Warbreaker (Warbreaker #1)(45)

“I’m sure,” Denth replied. “Mercenary work is very respectable—it’s legal in almost every kingdom I know. We’re just as much a part of the community as the baker or the fishmonger.”

“Not that we pay the tax collectors,” Tonk Fah added. “We tend to stab them for the fun of it.”

Vivenna just shook her head.

Denth leaned forward, speaking in a more serious tone. “What I’m trying to say, Princess, is that we’re not criminals. We’re employees. Your friend Lemex was our boss. Now he’s dead. I figure that our contract transfers to you now, if you want it.”

Vivenna felt a slight glimmer of hope. But could she trust them? Despite Denth’s speech, she found it hard to have faith in the motives and altruism of a pair of men who fought for money. However, they hadn’t taken advantage of Lemex’s sickness, and they had stayed around even after they could have robbed the place and left while she was asleep.

“All right,” she said. “How much is left on your contract?”

“No idea,” Denth said. “Jewels handles that kind of thing.”

“Jewels?” Vivenna asked.

“Third member of the group,” Tonk Fah said. “She’s off doing Jewels stuff.”

Vivenna frowned. “How many of you are there?”

“Just three,” Denth said.

“Unless you count pets,” Tonk Fah said, balancing his bird on his foot.

“She’ll be back in a while,” Denth said. “She stopped in last night, but you were asleep. Anyway, I know we’ve got at least a few months left on our contract, and we were paid half up front. Even if you decide not to pay the rest, we probably owe you a few more weeks.”

Tonk Fah nodded. “So if there’s anyone you want killed, now would be the time.”

Vivenna stared, and Tonk Fah chuckled.

“You’re really going to have to get used to our terrible senses of humor, Princess,” Denth said. “Assuming, of course, you’re going to keep us around.”

“I’ve already implied that I’ll keep you,” Vivenna said.

“All right,” Denth replied. “But what are you going to do with us? Why did you even come to the city?”

Vivenna didn’t answer immediately. No point in holding back, she thought. They know the most dangerous secret—my identity—already. “I’m here to rescue my sister,” she said. “To sneak her out of the God King’s palace and see her returned to Idris unharmed.”

The mercenaries fell silent. Finally, Tonk Fah whistled. “Ambitious,” he noted as his parrot mimicked the whistle.

“She is a princess,” Denth said. “They tend to be ambitious sorts.”

“Siri isn’t ready to deal with Hallandren,” Vivenna said, leaning forward. “My father sent her in my place, but I cannot stand the thought of her serving as the God King’s wife. Unfortunately, if we simply grab her and go, Hallandren will likely attack my homeland. We need to make her disappear in a way that isn’t traceable to my people. If necessary, we can substitute me for my sister.”

Denth scratched his head.

“Well?” Vivenna asked.

“Little bit out of our realm of expertise,” Denth said.

“We usually hit things,” Tonk Fah said.

Denth nodded. “Or, at least, keep things from getting hit. Lemex kept us on partially just as bodyguards.”

“Why wouldn’t he just send for a couple of Idris soldiers to protect him?”

Denth and Tonk Fah exchanged a look.

“How can I put this delicately?” Denth said. “Princess, your Lemex was embezzling money from the king and spending it on Breath.”

“Lemex was a patriot!” Vivenna said immediately.

“That may have been the case,” Denth said. “But even a good priest isn’t above slipping himself a few coins out of the coffer, so to speak. I think your Lemex figured it would be better to have outside muscle, rather than inside loyalists, protecting him.”

Vivenna fell silent. It was still hard to imagine the thoughtful, clever, and passionate man represented in Lemex’s letters as a thief. Yet it was also hard to imagine Lemex holding as much Breath as he obviously had.

But embezzling? Stealing from Idris itself?

“You learn things as a mercenary,” Denth said, resting back with hands behind his head. “You fight enough people, and you figure you start to understand them. You stay alive by anticipating them. The thing is, people aren’t simple. Even Idrians.”

“Boring, yes,” Tonk Fah added. “But not simple.”

“Your Lemex, he was involved in some big plans,” Denth said. “I honestly think he was a patriot. There are many intrigues going on in this city, Princess—some of the projects Lemex had us working on had a grand scope, and were for the good of Idris, as near as I can tell. I guess he just thought he should be compensated a little for his patriotism.”

“Quite an amiable fellow, actually,” Tonk Fah said. “Didn’t want to bother your father. So he just did the figures on his own, gave himself a raise, and indicated in his reports that his costs were far greater than they really were.”

Vivenna fell silent, letting herself digest the words. How could anyone who stole money from Idris also be a patriot? How could a person faithful to Austre end up with several hundred BioChromatic Breaths?