Page 12 of A Skirl of Sorcery
‘She was a good woman and she worked hard, too. She had the longest ban sith success record of anyone I’ve ever known. If Nessie turned up at your door and started shrieking, you paid attention.’ His mouth turned down. ‘She looked after me – the whole community did. They still check in on me from time to time.’
My surprise must have shown because he went on with an uncharacteristic flash of amusement, ‘They’re discreet.’
Hmm; they would have to be very discreet to visit Dave without me noticing. But I wasn’t infallible, and unless I was in feline form I didn’t have the nocturnal skills of a ban sith. ‘They’re a tight-knit community?’ I asked.
‘They look after their own and anyone else who needs it. I owe them a lot.’ His voice was deep and reflective. I’d never heard him talk like this before.
‘How long did you live on Barton Road?’
‘Long enough to know that they’re amongst the most decent people you’ll find in Coldstream.’
All of which begged the question why Keres had chosen to leave them. ‘Have you ever heard of a ban sith losing their powers?’
Dave took a long moment before answering. ‘No,’ he said finally. ‘I haven’t.’
‘If onedidlose their powers, what do you think the other ban siths would do?’
This time, he replied instantly. ‘They’d close ranks and look after that person whether they recovered or not.’
‘They wouldn’t kick them out? Make them leave because they no longer belong?’
His response was unequivocal. ‘Not a chance.’
I turned and gazed up at the windows of the upper flat. Despite my initial misgivings Keres seemed like a decent sort, but the cats’ reaction to her and the fact that she’d left the safety of her own community sent prickles of apprehension rippling through me.
All Mallory had asked was that I provide the young ban sith with a place to stay, but I’d already decided that I couldn’t leave it at that. Keres was in my home and I had a duty of care to both my cats and my neighbours to make sure they were safe, especially if I was defending Keres’ presence.
My blood contract with Mallory meant that I had to allow Keres to stay but I couldn’t take her on blind faith, even though I was beginning to like her and I wanted to help her. She wouldn’t answer any of my questions or satisfy my anxious curiosity – but I had more avenues to explore.
I considered makinganother attempt to discuss Keres with my furry family but discarded the thought quickly; cats were stubborn wee bastards when they wanted to be. Instead I told all five of them to stay inside then grabbed my bag, checked that Keres was still upstairs in the flat and went out again.
There were several places I could go to gain answers without demanding them from the ban sith herself. It was unlikely I’d find many ban siths out and about at this time of day, so I didn’t head straight for Barton Road; instead I jumped off the tram at the closest stop to Migden, a well-heeled suburb of Coldstream.
This was a neighbourhood I knew far better than the one where the ban siths resided. I’d never had cause to visit the Barton Road neighbourhood when I was working as an assassin for EEL; in fact, when I’d started as a baby assassin at least twoof my more experienced colleagues had told me to avoid ban siths if I could. I’d always assumed that was because having a woman shrieking for hours outside the house of a person who’d been placed under contract to be killed could cause no end of problems for the killer. I hadn’t questioned that advice at the time, an oversight that I now intended to remedy.
I marched down the street and into a wide, tree-lined cul-de-sac. The house I was heading for was far grander than my own; its occupant had done well with the stock market and made a series of canny investments that had allowed her to purchase it. Well, that was what she told everyone; the truth was somewhat more complicated and involved an aptitude for wielding lethal poisons.
The window boxes contained several varieties of deadly nightshade, laburnum and hemlock. I knocked on the front door and waited. It didn’t take long for Louise to answer.
It was eight years since I’d last seen her. Socialising with other ex-assassins wasn’t a particularly wise move so we tended to leave each other alone once we’d left the business Once upon a time she and I had been close, and we’d worked together on at least three contracts that had required our combined skills. We’d always been friendly.
I felt a flicker of warmth when I saw her familiar face. Apart from a few extra grey hairs and faint wrinkles around her eyes, she looked the same as always.
Pleasingly, she didn’t appear remotely surprised at my unannounced arrival. ‘Kit! It’s so wonderful to see you!’ She stretched out her arms and pulled me into a tight hug.
She smelled of cinnamon and warmth, and I was immediately transported back to a time when my younger self had relied on her. Louise had been there when I’d sobbed after completing my first assassination contract; she’d understood that my tears were both celebratory and tragic all at the sametime. She’d supported me when I’d refused to complete a contract on a local politician who was being targeted by one of his political rivals. She’d guided me through the ups and downs of my previous life and I’d missed her when she’d retired. I hadn’t realised how much.
‘It’s good to see you too,’ I mumbled into her shoulder. Although I was a middle-aged woman, for a moment I felt like a kid again.
She pulled back and examined me. ‘You look good,’ she said finally. ‘Healthy. Happy.’ She raised an eyebrow. ‘I’m assuming this is a social call. You retired – what? Three years ago?’
‘Closer to four years now,’ I admitted.
‘Are you finding much to occupy your time?’
I smiled. ‘I’m keeping busy. That’s why this isn’t entirely a social call. I was hoping to pick your brains about something.’
Louise smiled back at me. ‘Then you’d better come inside.’
