The Dragon Rogues, page 6
Matthew huffed out a breath. “Let’s say we build the right team. Not that I’m convinced we can do this, but let’s just pretend we can. We assemble everyone, bring them together, share what we intend and what it might pay. Might, I say, because it depends on us being successful. Anything less than a hundred percent success means we will walk away with nothing. Even if we convince others to take on the job, we have to have the best of the best. Given what happened with Durant—”
Jonathan jerked his head around and looked over to him. “What happened to Durant?”
“When you got snared, Vileforn set to looking for anyone who worked with you regularly. Grayson had disappeared—maybe caught,” he added, glancing over to him, “as had Burton, but there were a few who hadn’t been. Durant got swept up in a search. None understood it at the time, but it must have been Vileforn. Others… well they just sort of left.”
“Not you.”
“I know how to hide myself,” Matthew said.
“What happened to Durant?”
“They held him for a little while. He got sick while under their so-called care. Eventually they released him rather than healing him.”
“How sick?”
Matthew held his gaze. “He died two years ago. I never even got a chance to get close enough to him to find out what happened while he was in their prison. All I know is that when he came out, he was weak. Beaten. He wasn’t able to do much.”
Jonathan sighed. Durant had been an engineer, a useful member of the crew and a part of the team that he thought that he could count on. Other than Grayson, Durant came second for experience.
“I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you,” Matthew said softly.
“I’m glad it was you.”
“I don’t know that I am. Anyway, let’s get back to this so I can hopefully talk you out of your stupidity.”
“Fine,” Jonathan said.
“Let’s assume you get past all the barriers we talked about. Past the guards. Through the palace. You find the access point to the vault. You even reach the vault and somehow penetrate the defenses there. Once you do all of that, you still have to find your buyer. In the five years you’ve been imprisoned, have you heard anything from him? Or her. I suppose I can’t rule out the idea that it’s a woman.”
Jonathan shook his head. “That wasn’t how the job worked.”
“They kept you in the dark?”
“Out of necessity. At least for this one. It was too risky for all involved. We had to try to keep ourselves isolated. It was the only way we were going to be able to ensure the safety of those who participated in the job.”
“If we do this, we have to have a buyer,” Matthew said. “There’s no way for you to take on a job like this, take on a risk like this, without having a buyer.”
Jonathan nodded. “Let me worry about that.”
“Then there’s the last thing. The one thing you haven’t really talked about more.”
“My benefactor.”
“Exactly,” Matthew said, crossing his arms. “Someone wants you involved in all of this. That, more than anything else, tells me that you shouldn’t get caught up in any of it. If somebody out there is trying to draw you in, force you to act, don’t you think you need to at least consider the reason behind it?”
“I have considered it. Since my release, I’ve been trying to come up with what they want from me.” And having no success, he didn’t have to add.
“That’s not all you’ve been doing. You’ve been eating and drinking ale, visiting with me, gaming, buying new clothes, and—”
“Okay. You made your point,” Jonathan said.
“Have I? I’m sure I could go on.”
Jonathan shook his head. “That’s unnecessary.”
“If you say so. I’m having fun.”
“I’m glad I can be the reason you have fun.”
Matthew sighed. “What it all boils down to is that I just got my friend back. I don’t want to lose him again. Go find your sister. Talk to Jayna. That’s what you need to be doing. Not this. At least, not yet. Once you get your feet back under you, you can take whatever job you want, and I will support you.”
“You aren’t going to lose me,” Jonathan said. “We do this job the right way and we come out of it much richer than we ever dreamed we could be. If we do this job right, then we can stop worrying about the next job, or about trying to scam people in the market. We can even stop worrying about the king. Hell, if we do this job right, we can abandon the kingdom and not have to be concerned about anything.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Not easy. Doable.”
“I wish I had your confidence.”
“Let me have the confidence for both of us,” Jonathan said.
“Then what do you need from me?”
“I need you to help me assemble the team. A sneak. Maybe a lockpick. And possibly an enchanter.” That last would be difficult, but might not be necessary.
Matthew took in a deep breath, and he let out a soft whistle. “Fine. I’ll help you put together the team. But this time, you’re not going to abandon me.”
Jonathan focused on the sword Matthew wore, knowing the ability he had with it—an ability Jonathan suspected meant something his friend wasn’t ready to admit. For a job like they planned to pull, it was one they might need.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
CHAPTER FOUR
This section of the city was wealthier than what Jonathan was accustomed to. It had a moneyed feel, the kind of place he had only come to in the darkness of night, not one he had ever spent much time navigating in the daytime. The riches were evident in brightly painted shutters around the windows and the iron bars that protected them. They were in the gardens that gave off the cloying fragrance of flowers. Many of the homes were surrounded by manicured shrubs, which acted as natural barriers that kept out anyone who might be trying to peer inside. Some of the residences had been painted with bright colors, but most were in a crisp, gleaming white, as if to mirror Vileforn’s palace. White hadn’t been the color of choice when Jonathan had gone to prison, but it seemed to be the trend now.
Other signs of wealth were apparent in the way the street itself was maintained. It was a simple thing, but the cobblestones were evenly set. There was no refuse in the street, no foul stench here, not like there was in some of the poorer sections. In many places, the fragrance of flowers overpowered anything else he might smell otherwise.
At least this time he was dressed well enough to feel as if he could be a part of this lifestyle, though he still felt like an intruder. An impostor.
“I don’t think we need to come here to find our sneak,” Jonathan said.
“I wasn’t able to think of many names,” Matthew replied. “One of them is here. I figured that we need to at least evaluate them, don’t you?”
Jonathan agreed with it, but it didn’t make all this any easier. “I would rather find somebody else.”
“We aren’t going to get someone with Grayson’s skill. What we can do is find someone who might be able to do most of what he was able to do.” Matthew glanced over at him, and there was a knowing look in his eye.
Both of them knew there weren’t many people who could do everything Grayson could. It had been more than just his ability as a sneak. It had also been his practicality, his unflappability, his confidence with every job—even those that took a turn for the worse. All of those traits had made him incredibly valuable as a colleague.
They were what had made him incredibly valuable as a friend.
He had served as a mentor to Jonathan. Eventually Jonathan had moved up far enough in the ranks that he was the one to make the job offers, and he had always included Grayson. Most of the jobs he took involved a sneak.
“Show me who you have,” Jonathan said.
“His name is Luis Rodrig. He’s pulled some jobs, but he doesn’t have the most reliable reputation. And lately he’s been working more in places like this, trying to be a bit more respectable. Which he’s managed to do, especially here.”
“I didn’t think anybody would hire a sneak.”
“Most people wouldn’t, at least not openly, but there’s some value in them. Let me show you why.”
Matthew guided him forward, and they reached an intersection. The home behind a series of shrubs towered over the ones nearby. It was incredibly large, at least for this portion of the city. Not when compared to Vileforn’s palace, but still an enormous structure.
Matthew motioned to the home. “What do you see?”
“Besides the massive house?”
“Right. Besides that. What do you see?”
Jonathan tried to ascertain just what Matthew wanted him to spot. He couldn’t make out anything about the house that seemed out of the ordinary, other than the enormous scale. It was as if the people who lived there wanted to ensure that their neighbors knew just how much wealth they possessed.
He turned his head to the side, and he spotted a faint blur. A familiar one.
A facade. The entire building was one.
He turned his head back, studying the building again. Each time he moved his head from one side to the other, the blur returned. All of it was a facade.
What were they hiding?
“You see it, don’t you?” Matthew asked.
“That’s what you wanted me to notice?”
“I wanted to know whether you could see it. I am curious what’s hiding behind it, but I’m not sure that it matters. And I’m curious how you could see it.”
“It’s a trick Grayson taught me about facades. Besides, I’m not sure how I couldn’t see it.”
“It’s a delicate bit of magic.”
“Delicate, but not all that skillful,” Jonathan said.
Matthew frowned at him. “What makes you say that?”
“The fact that I was able to pick up on it.”
“Think about how long this sneak has to hold this. That has to tell you something about his strength.”
“Sure, but strength isn’t all we are after. We need somebody with skill as well. We need somebody talented. We need somebody creative.”
“Creativity may be a bit more difficult for us to come by,” Matthew said.
“I understand, which is why I’m concerned about using just any sneak.”
“We can look at a few others.”
Finding a sneak should be easy. He shouldn’t even have to look. There were plenty of people thinking they could use that minor magic and work the underground. He’d always worked with Grayson and had never had to worry about filling that role on his team. From time to time he’d had to find others, but Jonathan had established a regular crew he’d worked with in the city and had never needed to dig to find anyone.
“Are they all going to be like this?”
Matthew shrugged. “More than I would like. I haven’t had to find a sneak in a while. I’ve kept my connections, of course, but most of the skilled ones are already employed. You don’t have the same pull you once did, Jonathan. The Dragon got caught and disappeared. Maybe if you wanted to take time to build your reputation again, it might be easier, but I don’t have the sense that’s what you’re after.”
“I’m not.”
And perhaps this was what Jonathan had to deal with. He had to acknowledge that things weren’t going to be quite as easy as he had hoped, and he might have to simply deal with the fact that some would be less creative than those he was accustomed to working with. If they had enough strength and could take direction from him, then they might still be useful.
They wouldn’t be Grayson, though. He had to push those thoughts out of his head. No one was going to be Grayson, who had been unique and irreplaceable.
“Where now?” Jonathan asked.
“This was just the first one. I figured it was easier to see what he was capable of since he displays it so openly. The next few we’re going to have to test.”
He guided Jonathan to another section of the city, and he paused in a small square. A few shopping stalls were situated around the edges, carts that the merchants had set up to sell their wares. The scarcity of shoppers present left Jonathan thinking this wasn’t necessarily the best place for the merchants. It was clean, though, and he had a feeling that the square could accommodate quite a few more people, which made it valuable for drawing a crowd. A man selling roasted nuts stood in front of a wall painted with a mural, which depicted waves crashing along a shore and a ship out at sea. It reminded him too much of the prison island.
Jonathan looked at Matthew. “What are we doing here?”
“Waiting.”
“Waiting on what?”
“For the noon bells.”
“That’s when you told them to meet us,” Jonathan said, starting to understand. “You didn’t think I’d approve of the first one.”
“I figured you wouldn’t approve of the very first one I brought you to, though I did hope it might be easier.”
“Where’s your sneak?”
Matthew looked around as a young man strode toward them. He was dressed in a bright yellow jacket and green pants rolled up to his knees, which revealed long stockings and a hint of a heel to his boots.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jonathan muttered.
“He comes highly recommended.”
“I’m sure he does.”
“You’re letting his appearance get to you?”
“We need a sneak, Matthew. We don’t need somebody who is going to draw attention to us. The entire purpose of a sneak is to help us conceal our presence, not announce it.”
Matthew shrugged. “Why don’t we see what he can do before you dismiss him altogether.”
Jonathan let out a small groan. This was becoming more difficult than he had anticipated. Of course, it shouldn’t be an easy task. They were after a considerable prize and had to find the right people. They couldn’t hire just anyone.
The young man approached. “Are you Matthew?”
“That’s me.”
The sneak glanced over to Jonathan. “That makes you the Dragon. Excellent.”
Jonathan turned to Matthew, and they shared a look. There’d been a time when Jonathan would have been intimidating, but this sneak looked eager. More evidence that Jonathan’s status within the city had changed—not that he really needed his old reputation. Not anymore.
“I hear you’re looking for someone with my skills.”
“We are,” Matthew said, giving Jonathan a silencing stare. “But in order for us to know whether you’re the right person for the job, there are a few things we’d like to see from you first.”
“Of course. What can I start with?” The young man turned in place, and the colors on his jacket faded and became more muted. “Something like this?” He turned again, and the lower half of his body blended in with the ground, masking him. Not the upper half, though. He looked like a floating torso. “How about something like this?”
“Do you think you can conceal all three of us?” Jonathan asked.
“Three? Well, that gets a little tricky. I’ve worked on concealing myself and one other, but I don’t have as much practice concealing more than that. I think I’m strong enough, but it’ll take some time to be sure.”
Time was one thing Jonathan didn’t want to waste. He couldn’t linger on this job any more than necessary, which meant that perhaps this young man wasn’t the right person for it.
“What else can you do?” Jonathan asked.
“I have quite a bit of skill in layering.”
Matthew frowned. “Layering?”
“Right. It’s a matter of twisting the connection and shifting things so that I layer my facade on it. Like this.” He stopped moving.
When he did, Jonathan realized he’d been dancing in place the entire time he’d been with them. Gradually, something changed. First the ground began to take on aspects that facade, little more than grasses spreading, then flowers bloomed. A building formed around him, though only a part of it. Jonathan suspected the intention was for the sneak to create the illusion of someone inside the building, though the fact that the image was incomplete made it difficult for him to judge it fairly.
“That’s just an example of layering. So. When do you need me?”
Matthew looked over to Jonathan with eyebrows raised.
Jonathan couldn’t take his eyes off the top half of this young sneak. He couldn’t see anything of the lower half. He shook his head slightly, just enough that Matthew would notice it.
Matthew flashed a wide smile. “We will get back to you about when we need your services. Your skills are quite impressive.”
The boy grinned, and then he left the plaza.
Jonathan turned to Matthew. “Are you kidding me with that one?”
“You wanted creativity. It seems to me he has plenty of that.”
“By that, you mean the layering he was so proud of.”
“Right. The layering.”
“Seeing as how he could only layer the bottom half of himself, I’m not so sure how useful that would be. Maybe if we want to be floating heads…”
Matthew chuckled. “It’s a good thing I have a few more names.”
“A few?”
“Fine. One more name.”
“Good,” Jonathan said, rolling his eyes. “I’m getting annoyed with this process.”
“You already know how I feel about this whole thing. If you’re getting annoyed, then all we have to do is choose not to break in.”
“I’m not passing on this job.”
Would his benefactor even let him?
There had been no further sign of them—nor of the strange wooden circle that had been left for him—but he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been following him through the city. Watching.
Jonathan would have to find a way to learn his benefactor’s identity before pulling the job, but it wasn’t such an urgency for him.
Matthew watched him, finally nodding slowly. “Then we’re interviewing another sneak.”
He guided Jonathan out of the plaza, through the streets, and stopped in front of a nondescript building. It was almost perfectly square, and the faded gray stone appeared as if it had been worn down over time. There were plenty of buildings in the city that looked something like that, most of them El’aras in origin. This one seemed more solid than most.
