The Complete Darkwar Trilogy: Flight of the Night Hawks, Into a Dark Realm, Wrath of a Mad God

Amafi took up an unobtrusive position near the closest escape route, and Tal walked the floor.

As gambling halls went, this was the largest and most opulent he had encountered, but it was also odd by his standards. Every gambling house in the Kingdom of the Isles, Roldem, Olasko and elsewhere in the north was choked with gaming tables to maximize the earnings of the entrepreneur, but here large stretches of the hall had been given over to piles of cushions strewn around low tables where the wealthy and noble relaxed, held conversations, or indulged in other vices. In one darker corner several young Trueblood men lounged, passing around a long pipe, and from the sickly-sweet aroma, Tal knew it wasn’t an exotic cut of tabac they were smoking.

Some extraordinarily attractive young women had appeared, and several smiled invitingly at Tal as they strolled by. Gambling, drugs, whores and drink, Tal thought. One would never have to leave this place, it could satisfy any appetite.

An hour passed, while Tal played a few more hands. Then he rose, pocketed his modest winnings and found Amafi. ‘No one is coming,’ he said to the former assassin.

Amafi said, ‘That is strange, Magnificence. But it is not unusual for nobility – especially royalty – to change their mind.’

‘I don’t think so. I think we had bad information,’ said Tal.

‘To what end?’

‘I don’t know, but tell me – what has changed in the room since we last spoke?’

Amafi may have been advancing in years, but his skill was not dulled. ‘A man sits alone near the foot of the stairs as if he is lost in thought while he drinks, but he has not refilled his cup in the past hour.

‘Two courtesans meander through the hall, yet twice I’ve seen them rebuff men of means who have sought their companionship. ’ He looked at the second exit on the other side of the room. ‘And someone also bars the way should anyone choose to leave by the narrow path at the back.’

‘And if anyone suspected you had deployed the gardeners’ rope ladder, there would be someone guarding that, I think.’

‘It’s a trap?’

‘I think so,’ said Tal.

‘For us?’

‘It would be foolish not to assume so.’

‘So the rumour of the prince’s attendance and the possible attempt on his life was just bait?’

Tal nodded. ‘So, if I’m the target, and not the prince, what would you do?’

Amafi looked around, assessing the room with new eyes. ‘A direct attack in public is out of the question, Magnificence. Also, no one would be foolish enough to challenge a Champion of the Masters’ Court in Roldem with a blade. Should I sent three swordsmen, you would likely prevail, unless they were very, very good.

‘But I would not want three others knowing who I intended to kill … unless those three others were family.’

‘Nighthawks.’

Amafi nodded. He watched the two young women and said, ‘I suspect those two are not Nighthawks. I would simply employ them to lure you upstairs to a quiet room where a dagger waited for you behind a curtain. Or I would persuade them to keep you here until someone else arrived.’ He shrugged. ‘As to the manner of your demise, my preferred approach would be to wait outside the front door, concealed in shadow, and take my chance at striking from behind before you can draw your fabled sword.’

Tal smiled. ‘If memory serves, that’s how we met.’

‘I was not attempting to kill you, Magnificence, only to join your service. Had I wanted you dead, I think I might have been able to be more circumspect.’

‘Well enough, but what about tonight? Chaos or shadows?’

Amafi looked around again, laughing like Tal had said something funny. ‘I do not know. If there were more people here tonight, chaos. But there are still too many for shadows.’

‘So, you think I’m safe until we depart?’

‘I suspect so, Magnificence, but I would keep your wits about you and be especially cautious if you must visit the garderobe.’

‘Having one’s throat cut while relieving oneself would be a most undignified death.’

‘It has been done.’

‘The man guarding the back path, is he a Nighthawk or hired help?’

Amafi said, ‘It is difficult to say, Magnificence. They would not place someone to confront you there, rather someone to signal others that you have left by another route … I would wager hired help.’

‘Signal who?’

Amafi said, ‘Certainly not those two girls.’ He said, ‘Return to the tables and I will attempt to find out who his confederate might be.’

Tal nodded and returned to a different table from the last one, tired of watching the cheating brothers and pretending not to be annoyed by them. At this new table he found two merchants from the south and a minor palace-functionary losing modest amounts of gold to two travellers from the Kingdom.

Even so, the gentlemen at the table were affable. When introductions had been made, the two travellers expressed some interest in Tal’s relationship to people that they might know in Yabon.

Tal deflected their questions by stating although he was a court baron in Yabon, he had spent most of his time travelling and living in the east, especially in the city of Roldem. This led to one of the men realizing that he was a past Champion of the Masters’ Court, which while no less tedious a conversation for Tal, did at least free him from further scrutiny regarding his fictional Yabonese background.

The hours dragged by, then roughly two hours after midnight, a party of drunken young men entered the gambling hall. Two of them quickly found girls and headed upstairs, while three others found seats at a large table where a game of knucklebones was in progress. One sat down and seemed to doze off quickly.

Amafi came to Tal’s side and said, ‘Magnificence, a word, please?’

Tal excused himself and they moved to a deserted corner of the room. ‘Someone has grown impatient. You see the man who appears to doze in the corner?’

‘I see him.’

‘He entered with the drunken youths, but he was not with them. He is older and he feigns intoxication. Even now I think he watches from under hooded lids.’

‘Is he a Nighthawk?’

‘Almost certainly, for they would not send a mere underling to drive you into their arms.’

‘How dangerous?’

‘Very, for he will willingly die for his clan, which means that his task may be to allow you to kill him, then as you flee, others will take you outside.’

‘Fanatics,’ Tal said as if it were a curse word.

‘What would you have me do?’

‘Wait,’ said Tal. He approached the two girls who had been circling the floor for hours, trying to look as if they were having a good time. They brightened up noticeably as Tal closed in on them. Both were dressed in a various Trueblood fashion, though it was clear from their fair skin and light eyes that they were not Trueblood. In addition to their linen kilts and torques, they wore gauzy wraps which covered their breasts, if only slightly. Their jewellery was cheap and obvious and it was clear to Tal that both girls were not in their usual habitat. He would probably find them in a moderate brothel or haunting the modest inns of the city on most nights. In a few years when their looks faded, they would be walking the streets in the poorer section of the city.

The taller of the two with reddish-brown hair said, ‘I was just telling my friend that if one man in the room were to come talk to us, I wished it would be you, handsome!’

They both giggled. Tal smiled and leaning forward said, ‘How would you two like to make even more gold than you’ve been promised?’

The girls’ expressions turned to shock. Tal put his arms around their waists and pulled them slightly towards him as if getting familiar, but his grip was firm as he said, ‘Smile, girls; you’re being watched, and those men who promised you gold after you have lured me upstairs are going to cut your throats instead. Now, what will it be? Life and gold, or do you want to see some fairly spectacular bloodshed right here, right now?’

The shorter girl with raven-dark hair looked as if she were on the verge of fainting, but the taller one said, ‘They promised us that no one would get hurt. They said it was a prank.’

‘It’s not a prank. Now, what do you have?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘What did they give you to poison me with?’

‘Not poison,’ said the shorter girl, her voice wavering with fear. ‘Just some drops to make you sleep. They said they were going to drag you out of here and put you on a caravan to the south. They said you had caused some trouble with a man’s wife and they were going to teach you a lesson.’

Tal shook his head and laughed loudly. Then he whispered, ‘And you, of course, believed that.’

The red-headed girl said, ‘For ten gold coins, I’d believe you were Sung the Pure for the night.’

‘Good, here’s what I want you to do. Come upstairs with me and give me the drops.’

He motioned for Amafi to come over and said, ‘I’m going to spend some time with my friends, here, before playing again. Settle it with the landlord.’

Amafi bowed and went to find the owner of the establishment, while Tal stood with his arms around both girls. They ran their hands up and down his arms in a display of affection, but their eyes darted anxiously around the room. ‘Don’t look for anyone,’ whispered Tal. ‘Keep your eyes on me.’

Amafi returned in a moment and said, ‘Top of the stairs on the next floor, Magnificence, the room at the end of the hall.’

Tal took the key, knowing that the man by the garden or the one feigning sleep in the cushioned seat would have a duplicate. Tal whispered to Amafi, ‘Follow the sleeping man when he rises. When he reaches the door, help him enter the room.’

Tal took the girls upstairs, and once they were in the room, motioned for them to stand in the farthest corner from the door. He was grateful that it was a large room. One immense window overlooked the garden, directly above the corner where Amafi had secreted the rope ladder. Like in most Keshian homes, there was no glass in the window, just wooden shutters which could be closed to provide shade, or warmth on those rare days when the temperature fell below a comfortable level.

Tal said, ‘Give me the potion.’

The redhead gave him a small vial and Tal took out his own purse. ‘There are about three hundred gold coins in here,’ he said, tossing it to the dark-haired girl. ‘When I tell you to, leave quickly, but do not appear to be fleeing. If you want to live to spend that gold, do not go back to your brothel or where you live – they will have someone waiting for you. Wait until the market opens at dawn and buy robes like those worn by the desert women of the Jal-Pur. Cover yourself so only your eyes can be seen. Then, hire a guardsman from the mercenaries’ guild – he should cost you no more than ten pieces of gold.’

While he spoke, Tal measured every angle of the room: the large bed on the floor, the two tables, one on each side, the large tray of fruits and sweets at the foot of the bed, and an earthenware crock in which pitchers of wine or ale could be cooled.

‘Take passage on the first caravan north. Then, if you can find your way to the Kingdom, Queg, Roldem or any place not in the Empire, you may live.’

The dark-haired girl looked on the verge of fainting. ‘Leave Kesh? What will we do?’

Tal smiled, ‘Exactly what you’ve been doing since your parents threw you out, girl. Sleep with men for money. If you’re wise, you’ll find a rich old husband before you lose your looks. Otherwise, save your gold.

‘Now, that’s all the advice I have to give and I think we’re about to be joined by an unwelcome visitor. You two get over by the bed and talk as if you’re still playing with a customer.’

Tal went to the door and cracked it open slightly, so he could see anyone coming down the hall. He waited patiently while the girls prattled, trying hard to sound festive while being frightened.

Nearly half an hour passed before a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. As Tal suspected, it was the man who had feigned sleep.

As the man neared the halfway point in the hall, Amafi appeared behind him. Although the old former assassin had lost his appetite for killing as a livelihood, he had not lost all his skills. He ducked behind a column an instant before the Nighthawk glanced behind to see if he was being followed, and Tal marvelled at the old killer’s ability. He had watched him move into the shadow of that column but he couldn’t see where he was now.

The Nighthawk was only a few feet from the door and Tal waved to the girls. The redhead forced a giggle and the dark-haired girl’s laugh sounded, but the Nighthawk didn’t appear to notice.

As he got close enough to notice that the door was slightly ajar, Amafi came out from his hiding place, and within two strides fell upon the Nighthawk.

The assassin must have sensed his approach for he turned at the last minute, a blade appearing in his hand as if by magic, and Amafi barely avoided being skewered.

Tal didn’t hesitate. He reached through the door and struck the man with the hilt of his sword behind the ear, and the Nighthawk went down in a heap. Tal caught him under the arms as Amafi grabbed his feet and they carried him into the room. The man groaned as they tossed him onto the bed, and Tal quickly administered the draught.

‘From what I’ve been told, these lads have a nasty habit of killing themselves,’ said Tal. ‘So, not only are we going to frustrate them tonight, let’s see if we can get this one back to where we might get some answers out of him.’

‘Doubtful,’ said Amafi, ‘but we can try. What of these?’ he said, inclining his head towards the girls.

‘Time to go, ladies,’ said Tal. ‘Now, if you wish to stay alive, do as I told you. You might increase your chances of survival if you invite some of those loud and annoying drunks to walk you back into the city.’

The girls nodded and left, saying nothing. ‘What now?’ said Amafi.

Tal reached up and pulled the window-sashes down. He ripped off the heavy cords that hemmed them and said, ‘We’ll tie him up and lower him to the ground below. If we can stay close to the side of the window the lookout at the other corner of the garden who is watching the stairs for his friend to come down, may not notice us.’

‘We can but try.’

They tied up the man, and Tal was first to climb out of the window. He hung by his hands and then let go, landing on his feet with a soft thud. He looked across the large opening into the main room and saw the lookout with his eyes trained inside, on the stairs.

He motioned for Amafi to lower the Nighthawk, and almost had the man dropped on his head. A moment later, Amafi landed hard on his backside next to Tal. ‘I’m not what I once was, Magnificence,’ he whispered.

‘Next time, you go first and I’ll drop him on you.’

‘As you say, Magnificence.’ Amafi and Tal dragged the unconscious man around the corner and down the path to the outside hedge. Amafi lowered the rope ladder and quickly climbed down. Tal threw the man over his shoulder and carefully negotiated his way to the bottom of the ladder. Then with one arm, he lowered the man to where Amafi could guide his fall.

Tal leapt onto the roof of the house and said, ‘Do we have a fast route away from this home, Amafi?’

Amafi pointed and helped Tal sling the Nighthawk over his shoulder, and they tiptoed across the roof of the house. Tal could hear tiles cracking under their boots and silently asked the owner of this fine home to forgive him when the next rains struck Kesh. He followed Amafi and prayed that they could reach the closest safe house without incident.

• CHAPTER SIXTEEN •

Waiting

THE DOOR SWUNG OPEN.

Tad, Zane and Jommy all looked up from their dozing, fitful attempt at resting. A girl about the same age as the lads entered the room carrying a small kettle, a stack of bowls and under her arm, a wrapped bundle.

The three boys stood up and gave her access to the table. When she had put down her burdens, she unwrapped the bundle to display half a loaf of bread and a small wheel of cheese. ‘My father told me to bring these to you,’ she said in a low whisper. She was plump with a pretty smile, big brown eyes and long dark hair.

Jommy handed the utensils around. He shared out the soup and the girl went to look at Caleb. ‘He’s lost a lot of blood,’ she observed, ‘but his colour looks better than last night and he’s breathing well. If he wakes up, give him something to eat.’ She glanced into the kettle and said, ‘Which means leaving some of this for him, all right?’

Tad nodded and tried to talk with a mouth full of cheese. Zane said, ‘Thank you.’

Jommy said, ‘Miss, do you know what we’re supposed to do next?’

She glanced around the room and said, ‘Wait,’ then closed the door.

Kaspar hurried through the halls of the palace with Pasko at his heels. It was barely first light, yet the summons had come nearly a quarter hour earlier. He had dressed without the benefit of a bath or shave and had become very used to the Keshian practice of consuming large mugs of hot coffee in the morning with the meal and after.

He reached the office of Turgan Bey who waved him into a chair and motioned for Pasko to wait outside. The Conclave agent posing as a manservant, bowed and left the room, while Bey’s clerk closed the doors.

‘Coffee?’ asked Bey, indicating a large earthenware carafe sitting on the table next to two mugs.

Kaspar poured himself some of the hot, bitter, habit-forming drink and said, ‘Thank you. I’ve become accustomed to it in the mornings since I’ve been here.’

Bey smiled. ‘It may be even more addictive than some of the drugs you buy in the market.’ He motioned for Kaspar to follow him to the balcony overlooking the garden.

The night sky had given way to the soft grey light of dawn, with rose and silver hues foreshadowing the bright blue sky to come. It would be another hot day as the Empire approached the Midsummer festival of Banapis. Kaspar had come to expect the nights to be hot and the days to be hotter. If he didn’t think that he’d look ridiculous in Keshian garb, he would have already sent Pasko out for a linen kilt and a set of sandals.

Softly, Bey said, ‘There was some bloody work afoot last night, Kaspar.’

Kaspar said, ‘I’ve heard nothing.’

‘You’re hearing it now,’ said Bey.

‘Who died?’

‘For certain, Prince Nauka.’

Kaspar said, ‘The Emperor’s great-nephew?’

‘The same, and a staunch supporter of Sezioti.’ Bey shook his head and blew out a long breath as if he was trying to release his frustration. ‘Here’s the maddening part of it; I know that Dangai is behind this.’

‘You’re certain he’s not being used by others?’

‘When Leikesha was ruler, her son Awari was being used as a dupe by One Whose Name Is Forgotten.’

Kaspar nodded. He knew enough recent Keshian history to know that as part of his punishment for treason, Lord Niromi’s name was removed from every historical reference, and all Keshian families were now forbidden from ever naming a child Niromi.

Bey continued. ‘Dangai is no one’s dupe. He has taken complete control of the Inner Legion and if things come to a bad pass, we may even see a repeat of the last attempt to seize the throne, when Empress Leikesha’s Guards battled the Inner Legion in this very palace.’

He looked out at the garden for a moment, then turned to face Kaspar again. ‘Do you know that over one thousand officers of the Inner Legion were cast into the Overn? The crocodiles feasted for months.’ He sighed. ‘However, this time I do not know if the Palace Guard would stand against the Legion, for Sezioti is not a popular figure. Respected, yes, and even liked somewhat, but he’s not popular.’

‘Why all the bloodletting? Why not a straight appeal to the Gallery of Lords and Masters? From everything I’ve heard, it seems that Dangai would carry the day.’

‘Because we are a nation of traditions, if not of laws.’ He looked at Kaspar and said, ‘We have no tradition like the Great Freedom as they do in the Kingdom of the Isles, and here there is no confirmation of the King by the Congress of Lords. If the Emperor, blessings upon him, names Sezioti as his heir, then Sezioti is the next Emperor, or at least he will sit upon the throne until Dangai seizes it by removing his brother’s head from his shoulders.

‘But I need proof, Kaspar. I need some evidence that not only is Dangai behind this, but that he is also in league with those enemies only a few of us know exist: Varen and his Nighthawks.’

‘What can I do to help?’

‘Much more than the death of Prince Nauka occurred last night. The Mistress of Luck is a gambling hall located atop Summer Winds Hill – one of the better districts in the city – it’s also a brothel, and last night several strange things occurred there. Talwin Hawkins disappeared. He went upstairs with two whores, and was followed soon after by two men, one of them Talwin’s so-called servant, the old assassin Petro Amafi, and some time soon after that, the two girls came down alone, invited some drunken louts out and left. The room upstairs was empty, save that a cord from a curtain-sash hung from the window.

‘We can surmise that Hawkins avoided a trap of some sort. But I want to know who the mysterious man who went up the stairs before Amafi was. And where has Talwin Hawkins and Petro Amafi taken him?’

Kaspar said, ‘I have no idea.’

‘Well, I suspect your man Pasko might have some means of getting word to him.’

‘I’ll have him go about it as soon as we’re done here.’

‘I have two masters, Kaspar. I serve those whom you serve, because I believe their cause is just and in the long term your objectives also aid my other master, the Emperor. I can best serve by bringing proof of a plot to him. Not guesses, not vague circumstances, but proof.

‘The other matter is that last night word reached me of an assault at an inn called the Three Willows, owned by a former Kingdom citizen by name of Pablo Maguire. A trader from the Vale of Dreams was in residence, a man of vague nationality, seeming both Keshian and Kingdom, and with him were three boys, apprentices apparently. The master was away on business, and the boys were eating their supper when an altercation broke out.

‘Why these three lads were singled out is uncertain, but it is clear that there’s more going on than meets the eye.’ Bey looked at Kaspar. ‘This Maguire isn’t another of your agents, is he?’

‘I’m like you, Turgan; I only get told what I need to know, and no more.’

The large old man let out a deep sigh. ‘I understand why our masters act as they do, but I must confess that it annoys me no end to have other agents – potential allies – close at hand and be ignorant of them.’

‘It’s all to a purpose,’ said Kaspar. ‘You can’t divulge what you don’t know.’

‘Then send your man to wherever he must be sent and start spreading the word: I need proof of Dangai’s duplicity, and I need it soon, or Kesh may be plunged into a civil war.’

‘What have your own agents found?’

Turgan Bey flexed his hands in frustration. ‘I can not trust more than a handful of those who are purportedly in my service – too many alliances have been formed and reformed around the succession.

‘The Banapis Celebration begins in less than two weeks, and the city will be thronging with visitors. The Emperor is due to make what may be his last public appearance. He will address the Gallery of Lords and Masters and then stand on a balcony waving to the crowds below, though it is unlikely that they will be able to see him.

‘In short, if there is to be a coup d’état it will most likely happen then. The Inner Legion will be in the city, but the Royal Charioteers and the Imperial Army will not be.’

‘I’ll see what I can come up with. Any idea where Tal might have gone to ground?’

‘No. Talk to your man Pasko, or go to the Merry Juggler, the inn where he was staying. Track him down and see if he has found anything.