. Wendric, the lieutenant of the guild and Lucius’ second-in-command, raised a palm to emphasise the call to order.

“Just so you understand,” he said. “There will be no new franchises created while I am away. You get a good idea, keep it to yourself until I get back. You see a not-to-be-missed opportunity, let it slip past – I promise you, there will be plenty of franchises and wealth for everyone in the near future, and I don’t want anyone upsetting the cart with their mad schemes. Is that clear?”

Around the table, the senior thieves nodded and muttered their assent, a somewhat motley collection of men and women who had grown up within the guild and demonstrated the aptitude and trustworthiness to run their own operations. It was a simple system where money trickled up from the ranks, through the senior thieves to the guild itself, where it often became a torrent of gold. It worked, and so long as the money flowed, everyone was happy. Those who chose to buck the system and cream off profits for themselves tended not to stay too long within the guild. The worst offenders could expect a visit from the guild’s own assassins.

“Savis, don’t look to expand the prostitution rings just yet,” Lucius continued. “I’ll have some good news for you there soon but, for now, just make sure your girls stay safe and stay clean.”

Savis, a light-haired woman starting to push past middle-age, nodded. As the latest leader of the prostitution franchise, she would not want to make any waves.

“Pickpockets, stick to your restricted hours and locations within the Five Markets. Protection, carry on your good work – we have had some complaints from the craftsmen on Meridian Street about a gang hitting their shops and stealing valuables. Probably just some independents, in which case you know what to do, but make sure someone is always nearby. You protect their businesses, and you will find the craftsmen only too glad to pay you their weekly dues. They’ll consider it a bargain.” Again, mutters and nods.