The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [9]
"To kill me…" Morel's face turned ashen. "He is only a boy. The guards-he said they were traitors-"
"A lie," Balram said smoothly. He draped an arm over Dhairr's shoulder and pressed the object he'd been palming into the cloth of the lord's cloak and through, piercing the skin below his colfarbone with a needlelike point.
Dhaitr stiffened and tried to brush the stinging object off, but Balram held him fast, waiting for the magic to seep into his blood. When he was sure, he drew the object-a small, silver broach set with a square amethyst-out of Dhairr's skin and pinned it neatly to his cloak, as if it were an ornament that had always been there.
He supported Morel the rest of the way up the stairs and into the office, putting him in a chair. He took the one across the desk and waited, watching the magic swirl like winter clouds in his friend's eyes. Abruptly, Dhairr's vision cleared, and he sat up.
"Are you well, my friend?" Balram asked.
"Aye," Dhairr murmured, pressing both palms to his forehead. "What happened?"
"The wounds the Harper inflicted nearly overcame you," Balram said, rising. "I will send a servant in to tend them."
Dhairr touched the drying blood at his shoulder and temple. "The wounds, yes." He looked up at Balram. "I killed him?" he asked uncertainly.
"You slew the assassins who stalked you twelve years ago," Balram assured him. "Be at peace, my friend. You are safe."
"Safe," Dhairr repeated. He settled uncertainly in his chair as Balram strode from the room. When he was alone, he murmured, dazedly, "Kail."
Daen sat at the bottom of the stairway, his legs tucked up against his massive belly like a dam holding the floodwaters at bay.
"It appears you're finally learning, Kortrun," he remarked as Balram stopped and glared down at him.
The guard captain gritted his teeth. "My attempt failed," he said, "as you see."
"Spectacularly," Daen agreed, "but just as well. Now you can get on to the real business."
Had Balram not held the faint hope that the Shadow Thieves might give him another chance, he would have sliced open the fat rogue's belly where he sat. "What might that be?"
"Learning what it means to walk with us," Daen said, his manner turning serious. "How long do you think we would be able to continue our operations if we conducted our affairs in the manner you just displayed?"
"The Shadow Thieves object to the use of assassins?" Balram scoffed. "On what grounds? Morality?"
"Gods' laughter, no," Daen said. "We kill without hesitation… and without flair," he pointedly added, "unless the need arises. Only then do we draw attention to ourselves. Violent displays of death-dealing we do not require. We rely on Tethyr for that sort of high entertainment. I don't mind admitting, I despaired of you learning this lesson before it was too late." The rogue didn't appear the least concerned. "But rather than accept failure, you have turned your unfortunate mistake into a venture with promise. Lord Morel is now little more than a corpse, and you are holding his hand, directing him where to turn."
The description, however apt, sent an unexpected shudder through Balram. "And you prefer this… state of being?" he asked.
"Absolutely," Daen said. "Morel can keep making his baubles and increasing his fortune; you will continue to siphon the excess to your cause and, ultimately, to ours."
Balram pictured the look of childlike confusion in Morel's eyes and suppressed a wave of revulsion. "For how long?"
At that, Daen's gaze hardened. "As long as is required to convince me that you are worth my time and effort. Although, if it concerns you, I believe that Morel will perish of either the magic you used or the afflictions of his mind-perhaps both-long before his years catch up to him."
Aazen opened his eyes to the slanted wood ceiling of his room. A dull ache was all that remained of the searing pain in his shoulder. Blinking sleep away, he slid to a sitting position and rubbed a hand over the wound. It had closed completely,