Defiant Guardians Anthology Read online

  “I’m sorry,” Aaron said to the dead man. Then he turned and walked out of the inn.

  IV

  In the street, Aaron hesitated. Grinner’s men, so the woman had said. Sent to shake the innkeeper down, maybe but then what? What had started as blackmail had turned into a mass murder because some stupid bastard wasn’t willing to accept that a woman didn’t want him and had decided to try to take by force what he couldn’t have otherwise. It was terrible, but, then, it was the Downs. He couldn’t help those people—they were dead already—but he could, he would get his mother’s necklace back.

  The woman had said they’d make it a gift to Grinner, along with the girl, and the urge was strong to go to one of the taverns he knew Grinner’s men frequented and beat the crime boss’s location out of him. The problem, of course, was that in his current state, he could barely stand, let alone fight a room full of Grinner’s men. Besides, Grinner was notoriously paranoid, and it was said that no one in his organization had even seen him face to face, save his second in command, a short, chubby man that went by the name of Claude.

  Aaron had seen Claude once or twice before, around the Downs. The man wore a suit and had looked more like a soft banker from God’s Row than a crime boss’s right hand man. Normally, such a man would be an easy mark and wouldn’t last an hour in the Downs, but the citizens of the poor quarter treated him almost like a king instead and not only because he belonged to Grinner. Claude, it was said, was sicker and crueler than Grinner himself, a man who enjoyed nothing more than visiting pain and torture on others.

  No, it would be foolish to go to one of Grinner’s places of business and more foolish still to try to track down Claude. The Downs were big, after all, and he had no idea where to look. What he needed was a place to rest, a place to find answers.

  He started for the Traveler’s Rest, a hand cupped to his side where his exertions had reopened the wound. Night had come in full now, and he only passed a couple of people in the streets, a thing for which he was thankful. The shirt he’d taken was cleaner than his own, but one of life’s hard truths was that you didn’t stab a man in the throat without making a mess. The few people he did pass gave him a wide berth, eyeing his bloody shirt warily, before hurrying on their way.

  He was only a few streets from the Traveler’s Rest and shuffling noticeably now, his wounds taking their toll, when he noted, out of the corner of his eye, two shadows separating themselves from one of the alleyways and following behind him. He knew it was unwise to show weakness in the Downs, but there was no help for it, so he walked on. Normally, he would have stopped and let the two men catch up, would have let them know he was no easy mark. The problem, of course, was that---just now—he was.

  He breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he turned a corner and saw the Traveler’s Rest. It was a large building, though it looked run down, abandoned, giving the impression that it might collapse at any moment. A beggar in filthy rags sat not far away from the entrance. Aaron reached into the coin pouch he’d taken back from the dead man and flipped the beggar two coins as he passed, “Two of them. Five minutes, no more,” he said without stopping.

  The beggar nodded once, and then Aaron was walking inside the door. The entry room was small, almost all of the space taken up by the dust-covered counter behind which sat an old woman. “Hate to tell ye,” the woman said in a thick, uneducated accent, eyeing him, “but we’re all full up. Ain’t got room for a soul less he can sleep standin’.”

  Aaron tossed the old woman another of his coins, and she caught it in the air with surprising agility. A moment later, it vanished in her dress. “I wonder, mother,” he asked, “may I smoke?”

  The woman smiled, tilting her head slightly, and when she spoke, her accent was gone, leaving instead the cultured voice of an educated woman, “Yes, you may.” She smiled, “Room service will be right out, sir.” She reached under her desk, pushing something, and a door to the side of the counter slid open. A thickly muscled man looked out at him, “Ah. Silent.” He said, acknowledging Aaron with a nod, before stepping to the side.

  Aaron walked inside, the door closing behind him, and, as always, was shocked by the club’s interior. The tiled floor sparkled where it wasn’t covered in expensive, ornamental rugs, so shiny that he could almost see himself in it. Expertly crafted tables and booths stretched throughout the room with men and women in suits and dresses sitting at them talking amiably. Pipe smoke drifted through the air, a gray curtain that made seeing very far ahead of him difficult, but it did not obscure the large stage on which a woman danced evocatively to an accompanying harp.

  He moved past several groups of people to the bar, wincing as he sat down at one of the stools. “A beer, please.”

  The bar woman had a body that could cause wars, and she looked no older than twenty, but Aaron knew her to be fifteen years older than that. She turned at the sound of his voice, and her face lit up with a smile. “Silent,” she exclaimed, leaning over the bar, her tightly fitting corset displaying a view he couldn’t help appreciating before she kissed him loudly. She leaned back, a pouty look on her face, “it’s been too long. I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.”

  He smiled, “Wouldn’t dream of it, Celes.”

  She winked mischievously then seemed to notice his shirt for the first time. Before speaking, though, she poured him a beer and put it in front of him. Damn, I could get to love this woman, he thought. “What happened?” She asked worriedly, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he said, waving it away, “nothing I can’t handle. Anyway, I’d love to talk more, Celes, but there’s something I have to take care of. Is she in?”

  She studied him, her face serious, “You working, Silent?”

  He shrugged, “I guess you can say that. I’ve only got a couple of questions for her, that’s all. I won’t be long.”

  Celes hesitated for a moment then nodded, “Alright.” She raised a finger above her head and in the time it took Aaron to turn and look, a man had walked up to the bar.

  “Go and tell her Silent’s here.” The man nodded and hurried away without a word.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” She said once the man was gone. “Word on the street is Hale’s not too pleased about you refusing his offer.”

  Aaron grunted, “Yeah, I got that impression. I mean to have a meeting with him soon, have a little talk about it.”

  Celes snorted, her dainty nose turned up, “Whenever you talk with someone, they have a tendency of winding up dead.”

  Aaron shrugged again, “Some words can kill.”

  Celes nodded, “Yeah,” she said, eyeing his sheathed blade, “Swords too.” She looked past him, “Ah, there she is. It really was good seeing you again, Silent. Come back soon. And don’t end up dead if you can help it.”

  “Not if I can help it.”

  He turned to see May approaching from across the room. She was a heavy set woman with a jovial face, and a motherly air despite the fact that she wore a sparkling gem-studded green dress and enough ruby rings to bankrupt a nobleman. Her long red hair seemed to blaze in the soft warm glow of the overhead lighting, and when she saw Aaron at the bar, she smiled widely, hurrying forward. Two thickly-muscled men followed behind her, scanning the crowd who parted before her, bowing their heads to her as if she was some visiting dignitary.

  “Silent,” she said, pulling him into a tight embrace and squishing him against her massive bosom, “by the gods, but it’s good to see you.”

  He winced at a fresh pain in his side as she held him out at arm’s reach, a mother checking on the health of her favored son. “What’s happened? And how bad are you?”

  “I’m fine. It’s good to see you, May.” he said, impressed by how quick she’d caught on despite having known her for years. The woman might seem like some kindly mother, but she was one of the most cunning and resourceful people he’d ever met. There was a reason why even Hale and Grinner were said to be wary of May.

  She
tsked, “Oh, there’s no reason to be a tough guy, not with me. How bad is it?”

  He shrugged, “I’ve had worse. Probably.”

  She rolled her eyes, “Nancy’ll see to you. It’s not like she hasn’t done it before.”

  Aaron shook his head, “I’m sorry, May, but I don’t have the time. I just need to ask you a couple of questions and—“

  “And you can ask me as many as you want,” she said, “while Nancy sees to you. I won’t have any arguing.”

  He sighed and allowed himself to be led across the room. May gestured to a woman sitting at one of the tables and the woman cut off what she’d been saying to a young man in midsentence, got up, and followed after them, her companion looking after her with a disappointed expression.

  May led him through a door and into a small room. One of the guards posted up outside of the door while the other followed May, Aaron, and the woman inside. “Silent,” the other woman said, nodding her head to him, “It’s good to see you.”

  He nodded back, “You too, Nance. How’s everything?”

  “Oh, you know, same old same old. This’d better be good, I was just getting ready to have some fun tonight.”

  May sighed, shaking her head, “I’ve told you before, Nancy, you have to make them work for it. Too easy, and they won’t appreciate it once they’ve got it.”

  Nancy and Aaron shared a smile at that, and May snorted, “Lift your shirt, you bastard.”

  Aaron tried again, “Really, May, it’s not—“ he broke off, noticing her expression, one that said she’d have her way even if she had to tie him down to do it. “Alright,” he said, “but I’m in a hurry.”

  “Well,” May said, “while Nancy does her work, you tell me what happened, and we’ll see just how much of a hurry you’re in.”

  He took off his shirt, deciding it was better to get it over with, and Nancy frowned, “Whoever bandaged this did a shitty job.”

  He grunted as she pulled off the bandage, “I was in a little bit of a hurry.”

  Nancy looked at the wound that was leaking blood again and whistled. “Well, that’s a nasty one. I’ll have to stitch it.”

  “Fine,” Aaron said.

  “I have some Alera root extract. Help numb the pain.”

  “No thanks. I’ve had just about as much numbing today as I’m prepared to take.”

  “Oh?”

  He sighed, knowing there was no way to avoid telling them. “I was drugged.”

  “Was it Hale?” May asked, her tone angry.

  “No,” Aaron said, gesturing at his side, “this was Hale. The drugging came later.”

  “Wow,” Nancy said, walking to a drawer and taking out needle and thread, “you really know how to have a good time.”

  Aaron nodded, thinking of the woman, Dayna, who had his mother’s necklace, “Fun’s not over yet.”

  “I’m so sorry, Aaron,” May said, scowling at Nancy who wisely pretended not to notice, “I just heard about Hale coming for you a few hours ago. I sent a man to your room to warn you but ….”

  “Yeah,” he said, “I wasn’t there. I was at the Maiden’s Haven. One of the women drugged me and Grinner’s men attacked the place. From what I gather, it was a shakedown gone wrong. They killed everyone.”

  May gasped, and Aaron gritted his teeth as Nancy began her work. “Are you sure?” May asked, “Benjin’s dead?”

  He knew it shouldn’t surprise him that May would know of the man—it often seemed to him that she knew about everything that went on in the Downs. “Yeah.”

  May growled deep in her throat, “Benjin was a good man. A friend. Grinner should know better.”

  Aaron shook his head, “I don’t think Grinner planned on killing anybody. Some of his men just got out of hand.”

  May sighed, “Oh, poor Benjin. And he had a daughter,” she hesitated, “oh, damn my memory. What was her name?”

  “Anna.”

  “That’s it! And what of her?”

  Aaron hesitated. He knew what would happen if he told May the truth. There were certain things she wouldn’t abide, and the kidnapping of a young pretty girl was one of them. She would bend all of her considerable resources to getting the girl back, would even cause a war with Grinner if that’s what it took. But as intelligent and resourceful as she was, May and her people weren’t warriors, or, at least, not many of them were. She had a few body guards and bouncers, but mostly women worked for her, women taken in off the streets and given something better. They wouldn’t last long against the kind of killers Grinner employed. He couldn’t be responsible for that, so he did something he’d never done before—he lied to May. “Yeah, they got her. She’s dead with the rest.”

  “Damnit,” May said, slamming her hand on the table and making Nancy—and as a result, her needle—jump. Nancy murmured an apology, and Aaron waved it away, gritting his teeth at the fresh stab of pain. May paced the room, her eyes flashing with anger, “You can stay here, of course. I’ll talk to Grinner and Hale both. Get this settl—“

  “No.”

  May turned, looking at him as if he’d gone crazy, “No?”

  “No, May,” he said, his voice stern. “I won’t be the cause of a war between you, Grinner, and Hale, and I won’t be staying here, as much as I appreciate the invitation. I’ve got to finish this. I don’t want you putting yourself between me and them. You’d be crushed, you and I both know it. Besides, what good is a sellsword that can’t fight his own battles?”

  She stared at him for several seconds then gave a reluctant nod, “Fine, I won’t get involved. But why won’t you stay here? Surely, you need some time to re—“

  “They took my mom’s necklace. I’m going to get it back.”

  May stared at him, her eyes wide. Then the iron came back into her gaze and she nodded again, “What do you need from me?”

  “I need to know where Grinner is.”

  May sighed, “Oh, Aaron. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “May—“

  “No, Silent,” she said, shaking her head, “it would be suicide. Grinner’s got hundreds of men working for him. You’re good, but you’re not that good. You’d be dead before you even got inside whatever hole he’s hiding in.”

  “I’m not planning on dying, May. And I am going to find Grinner, with or without your help. I appreciate your concern, but frankly it’s none of your damn business. If I have to pile the corpses of Grinner’s men so high that he’ll have to climb them to take a shit, that’s what I’ll do to get back what’s mine. If you can’t handle that then stay the fuck out of my way.”

  A dangerous silence descended as May met his gaze, her eyes blazing. Nancy finished her stitching and stepped back. She looked between the two of them and swallowed hard. “Ma’am … if there’s nothing else….”

  “Go.” She turned to her bodyguard, “You too. Wait outside.”

  The big man raised an eyebrow, “Ma’am?”

  “Was I unclear?” She asked, her voice suddenly low, dangerous.

  Despite the fact that the man was a head and a half taller than her, he paled at her tone. “No ma’am. I’ll be outside if you need me.”

  She waited until they were gone before turning back to Aaron, “Nobody talks to me like that, Silent. Nobody. And you can be sure they don’t in my own club.”

  He remained silent, matching her gaze and finally some of the anger in her eyes faded. After a time she sighed, “You’re going to do this no matter what I say, aren’t you?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  May ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “Alright, I’ll help you as much as I can, but I have to tell you that not even I know where Grinner stays. Nobody does.”

  Aaron opened his mouth to speak, but May held up a hand forestalling him, “Nobody knows where to find Grinner, but there’s a chance I know someone who could get you a shot at that sick dog of his.”

  Aaron felt hope rising in his chest, “Claude?”

  “Don’t get
too excited,” she said, “I said there’s a chance.”

  “I’ll take it. Thanks, May. I appreciate it.”

  She grunted, “You might not be thanking me once you hear who it is. You remember Lucius?”

  “Lucius?” Aaron asked incredulous, “He’s still alive? I thought someone would have laid him horizontal by now.”

  May shrugged, “It’s the cockroaches that are the hardest to kill. But you know who he works for, don’t you?”

  Aaron sighed, “Hale.”

  She nodded, “And as I understand it, you and Hale aren’t on the closest of terms right now.”

  “Any closer and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  “Right. Well, word is that Lucius has been digging into Grinner for Hale, trying to get anything on him he could. Say this for the little bastard; he keeps his ear to the ground. He was in the club not a month ago, bragging to one of my girls about how he could take down Claude and Grinner too, anytime he wanted.”

  Aaron snorted, “He’s about as likely to take down Grinner as I am to marry a princess, and the man would say anything if he thought it would get him laid. That’s pretty thin, May.”

  May arched an immaculately shaped eyebrow, “Well, then I suppose you’ll just have to follow one of your other leads. Assuming you have one, of course.”

  Aaron sighed, “You know I don’t.”

  She smiled a humorless smile, “And so?”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  She waved a hand dismissively, “Last I heard, Lucius was staying at the Whistle.”

  Aaron rubbed at his temples, “The Wetted Whistle?”

  May smiled at his discomfort, “That’s the one. Not the most … extravagant of brothels, shall we say, but, then, Lucius is not the most extravagant of people, is he? Oh, and, in case you didn’t know, that’s one of Hale’s. Which probably means it’ll have a dozen of his men inside—not, of course, that such a trifle would matter to you.”