Chapter 20

“Guardians - and a Magician. Interesting, most interesting. That man should be nobody, but suddenly he has connections none of his class should have. I’ll need to ask around, very carefully. We need to keep in mind that there are more ways to skin a cat than one.”

The fact that Elise didn’t doubt us - or, in this case, me - at all, confirmed to me, more than anything else, that I was now an integral part of this family.

Two weeks later, we were well past the midway of the autumn term and both Linnea and I were doing great with our studies - or I was doing well with my other studies and gradually getting better with Mathematics. I was still struggling with some concepts, but I knew that I needed to become good enough with it because I was still fascinated with the concepts of navigation. Unfortunately that meant quite a lot more studying, but luckily most of the other topics were a whole lot easier because of all the books I had already read. The hardest thing was not to tell the teacher that some of the books disagreed with him - or her.

Yes, I still did my best to lie low. No extra attention.

“That man you visited is really no-one, but he has some friends with the officials and a powerful supporter who would like to own the whole loan business.”

“So, should we pay him a visit?”

“No, he’s one of the important Guardians. He’s untouchable, but they have now stopped protecting that first man. Maybe you should go and scare him, but we need to ... no, I need to bring him down another way, as well as the high Guardian. There cannot be anything really linking all the other cases. So, this has to be handled differently and I shall deal with them, in time. Believe me, they’ll learn that debts should be paid, in one way or another.”

That was as close to a command that Elise would ever give us - and I also heard it as a warning. She would take care of this in her own way. In a way, I felt sorry for that man and his family since I knew that Elise could be ruthless, especially to arrogant men who did not believe that a woman could be as ruthless as they were. Usually they learned it in some painful way, probably not physical, but financial. Because of my time with the Elves, I knew more about women. Maybe. I wasn’t quite sure if it was good for Linnea to spend time with Elise, even if there wasn’t much risk that Linnea would become like her. However much you encouraged her, however smart she was, she could still be guided far too easily by someone who decided to control her. Elise knew it and I knew it, and even if we hadn’t really discussed it, we seemed to have a common agreement about that. To take care about Linnea, to make her more independent, if possible.

All those thoughts were interrupted by a messenger, a woman looking like a city hooker who came to see Elise in a hurry. I had seen some of them, typically the more expensive ones, at the restaurant. Friends in low places.

Her message was important: there were some people who would try to rob the restaurant where Alva was working. The timing was bad for the restaurant and its owners since all three of their ships were still at sea; one having left a day early and one being two days late. Sometime tomorrow, at least one ship crew would be ashore - but none was here tonight.

It was possible that somebody had leaked the information about the ships. Things like that happened sometimes, and the family working on the shipping and restaurant business did not look that big or important - which was exactly how they wanted it to be. Unfortunately there could be some side effects.

“I’ll send a message that you and Frode will go to the restaurant and stay and protect them tonight. As far as I know, that little group shouldn’t be anything more than a group of pickpockets. Most likely they will try to cause some trouble while the others take what’s valuable. We just cannot let that happen at Alva’s workplace.”

I had suspected before that Mrs. Hansen - I still had issues thinking of her as Elise - held at least part of that business and now I was sure of it. Even if that really had mattered to me, I would have gone there to help the people who helped me, anyway. There would be no way that the City police could be allowed to enter the restaurant since they just couldn’t be trusted. Of course, allowing the customers to be robbed was something that could not happen, especially when that place was known to honor the privacy of its customers.

It was clear that Elise trusted Frode and me quite a lot. If the restaurant would just have closed its doors, those people would have no way of getting inside, but that would probably been noticed and therefore been bad for business as well. So, a job for Frode and me. A quick visit to Geir was necessary before getting to the restaurant. Even if there were not too many of those troublemakers, it was better to be prepared with something else besides our hands. Soon we were on our way.

It was now two weeks before the winter solstice and the whole city seemed to be preparing for it and for the change of the year. This kind of winter was again a new experience for me. There was no real winter like there had always been during my youth, but this wasn’t the mild winter of the valley, either. No, this was a combination of the terrible, wet and cold autumn days of the west coast and very crisp days of sharp Northern winds with a possible icy snowfall that did not really bring any light with the white snow, but just made the rock-covered roads slippery. I felt that this was just the combination of the worst possible elements you could imagine and I complained to Frode that I couldn’t understand how the people were able to stand this.

Being born and living here, he just laughed at me, and of course I knew the answer myself. Trade. The Aston river was a waterway that flowed steady and constantly through half the country and the mouth of the river had created most likely the best natural harbor there could be. Still, I complained a bit about the weather when we were quietly walking towards the restaurant.

“On the other hand, if things turn really bad, this weather might even help us before the night is over.”

Frode didn’t turn to look at me but I noticed him give a small nod when we approached one of the three big bridges that cross the river Aston. A boat trip might have been faster because there would not have been any detour, but if you walked there were no witnesses. Most of the river boat operators kept close track of their customers and were very willing to give that information to anybody who paid enough - and they had to do that for the City Guardians, the ‘Shinies’.

“So, Stian, you are sure that they’ll really try something?”

“How often has any of Elise’s contacts been wrong when she has been told something like this?”

Frode didn’t answer and we walked in silence all the way across the long stone bridge together with several other people. I couldn’t sense any threat close to us, but I still felt better for not speaking about our businesses when an occasional bystander might hear something. We were almost invisible - like our small family was still almost invisible - and we wanted it to stay that way. Sometimes it felt almost unnatural how well I had adapted to this kind of life. Even if I still sometimes missed the solitude of a forest so much that it hurt.

“Do you think it will turn violent?”

Frode snorted. “You know that I only eat fish from the sea, Stian.”

I forced out a little laugh. “That’s where the river Aston leads, remember.”

I didn’t tell him that I was a bit afraid about possible problems. There already were enough faces that visited my dreams occasionally.

I have no idea what Elise had revealed to her business partners, but I was quite certain that it wasn’t anything about Linnea’s or my special abilities. Yet, she had convinced them that Frode and I might be able to stop the combined robbery and take-over plan before it happened. We had a quick snack inside the restaurant and we also shared around some tools we had got from Geir. They had good-enough knives inside the restaurant, but since blood was difficult to wash away, we offered some other things, too. Once we had agreed how to proceed with the few available men and quite a few grim-looking women, Frode and I moved back outside. Luckily the family had access to some buildings nearby, as well.

“There are four people approaching.”

Frode nodded at me. Four people was something we had expected. According to what we had heard there should not be any more than five of them. As soon as those approaching people came into view I wondered if this was a false alarm, since of that group of four two were women! Internally I cursed my own stupidity. Not all the thugs at Aston were idiots. Not all the criminals were men. Our plan had been to take down those men coming to the front door, with force if necessary, and then use some help from the restaurant to carry their bodies away from the restaurant. After all, they had enough used barrels.

The problem was that both Frode and I had been waiting outside the restaurant and taking down two couples who looked like any other couples coming to eat or drink wasn’t something we wanted to do. Taking down some thugs would have been a totally different thing and even if there might have been a few raised eyebrows, it would not have been an issue. Taking down two couples would have been. For a short moment I wondered if those two couples weren’t thugs at all, but just some people coming to eat. Remembering the teachings from Hantaliel I checked their shoes and then I knew. Those people weren’t any normal customers.

Stealing or getting some good clothes and making them almost fit was easy. Getting some shoes that would fit you wasn’t. You didn’t want to go into a fight with shoes that didn’t fit. Time to improvise.

“We need to go in just behind them, as a couple. Follow my lead.”

If Frode was surprised at me taking the initiative, he didn’t show it by any way. So, we walked in right behind those two couples while I was glued to Frode’s arm, trying to look like some young man with his older ‘financial supporter’. Just like some male couples I had seen there at the restaurant. So, I hung on Frode’s arm, loudly called him some sappy nicknames, making it clear to the other couples that we were coming after them. Both couples turned to look at us quickly and I could see some disgust on the faces of the men and some amusement on the faces of the women. For sure they didn’t consider the two of us as a threat. Their first mistake. One’s sexual preferences had nothing to do with her or his fighting abilities.

As soon as we stepped inside the front door, we were prepared. There was a short passageway with closed doors at both ends that separated the actual dining room from the entrance and there were two side doors to the adjoining rooms that were closed, as usual. There was no need to think whether those people in front of us were armed or dangerous since, without any doubt, all of them were both; I could see it from the way they walked. Dropping Frode’s hand and stepping away from him was the cue to start taking those people down.

Our idea was to avoid bloodshed, if possible. Frode had his cane with him and I knew that he had no problems taking down a man with that. Especially if the man wasn’t prepared. Even though I was well prepared to fight unarmed, this time I had allowed myself a Leather sap filled with some sand. Those two men were down and out in a blink of an eye and that was when I noticed our first mistake - we should have taken the women down first. That was the thing I had been taught every single time I had been training my fighting skills with the Elves. Take the most dangerous opponent out first. Maybe the men had been more powerful - but these women were more dangerous.

The woman who had been walking with the man Frode took down suddenly turned and raised her hands. It seemed that Frode took that as a measure of surrender, but I knew better. She had something hidden in her hair! Frode had no time to raise his cane again when the knife was in the hand of the woman and ready to be thrown. The only way I could deter her was to sweep her down with my leg and hope that it would be enough. Unfortunately that would mean losing the initiative I had gained by hitting my male target so that he fell over the woman he was standing with. Anyway, I could not take any chances, so I used enough force in my leg sweep. Enough force to break a bone. In the narrow corridor the noise sounded sickening even to my own ears.

What saved Frode and me from any further harm was that the man I had hit weighed probably two times as much as the woman he fell on, and by the time the woman was ready to fight us, Frode had his cane ready and I was also facing her again.

“Keep your hands visible and away from your body. We wish no extra harm should happen to you.”

The woman spat. “No extra harm! Liv will most likely die.”

I didn’t turn to look but the sound of the breaking bone had been sickening and even if I couldn’t see any blood from the corner of my eye I could tell that there was lot of damage in her shin.

“Not if I can do anything to stop it. Look, we know about the idea to cause trouble and rob some people. We could have killed you already, but we want to keep this as low level as possible. If you don’t want to see those three get hurt, too, you should change your plans and help us instead of those idiots who tipped you about this.”

“And why should I believe you?”

“There’s no need to believe me, we could easily kill you all and get rid of the bodies.”

There was a short silence. “Can you help Liv?”

Somehow I felt that this was a same kind of moment that I had previously had with Leilatha and Shalana. The problem was that I had no idea if I should act the same way this time - and if the final result would be the same.

“I’m quite sure that I can. Can I trust you?”

As soon as I had said that I understood the stupidity of my question and shook my head sadly before nodding to the two restaurant workers who had been waiting behind the closed door, waiting for Frode and me. Maybe they weren’t fighters, but they were quite good and fast in making nice packages of those two bulky but still unconscious men. I turned back and talked to the woman who was still looking at me with a look that was probably meant to kill.

“Lean against the wall, hands up and legs away from each other.”

It took a moment to get her in a position and only then I allowed myself to come close to her. Standing partly on her side, I separated her from three knives and only then I released the bun made out of her hair. From there I took the fourth knife and a long spike made of iron. A spike that looked like something a woman might use holding her hair, only that it was also as deadly as any knife if you knew how to use it. I had no doubt that she knew.

“Anything more hidden?”

For a moment I was sure that she would answer me or curse me, but I really didn’t want to hurt her if there was no need to do that.

“No.”

“Good, now you can help me move your friend to the room behind that door. I’d rather try to help her there than here in the corridor.”

I didn’t need to ask Frode to keep an eye on her since he was already doing that. I was able to see the question in his eyes since this wasn’t something we had agreed on. However, I was sure that, at some point of my life I would need allies - and there was a reason why I hoped that this woman would become one. Only, right now it didn’t look very probable, since her friend Liv started to look really bad. Actually much worse than she should just because of a broken bone. Of course I knew now, because of all the training I had got from Allynna, that when one of those big bones broke you could also break some blood vessels - and that could turn deadly very quickly. Then there was also a thing she had called ‘shock’ which could make the victim even sicker than she or he actually was. Unfortunately that was about everything she knew about it - besides that it should be avoided by all means if possible.

Liv looked to be a few steps from dying when we had her lying on the floor of the adjoining room. Frode was keeping an eye on the other woman, who in turn kept on changing her gaze between Liv and me. In a blink of an eye, that look changed from loving and worrying to something spared for the dog shit at the bottom of your shoe. Or lower. Liv’s skin felt cool and clammy and her breathing was shallow. Even with the training I had got from Allynna I didn’t consider myself a medical expert, but I knew that there was no time to waste. I wanted to curse myself for failing to read the situation correctly and now I had to pay the price for it.

“Please help me and hold her steady when I try to position the bones correctly as soon as I can.”

As soon as the other woman was holding Liv, I pulled the leg a bit and used both my senses and magical skills while setting the bones back into place as well as I could. Liv let out a short scream before collapsing on the floor, but I had no time to look at that since I was busy sensing her and pushing whatever magic I could into her. I was aware that the other woman gasped but I trusted Frode to keep an eye on her while I pushed myself to make the woman lying there better. To make Liv better.

I had been the most frustrating student for Allynna, because she always wanted to understand, she wanted to know how and why things happened - since that was the way healing magic should work. To her it was like a dirty image that had to be cleaned until it looked right again. Somehow, with all her knowledge she was able to visualize the process. I couldn’t. To me it was something that felt bad - and I did my best to take that bad away. Even if I knew about bones, muscles and blood vessels, I wasn’t able to visualize the process. According to Allynna I cleaned the paintings with several bucketfuls of water - with force, blindly trusting my senses while feeling what is right and what is wrong.

So, I had no real idea of what I did or how I did it, but when I pulled back and took my hands away from Liv, feeling a bit weak myself, it was clear that she was better. Her breathing was deeper and more even. Her skin was no longer clammy and her color seemed better - as much as you could tell about it in the dim light of the room. It had taken more out of me than I had expected, since definitely she wasn’t a magic user.

“The bones are back in place and I’m sure she’ll make it. Of course she’ll need to wear a cast in her leg for some time.”

I wasn’t quite prepared at the gaze the woman kneeling next to Liv had on her face. The look on her face gave away nothing, but her gaze told me that she knew. She knew that I had used magic to save Liv.

“Ylva. My name is Ylva. Thank you for saving Liv.”

“I’m Stian ... and I would not like to see any more people of your family get hurt, but we’ll do that if needed.”

In my slightly exhausted state my sensing opened a bit more than I had planned and suddenly I was fully alert and I picked up one of the knives and pointed it at Ylva.

“There are two groups of people approaching quickly. What do you know about it? Speak quickly or I’ll kill her quickly first and leave you dying slowly. Speak now!”