Read Online A Dance of Death by David Dalglish - Free Book Online Page A

from the wall onto a roof, rolled to the street, and shook off the jarring landing. With Zusa following, he weaved toward the taverns. He stayed close to the walls, and peered around corners to ensure they never saw his approach. The three men were all heavily tattooed, but most striking was the sword blade across their right eyes, stretching from chin to forehead.
    “Do you know what it means?” Haern whispered.
    “I don’t,” said Zusa, shaking her head.
    Haern shrugged, then resolved to watch. The men kept their attention focused on the nearby taverns. They were waiting, and Haern was patient enough to find out just what for. He would not murder men in cold blood for standing in a dark alley, despite the short swords they carried. He needed intent. He needed proof.
    “They wait for a victim,” Zusa said. “Perhaps we should give them one?”
    Haern shrugged.
    “Wait here.”
    He looped around back, so that the three would not see his approach. Pulling down his hood, he turned a corner, making it seem as if he’d just come from one of the taverns. Walking with an uneven gait, he purposefully stumbled closer to their alley while making sure his sabers remained hidden by his cloaks. The outfit would label him an outsider, and he hoped that would help convince the men to make their move.
    Crossing the alley, the three men stepped out, their short swords drawn.
    “Don’t seem from around here,” said the biggest of the three. Haern turned his head aside, not wanting them to get a good look at his face. As they neared, he tugged his hood lower, as if he were scared.
    “Visiting friends, that’s all,” he said, doing his best to sound afraid.
    “Then come over here and hand over what you got,” said another, stepping quickly to cut off Haern’s retreat. “You need to pay to stay safe in this town, stranger.”
    “I got little money to live on while I’m here,” said Haern.
    “I’m sure your friends’ll help you out.”
    Haern laughed.
    “That she will.”
    Zusa fell upon the one blocking his way, her daggers slicing across his neck before he ever knew she was there. Haern spun, drawing his sabers. The other two men swore, unprepared for his vicious assault. Only one managed to defend himself, and Haern batted aside his weak parry with ease. He gutted the nearest, then kicked his head to knock him on his back to die. The other turned to run, but Haern was faster. His saber slashed heel, and down he went. The man rolled, then stopped when he hit a wall.
    “You can’t do this,” he said, spinning over to face them. “You’ll hang, the both of you!”
    Haern pressed a bloody saber edge underneath the man’s chin, lifting his gaze so they might stare eye to eye.
    “If you have any sense, you’ll shut up now, before I slice out your tongue,” he said, covering his face with shadows from the distant, flickering torchlight.
    The man swallowed, then carefully nodded.
    “That’s a smart man. Tell everyone you know, whether they’ll believe you or not. Tell them the King’s Watcher has come to Angelport. Let the thieves know their time draws to an end. Every one of you risks death when you enter the shadows. The shadows are where I hide. Tell them.”
    The tattooed man laughed, stopping only when Haern pressed the tip hard enough to draw blood.
    “The thieves? Are you fucking stupid?”
    “You can deliver my message, or I can write it with your blood across the wall behind you. Your choice.”
    The man swallowed.
    “I’ll do it,” he said. “Just let me go.”
    Haern pulled back the blade and gestured for him to leave. He did, running at full speed away from the docks. Zusa joined his side, wiping her daggers clean on the dead man’s shirt.
    “He is not to be trusted,” she said.
    “Then what do you suggest?”
    She knelt before one of the bodies and dipped her fingers into the gaping wound across his stomach. Once coated with blood and gore, she walked to the wall and began to write.
    I am