Nicci created a wall of air that slammed into Henty, and he looked as if he had blindly smashed into an invisible tree. As he stood momentarily stunned, Nicci used the magic to fling him up and back fifteen feet above the ground. She was not gentle—she had no reason to be.
Bloodshot Eyes slammed into the high wall, and the impact crushed his head like one of the dark melons in the farmer’s oxcart. A splash of red painted a broad round splatter on the already stained wall; then the body traced a long uneven smear as it slid two stories down to the ground.
Unable to believe what he had just seen, Jerr also came at Nicci with a knife. She used her powers to crush his larynx so he couldn’t scream; then she pulped the bones in his neck for good measure. The leader’s eyes bulged, bursting with a sudden web of red hemorrhages, and his head flopped to one side. When his knees gave out, he sprawled forward.
Ponytail kicked his way free of the scrappy redhead, who had tackled him, and slashed his knife across the empty air, trying to cut the young man, who ducked out of the way. Then, the last thug turned to snarl at Nicci.
She stopped his heart, and he dropped to the ground like a felled bull.
The young redhead looked around the carnage. “We’re saved!” His face had gone pale, which made his freckles even more prominent. He gaped at the three dead men lying in the garbage in the alley. “You killed them! Sweet Sea Mother, you—you killed them. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Maybe not,” Nicci said, “but that was the most convenient solution. They made the decision for me. Those men would have preyed on others, robbed others—and eventually they would have been caught. I was saving time and effort for the magistrate and the hangman.”
The distraught redhead couldn’t decide what to do. His lip was bloody, his face puffy and bruised. “It’s just—they took my money, but I doubt they were going to kill me.”
Nicci ran her gaze up and down his lanky form. The young man wore a loose homespun shirt dyed brown and sturdy canvas pants of the kind worn by sailors. He didn’t have any weapons she could see, not even a knife at his side. “You don’t think they were going to kill you? That is not a gamble I’d choose to make.”
He swallowed hard, and she was struck by how innocent and foolish he seemed. If even the bruises and the loss of his money purse had not taught him the necessary lesson, then Nicci would not waste further time on him. “If you keep walking these alleys, unarmed and unaware, you will soon have another opportunity to learn whether or not the thieves around here intend to kill you.” She turned to walk away. “Don’t count on me being here to help next time.”
The young man hurried after her. “Thank you! Sorry I didn’t say that soon enough—thank you. I was raised to show gratitude to those who do good things for me. I appreciate it. My name is Bannon … Bannon—” He paused as if embarrassed. “Bannon Farmer. I’m from Chiriya Island. This is my first time in Tanimura.”
Nicci kept walking. “I guessed that much, and it may be your last time in Tanimura if you don’t stop being such a fool.”
Bannon followed, still talking. “I used to be a cabbage farmer, but I wanted to see the world, so I signed aboard a sailing ship. This is my first time in port—and I came to buy a sword of my own.” He frowned, and patted his hips again, as if he somehow thought he had only imagined the robbery. “They took my money. That boy—”
Nicci showed neither surprise nor sympathy. “He bolted off. You’ll never find him. That child is lucky he ran, though—I would have disliked killing a little boy, even if he was a thief.”
Bannon’s shoulders slumped. “I was looking for a swordsmith. Those men seemed nice, and they told me to follow them, led me down here.” He shook his head. “I guess I should have been more suspicious.” He brightened. “But you were there. You saved me. Are you a sorceress? I’ve never seen anything like that. Thank you for rescuing me.”
She turned to face him. “And shame on you for needing to be rescued. You should possess more common sense than to let yourself become a victim. I have no mercy for thugs and thieves, but there would be no thieves if there weren’t fools like you to prey upon.”
Bannon’s face turned a bright red. “I’m sorry. I’ll know better next time.” He wiped at the blood coming from his lip and nose, then smeared it on his pants. “But if I had my own sword I could’ve defended myself.”
He leaned against the alley wall and struggled to pull off his left boot. “Maybe I have enough coins left, though.” When he upended the boot, several coins rained out, two silvers and five coppers. He held them in his palm. “I learned this trick from my father. He taught me never to keep all your money in one place, in case you get robbed.” He looked forlornly down at the coins in his hand. “It isn’t enough to buy much of a sword. I had hoped for a fine blade with a golden hilt and pommel, intricate workings. The coins might be enough, though. Just enough…”
“A sword doesn’t have to be pretty to be effective at killing,” Nicci said.
“I suppose it doesn’t,” Bannon replied as he replaced the coins in his boot, and stomped his foot back into place. He looked back down the alley at the bodies of the three thugs. “You didn’t need a sword at all.”
“No, I don’t,” Nicci said. “But what I do need is a ship sailing south.” She began to walk back out of the alley. “I was on my way to the harbor.”
“A ship?” Bannon hurried after her, still trying to adjust his boot. “I’m from a ship—the Wavewalker, a three-masted carrack out of Serrimundi. Captain Eli is due to set sail again as soon as his cargo is loaded. Probably with the outgoing tide tonight. He’d take passengers. I could put in a good word for you.”
“I can find him myself,” Nicci said, then softened her voice, realizing that the young man was just trying to help. “Thank you for the recommendation.”
Bannon beamed. “It’s the least I could do. You saved me. The Wavewalker is a good ship. It’ll serve your needs.”
“I will ask,” Nicci said.
The young man brushed himself off. “And I’m going to buy my own sword so I won’t be helpless next time I get in trouble.” With an inappropriate display of conscience, he stared at the dead thugs in the alley shadows. “But what shall we do about them?”
Nicci didn’t bother to look back over her shoulder. “The rats will find them soon enough.”
CHAPTER 6
After the sorceress went on her way, Bannon wiped blood from his lip and felt the bruise. He tried to fashion a smile, which only made the pain worse, but he smiled anyway. He had to smile, or his fragile world would fall apart.