Masquerades - Kate Novak [140]
Victor lifted the swordswoman, a little surprised at how heavy her dead weight was. He carried her from the library, through the main hall, then down a narrow spiral stairs to the wine cellar. He pushed on a bottle of wine, and a section of wall slid away, revealing a hidden passage. At the other end of the passage was a secret room.
Kimbel was waiting there, in the company of two prisoners shackled at the neck, wrists, and ankles to a thick iron post in the center of the room-Dragonbait and Mintassan. The saurial had been muzzled. The sage wore a disjointed, idiot's expression on his face, and his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth.
The lizard paladin lunged toward Victor, hissing -through his iron muzzle, but he was halted by the iron collar around his throat. The sage fixed Victor with a desperate look and gibbered in a high voice.
Kimbel lifted an eyebrow at the appearance of the noble's burden. "Is she dead?" he asked, curious.
"Not yet," Victor replied as he laid the swordswoman down on a worktable. He smiled gleefully as Alias shuddered. "To what do we owe the honor of Mintassan's company?" he asked.
"He spotted me carrying off the saurial," the assassin explained, "but he fumbled his ambush attempt. I had someone from the Temple of Mask place him under a feeblemind spell until you decide what to do with him."
The sage gibbered hysterically, beseeching the nobleman with his clouded eyes. Victor turned from the figure in cold disgust. "You'll have to kill him. You can destroy the lizard, too, now that we are finished using his mistress. Make sure none of the bodies are found."
"No one is going to believe all three just left town," Kimbel pointed out.
Victor peered down at Alias. He stroked the tattoo on her sword arm. "Have her lovely arm wash ashore at low tide, clutching a domino mask. Nice and ambiguous. The Faceless can reassure the Night Masters that he was responsible for the death of their foe, and Lord Victor can tell his people that a victory has been struck against the Night Masks, albeit at a great cost-the death of his love, the hero Alias. I won't need to keep up the worried lover act. I can go straight to being the mourning lover-so much more sympathetic. See to the details."
"Yes, milord," Kimbel replied. "This one may last a while yet," he noted, staring down at Alias, who still drew gasping breaths.
"Well, I've dismissed her. She's no longer in House Dhostar's employ, so she's yours to play with," Victor said. "Just not here. Be a good flunky and make sure she expires someplace where her vengeful spirit can't haunt me. When you're finished taking care of the bodies, loot the sage's workshop. Do it 'legally.' Kick Jamal out on the street. With Mintassan gone, we can take care of her at our leisure."
"And what will you, be doing, milord?"
"I'll be sleeping, I'm worn out from my battles at the ball," Victor said with an evil chuckle. He left Kimbel alone in the workshop with the prisoners.
The assassin could hear his master's voice drift down the spiral staircase. The merchant lord was singing the jaunty tune he'd learned from Alias:
"For all of their dancing,
Posturing, prancing,
They'll fight with their backs to the wall.
Till then they are eating
And drinking and meeting;
Their battles are fought at the ball."
Twenty
Stirring the Ashes
The next afternoon found Olive Ruskettle slipping through the alleys of Westgate, her spirit deeply troubled. I The light of day and the official proclamations from the Tower had done little to clear her confusion. She needed to speak with Jamal; the actress often helped her get her thoughts straight even as she was plying the halfling for information.
Olive was about to step out on the main road and cross the street to Mintassan's house when she spotted the symbols on the cobblestone. There were two of them, scrawled in charcoal, in a most inexpert manner, but there was no doubt about their meaning. The first symbol was used by Harpers to mean danger.