The Izmali tensed as the shouts from outside heralded the arrival of some city guards. Then he raised his sword and lashed out at James; but James was moving the instant he saw the assassin’s sword come up.
As James had hoped, the assassin had been so distracted by James’s banter, he had failed to notice James’s slight movement toward the door. The tip of his scimitar struck the lintel overhead and was deflected, just as James fell toward the swordsman while bringing his own blade upward. The man’s weakened knee betrayed him and he stumbled, half-falling onto James’s outstretched sword point.
James threw his weight behind the lunge and the assassin stiffened as the rapier rammed home. James recovered and pulled back his blade as the Izmali slumped to the ground.
Jazhara and a pair of city guardsmen reached the hallway a moment later. “The magician escaped,” said the Keshian noblewoman. “These guardsmen were at the gate and I called them to come help.”
Looking down at the dead assassin, one of the guardsmen said, “Looks like you weren’t needin’ much help there, Squire.”
James knelt and examined the dead assassin. “Hello, what have we here?” he said, withdrawing a small parchment from the man’s tunic. “Usually these lads carry nothing.” He glanced at it, then handed it to Jazhara. “Can you read this script?”
She scrutinized it. “Yes, it’s similar to the desert script used in the message to Yusuf. Retrieve the scroll, eliminate the witness in the alley, then return to the dog. There is no signature, nor is there a seal.”
“Witness in the alley?” asked the senior guard. “That’d have to be Old Thom. He’s an old sailor without a home.”
“He’s got a couple of crates in the alley back of this building he calls home,” added the other guardsman.
James said, “Jazhara, let’s see what these lads were looking for.” Then he addressed the guards. “One of you stand by.” He motioned to Jazhara to follow him into the room.
They looked around and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. James shrugged. “I was a little too busy to notice where those cutthroats were standing when we opened the door.”
“They were in front of this desk, James,” Jazhara said.
James inspected the desk, which at first glance seemed ordinary enough.
“What do you think ‘return to the dog’ means?” Jazhara asked.
James continued his inspection. “Probably some sort of code for a person or place.” Something caught his eye and he pulled out a drawer. With a practiced eye he measured the depth of the drawer, then said, “There’s a compartment behind this drawer or my name wasn’t Jimmy the Hand.” He knelt down and reached back. There was a click of a small latch, and a tiny door fell open, revealing a small red velvet pouch that he extracted.
He weighed it in his hand. “It’s heavy. Feels like stone.” Deftly, he untied the silk cord that secured the pouch and turned it over, allowing the object to fall into his other hand.
A stone of shimmering green and white, carved to look like a nautilus shell, rested in his palm.
“This is a Shell of Eortis!” Jazhara exclaimed.
“What is that?” asked James. “I met some adherents of that god when I visited Silden a while back, but I know little of their beliefs.”
“I’ve seen one such artifact at Stardock.” Jazhara held her hand over the object and closed her eyes, muttering a brief enchantment. Then she opened her eyes wide. “It is genuine! It is an old and rare item that aids water-magic. You’d have to know someone like the Masters of Stardock or the High Priest of the Temple of Eortis the Sea God to even hear of one. To possess one . . . this must be part of the secret of the Wreckers’ Guild.”
“But why wasn’t this in the possession of the Guild Master?” James mused aloud. “Is this more proof that Kendaric had a hand in the death of the Guild Master, or did the master give it to his favorite student for safekeeping?”
“And why were the Nighthawks looking for it?” pondered Jazhara.
“Could you use this to raise a ship?” asked James.
“No, but you could use it to make the weather favorable for such an undertaking, had you the right spells to employ.”
“Do you think this is what they sought?”
Jazhara thought for a moment, then said, “As it will not raise a ship, probably not.”
“Then let us continue to look.” He examined the other side of the desk and found another false drawer, this time one that was discovered by reaching up inside the desk from underneath.
“Very clever,” James said, as he removed what appeared to be a box. “But not clever enough.”
The box was roughly a foot wide, half as deep, and three inches thick. There was no apparent lock or latch, and the top was inlaid with a mosaic of stones. James tried the simple approach and thumbed back the lid. It lifted without difficulty, but the box was empty. “Nothing,” he said.
Jazhara said, “No, there is something. Close the lid and open it again.”
James complied and Jazhara said, “It’s a Scathian Puzzle. It’s a lock.”