Knowing what we faced was not only unstable Kimlin but also a Shadow Demon with plans for humanity made this trouble a bit more than my revenge.
The truth was that I didn't care if I took over the Thieves Guild again. I'd done it the first time so that the others didn't kill me. If someone else wanted to take over, I don't think I would have fought hard, as long as it wasn't Kimlin and his dark companion.
Or someone just as bad.
Yeti taught me about the demons we would face and the allies that they might have brought along. She also introduced me to some of our partners. I'd never thought to find myself so so caught up in magic. This was not the path I'd taken in life.
Then, unexpectedly, Yeti came into the room on a late afternoon and told me we would be making our move that night.
"Tonight," I repeated as though I didn't quite understand the word.
"Kimlin's shadow demon has left the realm," she reported and was already grabbing a few things from the wall. She threw me a jacket. "We won't have a better chance -- unless you want to give up this quest?"
She stopped and looked at me as she said those words. I could see no judgment either way in her face.
"We go," I said and stood. I pulled on the jacket.
Yeti grinned brightly. I'd made the right choice. Besides, I was curious to see if some of the things Yeti had been teaching me would work. Not magic -- well, not much -- but work with potions and powders. I thought Kimlin would be surprised.
Providing we could get to him. Just because he didn't have his Shadow Demon with him didn't mean he was without protection. I counted fifteen guards around the mansion and on the roof, and from the shadows that moved against the windows, I suspected at least that many inside as well.
The streets were uncommonly quiet tonight, and the guards out in large numbers, though none around the mansion. I didn't like the feel of it, and Yeti looked much the same.
More guards took up positions outside the building.
"Paranoid, isn't he?" Yeti asked. We stood a block away, invisible at the moment. That was handy -- but I did not ask her to teach me. Besides, she'd already pointed out that my reserve of magic was not very much. I wasn't meant to use magic. I didn't mind. Magic has uses, but there are so many traps set for it that a thief is better off just doing the work the old-fashioned way.
"So, you don't think he found the exit out of the room?" I said softly. "I would have thought Kimlin would have torn the room apart looking for it."
"From what I heard, he sealed the room off and moved into a more secure part of the house," she said. "One where he can escape more easily."
"Bottom floor," I said and began looking the building over a little more carefully. "That makes sense. He also doesn't realize that the hidden staircase has doors at other places."
"Dangerous going that way," she said, but already began backing away, a hand on my arm. "But less so than trying to get in through the guards, I think. At the very least, we can find the opening that leads from the stream to the building and see if we think it has been used."
It had been in use, but whatever animal had spread those gnarled bones about gave a low rumble of a growl when they neared.
"This could be a problem," I said and took a step back --
"Sinton!" a voice shouted from inside the cave, echoing too loudly.
Damn! For all the care we'd taken, we had set off some trap after all. I half turned to Yeti to warn her away --
And a body collided with mine. We both went down.
"I thought you were dead!"
I was on my back, winded, and staring into a shadowed face -- but one I knew too well.
"Darkin," I said and shoved him off. "You scared the hell out of me!"
We both stood and embraced like brothers. Yeti looked pleased. So was I.
"I camped out here hoping you would show up," Darkin said. He kicked aside some bones and led us inside. "When you didn't, I couldn't find a good reason to move on, especially since King Kimlin has had everyone out looking for me. I thought about trying your place, Lady Yeti, but I didn't want to draw anyone to you."
"I wish you had sent word somehow," I said. "I tried to believe that you were not dead, but...."
"The same with me," I said.
We went into the cave. Darkin had created a remarkably nice little room back from the opening. Yeti filled him in on everything that had happened while I sat down and rested for a bit. No, I was not fully recovered yet, and Darkin obviously knew it from the frown he gave me.
"Tonight then," he said when she finished. "I'm not happy with the idea of Shadow Demons on either side, but I'm willing to go along with it. This does explain about Kimlin. You might have missed it, but a few hours ago he killed the mayor."
"What?" we chorused.
"Yes. Went to the speech the man was giving and walked up and shoved a knife into his heart. The guards began fighting each other, and he just walked away."
"And then his Shadow Demon left to go home so that he could recover strength," Yeti said with a nod. "Well, this is going to play hell with the city. The sooner we get Kimlin out of the way, the faster we can repair the mess he created."
"Then let's go," Darkin said.
Off to save the world....
Finding Darkin proved impossible, especially since I couldn't go looking for him. Yeti carefully made inquiries, mostly using magical beings. The guild didn't deal with them.
Darklin had been seen two days after Kimlin took over the guild and then disappeared. I tried not to believe that was a bad sign about his survival. Darklin was smart. He'd get out of sight.
The problem was that he didn't know I was still alive. He might leave the city and try his luck elsewhere. Or he might decide to take out Kimlin, and without knowing the things Lady Yeti and I had lately learned. Kimlin did have someone more important backing and directing him.
And that person was not human.
"Shadow demons are hard to track," Yeti said as she put a bowl of stew in front of me. My mouth watered, but I waited for her to sit down before I began to eat. "Most of them are not all that bright, but a few have been around for hundreds of years and picked up information."
She settled in the chair across from me, bowed her head for a moment, and then spread her hands over the food in a blessing. I didn't know what deity she served, but I respected her beliefs, especially since they'd had more than a little power to keep me alive.
My hand still trembled when I held the spoon, but not so much as it had the day before. I was growing stronger, and I did my best to fight back the surliness that had started to take hold as I found myself not quite ready to go out to face the world, but too well to sit placidly in the sunlight from a window and contemplate the dust motes.
Yeti did keep me informed of what was going on, though. That not only helped keep me entertained but also gave me all the information I needed to consider before I made any move.
After hearing some of the things she had to say about what Kimlin had been doing, I thought maybe the dust motes weren't so bad after all. Today, I could tell, was going to be one of those days.
"You're sure of what he's dealing with?" I asked after a couple bites of the stew.
"I've had it confirmed by two other shadow demons," she admitted and smiled when I gave her a sharp look. "They're not happy about what is going on. Kimlin's Shadow has plans for more than the thieves guild -- more than just humanity, in fact."
"I don't like the sound of that," I said, as though it would change anything."
"No one -- No THING that has caught any hint of what's going on is not happy," she said. She took three quick bites and then looked up at me. "Many of the others are looking to you and me to do something."
"They know I'm here," I said and felt dread I had not totally expected.
"Some do. You know there is magic here, and that means certain powers and beings have free access to my place. Word was bound to spread, but it has not to the human population. That's a true sign of how worried everyone is, Sinton. They are not selling the information for any sort of gift that would give them more power in this world."
"Can we count them as allies, then?" I asked. I needed to know what might help, especially since there was still no sign of Darkin."
"Some," she said. "Many, even. The problem is that if we go that way, then we are bound to have trouble with many of the humans who might work with us."
"True." I ate more of the food in silence, and so did she. We had no easy answers. The sunset was on the horizon, and I had to go somewhere that my shadow would not show in a window. I disliked having my movement limited, but I would not risk Yeti's safety any more than I already did just by being here. We were already seventeen days into my death. I stayed out of the way while she took care of her business. The rest of the time she seemed to not mind having company, especially after I started recovering and she didn't need to hover over me all the time.
"We don't have a lot of choices in this," I said as I helped clean up after the meal. "We could go to the authorities or to the temple, but neither you nor I have the kind of standing with those two groups that would win us their favor."
"True," she admitted. I sat by the wall and kept my voice to a near whisper while she sorted herbs on the table. "And by the time we convinced them of the truth, all hope of surprise would be gone."
I grimly agreed. I also had to make a decision. If we moved forward with her odd allies, then there was no way I could go back to running the guild. They would never trust that I was acting on my own again, especially if we unveiled what Kimlin had been doing.
I could not get to enough humans to take on Kimlin, either. I didn't even know who I could trust in the guild except for Darkin -- and where was he? Dead? I didn't like to think so.
"We'll have to go with your people," I said and committed myself to a totally unknown future. "It's either that or walk away. I don't like to think about how things would go if no one else steps up to take Kimlin on."
"Yes," Yeti agreed. While this would affect her somewhat, it would not change her life, though. Everyone already knew she dealt in magic.
Still....
"I suggest you stay out of this as much as possible," I said.
She smiled brightly, and I knew those words were wasted.
Kimlin knew where I'd head since I had been poisoned. He waited there for me. I hoped he wasn't trying to be discreet because he was a disgrace to the Thieves Guild.
Not that I intended for him to stay a member for much longer.
I hadn't taken in much of the poison, and I wondered if I would survive without help. That wasn't the kind of gamble I liked to practice. I headed in the opposite direction of Lady Yeti's place. My head pounded worse, and I could no longer use my right arm -- so yeah, time to get help.
The alley I wanted held an odor so rank that most people avoided it. The smell was one of Yeti's potions and once a couple yards into the area, it disappeared. At what looked like the end of the alley I had to push aside a part of a wooden wall and slide between two buildings. Tight fit. I suspected Kimlin couldn't have made it.
I pulled the wood back -- and then rested. Not my idea, but suddenly everything went black, and in one heartbeat I thought I would die. Just die.
I came back awake with a start. A hand rested on my shoulder, long fingers curling so tight I thought they were claws digging into my skin. I reached awkwardly for my knife --
"I sensed someone coming through here and waited," Lady Yeti whispered in my ear. I stopped reaching for the weapon. "And with Kimlin prowling outside my home, I suspected it would be one of the Guild. Not you, though, Sinton."
"Poison," I whispered.
"I gathered that. Lean on me."
Lady Yeti might intend to help me or to kill me. I couldn't know, but she was still the only help I could reach. I leaned on her.
I tried to keep track of what she did; that was just habit for me, though. I didn't try too hard....
I awoke in a bed in Lady Yeti's house. I had been here before, though not in such a dangerous situation. Light streamed through the cracks between heavy curtains; I had survived the night.
I couldn't breathe very well. I tried to sit up and failed to even lift my head. Panic swept through me, and my body twitched. I fought for control and tried to sit up again.
I ended up rolling off the bed and hitting the floor. Hard.
Lady Yeti came into the room, knelt beside me and bowed so that she almost rested her head on the floor to look him in the face.
"Happy now, are you?" she asked.
"I -- I can't say that I am," I admitted. "But I did move."
"Idiot."
I didn't argue. I was able to help when she got me back up into bed which made me feel much better. Lady Yeti looked pleased.
"Since I wasn't certain you'd wake at all, I'm not going to lecture you on moving too soon," she said as she twitched back a corner of the curtain, letting in more light. "Don't worry. Kimlin and his people stopped watching my place yesterday."
"Yesterday?" I said, startled. "How long?"
"Three days," she replied. I saw her frown as she pushed back strands of her wild, golden hair.
"Well damn," I said. "That's going to be a problem at the guild. But thank you."
"And that, Sinton, is why I take the time to bother with you," she replied. "You do your best not to be rude. That really does mean a lot, Sinton."
"All rude does is create more enemies," I said. "I save it for those I really don't want to deal with again. I'm afraid, Lady, that I didn't think about payment when I left the guild house. After this long, I'm not sure I'll be able to go back to my old life. I will pay you as soon as I can, though."
She nodded and didn't look at all bothered, even though three days of magical care and potions must have run up quite a bill.
"You want to pay me back?" she said and leaned closer until I stared into her light gray eyes. I felt a chill because I could see the magic there that I tried my best to ignore at other times. "You get better, Sinton. Then you get that stupid bastard Kimlin out of control of the guild. He is going to ruin things for everyone on the underside of the law if he isn't stopped."
"Kimlin is in charge?" I said, startled. "Already?"
"I don't know all the facts," she said as she helped me sit up. I was surprised she knew any -- but it pointed to the guild not being as discreet as it should be. Not a surprise if Kimlin had taken over. "I heard that he took the leadership in the evening after you disappeared. Rumor says that he did so with the help of outsiders."
"Ah. Well. That maybe makes sense. Otherwise, I'd have to believe that everyone went stupid and we try to weed that out before it's a problem. Has Kimlin said anything about what happened to me? Do you know?"
"Yes," she said. I could tell from her frown this was not going to be good. "Kimlin says he caught you making a deal with a Captain of the Guard to turn in certain guild members for the rewards. He says he killed you both and the bodies fell into the river. The body of the captain has been recovered, along with a partial list of names and locations. I suspect your 'body' will turn up later. Or, if you show up, he'll point out the wound and say you somehow survived."
"Yeah, someone is helping Kimlin," I said and shook my head in disbelief. "He isn't bright enough to pull together something this complex. I'm going to have a hard time getting back into power. I need Darkin."
I hoped he had survived.
I was looking back over some older flash fictions and found one -- Honor Among Thieves (#164) that I had clearly had trouble with because it took an odd twist and had an ending that made no sense. So here is more of the story. I am going to try and work out something reasonable for the story.
"You think you've done better than Old Salem, boy?"
I had not expected to find someone in the hall of the mansion. The only person I trusted, Darkin, was out on a job and wouldn't be back until dawn. I'd only meant to step out of my suite to grab a late night bite to eat while I went over the ledgers. Being the head of the city's Thieve's Guild was a lot more paperwork and a lot less glamor than most people would think.
I didn't let any surprise show, though. In fact, I had expected to see Kimlin anyway -- just not right here and now.
Kimlin had set me up to be killed by Old Salem, the former leader of the Thieve's Guild. However, Old Salem had been hanged, and I survived. I had, eventually, convinced the rest of the membership that when Old Salem shouted my name before he died, he'd been naming me as his heir, not as the person who betrayed him.
Which, in fact, I had not.
Kimlin, a scraggly man who looked twice his age, was my prime suspect for that job. Kimlin had been trying to get me killed for a while, though I hadn't put it together. I wasn't sure if Old Salem had been caught in the net instead or if he'd been another target.
Looking at Kimlin, I had the feeling maybe we'd all been targets. Madness raged in in his gray eyes. His hand that held the knife shifted back and forth as though battered by a wind. He stank of cheap wine.
I took him seriously. I'd seen people make that kind of stupid mistake before. Besides, I knew he hated wine.
So I played the game, too. I 'incautiously' backed away, half slipping on the rug. Kimlin grinned like a maniac and lunged at me, but I'd been ready for that move. A flick of my wrist and I had a blade in hand and neatly sliced deep into his arm.
He howled and backed up, blood splattering everything, including me. His howl was a mistake, though. I did have guards in the building. I even mostly trusted them, but I would rather not have put that to the test in this situation.
I heard the guards rushing up the stairs and just from the way Kimlin grinned, I knew I had to do something drastic. I moved as though I intended to back up again, but this time I turned it into a move forward, my right foot aiming at his knee and my knife --
His knife connected first with a slash straight down my right shoulder. Then he did something odd. He backed up and grinned again.
"My work here is done."
Poison.
Kimlin darted down the hall. I turned and went back to my private rooms, slamming the door closed even before the guards arrived.
I didn't try to stop the bleeding. That might help flush out the poison. I had to get somewhere. Fast.
I had found the secret way out of the room long before Old Salem died. I hadn't used it until now. The stairs seemed too steep, but I rushed down them, trying not to bang into a wall and draw attention. Down and down -- I wasn't entirely certain where it came out.
I heard a couple shouts behind the walls, but I couldn't make out the words. My head pounded, probably from the blood loss. I paused long enough to take off my vest and shove it against the wound, doing my best to ignore the pain.
The stairs went below the building. A magical sphere lit a corridor. I grabbed it -- a fortune in magic, I thought -- and headed out under the street and for some distance on. Maybe my curiosity kept me going. I wanted to know where I would come out.
A few steps up -- I went down on my knees half way and then pressed on again. Up. The door was worked stone. I had to put all my weight on it, and then I tumbled out into the mud, and the door snapped shut.
Water flowed over my legs.
Burn's Creek? Could I be that lucky?
I stayed where I was for a while, fighting against unconsciousness. The cut was not so deep that I was going to bleed to death anytime soon, but it hurt, and I feared I felt some of the effects of the poison, too. I needed calm now to get the rest of the way.
But I also needed to move before morning. By nature, I had always been a night person, and that had helped me with my career as a thief. I called on those skills that I hadn't used much since I took over as leader of the Thieve's Guild. In some ways, the thrill of it helped drive me on. I got up the creek's bank, found a pond to clean some of the mud off, and then made my way into Low Town, an area where I would not look out of place with my dirty clothes and my drunken gait.
Not far to my destination.
I hadn't thought much about Kimlin since the attack, but I was wary as usual, and that saved me. Kimlin had gotten out of the house (another reason not to trust the guards -- besides, how had he gotten in?), and despite his own wound, he'd made it here ahead of me. Of course, he'd guessed where I was going.
I hunkered down in an alley three blocks away and watched as Kimlin paced outside Lady Yeti's door. He had a confrontation with one person while I watched, and it was plain he had no intention of letting anyone inside.
I was starting to have trouble breathing. I didn't have time to waste.
Lucky for me, I knew Lady Yeti better than Kimlin. I knew the back door. I only had to get there.
(To Be Continued)
I brushed against the old woman and shrieked in dismay, seeing her long gray hair and craggy face. Her spider-like fingers caught my arm to keep her balance, and I jerked away.
"Cover yourself!" I shouted.
She flaunted the rule of decency; those of us who would be young forever did not want to see death.
"You think you are one of the blessed?" she asked. "Your end of time will come."
I didn't believe her, but words haunted me. I dyed my hair every week and covered new lines on my face with makeup.
I would live forever.
