Dance of Thieves (Dance of Thieves 1)

He explained that with so many of us away and Tor’s Watch so quiet, he had thought it was safe to go to Raehouse and speak to Priya about more supplies, but then our caravan rolled into Greyson Tunnel, creating a flurry of activity. He waited until dusk when things quieted to return to Cave’s End.

More supplies? “We just filled a large order for you.”

“There’s a lot of waste with experimentation I’m afraid, but now with the formula and craft perfected, we’re ready to go into production.”

I couldn’t deny I was happy to finally hear this news. Whoever was behind Fertig and his gang would crawl back to their hole and never bother Hell’s Mouth again.

“And the fever cure?”

He shrugged. “Getting closer.”

The same answer. Three children in Hell’s Mouth had died last winter with fever. Three children too many. Beaufort had shown me the scholars’ stacks of notes and the strange flasks and dishes that they experimented with, but the calculations meant nothing to me.

“Find it,” I said. “Before winter comes.”

“Of course,” Beaufort answered. “I’m sure we’ll have it by then.”

He set his goblet down and yelled toward the other room. “Sarva! Kardos! Bahr! All of you! Get out here and help me show the Patrei what his money has bought!” He put his arm over my shoulder, the rest of his sordid crew following after us, including the scholars, Torback and Phineas. “This way,” he said. “Let’s look at the final product.”

We stood in the shelter of the sky cap, the part of the cave that extended over the house and a good portion of the grounds, but the winds were fierce and we were still pelted with rain. At least the storm and thunder would disguise the sound.

“Like this?” I said, holding the launcher to my shoulder the way Kardos had shown me. He, Bahr, and Sarva were former soldiers. Sarva had once been a metalsmith, and he fashioned the launcher based on the scholars’ designs.

“Keep it snug,” Bahr warned. “The mount will absorb a lot, but be prepared for kickback. Eye your target as if you were shooting an arrow. Now keep it steady while you pull the lever back.”

A loud crack sounded and a flash lit up the end of the launcher, punching it into my shoulder and sending me back a step, but the noise was nothing compared to the explosion when it hit the target two hundred yards away. The surrounding mountains reverberated with the concussion.

There were cheers all around.

“That going to take care of your problems?” Bahr asked.

“Yes,” I answered. “And then some.” I couldn’t wait to see the Candoran ambassador’s reaction to it. He wouldn’t be yammering about development anymore, and no one would be touching arena caravans again.

“You can get four shots out of each load,” Sarva said. “Though I doubt you’ll have anything to shoot at after the first.”

“You have all the specs written down?” I asked. “Carefully documented?”

“Of course we do,” Beaufort answered.

“What about storage?” I asked. “Any dangers there? We’re close to the family homes.”

“None,” Kardos said. “Though I wouldn’t throw the loads into the kitchen oven.” They laughed like they were schooling a boy on the basics of safety.

“You don’t need to worry about those details now,” Sarva said. “We’ll go over it all when we deliver your first shipment.”

I smiled, like shipment was the only word he needed to utter to send me on my way. “In two weeks?”

Beaufort nodded. “That’s right.”

“Good,” I said. I turned the weapon over in my hands, examining it again. “I’ll take this one in the mean

time.” I slung the launcher strap over my shoulder.

“Hold on,” Sarva ordered. “You can’t take that.” He reached out for me to hand it over.

I stared at him. I had almost been expecting his response but was still surprised. “Why not, Sarva? It’s mine, remember? I paid for it. For almost a year, I’ve been paying for it. And you have all the specs written down to make more.”

He and Kardos exchanged glances, uncertain what to do.