The Executioner's Apprentice (The Executioner's Song Book 2) Read online

  Finn couldn’t see anything. Bellut blocked him.

  If he had any idea how long Bellut was going to be there, he could loop around and come up behind. The alleys in this part of the city were easy enough to navigate, and Finn knew them fairly well. He still remembered the interconnecting alleys from when he had crept through the streets working for the crew, and so it wouldn’t have been a challenge for him to use that knowledge now.

  Bellut moved off.

  Gods, but he had to stay with him.

  Finn hurried forward, slipping along the street, creeping along with Bellut.

  Where was he going?

  He wasn’t heading back toward City Hall, and he certainly wasn’t going toward Bellut’s home. Finn had seen his home one other time and knew that while he lived in a nicer section of the city, it wasn’t overly ornate, and certainly not what one would consider wealthy.

  He stayed in the outer sections.

  Surprisingly, he made what appeared to be a circuit around the outer sections of the city. Every so often, he paused in alleys, speaking to someone, but Finn never caught sight of any of them.

  The day grew long, and Finn continued following out of curiosity more than anything else. He never got close enough to see who Bellut followed, and could not make out anything other than the fact that he was standing in the mouth of the alley, as if somebody anticipated his arrival.

  At one point, Finn tried to sneak up behind and get into the alley, but he almost lost sight of Bellut, so he stopped that, and he returned to just following him.

  As the day went on, Bellut finally turned to the center of the city.

  Whatever he had been up to was done.

  Finn tore himself away. It was time for him to get back to his tasks.

  He’d probably upset Meyer anyway.

  He hurried to the general store, collecting oils and rope and other items that they might need, before stopping at an apothecary—not Wella’s, since he had moved far enough away from it, but Dorphene had quality stock as well—and past Declan Prison on his way back to Meyer’s home, deciding that he didn’t have time to visit.

  When he reached Meyer’s home, darkness had fallen in full. Finn approached, looking around him, a bit nervous that Wolf might be out there and spring up on him the way that he had surprised him before, but he didn’t see any movement on the street. If nothing else, having Wolf track him had put Finn on edge again, which couldn’t be a bad thing. He needed to keep that edge. It was necessary to ensure his safety.

  He pulled open the door, stepped inside, and headed down the hall to deliver the apothecary supplies to Master Meyer. When he knocked, Meyer was there quickly, pulling the door open, an irritated frown on his face.

  “I was expecting you earlier than this.”

  “You told me to gather supplies.”

  Meyer watched him. “Gather supplies.” He glanced down. “You went to Geralt’s general store, and to Dorphene. Not that I have any issue with either of them, but neither were close to where we were.”

  “I…”

  “You will tell me what you did, and you will tell me the truth.”

  Finn took a deep breath. “I was going into Wella’s store when I caught sight of Bellut. Now, Master Meyer, I know what you’re going to say, but I saw him making his way around the city, stopping in alleys, and speaking to—”

  “Enough. You have got to move past this. We have spoken about this at length. I know what you believe about him, but it is not about what you believe.”

  “I know what I heard.”

  “And what can you prove?”

  Finn stared. Nothing. That was the problem.

  It was about what he believed—and that wasn’t how their position operated.

  “I’m trying to understand what happened.”

  “Following one of the jurors to the city is not your way of investigating the fire, at least, no way of investigating the fire the way that you told me you were. And any investigation of Bellut needs to be done correctly.” His tone said something more: if at all. Meyer turned away, headed over to his desk. He picked up a slip of paper. “I think it’s time for the two of us to approach our responsibilities differently.” Meyer looked up, holding Finn’s gaze. “You and I are going to take a trip. Be ready to leave in the morning.” He nodded to Finn. “And close the door.”

  Finn expected him to say something more, but Master Meyer didn’t. He took a seat at his desk, pulled the book that he always had closer to him, and sat, leaving Finn wondering what had happened.

  He’d upset Master Meyer.

  Worse, he didn’t even know if he might have lost his position.

  Was that why they were leaving the city?

  Finn pulled the door closed, and he headed to the kitchen, taking a seat at the table. Lena was there, and Finn had barely even noticed her. “I heard some of your conversation. Not all of it, but I gather that Master Meyer is upset with you.”

  “I think he’s upset I continue to look into what happened to me.”

  “With a juror?”

  Finn looked over to his sister. Her eyes were reddened, and he could tell that she’d been crying. “What is it?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Is it Mother?”

  “I said it doesn’t matter.”

  “I’m sorry, Lena.”

  Once again, Finn had been away when she needed him. Once again, he had found himself caught up in some other aspect of his responsibility and had abandoned what his sister needed.

  He needed to be better.

  And he needed to prove it to Lena.

  Not only to Lena but to Master Meyer.

  “I will do better for you,” he said, looking up at his sister.

  “It sounds like you have to be better for yourself,” she said. She laughed softly. “Don’t anger him.”

  “I’m not trying to. It’s just…”

  “It’s just what?”

  Finn turned so that he could look toward the closed door to Master Meyer’s office. “It’s just that I’m not sure that he’s right about this.”

  “You think you know something more than he does?”

  Meyer was gifted. Finn knew that he was not only intelligent but calm and rational, and he had a clear way of thinking through problems. Finn had seen that every time they had performed investigation together. In this case, though, maybe what they needed wasn’t a clear mind.

  Maybe they needed somebody like Finn, somebody willing to look and dig, somebody like Finn.

  If Meyer didn’t ship him out of the city, Finn was determined to get to the bottom of this, regardless of what Master Meyer wanted.

  “I don’t know if I know something more than he does, but I might be willing to look into something he is not.”

  “You don’t think he’s willing to look into this?”

  Finn turned back to look at his sister. “Either he’s not willing or he’s not able. Either way, I think it has to be me.”

  “I’m worried about you, Finn.”

  “Why are you worried about me?”

  “Because you look almost eager. I think that’s dangerous. Whatever you’re doing has to be equally dangerous.”

  He took a deep breath, letting it out as he stared at the tabletop. He traced his fingers along the faded wood, and then looked up. “It might be dangerous, but I think it also might be necessary.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Finn had been given a little time to gather supplies before they departed. He knew better than to take too long. At the same time, if he would be leaving the city for Meyer to demonstrate whatever responsibilities he had outside of the city, then Finn wanted the opportunity to learn what else he could before they departed. He remained convinced there was more taking place than what Meyer believed. The problem was that Finn might be the only one who believed it.

  He ended up near Declan prison, and he glanced up to it.

  He still had some time, though he worried that if he lingered too
much longer, he would find Meyer angry with him again. Considering what had happened the night before when Finn had shown up late, he didn’t want to risk that.

  Something still troubled Finn.

  Vol Thern.

  That was what troubled him.

  Finn debated, glancing up the sky, cocking his head as he tried to count out how many bells had already rung before deciding.

  He hurried into the prison, nodding to the iron master standing guard, and made his way down to the cells. Shiner was there. He started to grin at Finn, but Finn shook his head.

  “I need to meet with Thern.”

  Shiner nodded, and Finn hurried to the chapel. He didn't have much time, so he needed to work quickly.

  He arranged the implements on the counter, but even with that, Finn wasn’t entirely sure that he would be able to use them.

  He started pacing, waiting for Shiner to arrive, and when the door came open, he looked up to see him guiding in Thern.

  He’d been cleaned and dressed in the prison garb. He looked no different than so many others who were imprisoned within Declan. A thick wild beard matched his eyes. Shiner strapped him into the chair, securing the leather straps around his wrists and ankles, before looking up at Finn, as if waiting for him to nod his approval.

  “You can leave me,” Finn said.

  Shiner shrugged, and he pulled the door closed.

  Finn made his way around to face Thern. “We need to talk about what happened.”

  He looked up at him, shaggy hair hanging down in front of his eyes. “I told you what I know. And I know you don’t care.”

  “I care. I need to know what you were doing when you were caught.”

  He looked up at Finn, and for a moment, it looked as if hope flickered in his eyes, but then it faded.

  “You don’t care. You’re like the others. You already have me condemned. Probably have me swinging.”

  “You’re not going to swing for breaking into some merchant’s home.”

  “They always make up some excuse to hang a man like me. I’m sure you’ll be complicit.”

  “I’m not going to make up any accusation,” Finn said.

  Thern glared at him.

  “Just tell me where you were.”

  “I wasn’t nowhere. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?”

  “You’ve already admitted that you had gone into a merchant’s home. What I’m trying to figure out is why.” Finn flickered his gaze to the tray of implements and decided against them. There was no point in reaching for any of the torture tools. Besides, he really didn’t have much time before he had to get back to Meyer. “All I need is to know what you were after.”

  “It wasn’t after anything,” he said.

  “You don’t go breaking into a merchant’s home unless you’re after something.”

  “Is that right? And what do you know about breaking into a merchant’s home?”

  “I know enough. I used to run with a crew.”

  Something shifted on Thern’s face, and he blinked. “What do you mean used to?”

  “I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors. And if you haven’t, then it doesn’t take much for you to ask around to find out what that means.”

  He studied Finn. “You really him? The thief whose neck wouldn’t break?”

  That was a new one, but Finn wasn’t at all surprised that rumors had spread about him. “I just need to know what you are doing there.”

  “I saw a crew break their way in. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

  “And you followed the crew? Were you working with them?”

  “No,” Thern said. “It…”

  He cut himself off, looking back down.

  “Who was? Somebody you know. Maybe a brother. A friend.” Finn studied him for another moment. “A son.” Thern tensed, and Finn knew that he had the right of it. “You wanted to find out what he was after?”

  “I’ve been trying to keep him from getting in too deep.” He shrugged. “Said he wasn’t taking anything, only delivering something. Nobody delivers something to a house like that in the middle of the night.” He looked back down, shaking his head. “So do with me what you need.”

  Finn took a step back.

  As he stared at him, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Thern had been telling him the truth.

  Something about it didn’t feel quite right, and if he didn’t need to leave the city with Meyer, he would have known what he needed to do next. Go and investigate what had happened.

  He had the report, and he knew which house Thern had targeted, and which house his son’s crew had targeted, but he didn’t have the time.

  And maybe it didn’t matter.

  “A sentence for breaking into a home like that will likely involve flogging,” Finn said, backing toward the door. “I will speak on your behalf, though. I’ll advise the magister to offer leniency.”

  Thern looked up, holding his gaze. “Why?”

  “Because I believe you.”

  He pulled the door open, nodding to Shiner. “Bring him back to the cell.”

  Shiner flashed a quick grin. “Got it, Jags. You plan on joining us again tonight?”

  The idea that he could have someone to share a drink with appealed to Finn. “Maybe when I return.”

  “You going somewhere?”

  “Apparently.”

  “You don’t sound too eager.”

  “That’s because I’m not.”

  He strode out of the chapel, through Declan prison, and back out into the street. It was time for him to join Meyer and time to leave the city. The only problem was that Finn felt increasingly sure that he had much more he needed to be doing now.

  Finn felt as if he were close to an answer—and leaving the city now took him from that chance. There was something more to Sweth, but he just had to find it. There was what Thern had told him, but he hadn’t the chance to investigate.

  One more task that would wait while they were out of the city.

  Too many things were left undone.

  And Meyer didn’t seem troubled by it.

  With as much work as Finn felt like he had to do, leaving the city now left him thinking that perhaps it wasn’t the right time, and that perhaps this journey could have waited, but he wasn’t about to argue with Master Meyer over it. He sat atop a horse, feeling completely uncomfortable because he had very little experience riding on horseback. Meyer straddled the other horse, swaying easily with each move of the massive creature, looking as if he had done it every day for his entire life.

  “How far do we have to go?” His backside already had started throbbing.

  Meyer glanced over to him. “Logard isn’t far from here. If you weren’t so concerned about figuring out some way to get to Bellut, you’d enjoy this opportunity.”

  Meyer grunted, shifting in his saddle so that he could look around more easily. They’d ridden only a short ways from the city, though even there, Finn could make out the hegen section. There was a vibrancy to it, almost an energy, and more than that, it felt like someone within that section were watching him.

  Maybe they were.

  He wouldn’t put it past Esmeralda to have some arrangement with Meyer even outside of the city. She obviously used that connection for her magic, though Finn really wanted to better understand the nature of the magic and how she used it. He tore his gaze away, looking at Master Meyer’s back, the sword Justice strapped to it, and frowned.

  “How often do you leave the city on trips like this?”

  “Before you, I had a journeyman who worked with me, so I would send him out of the city to handle sentencing within the nearby villages.”

  “I’m sure the people you sent the Lion to loved that.”

  Meyer chuckled softly. “You’re probably right. He had a tendency to be cruel, which is something I’m trying to keep you from developing.”

  “So, you haven’t left the city on these journeys in a while?”

  “My service is to Verendal, b
ut that doesn’t mean I can’t serve the king in other ways.”

  “You’re not answering the question.”

  Meyer looked over to him, frowning. “Am I not?”

  Finn sighed. “You haven’t left the city in quite a while, have you?”

  “Not often,” Meyer agreed. “When you reach journeyman status, you’ll be given the opportunity to leave the city without me. It’s a good way for you to make a few extra coins, to hone your skill, and to feel a measure of independence.”

  “Even while I’m still serving you.”

  “It’s the journeymen who do most of the work outside of the cities.”

  They rode in relative silence, following the hard-packed path as it headed off to the north and the east, until Meyer took a sharp right, veering off the main road. It was wide, with remnants of cobblestones that looked to have been grown over with time, the trees bounding the road on either side arching overhead and shielding them from the sunlight.

  Finn looked everywhere. Everything felt so open.

  It was more than the trees spaced around him. It was the lack of walls—and the lack of other people. Then there was the threat of Alainsith. They controlled the forest outside the city.

  Not along the King’s Road.

  That was what he had to tell himself.

  “I don’t know if I would’ve seen this had I been by myself,” Finn said.

  “Which is part of the reason you will start to study maps,” he said. “In time, you will come to know how to navigate the lands around Verendal just as well as you once learned to navigate the alleys throughout the city.”

  “I see.”

  “It’s not a punishment, Finn.”

  It might not be, but there was something more reassuring about the city than there was outside of the borders of the city. “Do you ever worry about highwaymen?”

  “There are always those who think to abuse others. Even outside of the city, and while traveling on the king’s road. We are relatively well protected, but more than that, we aren’t traveling anyplace where crime is likely.”