A Fool of Sorts Read online

  It seemed Vinny sensed he’d gone too far. The half-Norsic quickly took his seat, his mouth no longer moving, the words extinguished by Odie’s touch.

  “Right. Well, how about a round?” suggested Sal. “I, for one, could use a drink.”

  Valla motioned for the serving wench.

  A curvy woman that looked not too unlike Bessy sauntered over. She had a head of blonde ringlets and wore over much make up for Sal’s taste, but she had a bosom like a set of ripe melons that made it difficult for him to look at her face. He couldn’t help but think of the whore he’d been with at Scarvini Palace. He did his best to sneak peeks when he thought she wasn’t looking and found himself hoping she would find any excuse to bend down in front of him.

  The serving wench cleared her throat. “And what for you?” she asked, slightly annoyed, as though she’d had to ask him more than once. There was no sense of flirtation in her flinty eyes. She narrowed them and glared openly to make her point abundantly clear.

  Slightly embarrassed that he’d been caught lost in the ponderance of her prodigious endowment, Sal ordered a house ale without thinking, if only to get her to move her attention anywhere else.

  “Not so friendly as old Bessy,” Sal said conversationally once the serving wench had moved off.

  “Yes, well, she’s not also a whore on the side,” said Valla.

  “Easy,” said Sal, “Bessy was no whore. A tad loose maybe, but not a whore.”

  “Tomato, Potato,” said Valla. “I call a duck a duck and a fuck a fuck. You want to pretty up the situation with your pedantic bullshit, do it elsewhere. This is a bullshit free table.”

  “I liked old Bessy,” said Odie, “sweet girl. Though, this new one’s a shade younger, got a set o’ dugs like a wet nurse, she does, and a rump like two juicy hams.”

  Vinny laughed, and Balliel clicked his tongue, but Valla shook her head, while Aurie turned red as a strawberry.

  “A bit of fucking professionalism wouldn’t be out of line,” said Valla.

  “Oy, you want professionalism, you best cross the river,” said Odie mulishly.

  “And you best watch your tongue before you wind up leaving here with your balls in a coin purse,” Valla threatened.

  “There’s no need for none of that now,” said Odie. “I only look at the other girls, but you know you’re the only one for me, lass.”

  “Should have gone to the bloody Anchor. Leastways, I’d be making a cut off of what you rum-hounds have swilled down,” Valla said and stabbed her knife into the tabletop, where it stood erect.

  The serving girl stopped short, drinks upon her tray, her eyes fixed on the knife quivering in the table.

  “You see what professionalism gets you, woman,” said Odie, gesturing to the serving wench as though goading a farm animal.

  Vinny and Sal shared a look, and Vinny smiled, clearly pleased to no longer be the center of attention.

  The serving wench approached tentatively, her tray shaking slightly as she served out the food and drinks. The instant her tray was empty, she quickly bustled back to the kitchen without bothering to ask if anyone at the table needed anything else.

  Things calmed down a tick once the group had fresh drinks and food to eat. As Sal knew well, empty stomachs breed bad company. Sal sipped at his ale, listening more than speaking, keeping one eye on Vinny as everyone talked and drank.

  “I’m only saying, six isn’t necessary,” Vinny said loudly as he conversed with Odie.

  Valla looked at Vinny like a hound with a scent, but Vinny carried on as though he hadn’t noticed. “I mean, we could do it as easily with four. Means a bigger cut for the lot, don’t it?”

  “Vincenzo,” Valla said, pulling the knife from the table and pointing it at Vinny. “One more word, I will put the point of this sticker right through your eyehole. Understood?”

  Vinny turned on Valla with a look dripping of petulance. He must have been deeper in his cups than Sal had thought. “Was only saying the girl isn’t needed, and that Shiikali fop—”

  Valla moved swift as an alley cat, she had drawn a second dagger, seemingly from thin air.

  Before Vinny had stood, Valla had closed the distance.

  Moving faster than Sal would have believed possible of such a big man, Odie had moved between Valla and Vinny. With one arm wrapped around Valla’s waist, the big man had lifted her off the ground and used his other hand to pin Vinny back down to his chair.

  “Let’s not lose our tempers,” Odie said, smiling. “Keep in mind we’re all friends here, and, lad, I suggest you drop the issue before Val opens you up right here in the taproom.”

  “Sound advice, yes?” said Balliel with a wink.

  Valla looked aghast at being lifted and detained, Vinny looked disgruntled, but neither of them argued with Odie, as there was little one could do to change the mind of the big man once it had been made up.

  Slowly, Odie lowered Valla to her feet and lifted his hand from Vinny’s shoulder. Valla sheathed her blades, and Odie took his seat once more.

  Aurie was the only one around the table who did not seem nullified. Her face twisted with anger, she stood, picked up her drink, and poured it over Vinny’s blonde head, then walked out of the taproom without a word spoken.

  Everyone laughed, except Vinny, who shot a glare at Aurie’s back as she walked out of the inn.

  “Keep your calm, Vinny. It’s not a dagger in the eye,” Sal said reassuringly.

  From that point on, the afternoon’s gathering unfolded without incident. Vinny was the first to depart, saying something about a new shirt and being short on coin. Odie left next, shortly followed by Valla. Sal began to stand, when Balliel put a hand on his arm.

  “Please, another drink. You will stay and speak with me, yes.”

  Sal nearly told the Shiikali he had to be going but found himself waving down the serving wench and ordering another ale.

  “That friend of yours, the Norsic boy. I would like a word with you about him.”

  “Right. Well, Vinny might have had a little much to drink, but he won’t be a problem.”

  “Respectfully, I must disagree. You know this Vinny better than I, but it seems I know the ways of men better than you. I have always had a good, you might say, feeling for what is inside a person.”

  “And what is it you see inside me?” Sal asked.

  “Always men are wanting to know of themselves, me, me, me, when they should be knowing of the things around them, else they are not blind to all that is before them.”

  “Well, what about me, me, me?” Sal said, winking.

  Balliel scoffed and smiled, waving his hands loftily. “There is potential.”

  Sal laughed. “You’re a difficult man to dislike, Balliel.”

  “This is the way of drinking, yes?” the Shiikali said, still smiling wide.

  Sal shook his head. “Alcohol has never kept me from disliking a man. But you, I find I like. Tell me, Balliel who is not the bard, what is it you see inside Vinny that makes him such a problem? I mean, if you think Vinny is a problem, you really ought to have a look inside Valla.”

  “I have seen inside all of them, all of whom I have met, all who I have known. My Talent allows this at but a glance. In Vallachenka, I see anger, but there is also control. In the one you call the big man, I can see a quiet confidence. In the young woman, Aurianwyn, there is a beautiful flower waiting only to show her face to the sun, but in this Vincenzo friend of yours—”

  Sal raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly at the Shiikali, but before Balliel spoke, the curvy wench had returned with their drinks.

  Balliel took a swig, but Sal waited, unwilling to look away.

  “Right, then, you were on Vinny. What is it inside him that you find so disturbing?”

  “Betrayal,” the Shiikali man said. “I see betrayal in him.”

  Sal was uncertain what to think of that. He didn’t know what the Shiikali was getting at. They were a superstitious people, but this was someth
ing else, something strange. “How precisely does one see betrayal inside a person? I’m a tick confused on the process.”

  Balliel took another drink. “You’ve heard of Talents, no?”

  “So, you’re a magicker?”

  “Of a sort. There are some who hold many Talents, and some who possess only one. Since I was a child, I have been able to see in men what others cannot. It has made my dealings simple things all my life. It is this Talent which shows me what others desire, and it is with this gift that I have survived. You must believe me when I tell you, your friend is far more of a risk than you surmise.”

  “And what reason could Vinny possibly have for wanting to betray me?”

  “I do not claim to see the reasons nor motivations behind such desires. I have told you what I know, little as that may be. Heed my warning, and remain ever vigilant.”

  Sal scoffed. “Right. Well, I appreciate the warning, but I need to be going. A prior engagement.” Sal drained his mug and made to leave the Hog Snout. As he pushed unsteadily through the door, he wondered how well he truly knew Vinny, and for that matter, how well he really knew anyone.

  21

  First Date

  INTERLUDE, SIX MONTHS EARLIER

  She was wearing the sapphire teardrop earrings. The same earrings she’d worn the first time he’d seen her. She looked stunning in her blue dress. She was always stunning, and yet, today she looked exceptional. The blue brought out her eyes brilliantly, in a way that made Sal want to stare endlessly into them, to get lost within their depths, never to return to the cold world without.

  Sal felt a beggar before a goddess. “You showed?” he said, almost unable to believe his eyes.

  “Well, of course I did,” Lilliana said with a smile. “Seems I owed you that much for saving my life, did I not?”

  “So, it was out of a sense of obligation?”

  “I came because I wanted to,” Lilliana said with a look of irritation. “But if you would rather I hadn’t, I can always just leave.”

  “I’m sorry,” Sal said. “I just never thought you’d show is all.”

  “Well, you have a funny way of expressing your excitement at seeing me.”

  “You’re right. That was wrong of me, I should never have acted that way. Please, shall we?”

  She accepted his arm and allowed him to lead her across the Bridge of the Lady.

  “I see you’re wearing the cloak,” Lilliana said, running a hand over the sable fur lining. “It suits you.”

  “Thank you,” Sal said, feigning a smile.

  The cloak was black wool, finely woven and warm. The black sable lining made it worth more than anything else Sal owned, apart from the locket, that is. It had been a gift from Lilliana, her first gesture in return for saving her life.

  The first gift given out of obligation? A question he had pondered more than once. He felt a pretender in the thing. Like a boy wearing his father’s boots.

  “Where is it you’re taking me?” Lilliana asked.

  “You’ll see,” Sal told her, doing his best to make his smile look confident. The feel of her arm locked in his sent flutters through his stomach and his heart beating in his throat. It felt good, but he knew the feeling couldn’t last.

  They weaved their way across the Bridge of the Lady, down Beggar’s Lane, and up Town Road until they were within Town Square. A crowd had gathered, some standing upon the edge of the great fountain of Uthrid Stormbreaker, all heads turned toward Town Hall.

  Upon the seventh floor, wire cages had been lined up all along the balcony.

  “What is this?” Lilliana asked, leaning close to Sal’s ear so that he would hear her over the buzz of the crowd. “What’s happening?”

  Her breath was warm, and it tickled his ear, sent a shiver down his spine, and stirred something in his loin. “You see that man up on the balcony?” Sal asked, pointing. “Watch his arms. He is about to pull those wires.”

  “What will the wires do?” Lilliana asked.

  “Give it a moment. As soon as the sun is directly overhead, the man on the balcony is going to raise his arms and pull those wires tight above his head.”

  Lilliana narrowed her eyes, her lips pouting, but Sal knew the look for what it was, and he refused to give in.

  Within moments, the man atop the balcony raised his arms, pulling the cords which released the doors upon the wire cages. Hundreds of white pigeons flew out from the cages in unison, circling above Town Square like a great whirlwind.

  Lilliana gasped. “Doves, it’s beautiful.” She looked Sal in the eyes. “They’re so, so pure.”

  “Yeah,” Sal said quietly, moving in close to her, nary space for air between their warm bodies. “Pure, completely perfect.”

  The birds circled overhead, Lilliana blushed but looked him square in the eyes. Sal took the opportunity to lean in close, his lips nearly touching hers. She moved in the rest of the way and kissed him back.

  They remained, frozen in time, and for that perfect moment, everything was—

  Something wet and warm landed on top of Sal’s head. As Lilliana slowly pulled away from the kiss—her eyes closed, a smile on her perfect, soft lips—Sal felt the warm, wet something slide down the side of his head, over his ear, and plop onto his shoulder. He looked down at his shoulder, the black wool and black sable fur of the cloak now smeared with a runny, white globule of bird shit.

  22

  The Warehouse Job

  Half a turn before evenfall, Town Road was more crowded than Sal had anticipated. He assumed Valla had made a similar error of judgment when she’d planned for their meeting place. He spotted the big man first, as Odie stood out in a crowd if anyone did. Vinny and the girl, Aurie, were there as well.

  Odie was hunched low, in apparent conversation with Aurie, while Vinny stood to the side, arms crossed.

  “Oy!” called Odie as Sal neared. “I’d say you was late, but we’ve yet to see that silver-tongued Shiikali.”

  “What of Valla?” Sal asked.

  “She went to the warehouse early,” said Aurie. “Told me to wait here for everyone and give a quick brief before we start.”

  “Or so this girl claims,” said Vinny.

  “And what is that supposed to mean?” said Aurie, turning to face the half-Norsic. The scene was comical, as Vinny stood near twice as tall as the girl and must have outweighed her by a good eleven stone.

  “Why would Valla change the plan an hour before we’re supposed to begin?” said Vinny.

  “And what reason would I have to lie?” said Aurie. “You don’t like it, bugger off. Valla said to wait here for everyone, and she would meet us on Penny Row.”

  Sal didn’t like what he was hearing. He’d worked with Vinny before, but Aurie was an unknown entity. Her telling him that Valla gave an order meant about as much as if any other stranger had said it.

  Sal looked to Odie. Without a word exchanged between them, the big man seemed to know what Sal was asking, and with a nod, he put Sal’s nerves to ease. Still, he felt Vinny had a point. Why would Valla change the plan last minute? One thing could be said for Luca, when he was in charge, no one dared question his rule.

  “You going to call this off, Odie?” Sal asked. “I don’t want Vinny hurt before the job even starts.”

  Odie sighed. “I forget you been gone so long. This is the way this been with these two. I told Val we ought to lock them in a room and see what comes out first,” Odie cleared his throat, “you know, the knives or the—”

  Aurie turned on the big man with a look of such ferocity that he cut short and began laughing. Sal started laughing as well, and Aurie seemed to lose steam. Vinny looked sullen.

  “Even if this girl is telling the truth, I don’t like Valla making changes this late.”

  “Lady’s sake, Vinny, when did you become the Yahdrish mother?” Sal said, punching the half-Norsic on the shoulder.

  Vinny turned on him, looking not to have appreciated the jape. Only, just as Vinny opened his m
outh, Odie called out in his booming voice.

  “Oy, Shiikali, you’d best put a hitch in that trot or Valla is bound to,” said Odie. “You’ve just made us late.”

  “Balliel, you cocksure little sand snake,” said Valla, seeming to have appeared from nowhere. “I ought to wring that skinny, brown neck of yours, just to see how long you could live with all that air in your empty head.”

  The Shiikali sauntered up to the group, winked, and clicked his tongue.

  Vinny looked at Sal, wide-eyed, and cocked his head toward Valla as if to say, where in Sacrull’s hell did she come from?

  Sal shrugged, and Vinny shook his head in disbelief.

  Valla, slick with sweat, glistened in the lamplight. She paced for a moment like a prowling cat, closed her eyes, shrugged her shoulders in a most feline manner, and cracked her neck. “Right. Well, now that we’ve all decided to gather,” Valla said, shooting a pointed look at Balliel. “I’d like to discuss a few changes.”

  Vinny and Sal shared a look, and Sal knew they were thinking the same thing.

  “It seems they’ve increased security. This latest shipment was a big one, and something has them spooked. Balliel, this means you’re no longer playing the honey pot. You, Aurie, and I are going hunting. Basic cat and mouse, three on three, a simple matter, really. We’ll work out logistics once everyone is in position. Salvatori, this changes nothing for you. I want wide eyes and ears. You even sense the City Watch, I want everyone out of there. Vincenzo, I will need you to button up that slit between your legs before your baubles fall out. Apart from that, nothing’s changed. Odie, I’ll want you street-side, in case of a slip-up. Anything gets out, you’re running containment.”

  Odie grunted and pounded his chest with a fist.

  “If everyone is clear, let’s make our way. You two, with me.” At that, Valla, Balliel, and Aurie walked on down the street, headed for an alley where Sal knew they would climb until they were moving along the rooftops.