Chapter 7

Someone crashed into Katrin from behind, knocking her against the wooden corner post of a fishmonger’s stall.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, but the man didn’t stop. He stumbled forward, looking back over his shoulder, his eyes searching the crowd. It was Dallo, she realized with a sudden burst of recognition.

Sarette helped her steady herself. “Are you all right?”

“I know him!” Katrin said. What was he running from that had him so scared?

“You do?”

“That’s Dallo! Shavala, remember, the gang leader who tried to turn me into a whore? You met one of his men once, Torse.”

“The one who followed us?” the elven woman asked.

“Yes,” Katrin said. “Come on, I want to see where he’s going.”

The look on Dallo’s face—one of fear—had made her curious. From the time her mother had died until Katrin and her brother Barz had run away to Circle Bay, Dallo had been the only authority that mattered. She’d always been afraid of him before, but, she suddenly realized, that was no longer true. She could protect herself now. Maybe not from everything, but certainly from someone like him. If she could make howling snow beasts fall asleep in the middle of a battle, Dallo wasn’t a threat.

And she wasn’t alone, either. Katrin almost laughed, wondering what Dallo would do when faced with people who could actually fight back.

Shavala and Sarette followed her. Although Ellerie had joined them that morning for their shopping expedition to find clothing more appropriate for the warming weather, she’d left at midday to help Bobo and Boktar look through maps at the library, so it was only the three of them.

They chased after Dallo, dodging through the crowds on the promenade that surrounded the harbor, managing to keep up with him since he couldn’t run and look back at the same time. Whatever he was searching for, he didn’t seem to find it, but it didn’t take long before he caught sight of them. His eyes passed over Katrin without recognition, but when he saw Sarette, he turned and sprinted for the nearest pier.

Katrin ran after him, cursing the heeled boots she’d worn for the day in the city. Before he could get away, though, he ran headfirst into a group of seaborn fishermen untangling a net. He struggled free in a panic, but when he looked back again, it was still Sarette that his gaze settled on. Why would he fear the stormborn woman so much?

He managed to pull his arm out of the net and ran down the pier, which was almost empty. Most of the fishing boats were still out for the day, and only a few remained in dock. Dallo reached the first corner, and Katrin worried she’d lose him in the maze of the docks.

“Dallo!” she shouted. “Jump!” She put all the force of her bardic magic behind it. It had worked before without singing or playing. Maybe it would again.

Instead of taking the corner, he ran right off the end of the pier, landing in the harbor with a splash.

She jogged after him and peered over the edge. He’d grabbed hold of the nearest piling and was trying to climb back up.

“Let go!” she said. His hands slipped off and he fell back into the water. When he tried to paddle farther down the pier, she yelled, “Stay where you are!”

“What are you doing to me?” he cried out, trying to keep his head above water as a wave rolled by. “Who are you?”

Two fishermen were close enough to overhear, sorting their catch on a nearby boat, but they just gave Dallo an odd look and then ignored him.

“You don’t recognize me? I’m Katrin, Barz’s sister.”

He finally seemed to see her. “Katrin!” He sounded almost hopeful. “Help me! Someone’s trying to kill me! I can’t swim!”

“I’m not trying to kill you, you idiot. Not yet. But don’t ever send Torse or anyone else after me again! Or after Barz! We don’t owe you anything.”

“Torse is dead!” he shouted back. He slipped under the water, and when he came back up, his paddling was more frantic. “The seaborn killed him and left him outside the old building!”

Seaborn? Why would Torse have dealings with the seaborn?

“Then I guess he got what was coming to him,” she said. “If you don’t leave us alone, you’ll be next!”

“I will! I’ll leave you alone. Just help me up! Please!”

“Fine. You can get up now.” She turned and left. Without the bardic magic to keep him in the water, he’d probably be able to climb out on his own, but she had no intention of offering him a hand. Shavala and Sarette followed after her.

“I don’t understand,” Sarette said. “This man tried to force you into prostitution? Why does he have any say in it?”

It took Katrin a moment to compose herself. She hadn’t realized how tense she’d been during the confrontation. Her stomach was queasy and her legs felt rubbery. “It’s a long story.”

“You said that before, back in Lanport.”

“She tells everyone that,” Shavala said, hiding a grin when Katrin glanced her way. The elven woman was the only one who’d ever heard all the details. Even Corec only knew parts of it.

“I guess I do,” Katrin said. “It started when my mother died and my brother had to find work to support us...”

Razai tensed as the three women walked past her, away from the pier, but they’d never seen her Molly disguise before and she didn’t attract their interest. Razai didn’t know the stormborn girl, but she recognized the singer and the wood elf from her time following Corec. Had he and his friends infested the entire city?

After speaking with Corec back at the plaza, she’d spent the next two hours following Dallo. He’d realized early on that someone was after him, but she’d switched back and forth between disguises to throw him off the scent, enjoying the increasingly panicked looks on his face.

Once he’d reached the docks district, though, she’d decided it was time to bring the game to an end. The promenade was too crowded and there was a chance he’d get away from her. She’d just started closing in on him when the three women had suddenly run out ahead of her, apparently chasing after the former gang leader themselves. What was their business with him? Why had he jumped into the water? She hadn’t risked getting close enough to hear what they were saying.

At the end of the pier, Dallo was pulling himself up onto the wooden planking, his hair and clothes dripping with seawater. Razai stalked down the walkway toward him. She assumed her Vash-like disguise as she went, no longer caring if anyone saw the change.

By the time she reached him, he’d made it back up onto the pier and was on his hands and knees, gasping for air. When her shadow crossed in front of him, he looked up at her and his eyes grew wide with recognition. This was the one disguise that he knew very well. He jerked away, but she grabbed him by the hair and slammed her knee into his nose.

He fell onto his side, blood streaming over his upper lip. “No! Please!” he whimpered, then raised his voice and cried out, “Katrin, help me!” Why he thought Corec’s redhead would intervene was a mystery, but in any case, the girl was gone and couldn’t hear his shout.

“Stop your whining,” Razai snapped, using the disguise’s deep, masculine voice. “It’s not like I’m going to kill you right out in the open while everyone’s watching. Besides, it turns out I’m suddenly in need of coin, and there’s a bounty on your head. I guess you’ll get to live a little longer. Stand up!”

Dallo pushed himself to his feet, his eyes darting around. He would almost certainly try to run before they reached the constabulary building, but chasing him down again would be fun. A quick stop at the bounty office, a chat with Renny, and then she just needed to drop by her apartment to pick up her things. She could be out of the city by midnight.

Corec rolled over onto his back, still breathing heavily. “Wow. What brought that on?”

Katrin giggled next to him. “I’m just in a good mood.”

“I like this good mood of yours.”

“I went down to the docks this afternoon with Shavala and Sarette, and we ran into Dallo.”

“Dallo?” Corec said, sitting up in concern. “Isn’t that the thief you used to work for?”

“Don’t worry. I’m all right, and he won’t bother me again.”

“You killed him?”

She burst out laughing. “No, of course not. But I made it clear that Barz and I are done with him. I think I scared him enough to keep him away.”

“Maybe I should have a talk with this fellow anyway,” Corec said. “Make sure he understands.”

Katrin sat up too, letting the sheet slip away from her body. It gave him a nice view. “I took care of it,” she said. “You’ve been protecting me since we met, and I love you for it, but Dallo isn’t a threat; not anymore. I’ll always need your help with the big things, but I wanted to handle this one on my own.”

Corec stared at her, still worried, but she looked completely earnest. He blew out his breath. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

“All right, though I’m not sure I like the idea that you got all worked up from talking to another man.”

She giggled again and flopped back down onto the bed. “Then come help me forget all about him.”

“I can do that.”

Someone knocked on the door.

Corec looked over at it, then back down at Katrin. He sighed. Ignoring the smirk on her face, he climbed out of bed and pulled his pants on. Opening the door, he found Treya standing there, out of breath.

She froze when she saw him. Her gaze dropped to his bare chest, then climbed back up to his face. “Oh! Were you two... ?” She blushed.

“It’s fine,” Katrin said. “We can take a break ... for now.” She’d pulled the sheets back up over her body.

Treya nodded, then turned back to Corec. “My old roommate, Renny, just sent a message to the chapter house. Her patron wants to meet with us. Varsin Senshall.”

“Varsin?” Corec said. “I know him. What does he want?”

“I think it’s about a ship. I told Renny we were looking for one, and the Senshall Trading Company owns a whole fleet.”

“That’d be great, but why would Varsin involve himself with something like that? He’s got to be a busy man.”

“I suppose he’s doing it as a favor for Renny. I don’t know; I only met him a few times, back when he first contracted with her.”

Corec nodded. He didn’t know Varsin well either.

Katrin said, “Can we even afford passage on a ship?” Still under the covers, she pulled her shift back on over head, then got out of the bed to finish dressing.

“The ship, yes,” Corec said. “If it costs the same as the one we took to Circle Bay. What we can’t afford is everything else—food and lodging for the whole journey, stabling the horses here, buying new ones when we get to Cordaea, everything else that’ll come up along the way. Even if we use up the last of Ellerie’s money and take advantage of Shavala’s offer, we don’t have anywhere near enough.”