“I’ll meet you tonight at a nightclub called Sirens off Heron Row in the Sorcerers District,” I told him. “Do you know it?”

“I do.”

“I’ll be there at nine bells.” I managed a grin. “With a few family members, of course.”

“Of course.”

I had one more question, but was more than a little embarrassed to ask.

The Guardian sensed my dilemma. “Yes?”

“How do I get back to where I am?”

I heard voices talking.

At first there was one, then I could distinguish two. Thankfully, I knew them. It meant I was waking up in the same place where I had fallen asleep. I liked it when that happened.

“Let me get this straight,” Phaelan was saying. “You tackled Chigaru Mal’Salin, kicked his guards, and later decked a sentry?”

I slowly opened one eye. The other side of my face was still firmly buried in the pillow. Phaelan was grinning from ear to ear. From the other side of the cabin, Piaras’s own expression was a perfect match as he nodded.

He was sitting cross-legged on Phaelan’s bunk. The bruise was fading nicely, the swelling all but gone. It looked like Phaelan’s ship’s healer had been in while I slept. Considering what had happened last night, he looked amazingly calm. While I still had the urge to keep him safe, I no longer felt as much of a need to protect him, if that made any sense. The Piaras who woke up on the Fortune was a more mature version. He wore it well.

So much for the kid being scarred for life.

Then I remembered where I had been, whom I had seen, and how I had seen him. I sat up, gasped and pulled my own covers up under my chin.

“What is it?” Phaelan wasn’t sure whether he should be alarmed or not.

“Nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing.”

I glanced under the blanket, and breathed a quick sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t naked under the covers.

“Determined Guardian?” Phaelan chuckled, misinterpreting my reaction entirely.

“No.”

“Didn’t he try to contact you?” Piaras asked.

“He didn’t have to.”

Phaelan’s eyes went wide. “You contacted him?”

“I didn’t mean to, but I did.”

“Well, was he expecting you?”

I had an entirely welcome flashback to the sight of Mychael Eiliesor naked in bed. I felt myself flush. “I don’t think so.”

Phaelan noted my reaction and his grin turned wolfish. “Sounds like you had yourself some fun, cousin. Good girl.”

“Did not.”

The grin grew wider. “Liar.”

“Well, are you meeting him?” Piaras asked.

“I suggested tonight at Tam’s club. It’s public enough. I told Eiliesor I’d be there at nine bells, but I’ll be there earlier. After last night, I want to have a little talk with Tam about Ocnus and a certain goblin spellsinger.”

I looked out the porthole next to my bunk. It occurred to me that I had no idea how long I had been asleep. The low clouds outside didn’t help my guesswork any.

“What time is it?” I asked Phaelan.

“Just past two. You slept through lunch.”

Lunch. There was another wonderful idea. It ranked right up there with the promised safety of a certain Guardian’s protective custody. Custody that I’d turned down. I sighed and tossed back the blanket. While safety would be nice, I’d settle for lunch.

“Do you think you might be able to trust the Guardian?” Piaras asked. He sounded hopeful. So was I.

“I just might.”

Chapter 15

Phaelan and a few of his more socially presentable crew were my chosen escorts for the evening. I knew they wouldn’t be much of a deterrent if we ran into Sarad Nukpana, but everyone else we encountered suddenly preferred to be on the other side of the street. When we got to Sirens, Phaelan and two of his crew came inside with me and made themselves at home at the bar; the others stayed outside and covered the exits. Considering the way my luck had been running lately, it wasn’t all the precautions I wanted to take, but it’d have to do.

I thought I had arrived with plenty of time to have a heart-to-heart talk with Tam, but apparently I’d have to get in line. A reunion was underway in my favorite booth. Tam and a certain elven Guardian were chatting away like old friends.

I sauntered over. “I see you boys know each other.”

Neither looked guilty at being seen with the other, nor did they look surprised to see me. Normally, I’d smell a setup, but I was the one who suggested the meeting place, and it definitely hadn’t been under compulsion. But something was going on here, and I suspected it had everything to do with me.

“I know Paladin Eiliesor tolerably well,” Tam said with an easy smile. “The good Guardian helped me out of a sticky situation once.”

“And Primaru Nathrach once assisted me with a minor inconvenience,” Eiliesor said.

“Tonight, Mychael and I are sharing war stories,” Tam offered, his grin widening until his fangs were showing. “Raine Benares war stories.”

“Though Tam has more to share than I do,” Eiliesor said.

“But yours hurt more,” Tam countered. He looked at me, his expression pained. “You didn’t really kick him there, did you? I’m certain that wasn’t called for.”

“It was completely called for,” I assured them both, pulling a chair up to the end of the booth and sitting down. And I was thinking about doing it again.

“I have some questions for you,” I told Tam. “I was going to speak with you alone, but since you and the paladin seem to be such good friends, I’m sure you won’t mind if I just ask them here.”

Tam knew I was not amused, and I was rewarded with a flash of uncertainty in his dark eyes. Seeing them here together had thrown me a sharp left hook. The least I could do was return the favor.

I pushed on, not giving either one of them a chance to respond. “Has Paladin Eiliesor told you how I spent last night?”

“No, he hasn’t,” Tam said, his eyes on mine. “And you left before I returned. Kell’s explanation of your whereabouts was hardly enlightening.”

I looked at the stage, even though I already knew what was there—and who wasn’t. The musicians from the day before were playing, but one of them was conspicuously absent. I wasn’t surprised.

“Your new spellsinger isn’t here,” I noted.

“It’s early yet,” Tam said.

“Then he’s performing tonight?”

The goblin’s dark eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Of course. It’s the busiest night of the week.” He paused. “Why wouldn’t he?”

I shrugged. “I just thought he might have somewhere else to be. A second job, perhaps.” I watched Tam’s face carefully. “He didn’t show up last night, did he?”

The goblin’s uncertainty was blooming into something else, something darker. “No, he didn’t.”

“Did he tell you why?”

“I haven’t seen him—or you—since yesterday afternoon.”

“I was unavoidably detained, thanks to your missing spellsinger.” I kept my voice low. I wanted answers, but I didn’t want everyone in the place to know my business. “We were in an alley last night. He had a dagger aimed at Piaras Rivalin’s ribs.”

Tam went utterly still. “Perhaps you should tell me about your evening.”

“Perhaps you should tell me what the hell you’re trying to pull.” My voice was just above a whisper. I didn’t have to shout to attract attention. I already had it. Lorcan Karst had moved to stand a few feet behind his boss. A good manager knew the signs of trouble, and I wasn’t bothering to hide how I felt. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a pair of Guardians. I recognized the overeager, blond ax-wielder from last night. I didn’t recognize the equally large, dark-haired Guardian with him. Phaelan and his boys had left the bar and spread out to cover the Guardians.

Unless anyone sneezed, there shouldn’t be any fatalities.

Tam still hadn’t moved. “Piaras was harmed?”

“You care?”

He flinched as if I’d slapped him. “I do.”

I let out a breath, and leaned back in my chair. I released the edge of the table. My knuckles had clenched themselves white. I didn’t believe Tam was directly responsible, but when a Mal’Salin asked a favor, saying no wasn’t an option. They were Tam’s family. They were in town. And they probably had asked.

“He’s black and blue today, but he’ll heal.” The edge faded out of my voice. A little. “No thanks to your spellsinger. Or Ocnus Rancil. Or the Mal’Salin prince they’re both working for.”

That got the Guardian’s attention. “Tam, perhaps we should take this into your office.”

“I agree.” The goblin started to stand.

I stayed where I was. “I don’t. You have more than one exit from your office, Tam. I’d rather not be near any of them. I value my safety over anyone’s feelings right now.” I looked from one to the other. “I’m sure you gentlemen understand.” I gestured to the seats they just vacated. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

They sat.

Tam spoke first. “I had no part in whatever happened to Piaras last night.”

He didn’t mention me, just Piaras. A good sign that he wasn’t up to his neck in this, but it didn’t mean his hands were clean.

“But you knew about it,” I said.

“No, I didn’t.”

“I’d really like to believe you,” I told him. “There aren’t too many people I can trust right now. I’d like for you to still be one of them.”

His expression softened. A little. “I am.”

“Then I need you to start being honest with me.”

“Honesty is dangerous right now.”