The Thorn of Dentonhill (31 page)

“Go!” Veranix yelled, and Kaiana didn't delay, charging out the door with Professor Alimen.

Veranix saw Kalas grasp the cloak with his good hand. He dashed over and grabbed the other end of it. “No, you don't, Kalas.”

“You ruined everything!” Kalas said. Veranix could feel the
numina
coursing through the cloak, through the both of them. Kalas was trying to tap into it, but Veranix was pulling on it as well. Neither of them could take control over the cloak's power.

“You'll have to wait another forty-seven years, then,” Veranix said. With his free hand, he lifted up his staff and hit Kalas. Before he could swing again, the staff dissolved into dust. Kent was on his feet, pale and bleeding, holding his hand out as if he intended to strike again. He then cried out and dropped down again, a knife in his back.

“Don't touch him,” Colin said, his hand still outstretched from throwing the knife.

Veranix grabbed Kalas by the throat. Kalas struggled for a moment, but then looked over at Sirath, barely breathing on the floor, futilely clawing at empty air like he was blind. Veranix almost felt pity for the man.

“I'm sorry, my lord,” Kalas whispered. “I have failed you and the Nine.” He drew the
numina
again, in a surge that took Veranix by surprise. Unable to pull on the
numina
Kalas had, he squeezed harder on his throat. Kalas didn't direct the
numina
at Veranix, though. Instead he focused on Sirath, who then vanished in the blink of an eye.

Veranix wrenched the cloak from Kalas's hand. Kalas dropped to the ground as soon as he lost contact. The
numina
poured into Veranix's body, and with that he was able to summon the rope over, which lay dormant around the two bodies by the door. It coiled up and undulated at his feet, like a tame snake ready to strike at his command. He turned to the few of Fenmere's men who were still standing. None of them looked like they wanted to be in the warehouse a moment longer.

“If you want to run, now's the time,” Veranix said. All of them dropped their weapons and went for the door. Veranix recognized one of them, and wrapped the rope around him, lifting him off the ground.

“Hello, Bell,” he said, bringing the man over. “I see Fenmere didn't kill you.”

“Oh, let me go, Thorn,” Bell said, looking as if he was about to start weeping. “I'm done, man. I'm done.”

“You know, Bell,” Veranix said. “I'm a man who believes in repentance. So I will let you go, trusting that you will give a message to your boss.”

“Another message? Why me, Thorn?”

“Because I like you, of course,” Veranix said. “Tell Fenmere that tonight was about stopping the Blue Hands, and he'd be wise to not involve himself in mystical matters anymore.”

“Oh, he's done with them, chief,” Bell said. “He doesn't want anything to do with them.”

“Good,” Veranix said. “He should consider the same attitude when it comes to
effitte
. And crossing Waterpath.”

“He won't stop . . .”

“I know he won't,” Veranix said. “Tell him I'm still here, and I'm going to be watching him. I won't stand for his junk coming into the University or Aventil. Let him know I'm not done with him.”

“Yeah, sure,” Bell said. “Just let me go, Thorn.”

“Go, run.” Veranix set Bell back on the ground by the door. Bell dashed off as soon as he was free.

Colin was over by the door, pulling the dead mage off the other man. Veranix went over.

“Colin, is he—” he started. The young man, a street tough, one of Colin's boys lay on the ground. He looked dazed, blood coming from his nose and ears. He wheezed and coughed.

“Easy, Hetzer,” Colin said.

“Hey, cap.” Hetzer barely got the words out. “We help the Thorn?”

“Yeah,” Veranix said, bending over the dying man. “You did it.” Hetzer looked at Veranix, his eyes finally finding something to focus on.

“It's you,” he said, reaching up with a bloody hand. He cusped Veranix's head. “You're the one, Thorn. You show them.”

“I will,” Veranix said.

“He is, isn't he?” Hetzer asked Colin. “He's the one who should be—” He didn't finish his sentence. He stopped breathing or moving, his eyes still fixed on Veranix.

“Should be what?” Veranix asked.

“Ain't nothing,” Colin said. He got up and walked away from Veranix, not looking at him.

“I can't believe you came here,” Veranix said. “I . . . I don't know what to say.”

“Ain't nothing,” Colin said again. “I made your father a promise, and a Rose Street Prince always keeps his promises.”

“His name was Hetzer?”

“Yeah,” Colin said. “He died a true Prince.”

“He did,” Veranix said. “You need help taking him home?”

Colin shook his head. “I can handle it, cousin. You've got to look after yours, and I'll take mine.”

“Thank you, Colin,” Veranix said. “I wouldn't have been able to—”

“Yeah, I know,” Colin said. “It ain't nothing, I told ya. Now get out of here. And let's keep to our sides of our streets for a bit.”

“Sure,” Veranix said. Colin still hadn't looked at him. Instead he went over and picked up his dead friend. He started to walk out down the street.

“Hey, cousin,” he said after a moment. He looked back at Veranix. “He's right, though. You fought like a Prince tonight. Your dad would have been proud.” With that, he went out into the dark street.

V
ERANIX FOUND DELMIN
sitting on the curb of the street, dazed and disoriented, but otherwise unharmed.

“Did we win?” Delmin asked.

“I think we did,” Veranix said, holding up the rope.

“The Blue Hand Circle?” Delmin asked.

“Two are definitely dead,” Veranix said. “I didn't check on Kalas after it all.”

“No?” Delmin asked. He got up from the curb, rubbing his head.

“For one, I didn't feel like sticking around in the warehouse. And I'm not much of one for killing someone who's already helpless.”

“That's a dog that'll bite you back, you know,” Delmin said. He slowly started walking down the street, and Veranix kept pace with him.

“Could be,” Veranix said.

“And Sirath?” Delmin asked. “Oh, excuse me.
Lord
Sirath.”

“Pretty sure he's dead,” Veranix said. He thought about it for a moment. “Though Kalas, he . . . what's the word? Where you make someone vanish and reappear somewhere else?”

“Teleport,” Delmin said. He was definitely favoring one leg as he walked. Veranix got under Delmin's arm and helped him.

“Right. I think Kalas did that to Sirath. And he said something about ‘he failed the Nine.' Mean anything to you?”

Delmin shook his head. “Kaiana and the professor?”

“They got out, Kaiana running like blazes with him over her shoulder. You didn't see them?”

“No,” Delmin said. “We go on faith they got to safety?”

“I have faith in Kai,” Veranix said. “She'd sort out where she was and how to get back to campus. She knows a lot of the neighborhoods around the campus, and, well, she knows how to run.”

“And if she doesn't?”

“We'll keep an eye out for the two of them,” Veranix said. “I need to get you back to campus as well.”

Then Delmin looked over at Veranix, as something occurred to him. “There was a kid, like a street urchin type, and he had the cloak and the rope. How . . . why did he?”

“I'm not entirely sure,” Veranix said. “But Kaiana hid the things away, and it got to the Rose Street . . . to one of the street gangs . . .”

“Is there a long story in here that I don't want to hear, Vee?” Delmin asked.

“Maybe so,” Veranix said. “How bad is your leg?”

“It'll sort itself out in a bit, I think,” Delmin said. “Nothing too bad.”

“Walking back will take a while,” Veranix said. “Now that I have these back, we could go the faster way.”

“No, we walk,” Delmin said forcefully. “My leg may be hurt, but I prefer a route on solid ground.”

“Fair enough,” Veranix said. They walked for a while in silence. After another half block, Veranix said, “You know, last night I stole a horse.”

“Walk!” Delmin snapped.

“Fine, fine.” Veranix let the silence hang for a moment. “It is a nice night for it, you know. I mean, look at the moons. Winged Convergence. How often you see something like that?”

“Not often,” Delmin said, stifling a laugh.

“I'm telling you, Del,” Veranix said. “There's something magical about a night like this.”

“Really, you have to shut up.”

At nearly two bells after midnight, the Turnabout was empty of all but the diehard Princes. All boys Colin knew on sight, all loyal guys with ink on their arms. Despite the late hour, all of them jumped up to full attention when Colin came in, Hetzer's body draped over his shoulder.

“Blazes, Colin!” one of them said as soon as he walked in. “What happened?”

Colin laid Hetzer's body on the floor. Kint, behind the bar, didn't look happy, but he didn't say anything, either.

“I'll tell you what happened,” Colin said, looking at all the gathered men who surrounded the body. “Tonight a Prince gave his life for Rose Street. Tonight a Prince fought for something that he believed in. Tonight a Prince was there to help us and ours.”

“Who killed him?” another Prince asked hotly. “Where do we hit?”

“Don't hit no one, not tonight. Tonight's business is done.”

“No, Colin, if Hetzer is dead . . .” Voices all started rising.

Colin whistled for the boys to hush. “Hetzer avenged himself, with his own hand. And he did more than that.”

“What more?”

“Hetzer died saving the Thorn.”

The room went quiet. One of the boys finally broke the silence. “You're kidding us, Colin.”

“The Thorn hit Fenmere tonight, I'm telling you, and the crazy mess he was up to his neck in.”

“What mess?”

“Mage circles.”

The room filled with shouts and cries.

Colin shouted over the crowd. “I don't know all of what they were up to, but the Thorn knew it had to be stopped, and he stepped up. And Hetzer stepped up.”

“Why were you and Hetzer there?” someone called out.

“Was it that paper job?”

“Did you know what that was about?”

“You know who the Thorn is?”

“Was Hetzer the Thorn?”

“You the Thorn?”

“Shut it!” Colin screamed out. The boys stopped talking, but the intensity on their faces burned into him. “I ain't the Thorn, and neither was Hetz, all right? Yeah, I saw that paper job, and Hetz and I decided it was in our interests to check it out.”

“You saw the Thorn, though? You know who he is?”

Colin was about to snap at the person who asked, until he saw it was Old Casey.

“I saw him,” Colin said. He didn't want to lie to one of the bosses. Not straight out, not over the body of a dead Prince. That wasn't right. “He ain't one of ours, or any other Aventil gang that I know.”

“So what good is he to us?”

Colin chose his words deliberately. “The Thorn let Fenmere know to stay on his side of Waterpath. That he was going to hold him there.”

“The Thorn can't hold the line,” Casey scoffed.

“He says he can, and from what I saw tonight, I believe him.”

“You believe in him now?”

“I didn't until tonight,” Colin said.

“All right, then,” Casey said. “We've got some work to do tonight, boys.”

The collective sound from the group was less than excited. Colin knew damn well he wanted to get to a flop to crash, and everyone else in here probably did as well.

“We got to give Hetz a wake, boss?” Colin asked.

“That's part of it,” Casey said. He walked over to the door of the Turnabout, looking out into the night. “But the real work is, we need a paper job, and I want it out there before dawn breaks.”

It was half past two bells when Veranix and Delmin finally got to the campus gate. They had a long argument about how to get through and onto campus, which Delmin finally won by advocating the direct approach, walking straight up and waving to the cadets on duty. Veranix had put on the cloak and used it to mask his appearance, making himself look like he was wearing a school uniform like Delmin was.

“Evening, boys,” Delmin said as they entered.

“Evening, right,” one of the cadets said. “It's after two bells, you know.”

“It's a Saint Day,” Veranix said. “We've got to tell you guys, there were these girls, over at the Dogs' Teeth.”

“Oy, you'll pox yourself blind with those girls,” the other cadet said. “Look, mates, we know you had no classes, but—”

“No curfew on Saint Days,” Delmin said quickly.

“We know it,” the second cadet said, nodding. “Still, there's got to be limits.”

Delmin looked to the second cadet, who appeared to have seniority. “Let's just say we were engaged in acts of penance, in deeply spiritual observation.”

The second cadet shook his head. “Dogs' Teeth brew and girls, you'll be in penance later, that's for sure.”

“Tonight's been a strange one,” the first cadet said. “Tell them about the prof with the Napa girl.”

“That's neither our business nor theirs,” the second said.

“Right,” Veranix said, laughing. He did his best to sound casually disinterested. “They look like they had a good night?”

“The prof looked like he had a rough one,” the first said, laughing a little. “And she looked like she could give a rough one.”

“Oy, that's enough,” the second barked. The first slunk down, ashamed. The second turned back to Delmin and Veranix. “Anyway, I'm telling you, try and make it to gates before midnight in the future, you know? Even on Saint Days.”

“I agree,” Veranix said, nodding. “Really, I am opposed to coming through the gates this late, but it was one of those nights.”

“Don't want to know,” said the second cadet, laughing. “Go on, and get abed. Other cadets or prefects catch you walking about on campus, they might not take so kindly, hear?”

“We hear,” Delmin said. He gave them another polite wave, and the two of them went as fast they could up the footpath to Almers.

“We should check on Kai and the prof,” Veranix said, pointing over to Bolingwood.

“No way, Vee,” Delmin said. “You heard those two. We know they're all right, and we have to get into quarters. We'll find out more in the morning.” Veranix was annoyed, but he shrugged in assent. He certainly did need the sleep.

After all, he still had classes in the morning.

Morning came with a pounding on the door. “Ten minutes to the Walk!” Rellings shouted as he opened the door. “You hear that Sarren? Calbert?”

“Got it,” Delmin said blearily.

“Ten minutes,” Veranix said. Rellings scowled but said nothing more to them as he moved on. He pulled himself out of bed and started to get his uniform on.

“Blessed saints,” Delmin muttered. “Is this how you feel every morning after one of your big nights?”

“This isn't bad,” Veranix said as he pulled on his pants. “Blazes, I got over five hours of sleep tonight.”

“Eh,” Delmin said. He dragged himself from his bed and left the room for the water closet.