The Complete Darkwar Trilogy: Flight of the Night Hawks, Into a Dark Realm, Wrath of a Mad God

The door opened. Jommy entered and set a porcelain bowl on the table. He pulled a folded towel out of it, and handed it to Caleb. He poured water into the bowl from a matching pitcher. ‘You said you needed to clean up,’ he said to Caleb.

Caleb pulled off his blood-splattered shirt and began to wash. Jommy said, ‘There’s fresh clothing for you, too. I’ll get ‘em.’

Jommy left and returned moments later with a clean shirt and a new hat. ‘You seemed to have lost your hat, Caleb, so I asked our host if he could find you a new one.’

‘Thanks,’ said Caleb. ‘It’ll help hide the mess.’

‘Now,’ said Zane. ‘We were talking about what to do next when you passed out last time, Caleb.’

‘I’m a little vague on what was said, but if I remember things correctly, you were almost taken by four men, right?’

‘That’s right,’ said Jommy. ‘And from what these two have told me, we’re hip-deep in crocs, and the swamp’s started to rise.’

‘What did you tell him?’ asked Caleb.

Tad and Zane exchanged glances, but it was Jommy who answered. ‘Enough to know that I’m either with you to the end or a dead man the second I try to leave the city, Caleb. I’m not sure I understand most of what they said, and I’ll leave it to you to fill me in on what you think I should know, but understand something about me, mate: I won’t let you down. You’ve treated me more than square, and you’ve fed me when all I did was keep these two from being treated like drums at a festival. Now, don’t blame the lads too much for telling me; I convinced them that if I was going to get myself killed, then I deserved to know why.’

Tad said, ‘It’s only fair, Caleb.’

Caleb looked at Jommy. ‘You’ve bought yourself a lot of danger.’

The boy from Novindus shrugged. ‘I’ve been in and out of danger ever since Rollie and me left home. It could easily have been me who died. So, what’s a little more danger? I figure you’re good blokes and if I’m going to throw my lot in with someone, it might as well be good blokes.

‘So, that’s settled. Now, where do we go from here?’

‘An inn not far away. I’ll need you,’ he pointed to Zane, ‘to go ahead of us. It’s not far and you shouldn’t have any trouble getting there; if they’re still out hunting, our enemies will be looking for three lads, not one. Your dark hair makes you the obvious choice to go – you look the most like a Keshian here. I’ll tell you what to say. We’ll follow along in a while.’

Zane listened as Caleb gave him instructions. After he had left, Caleb told Jommy and Tad, ‘I need to go somewhere before I join you. If I do not arrive at the inn by first light tomorrow, go to the innkeeper and tell him you must leave the city on the first caravan north. Go to the caravanserai, but do not travel with the caravan. It is a code, someone will be there who can take you home quickly. Understood?’

‘Where are you going?’ asked Tad.

‘To see a man about what went wrong last night—’

‘Two nights ago,’ Tad corrected.

‘Very, well, two nights ago,’ said Caleb. ‘Someone knew we were coming, Tad, and we were given a proper thrashing. I’m sorry to lose so many good men, but what I need to discover now is how they knew we were coming and how they knew that you boys would be at the Willows, and if any other mischief has been done while I’ve been unconscious.’

‘Be careful, Caleb,’ said Tad. ‘I don’t want to have to tell Mum you’re dead.’

Caleb said, ‘That makes two of us, son. Now, wait for a few minutes and then go where I told Zane to go. Jommy, you first and Tad, you leave shortly after. If anyone’s looking for you, they’ll be looking for three boys together, not a single one on some errand. May Ruthia smile on you,’ he said, invoking the Goddess of Luck.

‘You, too, Caleb,’ said Jommy.

After Caleb left, Jommy said to Tad, ‘You’ve got yourself a hell of a dad there, mate.’

Tad just nodded.

Caleb had gathered his hair on the top of his head and stuck it under his hat. He wore a cheap cloak which hid his leather vest and trousers. He didn’t plan on being in public for long, but he didn’t want to run the risk of being spotted. Without a corpse to prove he was dead, Varen’s men would certainly be on the lookout for him.

He had left the safe house, surprised it was midday – he had lost all track of time since he had entered the sewers two days before. He worked his way through the city, just another outland traveller not dressed for the Keshian heat, but hardly the first foreigner to insist on wearing such outlandish garb.

Caleb’s first stop had been a modest moneylender with a shop on the edge of a minor plaza. After that he had visited a sword maker, where he purchased a new blade. Then he had headed to his present location – an alleyway leading into one of the more unsavoury parts of the city.

He had lurked in the shadows for nearly an hour, before what he’d been waiting for appeared: a young boy – but not too young; he had no use for urchins – he needed a youthful, inexperienced thief or beggar.

As the youth passed him, Caleb reached out and grabbed his collar. Pulling him backwards, he almost lost the boy as he tried to wriggle out of his tunic. Caleb tripped him and then put his boot on the boy’s chest.

He was scrawny, with black hair and dark eyes, and his skin could have been the colour of cocoa, but it was hard to tell under all the dirt on his face. He wore a simple grey tunic and shorts matching in filthiness, and his feet were bare.

‘Mercy, master!’ he cried. ‘I have done you no harm!’

‘No,’ said Caleb, ‘and I shall do you none, if you do me one service.’

‘Name it, master, and I will serve.’

‘How do I know you won’t run off the moment I lift my boot?’

‘I swear on all the gods, master, and by my grandmother, blessings upon her, and in the name of the Emperor, blessings be upon him!’

Caleb took a coin out of his purse and held it up. The boy’s expression instantly turned from terror to overt greed. Caleb removed his foot and the boy was up in a bound. He reached for the coin, but Caleb pulled it away. ‘After you have served me.’

‘Master, but how shall I know that I will be rewarded when the task is done?’

‘Shall I take an oath on my grandmother?’ asked Caleb.

‘No, of course, but –’

‘No argument, Little Lord of Lice,’ Caleb answered in idiomatic Keshian. ‘If you do not as I ask, then another shall see my gold.’ He knew that a single gold piece was more than the boy could steal or beg in half a year.

‘What must I do?’

‘What is your name?’

‘If it pleases you, master, I am called Shabeer.’

‘Go hence, Shabeer, and carry a message for me, then return here with an answer.’

‘And if the answer displeases you, master?’

‘You shall still be rewarded.’

‘Then what is the message, and to whom do I carry it?’

‘I must meet with whoever speaks for the Ragged Brotherhood. I need to speak with he who may bind the thieves and beggars of Kesh to a bargain. Much gold may be had, though there is equal danger.’

‘In matters of gold and danger, there is someone, master.’

‘Then go at once and I will remain here, but know that I have powerful friends. Treachery will bring you death; faithful service will bring you gold.’