The Girl of Hrusch Avenue (4 page)

Authors: Brian McClellan

She looked around the crowd to figure the best path for escape. If Tamas died, she, Taniel, and Bo would be at the baron's mercy and she didn't have any intention of being here when that happened.

And what if Tamas won? He had tried to buy her from Amory. What did he want her for? A field marshal was an important man—she knew that. What could he possibly have planned for someone like her?

The fight went on in earnest, the two men's swords ringing like the strike of a smith's hammer on steel, and Tamas seemed to be tiring. He fell back before the baron's advance, the corners of his eyes tight with concentration.

The baron knew he had the upper hand. A smile spread over his face and he suddenly lunged, sword-arm flat, fully extended for the killing blow.

Tamas' body suddenly seemed to sag and Vlora felt the scream in her throat and waited for the blood on his shirt.

But Tamas stepped past the thrust, as casual as a man out for a stroll, his sword arm a blur.

His sword flicked once. Twice.

He thrust.

The baron dropped to his knees, staring at the clean blade of his sword in confusion. He put his off-hand to his throat where the crimson poured down to soak his white shirt, and then touched the spreading stain just below his heart.

The baron gurgled once and collapsed on the cobbles.

"Send word to the king and the baron's next of kin," Tamas said to Fendamere's driver, "that Baron Fendamere died in a duel with Field Marshal Tamas. If the king wishes to speak to me about the circumstances, I am at his disposal."

Tamas cleaned his sword on the baron's pantleg and turned away from the dying man as if he were already forgotten. He gestured to Bo for his belt and jacket, then took the pistol from Taniel.

The exhaustion Vlora had seen in his eyes during the fight was gone.

He wasn't even winded.

"Taniel," Tamas said, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief, "introduce me to your friend."

Vlora stood poised, ready to run. Taniel took her hand and squeezed it reassuredly. "This is Vlora," Taniel said. "Vlora, this is my dad, field marshal of the Adran army."

Tamas returned his handkerchief to his pocket and gave Vlora a short bow.

But Vlora stared at Baron Fendamere. His body still twitched on the cobbles, one hand pressed to his throat. She'd never seen a man die before.

She wanted to wrench herself away from Taniel and run, but her feet seemed nailed to the cobbles.

Tamas stepped between her and the baron and knelt. It took every bit of her courage to keep from shying away. He put a finger under her chin and lifted it so that she matched his gaze.

"Why did you want to buy me?" she asked.

The corner of Tamas' mouth lifted in half a smile. "Is that why you ran away from your school?" he asked.

"Yes."

Her gaze went over Tamas' shoulder, to the baron bleeding out on the cobbles. Fendamere's coachman was at his side, but it was clear that nothing could be done for him.

"Trash such as that does not deserve a second glance," Tamas said. He drew her gaze back to his face. She was struck that his eyes no longer seemed so cold and distant. Friendly, even. Despite her fears, she suddenly found that she liked this man, in the same way that she had liked Taniel upon their first meeting.

"I've made the arrangements," Tamas said, "and you will be coming to live with Taniel and Bo and myself. Would you like that?"

Vlora would, but she was still suspicious. "Why do you care about me?"

"Because you're a very special girl." Tamas drew the pistol from his belt, flipped it around in his hand, and held it out to her, butt first. He shook it. "Here."

She reached out, hesitantly, and took it from him.

The grip was worn from use, the pan stained from powder and the barrel long-since lost its shine.

"Do you like the feel of that?" Tamas asked.

She nodded. It felt... right. Like something she'd always been meant to hold.

"Vlora," Tamas said, "The pistol is yours, my girl. You'll need it if you are going to be a powder mage."

For more in the Powder Mage universe:

Promise of Blood

The Powder Mage Trilogy

Orbit, April 2013

Sample

The Crimson Campaign

The Powder Mage Trilogy