Twilight of Kerberos - [Shadowmage 01-03] - The Shadowmage Trilogy (Shadowmage; Night's Haunting; Legacy's Price) (12 page)

“They don’t seem very receptive to that idea,” Lucius said.

“No. Once, maybe up to a year ago, we might have made an agreement. But something has changed within the Guild. They are too aggressive, pushing too hard.” He sighed. “I fear a war is coming. This might not have been the best time for you to join us!”

“I can take care of myself.”

“You proved that last night. Look...” Caradoc seemed self-conscious as he mustered his next words. “I wanted to thank you for stepping in yesterday. Those mercs were tough, and I am not sure I could have taken them all. You did well.”

Lucius blushed and he felt as uncomfortable as Caradoc looked when confronted with this gratitude. “Anybody else would have done the same.”

“Well, you were there and they weren’t. Thanks anyway,” Caradoc said, looking at the floor. “What was it, flash powder you used to distract them?”

Not trusting his voice to carry the lie, Lucius just nodded.

“Good move. Painful stuff too, when shoved in someone’s face. Still, that bastard deserved what he got.”

Not having anything more to add, Lucius simply smiled, and the expression was returned by Caradoc. Neither said anything more, and Lucius pretended to look over the crossbow again, doing anything to break the uncomfortable silence. He looked up again when Caradoc coughed.

“Anyway, there’s a meeting going on. Magnus asked me to fetch you.”

“Me?”

“Just routine business. Magnus thinks that it would be good for you to see how the guild operates.”

“Well, if Magnus has asked... Who else will be there?”

“The most senior thieves of the Hands. These meetings are used to track business, spot opportunities, and generally ensure everything continues to run smoothly. Needless to say, your input won’t be required. Just watch and learn.”

Leading Lucius up to the third and highest level of the guildhouse, Caradoc took him to Magnus’ own meeting hall. Lucius had to bite his tongue to stop from gasping at the sight of the room.

The walls were covered with carefully sculpted wooden panels, displaying exquisite craftsmanship in their varnish and carving. No rare paintings hid their natural beauty, and Lucius got the feeling that Magnus was, at heart, a man who enjoyed simpler things.

The room itself, however, was dominated by a long dark wood table, whose polished surface reflected perfectly the light of the oil lanterns standing on pedestals in each corner of the chamber. Around the table were eighteen tall-backed chairs, upon sixteen of which were seated an assortment of men and women. Some Lucius had seen before, passing through the common room, but he did not know any of their names. At the head of the table at the far end of the chamber sat Magnus, and he smiled as they entered.

“Here comes our hero Lucius – welcome to the Council,” Magnus said grandly, and Lucius felt acutely uneasy as all eyes turned on him. Caradoc had taken his seat at the opposite end of the table to Magnus, indicating that Lucius should take the last free chair, halfway along the left edge.

Lucius was aware of the short woman seated to his right watching him as he sat, and he nodded in greeting. She was perhaps of a similar age to Magnus, but showed few signs of ageing. Her hair was dark and slicked back along her scalp, while her face was marred by a scar that split her lower lip. Feeling there was something disconcertingly serpentine in the way she looked at him, Lucius turned to glance at the man on his other side, but found he had already returned his attention to Magnus.

Seeing the new arrivals settled, Magnus waved at the group to continue their business. A young man opposite Lucius spoke up.

“We have started to move prostitutes from the docks to the merchant quarter during evening hours, and this has proved a profitable move. Traders far from home still look for home comforts, and our girls are very good at what they do.”

Magnus grunted, and then sighed. “There is still something distasteful in this operation, I find myself thinking. To profit so directly from human trade – it seems a little too close to slavery for my liking.”

The woman to Lucius’ right raised her voice in response. “Better they are in our care than someone else’s. Can you imagine how the Guild would treat them? With us, they earn good money, and do so in relative safety.”

“Yes, yes,” said Magnus, “as you said before, and that is why I have allowed it to continue thus far. Still, it is something I will keep a close eye on.”

“It is also a mistake to think that all these girls have been forced into the work,” the woman continued. “If you have an efficient organisation like ours behind you, there is good money in it – far better than common labour. I hear they even have their own guild in Allantia.”

“You are just too old-fashioned, Magnus,” another, younger, woman said, and a few laughs stirred round the table. Even Magnus gave a wry smile.

“Maybe,” he said. “Nate, please continue.”

The young man across from Lucius spoke again. “The Street of Dogs is quiet after Caradoc’s mission last night. Brink hasn’t shown up for work yet...”

There were a few more laughs round the table at this.

“...but I think it will be a while before anyone openly challenges us again.”

“I disagree, and we must not be complacent,” said the man to Lucius’ left. “Most of us here profit in some way from the Street of Dogs, and I would not see us risk that. Brink could just be a prelude, and if we were to find that those mercenaries were funded by the Guild and not Brink himself, well... I would advocate more direct action against the Guild.”

There were a few murmurs of agreement and Lucius flicked a look at Caradoc, but the lieutenant was staring fixedly at the table in front of him.

Magnus rapped on the table to regain everyone’s attention and the murmurs stopped instantly. He opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it. After a moment’s pause, he turned to look at Lucius.

“What do you think, young man?” he asked. “What would you do about the Guild, were you in our place?”

Once again, all eyes turned on Lucius, and he felt himself blush. “I... I wouldn’t know, exactly,” he stammered.

“Nonsense,” Magnus said. “You are clearly an intelligent man, talented enough to be made a senior thief in a matter of weeks. You have your own mind. Speak!”

Lucius thought hard for a moment. It was, he realised, a good opportunity to play politics, to support the guildmaster, to start building up his own phalanx of friends and enemies on the Council. He instantly dismissed the idea as foolish and, frankly, beneath him. He did not know nearly enough about the thieves sitting round this table, and he had a feeling Magnus would see through any disingenuous arse-kissing.

“So long as incidents can be contained, I think we should watch and wait. If we act, we cannot take anything back.”

“You’re timid, then,” said Caradoc, and this burst of shrewishness surprised Lucius until he looked back at Magnus’ measuring expression, and guessed this kind of prodding was a play between them, with Caradoc acting as the fall guy.

“Cautious, yes, not timid,” Lucius said carefully. “It might be foolish to tip the scales if the possibility of another solution lies round the corner.”

Lucius winced inwardly as he realised he had just called the opinions of at least some of the Council members foolish, but he continued onwards. “If my advice were sought, I would say we watch to see what the Guild does next, and do what we can to ensure they do not cross the line.”

“Ah ha!” said Magnus. “And where exactly is that line?”

Smiling, Lucius held the guildmaster’s eye steadily. “That, I believe, is what this Council will decide.”

Magnus returned Lucius’ smile, then laughed. “Well said.”

The table fell silent for a moment, before the woman seated next to Lucius spoke again. “Are we seeing more pressure round the Five Markets?”

A hairy man next to Caradoc, who for all the world reminded Lucius of a badger, answered her. “We are still getting kids pressuring our teams. Some have taken to wearing blue scarves, round their heads or arms, though Kerberos alone knows why. Dead giveaway to the guard.”

“Then they are obviously not worried about the guard. They are likely a warning to intimidate our kids – difficult to concentrate when you know you are being watched, and a collection of blue scarves would tend to stick out in the crowd.” He looked up at Magnus. “I recommend we leave it in Ambrose’s hands for now. He’ll ask for support in the Five Markets if he needs it.”

“Agreed,” said Magnus. “Though I would be loath to send thieves down there. The pickings will be far less than they are used to, and they’ll see it as a step down.”

“Perhaps some compensation from the vaults could be made, show we are taking their work seriously,” Caradoc said.

“Perhaps,” said Magnus. “I’ll give that some thought. We can’t open the vault every time we want to get something done. The point of a guild is that things work both ways, and sometimes members just have to get on with it. However, the Street of Dogs is the key. If something happens, it will happen there. Nate, you believe our hold there is solid for now?”

“More or less,” the young man answered.

“Well, which is it?”

“No one is about to jump, but I am damn sure they’ll be courted by the Guild. Maybe they’ll spin a story about Brink that will make us look as if we took action against him for no good cause, and
that
was what made him move to the Guild.”

“We’ll set up watches then,” said Magnus. “You pick out a half dozen of the shakiest clients, and we’ll station thieves on them. Make sure they are not approached by the Guild and give them the frighteners if they are.”

“That will be more revenue deducted from the Street of Dogs,” remarked the short woman.

“Money well spent, I am sure,” said Magnus. “And I believe we have our first volunteer. Lucius, are you inclined to give us a hand here?”

Lucius was again caught by surprise, and he kicked himself for not being more alert. He certainly should have known that Magnus would take the opportunity to test him, rather than simply allowing him to be a passive observer.

“Of course,” he said, after taking a breath. “I was just starting to plan a few things of my own, but I can push them back–”

Magnus held up his hand. “No need! We’ll get you working in shifts with someone.”

When Lucius looked at him with confusion, Magnus explained. “We always reward personal initiative among the Hands, and if you are planning an operation of your own, I would be most fascinated to see what it is and how you get on with it. However, you must also learn to serve the guild’s interests when necessary. So, we’ll have you watch some merchant or shopkeeper by day, and give you free reign in the evening to plan and execute your grand larceny, whatever it may be.”

Looking round the table, Magnus raised his eyebrows. “Any other business?” he asked.

As one of the senior thieves close to the guildmaster started to propose a tiered percentage of takings for the guild, based on seniority and wealth, Lucius glanced back down the table at Caradoc. The lieutenant gave a brief smile and nodded his compliments.

Lucius had made a good impression, and he knew it.

CHAPTER SIX

A
LLOWING THE SHADOWS
to envelop him, Lucius held his breath as another patrol of Vos guards marched past his position, their red tabards appearing almost black in the half-light of Kerberos. With a second’s concentration, he summoned the shadows of the alley to completely cloak him, but it was an unnecessary precaution, for the attention of the guards was fixed firmly across the Square of True Believers and the grand edifice that was nearing the last stages of completion.

When Vos had swept through Turnitia in its grand war of conquest which was intended to break the back of Pontaine, its arrival had been heralded by a rise in the Final Faith. It had started with preachers appearing on street corners, haranguing the crowds as to the fate of their souls. Soon enough, the Final Faith was using the support of converts who were acting as a network of spies and scouts, marking those in power, officially or not, for the Vos captains to hunt down when their armies moved into the city. The capitulation of the city was therefore accomplished quickly and without many losses among the armies; the people of the city were the ones who suffered.

That the Faith was able to annihilate its rivals, the Brotherhood of the Divine Path, was more than a bonus for the Anointed Lord and her followers. It allowed them to start with a clean slate in the city, making their faith the official religion of Turnitia as much as it was in the rest of the Vos Empire.

In recognition of the efforts the Final Faith had extended during the occupation, the Empire had permitted the creation of the Square of True Believers, the site of a new church dedicated to the dominant religion. Though most of the resources used in the reconstruction of Turnitia were swallowed by the Citadel and its expansion, the followers of the Final Faith had taken what they could from the authorities and then tackled a great deal of the work themselves. They pulled down the houses that stood where their church would rise, excavating the foundations and then piling stone upon stone to create their place of worship.