Weapon of Blood (33 page)

“You’ve already lost that, Mya.”

“Have I?”  Mya looked into his eyes, those
eyes like chips of mica framed in white, and her soul shuddered.  He was right;
she had lost his friendship.  But there might be a way she could get it back,
get
him
back.  “I may have lost your trust, Lad, but you’ve lost
something, too.  And if you want her back, you need my help.”

Lad sneered at her and flexed his hands,
as if imagining them around her throat.  “You offer to help me get my daughter
back?  Why should you care about
my
family?”

She flinched as his words struck her. 
Family
…

Mya recalled the day she walked out of
her mother’s home for the last time.  She looked down at her hands.  The blood
was still there.  There wasn’t enough rain in the world to wash it away.

Murderer!

She deserved it.

She was your mother!  Your family!

She hurt me…too much.  What was I
supposed to do, die for her?

Yes.

NO.  She didn’t love me!

But
you
loved
her
!

Mya looked at the pain and loss in Lad’s
eyes and she realized what she had done.  She
should
have known—
had
known—that they would go after his family, and she’d done nothing.  She’d
allowed her enemies to destroy his family because she couldn’t have one.  Unconsciously
perhaps, but that was no excuse.  He was right.

“Why should I care?  Because you’re
right
about me, Lad,” she whispered.  “You’re right about what matters.  Family. 
Love.  Things I’ve never had and never will.”

There it was.  The truth.  She nodded
again over his shoulder at the people who loved him, the people who hated her,
feared her.  A pit of longing opened up in her heart, and for once, she didn’t
deny it.

“I thought strength and speed would
protect me, but they haven’t.  Not from what’s important, from what really
matters.  Not from what can really hurt me.”  She reached down and ripped the
wrappings away from her forearm, displaying the black runes etched into her
flesh, bearing her soul to the weeping sky.  “Power is a lie, Lad.  It makes
you feel safe, but it doesn’t
make
you safe.”  She let the torn
wrappings fall, and they slithered back into place like dark serpents.  “It
only makes you a slave to the power.  That’s why I burned the Grandmaster’s
letter.  That’s why I want to help you get your daughter back.”

“I don’t trust you, Mya.”

“Then don’t, but I’m the only one who can
do this for you, Lad.”  Mya smiled then, the whole situation striking a chord of
irony in her cynical mind.  “You said it yourself.  I think like them.  I know
them.  I know what they’ll do.”

“How do you know?”

She laughed derisively.  “Because I know
what
I
would do.”

“I don’t need your help, Mya.  I don’t
want it.”  Turning his back on her, he walked away.

His denial struck her yet another blow.

“You can’t do it alone, Lad!” she shouted
at his back, wiping the tears and rain from her face.  “You need me!”

Still he walked away, climbing the steps
to his family, his loved ones.

“Godsdamnit, I’m going to help you
whether you want me to or not!” she vowed, but all she got in response was the
slam of the door.

Chapter
XXI

T
his is all
Mya’s fault and she says she wants to
help
!”  Wiggen paced in front of
the fireplace, her anger growing with every turn she made.  “Why didn’t you
kill her, Lad?”

Lad couldn’t believe Wiggen’s venomous
question.  His sweet wife, the woman who taught him that killing was wrong, was
now out for blood.  Startled, he jerked his hand as Josie finished stitching
his wound.  Josie flinched and shied away, and he sighed inwardly.  She had
been fearful of him since witnessing his fight with Mya, and he couldn’t blame
her.

He considered Wiggen’s question.  In
fact, in his rage he
had
been trying to kill Mya, and only her elbow to
his midriff had stopped him.  That blow could have killed him, would have
killed him if she had wanted it to.  Then the shock of seeing the dark tattoos
etched on Mya’s pale skin…  In hindsight, he should have suspected—her evasions
about Vonlith’s death, the ease with which she killed the two assassins, her
feeble excuse of training—but this was
Mya
.  She had reviled the
Grandfather, and now she was following in his path.  Is that why she fought
tooth and nail to avoid becoming the next guildmaster?  Was she afraid that
putting a guildmaster’s ring on her finger would complete the transformation? 
But as wrong as Mya might have been in her actions, she was right about one
thing.

“I couldn’t kill her, Wiggen,” he said. 
“We
might
need her help.”

Wiggen stopped pacing and stared at Lad,
a look of utter shock on her face.  “You want to ask
her
for help?”

“It’s not a matter of what I want,
Wiggen, it’s a matter of what we might have to do to get Lissa back.  I didn’t
anticipate this.  I didn’t anticipate a lot of things.  But Mya knows how the
other masters think.  She might be the only—”

“It’s
her
fault they took Lissa!”
she protested.  “If you didn’t work for Mya, this wouldn’t have happened.  If
Mya hadn’t angered the other masters, this wouldn’t have happened.  You told me
that, Lad!  She brought this on herself, and
we’re
the ones paying for
her mistakes.”

The accusation in Wiggen’s tone lashed
him, though he knew it was directed toward Mya. 
This is my fault.  I’ve got
to make it right.

“Supper!”  Forbish announced, backing
through the swinging kitchen door with a huge tray in his hands.  The food had
been intended for the guests, but after the attack, the innkeeper had refunded
their money and urged them to find other lodgings.  Needless to say, all had
been eager to go.

“I swear to all the Gods of Light, all he
ever thinks about is food!”  Josie finished wrapping Lad’s hand and gathered up
her supplies.

“We’ve all got our jobs.  Mine is making
sure everyone stays fed.”  Forbish placed the heavy tray on the table, then
lifted a huge pitcher and started filling tankards.  “I thought everyone could
use a spot of ale, too.  I drew a pot for us.”  He held one out to Wiggen.

“No, thank you, Father.”  She crossed her
arms, her face hard.  “And I’m not hungry.”

The front door opened, and Tika and Ponce
entered, dripping and dour.

“Two codgers with a cart came and took
the dead assassin,” Tika said.

“We locked and barred the gate behind
them,” Ponce added.

Tika reached for a tankard and passed it
to his brother, then took one for himself.  The twins had been
uncharacteristically quiet since Lad’s fight with Mya, obeying the orders given
them without their usual banter.

They’ve learned what they’re up
against, and that this isn’t a game.

“You gotta eat, Wig.”  Forbish began
filling plates and passing them out.

“I said, I’m not hungry!”  Wiggen turned
away and resumed pacing.

Normally, the aroma of Forbish’s
wonderful cooking would stimulate Lad’s appetite, but right now it held no
delight.  He knew he needed food, however, and dutifully began to eat.  “Thank
you, Forbish.  You’re right.  We do have to eat.  We’ve got a lot to do, and
we’ll need the energy.”

“What are we going to do?” Tika and Ponce
asked together.

“Now, you two just keep quiet!”  Josie
scolded.  “You shouldn’t even be here!  You don’t need to be knowing about
assassins and such.  Just eat your suppers and mind your own business!”

“But this
is
our business.”

“Ever since those thugs showed up.”

“And if we have to fight more of those
assassins, we’ll—”

“Enough talk about fighting,” Forbish
interrupted, handing out more plates.

“You shouldn’t have to fight them again. 
The people who took Lissa have what they want, a means to control me.  Next,
they’ll send a messenger with demands.  I need to—”  Lad stopped, looking at
the anxious faces around him.  He knew what
he
wanted to do, but his
decisions lately all seemed to turn bad.  And though he wasn’t used to
consulting anyone before acting, this was his
family
.  They all loved Lissa,
and deserved a say in the decisions to be made.  He rephrased his thought. 
“The question is, do I wait for them to act, or do I take the initiative?”

“What do you mean, take the initiative?” 
Wiggen stopped pacing, her voice now tinged with worry.

“I mean, instead of waiting for them to
send us their demands, do I go to them and find out what they want?”

“That sounds dangerous.”  Forbish frowned
and sat down, but he didn’t start eating.  “It’d be safer to wait here.”

“Yes, it would be safer, but one thing
I’ve learned from Mya is that when you negotiate with someone, you can’t let
them think you’re afraid.  If I sit here and wait, I’ll look afraid.”

“Do you even know where to find them?” 
Wiggen asked.

“The masters vary their meeting places. 
I’ll go where the last meeting was held.  I’m sure the inn’s being watched, so
if I make the trip slow and obvious, word will get back to them, and they’ll be
waiting for me.”

“Walking into a lion’s den.”  Forbish
took a swallow of ale and shook his head.

“How can you even
think
of doing
that?”  Josie’s face went pale.  “Those people are murderers!”

And so am I
, Lad thought, grateful that only Wiggen and Forbish
knew of his original role in the Assassins Guild.  If Josie and the twins knew
how many people he had killed...  “It’s not as dangerous as it sounds.  They
don’t want to hurt me.  They want something from me.  I just have to find out
what it is.”

“And give it to them.”  Wiggen’s words
were a declaration, not a question.

“That depends.”

“Depends on what?  Don’t you think we
should give them what they want to get Lissa back?”

“It depends on if I think they’re really
going
to give Lissa back.”

Wiggen blanched, and she reached back to
steady herself on the mantel.  “Do you think they
won’t
give her back?”

The question hung like a blade ready to
fall.  Every eye in the room turned to Lad.

I don’t know because I don’t think
like they do!
  Lad steeled his face
against his roiling emotions.  He’d let his anger get the better of him when he
attacked Mya, and he couldn’t let that happen again.  It had been so much
easier when his feelings had been magically suppressed: no fear, no anger, no
guilt, no hate. 
But no love either
, he reminded himself.  And love was
worth the pain of all the rest.  For the sake of Wiggen and the rest of the
family, he had to hide his misgivings. He had to show them he had a plan.

“They won’t want to give up control over
me.  I may have to take her back, but to do that, I have to find out where
they’re keeping her, or get them to bring her to me.  It won’t be easy.”

“And if they keep her to control you?”

“If they
don’t
give Lissa back,
I’ll kill them all.”  Josie put her hand over her mouth at Lad’s vow, but
Wiggen just nodded, her look of rage cooling to resolve.  “In fact, if they’re
stupid enough bring Lissa to me just as proof that she’s alive, I may be able
to take her back immediately.  But the first step is to meet them on their own
ground, and show that I’m not afraid of them.”

“So, what can we do to help?” Forbish
asked.

“Stay here and be safe,” he said.  “Close
the inn for a few days, Forbish.  Keep the doors and shutters barred unless one
of you is outside doing chores, then Tika or Ponce should stand guard, one at
the door, the other with whoever’s outside.  Everyone should be armed.  I’d
tell you all to pack up and go somewhere safe, but there is nowhere safe from
the guild.”

“We’re not going anywhere, Lad.  This is
our home.”  Forbish took a draught from his tankard, and thumped it down on the
table like a magistrate’s gavel.  “Nobody runs us out of our home!”

The twins grinned at each other, and even
Josie seemed to relax.

Wiggen stepped in front of Lad.  “I’m
going with you.”

Josie gasped, and Forbish started to
protest, but Wiggen just looked steadily into her husband’s eyes.

Lad clenched his fists under the table as
fear gripped his gut.  “No, Wiggen.  You’d be a distraction.  They might decide
to take you as a second hostage.  It’s too dangerous.”

“Too
dangerous?
  You just said it
wasn't
dangerous.”

“It’s not dangerous for
me
.  If
something happens, I can defend myself.  They—”

“—can’t touch me.”  Wiggen held up her
left hand, the guildmaster’s ring glinting on her finger.  “And if they try,
I’ll kill them!  I’ll kill every godsdamned assassin in Twailin to get Lissa
back!”

“But they won’t know that they can’t
attack you, Wiggen.  And if they try, we’ll be forced to fight.” 
Not just
fight
, he thought.
  We’ll have to kill everyone in the room
.

“They took my baby.”  The razor edge of
her voice brooked no argument.  “I’m not asking you.  I’m telling you!  I’m
going
with
you!”

Silence.

The twins looked nervous, and Josie
looked scared, but Forbish looked at his daughter with eyes filled with cold,
hard pride.  There was no arguing with her, and Lad knew it.  Besides, Wiggen
was right; she was protected from attack, and had already proven that she could
do what was necessary.  If the masters were stupid enough to bring Lissa, he
couldn’t protect her and fight at the same time, but Wiggen could.  That might
work.

“All right, Wiggen, you’re coming with
me, but you’ve got to promise me not to do anything rash.  We can’t appear
weak, but we’ve got to make them believe that they have us under their control,
that we’ll do whatever they want to get Lissa back.”

“Even if we decide otherwise?”

“
Especially
if we decide
otherwise.”

“All right.  I’ll do whatever I have to
get her back, Lad.”