Return of the Crimson Guard

‘Yeah. We'll be dead any minute for sure.’

‘Wonderful.’

He motioned to the stacked crates and barrels across the narrow passage. ‘Have to jump it.’

‘What?’ But the fool was already backing up. ‘Listen, let's talk about this-’ Su

A crack sounded as Su

‘That's what I was thinking,’ answered the Captain.

Hurl backed up and ran for the gap. The crossbow on her back slammed her down as her feet hit the crates and that sent her face-first into the unfinished wood, knocking the breath from her. The side of her face scraped raw. Finding her breath again, she touched her cheek and came away with blood. She sat up to see Su

‘That was not a nice trick your friend pulled,’ a familiar voice called from across the way. It was Runty the Knifer, back from who-knew-where. He jumped the gap with ease, came down standing. The crates rocked beneath them all like a lazy sea swell. ‘But I got friends too. Now, where was I? Oh yeah,’ he raised his knives. ‘Killing you two.’

‘Shut the Hood up,’ Su

The fellow landed lithely as a cat next to them. Flat on her stomach, Hurl groaned her disgust. He waggled a blade and shrugged. ‘Nothing personal, you understand. Just business.’

‘Well, you missed your chance,’ said Su

Runty cursed, twisting, but a thrown knife took him in the side. He went down, rolled, and dived from sight around a corner. Jalor came jogging up, the gold rings at his fingers bright. He gri

Hurl helped Su

He frowned. ‘Why?’ then added, ‘Didn't Silk give you two a job to do?’

‘Yeah,’ said Su

Jalor shrugged. ‘As I've said – I should have died a long time ago.’

Su

Hurl tried to take Su

‘What do you think,’ he panted as he limped, his voice taut with pain, ‘a cracker?’

‘Yeah. That should overkill it nicely.’

The passage opened on to an open square of beaten earth that ended at a wide sliding door. Hurl held Su

‘Silk warned us off the doors.’

He pulled his arm free. ‘Just blast it and let's go!’

While Hurl watched, shadows on the panels shifted and stretched. They seemed to drip on to the ground then they snaked out like wet black ink reaching towards them. Shit again.

Flinching back, Su

Light blazed across the square in a cutting curtain of blinding white. Blinking away the after-images Hurl saw the shadows on the door writhing as if in pain. In the darkness of an alley across the way she glimpsed the slim older woman who had stood with Orlat. She was examining the door as well. Then she turned her lazy gaze to them. ‘Your friend is good,’ she called, ‘but we'll corner him.’ She frowned. ‘Ule should've finished with you two already.’

Without aiming Hurl lifted the crossbow from under her arm and fired. It wasn't bang-on, but it was close. She was sure the blast caught the woman before she entered her Warren. As it was, she at least blew up two barrels damn good. Su

They ran to the wall as far from the loading dock as possible. ‘I'll take that,’ said Su

‘Might as well chuck it against the wall now.’

‘That'd be a waste.’

Hurl had to agree. The cracker was bad enough, but a cussor used against a wall of timbers was enough to make any sapper cry. Used against any one particular enemy who has pissed you off mightily, well, that was pretty much a tradition in the corps started by Hedge. Sword-play and stamping feet echoed up the alley behind. She hurriedly set the cracker, kicked the earth down around it. ‘Have to do.’

‘Now,’ came Su

She risked a glance: Storo and Rell were shuffling in a fighting retreat against a pressing gang of swordsmen. She let two drops of undiluted acid fall on to the dirt packed over the cracker, then, jumping up, took Su

They dived. The eruption was like twin hammers slamming into her head from either side. Shredded timber tumbled down all around. Though Su

An arm yanked her, marched her to the smoking gap – Rell. Somehow the Genabackan swordsman retained his grip of both weapons while hooking one arm around her. Wet gore covered both blades and splashed his leathers. None, she was sure, was his. He urged her on through the jagged hole.

The riverside wharf-front was dark. Watch torches lit the Idryn's far shore. Dirt gave way to the wood planks of the wharf and docks. Storo pushed Su

‘The river!’ Storo answered.

Hurl staggered backwards with Su