When Demons Walk (25 page)

“You seem to think she was trying to bind me again tonight. Since I'm already weakened, what good would that do her?” asked Kerim.

“Revenge,” said Sham softly.

He watched her narrowly for a minute, then said, “What if it isn't Lady Sky? This is all speculation.”

“I don't think I'm wrong,” replied Sham. “But, we'll have to plan for that contingency as well.”

“So what do we do with her?” asked Kerim.

Sham gave a frustrated shrug. “Damned if I know.”

A soft creaking noise from the connecting door drew Sham's attention and Elsic stepped tentatively through the resulting opening. “Shamera? Is something wrong?”

Shamera felt her jaw drop as an incredible idea came to her.

While she sat stupefied, Kerim answered for her. “She's fine.” He paused, looking at her thunderstruck expression, “—I think.”

“Sympathetic magic,” muttered Sham, staring pointedly at Elsic. “They use the death of the sacrifice as a source of power—and sympathetic patterning. The sacrifice's soul returns to its origin like the demon they are sending home.”

“Shamera?” asked Kerim.

She shook her head, still muttering to herself. “It can't work, it's too absurd. The demon will never cooperate, it has no reason to believe we'd try it.”

“Shamera?” asked Elsic.

“Kerim? Do you think you could extend my credit at the dressmaker's?” she asked.

“What?”

“I think I have a plan. I need to find Halvok.” Muttering to herself, she stalked to the door.

W
hen she came back from speaking with Halvok, Kerim had gathered Elsic, Dickon, and Talbot in his room.

“Lord Halvok doesn't think it will work,” she reported blithely, “but he can't come up with anything better, so he said he'll help. Talbot, I'll need you to accompany me to my dressmaker's tomorrow morning, if you would.”

“Of course, lassie.”

“Elsic, I'll need your help as well.”

“Whatever I can do,” he offered, though he was obviously surprised to be of use.

“We haven't eliminated entirely the possibility that Sky isn't the demon,” said Kerim slowly. “If she isn't, will she be hurt by what you're planning?”

“Not physically,” she said, after a moment of thought. “If she is human the most it will do is scare her.”

He considered that. “I suppose we really have no choice.”

“W
HY USE ME
as an escort?” Asked Talbot as they rode through the morning traffic.

“I need you when we go into Purgatory,” Sham replied, deftly avoiding a collision with an overloaded wagon.

“Purgatory?”

She grinned. “I need the Shark too.”

She shifted her weight and the little mare stopped in front of the dressmaker's. Talbot followed suit, helping her off the awkward sidesaddle. Slipping a coin out of his purse, he handed the copper and the reins of both horses to one of the young boys who haunted the streets looking for odd jobs.

Sham tucked her hand under his arm and allowed him to lead her into the dressmaker's shop.

Buying the thread took her some time. The dressmaker took some convincing before she agreed to sell Sham all her gold thread. It took time to order more from the goldsmith and there were dresses on order. Only Kerim's letter that authorized his mistress's unlimited spending persuaded the dressmaker to relent.

 

T
HEY ATTRACTED A
lot of attention as they ventured into Purgatory. Sham had considered hiding their presence, but decided it was unlikely that Lady Sky bothered hiring spies and the furor was likely to attract the Shark's attention. She could have returned to the Castle and changed herself back into Sham the Thief—but the mottled-silver silk dress (that matched the horse with expensive perfection) might come in useful.

She knew the Shark's haunts and hoped to find him before someone braved Talbot's wrath in hopes of a full purse. Sure enough, as they turned a corner the Shark was waiting in the shadow of a battered awning.

He looked pointedly at a filthy figure that had been following Shamera and Talbot for several minutes. Noticing the attention, the skulker abruptly turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction.

“Business slow, Sham?”

She shook her head. “Actually, I think I've become successful.”

The Shark raised his brows. “Oh?”

“They're paying me not to steal. I think it was you who told me that you can tell when you have become a success in your chosen field because then people pay you not to do it.”

“Welcome to success,” said the Shark, making a gesture that encompassed all of Purgatory.

“I need to talk to Tallow.”

The Shark shook his head. “Not unless you want to talk to a corpse. He got his throat slit five, maybe six days ago.”

“Then who controls the territory by the cliffs, where the old bell tower used to stand?” she asked.

He scratched his ear and pursed his lips in obvious perplexity. Sham gave an exasperated sigh.

Talbot grinned. “He looks stupider than a codfish out of water. Think a bit of gold would help that mouthbreathing?”

“Nothing,” said Sham, “would help that. But it might make him talk.”

The Shark bared his white teeth. “Now, Sham, you know you love me—and business is business.”

“Like I love the plague,” she muttered.

The Shark laughed, effortlessly catching the gold Talbot tossed to him. He dropped the Purgatory dialect, exchanging it for that of a courtier. “A charming runt who calls himself ‘Toadstool' has taken over that half of Tallow's territory. You need something from him?”

“I need to talk with him myself.”

The Shark shook his head. “He eats little girls like you for breakfast.”

“I grind up toadstools for my lunch,” she replied. “For dinner I eat shark-steaks.”

The Shark sighed, appealing to Talbot for sympathy as he drifted into a rougher dialect. “Always she does this to me. Isn't any way I'm goin' to let her go to Toadstool and talk without me, an' she knows it. Gives a man no room
to bargain. She isn't goin' to pay for service I'll give her anyhow.”

Talbot grinned. “If that's the first time a woman's gotten ye by the short . . .” he glanced at Shamera, “er . . . toes, ye can count yourself lucky.”

The Shark gestured to Talbot and fell into the thick accents of a dockworker, “You see, girl? You're gain' to ruin my reputation. Soon no one will take the Shark seriously. Pretty girl says walk this way, I say how far. Word gain' to get around. Ain't no Shark, but a little Tadpole running the Whisper.”

Sham bent down on the horse until her face was level with his, matching his accent. “They're gain' to say dead Shark, if you don't start moving. We're all gain' to die of old age right here in this spot wi' the wind a' rattlin' our jaws.”

He laughed and started down the street, letting them follow as they could through the debris that littered the battered cobblestones. Sham drew in a deep breath and coughed. Funny how quickly she'd gotten used to the fresh salt air of the Castle.

The Shark led them to a rough brick and stone building near the old docks, shaking his head when Talbot started to dismount.

“They know we're here. Let them come to us.”

“They'll consider it an insult,” commented Talbot, familiar with the games of the streets.

The Shark shook his head. “Tell them you wanted to keep your horses. He won't take it amiss.”

“I hope not,” said Sham. “I need his cooperation.”

The Shark smiled sweetly. “You'll get it.”

She turned to Talbot. “You know he's not as nice as he'd like to pretend, don't you?”

“Neither am I,” replied Talbot smugly.

She snorted just as a nattily dressed young man opened the door of the building.

“I beg your pardon,” he said, in a pure Cybellian Kerim would have been pleased to claim. “But Toadstool sent me out to inquire as to the nature of your visit.”

The Shark nodded gravely. “These are friends of mine. The pretty little mare here—” he rubbed Sham's horse underneath its cheekstrap and it closed its eyes in ecstasy, “—she's a bit skittish, so we don't want to leave her alone. Could you persuade Toadstool to come out and talk with us a moment?”

“Regarding?”

“I would like to . . . rent some property from him for tonight,” answered Shamera.

“I will so inform him.” Toadstool's man went back into the house.

They waited. Shamera's “skittish” mare dropped into a three-legged doze, idly switching her tail at the flies.

At last a middle-aged man with a slight potbelly and a round, good-natured face approached them from an alley several buildings away from the one where Toadstool made his office.

“I'd wager he's not as nice as he acts either,” commented Talbot softly.

Sham grunted her agreement.

“My friend tells me that you are interested in the rental of a property,” said the chubby man congenially.

She nodded. “I need to rent the space near the cliffs, where the old bell used to hang, from now until dawn.”

Toadstool pursed his lips. “I know the spot. Tonight's the Spirit Tide, eh? Nice little place for a lover's tryst.”

Sham gave him a sly smile. “That's the idea.”

He cast an assessing eye on her clothes, just as she had expected he would. It would have been safer to wear her tunic and trousers, but then he might not have dealt with her at all. Purgatory's territorial lords were a fickle lot.

“Ten gold.”

“For that price, I want you to make sure that we are not disturbed,” said Shamera.

“Eleven gold and I'll supply guards.”

“Ten gold,” she countered smoothly. “I have my own people. I just need you to put the word out to your folk to stay off the cliffs tonight. For their own safety, you understand. I have a few enemies, and it would be a great tragedy
if one of my men killed one of yours by mistake.”

“Ah, quite,” he agreed cordially. “Ten gold then.”

Sham nodded at Talbot, who opened Kerim's purse and produced ten gold coins.

 

S
HAM WAITED UNTIL
they had ridden out of sight before she reached over and snagged the purse. Stopping her horse near the Shark she tossed him the heavy leather bag.

“Shark, there's another ten pieces of gold here. I know that you usually don't offer protection, but I need people I can trust to keep that area clear.”

“Does this have something to do with the demon that killed Maur?”

Sham nodded. “It's not revenge. But it's the best I can do.”

“Very well.” He put two fingers to his lips and whistled sharply.

A thin man trotted up from somewhere, nodding a grave greeting to Talbot, whom he obviously knew.

“Vawny will escort you to the rental property while I gather a few favors,” said the Shark. “I assume that you mean to take up residence immediately?”

“Immediately,” she answered.

 

V
AWNY AND
T
ALBOT
stayed with the horses while she paced out a design in the sandy soil at the top of the cliffs. The ocean was already lower than usual; even the spray from the breakers didn't come near the top. She'd picked her place carefully. The sandy area was surrounded by large rocks, some as tall as a two-story building, that looked like jagged shark-teeth. Strewn amidst the rocks were small wooden huts cobbled together for shelter. They were currently empty, since the Toadstool had scattered their most recent inhabitants for the night. They would serve as hiding places from the demon until the trap was sprung.

When she had walked the rune through once, she climbed to the top of a convenient rock to inspect her work.
Slithering down to the sand, she made several corrections and checked it once more.

Satisfied, she took a stick and began again, pushing one end deeply into the ground to retrace her footprints. When the pattern was finished, Sham rifled through Talbot's saddlebags until she found the spool of gold thread.

She glanced surreptitiously at Vawny and decided not to push his integrity further than she had to. Before she pulled the thread out of the saddlebag, she turned it black with a softly spoken spell.

She stretched once and started to lay the metal thread in the patterned soil. It took a long time. Her back grew stiff, and the sky began to darken toward evening well before she was through.

“Can I help?” asked Talbot softly, bringing her a flask from his saddle.

Sham accepted the drink gratefully, shrugging her shoulders to loosen her tight muscles. The sea was pulling away from the cliffs now, leaving a widening strip of sand behind. In the distance she could see the top of the sea wall, a dark, ragged, brooding presence on the horizon. The waveless sea between the wall and the beach was smooth as black glass.

Returning the flask, she nodded her head. “Yes, I need you to fetch Elsic and Lord Halvok. They should be waiting for you at your home by now. I'll be through with this before you're back.”

 

A
T LONG LAST
it was finished. Sham closed her eyes and ran a soft pulse of magic through the end of thread she held in her left hand. A brief moment later her right hand tingled faintly where it touched the other end of the thread. The flavor of the magic told her the pattern was correct. Carefully she laid either end in the dirt, making certain that the two did not touch.

With a wave of her hands the sand shifted, burying the rune and the marks her knees had left behind. Standing up, Shamera surveyed the remains of her gown wryly. If this
night's work didn't pan out, she was likely to end her life buried in the ragged, dirty silk gown.

She removed the illusion she'd put on the wire. Now that it was covered with sand she didn't need it, and she didn't want any hint of magic to warn the demon. As she set a broken cobblestone in the center of the rune, she heard riders approaching. It was too dark to see them, but it could only be Talbot, Halvok, and Elsic. The Shark would have let no other riders through.

Sham closed her eyes and worked a touch of magic.

 

I
N THE
C
ASTLE
Kerim watched the small rune Sham had traced on his chair arm flare briefly. It was time then.

Despite his formidable self-control and his doubts, a touch of battle fever caused a surge of elation. He wiggled his toes inside his boot, just to prove he could, then he grinned at Dickon.

“Get the horses ready,” he said. “It's time.”

 

T
HE RIDERS DISMOUNTED
and handed their horse's reins to the man who had replaced Vawny an hour or so before. As Shark's man led the horses away, they approached Sham.

Elsic cradled Maur's flute in one hand and held fast to Talbot's arm with the other, a reckless grin plastered on his face. “You really think this will work?”

“No,” said Sham repressively.

If anything, Elsic's expression brightened. She understood him—it was a good thing to be needed. If the boy were a little older, he wouldn't have half his confidence in the wild scheme she'd come up with.

“Neither do I,” added Lord Halvok. “If you want to activate your rune, I can work the spells to force the demon to submit to me, for my lifetime anyway.”