Thief's War: A Knight and Rogue Novel (27 page)

“What are you waiting for?”

“The sergeant, he told Moult and me we’re supposed to protect you. Follow behind the boss and make sure no one bothers him, he said. I can’t do that if I go back.”

Roseman took a deep breath and controlled his temper. “You’re also supposed to obey my orders, right?”

“Of course, boss. Always.”

“Well, I’m ordering you to go back to the house. I’m only going to talk to some snitch of an apothecary, in a public yard. If we get attacked by a savage sheep, Moult can protect me.”

A full grown ram can knock a man off his feet, but Phearson must not have known much about sheep for the indecision on his face vanished. “Right.”

He strode off, still followed by concealed smiles, and Roseman turned to me.

“The stockyard. And he’d better be there. You know where it is?”

“No. I’ve only spent a few weeks in this town.”

“Then follow me.”

* * *

Leading the way reassured him, as I’d known it would. When we approached the yard, it bustled with men and livestock—indeed, we had to stand and wait while a drover and his dogs brought a herd of twenty cows into a pen.

But as we went further into the maze of pens, rife with manure and flies, we saw fewer and fewer people, and the only sound was the lowing and bleating of the milling beasts. They weren’t the only creatures destined for slaughter…but ’twould not be today. When I’d come here earlier, to leave the chain and shackle, I’d made the orphans promise me, upon the memory of their parents, that they’d hold Roseman alive till the Liege Guard came for him.

In exchange, I’d promised them the Rose would hang.

The high, planked walls of the pens cut off our view of the nearby streets, but they might have been in the next fiefdom for all it mattered. A cow, mayhap bitten by some insect, banged into the fence beside us and Moult jumped.

Roseman didn’t even glance aside.

The sick barn, where diseased animals could be separated from their herds and treated or put down, was at the far end of the stockyard, near the marshes that had grown where the river met the sea. The filled pens grew fewer and the air clearer as we approached.

Moult and Roseman took deep breaths of the sea-scented air, but my heart pounded with dread. Fisk’s life hung on these next few moments, for if the stone in my collar went dark he would die within moments. The orphans’ lives were at stake as well, for Roseman wouldn’t rest till they were dead, and so were the lives of all who’d die in Roseman’s war.

I wondered when the Liege Guard would arrive. Over four hours had passed since the young lad dashed into the inn where we stayed, and ran down the corridor shouting that Tilda’s baby was coming. My estimate was that a mounted man could beat walking men over that distance by a good five hours, but that depended—

Roseman threw open the sick barn’s doors, and gestured for me to go in.

“Master Horton?” I called. “Are you back there?”

Roseman and his guard followed me in, and started down the long corridor between the stalls. There were half a dozen sheep in one big pen, and their restless movements covered any sound someone else might have made.

“Master Roseman is with me,” I called. “He brought just one guard. I know you said not to, but this is a most trusted and loyal man.”

No answer came from shadowy depths of the barn.

“He’s afraid,” I said. “I promised you’d come alone.”

“Poxy fool,” Roseman muttered under his breath. “Stay where you are, Master Apothecary. I mean you no harm, and I’ll pay well for your information.”

“You sure?” The voice was a sort of gruff squeak. To me it sounded exactly like a child trying to sound like a grown man. But it might have sounded like a man, his voice high-pitched with fear.

’Twas enough for the Rose. He started down the aisle, ready to learn who had betrayed him. He would soon know.

Moult followed his boss, paying no attention to the fact that, before I fell in behind him, I lifted the wooden latch bar from the door brackets and took it with me. I waited till he came up beside a rough wooden pillar, its foot buried in dirty straw, before I brought the latch bar down on the back of his head. It made less noise than I feared, a sort of muffled thump, all but lost in the slithering crash of his fall.

“Are you all right?” I knelt beside him, feeling around the base of the pillar. I’d had no time to fasten the chain into place when I dropped it off that morning, but I trusted in the competence of my young allies.

“What’s the matter?” Roseman came back, and stared at the fallen man.

“I don’t know. He just collapsed. Help me turn him over.”

Roseman bent to do so, and I clapped the shackle around his wrist. The click of the lock as it closed was the most chilling sound I’d ever heard.

“What under…”

As he spoke, I rolled out of his reach. Then I leaned in and grabbed Moult’s arm, dragging him out of Roseman’s reach as well. Injured or not, I couldn’t leave him here to free his master…or threaten the children. Or be threatened by them.

The Rose straightened, sliding the loop of padlocked chain up the pillar till he could stand.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, Sevenson, but if you kill me your collar will go dark. Fisk will be dead in minutes.
Minutes
.”

“I’m not going to kill you,” I said. “And they’ve promised me they won’t, either.”

And even if they broke their word,
I’d
still not have killed him. Which meant that Fisk would survive until the balance of power had shifted, and we could save ourselves.

“When I get loose,” Roseman growled, “you’re going to watch your friend die. Then, when your stone goes dark, I’ll finish you off even slower than I’m going to kill him.”

“I have no doubt you would,” I said. “As it is, I’d best get back to Fisk before the troops arrive.”

I got a grip on Moult’s collar, preparing to drag him out. He was heavier than I’d expected, limp as he was, but his chest still rose and fell. I’d tried not to strike too hard.

“Troops? What troops?” The chain rattled as Roseman yanked on it. “Stop being an idiot and let me loose. I’ll let you both live, if you do. I’d have to lock you up for a while, but you can survive this. My men know where I went, and people in the street watch me. They’ll be able to track me down.”

“I’m sure they could, eventually.” The fear hadn’t appeared yet. His expression held only the exasperation of a man putting up with a temporary inconvenience, on his way to certain victory. “But it will be the High Liege’s men who come to retrieve you. Not yours.”

Now his expression changed. “The High Liege doesn’t know I exist. You’re lying.”

“The Liege probably doesn’t, yet.” I started dragging Moult toward the door. “But his commander and judicars in Gollford do. Fisk and I sent for them.”

He pulled at the chain, harder this time. “My men will kill Fisk the moment they turn up. He’ll be dead, do you hear me? Dead! The moment some yard hand comes to tend those sheep I’ll be free, and you’ll wish you
died
before you tried this stunt.”

“No doubt I would,” I said. “But no one will come here. The children will stop them.”

“The…”

I saw his face changed then, terror dawning as he realized what I meant, and who his guards were. His eyes swept over the empty stalls.

“Hey.” His voice wavered. “Hey, I’m rich. Really, really rich. Maybe we can make a deal?”

“I doubt it. In fact, I’m leaving you in the hands of those who’d never be tempted by anything you can offer them…unless you could bring their parents back.”

I dragged Moult down the aisle and out of the barn, leaving Roseman staring into the shadows, his face sickly with fear.

And not without reason.

“Timasus? I know you’re here.”

I latched the door shut behind me as I waited for him to appear, and eventually he scurried around the side of the great barn.

“He’ll start yelling soon,” I said. “You’re sure no one will hear?”

“Naw, we’ve stayed here long enough ’t know how they work. They fed them sheeps in the morning. There won’t be nobody near this place till tomorrow.” His voice was sure, but his eyes were too wide for his thin face and his shoulders twitched.

“So the Rose will be here, alive, when the Liege’s men arrive. Right? I needed your help to find a place he could be held, but remember what you promised in exchange?”

“Yah, yah. I know what we said.”

But his gaze shifted aside as he spoke, and instinct screamed for me to check his pockets for weapons. ’Twould do no good. I had to have a place where Roseman could be held, by guards who’d bow to neither bribe nor threat. The orphans were the only ones in Tallowsport who had that much courage…and that much hate.

“I’m coming back in just a few hours,” I said, dragging Moult down the dusty path between the pens. “I’ll be back, and I expect to find Roseman alive when I get here. You gave your word. Your honor depends on keeping it.”

But Timasus had already slipped away, and I knew that honor would be a fragile barrier against the sweeping flood of vengeance.

I’d better get back here quickly. Not to save Roseman, who’d deserved whatever fate he might meet at his victim’s hands—but to keep the children from having his death on their conscience.

Down in the cellar, we couldn’t hear what went on in the world above. But after several nearly eternal hours had passed, a couple of new guards came down the stairs, wearing breastplates and grieves. They took the place of the six men, who’d been detailed to watch three prisoners locked into cells, and sent them to arm.

Wiederman clung to the bars and demanded to know what was going on. They looked at him, but said nothing.

Which probably meant that the Liege Guard had arrived in the city, but wasn’t at the house yet. In their boss’s absence, Roseman’s guards were preparing for trouble, but still clinging to the last orders they’d been given. Hopefully the last order Roseman would be able to give, though how Michael planned to accomplish that…

Whatever he was doing must have been working so far—though the guards glanced at my throat occasionally, no one tried to kill me.

More time passed, perhaps half of one of those interminable hours, before we heard the door at the top of the stairs open and a rumble of boots coming down. The first man who hurried into the room was one of Roseman’s captains, and he went straight to Wiederman’s cell and unlocked it.

“The Liege Guard has invaded the city,” he said. “They’re marching on this house—be here in minutes. We may be able to hold out, but someone’s got to assume command till the boss gets back. You’re in charge of city matters, so we figure that’s you.”

He swung the cell door open, but Wiederman stood gawking at him. “Liege troops? Are you sure? Why?”

“Come see for yourself.” The man gestured impatiently toward the stairs.

But Wiederman’s eyes turned to me, fastening on my neck.

“Not my fault.” I lifted my collar, displaying the glowing gem. If it winked out now, I was done for.

“Later.” Wiederman turned and dashed up the stairs. All but one of the guards followed.

The guard who remained looked nervously at Jack and me, fingering the hilt of his sword. He was about my age, and had probably never seen combat in his life.

In these peaceful times, most haven’t. Not even sell-swords, unless they dabble in banditry.

“They’re probably going to need you up there,” Jack said helpfully. “And it’s not like we can chew through the bars with our teeth.”

“I’ve got orders.” But his eyes strayed to the stairs more and more often.

Time had stopped creeping. It was only about ten minutes later that a faint sound reached us, a distant, clattering roar. To me it sounded like the kitchen of a busy tavern during the dinner rush, with pots banging and shouted orders.

Our guard was standing at the foot of the stairs, gazing up, when the door at the top opened. The sounds of battle grew louder, and Michael came pelting down. He’d acquired a sword somewhere, and a coat in the Rose’s colors, and turned his collar around to the back. Even if the guard had seen him on the night he was captured, or on his brief visit this morning, odds were high he wasn’t paying enough attention to recognize him.

“They’re rushing the house,” Michael said crisply. “We need every man to push them back. Get to your unit.”

The guard raced up the stairs with Michael behind him. Then the door at the top closed, muting the noise once more, and Michael came quietly back down.

“I got the keys from Roseman’s office.” He tried the first one in the lock of my door as he spoke. “It’s chaos up there.”

“Are Liege troops really attacking the house? With enough men to take the town?” I’d set it up, and I still didn’t believe it.

“I don’t believe it,” said Jack. “Where did they come from? How could they know about us?”

Michael, who had finally found the right key, ignored him and answered me. “They’ve got a sizeable force out there. Enough to take the house, but Roseman’s guards got their defenses organized in time to beat back the first assault. There’s going to be a blood-bath here, and I don’t see how to stop it.”