Tale of a Blackbird, page 17
* * *
Morning greeted them through the breaking clouds as they arrived at the warehouse beside the industrial sector’s wall. Haakon was only arriving when they turned the corner and if the man suspected what they’d done with the box and chain, he made no mention of it. They silently set to loading the cargo and soon were rolling along into the industrial sector.
The forges and smelters never stopped in their work, but the streets of the sector were only beginning to wake. The lucky inhabitants who avoided the gangs and danger of the lower sector worked either night or day shifts, and the taverns were always crowded no matter the time.
In one of these taverns they soon found themselves after unloading their cargo. Haakon was happy they’d kept their word in returning and wanted to treat them. The three of them sat in a corner and huddled over their flagons of ale.
Haakon stared down into his drink. “Whatever happened last night’s ‘tween ye both, none o’ my business. I just don’t want the Maskers knocking down me door, is all. Do you both swear I won’t have no trouble if I take ye on?”
Paste shook his head. “There’s no trouble. We’re done with Sunnyside. Isn’t that right, L—Kellick?”
Haakon frowned at the slip up.
Leek looked from the blacksmith to Paste. “I’m done with Mala.,” he said. “All of it. I’m done with the crowds and the stink and the shit. I want out.” Leek pointed a finger at Paste. “But you should stay here, stay with Haakon. This is what you wanted, to work in a blacksmith.”
“I’m not leaving you on your own!” Paste pointed at Leek and then himself. “We stick together.”
“I’ll just give ye both a minute.” Haakon stood up and went to the privy.
“Paste, I know you mean well, but your place is here. You know it, I know it. You have an opportunity here. You can do what you always wanted. You’re not gonna find that chance where I’m headed.”
“And where’s that?”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know. But away from here. Away from the noise and the crowds.”
Paste looked down at his drink and clenched his hands. “Leek…”
“I’ve grown fond of you too, Oxen.” He laughed and leaned forwards, clapping the big guy on the shoulder. “But it’s for the best. I can look out for myself no matter where I end up. Don’t worry about me.”
Paste shook his head. “You’re sure?”
“Sure as I’ve ever been.” Leek touched his cloak, where Wax’s purse was hidden beneath. “We’ve to split the take from the other thing though, first.”
Paste held up a hand. “Look, I know you’ll be fine no matter where you end up, but it’s dangerous out there. The Eclipsi have invaded, I heard. And the plagues still kicking about. You’ll need all the coin you can get your hands on. Passage to the mainland isn’t cheap, I heard.”
“I’m not going to the mainland.” Leek finished his drink. “Tomorrow, I’m finding myself a ship bound for the Sun Isles.” Leek smiled. “I’m going to somewhere sunny, that’s not Sunnyside.”
* * *
They woke that morning fairly head sore, and Haakon wasn’t happy Leek was leaving but understood why. He gave Leek a plain but strong knife, nothing flashy that’d draw attention, and a sheathe to put it in, dried meat and his wages, along with a few extra coins. Leek and Paste slapped shoulders once more outside. After all, it wouldn’t do to be seen hugging in this area. Just because there weren’t gangs didn’t mean you could look weak. Leek gave Paste one final nod and walked away without looking back.
He left the industrial sector, knowing full well that he couldn’t get back in if he changed his mind without Haakon there. As the gate shut behind him, Leek felt relief and sadness well up like a ball of weight inside of him. Relief that he had enough coin to leave Mala, and that Paste was safe. Sadness that he was once again on his own.
Leek put one foot in front of the other and made his way for the docks.
“Are ye serious?” The man with the fishy smell laughed as he frowned at the coins held out in Leek’s hand. He’d been arguing with a merchant just before, and by the way the crew regarded him, Leek guessed he was in charge. “Is that all you got?” the man said, so Leek added another silver.
“I can help out, on the ship.” Leek glanced up at the ship about to make way.
The man looked at the coins once more, then at Leek. “Right, but if you get sick, your off. I don’t have time to be mopping up some landlubber’s lunch, got it?”
Leek nodded.
The man snatched the coins from Leek’s hand and walked up the gangplank.
Leek slowly made his way along the board, eyeing the lapping green water pushing weeds onto the rocks below. He made it safely to the other side and jumped down onto the ship’s deck. A burly sailor pulled the gangplank back on board and shouted instructions at the men, who tugged on ropes, then pulled down the massive, patched sails which billowed in the wind. Watching the ship begin to pull away from the dock, Leek leaned against the wooden railing.
He didn’t know where he would end up precisely, but anywhere had to be better than here.
As the ship drew away from dock and slowly waded through the bay, a large, grey-bearded man with one-eye appeared from below deck. Leek froze as the man’s icy gaze fell on him.
The man strode over to Leek. “And who the bloody hell are you?”
Leek frowned. “Kellick, sir. Here to work for passage.”
“Call me captain, boy, and my bloody arse you are. What are you doing on my ship?”
“Your ship?” Leek pointed at the man he’d paid, who was now standing on the upper deck and looking at some charts, but glanced up and smiled. “He said this was his ship, paid him to come aboard.”
The one-eyed man looked up to where Leek was pointing. “Damn it, Tarrant! How many times do I have to tell you to stop bringing strays onto my ship? One more time,” he said, grabbing Leek by the scruff of the neck. “One more time and I’ll find a new navigator, and you’ll be off like this fool!”
Leek was thrown overboard and the water came rushing towards him. The cold water sucked him down, he kicked, but the damn knife and cloak were weighing him down. He tore at the straps, let the knife sink, then ripped the cloak off, snatching the purse from inside. Leek surfaced, awkwardly managed to pull off his boots with one hand to swim better and as he kicked water, he watched the faces leering down at him from above deck.
The laughing taunts slowly sailed further and further away into the distance.
* * *
Leek swam back to shore and hid the purse in his britches. Sailors laughed as he walked by, dripping wet, but he paid them little heed. He hid himself in an alleyway to gather his thoughts. Leek shivered with the cold as he slid the purse from his britches and opened the leather strap with trembling fingers, dimly remembering he’d checked it while blindingly drunk the night before, but unsure what was inside.
Warmth emitted from inside the purse, or seemed to, as about twenty gold coins twinkled inside beside a handful of green gems. Leek picked one gem up and twirled it around. This would get him back into the industrial sector. He could plan another way out of the city and resupply from Haakon’s merchandise, or arrange passage on a ship that wouldn’t cast him off like fishbait.
Then he remembered Haakon would be loading cargo right about now.
Leek pocketed the gem, shut the purse and hid it again in his waistband. He tried not to look in a hurry, and it was late-morning by the time he arrived at the warehouse. The familiar cart was outside, with four Maskers standing guard nearby. They watched him approach but made no move to stop him. As Leek approached unfamiliar voices were coming from inside the warehouse. An old man Leek had never seen before walked out of the open doorway, followed by three muscular men. They looked at Leek and the grins quickly faded.
“What you want, boy? Your kind should be down in Sunnyside. Best leave before the Maskers set on ye.”
“Where’s Haakon?” Leek asked.
“Not working the cart no more. Got his cargo of ore, didn’t he?” The old man gave the three men a nod and they went back into the warehouse. “What’s the matter?”
“I need to get inside the industrial sector.”
“Hah! Good luck with that. Ye need a worker’s writ, and something tells me ye not got it. Now go on, get on ‘fore I set ‘em on ye.” He nodded to the Maskers, who were watching Leek closely now. He turned and left the area, and found himself back outside the Foxhole. Leek sneaked to his old hiding place, and before putting the purse behind the loose brick, Leek took out a few gold coins and one gem. He didn’t know how he was getting inside the next sector but he wasn’t walking around with a purse full of trouble.
Leek entered the tavern and paid for a room for the night, a hot meal and a bath, after stealthily sliding the coin to the fat barman. With a pocket full of silver, he sat beside the fire sipping a mug of ale inside one of the many private galleries and tried to figure out how he could get back to Paste. After the tavern had somewhat emptied, Leek called the innkeeper aside and asked him did he know of any way a person might find themselves inside the industrial sector.
The man frowned and shook his head, foxtails swinging. “No, there’s certainly not!” He looked back at Leek as he walked to the bar, shaking his head again.
Leek walked over to the bar and slid his hand onto the surface. He moved his hand aside, letting the man see a green gem that caught the firelight and sparkled.
The man swallowed. “I could lose my license.” He licked his lips.
Leek slid a gold coin beside the gem.
“The Maskers could hang me…”
Leek placed a gold coin on the other side of the gem and slid them closer to the man. “You’ll get another two when you get me into the industrial sector.” The barman looked around at the empty tavern and nodded, snatching them from the counter.
“I know a way. But it’s dangerous. Get some sleep and I’ll wake you before dawn.”
* * *
Before dawn Leek went to the alleyway with the loose brick in it and got his purse. He went back to the tavern where the innkeeper was waiting for him with a satchel of food. He also supplied Leek with an old, thick cloak and knee-high leather boots.
“You’ll need them,” he told Leek at seeing his questioning look.
The innkeeper brought him out the back of the tavern and locked the door. They made their way through the familiar maze of alleyways and lanes. He came to a squat hut made of solid oak that was nestled between tenements at the end of a long alleyway. The man checked they were alone, before pulling out a key on a chain from beneath his shirt. He unlocked the door of the hut, and they entered.
Inside was dark. The man lit a torch and Leek then noticed that built into the floor was a grate of thick iron bars. The man took out another key on the same chain and unlocked the grate, letting Leek go down first. At the bottom a roughly carved tunnel brought them to the sewers, and Leek avoided the mess by using the raised curbs to either side. The air was dank and icy, and Leek wrapped himself tight in the cloak. They travelled for a few minutes in silence, until they came to where the sewer opened up to several different tunnels. The man walked over to the nearest wall and pointed.
“Stay here until you’ve this map memorized. I take no responsibility for your life from here on. I leave you the torch and my blessings, and the best of luck t’ye, young sir.” After Leek slipped him the last two coins the barman walked back the way they’d came.
Leek spent an hour memorizing the map to the best of his ability, having to light another torch from inside the pack, and when he was confident he knew the way, Leek followed the correct tunnel and hoped the gods were smiling on him.
* * *
The last torch died, leaving him in darkness. He must have made a wrong turn somewhere, and now he was blindly following the wall along the tunnel to who knew where. At one point he heard a distant voice and had turned around and ran. Since then, he’d heard nothing but the trickling sewer, and his legs burned from the constant ascending and descending of the tunnels.
Leek was reciting a recipe for sour cakes when his hand came to a metal rung in the wall. His heart jumped and he had to double check what he’d found.
A ladder!
He climbed, coming to a round metal grate above him and blindly felt around and found a latch. Turning and pushing the latch, he squinted as light flooded into the sewer. Leek climbed out, shielding his eyes as he tried to figure out where he was.
Leaving the grate open, he walked down to the mouth of the alleyway and looked both ways. Children played on the street to his right, but to this left he could make out an open expanse beyond the distant houses. Leek realized where he was. It was the market sector, one of two sectors where those proved loyal to the ministry could enjoy a normal life.
He’d travelled much further than the industrial sector, but there wasn’t a chance he was going back down through those sewers again, so he went back and shut the grate, but making sure to leave it accessible, then found a place to hide his purse.
There was a bright side to his blunder. The market sector was densely populated, and as all thieves know the world over, a crowd is the best place to hide.
* * *
By the following morning he’d stolen clothes off a washing line, and seeing as the crowds grew large enough to drown in, had chanced stealing food, slowly growing braver, working his way through the throng and liberating people of their hard-earned coin.
Leek hesitated, the woman was distracted looking at the jeweller’s stall, and her satchel was within arm’s reach and bloody well asking for the taking. His fingers slipped in as a large cart with crates rolled by, and by the time it rolled past, he’d already disappeared down a side alley.
With little to no competition in the market sector, only having to avoid the Maskers, Leek had already built up a collection of sixteen silver coins, twenty-three copper, and enough food to see him out for a few days if things went awry. Inside a dark courtyard he pulled open the clasps and pocketed the handful of copper coins. Discarding the purse, Leek turned into an adjoining alley, and froze mid-step. A Masker blocked the end of the alley, bludgeon held tightly in fist. Leek turned back, but more Maskers filed down the alleyway towards him.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
The one in front pointed at him with his bludgeon. “We’ve been watching you, boy. Can’t pick pockets with broken fingers, can ye? Let’s see how much coin ye’ve got, then.”
Leek turned heel and ducked past the guard who tried to grab him. He skidded in the dirt as he turned the corner, the Maskers’ heavy footsteps following close behind. The twists and turns of dirty lanes and dark courtyards passed by in a blur, and Leek more jumped than ran across the small bridge spanning the narrow, fast-flowing river.
A moment of madness and he didn’t think further, just dived in, drowning out the shouts of his pursuers and being dragged along by the current. He fought it, kicking his legs and emerged moments later, followed by a loud splash from behind. Peeking back, two Maskers had jumped in after him. Leek swam sideways, kicking with all his might and finally reaching and pulling himself up onto a ledge. With a brief, deep suck of air, he stood up and ran into an adjoining alleyway, pushing over a man carrying sacks of flour on his shoulders. White dust puffed up around him, and he left the cursing man and laundry women to their angry cries, delving deep into the warren of lanes between the steep buildings.
Leek could see Maskers flashing past the end of the laneways to either side. He knew the market square wasn’t far, and well crowded this time of day.
A good place to slip a hound hot on your trail.
At a junction of alleyways, a Masker came running around the corner, snatching out at Leek and making him flinch. Mercifully his cloak ripped from his shoulders, throwing the Masker off-balance and the guard tumbled over. Leek ran on, towards the market square, its loud din growing all the louder. He left the alleyways and winded through a wide street filled with people coming to and from the market, jumping stacks of firewood, crates of fish, vaulting over a crouching old woman inspecting fabrics.
“Sorry!” he tossed over his shoulder as she let out a scream of shock.
Leek fled into the busy market square, packed with buyers and sellers, bumping into a juggler and making him tumble to the ground, sending burning torches flying up into the air. The onlookers cried as the torches rained down on them, but Leek was already pressing on through the crowd. The hounds bayed close behind.
Chapter 22: Moonlit Room
“Ah, that tastes delicious.” Maddox leaned back in his chair, goblet in hand.
Birdie smelled the wine’s sour scent in her goblet and pushed it away. “I want answers. Why does our family have a castle hidden in the mountain, and how did we pass through that thing, the portal?”
For days now after going through the portal she’d explored the castle. Maddox told her stories about when he’d run through the halls with her mother and aunt, how the place would be so lively, filled with all their kin. Any time she’d tried to get some idea of their plans for the future—or even better—revenge, he would frown and change the subject.
“You can’t keep avoiding my questions. How did you pass through stone? Are you some kind of wizard? Is that why you’re able to do magic?” She was only half serious.
Maddox choked on his wine and spluttered it down the front of his shirt, then quickly wiped the dribbling liquid from his chin. He indicated to his stomach and then his face. “Do I look like a skinny little old man with a great big beard to you?”
“But it was magic, wasn’t it?”
“What do you know about magic?”
“I know what I saw.” She took a bite out of one of the rolls. “And another thing that’s been bugging me. Why didn’t you just hideaway here, in the castle? You’ve food, water. You could’ve stayed here with me and Bella.”
“What you saw at the portal was just a simple illusion, nothing more. Sometimes the best place to hide something that you don’t want to be found is right in front of the people you don’t want finding it!” Maddox winked at her as if he had imparted some valuable chunk of wisdom. “As for staying here, it was out of the question. These strongholds weren’t safe, not back then, as many of the Twelve swapped sides. Some had access to secret passages to each other’s strongholds, you see. Alliances were always switching back-and-forth, even in times of peace. For all I know this place was swarming with enemies after our escape. Any who might know the way now are dead. It took me years to hunt them down, but I got them eventually.”
