The Shattered Land_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [69]
Daine threw himself out of the way, revealing the gate of shadows.
The creature was moving too quickly to stop, and it disappeared into the darkness. The instant it was gone, Daine dove off the stone platform and into the crowd that had gathered to watch the fight, heading toward the place he’d heard Lakashtai. If there were Riedrans about, the crowd held them at bay. Daine found Lakashtai with Gerrion and grabbed her arm.
“Let’s go. Gerrion, back to the Ship’s Cat—and main roads only.”
Behind them, there was a roar as the angry creature burst back out of the gateway. Daine didn’t look back as they hurried down the street.
“Hassalac said no blood,” he muttered to Lakashtai. “He didn’t say anything about bruises.”
Lei and Pierce were playing sundown in the common room when they arrived. Pierce was fully restored, and Lei had even cleaned his mithral plates. He rose as Daine entered.
“Is there trouble?”
Daine shrugged. “As far as I can tell, all we’ve done today is make enemies.”
“Not at all,” Lakashtai said. “We have accomplished exactly what I expected.”
Daine frowned. “What? Hassalac threw us out.”
“Of course.”
“So what was the point?”
“Because now,” Lakashtai said with a smile, “we can break into the vault.”
It had all begun so well.
“Get up, damn you!” Daine grabbed Lei’s shoulders and shook her, but she did not respond; her neck lolled against the floor. A bolt of energy punched a skull-sized crater in the wall behind him, the ray missed him by less than an inch, and his skin tingled from the passage of the beam.
It’s my fault. She came because of me …
Two hours ago they’d been in the Ship’s Cat. He could still taste the meat and ale, and hear Lei’s laughter in the back of his mind.
Now she was dead.
“I can’t take this sober.” Daine gestured to the innkeeper, and three cats followed the motion in silent unison.
“You must,” Lakashtai said. “We leave as soon as you have collected your belongings.”
“No. We don’t.” Daine turned to the shifter matron. “Good food. Strong drink. I don’t care what it is. She’s paying.”
“Daine. This is not a matter for discussion.”
“You’re right, Lakashtai, it’s not.” Daine took a seat at the table. Lei glanced at Pierce, but neither said a word. “We go when we’re all ready to go, and this time, you tell us the plan from beginning to end.”
“You’re a soldier, Daine. You know there are times when a general has to keep secrets.”
“How many times have I heard that before? When did we join your army?”
“When my enemy chose to attack you. You aren’t in the army, Daine—you are the battlefield.”
Lei snorted. “You keep saying that, but why? What could your doom and darkness possibly want from Daine?”
“We cannot afford to find out.”
“That’s convenient for you, isn’t it?” Lei remained in her seat, but Daine could feel her mounting frustration from across the table. “We’re fighting a war against your enemy for reasons only you understand. You’ve got us robbing temples, killing priests, and now fighting sorcerers. Lucky for us the law seems even more lax here than in Sharn. What’s next? Overthrowing a king?”
Lakashtai was as imperturbable as ever. “If you had to kill a king to save your friend, would you?”
“How do I know any of this is to help Daine?”
“Enough!” Daine slammed a fist into the table. “If you want us to keep going with this, Lakashtai, we need answers. We’re going to rob Hassalac? Fine, but I want to know why. You say this is for my benefit—how, exactly? Use small words.” He glanced at Gerrion. “Isn’t this a job for an actual thief?”
“I don’t know who you’ve been listening to. I’m just a guide,” the gray