City of Towers_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [25]
“Let it go,” Daine said to the dwarf. “This can end now. No more harm done.”
The dwarf responded with an incoherent howl. He charged, but Daine ducked out of the way. Spitting with rage, the guardsman snatched the fallen halberd and charged again, blade leveled at Daine’s chest. At the last second, Daine spun out of the way. He grabbed the upper haft of the weapon and threw all his weight into it. He meant to disarm the dwarf, but he overestimated his opponent’s weight and momentum. With a long cry, the dwarf went sailing over the railing and disappeared.
Daine ran to the edge of the lift, but there was nothing to be done. He turned around. “Jode!” he snapped. “Make sure that woman doesn’t bleed to death. Quickly! We’re getting off at the next stop.”
Jode seemed unperturbed as he bent to his task. “And here I thought I’d get to keep a feather.”
The goblin was crying. “You’re fine now,” Daine said, kneeling over her. “But you need to get up and get moving. You have a home?”
She nodded, brushing at her tears.
“Go straight home. Now. And don’t come back to this lift. Ever. Do you understand me?”
She nodded again.
A moment later, the lift came to the next stop. The goblin girl disappeared into the shadows of the street. Daine and Jode sauntered off as nonchalantly as possible, passing through the crowd waiting to board. Back on the disk, the semiconscious guard clutched her knee and moaned.
“What do you mean, you saw her take it?”
“You didn’t?” said Jode. “It was such an obvious lift, I assumed it was a gift. You’re a soft touch, and I’m sure she needed the money just as much as we did.”
“Oh, this day just keeps getting better. You pawn my grandfather’s sword, convince me to take a job from Alina, watch as a pickpocket steals the money we received for expenses, and the best part? I just killed a member of the city guard.”
“You don’t know that. This is Sharn. The city guard very likely carries charms against such happenings.” He smiled mischievously. “Or maybe someone caught him?”
“Against falling hundreds of feet?”
Jode shrugged. “This is Sharn.”
Daine closed his eyes and groaned. They were sitting at a table in the Manticore, and now that they only had Jode’s original stake money from the morning, they were drinking water.
It wasn’t long before Pierce and Lei returned. “Was your mission successful, Captain?” Pierce inquired. Lei seemed lost in thought.
Jode answered for him. “Aside from Daine being a murderer and getting robbed by a little girl? I’d say so. We need to track down a smuggler, return some stolen goods, and if we succeed we’re looking at more money than you’d have made in another thirty years in the army.”
“I wasn’t paid for my service.”
“Proving my point. How about you? Any news?”
Pierce looked to Lei. When she said nothing, he continued. “The accusation was true. Lei has been outcast. No member of House Cannith will speak to her. However …”
“There is someone,” Lei said quietly. “An uncle. Jura. I haven’t spoken to him since I was a child. But now … he may be able to tell me what’s going on or get a message to Hadran for me. I haven’t seen Jura for a long time. He’s …” She paused, but couldn’t seem to find the right words. Finally, she looked up at Daine. “I’d appreciate it if you’d come with me.”
Daine stood up. “All right, but if you don’t mind, let’s avoid the area around the Den’iyas lift.”
Your Cannith lords may be brilliant artificers, but I can’t say much for their taste in architecture,