He shoves his hands into his trouser pockets and walks to the mouth of the labyrinth. “Oh, and Raina.” He turns a glance over his shoulder and spears me with an intoxicating smile. “Leave the lace on.”
32
ALEXUS
“Dedrick Terrowin.”
The smuggler stands with Zahira, leaning on a dark green marble cane as they look over her collection of maps. At the sound of his name, he turns around. He’s dressed in fine clothing not dissimilar to my own, as though heading somewhere important.
“The one and only Alexus Thibault.” He holds out his light brown, tattooed hand as he walks toward me. I don’t miss the emerald and pewter ring on his middle finger, designed to match the silver lion’s head on the top end of his cane. “I heard I was summoned.”
I accept the greeting with a firm handshake and determine that, as Zahira said, he possesses no magick. Then we get down to business.
“I trust that I have your silence on the matters discussed here tonight.”
He pushes the bronze spiral curls hanging over his forehead out of his eyes, his warm, amber gaze reflecting the room’s fire and candlelight. “Of course. My customers know I’m a man of my word.” He glances at Zahira who inclines her head and nods.
“I need safe and comfortable passage for nine people on your next trip to Itunnan,” I tell him.
“You know you’ll be properly compensated,” Zahira says.
Dedrick runs his finger over his thick eyebrow. “Safe, I can guarantee. Comfortable?” He moves his head from side to side. “That could be an issue. Nine people require a fair amount of space. My next cargo load on the Lady Belladonna is small though, so perhaps, if the money is right, I can offer extra room and conveniences. It’ll be tight quarters though, and a little more complex to get you off the boat once we arrive. But I’m not new to this game.”
I incline my head. “That’s what I was hoping to hear. When does your ship set out again?”
“Three mornings from now, if she arrives on time tomorrow. Is that soon enough?”
“It’ll have to be,” I reply, hoping that the dead men in the alley have no tales to tell.
He gestures toward the chairs by Zahira’s fire. “I have about an hour before I must leave. Can we review the details now? I have a very busy schedule over the next two days. Much of it includes the Watch. I doubt you want too much movement with them around.”
Not at all. Especially now.
I glance toward the door, thinking of Raina. I have a very beautiful woman waiting on me.
“Fine,” I tell him. “But let’s make it quick.”
We sit at Zahira’s desk for half an hour, working out an embarkment method, along with how the Summerland Guard secures and scours cargo and trade ships as they arrive in port. With the size of our party, the margin for error is greatly increased. Still, it’s fairly straightforward.
“You’re free to roam the ship until we reach Summerland waters,” Dedrick says. “At that point, I’ll send you and yours below deck. When we reach the port, you’ll burrow into a false hull, from which you will swim to a specific dock under the cover of night. From there, my contact will take over. She’ll get you through Itunnan and the Ske-Trana provinces unseen.”
Somehow, I can’t imagine it being that easy, but I’m not sure what else I can do but trust this man.
I walk him to the front door. Callan waits in the vestibule, ready to open a pathway for Dedrick to unwittingly walk through.
“Good night, Master Thibault,” he says. “I look forward to our journey.”
I force a smile, still too uncertain of this newest character in my story.
As he walks down the vestibule, leaning heavily on his cane, I call to him, and he turns around. “Where exactly are you headed?” I ask.
He smiles and reaches into the breast pocket of his slim-fitting black jacket. He reveals only a peek at a pretty, pearlescent envelope with his name scrolled across the front. “To a dinner party held by Admiral Rooke. It’s the place to be tonight.”
My blood stills. “I thought that was tomorrow night.”
He shakes his head and raises his brows. “No. Tonight. And if I don’t hurry, I will certainly be late.” He turns and heads toward his waiting cart and driver, waving a hand over his shoulder. “I’ll see you in a few days, my lord!”
Fuck all. More like within the hour.
