Return of the Crimson Guard (60 page)

‘I meant with the battle,’ Tinsmith said.

Men and women came running down the street carrying bundles and baskets. A crying child was being dragged along by her shirt-front. The man blinked at Tinsmith. Oh, that! Have no idea. Sorry. You'll have to reach the Gemcutters’ Bourse for that.’

‘The gemcutters?’ said Nait. ‘They're fighting
there
? Sergeant, please, we've to get a piece of
that’

The man clenched both hands in his hair and he stared pleadingly at the oxen. ‘There's some kind of riot in the district. Something about protection fees. Move, you great anuses!’

Tinsmith raised an eyebrow. ‘I'm sorry … ?’

The man yanked on his hair so hard it was as if he was attempting to raise himself from the ground. ‘Not
you
– them! Why won't you move? Please! Come ow.’

‘Maybe we can help,’ offered Hands.

Tinsmith glared at her. To the man, ‘Good luck.’

‘I'll fucking kill you!’ the man yelled at the oxen.

Honey Boy tapped a finger to the side of his head. Least nodded, the fetishes tied in his hair jangling. As they moved up the Way of Opals the stream of refugees grew so congested they had to push to make any headway. It occurred to Nait that toe-to-toe fighting was not why he'd signed up with the harbour guard, but it looked like that was exactly where the sergeant was taking him unless he could think of something quick. It also occurred to him that he'd seen that fellow before. And recently too. He pushed his way to Tinsmith's side. ‘Something strange about that fellow and his wagon, sir.’

‘That there certainly was.’

‘I mean, he was probably on his way to the harbour, don't you think?’

Tinsmith slowed. ‘What tells you that, Nait?’

‘Just a hunch.’

Tinsmith shook his head. ‘Not good enough, Nait.’ He waved a go-ahead to a glaring Hands.

‘I've seen that scraggle-haired fellow before, sir,’ Nait called.

‘Where was that?’ Tinsmith called back.

‘On board the
Ragstopper
.’

Sergeant Tinsmith stopped. He turned to Nait. ‘You sure?’

‘My nose tells me so.’ He tapped the side of it.

Hands sneered. ‘He just doesn't want a sword shoved up it.’

A comment similar in kind occurred to Nait but Tinsmith waved for silence. He stroked his grey moustache. ‘OK. Let's check it out.’

He raised his voice, ‘Load crossbows! Spread out!’ Hands signalled a reverse.

They found the wagon not too far down the way from where they'd left it. The drover ignored them, yanking on the harnessing. He was weeping. Tinsmith walked up, followed by Hands, Nait and Least.

‘You with the
Ragstopper?’
Tinsmith called out.

The man jumped as if stabbed. He spun, dragged a sleeve across his face. ‘What? Why? Who're you?’

‘Sergeant Tinsmith, harbour guard. Are you with the
Ragstopper?
Is that cargo?’

The man wrung his hands. ‘What's that? Cargo? No, of course not.’ He climbed up on to the seat, took up a whip. ‘Now, I have to go. Goodbye!’

‘Oughtn't we …’ began Hands. Tinsmith waved for her to wait.

The man cracked the whip over the oxen. ‘Go! Run! Move!’

Tinsmith, Hands and Nait watched him. Nait moved his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other. ‘What'cha got back there, friend?’

He stared at them, then threw down the whip. ‘Nothing! Just some supplies.’ He clambered up on to the load of tarped boxes. ‘You have no right to stop me. This isn't the harbour. Go away!’

Tinsmith sighed, looked up and down the street, watched the citizenry streaming past on their way to the waterfront to escape what might burgeon into a firestorm. ‘Looks to me like this wagon represents a blockage in a public thoroughfare. Therefore, by the power invested in me as a public servant and enforcer of civil writs, it lies within my authorization to have this conveyance seized and impounded.’

On his hands and knees on top of the piled boxes, the fellow stared down at them.
‘What?’

‘Least, Honey Boy, get this wagon off the main road.’

‘Yes, sir,’ said Least. He waved Honey Boy to him and the two yanked the oxen by their nose rings into the mouth of an alley. The man threw himself flat, hugging the tarp.

‘No! You mustn't! You don't understand – it's mine! Mine!’

‘Keep your invoice?’ Nait asked with an evil grin.

The fellow rolled off the back. His hands went to his hair, yanked furiously, then flew out wide. He ran down the street, waving his arms, shrieking, ‘Noooooo!’

Nait and Tinsmith watched him go. ‘Oughtn't we …’ said Hands. Tinsmith just waved the thought aside. He turned to the wagon.

‘All right, let's take a look.’ They untied the tarp, threw it up, lowered the gate. Boxes. Identical boxes of dark wood piled four deep in six rows. Nait examined the latches of the nearest. There didn't appear to be a lock plate or a keyhole. He pulled out his knife. ‘How do you open these things?’ He jammed the point of his knife into the wood.

Tinsmith suddenly knocked the knife flying from his hands. Nait glared at his sergeant. ‘What?’

‘Blame
my
nose,‘ Tinsmith said. ‘Now stand back. I seem to remember seeing boxes like these back in my old days with the marines in Genabackis.’ He stood up on the lowered gate and gingerly felt at the twin latches of one of the top rear boxes. These gave easily. Kneeling, his face close, he lifted the lid a finger's width. Nothing happened. He stared inside for a time, motionless.

‘Sergeant?’ Hands asked.

Tinsmith cleared his throat. ‘Corporal, how close would you say those fires are now?’

‘A few blocks – getting closer.’

He closed the box, jumped down. ‘Back up the oxen. Get ‘em moving. Now.’

‘They ain't interested,’ complained Least.

‘Use your knives.’

Honey Boy blew out a breath and raised his brows as if to say, ‘my goodness’.

Nait followed Tinsmith out on to the street. ‘What's in the boxes?’ His sergeant ignored him, peering up and down the thoroughfare.

‘Corporal Hands,’ he ordered, ‘send men to confiscate and ready a launch large enough for this load.’

‘Aye, aye, sir.’

‘Is it gold?’

‘Least, organize a perimeter of men around the wagon. Don't let anyone on to it.’

‘Aye, sir.’

‘Is it maybe the Imperial jewels looted from the twelve continents?’

Sergeant Tinsmith snatched the front of Nait's jerkin, lifted him on to his toes. Face to face, he growled, ‘I'm going to actually tell you, Nait. But only because I know that if I don't you're going to stick your ugly face into one of them and kill us all. So, what's inside?’ He lowered his voice and his eyes held a fey look that Nait had never seen in his sergeant before. ‘There's enough Moranth munitions in that wagon to turn the city's entire waterfront into dust and smoke. All of it sealed with the mark of the Imperial Arsenal.’

‘No shit?’ Nait managed, pulling at Tinsmith's fist.

‘But what
really
worries me, Nait, is the fact that someone's pillaging the Arsenal. And sooner or later, that someone's going to make a mistake – and when that happens I plan to be as far away as possible.’

* * *

Shimmer glared out the window of the Black Nacht tavern to the fires that seemed to have spontaneously sprung to life all over the city. Crossbow bolts slammed intermittently into half-closed shutters and bounced from the stone wall with sharp metallic
tings.
Turning, she crooked a finger to Smoky. The mage opened his arms helplessly. ‘Don't look at me. Honest. I'm just playing support here. It's the citizens. They're looting and rioting to cover their looting. Honest.’

She crossed her arms. ‘I hope so because we do not want to test Tayschrenn's forbearance.’

‘Really!’

‘Fine.’ She faced the two blades that remained with her. ‘We've made a mistake, let them pin us down. Their numbers are just growing out there. We have to keep moving.’ Her glance fell to the sturdy tavern tables, their hand-adzed timbers fully four fingers thick; she studied the doors – of similar construction. She looked to Voss, a blade saboteur. He nodded and a broad smile gathered at his mouth.

Mantlets was one name Shimmer knew for them. Rattels, else-where, pavises as well. In practice they could take many shapes, depending upon the purposes one had in mind and the material available. Large movable shields usually built during sieges to defend attacking crossbowmen, bowmen or sappers. Voss supervised the construction of as many as they could pull together. Held side by side in a tight circle Shimmer would move her command inside a turtle – just like the one the remnants of the 3rd Company reported using to escape their imprisonment.

Yells and the crash of wood in the distance marked another element advancing – Shimmer watched down a side street while hundreds of armed citizens, this Untan volunteer militia, ran to cover the shifting action. Gods, everyone in the city had a crossbow and armfuls of bolts. It was as if they'd kicked a hornet's nest and now couldn't extricate their foot from it. Voss came to her side. ‘How many?’ she asked.

‘Enough – better than none.’

‘Are we ready?’

‘Could use more time. Do the job right, you know. But they're gathering out there, aren't they.’

‘Yes. We have no time. Pull the door and let's go.’

Voss saluted, the single fist to the chest. ‘Aye, sir.’

The sturdy front door was yanked from its hinges. Bolts stormed through the opening like driven rain. Everyone had already taken cover. Two mantlets were brought up side by side then edged out one after the other to cover the opening in a ‘V shape. Shimmer waved up the next pair. Crossbow bolts slammed into the shields in a steady driven rhythm like hail. A tossed lit lantern smashed against the wall spraying burning oil. The Guardsmen flinched, but continued on. At her side Smoky pointed, mouthed,
‘See!’

Eventually a full turtle of hefted tall shields now protected her command. Snipers in the taller buildings would still have line of sight down within, but it was the best they could throw together. The tavern's front door served as the final rear mantlet closing all egress. Shimmer peeked ahead through a gap in the timbers. Tossed torches, lamps and lanterns now punished them. The ferocity of the attack amazed her; it was as if the citizens were determined to burn down their own city to get them. Voss had everyone who could carrying water and had doused everyone as they exited, but the flames still inflicted casualties. It was an ugly way to go – Shimmer would prefer anything quicker.

‘Left,’ she called, directing them to a narrower alley. Before them a ragged mob of armed citizen militia struggled to simultaneously fire their crossbows and retreat. It proved too much for them and they melted away in a general panic of falling bodies and dropped weapons. As they passed over the spot the Guardsmen helped themselves to the weapons. Yet the punishment from the rear was intense; the occasional bolt found an opening and men fell.

‘Return fire!’ Voss was yelling in the rear.

‘Smoky!’ Shimmer called.

‘On it.’

Flames roared up behind the turtle of jostled mantlets, cutting off the alley.

‘How long?’ she asked.

‘Not long.’