Cloak and Spider: A Shadowdance Novella by David Dalglish Read Free Book Online

open. A sudden gust of warm air blew against her, and she let out a sigh as it teased her hair.
    “Much better,” she said.
    She thought Kyle might protest, and she heard him turn at the sound of the opening window, but he was given no time. Her eyes drifted upward, and hanging from the roof not two rooms over, with a smile on his face, was Thren Felhorn.
    “He’s here!” she screamed, suddenly flinging herself back from the window.
    “Who? Where?” asked Kyle.
    “On the roof!” Marion said, calming herself down so her next words came out only urgently instead of in an undignified screech.
    “Then let us abandon hiding,” Brown said, drawing one of her daggers. “I’ll bring you his head, my master.”
    “Wait!” Kyle cried, but she ignored him. The bodyguard put a foot on the windowsill, spun, and then leaped to the rooftop, grabbing hold and pulling herself beyond Marion’s line of sight. Now trembling, Marion clutched Kyle’s arm to her, pressing her body against his.
    “He won’t kill us, will he?” she asked. “He just wants the Heart, he won’t kill us, he doesn’t need to kill us…”
    At the door came a single solitary knock. The force of it made the hinges rattle.
    “Lord Garland?” asked a deep voice. “That you in there, Kyle?”
    Green put herself between the two of them and the door, and she drew her blades.
    “Stay behind me,” she said. “I will keep you both safe.”
    The door suddenly burst open, and Marion let out a soft gasp as she took a step backward. Standing there was an enormous man with dark skin and a shaved head. Several hoop earrings dangled from his ear. At his hips were buckled two swords.
    “Stay…stay back,” Kyle said, trying not to sound terrified. “I’ll have no bloodshed here!”
    The man tilted his head, and he smirked at the bodyguard, who remained crouched in a defensive stance, clearly expecting him to attack.
    “Bloodshed?” asked the man. “Why, how rude. I’m not here for bloodshed.”
    Kyle licked his lips.
    “Then what are you here for?”
    The man gestured past him, toward Marion.
    “I just came here to say hello to my sister, that’s all.”
    And then he was gone, as was Marion, already diving out the open window to the room, using the rope left for her by Thren to guide her to the ground. Once on her feet, she brushed off her dress, lifted the Heart of Ker up so Kyle could see it clearly, and then hid it in the ample cleavage her dress created. Smiling, she blew him a kiss.
    Kyle started to curse, but he pulled back into the room with a cowardly yell as the body of Green fell mere inches from his head, crumpling dead at Marion’s feet.
    Marion was gone long before the crowds could gather at the sight of the mangled corpse and wonder what was going on.
    *  *  *
    Thren sat in one of two wooden chairs in his meager apartment, legs crossed, the Heart of Ker raised high so the light from the window could set it to sparkling.
    “Honestly thought it’d be tougher than that,” said Grayson, plopping into the chair opposite him. His friend grinned, and he reached out for the Heart. Thren tossed it over to him, let the dark-skinned man twirl the enormous ruby in his fingers.
    “You underestimate our training,” Thren said, leaning his head on his fist.
    “And my womanly persuasions,” said Marion, coming in from the other room. She’d washed her face clean of all the powders and pampering she’d received, and instead of a red dress she now wore a tightly fitted pair of pants and a cotton shirt.
    “My dear,” Thren said, smiling at her, “I doubt I will ever underestimate your womanly persuasions.”
    Marion kissed her brother on the cheek even as he delivered a subtle glare Thren’s way.
    “I’ll snag us something to eat,” she said, heading to the door. “After such a score, I think all three of us deserve to celebrate.”
    The door shut, and as it did, Grayson tossed back the ring.
    “You know what happens next,” he