The Death Dealer - The Complete Series Read online

  She rushed up to him. “What do you think you’re doing? Jim is no criminal!”

  “He harbors the likes of them that are,” Trenton retorted, although he refused to make eye contact with her.

  “That’s not fair! Everyone in Glenbard knows Jim Little is an innocent man!” She tugged on the sleeve of his uniform.

  Trenton withdrew his arm roughly, and for a moment he looked as if he’d strike. “Just because Sergeant Moore is sweet on you doesn’t mean you can expect to get away with flaunting the law. Jim’s going to the lockup to be questioned.”

  “Sergeant Moore already questioned him!” Grace shouted, but Trenton moved on; ignoring her protests. “You can’t do this!” she screamed. It was her turn to stamp her feet and shake her fist.

  It was all for naught. Jim was loaded into the wagon and the escorting guard jumped in behind him. Trenton took the feedbag from the nag before getting in as well, and off they went.

  Rosemary was the first to recover. “Do something.” She turned to Grace, her face serious.

  “What?”

  “Sergeant Moore is the one who started this trouble, and he likes you. Convince him to let Jim go,” the other serving girl pleaded.

  Mayhew gave Grace a shake from behind. “You better do something to fix this, you little minx!”

  They think I’m against them? Grace gritted her teeth to keep from crying. They all thought she was on Nathaniel’s side; that she wasn’t one of them anymore. She looked to Jeremiah for confirmation of her fears, since he had always been a level-headed man. He bit his lip and looked away sheepishly.

  “I’ll talk to Sergeant Moore and see if he can’t be persuaded to let Jim go.”

  ~*~*~

  “It wasn’t my order that got Jim locked up,” Nathaniel said, taking a pull of his ale.

  Grace had requested a meeting at the King’s Beard for their noonday meal. If nothing else, she might hear some gossip from the guards about where Jim was and what was happening to him.

  “A city magistrate gave the order after a complaint was filed by Captain Ericson. I guess they weren’t pleased with what I reported about Jim or the Angel.”

  Or about your failed meeting, Grace thought bitterly.

  “But Jim hasn’t done anything wrong!” She tried to fight for control over her emotions, but was quickly losing the battle. “You talked to him! He’s as furious as anyone over the situation. He didn’t kill Taylor, and he certainly didn’t kill Adam.” At Taylor’s name, those around their table grew silent. Grace checked herself. Guards met here…no use mentioning a fallen comrade.

  She lowered her voice to continue, “Everyone was content to just let this stay a Guild matter before you started poking your nose around the Angel. You must hold some sway.”

  “A Guild matter?” he repeated, and arched his eyebrows. Grace didn’t like his tone. “You are a very misguided young girl.” He reached across the table to pat her hands, but she withdrew them instantly. She didn’t like the arrogant tone he had suddenly taken. “I poked around because a guard was killed in cold blood. I want justice served, and you said you wanted the same. You made it sound like the Death Dealer wanted the same.”

  She did want the same, and if she thought Nathaniel could bring in Harris alive before a magistrate, she’d help bring the murderer in, but carting Jim off was not justice. “He’s my friend, Nathaniel. They’re all my friends. Marcus sees to them, and the Guild sees to the Lane. And yes, sometimes they make grievous mistakes, but they have always handled it amongst themselves. They’ve always stemmed the tide. This…this thing you are starting with Marcus is only going to hurt more people than it helps. It’s going to hurt more than just the Guild; it will hurt the whole of the Lane! If you could just work together—”

  Guards were slowly inching toward the table, and Grace’s attention shifted to the knife strapped to her forearm. It had a flat blade and handle, which made it easy to conceal under her sleeves. It wasn’t convenient to reach, but she was willing to make the effort. She didn’t like the looks she was getting. A prudent voice inside told her to shut up, but she powered on.

  “Harris did wrong, but why start a war over one man?”

  “Taylor wasn’t just ‘one man’!” an unshaven man with salt and pepper hair shouted as he slammed his mug down in front of her. “He was a guard!”

  “Don’t let that trollop go back to her fellows! Send her to the lockup to teach her some respect!” someone else shouted.

  Grace wiped the splatter from his ale off her face and rubbed her hands on her dress. She tucked her arms under the table and put a hand inside her sleeve; fingers touching the cool blade. Nathaniel’s eyes kept darting around the room.

  “What do you even hope to accomplish?” Grace wrapped her fingers around her arm and unclasped the blade from its holder. One threat and she’d show them steel. She refused to be threatened and bullied.

  “We want Harris,” Nathaniel said. “If Marcus gives us Harris, we’ll let Jim go.”

  “And if Marcus kills him first?”

  “Then he’s a murderer and will be tried as such.” Grace blinked; taken aback. Even hearing the words directly from his mouth, she still couldn’t believe what Nathaniel said.

  Grace was fast being disillusioned by Marcus’s ways, but he was a kinder man than other kings of the underworld. He saw to his people when no one else bothered. If Marcus was tried, he’d certainly be found guilty and hanged, and then the entirety of the Guild would erupt into violence amongst itself. Grace wouldn’t help Marcus hunt men, but she couldn’t let him be dethroned. It was too dangerous a proposition to consider. Maybe that’s what Nathaniel wanted – for the Guild to fold in on itself. It was certainly what Ericson wanted, but Nathaniel had to see that the violence would spread beyond the Guild.

  “If you bring Marcus before a magistrate—”

  “I’ll be doing the city a service. I’ll be ridding a scourge from Glenbard.” He smiled at Grace, trying to show his softer side again. Sergeant Moore wasn’t a bad man. He held the same ideals she had once stood by, but reality had long since shattered Grace’s perception that stated thieves were ruthless villains that needed to be harshly dealt with. She thought of Jim, Rosemary, and her other friends at the Angel. They relied on Marcus and it would ruin their livelihood if he was hanged.

  “The Lane will crumble, Nathaniel, and then someone worse may step into Marcus’s place.” The sergeant was silent. “I have to go.”

  “Can I call on you?” He really did like her. At least she knew he was genuine in his affections. She liked him too, but she couldn’t associate with him while poor Jim Little rotted in a cell.

  “If you let Jim go, you may call on me again.” The blade was fastened back in place and her arms fell to her sides.

  Grace rose from her seat and stalked out with her head held high. She walked several blocks before allowing weariness to bring her down. A few minutes passed as she rested, and when the weariness subsided she sprinted back to the Angel.

  Upon reaching the Angel, she saw that the Thieves’ Guild had gathered around Marcus, Thom, and Ridley for instruction. With them stood Rosemary, Mayhew, and Jeremiah. Most telling was the fact that Marcus deemed this a worthy enough reason to come out of hiding. At the King’s usual table was a small pile of coins. She pushed through the thieves to the front of their gathering, enduring a few nasty names being thrown her way.

  “A magistrate ordered Jim’s arrest. Sergeant Moore and his fellows want Harris or there’ll be trouble.” Grace locked eyes with the King of Thieves. “The Guard will try Marcus for murder if Harris is killed by the Guild.”

  A ripple of uncertainty flowed through the room. Marcus nodded his head and called for silence. “Ridley, put on a fine dress and bring this coin to the lockup after dark. Take Grace with you for safety. See if we can’t buy Jim’s freedom. Now, I want everyone to go home. If a guard comes knocking on your door, send them here; I’ll deal with them. Thom, stalk Sergeant Moore
. If you find him making trouble, tie him up in a very public place. Everyone go now.”

  Grace marched up to Marcus, ready to slap him. “This whole mess is because one of yours killed a guard, and now you’re ready to escalate the matter? You can’t just order Sergeant Moore to be tied up like a hog!”

  In her mind’s eye, Jim sat in a cramped cell, sharing it with rats. He was without food or clean water. She couldn’t let him stay there.

  Thieves and those friendly to Jim milled about, moving away from Grace and Marcus. Grace’s head spun. She saw both sides of the issue, and all the fools involved made her crazy. This was no way to settle anything! Marcus couldn’t be allowed to enact his own law and slit a man’s throat, and Ericson with his pawns couldn’t be allowed to bully and break the natural hierarchy of the city.

  “Moore started this mess by not allowing us to see to the issue, and I won’t let anyone else bring trouble to my doorstep.”

  The spinning in her mind stopped suddenly and Grace looked at Marcus as though she looked through a tunnel. Only he existed; his wrinkled face, untrimmed beard, and calculating, brown-green eyes. Even the noise of whispers was blocked. Her vision went red.

  “Everyone is so damned high and mighty today, but you’re all a bunch of lowborn scum! You and the damned Guard! No wonder none of you ever rise out of the muck!” The tunnel cleared away and everything came into focus. If Grace could have stopped the thought from leaving her lips, she would have. Barely an hour earlier she had called these people friends, and now all of a sudden they were scum?

  Marcus grabbed Grace’s wrist roughly; digging his nails in as he dragged her through the angry crowd. The thieves snarled at her and someone even threw an apple core at her; hitting her cheek and leaving a cool mark on her face. He practically kicked the door to the tavern open in his haste to get her out into the street, and then he threw her down into the dirt and went back inside, slamming the door behind him with a loud thud. The sun emerged from behind the clouds and its rays beat steadily down on her, seeming to throw her in a spotlight of doubt.

  Grace sat scared and ashamed in the dirt. She saw that her wrist had a few light cuts from Marcus’s nails. It was already turning red and could well be bruised soon, but she was lucky that was the only punishment. She had lived in Glenbard for over a year and had never before looked down on the people she socialized with. Some madness must have taken over. She beat her fist into the dirt out of frustration.

  It wasn’t long before the door reopened and Jack came out. The red in her cheeks deepened with the realization that he’d seen her public shame. He squatted down and lifted her chin up.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Not really.” Jack had once been a proud knight. If anyone could understand her position, it would be him. He made a vow to live by a code of honor and chivalry, and losing that honor would be a mighty blow to anyone. The only difference was that no one here knew Jack was a former knight. At least he had the good sense to change his name. Sense. She was always so short on it when she needed it most.

  “Let’s get you home. You can collect your things from Marcus’s another day.”

  “What about Kay?”

  “I bought her off and she’s leaving tomorrow morning. Though she did see your little tantrum just now and is enjoying a laugh.”

  Jack stood and helped Grace up. “I didn’t mean it, Jack. They’re my friends. I’m just so mad at how everyone is acting!” She thought about how Marcus asked her to bring Adam in so he could be sacrificed, and then about Thom asking her to bring down Harris at the Emerald, knowing Jack was there. “They abused my friendship.”

  Jack steadied Grace as they walked. “Don’t think about it.”

  “And Nathaniel.” She had known what he was up to from the beginning. His actions shouldn’t have been a shock, but they were. “How could he let Jim be taken away? He knew it was wrong, yet he wouldn’t do anything to help.”

  “A man with such strong convictions and ideals is always trouble. He may care for you, but those beliefs will always come first.”

  “What am I going to do?”

  “The same thing you were going to do the last time I saw you. I’m going to help you with it, too. Rest up now, and I’ll come see you tonight.”

  “Will you see if Ridley will talk to me?”

  Jack nodded. Ridley had her feelings hurt easily, so chances were she wouldn’t want to speak with Grace for a long while. Still, Grace had to try. “Everything will turn out, Grace. You’ll see.”

  Grace pulled up short as her lodging came into view, seeing Sergeant Moore pacing out front with a droopy bunch of flowers.

  Jack quietly removed his arm from hers. “I’ll be back tonight,” he said, and then turned back the way they had come and walked on.

  Grace, fueled by a renewed fury at Nathaniel, marched up to him; ready for a fight. Seeing her determined face, Nathaniel held up the little blue and white flowers as a peace offering. He knew if he allowed her to speak first, he’d receive a vicious tongue-lashing and possibly a similar one with her fists.

  “I went to the Serenity Place guardhouse to see if I could do something for Jim. They moved him out of the cells and into the upper rooms, the ones we reserve for the merchants who can afford it. I used my own coin to get him out of the filth and muck.” Nathaniel’s eyes pleaded for her to say something, to wipe the sour look off her face, or even to just take the flowers.

  “He shouldn’t even be there.”

  “I know, I know, but I can’t free him. I did what I could.” Grace tried to breeze past him, but Nathaniel kept putting himself in her path. “Your friends know what they can do to free Jim.”

  Friends? That was laugh. “No one knows where Harris is.” Except for Jack, that is. She needed to find Harris soon to put an end to the madness.

  “I’m sorry, Grace. I really am.” Even though she had no reason to disbelieve him, they were still on opposite sides of an ever-expanding triangle.

  The Guild, the Guard, and the Death Dealer were all working against each other. She might once have called on Nathaniel for aid, but now she understood he was bound to his precious rules. He wouldn’t move outside those parameters.

  “I told you not to call on me until Jim was released.”

  Nathaniel looked pained as he put the flowers in her hand. She took them silently and fumbled around with them. “I can’t free him. I have a duty to the city and to my fellow guards. Jim won’t go to trial, at least.”

  “He’s just a piece to be played. You could have arrested anyone, but you took the man everyone trusted.”

  “You said you wanted King’s justice.”

  She flung the flowers in his face and stormed off. She was done with the conversation. She went into Mistress Fisher’s lodging and locked herself in her room.

  Flopping down on the bed, she took stock of what was happening. This had been a simple matter at the start! Stay out of Guild trouble but don’t break the oath to Marcus. All Grace had to do was keep her head down and be quiet. Then Thom had asked one favor. If she had just stayed away from the Emerald that night, she could have gone on being ignorant. Now Marcus was mad with her, the Guard was fuming over the Guild, and she was mad at everyone. Harris Atkins was the only one who truly deserved a trial for his crime. Grace suddenly thought of putting him down like a lame horse. It would certainly spare the city of dealing with the backlash if someone else did it. Why was the fool even hanging around Glenbard? He should have fled as soon as Adam died.

  “Grace!” Nathaniel yelled up from the street. “Please come back down!”

  Grace knew she was acting like a child. It was unbecoming of her, but she could not find the fortitude to go down. Instead, she opened the shutters and looked down on the street where Nathaniel stood with flowers strewn about him.

  “I’m sorry,” he called up.

  A sigh escaped without Grace meaning for it to. Mistress Fisher allowed guests into the house between sunrise and sunset, and t
here were still a few hours left before she would throw those who didn’t pay out into the street.

  “Come up,” Grace finally said, and let Nathaniel in when he knocked on her door. “I’m sorry for making a scene.”

  “I didn’t want them to take him in, Grace. We just want Harris to pay for what he did. And if this is how it has to be...” he let his thought trail off.

  Grace shook her head. “It doesn’t have to be this way, Nathaniel. You and Marcus want the same thing.”

  “Marcus doesn’t want to cooperate, and it’s time the Thieves’ Guild gave up the reins of power in this city anyway.”

  “You wouldn’t have ever bothered if a Lane man was killed or if Taylor killed Harris. No one would have. Without Marcus, no one could afford the bribes to keep the Guard around.”

  “You don’t know anything about the Guard!” She had hit Nathaniel where it hurt most; his pride in his work and comrades. He wanted a virtuous city, where only the good and uncorrupted served. Looking on as the naïve sergeant steadfastly clung to his values, Grace saw in a flash how much Glenbard had changed her.

  When she first arrived in the city, she had almost tried to take on the Guild herself. She was so willing to die for what she saw as just and right, but not anymore. She agreed to help Thom at the Emerald because she didn’t want to be an oath breaker, but she wanted just as badly to find Harris. She was tired of the same circular arguments.

  “Look me in the eyes and tell me you would have questioned your mates as intently if Taylor had killed Harris. Tell me you would have brought them before the magistrate.” When Nathaniel didn’t say anything, she had her answer. “I have been a fool,” she said, mostly to herself.

  “Grace,” Nathaniel pleaded, “you can’t possibly understand. Taylor served this city. He didn’t just rob from it.”