was an older man, in his mid-forties or fifties, with a tough, wised-up face. It didn’t take a lot of insight to realize that this was the leader of whatever she had gotten herself into. And it took no smarts at all to see that her wrists were cuffed in bright steel.
The man on the platform said, “I’m Bishop. I’m in charge of this chapter of the Thieves’ Guild. You were having a bad dream. And you have awakened to another. What’s your name?”
“Dureena. Dureena Nafeel.”
“Do you have the mark?”
Dureena nodded.
“Show us.”
Dureena raised her manacled hands. One sleeve fell back to reveal the glyph tattooed on her arm. When one of the women beside him whispered an affirmation to him, Dureena realized that Bishop was blind. An appropriate choice for justice among thieves.
“Who trained you?” Bishop asked. “Who brought you into the Thieves’ Guild and taught you our ways?”
“Mafeek, of Tripani 7,” Dureena replied.
“Mafeek is known to me. Who was his teacher?”
“Gant the Elder.”
“And how long have you been a thief?”
“Long enough to be good at what I do.”
Rolf, standing in the circle, smiled unpleasantly at her cockiness. “But not good enough to avoid being seen, captured, and restrained.”
Dureena stared him down. “I hardly made a secret of my desire to find you. I wanted to check in as soon as possible, and the best way to do that was to draw your attention. I was captured because I chose to be. But there was no reason to treat me this way. Had I known the level of your hospitality, you would have been the one on the floor, not me.”
Rolf said, “You talk pretty good for someone who’s chained up.”
Dureena looked at him, wide-eyed and mocking.
“What chains?”
As the result of a movement too quick to follow, the chains fell to the floor. Dureena was in full stride before they had landed. Knocking two thieves aside, she grabbed Rolf and, with a single powerful move, threw him halfway across the room.
Rolf scrambled to his feet, his face dark with fury. He was about to come at her when Bishop raised his left hand, freezing everybody in place.
He said to Dureena, “You’ve made your point. I welcome you, as one Guilder to another.”
Dureena relaxed slightly. The all-important first step had been accomplished.
“While you’re here,” Bishop went on, “you’ll follow the rules: Do not interfere with the activities of any other member of the Thieves’ Guild, and do not betray our presence to the authorities.
“We support rigged games, pickpocketing, theft, con jobs, black marketeering, and barter, but nothing violent, nothing that would cause the authorities to notice us. We get ten percent of your earnings in exchange for a place to stay and our support. If you are captured by the authorities, you are alone; we cannot help you. Any questions?”
“No,” Dureena said.
“Then you can go. I’ll have one of the others show you the way.”
As Dureena turned to go, Bishop said, “One last thing. You’re a long way from home, Dureena Nafeel, wherever that is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone quite like you before. What are you doing here?”
Dureena looked at him and shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said, then turned and left the room without waiting for an escort.
Chapter 14
Maneuvering the Excalibur away from its spacedock was a delicate operation involving carefully calculated forces. The big ship was still inert, not yet under its own power. Excalibur was dependent entirely on the tiny tugs that maneuvered it. There were a lot of them, but they came to only a fraction of its mass. An unexpected solar flare or an imprecisely calculated application of power could send the ship crashing back into its spacedock, or spinning out of control into the void. Unlikely, but these things did happen, and heads rolled in consequence.
A master helmsman from the spacedock crew, stationed on Excalibur’s bridge, was in charge of
The man on the platform said, “I’m Bishop. I’m in charge of this chapter of the Thieves’ Guild. You were having a bad dream. And you have awakened to another. What’s your name?”
“Dureena. Dureena Nafeel.”
“Do you have the mark?”
Dureena nodded.
“Show us.”
Dureena raised her manacled hands. One sleeve fell back to reveal the glyph tattooed on her arm. When one of the women beside him whispered an affirmation to him, Dureena realized that Bishop was blind. An appropriate choice for justice among thieves.
“Who trained you?” Bishop asked. “Who brought you into the Thieves’ Guild and taught you our ways?”
“Mafeek, of Tripani 7,” Dureena replied.
“Mafeek is known to me. Who was his teacher?”
“Gant the Elder.”
“And how long have you been a thief?”
“Long enough to be good at what I do.”
Rolf, standing in the circle, smiled unpleasantly at her cockiness. “But not good enough to avoid being seen, captured, and restrained.”
Dureena stared him down. “I hardly made a secret of my desire to find you. I wanted to check in as soon as possible, and the best way to do that was to draw your attention. I was captured because I chose to be. But there was no reason to treat me this way. Had I known the level of your hospitality, you would have been the one on the floor, not me.”
Rolf said, “You talk pretty good for someone who’s chained up.”
Dureena looked at him, wide-eyed and mocking.
“What chains?”
As the result of a movement too quick to follow, the chains fell to the floor. Dureena was in full stride before they had landed. Knocking two thieves aside, she grabbed Rolf and, with a single powerful move, threw him halfway across the room.
Rolf scrambled to his feet, his face dark with fury. He was about to come at her when Bishop raised his left hand, freezing everybody in place.
He said to Dureena, “You’ve made your point. I welcome you, as one Guilder to another.”
Dureena relaxed slightly. The all-important first step had been accomplished.
“While you’re here,” Bishop went on, “you’ll follow the rules: Do not interfere with the activities of any other member of the Thieves’ Guild, and do not betray our presence to the authorities.
“We support rigged games, pickpocketing, theft, con jobs, black marketeering, and barter, but nothing violent, nothing that would cause the authorities to notice us. We get ten percent of your earnings in exchange for a place to stay and our support. If you are captured by the authorities, you are alone; we cannot help you. Any questions?”
“No,” Dureena said.
“Then you can go. I’ll have one of the others show you the way.”
As Dureena turned to go, Bishop said, “One last thing. You’re a long way from home, Dureena Nafeel, wherever that is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone quite like you before. What are you doing here?”
Dureena looked at him and shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said, then turned and left the room without waiting for an escort.
Chapter 14
Maneuvering the Excalibur away from its spacedock was a delicate operation involving carefully calculated forces. The big ship was still inert, not yet under its own power. Excalibur was dependent entirely on the tiny tugs that maneuvered it. There were a lot of them, but they came to only a fraction of its mass. An unexpected solar flare or an imprecisely calculated application of power could send the ship crashing back into its spacedock, or spinning out of control into the void. Unlikely, but these things did happen, and heads rolled in consequence.
A master helmsman from the spacedock crew, stationed on Excalibur’s bridge, was in charge of
Similar Books
