Blood of the Underworld(17)

“Have you come to kill me, thief?” he asked.

The intruder chuckled.

“I could, but that wouldn’t be interesting, would it? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Deathmask, leader of the Ash Guild, and I’ve come with a proposal.”

Victor felt his muscles relax, but only a little. The intruder didn’t seem particularly dangerous, and he carried no visible weapons. He leaned with his back against the door, his arms crossed over his chest.

“A proposal?” he asked, thinking to stall. He took a single step toward the man, shifting himself closer to his weapon.

“Two proposals, actually,” Deathmask said. “First proposal is that you don’t do anything stupid like calling for guards, or grabbing that sword of yours. Once I hear an answer to that one, we can move on to proposal number two.”

Victor felt his heart skip a beat, and he stepped away from the bed, toward his bookcase.

“So be it,” he said, clenching his fists at his sides. “I am listening.”

“Excellent. Now, to make sure we both understand each other...you do know who I am, right?”

Victor nodded. He’d done extensive research on the various guilds before coming to Veldaren, learning what he could about their leaders, their habits, vices, and weaknesses. As for the Ash Guild...

“You’re the one guild that made the least sense,” Victor said. “Run by a man called eccentric at best, insane at worst. Four years ago you usurped control from Garrick Lowe, killing or disbanding nearly the entire guild. Estimates vary, but all claimed you now have less than ten members. One man suggested there were only four of you, but that is ridiculous.”

“Is it?” Deathmask asked, grinning. “No, that’s true. There are just the four of us. Smaller than the rest of the guilds, sure, but I’ve found having a few dangerous, intelligent people is far better than a guild full of mouthbreathers.”

Victor’s mind clicked, and he shook his head in disbelief.

“And easier to split the rather handsome sum the Trifect pays for protection, correct?”

Deathmask shrugged.

“That, too.”

Victor shifted closer to his weapon, then relaxed. If Deathmask hadn’t killed him yet, he wasn’t going to...at least, not until he had an answer to his proposition.

“Why are you here?” Victor asked.

“I could ask the same of you,” Deathmask said, tapping his fingers together. “A long-vanished lord returns with a miniature army, with the sole aim to clear out the guilds? Preposterous. But I do not care, because that is not how I operate, Victor. Why you do what you do is irrelevant to me. All that matters is that things go as I desire, and right now...I’d like to help you.”

“Help me?” Victor lifted an eyebrow. “How?”

“I can give you names, locations, shipping dates...or I could bring you bodies. Either is fine with me.”

Victor shook his head.

“This won’t protect you, Deathmask. I offer no clemency, not to anyone. I will not accept the help of the very criminals I have come to eradicate.”

“You mistake me,” Deathmask said, stepping closer. A fire burned bright in his mismatched eyes. “I seek no pardon, no clemency, for I won’t need it. Tell me, of all the men who wilted before your inquisition, how many have spoken my name? How many pointed their finger at the Ash Guild? Have we drugs, or slaves, or bribes?”

Victor had not studied the entire lists, but he’d gone over them as the day wore on, and listened in on several confessions. Try as he might, he could think of nothing, and told Deathmask so.

“Exactly,” said the thief. “And you will find nothing. I am your ally in this, not your enemy. Let me help you. Long as you abide by the law, and the agreements we have signed, your little game here will not affect me, not adversely. The destruction of the other guilds is something that would greatly amuse me, though.”

His words were honey, but his eyes were death. Victor shook his head.

“You may pretend, you may feign innocence, but I am no fool. You are murderers, thieves, butchers. I will not taint all that I do with your presence. Not if I am to succeed.”

“I’m a dangerous man to have as an enemy, Victor.”

Victor stood tall and spread his shoulders wide, as if daring the man to strike.

“Kill me, then,” he said. “I’ll die eventually, but it won’t be as a hypocrite.”

They stared, matching wills, but then Deathmask broke into a smile.

“You fascinate me,” he said. “You won’t die tonight, not by me, anyway.” He turned to the corner of the room, put his hand against it. Shadows swelled, thickening as if into a liquid. The guildmaster looked back. His smile had hardened. “Those who loudest profess the law tend to have the greatest crimes to hide. I wonder just what secrets you have buried deep in the dark soil.”