Into the Void

"Aelfred…" Teldin began.

"I'll go with him," Ria

Aelfred hesitated, then he smiled as well. "Thanks," he said, and he meant it.

Barrab was shifting from foot to foot in nervousness-a rather amusing sight in someone so large and usually so controlled. As Teldin and Ria

"Where are we going?" she asked, cutting him off.

"Not far," the representative replied. "My employer wishes to avoid the crowds when he talks to milord Brewer."

That wasn't an answer, Teldin realized, as Barrab led them from the rotunda. From the first, he'd felt apprehension about this meeting, even though he knew he couldn't refuse. Now the anxiety had doubled. He looked at Ria

The woman's face was grim. She was taking this seriously, Teldin could see. Her right hand hovered near the hilt of her belt knife. He'd never seen Ria

Barrab led them toward a door to the outside-not the main lobby through which Teldin and friends had entered the Merchants' Rotunda, but a smaller portal at the rear of the building. "T'k'Pek has a carriage in the alley," Barrab answered Teldin's unspoken question. "We thought it would be more private." The representative led the way out through the door. Teldin followed, Ria

He stopped suddenly. There was no carriage, and Barrab had turned to face him. The large man's smile was predatory rather than cherubic now, and cold steel glittered in his right hand. Flanking him were three men that Teldin didn't know. He did recognize them by their wiry strength and the easy ma

Chapter Fourteen

Teldin glanced over his shoulder at Ria

As if on cue, the door opened behind Ria

Barrab chuckled, gri

Teldin looked from face to face. His attention was fixed immediately by the bravo nearest him. The man was as thin as a whip. His eyes made Teldin think of a rabid ferret and he smelled of violence, of death. While Barrab might warn him and Ria

Teldin spoke for the first time. "This isn't necessary," he said, struggling to keep his voice even, his tone reasonable. "I'm willing to meet with T'k'Pek…." His voice trailed off.

Barrab's harsh laughter confirmed what he'd just realized. "I'm not working for the blue-skin anymore," the fat man amplified. "The head-eaters from Falx pay much better."

Ria

Barrab chuckled again. "Doubtful," he remarked casually. "The money this'll net me will take me a long way from here."

The bravos-even the rabid-looking killer-listened to this exchange with some interest, and even amusement. Their stares were on their employer and the woman, not on Teldin. He edged slowly to his left, where there was a slight opening. If he moved fast enough, maybe slashing the nearby bravo with his sword as he went past… That should distract them enough for Ria

The bravos' attention might have been distracted, but not Barrab's. At Teldin's first subtle move, he responded. "Oh, no," he snapped. The bravos' eyes were instantly back on Teldin, colder and crueller than before. The rabid one smiled, and his eyes looked like death.

Teldin froze. Again he slowly and obviously moved his hand away from his sword hilt. The other bravos relaxed a little. The rabid one, however, was still tense, ready to attack. Teldin's throat felt like a cylinder of solid ice. He's insane, he told himself.

"Relax, Spak," Barrab snapped at the feral bravo. "Relax, I said."

The rabid one seemed to quiver with internal conflict. I can't believe how much he wants to kill me, Teldin thought. Spak shot Barrab a speculative look, as though the killer were considering slaughtering him as well, then, with a visible effort, Spak lowered his sword and left his poised half-crouch. Teldin started to breathe again.

Barrab looked hardly less relieved, he noticed. The fat man's authority over the bravo had held-just- but he might not win another battle of wills like that.

The arcane's representative spoke to the other bravos. "Enough of this, like them," he ordered, pointing at Teldin, "but don't harm him." He gri

Smiling like wolves, the bravos stepped forward. "No!" Ria

Her hands swept through a complex gesture, and she barked a harsh syllable. Fire bloomed, a gout of flame that burst into existence right in front of Barrab and spread with a dull roar. "Run, Teldin!" Ria

Teldin threw himself back from the fire, shielding his eyes with his cloaked arm. Even so, heat washed over his face and he felt his skin tighten with it. His eyes stung with tears and with smoke, and the air was heavy with the smell of burning cloth and flesh.

The roaring fire was gone as quickly as it had sprung into being. Barrab was reeling, screaming and slapping at small flames that still burned on his clothing. Much of his hair was gone, and his exposed skin was an angry red. One of the bravos was down, blackened and unmoving. The other sellswords were wiping streaming eyes or covering blistered faces.

Ria