Chapter 22 Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Chapter 22

Lord Theron Alden sat in his study with a cup of tea and a list of names. The tea was cold. He did not notice. He just kept looking at the list. The names were written in ink, freshly dried. Men he had not called on in years. Men who owed him favors. Men who killed for money.

Pearce stood by the door. His face was hard. His hands were clasped behind his back.

Alden said "How many?"

Pearce said "Twelve, my lord. They arrived this morning. More coming by nightfall."

Alden set the list down. He picked up his tea. It was cold. He set it back down.

He said "Where are they quartered?"

Pearce said "The old barracks by the south gate. It's empty. No one will notice."

Alden said "No one notices anything in this city. That's the problem."

Pearce said nothing.

Alden stood up and walked to the window. The street below was quiet. A few people walked past. None of them looked up.

He said "Send word to Vane. Tell him I want to see him. Tonight."

Pearce said "And Magistrate Crest?"

Alden said "Her too. The same time."

Pearce said "Where, my lord?"

Alden said "Here. In my house. It's time we stopped hiding in warehouses."

Pearce nodded. He turned to leave.

Alden said "One more thing."

Pearce stopped. He turned back.

Alden said "The girl. The one who works in the kitchen. Mira."

Pearce said "Yes, my lord."

Alden said "I want her watched. She's been talking to the new servant. The one who disappeared."

Pearce said "The one you called Thomas?"

Alden turned from the window. His face was calm. His eyes were cold.

He said "He was no servant. He was the Greyman. And she helped him." Pearce was surprised.

He said, "What do you want done with her then?"

Alden said "Nothing. Yet. Watch her. See who she talks to. Where she goes. She'll lead us to him."

Pearce said "Yes, my lord."

He left.

The old barracks stood by the south gate. It had been empty for years. Now it was full of men.

Alden walked through the courtyard with Pearce beside him. The men were rough. They carried swords and knives. They wore leather and mail. Their faces were hard.

One of them stepped forward. He was tall, with a scar across his throat. His name was Marik. He had fought in the border wars. He had killed more men than Alden cared to count.

Marik said with a serious face, "Lord Alden."

Alden said "Marik. You brought your men."

Marik said "Twelve. The best I have."

Alden said "I need more."

Marik said "More cost more."

Alden looked at him. His face did not change. He said "Name your price."

Marik said "Double what you offered. Plus passage out of the city when it's done."

Alden said "Done."

Marik nodded. He said "I'll have twenty plus more by morning."

Alden said "Good."

He walked through the barracks. The men watched him. Some nodded. Some stared. One of them, a young man with a bandage on his arm, looked away when Alden passed.

Alden stopped in front of him. He looked at the young man.

He said "What happened to your arm?"

The young man said "Nothing, my lord."

Alden said "It doesn't look like nothing."

Marik stepped forward. He said "A job in the north. A merchant who didn't want to pay his debts."

Alden said "Did he pay?"

Marik said "He paid."

Alden looked at the young man. His face was pale. His hand was shaking.

Alden said "You'll be paid double what you were promised. When this is done."

The young man said "Thank you, my lord."

Alden continued walking.

Vane arrived at the house as the sun went down. His arm was bandaged. His face was bruised. He walked like a man who had been bitten by wolves and was trying not to show it.

Alden met him in the study. Vane sat in the chair across from the desk. He did not take tea.

Alden looked at him and said "You're hurt."

Vane said "It's nothing."

Alden said "The Greyman?"

Vane said nothing.

Alden said "I told you to bring him in. Not fight him in the street."

Vane said "He's faster than he looks."

Alden said "He's one man. With a knife. And he put a knife in you?"

Vane's face went red. He said "He had help. A little girl. With a bottle."

Alden said "A girl with a bottle. The Greyman. And you couldn't stop them?"

Vane stood up angrily. His chair scraped the floor. He said "You think you could do better? You, with your dinner parties and your papers?"

Alden looked at him. His face was still calm. He said, "Sit down."

Vane did not sit.

Alden said "I've brought men. Twenty. More coming. Soldiers. Men who know how to hunt."

Vane said "I have men."

Alden said "Your men are scared. They run from ghosts. My men kill for money."

Vane sat down. His face was still red. But his hands were steady.

He said "What's the plan?"

Alden said "We find him. We bring him here. And we end this."

Vane said "And the girl? The one with the bottle?"

Alden said "She's nothing. The Greyman is what matters."

Vane said nothing.

Alden said "Crest is coming. We'll need her people, her guards and her records."

Vane said "She's falling apart. The ghost in her office. The boy. She's not the same."

Alden said "She doesn't need to be the same. She needs to do her job."

Crest arrived an hour later. She wore a grey dress. Her hair was pinned. Her face was pale. She looked at Vane. She looked at his arm.

She said "You fought him."

Vane said "He fought back."

She sat down in the chair across from Alden's desk. Her hands were folded in her lap.

Alden said "Magistrate. Thank you for coming."

Crest said "You said it was urgent."

Alden said "It is. The Greyman has become a problem. For all of us."

Crest said "He's a ghost. A whisper. No one has seen his face."

Alden said "I have."

She looked at him. Her eyes narrowed. "You've seen him?"

Alden said "In my dining room. At my dinner. He was standing in the corner with a broom."

Vane said "He was in your house?"

Alden said "He was in my house.”

Crest said "What did he look like?"

Alden said "Old. Bent. Grey hair. A disguise because, his eyes were young."

Crest was quiet for a moment. Then she said "What do you want to do?"

Alden said "I want to find him. Before he finds us."

Crest said "He's already found us."

Vane said "She's right."

Alden looked at them. He said "He's one man with a trick. We have soldiers. Guards. Men who know how to hunt."

Crest said "Men who know how to kill."

Alden said "Yes."

Vane said "What about the girl? The one who helped him?"

Alden said "I have someone watching her. She works in the kitchen. She knows something."

Crest said "The kitchen girl?"

Alden said "Her name is Mira. She's been helping him."

Vane said "Then grab her. Make her talk."

Alden said "No. If we grab her, he'll know. He'll disappear. We let her lead us to him."

Crest said "And if she doesn't lead us anywhere?"

Alden said "Then we find another way."

The meeting went on for another hour. Plans were made. Men were assigned. Vane left first. He walked out without saying goodbye. Crest stayed longer. She sat in the chair with her hands folded, listening.

When she finally stood to leave, she looked at Alden.

She said "The boy. Eli. The one in the paper. Did you know about him?"

Alden said "I knew about him."

She said "Did you know he died?"

Alden said "He was a beggar. They die all the time."

She looked at him. Her face was hard. She said "He died because of me."

Alden said "He died because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's all."

She stared at him
for a long moment. Then she walked to the door.

At the door she stopped. She said "When this is over. When the Greyman is dead. What happens to us?"

Alden said "We go back to the way things were."

She said "I don't think we can."

She left.