Poison Dance

Chapter Five: Scene 3

She started spending her nights in James’s quarters. They didn’t necessarily speak much when she came, but she seemed to find comfort in his company, and James found himself waiting for her arrival every night. Sometimes, she would show up after her work was done at the Tavern. Other nights, she appeared much later, disheveled and still wearing her face paint. They never mentioned where she’d been. What was the point? Hamel had taken a liking to her, and she encouraged his advances even as she counted the days until Alvie’s return.

More than once, James wondered why he never turned her away, and why he watched her give herself to the nobleman night after night while he himself stayed back. Not that Thalia would have refused James if he’d tried. She’d been willing enough—or resigned enough—that first time. But there was a wrongness to it that stopped him.

After the first night’s exhausted slumber, Thalia slept more fitfully, squirming and talking in her sleep. One night she woke up screaming. James covered her mouth so she wouldn’t wake the blacksmith’s family and held her until she remembered where she was. Gradually, her breathing slowed and her taut muscles relaxed.

“I can’t get the feel of him off my skin,” she whispered. Her back was to him, and she clutched his arm tight around her, staring out at nothing.

“You don’t have to keep returning to him,” he said. “Disappear for a few days. Come back when Alvie gets you the poison.”

She reached for Tess’s chain around her neck, clutching it like a lifeline. “The moment I leave his sight, he’ll fix his eyes on someone new. It’s only a few more days.”

Meanwhile, James looked for customers to buy Alvie’s spices. Rand had some connections with merchants, and James knew a few minor noblemen. It was a trick to make plans without arousing suspicion. Gerred had followed through on his plans to pair James, Rand, and Bacchus with different men during their jobs, and these ill-disguised informants used the pairings as an excuse to sniff around the Scorned Maiden even when they weren’t working. But despite all this, James had no trouble finding buyers. Everybody wanted forbidden goods. It was just a matter of getting them into the city, and for that, they had a solid plan. The city walls were tall, slightly taller than three men, but scalable. They would bring the goods in at night, out of view of the Red Shields.

Three days before the handoff, James and Rand scouted the city walls. Rand had found a stretch where trees obscured the watchtowers from view. They stood a few paces off the road and surveyed the surroundings.

“Guards come by twice an hour at night,” said Rand.

“Plenty of time, then,” said James. He put his shoulder next to the wall and looked to the watchtower. He sometimes glimpsed the guards on duty when the wind stirred the trees, but in the cover of night, they’d be completely hidden. On the opposite side of the wall, he could hear the murmurs of a crowd. “What’s on the other side?”

“Shops. They should be empty.”

“Good. Let’s try scaling it tonight.”

There was a sound of boots on gravel. The two of them rushed to the road just in time to see Gerred come around the bend. The guildleader approached slowly, eyes taking in everything—the walls, the rope in James’s hand.

“James, Rand,” said Gerred with false friendliness. “I heard talk that you might be here.”

James and Rand exchanged a look. It was too late to lie. “We all have our side pursuits, Gerred,” said James. “It has nothing to do with you. You have my word.”

“Your word?” Gerred’s tone was still mild, though there was a dangerous glint in his eye. “I expect openness from you. None of this skulking around doing who knows what. You owe me that much.”

“We owe Clevon a great deal,” said Rand. James shot Rand a warning look. It was unlike him to lose control. But though Rand’s face was flushed, he seemed to be reining himself in.

Only a slight hardening in Gerred’s expression acknowledged the insult. “Don’t be ungrateful, boys,” said Gerred. “Don’t take what you have for granted.”

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Thank you for reading!  The entire Poison Dance novella is available for purchase in ebook and paperback at all major vendors. 

Buy links here:  http://liviablackburne.com/poison-dance/

Poison Dance is a prequel to my novel Midnight Thief, coming in July 2014 from Disney Hyperion.  Learn more and preorder here: http://liviablackburne.com/midnight-thief/