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Blade stiffened in the saddle. One hand went to the hilt of his sword, the other tightened on the reins. His knees locked, ready to drive his spurs into the horse and make a dash for safety.
There was a dark shape perched on a wall, waving the promised red scarf. Two faces also peered through the iron spikes on the wall, one on each side of the man. That wasn't according to plan.
Ambush!
The word shouted itself in Blade's mind. He was just about to spur his horse to a gallop, when a familiar voice called softly, «Blade! Ride down to the second gate on the left. We'll meet you there. Show no sign you're expecting anyone.»
It was Kubin Ben Sarif. Something was wrong. It could be anything, so the only sensible thing to do for now was to obey Kubin's instructions.
The second gate on the left was open, and two men in dark clothes and hoods were waiting just inside it. Blade turned his horse in through the gate and Kubin appeared out of the darkness, two more men with him. The first two closed the gate and Blade dismounted.
«What are you doing here?» he whispered, sharply to Kubin. «You could be compromising everything!» Several of the villas around here belonged to people whose loyalty was doubtful, and there were always servants who might be bribed or persuaded to talk. In addition, Kubin Ben Sarif was hard to mistake for anybody else. If he was seen here, in a rendezvous with Blade, it could blow Blade's cover so thoroughly that he'd be no further use to the Baran, even if he didn't end up dead in some back alley in Dahaura.
Kubin made an impatient gesture with one hand. Blade saw that the hand was encased in a heavy glove of fine chain mail reinforced on the back with strips of lead. Wearing those gloves, Kubin could grip swords or crack skulls with a backhanded slap. He was obviously expecting trouble tonight, or perhaps pla
«That's a story there's no time to tell. The Thieves are out tonight, and Esseta is in danger.»
Blade knew at once there was no point in arguing with Kubin. He'd taken command, and the only thing to do was follow him and hope for the best. That best might be very good indeed, though. Kubin could have given lessons in strategy and tactics to half the Baran's generals.
«How many?» said Blade.
«We counted fifty crossing the Bridge of the Three Brothers, but it's too soon to know if that's all.»
Blade nodded. The Bridge of the Three Brothers was less than a mile from the isolated villa where Esseta had set up her house. If the Thieves Guild had sent out fifty men, some of them probably Hashomi, there was going to be blood and death before morning.
Kubin seemed to be reading Blade's mind. «They've thrown a challenge in our face, and perhaps they hope we won't rise to it without the Baran's express consent. They will be wrong. I've put half my men across the roads they will need to use to retreat from either my villa or Esseta's. More are riding straight for the palace. I do not think the Baran will want the City Riders brought into this. They could learn too much.»
That meant Kubin's men would be on their own for at least a couple of hours. «Is it worth the risk?» Blade asked.
«To me, there is no risk,» said Kubin, with a grim smile. «No fifty men can get into my villa in a single night, even if those in it do no more than close and lock the doors and windows. Even Hashomi ca
«Only these four?» said Blade.
«We may meet others. But we still ride now. No number of men will do Esseta any good if they arrive after the Thieves have cut her throat or carried her off to be tortured and questioned.»
While Kubin was speaking, his men had led five more horses out from under the trees by the path. They all mounted, and with Blade bringing up the rear trotted out the gate. Once on the open road, they spurred their horses to a canter. The dust rose under the horses' hooves, seeming to glow in the moonlight.
If they'd dashed straight up the road they could have reached Esseta's villa in a few minutes. Kubin had no intention of riding into any ambushes the Thieves might have set out. He turned aside at the Bridge of the Three Brothers, fording the canal under the cover of a fruit orchard several hundred yards away.
On the far side of the stream he led the way through a maze of vineyards, vegetable patches, abandoned villas with tumbled walls, and patches of woodland. At times the ground was so rough that the men had to dismount and lead their horses to keep them from stumbling and breaking legs.
«We lose a little time coming this way,» whispered Kubin. «But we have cover almost up to Esseta's gate. Then the surprise will be theirs, not ours.»
Blade hoped so. Surprise was the only way six men had of overcoming the fifteen or twenty the Thieves could have sent to Esseta's.
After a few more endless minutes, Kubin whispered an order to dismount. The horses were tethered to some bushes and the six men drew swords. Crouching low, they made their way down between the rows of a vineyard, to come out on the bank of a ditch filled with scummy water. On the far side of the ditch was a rutted gravel road, and on the far side of the road the gate of Esseta's villa.
The gate stood open, which it should not have done. There were three armed men crouching in the bushes on one side of the gate, who shouldn't have been there. Just inside the gate Blade could make out horses with sacks wrapped around their hooves to muffle the sound of their movements. No respectable customer of Esseta's house would ride up on horses equipped like that.
They were too late to keep the Thieves away from Esseta's house. Were they too late altogether?
Only one way to find out. Kubin drifted to the left, Blade to the right, while the other four men took positions between them. Then Kubin raised his sword and all six men hurled themselves across the ditch.
They'd gained the surprise they needed. The first thing the Thieves' sentries knew of the attack was when six men seemed to rise out of the road. One of them had time to scream before he died, then all three were twitching and spurting blood. The six charged through the gate so fast they trampled a fourth Thief underfoot without raising a weapon. Then they were in the courtyard of Esseta's villa.
«Cut loose the horses,» snapped Kubin, pointing at two of his men. They darted off toward the animals, while the others ran toward the house. A Thief leaped out from behind a tree and Blade whirled to meet him. Clanging swords threw off sparks, Blade gave ground briefly to improve his footing, then the Thief's head flew from his shoulders. The headless body sprawled on the cracked tiles of the courtyard.
As it did, light blazed in the doorway of the villa, silhouetting four men. Two of them were carrying something wrapped in a blanket-something the size and shape of a small woman. Beyond the men Blade could see two bodies sprawled on the floor. One was a masked man, the other a young woman bare to the waist. Her stiffened hand held a knife that was driven up to the hilt in the man's chest.
The four men stepped out into the courtyard, and behind them came a fifth man, holding a lantern. Across his back was slung a two-handed sword. Like their dead comrade, the five men wore masks.
As the fifth man appeared, Kubin let out a screech like a mountain lion and charged. The Thieves reacted instantly, dropping their burden and spreading out to meet their opponents. The blanket unwrapped itself as it fell, revealing Esseta's pale face. The man with the lantern whirled it over his head, then hurled it straight at Blade. Blade ducked aside, raising his sword as he did, and found the man coming at him with his own sword carving the air in front of him.