Read Online Pile of Bones by Bailey Cunningham - Free Book Online

again?”
    “There was a salamander, asleep under the brazier,” Roldan replied. “I convinced her to set fire to the dice. It’s not easy, but stone will burn if the fire is hot enough.”
    “At any rate,” Morgan said, “they helped me recover my arrows. It was peculiar. I realized that a member of my own gens had betrayed me, not even for money, but for the mere possibility of money. These two—” Roldan could see that she was about to call them nemones but then stopped herself. “They helped me without any promise of reward. They seemed like far worthier company than the jackass who’d tried to gamble away my arrows.”
    “The wheel often makes an odd turn.” Domina Pendelia smiled. “Look at the three of you—practically a company. You only lack for one.”
    “
Nemones
can’t be part of a company,” Babieca said. “A blind spado would have more luck than us finding a quest.”
    “Oh? You seem to have found one already.”
    Morgan reached into her quiver and withdrew the knife, which she’d wrapped carefully in linen. She laid it on the table. Domina Pendelia examined it with interest. Her eyes fell to the gems encrusted in the hilt. If she knew where to properly fence such a piece, she could probably afford to redecorate the atrium from top to bottom. Roldan could almost feel her adding sums and managing possibilities. Finally, she looked up from the blade.
    “Where did you get this?”
    “It belonged to the meretrix,” Morgan said. “He lent it to Roldan. In the middle of the chase, we all forgot about it.”
    “This is no courtesan’s toy. Its owner must have enemies.”
    “We thought you might recognize it.”
    “Why? Because I spend my time at court studying weapons?”
    “No,” Babieca said. “Because the make of the weapon suggests wealth and power. This meretrix has to be part of—what did you call it?—the basilissa’s
engine
. Her inner circle. Why else would he need such protection? Surely, you would have noticed a masked man who spoke with her, maybe even danced with her?”
    “The court is full of people in masks. That’s nothing new. Meretrices have always been a fixture in the Arx of Violets.”
    “The mask was—distinctive,” Roldan heard himself say. “It was silver, with delicate filigree, and precious stones around the eyes. It reminded me of the moon.”
    “It sounds like the meretrix made an impression on you.”
    He looked down. “That’s not important. We can’t simply carry his knife around—if we’re caught with it, we’ll answer to the aedile. There’s no point in trying to sell it. If we return it, he might tell us something more about the fibula.”
    “Wouldn’t it be safer to remain ignorant?”
    “Everyone here used to be ignorant—until we found ourselves alone and naked in a strange alley. Were things really better before Anfractus? Was that bliss?”
    Domina Pendelia looked at the dagger again.
    “I slept better,” she said. “In that other life.”
    Roldan hoped she might say more. Instead, she opened the ivory drawer, withdrawing a wax tablet and stylus. Roldan stared at them both enviously. She wrote a quick message on the tablet, which she handed to Morgan.
    “Take this to the black basia, in the Subura. There’s a guard who watches the door—she used to work for me, ages ago. Show her this, and I believe she’ll let you in. Her shift doesn’t start until twilight, so as noncitizens, you’ll be cutting it close. There won’t be time to take in much of the scenery.” She looked at Babieca when she said this. “If youthrow the dice true, you may just find the one that you’re looking for.”
    He could tell that she knew more than she was saying. Had she recognized the dagger? He thought that he’d seen something in her eyes when he was describing the mask. Desire? Fear? He didn’t know her well enough to read her silences.
    “Thank you,” Morgan said. “We’re in your debt.”
    “Yes.” She reached for more wine.