Tycho's gaze came to rest on a man standing against the bar, a cloak around his shoulders in spite of the tavern's warmth. Li recognized him from the previous night-one of Lander's men. Behind the bar, behind Lander's man, the broad-hipped bartender gave Tycho a helpless look.
"I know him," Li breathed.
"He's Ovel. That's Nico." At the back of the tavern, another man had risen and was tapping on a backroom door. Heads were starting to turn at the tables as patrons gave Tycho and Li the same helpless look as the bartender. Are they really all so afraid of Brin, Li wondered. He began to reassess Tycho's dark tales. "Lander had four men last night. There's probably someone behind us to make sure we can't retreat," he observed. Tycho nodded, took a deep breath, and shrugged Li's hand off his shoulder.
"Try to relax," he said. "Remember, we want to see Brin as much as he seems to want to see us. This could all be fine."
"And if it's not?"
"Then we've got five balls in the air and they're all burning." Tycho stepped forward, smiling pleasantly. Li followed. Pulling the tavern door closed after himself felt like closing the door of a cage.
"Tycho!"
It was the last thing Li would have expected to hear at the moment-a happy shout. It came from outside. He twisted around and shoved the door open again. Tycho turned as well. A cloaked and hooded figure was trotting across the yard toward them. Behind her, Li glimpsed movement in the shadows. Lander's man. Tycho's choke of surprise, however, was directed to the cloaked figure.
"Laera?"
"Oh, Tycho!" Li caught a glimpse of pretty brown eyes and a sharp nose before Mard Dantakain's daughter threw herself at his friend. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
Li's eyes darted to the door at the back of the tavern, the one on which Nico had knocked. It was opening. "Tycho…" he hissed.
Tycho thrust the girl off of him. "Laera, this isn't a good time!"
"It's the perfect time." She stepped back and spread her cloak to reveal traveling garb-or at least a sheltered rich girl's idea of it. Clothes too heavy, boots not heavy enough, a satchel stuffed to overflowing. "Tycho, I want to be a traveler like you! I can't stand Spandeliyon anymore!"
Tycho blinked. "Bind me." He looked around quickly, tugged Laera's hood firmly over her head, and pointed her toward the bar. "Wait over there," he ordered. "That woman is Muire. She'll look after you."
"What?" Laera's voice was thin and confused. Li reinforced Tycho's words with a quick shove.
"Move, girl!" he ordered. She stumbled away. Li glanced at Tycho. "Did your juggler friend have advice for dealing with six burning balls?" Tycho shook his head. The bard's expression was tight. Li looked past him. At the back of the tavern, men were moving out of the backroom door. Men, a pig-and a one-eyed hin.
For the first time, Li set eyes on the former pirate whose name had brought him to this port. Brin looked just as hard and unpleasant as all of the stories in Telflamm and all of Tycho's tales had made him out to be. The huge boar that walked behind him, brushing aside the patrons who were too slow to get out of the way, could only be Black Scratch. Lander stood behind the pig, and behind Lander stood the last of his four men. Li clenched his jaw. His dao hung at Lander's side and the thug's man was wearing his waitao!
His hand gripped the butterfly swords tightly. Tycho gave a little shake of his head. "Words first," he murmured.
"What if words fail?"
"Don't stand between me and the door." Tycho took a deep breath, smiled, and started walking.
"Best face, sharp thoughts," Tycho murmured to himself as he stepped forward. No tricks, no games. This wasn't playing around. This was for real. Magic tugged on his thoughts like water just out of a thirsty man's reach. There was no question of a spell, though, he knew. Brin wouldn't give him even the fraction of a heartbeat it would take to cast one. "You're on your own, boy."
And Li was right. Something was up. Black Scratch's mad, red eyes were on him and the smell of the beast was thick on the air. He ignored him. Li, Laera, Muire- Veseene. He put them all out of his mind and focused on Brin. "Olore," he said pleasantly. "You know, I've just been down at the Eel looking for you, Brin. I wouldn't have expected to find you here."
"It's a night for the unexpected." Brin's eye shifted past him for a moment to settle on Li. Tycho fought the urge to gesture for the Shou to back down a bit. Instead he kept his arms loose, his posture confident. Lander, Nico, and Serg stepped out and began to move around between the tables of the Ease. One of the tavern's patrons started to shift. Lander shoved him back into his chair. Tycho tensed.
"Listen, Brin," he said, "I have news on the beljurils. I know where they are. Jacerryl stole them from me." The halfling's gaze came back to him. Tycho smiled hopefully. "Why don't we step outside? I can tell you everything. I mean, you gave me until tomorrow and all, right? What I've got for you might not be exactly what you want to hear, but it's going to clear everything up." He spread his hands. "I don't know what all of this is about, but nothing has to get messy here."
"You're right. It doesn't." Brin nodded. Lander and his men began to close in. Li hissed. This time, Tycho did step back and put a hand on Li's arm. Black Scratch's eyes followed his gesture and the pig let out a sharp, angry snort. Tycho's hand came back up immediately. Brin grinned. "You both just come with us and it won't get messy. Here."
Tycho froze. On his left, Nico moved closer.
"Tycho!" At the bar, Laera stepped forward suddenly. Just as quickly, Ovel reached out and wrapped an arm around her, holding her back and snatching down her hood. Long brown hair tumbled free. Brin's eye widened slightly.
"Is that…?" His grin turned sharp and feral. "Tycho, you charmer! I think we've got another reason for you to behave yourself." He nodded and Ovel's arm tightened.
Laera stiffened, gasped, and screamed. Ovel's free hand reached under his cloak and drew out a short sword. Laera jerked, still screaming.
Tycho half-turned toward her.
Everyone moved at once.
Nico leaped at him. Tycho fell back, barely catching a flurry of action behind the bar as Muire snatched a hot mulling iron out of her brazier and thrust it hard into Ovel's back. Lander's man screeched louder than Laera and twisted away, his sword clattering from his hand to the floor. Tycho didn't have a chance to see more-Nico grabbed at him and he slid down to get away, staggering into Li as he did. The collision sent the Shou stumbling forward. Lander and Serg stepped in fast to seize him.
Except that Li's stumble somehow became instead a graceful lunge that put his fists hard into the thugs' guts. Lander grunted and staggered; Serg gasped and went reeling back, crashing into a couple of tables and sending ale flying.
Tycho would have stared in stunned awe if Nico hadn't reached down with both hands, grabbed the front of his coat, and dragged him to his feet. The bard seized the other man's forearms and slammed himself up and forward in a savage head butt that connected right under Nico's chin. His head snapped back. Tycho followed up with a fast knee to the crotch. Nico let go of him and dropped.
With Lander and his men suddenly in trouble, the crowd had found its courage as well. The Ease's patrons were surging to their feet, some diving to tackle Serg or Nico, some rushing to the aid of Muire and Laera. Ovel had found his feet again. He still had a grip on Laera as well, one hand tangled in her flowing hair. Keeping well below the level of the bar so that Muire couldn't reach him with her smoking iron, he was groping for his sword. Tycho caught a glimpse of his eyes as he saw the crowd coming at him. Any thought of threatening Laera forgotten, he let go of her and scrambled for his sword with both hands, only barely managing to grab it before the customers of the Ease could grab him. Twisting to his feet, Ovel swept the sword in short, dangerous arcs.