37. Reznyk
Chapter 37
Reznyk
WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?
T holious and Matius stare at me in the reflected glow of my fire. Rain runs in rivers off of their cloaks and pools at their feet. Behind me, a flicker of interest runs through the bond I have with Xavier. The cat doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s curious about the two men standing on my doorstep in the storm.
So am I. I raise an eyebrow and wait until the silence between us grows heavy and awkward, filled with rain and unspoken questions. The blond man, Tholious, clears his throat. I feel like he’s about to speak, but instead he turns to the man behind him and nods his head.
“Just to be clear,” the mercenary says, “we don’t approve of what you did to Kira.”
I blink. A gust of wind brings a thin veil of mist through the door, prickling my skin.
“Excuse me?” I ask.
“Matius,” Tholious hisses under his breath.
The mercenary shrugs. “Someone had to say it,” he replies.
“What I did to Kira?” I stammer as my mind lurches toward some possible response.
Kira came here to steal from me. She played her role so well she could have convinced the gods themselves, and then she took what she was after and left.
Well, sort of, my mind whispers. I used travel magic to shove her down the mountain. But that was after she’d stolen the amulet. Wasn’t it?
I shake my head like I’m trying to knock those thoughts loose.
“Did you come all the way up here to tell me that?” I ask.
“Forgive my partner,” Tholious says. “It’s been a very long trip. May we come in?”
I stare at them for what feels like a long time. They’re both carrying packs but no visible weapons. They’re wearing simple traveling clothes, brown and mud-splattered green, not the black I associate with the Mercenary Guild of Silver City. They’re effectively unarmed. They’re asking for hospitality. And yes, they do look like it’s been a long trip.
I might have fallen a long way from my upbringing in the legendary Blackwater brothel, but hells, not even I can turn away weary travelers seeking hospitality in the middle of a storm. I step back, then wave my hand at the hearth.
“Come in,” I say.
I put on another pot of tea as Tholious and Matius shed their wet cloaks and stack their packs beside the door. There’s only one chair, and I try to act like I’m not watching as they both look at the chair, then at each other, and then settle on the floor.
I take the chair. This is my house, damn it. We sit and stare at each other as the fire hisses and spits. I’m tempted to keep my tea to myself, but when the kettle sings, I pull it from its hook above the fire and pour tea into three carved wooden mugs. Tholious takes both cups, hands one to Matius, and then clears his throat again.
“The last time we spoke,” Tholious begins, “you made me an offer.”
I stare at him. He holds my gaze, although his hand trembles, sending little ripples across the surface of his tea.
“I don’t remember making you an offer,” I say.
His face is so pale I wonder if he’s about to pass out. Still, he doesn’t turn away. I wonder if he was brave before he went to the Towers, or if he had to grow brave to survive whatever they did to him there.
“You told me I could stay here,” Tholious says. His voice is clear, but the echo of it trembles.
“Oh,” I reply. “Right. That.”
I take a sip of tea as that conversation comes pouring back to me. He offered me Kira in exchange for the amulet. I told him to go fuck himself. He said it was a good trade. I asked him what the Towers used to coerce him into making that offer.
And he said he wanted out.
“Let me guess,” I say. “Fyrris didn’t release you from the Towers.”
Tholious finally looks away. A hint of pink creeps across his cheeks.
“I can’t serve the Towers anymore,” Tholious says, in a voice that’s almost a whisper. “It’s not worth losing him.”
His gaze settles on Matius. Their eyes meet, and something flickers in the space between them that’s so small and beautiful it makes me want to drive my fist through the wall. I grit my teeth against the dull, scraping ache in my chest.
“Great,” I mutter.
“We can pay,” Matius adds. “We’ve got shills.”
“Oh, lovely,” I snap. “I’ll just walk around the corner to the nearest bank, shall I? Shills are so useful up here.”
Matius narrows his eyes. For just a heartbeat, I have the distinct impression that he’s considering punching me. Magic simmers under my skin. I almost hope he tries.
“I lied to the Towers,” Tholious says. “I made it sound like you had a godsdamned fortress up here just so they’d leave you alone.”
I turn back to him. The bravery and defiance that met me on the doorstep is gone. He puts his mug on the floor and shakes his head.
“I’ve got family down the river in Deep’s Crossing,” Tholious says, “but that’s the first place the Towers will look. The Mercenary Guild said they’ll cover our tracks, but they can’t take the risk of hiding us. We had to go somewhere off the map, somewhere no one would ever think to look, at least for a few months. Until the Towers give up.”
He turns toward the soaking packs dripping water onto my floor, then back to me.
“We brought all the money we have,” he says. “We’re not asking for charity.”
I frown at the packs, then at Tholious, and finally at my rapidly cooling cup of tea. My mind keeps circling back to what Matius said. We don’t approve of what you did to Kira. What in the gods' many names do they think I did to her?
“What exactly do you want from me?” I finally say.
“A place to stay,” Tholious says.
“A place to hide,” Matius adds. “In a month, the Mercenary Guild will hold my funeral. Two months after that, they’ll report back to the Towers that they found a body in the river they think is Tholious.”
“Three months?” I ask. “Do you know how much snow there’ll be up here in three months?”
For the first time since I opened the door and met his gaze, Matius looks uncomfortable.
“It doesn’t have to be with you,” Matius says. “You know these mountains. Is there another place? A cave, maybe?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I mutter.
I drag my hand through my hair, then stare at the men sitting on my floor, a mercenary from the Silver City Mercenary Guild and a Disciple of the Towers who just showed up on my doorstep like children lost in the woods.
It’s another trap. It has to be, but?—
“Why me?” I ask. “Out of all the places for you to go, why here?”
Tholious blinks. “Because you offered,” he says.
I laugh. I can’t help myself; it’s just such a stupid answer.
Only much later, after I’ve set Tholious and Matius up in the third floor of the keep with a stack of firewood big enough to turn the place into a sauna, the rain has faded, and stars shine through in patches torn from the shifting gray clouds, do I realize that was the first time I’ve laughed since Kira left me.