The look in his eyes was dissecting her, trying to decide her place here. She couldn’t do anything else but go all in, and she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, pure put upon.
He blinked, those eyes too sharp in his big dumb face. After a few breaths of stand-off, he waved someone else over. After the prompt appearance of another guard, he said, “Here, whatever we say is law is law, and the law is you stay in the main house with the women. Got it?”
“Got it,” she said, putting as much pouting attitude into the words as possible.
The other guard motioned her to start towards the house, and she turned and began walking. It was a minute before the guard at her side spoke. “I would’ve thought Fallon would send someone sneakier.”
Nalah would have tripped if his hand didn’t come out and stabilize her. Before she could look at him, he spoke again. “Keep looking straight ahead. You already brought enough attention to yourself.”
Damn! Here was her contact, and she hadn’t checked him out earlier, too intent on looking at her tormentor. “You’re acting as a guard?”
“Low-level, mostly patrols of the ground, meaning I keep an eye on the women and the house.” Which was perfect for their needs. Had he requested that, or had the Guild known exactly how to position him to get him into the right spot? “I wasn’t expecting you to make a scene.”
“It was necessary for me to get out to do my job. And I’m sorry, but if Fallon told you about me, she must have brought up my distinct lack of sneaking ability. I’m doing my best.”
“She did. I was hoping she was underselling you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
The sigh was more felt than heard. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll work around it, as long as you can find the artifact.”
“That I can do. Do you know where it is?”
Another set of guards was walking toward them and her contact shut up until they were well out of earshot. “Beylor always has multiple safes in his home. How close do you need to be to feel where the artifact is?”
The last time she had held her mother’s ring, it was like it started singing to her the moment she entered headquarters, the sound as welcome to her as her mother’s laughter. “Normally, entering the house I could lead you to it, but I don’t know how being in a blackout zone will affect my range.”
“Then I’ll need to scout and find where the safes are. We’re only going to have one chance with you in the house, and I don’t want your magic not working like you think it should.” His voice was grave, and the weight of what they were doing fell on Nalah. It wasn’t her and Esh and their baggage anymore. This was a mission. This is where she or Esh or the man behind her could die.
Dread pooled through her extremities, leaving her fingers icy numb. She’d never taken lead before. She’d been on missions before, but she was always in the back as support, and even if there was fighting she’d been surrounded by so many others, the possibility of being hurt almost didn’t exist. Now, she was in an unknown place, allied with a guy she didn’t even know what he looked like.
They were nearing the apartments. Another minute tops before they had to separate. He asked, “The Cage King – is he a tool or part of the operation?”
Esh would hate to be called a tool. And though she tried to convince herself in the beginning that he was only a cog… “He’s part of it. He doesn’t know how to find the artifact though. That is only me.”
And there was the door. In a whispered rush, the man said, “The artifact is most important. I’ll try to escape with you and the Cage King, but if I must leave either or both of you to secure the artifact’s safety-”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else. Don’t worry about it.”
He opened the door, and as she entered he gave one final warning. “Watch for Lian. You are in his sights now. You were before, as he has an obsession with Esh. He will report you to Beylor. Beylor has a severe underestimation of women. Lian does not, and Beylor will leave it in Lian’s hands.”
“I’ll watch my back,” she said, but the man was already gone.
Chapter Nine
‡
“The illustrious Cage King. Truly an honor.”
The tone said it was anything but, a sentiment Esh had plenty of experience with. “Fuck off,” Esh said, not halting his work on the bag, the give of the fabric not even close to the density of skin and muscle underneath his knuckles, but all he had for now.
The voice lost the insincerity and now held only resentment. “What, you’re too good to even speak to the rest of us?”