Dhamon could no longer see either woman. His vision blurred. All he saw was a twisting mass of gray and black. There was one point of light, perhaps the burning candle. Everything else was gray swirls.
“I have to admit though, honey, I sure would’ve liked to have spent the night with you. And it would’ve been nice for you to get something in exchange for all this treasure you’re handing over to us.”
“Me first, Els,” Satin purred.
The slender Ergothian winked at her companion, brought the blade high above Maldred’s back, then, startled, spun away from the bed as the door was kicked open. The door struck the wall so hard the mirror fell and shattered on the floor.
“What in the name of…” Elsbeth turned, knife held in front of her, eyes narrowing at the woman who stood in what was left of the door frame.
The lantern light that spilled in through the hallway revealed a slight half-elf in a voluminous sea-green dress, a wild mane of silver-white hair fanning away from her face. She had wavy-bladed daggers in each hand and a sneer on her petal-pink lips.
“Not ‘what in the name of’,” the half-elf corrected. “Who. Who in the name of. My name’s Rikali Lockwood, and I truly don’t mind if you kill those two worms you’ve got all trussed up. Riddin’ the world of them would be doing us all a great big favor. You can do it nice and slow and painful for all I care. But while you’re doing it, I want a share of the wealth you’re takin’. It’d only be fair. I want in on your little operation.”
Chapter Six
Family
The three thieves stared at the half-elf. “You heard me. I want in on your little thievin’ gang,” Rikali continued, eyes darting between Elsbeth and Satin and the one who finally had stopped struggling with Maldred’s sword. She dropped it with a loud clang and reached for the long knife on her belt.
“Pigs, but there’s no reason to be unfriendly. I just wanna cut a deal with you ladies.” The last word was drawn out and spat on the floor. “As I see it, you’ve got a great scam runnin’ here. Men come up here lookin’ for a good time, and maybe you give them just what they’re lookin’ for. Then you rob them blind, kill them. I bribed the innkeep downstairs, an’ he said you rented all the rooms up here today, so there’d be no one comin’ by to disturb you. No one to interfere. No one ’cept me, that is.”
Satin glanced over her shoulder, noting Maldred was still unconscious from the drugged ale.
“Listen, elf…”
“Half-elf.” Rikali tossed her hair so they could see the gentle points of her ears.
“Whatever. I don’t know where you came from, woman, but….”
“I came from Blöten. A truly wonderful city.” The sarcasm was thick in her voice. “Dhamon Grimwulf left me stranded there. Said he’d be comin’ back for me.” She paused, huffing and glaring at Dhamon. “Should’ve known he wouldn’t.”
Dhamon tried to budge his ropes, but his arms weren’t working right. All his fingers seemed able to do was twitch feebly. He couldn’t see Rikali, but he could scarcely believe she was talking about joining these women. Did he hear her say to go ahead and kill him and Mal? He opened his mouth to call to her. Only drool came out.
“I saw him in Blöten better’n a week ago, maybe two, him and Mal. They were walkin’ down the main street as big as you please with a column of grubby-lookin’ ogres behind them. Right to Donnag’s palace they went. Then right back out of the city. Didn’t bother to look around for me—and here I was runnin’ down a side street tryin’ to catch up to them.”
Satin smiled. “So you followed them here,” she said.
“Pigs, but I did! But only ’ cause I figure they owe me. Owe me big! And only so I could collect and give them a big piece of my mind. Straight to the Abyss with the both of them!” Rikali spat again, this time in Dhamon’s direction. “So I’d even kill them for you—if you don’t want to get your hands dirty and you’ll let me in your little gang. For a fair share, of course. I figure whatever coin they got, some of it should be mine anyway. Like I said, they owe me.”
“Sorry,” Elsbeth shook her head. “We’re a close-knit family, elf.”
“Half-elf,” Rikali corrected again.
“We don’t need six in our family. The shares are too small as it is.”
The half-elf quickly counted. “I only see three of you.”
Elsbeth chuckled. “Cat and Keesha left a few minutes ago—with the ‘coin’ you’re so interested in.”
“I want what’s due me!” Rikali raised her voice and tightened her grip on the daggers. “I’ve not come all this way for nothin’!”
“All right, I’ll give you what’s due you,” Elsbeth said. “I’ll give you this!” She darted forward, swinging her long knife as she came, then stopped with a shriek as her bare feet made contact with the mirror shards.
The half-elf had no such problem and advanced toward Elsbeth, boots crunching on the glass, daggers jabbing. Behind her a young man suddenly appeared in the doorway. He’d been waiting in the hall. Decked out in dyed green leather, he swung an oaken quarterstaff. Satin stepped up to meet him.
“Pigs!” the half-elf shouted at Elsbeth. “Women’re supposed to be smarter than men, and here you are walkin’ on broken glass! Dumb and fat, you are. I guess Dhamon lost his taste in women when he lost me.”
When Elsbeth spun away, the half-elf slashed with her left dagger, the blade sinking into the surprised thief’s side.
“Satin!” Elsbeth cried. “I’m hit! Bleeding! Help me!”
“Help yourself!” the Ergothian called back. “I’ve got my own worries.” Agile as a dancer, she had ducked beneath the swing of the young man’s quarterstaff. “So you’re fast, pup,” she muttered, “but not as fast as me.” She thrust her knife forward. He jumped back. In the same motion, he brought his staff down, knocking her knife away. “Damn!” she cursed, as she dropped to the floor and rolled toward Maldred’s bed, arm reaching to find the knife.
The third woman had managed to pick up Maldred’s greatsword again and was holding it out in front of her like a lance, keeping the young man at a distance.
“You got no right to intrude,” she hissed at him. “No right!”
Satin groped about under the bed, trying to find the knife. “Can’t reach!” She gave up and jumped to her feet and in three strides was at the window, then climbing out of it. “Elsbeth! Leave them!
Gertie! Lose the big sword and run! We’ve got more riches than we expected! Let’s get out!” she shouted. “Elsbeth!” She dropped out of sight.
“Satin? Satin! No!” Elsbeth looked worried now, as she continued to spar with Rikali.
“Two on two,” the half-elf sneered. “Varek and I are the better two, for certain, so you and your friend Gertie over there better drop your weapons and give up while you’ve still got the chance.”
Elsbeth vehemently shook her head, taking a step back toward the window. “The odds are in our favor, half-elf,” she corrected.
“Think again. Don’t say I didn’t hand you a chance to save your wrinkled neck.” The half-elf darted in.
“I’ll slice through your neck!” Elsbeth returned. The older woman dropped to a crouch, effortlessly parrying Riki’s blades, forcing the half-elf back a few steps. While Riki kept her eyes on the long knife Elsbeth was holding, Elsbeth reached up to her hair and tugged free a wicked-looking hairpin. She held this hidden in her hand until Riki stepped close, then extended her arm, as if to ward off a blow, instead stabbing with the hairpin. The long needle sank into the half-elf’s forearm.
“Pigs!” Riki shouted, glancing down at her arm and the needle in it, blossoming with blood.
“Damn, woman, that hurts. And my dress. This is a new dress! New! Now the sleeve’s gonna be stained for good!” She swung her twin daggers wildly, the tips catching Elsbeth’s clothes and snagging them but unable to catch the flesh beneath.