They’d been dealing with a dozen by themselves? No wonder he’d come to fetch her first thing in the morning and report. “Fei, my dear, why are you only asking for help now? Even a dozen is unreasonable for just two men to deal with!”
“Well, a few from Iron Dragain stepped in and helped.”
Oh sure, she knew exactly what he meant by that. In other words, a few men from Iron Dragain came and hauled unconscious and/or injured assassins away. They probably hadn’t interfered in the fight itself, not when it meant protecting Rune. She let out a pained groan. “Alright. I’d thought this had stopped or resolved itself, as no one told me there was a problem. I would have stepped in before this if I’d realized how serious it had become.”
She aimed a pointed glare at him. Fei didn’t falter, just offered a half-bow of apology. “What do you wish to do?”
“Why don’t we start with asking Jarnsmor how he wants us to handle this?”
ӜӜӜ
“Can’t you just kill them?” Jarnsmor requested plaintively.
Siobhan started, not at all expecting that response. For once, she hadn’t found the man in his study, but just outside the main holding complex, where Iron Dragain kept all of their prisoners. The place reeked of cold, being built of granite, and looked dismal and unwelcoming. It gave Siobhan the creeps just standing outside the main door.
“You want me to order my men to kill anyone that attacks them,” she repeated neutrally.
Jarnsmor’s shoulders slumped slightly. “No, I suppose I can’t say that. I would be violating my own laws if I did. But Guildmaster Maley, you’ve given me quite the predicament by bringing that young man here. He’s drawing in assassins from Silent Order like flies to rotting meat. My jail is practically full already. I’m running out of places to put people!”
Ahhhh. That was the problem. “Can’t you start judging these men and sentencing them?” she riposted. “You know them and at least some of the crimes they’ve committed. Surely you can let the law handle things from here.”
“That takes time,” he complained. “And what am I supposed to do with all of them while the Sateren Court judges each man?”
“Let the Sateren city jail hold them,” Fei suggested. “Isn’t that what they’re made for?”
Jarnsmor regarded him thoughtfully. “True. They should be holding these men to begin with. I’m not sure how full they are, though. They might not be able to take them all either.”
“They don’t need to,” Siobhan pointed out. “They just need to take whatever you don’t have room for.”
He snapped his fingers, expression brightening. “An excellent point. Alright, how many did you say you were expecting tonight? Twenty or so?”
“If they follow the same pattern as before,” Fei responded with polite deference. “They usually increase in number by at least five more than the previous night.”
“We’ll plan for thirty, then, just in case.” His lips pressed together in a tight, unhappy line. “You realize that I don’t appreciate having assassins coming into my home on a regular basis.”
Siobhan concealed a wince. “You don’t like having them in your city, either. Think of this as an opportunity to rid yourself of some of them.”
“Hmph.” Still unhappy, he turned and stalked away, calling out orders to people as he moved to get ready for the attack tonight.
She puffed out a breath of relief. “That went better than I’d hoped.”
“Truly,” Fei agreed. Lowering his voice, he asked, “Should I ask Wolf-ren and Tran-ren to help tonight? Or should we leave it up to Jarnsmor’s men?”
She gave him quite the look. “Did you seriously just suggest planning an ambush without inviting our two fight-loving maniacs to join in? Wolf would pout for weeks.”
Fei chuckled. “I’ll go tell them, then.”
ӜӜӜ
Her nerves jangled the rest of the day, leaving her restless and moody, waiting for a fight that she wouldn’t actually participate in. All four of her enforcers—Wolf especially—told her in no uncertain terms that they could handle it and didn’t need help. She understood what they actually meant: the men coming were ruthless and likely more skilled than she, and no one wanted her in danger’s way. Normally their protectiveness didn’t bother her. If she had a choice, she’d prefer not to fight, but that didn’t mean she could idly sit by while people she cared about were in serious trouble, either.
Siobhan understood that she wouldn’t be able to help much even if she participated in the ambush tonight. She