The Yellow Silk - Don Bassingthwaite [57]
"What does that mean?"
Tycho reached up and slapped his cheek lightly. "Do one thing at a time. We don't need this situation to get any more complicated." He turned, walked across the yard, and pulled open the door of the Wench's Ease.
For a moment, it seemed like an errant gust of wind had caught him. The bard's hair flew up and the skirt of his coat belled out. There was, however, no wind; the night air was still. And yet Li felt the edge of the breeze as well, a cool breath that tickled his ears like a snatch of song. He blinked. It was a song and he could almost imagine that he heard Veseene's voice in it.
Don't come home; it isn't safe. Brin is looking for you and Li.
Suddenly song and wind were gone. Tycho's eyes were wide. Li sucked in a breath. "Tycho, what was that?" he asked.
"A spell," Tycho said in wonder. "A spell from Veseene. But that's impossible; she hasn't been able to cast a spell in years!"
"It seems she managed it. Why would she try, though?"
"Brin." His voice was tight with concern. "Brin must have gone to see her. And she doesn't know I've already seen him." He glanced down and Li followed his gaze. Tycho's foot was just past the threshold of the tavern's open door. "A spell triggered when I entered the Ease. Veseene knows I come here most nights, so she sent the spell to warn me when I walked in."
Li frowned. "Tycho, why would Brin be looking for you at all? He gave you until noon tomorrow."
"Maybe he found out something more about the beljurils." Tycho ground his teeth together and moved through the door. "Hoar's black glove, if Brin hurt Veseene… "
Maybe it was because he had been so acutely aware of the different atmosphere at the Eel. Maybe it was because last time he had entered the Ease, it had been to raucous song. Either way, Li glanced up sharply as Tycho moved on and he got his first glimpse into the tavern. His hand shot out and grabbed Tycho's shoulder. Something was wrong. The patrons of the Ease were quiet. Very quiet. And not one of them was looking up at the newcomers or the open door. The entire tavern was on edge. "Careful!" he hissed in Shou. "This is an ambush!"
Tycho paused. His gaze swept the tavern and Li could tell he was coming to the same conclusion. The Shou braced the door open with his foot and slid his free hand down toward the Calishite scimitar he had taken from Giras the fence-and hesitated. If there was trouble, the long sword would be awkward to use in the crowded bar. He shifted his hand instead to Yu Mao's butterfly swords, freeing them from the rags he had wound around their blades.
Tycho's gaze came to rest on a man standing against the bar, a cloak around his shoulders in spite of the tavern's warmth. Li recognized him from the previous night-one of Lander's men. Behind the bar, behind Lander's man, the broad-hipped bartender gave Tycho a helpless look.
"I know him," Li breathed.
"He's Ovel. That's Nico." At the back of the tavern, another man had risen and was tapping on a backroom door. Heads were starting to turn at the tables as patrons gave Tycho and Li the same helpless look as the bartender. Are they really all so afraid of Brin, Li wondered. He began to reassess Tycho's dark tales. "Lander had four men last night. There's probably someone behind us to make sure we can't retreat," he observed. Tycho nodded, took a deep breath, and shrugged Li's hand off his shoulder.
"Try to relax," he said. "Remember, we want to see Brin as much as he seems to want to see us. This could all be fine."
"And if it's not?"
"Then we've got five balls in the air and they're all burning." Tycho stepped forward, smiling pleasantly. Li followed. Pulling the tavern door closed after himself felt like closing the door of a cage.
"Tycho!"
It was the last thing Li would have expected to hear at the moment-a happy shout. It came from outside. He twisted around and shoved