Free Wild Card by Lisa Shearin Page A

will leave.”
    “Taking the souls of eight innocent children with them, children whose bodies will die at sunrise. Not to mention the souls the other players will bring with them.”        
    “What would you have me do, Mistress Benares? If I don’t go after them, they won’t come after me.”
    “You’re the only one I know who could help.”
    “Know?” He barked a laugh. “You know me? If you truly knew me you would not put yourself in the same room with me. You do not know who I am, and you have no idea of what I have done.”
    “And I don’t care. You left it behind. That tells me you don’t like what you did, either. Yes, the Khrynsani murdered your wife. They got what they wanted—you out of their way. Looks to me like they’ve already won.”
    “I’m alive.”
    “Yeah, you are. Tell me, what kind of life is it?”
    “Nothing I say will dissuade you.”
    “Then why are you trying?”
    “To keep the best this city has from being slaughtered—or worse, from having their souls taken prisoner as well.”
    I hadn’t thought about that. When a dark mage of Tamnais Nathrach’s skill said we were in way over our heads, I believed it. But it wasn’t going to stop us from—
    “It won’t stop you,” the goblin said, as if reading my mind. He may have. Or my face was an open book; yet another reason I didn’t play cards.
    “No, it won’t, and it can’t. We have to try.”   
    “I cannot offer assistance beyond that which I have already given.”
    “Then I won’t ask it again.” I stood to leave. Nathrach stood with me. “Thank you for what you were able to tell me. It will help.”
    “Do you even know what a Khrynsani mage is capable of?” he asked softly.
    “Trading the kidnapped souls of innocent children to demons for knowledge no mortal should have is as bad as it gets. So I’d imagine they’ve got the entire spectrum of evil pretty much covered.”
    Nathrach gave me the faintest of smiles, but there was no humor in it. “Pretty much. And exactly what can you do that would keep them from killing you—or worse—when they discover you’re there?”
    I swallowed. “When. . .?”
    “Oh, yes. When. Mistress Benares, you have no idea what you’re going up against.”
    I stepped around him and opened the door. “I don’t see it as a choice.”
     
    *
     
    Just because I didn’t see it as a choice didn’t mean I wanted to do it.
    I was scared. Terrified, actually.
    There, I’d said it.
    Tamnais Nathrach had said I didn’t know him, and he was right; I didn’t. But I’d always thought of myself as a good judge of character. The goblin dark mage was no coward.
    Refusing to get involved in this wasn’t an absence of bravery; it was a profusion of good sense. There came a time when the only thing you could do was run—or as Phaelan would call it, beat a tactical retreat. I could only imagine what the Khrynsani had done to force Nathrach to abandon those he loved, his post, his queen, and his people. His making a tactical retreat—whether temporary or permanent—wasn’t for me to judge. I felt a little guilty for some of what I’d said to the goblin mage, and after this was all over, I’d apologize.
    If you live long enough , said the pessimist that had a permanent residence in my head.
    Tamnais Nathrach hadn’t been able to narrow down any further where the Khrynsani would be hosting their card game, but he’d given me plenty.
    Best of all, what he’d told me had matched the intelligence that Janek had gotten through his counterpart in the Goblin District. I had no reason to believe that Nathrach had been anything but totally honest with me, and I was glad I wasn’t going to have to waste any valuable time convincing Janek.
    The chief watcher had put together a team and a plan.
    There were goblins on the city watch, most assigned to the Goblin District. Janek and his counterpart there were good friends, and he had a team that would be perfect for tonight’s