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“That’s enough!”
Jarin appeared beside Riella, interrupting the eery foretelling. A tear had rolled down her cheek and hastily she brushed it away. While he placed a few copper coins on the stand, she scrambled up, glad to be leaving. She shouldn’t have stopped here in the first place. Her idle curiosity got the better of her.
The candle had returned to an orange flame and the crystal ball was clouded over. The woman didn’t seem offended by the disruption, smiling serenely as she swept the coins from the stand and dropped them into a grubby tin on the floor next to her.
“Ready?” Jarin asked Riella, taking her hand.
She nodded, and didn’t look back as they moved through the gallery to a tunnel on the far side.
“Pay no mind to whatever nonsense she spoke,” said Jarin, giving Riella’s hand a firm squeeze. “It’s all smoke and mirrors and darkly vague pronouncements. The con-artists are out in force because of the wedding festival crowds. Plenty of victims around.”
“Of course.” She forced a smile. “Smoke and mirrors.”
The woman’s prediction really had been vague. Her words could apply to any number of scenarios and appear to make sense. It was a simple deception.
But then, why hadn’t she wanted payment from Riella? If the woman was a con-artist, that seemed like a fairly monumental oversight on her behalf.
“I bought discreet weapons,” said Jarin, handing her a knife sheathed in leather. “Better to arm ourselves covertly, to avoid attracting any more attention than we already have. We’ll change our clothes, too.”
Riella tucked the knife into her boot. The farther they traveled through the tunnel, the less shaken she felt by her encounter with the fortune teller. Her impatience to surface increased, like a human who’d been underwater for too long without a breath.
They exited the tunnels on a ladder made of rungs hammered into a wall. At the top was another grate, which Jarin heaved to the side before helping Riella to climb out.
The courtyard she emerged into was blindingly bright after the darkness of the underground, despite being overgrown with vines and shaded with trees.
Riella turned on the spot, trying to orientate herself. The golden turrets of the palace were closer now, as was the sea. Seagulls cawed nearby, and the scent of the ocean was strong.
Jarin hauled himself out, and then kneeled to tuck his dagger into his boot.
“We need to find the rest of the crew,” he said, standing. “Or they’ll assume we were captured and they’ll storm the jail.”
The pair left the courtyard and entered the street.
This part of the city was markedly different from where they’d entered Klatos earlier that day. The streets were clean and wide and rather devoid of crowds, which made Riella feel exposed. She’d turned to Jarin to ask about the location of the inn when an irate shout came from a few paces behind.
“Oi, you two! Stop right there!”
CHAPTER 31
Riella prepared to run.
Thankfully, Jarin had the presence of mind to look back first.
“Silas!” he said wryly, looking the unkempt man up and down. “Seems like you found a tavern.”
Silas was part of Jarin’s crew and he’d entered Klatos earlier in the day than Riella and Jarin. He’d partnered with Drue, who trailed after his drunk crew mate with a resigned expression. The two men caught up with Jarin and Riella, Silas trying and failing to throw his arm across Jarin’s shoulders, because he could not reach.
“I’ve been trying to get him to the inn,” said Drue. Out of all of the Dark Tide Clan, he looked the most respectable in regular clothes, and least like a pirate. In his neat collared shirt and trousers, he could’ve passed for a merchant’s assistant. “We’re in the vicinity of the inn now, at least.”
“Hey, Captain,” said Silas to Jarin with slurred speech. “We did what you told us to do. Went to the docks and had a good looksie, didn’t we, young Drue?”
Jarin raised his eyebrows at the cabin boy.
“Aye,” said Drue. “Artus is in Klatos, it would seem. The schooner he commandeered is docked.”
“Along with every other vessel in the seven seas,” said Silas with a hiccough. “But we found Tregor. Gave him some coin for info.”
“And?” asked Jarin as they rounded a corner.
