Guilty as Sin (42 page)

closely written sheets from the desk.

“We know Veryl was wounded. He left a trail of blood in the alley behind the bath

house. It was his right arm and he
‟
s right-handed, so he
‟
s going to need help. This is a

list of every apothecary and shady healer we know. I
‟
ll get word out on the street.”

Her jaw set. “Money loosens tongues. Let
‟
s offer a reward in the Prince
‟
s name. He

can pay for the privilege of keeping his guards to himself.”

But Jan shook his head. “The Prince doesn
‟
t care about slum kids. The Winged

Envoy said she
‟
ll find the funds.”

Lise
‟
s mouth twisted, but all she said was, “Good. Let
‟
s get on with it.”

195

But though both she and Dax worked all day and late into the night, there was no

sign of Veryl. Dax lost count of the number of strange-smelling shops they walked into,

their proprietors thin or fat or in between, but all with stained fingers and straggly

beards. The midwives and itinerant healers ranged the whole gamut from mumbling

biddies to sly-eyed slatterns. But when Veryl
‟
s name was mentioned, every single one

of them was mysteriously struck deaf.

“Remember, Michael
‟
s resources are better than ours,” Lise said to Dax as they sat

together in the bath after midnight on the second night. “He
‟
ll have every child in the

Slopes on the lookout.”

With a groan, he angled his left wing so Lise could massage featheroil into the flight

feathers. “Gods, that
‟
s good.” The tingle ran all the way to his balls, but the comfort

cradled his hearts, and to his mind that was the best part.

“On the other hand, that
‟
s what worries me.” Lise leaned in, her fingers strong and

sure in his plumage, her naked thigh rubbing against his under the water. “He
‟
s just as

likely to do it alone and get himself killed.”

She closed her eyes, thinking. “You
‟
re going back to the school tomorrow,” she

said. “Ask Bitsy to take him a message.”

Dax grinned. “You have the best ideas.” Lise
‟
s hands slid around his waist and

down over his belly.

Every nerve leaped. Dax stiffened so quickly his head swam.

Lise chuckled in his ear. “So do you, chick,” she murmured. “So do you.”

* * * * *

With a curse, Michael shoved his hands in his pockets. What the fuck was the

matter with him? He
‟
d checked his knives ten times already. Snarling, he set his back to

the warmth of the chimney on the roof of the carters
‟
tavern and scanned the night

sky—the
empty
night sky.

A jig played on an out-of-tune fiddle assaulted his ears, accompanied by raucous

voices and stamping feet. Great gouts of light spilled out into the square below. Carters

worked all hours, and this close to the west gate of Sere, the bawdy houses, taverns and

hot food stalls did a brisk trade. But the openings to the narrow alleys that led away

from the main thoroughfare yawned dark and fetid. How many men had stood there,

the distant lights dimming in their eyes as their hearts
‟
blood drained thick and hot into

the gutters?

Tonight he
‟
d see his Aetherii for the last time. They might betray him, they might

not. Lise and Dax were probably too decent, too
soft
, to give him to the Palace guards.

His attempt at a sneer wasn
‟
t convincing, not even to himself. All right, they wouldn
‟
t

do it, but by the Twister, he wouldn
‟
t put anything past Jan. Ice-cold bastard.

He
‟
d laid it out clearly enough in the message he
‟
d entrusted to Bitsy. He could

have sent any of the kids for his reply, but he
‟
d chosen her deliberately. She was such a

196

bright little thing, quick and tough. Bitsy never lost her head. Even better, the Aetherii

already trusted her, and the more they saw of her, the more likely they
‟
d be to offer her

work. Through snorts of amusement, she
‟
d relayed Lise
‟
s initial message word for

word. “Leave us out and I
‟
ll make you sorry you were ever born. And no more

featherpearls—ever.”

“Just the two of you,” he
‟
d sent back. “Wait for my signal.”

Every child in the Slopes was terrified of Hssrda. Checking apothecaries and

healers as Lise was doing was clever no doubt, but Veryl had no chance, not with fear

sharpening the senses of every little slum rat and guttersnipe. Michael
‟
s lips pulled back

from his teeth in a predator
‟
s grin. Six nights since Bubba
‟
s Bath House and the deep

gash on Veryl
‟
s arm had become infected. If he failed to get medical help, he could lose

the limb, perhaps even die.

Michael had sent Bitsy to the palazzo not long after supper. His instructions had

been specific. “Say I
‟
ll be where Dax picked me up last time at midnight. They
‟
re not to

tell anyone, especially Jan. If they
‟
re not alone, it
‟
s off.”

Now he glanced at the clock tower across the square, its face shining off and on as

the moon played hide and seek among the clouds. Two minutes past the hour.

A huge dark shadow passed silently across the starry sky. Then another. The

featherpearls in his nipples throbbed against his rising flesh.

A naked blade in each hand, Michael spun around as the two Aetherii dropped out

of the air behind him. His mouth dry, he scanned the other roofs, the street below, the

bowl of the night sky.

“Michael.” Dax
‟
s happy rumble sounded in his ear.

He barely had time to lower the knives before he was enveloped in a mighty hug, a

huge embrace of muscled arms and feathers mashing him against a massive chest.

“
Ooof!
Let go, you great—”

Dax kissed him so hard his ears rang.

Vaguely, he was aware of Lise
‟
s chuckle, of cool hands slipping down his arms to

grip his wrists. Soft lips nuzzled the nape of his neck. “Careful with the pointy things,”

whispered Lise, nipping his earlobe. “I like my men without punctures.”

Twister
‟
s balls, was that him whimpering? With a monumental effort, Michael

wrenched himself away. “Stop that.” He resisted the temptation to put his hands on his

knees and gulp in air, but it was a closerun thing.

“You alone?” he rasped. In his heart of hearts he
‟
d known he could trust them—

hadn’t he?
But gods, relief was so very sweet.

“Yes.” Lise stretched up to brush his swollen mouth with hers. “But the Prince is

putting a lot of pressure on the Winged Envoy. He wants you very badly, Michael.”

Taking her wrists, Michael set her gently aside. “Nothing new.” He glanced from

one face to the other, Dax calm and smiling, Liseriel lethal as a sword edge and just as

fine.

197

Unobtrusively, he sucked in a steadying breath. “Veryl
‟
s been visiting an animal

apothecary called Thaniel. He specializes in
vran
and
herdbeasts
, down here in the

carters
‟
quarter. Clever but risky, and now the bastard
‟
s paying the price. His arm
‟
s

infected, or so my sources tell me.”

“The children,” said Lise. “You
‟
ve got them all watching.”

“It
‟
s possible they have a passing interest.” Michael grinned, the knots inside him

easing a little.

Something white fluttered from the upper-floor window of a ramshackle building

farther up the street.

“Down!” Michael emphasized the point by grabbing two tails and tugging. “That
‟
s

the signal.”

On his belly, he wriggled forward across the tiles. “There! Other side of the noodle

cart.”

Below, a piece of shadow detached itself from the entrance of a narrow lane.

Infinitely slowly, it became a cloaked figure, wearing a broad-brimmed carter
‟
s hat.

Veryl stood very still, scanning the square.

“Oh yes,” breathed Lise, lying next to him. All the hair rose on the back of Michael
‟
s

neck.

Dax gave a soundless chuckle, full of menace and anticipation. If Veryl hadn
‟
t been

such scum, Michael might have taken a split second to pity him. As it was, a flurry of

sensation ran down his spine, lifting his cock and stealing his breath. Gods, they were

fine—so fierce and beautiful they made his chest ache. All the long years since Tannio,

he
‟
d worked alone, but he had no fear Lise and Dax would slow him down or get in his

way, not after the night at Bubba
‟
s. His lips curved with pure pleasure. This was going

to be
good
.

A rowdy group clustered around the noodle cart, tossing their coins down and

turning away with greasy packets in their hands. Veryl drifted along with them, only

detaching himself to vanish into the third alley along.

As one, they came to their feet. “Down there, is it?” said Lise.

“Thaniel works mostly in the stables, but he
‟
s got a room.” Michael grinned,

stepped close and locked his arms around Dax
‟
s neck. “And guess what? It
‟
s right

under the eaves.”

The Aetherii clamped a casual arm around Michael
‟
s waist and stepped out into the

air. Michael laughed aloud, the wind whipping his hair.

Lise dropped into place beside them, so close the tip of her wing brushed Michael
‟
s

shoulder. “How many windows?”

“Two. Facing south.”

In the end, there was very little to discuss. They circled in from the north and

discovered that the half-open windows would be too tight a squeeze for Dax, so he

dropped Michael on the roof and landed in the street. Lise hovered, waiting.

198

Michael secured a rope to the rickety chimney and gave it a couple of experimental

tugs. Ah well, a man only lived once and besides—he glanced at Lise, her wings

scarcely beating as she rode the night wind—he had someone to help break his fall,

didn
‟
t he? It was an odd feeling. He shook his head to clear it.

On the street below, Dax held up three fingers. When Michael nodded and Lise

waved, he furled his wings and ducked into the building. Michael counted off the

seconds, his heart thundering, his mouth dry.