Honor's Price Read Free

patted the beast on his scaly head. “Sorry to be so late in returning, boy.”
    When Kane opened the shutters, Hob laid his head on the sill to taste the night air with a few flicks of his tongue and then gave the rest of their quarters a thorough sniff. Satisfied all was well, he turned a few circles before curling up on the floor at Kane’s feet.
    Unfolding Averel’s note, Kane spread it out on the table near the candle for light. All it said was
The Empty Keg
and
The Rooster’s Crow
. No other explanation was needed. Averel knew Kane was hunting for the tavern where the guards spent their off hours. He must have heard something about these two places.
    Kane would visit them as soon as the sun went down tomorrow night. He needed to evaluate the caliber of man the duke was hiring but also hoped to bring himself to their attention. The best way to get a job as a hired sword was through a recommendation from someone already on the payroll.
    It wasn’t much of a plan, but before meeting Captain Gideon all those centuries ago, Kane had made his living as a mercenary. Some things never changed, especially the demand for men who could wield a sword and weren’t too picky about who they worked for.
    He stripped out of his clothes and stretched out on the thin mattress. When Kane was situated and had the threadbare blanket pulled up to his chest, Hob crawled onto the bed and curled up at his feet. The damnedanimal took up too much room, but he and Hob had been partners since Kane’s grandfather had presented him with the freshly hatched gargoyle. He’d intended it as a bribe to purchase his grandson’s willing assistance in his magery. The ploy hadn’t worked, but Kane and Hob had formed a bond that had proven unbreakable.
    That wasn’t the only reason he tolerated Hob sprawling across his ankles. The Damned had fought as a unit even before the goddess had taken them into her service. Not that he’d admit it to his friends, but Kane missed them on this solo mission. Hob’s solid presence close by helped fill the gap.
    Before dozing off, Kane offered up a prayer that his time here in the city would be short. He’d volunteered for this duty, but war was coming; he sensed it in his bones. When it came time to fight, the Damned would face their enemy together.
    *   *   *
    An hour after sundown, Kane left the Empty Keg to move on to the next tavern. Outside, he overheard an argument in the nearby alley. He crept closer, his pulse quickening at the possibility that he may have just stumbled across exactly the kind of situation he’d been looking for. He peeked around the corner to see one of the guards facing off against a middle-aged man dressed in clothing suited for a well-to-do merchant.
    The guardsman shoved the older man back a few steps. “Hold your tongue, you twice-cursed fool! Quit spreading false lies about your ruler! I’m off duty or else you’d already be on your way to prison for such traitorous remarks.”
    Rather than listen to the sound advice, the man pushed back. “The truth cannot be silenced no matter how many of you brutes the duke hires, Captain Bayar. Does he think we don’t know what he’s done? How many of his own people have died at his hands?”
    The guard was both drunk and belligerent, a volatile combination, but it was his opponent who had Kaneworried. The merchant’s words echoed with grief and righteous anger. The man might have good cause, but he was asking to get skewered.
    The argument turned lethal as both men drew their swords. Kane charged forward, hoping to distract the two long enough for them to back away from the precipice.
    The guard reeled forward, but even drunk, he disarmed his opponent easily. He could have stopped there, the fight done before it had really started. Instead, he sneered and held the tip of his blade at the merchant’s throat.
    â€œDo you really think you