Blood of the Underworld(81)
“I won’t be handling any of it,” Billick said as he watched. “You know that, right? Don’t tell me what it is, and don’t make me sell it. I’ll let you get it in, and I’ll let any one of you Suns get it out. Just make sure the pay is on time.”
“Good man,” Grayson said, smirking at him. “So brave, so noble. You’ll get your pay. Just keep an eye on our wares. I don’t take kindly to those who help themselves to what isn’t theirs.”
Billick got the message, and he nodded fast enough to make the fat of his neck bounce.
“I have business elsewhere,” he said. “Shop’s all yours for the rest of the day. I won’t come back until morning.”
Once the crates were stored, Grayson gathered around his men and began divvying out smaller bags.
“One silver,” he told them. “Stay close, and stay together. Let them come to you. And I’ll drag back to Mordeina in a bag anyone I hear charging more and pocketing the top.”
The men began to scatter, each eager for their first step in taking over the streets of Veldaren.
“Pierce,” Grayson called out, stopping the man.
“Yeah?”
Grayson grinned at him.
“Go find someone in a guild, don’t care which, or how old they are. Just find someone, and then gut them. I want to send a message that we aren’t to be messed with, understood? So make it brutal.”
Pierce’s grin was ear to ear.
“That I can do,” he said, twirling a dagger in his hand.
“Good. Go get to work.”
As the rest scattered in groups, only Boggs and Tracy remained behind.
“Not many places to stash three wagons,” Boggs said, climbing up into the first.
“We aren’t leaving for a while,” Grayson said, glancing up and down the street. “Should be an inn nearby desperate enough for coin to let us hole up all three for a few months. At worst, we can sell them at market.”
“Come on, lovely sister,” Boggs said as Tracy climbed up to join him. “Let us find some clean, comfortable beds for our companions.”
Tracy snickered.
“So not too much lice in them, then?”
Before they could move out, the back two wheels of the wagon exploded, and with a loud bang the wood hit the ground. The oxen jostled, startled, but Boggs kept them calm.
“The fuck?” Boggs asked, looking back. Tracy hopped down to take a look, but Grayson could already tell what had happened. Smoke rose from a magical fire that burned out into nothing. Grayson drew his swords as a man in a gray cloth mask approached from down the street. Ash swirled about his face, hiding his dark features. Grayson recognized him from the failed attack on Alyssa’s mansion. He gripped his swords tighter.
“Grayson...” Tracy said, also seeing him, but Grayson raised a hand, gesturing for her to remain calm.
“Well, now,” Grayson said, approaching the intruder in a way that got him nearer to the first wagon, and therefore cover. “This is a surprise.”
“Perhaps,” said Deathmask. “But your arrival isn’t. I’ve been expecting one of the guilds from Mordan to arrive for years. Honestly, your delay proved irritating.”
Grayson let out a laugh.
“No more than your interference. What is it you want? If you’re here to protect your territory, you might as well give up now. Our money, leaf, and coin are pouring in from Mordeina like a flood. You won’t stop us.”
“I don’t mean to stop you,” Deathmask said, crossing his arms. “Other than your wagon, of course. I did mean to stop that. As for your Suns spreading across Veldaren, they’ll encounter resistance soon enough, though not from me. The guilds won’t go down quietly, not unless things change. Not unless you have my help.”
“I can’t decide if you underestimate us, or overestimate your own worth,” Grayson said. “Speak plainly, wizard.”
“I am no wizard,” Deathmask said, and he was surprised to see the anger glowing in those mismatched eyes. “And my offer is plain enough, even for you. Let me help your guild take over the city, every single brick and stone. In return, you split your profits with me.”
“How much?” Grayson asked, honestly intrigued.
“What else would a split be? Half.”
His intrigue died amid his laughter.
“Do you think I need you so badly that I’d sacrifice a fortune for a victory I will already achieve? Show some intelligence.”
The ash swirling around Deathmask’s face slowed, grew thicker.
“I am no fool, Grayson. The guilds are crumbling, dying to both you and Victor. I can help you finish them off, show you where to shove your sword. What I ask for isn’t much, not when you consider that every coin you take from Veldaren is a coin you didn’t have the day before. But do not think your takeover of these streets is inevitable. Not when Thren still stalks the city. Not while I’m still alive.”