Shadowdance 01 - A Dance of Cloaks

wish to discuss?”
    “Not yet,” she said, glaring at Yoren. “We talk alone.”
    Yoren scoffed but Theo was in no mood.
    “Leave us,” he said to his guards as well as his son. He pointed a finger at Zusa. “But she goes too.”
    Zusa bowed. The pavilion emptied until Theo sat alone, his fingers rubbing his silvery knife.
    “You may sit if you desire,” he offered. Alyssa refused.
    “I have a question for you,” she said. “My father has vexed you time and time again. Do you know why? Because you are a mere tax collector in a faraway city, scheming and fighting to take over a mere pittance of my father’s property.”
    “Where is your question, girl?” Theo asked, his hand clutching the wide table knife dangerously tight.
    “I can give you far more than some miserable land in Riverrun,” Alyssa said. “Which is more important to you, your wealth, or your son?”
    “What nonsense is this?” Theo roared. Alyssa reached into her skirt and drew the dagger hidden within its secret pocket. Two steps put her an arm’s length from Theo’s throat. The big man wisely paused, still clutching his knife as he tilted his head to one side.
    “Forgive me,” he said. “I am still waiting for a true question, as well as an offer of deals and trades. But you are a woman, and unaccustomed to such matters, so I will be patient and give you another chance.”
    “I will not marry Yoren,” she told him. “You will not inherit the Gemcroft line. But if I am declared lady of the estate, then I will reward you handsomely. My father has several mines in the northeast, not far from your little town. Your taxes and harassment have made them near-unprofitable. I’ll give them to you, as well as the properties you seek within Riverrun. You gain all this in return for disavowing any possible marriage between myself and your son.”
    Theo rubbed his chin.
    “You seem to forget something,” he said. “With your marriage, all of those would become mine in time, or at least my son’s. Why would I give up so much just to gain what I would already have? And don’t say because you threaten me, for I am not scared of your little toy.”
    Alyssa smiled. She was tired of being someone’s plaything. It was good to finally be in charge. In the distance she heard a couple of scattered shouts from the guards.
    “I knew you would say so,” she said. “And even if you promised, I would never believe it. You speak in lies, all you Kulls do, and I was stupid to have believed them for so long. But give me my inheritance, Theo, and I promise to keep my word.”
    “Is that so?” Theo asked. “Just because you…”
    And then he lunged at her, his arm swinging in a sideways arc to bat away her dagger. Alyssa parried it smoothly aside, stepped closer, and then smashed her elbow into his throat. Theo fell back into his seat, gasping for air. His knife thudded to the dirt.
    “I’ve had enough training to deal with someone as slow as you,” she said. “Are you listening, Theo? And are you watching? I hope you are.”
    More guards shouted, this time closer. The tent flap flung open, and in stepped Zusa. Blood covered her wrappings. In her hand, held out like a gift, was the head of Yoren Kull.
    “Well done,” Alyssa said with a smile. Guards gathered at the entrance to the tent. Alyssa pressed the tip of her dagger against Theo’s throat and then turned to the men.
    “Step inside, he dies,” she told them. A quick nod from Theo ensured they obeyed. Despite her ragged appearance, her mussed hair, and her dirty face, Alyssa felt like herself once more, only stronger and wiser than when her father had cast her into the cold cells below their household.
    “Tell us your orders, Lady Gemcroft,” Zusa said.
    Alyssa looked back to Theo, her smile growing wider.
    “Mercenaries,” she said. “They work only for coin.”
    And then she thrust the dagger. With their only hopes of payment dead, either stabbed or beheaded, the mercenaries switched allegiance with practiced ease as Zusa cried out the wealth of the Gemcroft family line.
    “You have your army,” Zusa said, sliding up next to her moments later.
    “Because of you,” Alyssa said, taking Zusa’s hand and then kissing it in mid-curtsy.
    Her beautiful face no longer hidden by veil and wrappings, Zusa smiled and curtsied in return.

CHAPTER
32
    T he outer limits of the Kensgold were filled with sellswords and the poor. The food and drink radiated outward from the many