The Fifth Ward: First Watch by Dale Lucas

Author:Dale Lucas [Lucas, Dale]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction / Action &#39, Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2017-07-11T05:00:00+00:00

They left word with the arkwright downstairs that the rooms had been compromised, and that neither Osma nor the children were to sleep there. Torval instead steered them toward the King’s Ass and told them to ask for Aarna. Then all that remained was for he and Rem to swing by said tavern and leave word that Torval’s family would need a room for the night. Torval didn’t want to waste time on in-depth explanations, but Aarna was more than willing to help, and swore she would see personally to their safety.

After that, Torval led Rem elsewhere. This time, they tromped through a tangle of back alleys, inns, and taverns, meandering down toward the Fourth Ward waterfront to a rather imposing-looking warehouse guarded by a pair of burly, well-armed, swarthy southerners—Tsauranian or Ferosi, Rem couldn’t tell which. The shabby, muddy square that the warehouse fronted was swathed in unfriendly shadows and had a haunted, gone-to-seed look about it, while the warehouse itself held court over the largely empty crossroads and bled chaotic noise from within.

Torval paused for a long time, watching the warehouse as hard and desperate men of all sorts meandered in and out, all challenged by the burly doormen but eventually gaining their entry. After a while, the dwarf’s hesitation started to make Rem uneasy.

“What are we waiting for?” he asked.

Torval turned and eyed him suspiciously. “I’m having second thoughts, lad.”

“About what?”

Torval suggested the warehouse with a jerk of his head. “This is someone else’s ward—someone else’s watch. By rights, we shouldn’t be here without warrants from our prefect or the tacit permission of this district’s prefect.”

“Do we need to circle back to the watchkeep, then?” Rem asked.

Torval shook his head. “No. Ondego won’t allow it. He’s a good commander, but he’s learned that keeping the peace and staying out from under the feet of the other prefects is the best way to get along. And Frennis, prefect of the Fourth, is the most territorial among them. He’s a hard man, not to be trifled with.”

“You said he had some sort of partnership with this Nightjar,” Rem said. “That tells me he’s not just a hard man—he’s a corrupt one as well. Shouldn’t a man like that be challenged?”

Torval stared at Rem, his face suggesting something like pity. “Maybe in the north, lad … but this is Yenara. The rules are different here.”

Rem studied the warehouse. Studied Torval. Considered all of their options. “It’s me, isn’t it?” he finally asked. “If you were alone, you’d do this without hesitation, but because I’m a whelp in these woods, and new to the watch, you think I have to be protected.”

Torval sighed and gave a reticent nod. “That might have something to do with it. If we go in there and start making trouble, asking questions without a by-your-leave from Frennis himself, we could be leaping into a snake pit without a ladder.”

Rem stared right into Torval’s eyes. He wanted to be sure the dwarf saw his seriousness. “I’m your partner, Torval.

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