The Mists of Sorrow: The Morcyth Saga Book Seven (47 page)

After listening for a moment, he turns back
to James. “I don’t hear anything,” he informs him. Placing his hand
on the door’s handle, he slowly opens the door to find another
hallway on the other side. Like the one they just passed through,
it too is well illuminated by candlelight.

Here there are only two doors other than the
ones at either end of the hallway. One on the left is close to the
doorway they are standing in, and another on the right about midway
down the hallway. “He’s through the one on the right,” Jiron says.
“Remember, I gave my word that no harm should befall him.”

“I remember,” James assures him.

Pulling one of his knives, Jiron moves down
the hall and toward the door. James follows, closing the door
between the two hallways behind him. At the door, Jiron places his
ear to it and can hear muted voices coming from the other side. One
is definitely a man’s, and the other a woman’s.

Receiving a nod from James telling him he’s
ready, Jiron takes the door’s handle in hand and slowly turns it.
When he’s turned it as far as it will go, he leans back slightly
then hits the door with his shoulder as he bursts into the
room.

Just as they saw in the mirror, Buka is
there with two women. One is feeding him small bites of food while
the other looks to have been massaging his feet. Both women jump
back with fear on their faces when they see Jiron there with knife
in hand.

“Remain quiet and I won’t hurt anyone,”
Jiron tells them. Behind him he hears the door close after James
enters the room. When the girls look like they fail to understand
him, he puts his finger to his lips and says, “Shhh.”

They get the idea and remain quiet.

Buka on the other hand, is staring at Jiron
with barely controlled anger. “How dare you come barging into my
private room in this manner,” he demands. Getting ready to yell for
help, he’s silenced when Jiron darts across the room and places the
edge of his knife to his throat.

“Would be best for you to remain silent,”
Jiron tells him. Eyeing him in a threateningly way, he waits to see
if he will remain so. Buka glares at him but remains quiet. To
James he says, “Get the girls into the corner.”

James nods and then motions for the girls to
move out of the way and into the corner of the room away from the
door. He allows them to sit before returning his attention to Jiron
and Buka.

“Now,” begins Jiron. “I have some questions
for you and if you answer them, we’ll leave and no one will be
hurt.”

Buka’s eyes flick from Jiron to James then
back again. “Seems I am at your mercy, for now,” he states. Neither
fear nor anger is present in his voice, though his eyes tell of
dire consequences in store for them later.

“We are looking for someone,” he says. “And
the trail has led us to you.” Moving the knife away from Buka’s
throat, he still keeps it near just in case.

Buka grins an evil grin at him. “What makes
you think I know anything about this person?” he asks. “And why
would I tell you anything?”

Jiron pulls forth the necklace and holds it
before him. “Do you remember this?” he asks. “We met an
acquaintance of yours who told us he got this from you.”

“So?” he asks.

“I want to know where the person is you took
this from?” demands Jiron.

Then suddenly he breaks into laughter,
hardly the response they were expecting. “What? Are you planning on
rescuing him?” Again the laughter rolls forth.

“So you know it was a ‘him’!” exclaims Jiron
triumphantly.

He nods his head and the laughter continues
to roll out of him.

Jiron glances to James and sees the
confusion mirrored on his friend’s face that he himself is
experiencing.

As the laughter subsides, Buka regains his
composure and says, “I haven’t laughed like that for some
time.”

“Why is it funny?” asks James.

Buka turns his attention to him and replies,
“You don’t think I’m going to tell you anything do you?” Then he
sits up on the edge of his bed. “Damn northerners.”

“This northerner is going to kill you if you
don’t tell me what I want to know!” Jiron demands as he moves in
closer.

Buka looks up at him and shakes his head. “I
don’t think so,” he tells him.

“I will!” insists Jiron.

Buka comes to his feet and says, “Then do
it!” Staring him in the eye, Buka dares him to kill him. When Jiron
fails to follow through on the threat, he snorts. “I thought
not.”

Bam!

Jiron’s fist connects with Buka’s nose and
knocks him back to the bed. “We aren’t leaving here without the
information,” he states.

“I ain’t telling you anything,” Buka says.
Rubbing his nose, he makes sure it isn’t broken then looks up at
Jiron standing over him. Then he gets a thoughtful look and says,
“Unless you do me a favor first.”

Looking doubtful, Jiron casts a quick glance
to James then returns it to Buka. “What kind of favor?” he
asks.

“One that’s been needing to be done for some
time,” he replies. “If you do this for me, I’ll tell you exactly
where you can find the one who had that necklace.”

“How do we know we can trust him?” James
asks Jiron.

“You don’t,” Buka replies to James. Then to
Jiron he says, “Fair trade, a favor for the information.”

“What’s the favor,” he says.

“There’s a person in Cyst that has caused me
problems from time to time,” he explains. “I want you to take care
of him for me.”

“We aren’t going to murder anyone for you,”
Jiron tells him. “Even if it means not finding out the
information.”

Shaking his head, Buka says, “It isn’t his
murder that I want.”

“What is it you want?” James asks.

“His right hand,” he replies. “I want you to
bring me his right hand and I’ll tell you what you wish to
know.”

James expects Jiron to reject the offer
right away and is amazed that he’s even contemplating the request.
“You can’t be thinking of doing it are you?” he asks.

Jiron glances to him for a moment before
asking, “Why haven’t you taken care of this before now?”

“He has many friends here,” he explains. “If
I were to move against him, the situation would become more
troublesome. Should you do it, I won’t have to worry about such
things. After all, if you succeed, things work out well. If you
don’t, you’re just northerners they’ll execute for the
attempt.”

“Who is it?” he asks. James is absolutely
astounded that he even asked.

“His name is Kir,” Buka replies. “He’s a
bard that is currently playing at the Wallowing Swine. Bring me his
right hand and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

Kir! He means Perrilin!

“Very well,” Jiron says with a stiff
nod.

“But…” begins James when Jiron stops him
with a wave.

“In case you have any thoughts about giving
me a hand of someone else,” Buka tells them, “you must take it from
him tonight during his performance at the Wallowing Swine. I’ll
have someone in the audience to witness that it happens. Afterward,
come to the compound’s gate and the guards will let you through.
Then, and only then, will I tell you what you wish to know.”

Jiron and Buka lock eyes. Then he replaces
his knife back in its sheath and nods. “We’ll be back,” he
says.

“Make sure you are not followed when you
come to the gates,” Buka says. “I wouldn’t want to be distracted by
an angry mob.” When he sees Jiron nod, he adds, “I trust you two
can find your way out on your own?”

Just then, the door to his room opens and a
middle aged slaver walks in. His eyes widen when he sees Jiron and
James there in the room. His hand grabs his sword and has it
halfway out when Buka stops him.

“These gentlemen were just leaving,” he
says.

The man glances to Buka and realizes there
is no immediate threat. Sliding his sword back into its scabbard,
he backs out into the hallway as James and Jiron leave the room. He
watches as they walk down the hallway back the way they came until
Buka calls him into the room.

“I want you to put a couple of our men on
them,” he tells the man. Then he gives him a brief rundown of what
they want and what they said they would do for it. “Make sure there
is someone at the Wallowing Swine tonight just in case they
actually go through with it.”

“Do you think they will?” the slaver
asks.

Shrugging, Buka replies, “Maybe. If they do
I doubt if they’ll make it back here.”

“Why do you say that?” he asks.

Grinning an evil grin, Buka says, “The crowd
at the Wallowing Swine loves Kir. They’ll tear those two apart.”
Then he and the other slaver break out into laughter.

James and Jiron follow the same route back
out as they did when they came in. Still working to keep from being
seen, they reach the wall and this time, once Jiron is on the other
side, he automatically makes the loop for James’ foot before
tossing the rope over. When he feels the tension increase on the
rope, he pulls him over.

As James lands on the ground next to him,
James asks, “You aren’t really serious about doing what he
requested are you?”

Jiron looks at him and replies, “Not
exactly, no.” With the rope once more secured around his middle, he
steps out and heads back to where they left the others. Walking
quietly and quickly, they make it back to the others.

“You find out what you wanted to know?”
Aleya asks. Then she can see the hard set of his jaw and that look
in his eye he gets when things aren’t going his way. “You didn’t,
did you?”

“He wants us to do him a favor first,” Jiron
replies.

“What does he want us to do?” Scar asks.

James glances up to him and says, “Pay a
visit to an old friend.” Off to the east, the sky is lightning with
the coming of dawn. “Let’s get a room and we’ll explain everything
to you.” As they head back to the road leading deeper into town, he
glances to Jiron’s back and wonders just how far he’s willing to go
in order to find Tinok.

Shortly after their arrival at the Wallowing
Swine and just before the evening meal is being served, the two
slavers whom they saw there the night before arrive. The two men
take the same table they had before and proceed to order their
meal.

James and Jiron sit at a table near the
stage while the others are at various tables scattered throughout
the common room. James is the first to see the two men and point
them out to Jiron. “Think they’re the witnesses Buka said would be
here?” James asks.

“I would think so,” replies Jiron. He
glances over to where Aleya and Potbelly are sitting at the table
closest to the entrance. She sees his look and returns one of her
own. Slightly strained and worried, she gives him a brief smile and
nod.

Perrilin is scheduled to begin his
performance in an hour so they settle in and eat a light meal of
roast lamb and bread. As they eat, the crowd coming to hear
Perrilin play begins to arrive. Many of the faces are familiar from
the night before. The buzz of conversation within the Wallowing
Swine gradually grows as more and more of the tables begin to be
filled.

By the time Perrilin makes his appearance,
all the tables are filled. The proprietor has even placed stools
and chairs against the walls to accommodate the number of people
who showed up. “Would have to be a crowd tonight wouldn’t it,”
Jiron states.

“Yes,” replies James.

Finally, the noise at the rear of the common
room increases as Perrilin makes his way from the back to the stage
where he places his instrument on its stand. Again, he puts the
time-worn wooden bowl on the stage then returns to the back. The
crowd murmurs in delighted anticipation as they know this means
that he is about to come and perform.

Several minutes later, Perrilin exits from
the back and applause follows him all the way to the stage. Taking
up his instrument, he turns back toward the crowd and an expectant
hush descends onto the common room. Then he strums the strings and
launches into a rollicking ballad full of daring-do and love.

He’s into the third stanza when he sees
James and gives him a brief grin and a nod. James returns it.
Glancing around the common room, he sees how much the people are
enjoying the music, and it saddens him how they’ll react to what
they’re about to do.

The two slavers keep casting glances to him
and Jiron. Whether the looks are telling them to get on with it or
whether simply because they don’t like them, it’s hard to tell.
Whatever the reason, James decidedly doesn’t care for it.

For two and a half hours they sit there in
the common room while Perrilin performs. When he leaves on his
second break and heads to the kitchen, James locks eyes with the
others positioned in the room and nods his head. They return the
nod knowing the time has come.

“You ready?” he asks Jiron.

“Yes,” he replies with a glance to the door
leading into the kitchen. “When he’s on his way back.”

“Right,” agrees James.

Just then, one of the two slavers gets to
his feet and begins walking toward their table. “Not now,” whispers
James to himself. Jiron hears him and sees the man coming toward
them.

Then the murmur in the back of the room
suddenly swells as Perrilin exits from the kitchen. He pauses a
moment to exchange words with a man at one of the tables.

The slaver is almost to them when he’s
bumped into from the side. Ale splashes all across his front as the
man who bumped into him loses control of his cup. “Sorry about
that,” Reilin says in a manner that suggests he’s entirely too
drunk to be walking around. Using his hands, he tries to brush off
the liquid that is beginning to soak into the slaver’s clothes.

By this time, Perrilin has finished his
conversation and is heading toward the stage.