Finally reaching the gate, the short, stocky guard took one look at his sword and waved him to one side.
"Secure your animal and dismount," he said, brown eyes glittering. "Over there, please."
As Sallis tied Glyder's reins to a post, a taller, thinner man left the gatehouse, holding a sheet of paper pinned to a wooden board.
Sallis waited.
The newcomer had the dark blue eyes so common here and medium brown hair. He regarded Sallis with a mixture of curiosity and distaste.
"An outsider," he said.
"Yes," replied Sallis. He jerked his head towards the gate. "So's your companion."
A smile ghosted across the uniformed man's face. "Where are you from?"
"Re Annan."
The answer was noted. "Name?"
"Sallis ti Ath."
The man nodded as he wrote. "That fits your accent."
"Why would I lie?"
The other looked up from the paper and his eyes hardened. "You'd be surprised," he replied, "how many people do lie."
Sallis shrugged.
"Why have you come to Marka?" the man continued, glancing at the sword. "And do you know how to use that?"
"I've come to be a bounty hunter," replied Sallis.
"Not another one," he groaned. His expression was certainly unfriendly now. "Look boy, the City Guard might not have enjoyed much success of late, but we have enough bounty hunters here."
"What do you mean?" Sallis was cautious.
"If I fart in my sleep there are at least half a dozen bounty hunters in earshot. Marka's crawling with 'em and more come in every day. The only consolation is that they have even less success than us."
Sallis narrowed his eyes. "You have a problem that needs sorting?" he asked. "I have references -"
"Nothing we can't sort for ourselves," the uniformed man interrupted. "We're more concerned with justice than bounty, unlike you hunters. Now, do you know how to use that sword?"
"I'm not bad," replied Sallis. He hefted the staff. "But I'm better with this."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen."
The Guardsman eyed him up and down. "Had you down as older," he grunted. "No matter, fifteen's old enough to join the City Guard."
"I'm here to be a bounty hunter," insisted Sallis.
He was ignored.
"You come back here an hour after noon and we'll put you through your paces."
"I'm not here to become a soldier," protested Sallis. "I'm here to -"
"An hour after noon," insisted the man. "You come here and ask for me or Oston." He nodded towards his fat companion. "That's Oston. I'm Crallin. You can leave your gear and horse here and look around the city till then."
"But I must see to Glyder," protested Sallis. "He's come a long way."
Crallin smiled. "Don't worry, we'll look after your horse. We've got ostlers here as well."
"But -"
"An hour after noon." Crallin turned away.
***
Chapter 4 - The Testing
As commanded - mainly because he wanted Glyder back - Sallis turned up at the gatehouse exactly one hour after noon. Two fresh men stood guard at the gate, but Crallin and Oston, now wearing leather armor instead of their uniform, waited.
An older, gray-haired man stood with them. His hands grasped Sallis's sword and quarterstaff.
"This is Lieutenant Vayburn," said Crallin.
Vayburn inclined his head to Sallis, taking him in from head to toe. Finally, he flourished the sword.
"This is a good weapon," he growled. "Where did you get it?"
"It was made at home," replied Sallis. "A gift from my father."
Vayburn's gray eyebrows lifted. "Made on Re Annan? I doubt that." He hefted the sword and turned his wrists a few times before slamming it back in its scabbard. "This sword is Re Taura work, or I've never seen it." He threw the scabbarded sword at Sallis, who snatched it out of the air without thinking.
"Possible." Sallis shrugged. "There is a lot of trade between the islands."
"This, however," continued Vayburn, the sword forgotten, "is a farmer's weapon." He hefted the quarterstaff and twirled it. "Man who knows how to use this can take two swordsmen out at once."
"I learned to use that long before I saw a sword," said Sallis.
Oston and Crallin exchanged a look as they strapped swordbelts around their waists.
"What now?" asked Sallis. "Where's my horse and the rest of my kit?"
"All safe, I assure you," said Vayburn. "Your horse has enjoyed a large meal and what I suspect was the best rubdown of his life since you entered it. And now, we will discover how good you are with those weapons."
"Why?" Sallis was suspicious. "I already said I'm not interested in joining the City Guard. I have come here to -"
"We know. To be a bounty hunter," interrupted Vayburn. "I want to see how good you are with your weapons. You show you haven't got a clue what you're about and I'll put you in the City Guard for a couple of years until you do. Then you can make up your own mind."
"I already have," said Sallis.
"Right, we've chatted long enough," said Vayburn, ignoring the comment.
Oston and Crallin took up station alongside Sallis and escorted him back out through the gates. Sallis feared they intended to abandon him outside the city, but they did not go far, only to a grassy area overlooked by the walls. Expecting a show, two men from the Guard lounged up there, watching.
Oston went to one side and removed his leather jerkin. Sallis changed his mind about the man. He wasn't fat at all, but squat. Muscle thickened his arms and chest, and Sallis knew he faced a powerful man.
"You can take your cloak and tunic off if you want," said Vayburn. "No point in sweating to death in this heat."
"I doubt you get the chance to strip down in real life," said Sallis.
Vayburn's dark blue eyes hardened. "You'll need full movement here," he said. "We just want to see what you can do."
Sallis reluctantly removed his cloak and tunic. His arms were not that well-muscled, though he was pretty sturdy for his age. His height made him look even slimmer.
Drawing his sword, he threw the scabbard aside and came to stance as he had been taught.
Oston didn't wait, but launched straight into an attack. Sallis turned the first and second thrusts aside easily and whacked the shorter man across his bottom with the flat as he passed.
Oston growled and returned to the attack. Rage flashed in his dark eyes as Sallis easily turned all the attacks aside. He didn't even need to try.
Vayburn clapped his hands. "Excellent!"
Oston looked at Sallis in disgust as they parted.
Crallin came in next and, while he avoided Sallis's blade, he made no more progress than Oston. Crallin had a quite different style of fighting, colder and more clinical in his movements.
"Good!" Vayburn nodded in approval. "Sure you don't want to join the Guard, Sallis? You're better than I'd hoped. Maybe the next Blade Grandmaster? Not had one of those since Olista left us for the Senate."
Sallis rested. "Not interested," he said.
"Of course not." Vayburn smiled. "Let's see you with the staff. Crallin, Oston; both together please."
Crallin looked surprised. "Sir, two on one in these circumstances is not right! We don't know how good the boy is."
Vayburn shook his head. "You try and kill him with those swords." He turned to Sallis. "Reckon you're up to it?"
Sallis whirled the staff. "If it stops you banging on about the Guard, then I'm ready," he replied.
Vayburn laughed. "All right you two: kill."
As expected, Oston came in straight away, while Crallin watched for weak points. But neither man had a chance.
Sallis twirled his ostwood staff. It moved in a blur and almost broke Oston's wrist as it met his blade. The men watching from above laughed and cheered. Oston cursed and gave his hand a violent shake while Crallin angled in.
Sallis pivoted and tapp
ed Crallin's elbow, who then dropped his sword.
"Come on you two!" roared Vayburn. "Stop faffing about and kill him!"
Again, Sallis suspected that Oston's temper had frayed, but his opponents circled around so, no matter how Sallis turned, one man stayed in front and one behind.
There was only one way to deal with this.
Sallis opened himself to the Gift. Oston moved as if through water, while Crallin angled ever so slowly around. Despite the impression that time had slowed, Sallis knew that he moved faster through it. He must end this fight.
The two men had been commanded to kill him, so Sallis must hurt his attackers enough to stop them. Turn. He cracked Crallin's head so the man went down in a heap. Turn.
Now he faced Oston.
The squat man's eyes widened - or rather were still widening - when Sallis cracked the already bruised wrist again. Oston clutched the injured joint and screamed in agony.
Sallis released the Gift.
Vayburn's mouth was still dropping open and even the men on the walls above stood silent.
"How in Ranva's name did you do that?" demanded the lieutenant, during a pause in Oston's screaming.
Sallis shrugged. "Practice," he said. He turned to the two injured men. "I would offer healing, but my talents lie in other directions."
Vayburn stepped forward. "Talents? Healing? You're Gifted!"
Sallis smiled. "Satisfied I know how to use my weapons now?"
Vayburn nodded. "I am that. You could rise very quickly if you joined us," he said. "Bounty hunters have a very hand-to-mouth existence in this city. But we offer regular pay and square meals." The older man looked hopeful.
Sallis shook his head. "I've come to be a bounty hunter. But there is one thing you can do for me."
Vayburn waited and watched a groaning Crallin climb to his feet. Oston stared malevolently at Sallis, but his screaming had finally ended. He clutched his shattered wrist.
Sallis's attention focused on Vayburn. "I'd like you to tell me why there are already so many bounty hunters in the city."
***
Chapter 5 - Sandev
While Vayburn arranged a healer for his two injured men, Sallis checked on Glyder. His pack leaned in one corner of the stable, the tack stacked beside it. The horse looked happy enough in a stall and shook his head in greeting. Sallis entered the stall and nodded in approval. Glyder's brown coat shone and someone had plaited part of his mane.
Sallis checked on the animal's hooves, which stablehands sometimes overlooked on other people's horses, but all four had been well scraped. The straw looked fresh and unsoiled.
Sallis patted the horse's long nose affectionately.
"Told you we'd look after him," said Vayburn from the stall door.
"How are your men?" asked Sallis. "No hard feelings I hope?"
Vayburn laughed. "They're bitter as spring apples," he replied, "but their injuries are better now."
Sallis looked over his shoulder. "Your healer is Gifted."
Vayburn nodded. "Indeed. Her name is Sandev and she wants to meet you."
The name tickled something in Sallis's memory, but he couldn't pull it free. "All right," he said, "but I still want an answer to my question."
"Sure you do. I haven't forgotten." Vayburn drew breath.
"And no, I don't want to join up," said Sallis, before the man spoke again.
"Didn't know the Gifted were mind-readers," grumbled the lieutenant.
"Some people are just very predictable," replied Sallis.
Vayburn shook his head. "You are a find. Such a waste, such a shame."
"I'm here to be a bounty hunter," insisted Sallis. "And to be the best bounty hunter. But why are so many already here?"
Vaynor sighed. "There have been a string of thefts from homes of the wealthy. With every successful theft, the reward money goes up and more hunters stream into the city. Whoever the thief is, he's very good."
"Why aren't bounty hunters welcome?"
Vayburn's dark blue eyes looked troubled. "Because they are more interested in bounty than justice. Several 'suspects' have been brought to us, and not all were treated as they ought to have been."
"I'm interested in justice," said Sallis. "A hunter must have the right man, else he'll never receive his bounty."
Vayburn nodded and looked hopeful again. "We need young men like -"
"The answer's still no."
The older man subsided.
"Has the thief left anything behind during his thefts?" Sallis brought the conversation back to thieves.
"Only a corpse at his last job."
"He has turned murderer?"
Vayburn nodded. "One of the Senators, Jarron Lebstan. Must have disturbed him during the theft. Had to have been him of course, the city's in an uproar. What was a simple theft is now murder. Instead of hard labor, the thief faces death."
"What does he steal?"
If Vayburn was surprised at the calm demeanor of the very young man, he showed no sign. "Money, jewelry. We think he melts the gold and silver to sell on with any gemstones."
"So the original piece can't be traced," murmured Sallis.
Vayburn laughed. "Sounds to me as though you're already practiced at bounty hunting."
Sallis smiled back. "At long last, people ask the right questions. I caught my first criminal before I even knew I could do this. I have four years' experience already."
The older man looked doubtful.
Sallis finished petting Glyder. "Right, we'd better not keep this healer of yours waiting."
"Oh, she's not our usual healer," said Vayburn. "She's far too important for that."
"Why does she want to meet me then?"
"Perhaps you are more famous than you realize. Come, I'll take you to her now."
***
Vayburn led Sallis to an office furnished with a couple of chairs and a small table. A woman that must be Sandev occupied one chair and beside her stood a female sylph.
Sandev did not appear very much older than Sallis. Her eyes shone like sapphires and her light brown hair framed a rather girlish face. She wore a simple dress with a plain leather belt at the waist.
But he could almost smell the Gift emanating from her. Girlish or not, he faced a very powerful practitioner. One whose Gift had developed over time. This woman was no youngster, despite appearances.
"So you are Sallis ti Ath," she said.
"I am. You must be Sandev." A glance over his shoulder showed that Vayburn had not stayed. "He wants me to join the City Guard."
Sandev smiled. "Probably wise counsel."
Sallis glanced at the sylph, and wondered what was different about her. She wore a gray work smock and a brown leather collar - Lyssan was the only sylph he had ever seen without a collar - and held herself in the servile stance common to all domestic sylphs. Then he saw the difference: a glance at her earpoints showed a wisp of silvery hair growing from the tip.
"I've come here to be a bounty hunter," he insisted.
Sandev's smile broadened, but the sylph glared at him.
"The boy is impolite, anya," she said.
"He knows his own mind, Geyn," replied Sandev, peaceably. "Not everybody is frightened of me."
The sylph subsided, but carried on glaring at Sallis.
"Elvallon spoke highly of you," continued Sandev.
Sallis shrugged. "He abandoned me," he replied. "Frightened of my talents, I suppose." His dark gaze bored into Geyn. "But his sylph remains polite."
Sandev smiled and even Geyn's earpoints twitched as their owner suppressed laughter.
"You may as well take a seat." Sandev indicated the empty chair beside her. "Geyn, will you chase up the alovak, please?"
The sylph inclined her head and left the room.
"I hope you will excuse her," said Sandev. "She's getting old and grows more forthright every day. Hard to believe she is the same shy girl from forty and more years ago."
Sallis smiled. "Of course. She clearly
adores you."
"Elvallon told me of your... talents," murmured Sandev. "I've never heard of Healing being used to kill before."
Sallis blinked and looked wary. "Not something I expected either."
"I know." Sandev sounded sympathetic. "I've already come across most of your talents before. But that one's new." Her sapphire eyes looked anything but naive now.
"I've killed nobody," protested Sallis. "And have no intention of it either."
"Noble sentiments." Sandev nodded. "Until your life is at risk. And if you persist in this ambition of bounty hunting, it will be at risk. Hunters make plenty of enemies, who make a point of catching up with them at a later date."
"I can use a sword and staff," said Sallis.
Sandev smiled again. "And I've seen the result of that, too. You broke poor Oston's wrist; it proved very difficult to heal."
Sallis shrugged. "Vayburn told them to try and kill me."
"He would have stopped them."
"I didn't know that."
"Exactly. And that will be the same when you are threatened. You will have no idea how far your enemy will go. Will he kill, or merely inconvenience?" Sandev stared directly into his eyes. "You used the Gift while fighting Crallin and Oston. Will you use it to help you whenever you are attacked?"
"Yes."
"And one day, you will use that... other... part of your talent to kill."
Sallis looked away. "Only in defense of my life," he muttered.
Sandev abruptly sat back. "Good. Ah! Here is our alovak."
Geyn returned carrying a wooden platter bearing mugs and the all-important alovak can. Sandev changed the subject.
"Have you given any thought to where you are sleeping tonight?" she asked.
Sallis understood why the subject had changed. Sylphs were uncomfortable with the Gift at best and rapidly made themselves scarce when the subject came up. But Geyn must be at least used to the feel of the Gifted.
"Not yet, I've been busy fending off attempts to recruit me into something I don't want to join."
"I know someone who will look after you. For a fee."
"It usually is for a fee," grimaced Sallis. "And my horse?"
"She has stables too," smiled Sandev. "But first, I would like to hear about your successes tracking down criminals."
Sallis sniffed at his alovak before taking the first sip. He glanced at Geyn standing beside her mistress, and drew breath.
***
Chapter 6 - Settling In
Before entering his new home, Sallis looked to Glyder's welfare. As the boy walked into the stable, Glyder paused his oat-munching and nuzzled Sallis's shoulder. The horse's brown coat still shone from his recent grooming at the hands of the City Guard and the straw in his stall had only just been laid down.