“Fifteen. Seven up front, eight on delivery. And I want hazard compensation for my crew.”
“The crew comes out of your cut.”
“Then twenty thousand total. Ten up front.”
Gideon’s jaw tightened. “That’s highway robbery.”
“That’s the price of survival. You want the codex? You pay for the people who can actually get it.” Cypher stood, and I was struck again by how tall he was. “I’ll need a few days to prepare. We’ll leave in a week.”
“The girl comes with you,” Gideon said. “Her and her cousin. That’s part of the deal.”
Cypher’s gaze cut to me. “Do you have experience on a wing ship?”
“No. I’ve only worked on skiffs.”
“Fantastic. So I’m training amateurs.” He shook his head. “Your cousin better be more useful than you.”
“Kora’s an air elemental. She’s also the best shot with a crossbow you’ve ever seen.”
“We’ll see about that. Be at the docks at dawn in one week. Bring whatever personal items you need, but pack light. We’ll provide the rest.” He started to turn away, then paused. “If you slow us down or put my crew in danger, I’ll leave you in the first stable portal we find. Understood, scavenger?”
“Understood.”
He left without another word, moving through the tavern, patrons stepping out of his way without consciously deciding to.
“Well,” Gideon said cheerfully. “That went better than expected.”
“He hates me.”
Gideon stood. “One week. Don’t be late. Cypher’s the type to leave without you if you’re even a minute behind.”
I left the tavern and found Kora exactly where I’d left her, tucked into the alley shadows.
“Well?” she asked.
“We’re in. We leave in a week.”
“And Cypher?”
“He’s an arrogant ass who thinks we’re going to get him killed.”
“Color me surprised.” She fell into step beside me as we headed home. “What’s he like?”
“Dangerous,” I said finally. “And not someone we can trust.”
“Can we trust any of them?”
“No. But at least Gideon’s motivations are clear. Cypher...” I shook my head. “There’s something else going on with him. When I mentioned the codex’s location, he reacted strangely. Like he knew more than he was saying. He’s been to Nytheris before.”
“To look for the codex?”
“Maybe.”
We walked in silence for a while, through streets growing dark as lamplighters made their rounds. Click poked his head out of my satchel and chittered softly.
“One week,” Kora said. “Then we’re committed.”
“We’re already committed. We took Gideon’s money.”
