Free Wild Card by Lisa Shearin Page B

activities. I presumed that meant they weren’t bothered by going up against Khrynsani. Part of the reason the Khrynsani had to be a secret society was that unless you were a goblin from one of the wealthy, old-blood families, you hated the Khrynsani and everything they stood for. The goblin watchers were probably looking forward to tonight’s raid and rob.
    Some quick reconnoitering and discreet questioning by those goblin watchers had netted us our most likely target—a town house that backed up to a canal overlooking the Daith Swamp. Not exactly what you’d call prime real estate, but for hosting an illegal card game, it was nearly perfect. The neighborhood had seen better days, but it wasn’t completely run-down. The house was canal front and swamp back, offering easy access and quick exit.
    There was one hole in Janek’s plan. He needed coverage on the canal between the town house and the Daith Swamp, coverage that wouldn’t raise suspicions. The launches the watch used were easily recognized, and the kind of men and women who chose watcher as a career would have trouble disguising themselves as anything else. Their presence would scare away the players before they even arrived. I knew someone who could have men in boats who wouldn’t look suspicious because they wouldn’t be seen; and if they were seen, they’d look perfectly at home on a backwater canal next to a swamp.
    That same someone had dreamed all his life of robbing a casino—and had stubbornly refused to sit this one out, volunteering both himself and his crew.
    Janek wasn’t particularly fond of Phaelan’s proposed solution, but with no time left to arrange for anything else, he knew he didn’t have a choice.
    Being a pirate involved a pretty straightforward approach to stealing. You made the target ship stop either by intimidation, cannon fire, or both. You boarded. You took. My cousin was a very good pirate. Plus, the Benares bloodline covered the complete thievery spectrum—pirates, highwaymen, con men, gamblers, lawyers, bankers—basically any profession that involved parting people from their money. Cross-training was encouraged. 
    Therefore it was a given that since Phaelan loved to gamble, he couldn’t help casing every casino whose doors he’d darkened, including Sirens. It wasn’t that he planned to actually rob any of them; it was merely his way of having a little harmless fun and staying in practice.
    When I told him what we would be doing, he was thrilled. When I told him who we’d be doing it to, his enthusiasm waned. Unfortunately, it didn’t go down far enough for his survival instinct to kick in.
    I knew the reason. Me.
    We were only cousins, but we’d been raised as brother and sister, and Phaelan wouldn’t abandon family—well, at least not most of them. Part of me was grateful; the rest was worried sick about getting him killed or worse.
    “Stealing a fortune in jewels from the Khrynsani.” It was the third time Phaelan had said it, at least out loud, as if voicing aloud that he—a man who was terrified of high-powered mages—would be taking jewels from under the collective noses of the blackest of the black magic brotherhoods would somehow make it less suicidal.
    “For the last time, you’re not stealing them; and no one’s keeping the jewels, there are souls inside. You’re watching my back and only watching my back—and I don’t want you even doing that.”  
    “Those watchers sure as hell won’t have your back,” Phaelan muttered. “Not that I’d trust them to do it.” 
    “Janek’s assured me he’s put together a team of the best of the city watch, including mages who combat black magic on a daily basis. If Janek trusts them, so do I.”
    Since Mermeia was a favorite with mages in retirement, the watch had to be ready for anything, anytime. I didn’t know if Janek’s mages were of the dark variety, but if they fought as dirty as I’d heard, I couldn’t imagine them being anything