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“I’m not about to punish ambition, but I suggest you work on spotting a tail.”
“Yes, sir.” He bolted.
Hedda settled behind her desk and produced a bottle of brandy. She poured the deep red liquid into two glasses as Valek sat in the chair facing her.
“You’ve changed,” Hedda said, handing him a glass.
“Oh?”
“The old Valek would have made him suffer for a few days, waiting to find out if you’d inform his commanding officer or leave him one of your infamous black statues.” She downed her drink in one gulp, then poured herself another. “The old Valek would have killed Onora for getting so close to the Commander.”
“I’ll admit, I was tempted to get rid of my competition, but she’s proven to be quite the puzzle. And you know me and puzzles. That hasn’t changed.”
“Good to know.” Hedda sipped from her drink.
“And while I’m truly glad you’re alive, I’m wondering why Onora informed us of your unfortunate demise.”
“I’ve no idea.”
“No?” Valek swept his arm out, indicating the shabby room. “Perhaps it’s because there wasn’t a client. You probably haven’t had a client since the takeover. And after years of resentment, you finally had a student you could send after the Commander. And what better time than when I was in Sitia.”
“You always did have such an active imagination, King Killer.”
“Then how about this? When the Commander ordered her to murder this...er...shall we say mystery client, she returned. But Onora couldn’t kill you. You took her in after she’d been abused, taught her to fight, to stand up for herself, to no longer be afraid. Instead, she reports your death and you agree to go into hiding.” He drank his brandy, savoring the burn of the spicy blackberry flavor.
She raised her glass. “That was an entertaining tale, but you of all people should know I don’t ever divulge the names of my clients.”
“But you are training new assassins, even though you’ve claimed to have closed the school and retired.”
Pressing her lips together, she gave him a shrewd look. “I have to keep my skills sharp.”
That was more information than he’d expected. “And if I sent you a promising student or two in the future, would you turn him or her away?”
Surprise flashed in her light green eyes. “No.”
“Then I’ll add you to my payroll.”
“What about the Commander?”
“I’ll handle the Commander.”
“Are you going to report me?”
“No need.”
“You have changed.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “For the better?”
“I think that your blind loyalty to the Commander is no longer so...blind. And I think the change is due to your heart mate.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He finished his drink.
Swirling the liquid around her glass, she stared at it. After a few moments, she met his gaze.
“Since we have an agreement, you should know your story has one error,” Hedda said.
“Really?”
“Remember how I helped you find the men who murdered your brothers, but I never sent you after the King as you desired?”
At the time, he’d been making her too much money assassinating targets for paying clients, and she believed he’d be caught trying to get close to the King and executed. “Yes. What’s this—”
“I also didn’t send Onora after the Commander.”
Valek kept his expression neutral as his thoughts whirled. He didn’t like what they dragged to the surface. Straightening in his chair, he leaned forward. “You’re saying Onora wanted the Commander dead?”
“Yes.”
And you’ve left Onora with the Commander, you idiot. His heart thumped. But he ignored the panic. Onora had had multiple opportunities to kill the Commander. Plus, she wore his mark, given when she’d sworn to be loyal.
“I found it quite interesting that she changed her mind and chose not to kill me, even though I was the only one who knew her true mission,” Hedda said.
Valek noted her use of the past tense. “Instead she concocted a story of your demise. Risky.”
“Compassionate. As you said, I aided her in her time of need.”
He tapped a finger on the edge of his empty glass. “The Onora puzzle takes another unexpected turn.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure her out. You always do.” She splashed a generous amount of brandy into his glass. Hedda raised hers and said, “To solving puzzles.” They clinked.
The alcohol left a fiery trail down his throat. “Speaking of puzzles, have you heard anything about these Storm Thieves?”
“I may have. It’s probably just gossip and rumors,” she hedged.
Valek dug a gold coin from his pocket and set it on the desk. “How about now?”
She snatched it in one quick motion. “Damn foolish kids.” Jabbing a finger at Valek, she scowled. “I knew they’d eventually attract too much attention.”
“They’ve been rather successful for a bunch of foolish kids.”
“That’s because no one had linked their petty and seemingly random crimes until recently. Because, like most criminals, they grew bolder and hit bigger targets, and it was just a matter of time until...” Hedda swept a hand, indicating Valek.
“Do you know where they’ve been operating from?”
“No. No one does. That’s why they still haven’t been caught.”
“Do you know who is involved?”
“Well... I’ve heard rumors.”
Valek understood the hint. He dropped another gold coin on the desk. This one disappeared as quickly as the first.
“They’re a group of teenagers—mostly the children of fishermen. The thefts started at the beginning of the cooling season, when the fleet arrived in port waiting for warmer weather and calmer seas.”
So a bunch of bored kids taking advantage of the storms, but they’d been rather smart. Too smart. Valek suspected a more experienced person led them. “Anything else?”
“I’ve lived on the coast all my life. In sixty-two years, we’ve never had a cold season like the one we just had.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’ve always had plenty of snow, rain, wind and fog. This past year, we’ve had more storms, but they don’t last near as long and they always rage overnight.”
Valek considered. “The Commander has allowed Stormdancers up on the northern ice sheet.”
“And they tamed the nasty blizzards sweeping down from the north, but these others are blowing in from the west.”
Ah. “Magic?” He’d suspected it before, but not for the storms.
She shrugged. “Maybe. You’ve killed all my magicians, so I can’t say for sure.”
He didn’t bother to correct her. The Commander had ordered their executions soon after the takeover, but they’d had more than enough time to escape to Sitia. Valek had made sure of that.
Thanking Hedda for the information, Valek reminisced with her for a while before he left. “Keep your low profile, and when your young idiot is ready, have him request a transfer to the Commander’s company.”
She smiled. “His name is Gannon.”
No surprise he was the one Colonel Ransley mentioned as showing promise.
As Valek hiked back to the garrison, he mulled over all he’d learned from Hedda. He concentrated on the Storm Thieves, putting himself in their place. Bored and physically able to climb ropes and rigging on heaving seas, the young fishermen would have no trouble scaling a wall. They’d also been on boats most of their lives, knew the currents and tides and could spot all the warning signs of approaching foul weather. Valek had no problem believing they were the thieves; however, the fact that his corps hadn’t been able to catch them or discover their hideout didn’t fit. Magic could explain it. Or an older leader. Or both.
When he returned to the garrison, he checked on Onyx. The black horse’
s coat gleamed and his tail and mane had been combed. Onyx snuffled Valek’s empty hand, searching for a treat. Valek laughed when Onyx’s ears dropped in obvious disappointment. He fed the horse a carrot before swinging by the canteen in time for supper.
The loud rumble of voices dwindled and then ceased by the time he’d grabbed a bowl of clam stew, a hunk of bread and a wedge of cheese. He scanned the tables of soldiers. Predominantly male, most of them averted their gazes. However, in the back right corner, a table full of female soldiers ate. Much to their terrified surprise, he joined them. The first thing he noticed was they were all low-ranking, and not a commissioned officer among them.
Once they recovered from their shock and overcame their fear of him, they answered his questions about the garrison’s male-dominated leaders.
“Is it true that half of the Commander’s personal guard are female?” asked a woman who introduced herself as Sergeant First Class Jaga.
