Page 10 of The Wind Dancer
I pulled out spare clothes from the stash — a thick cotton shirt and loose trousers, and I cleaned my boots a bit. I instantly looked like a tradesman’s apprentice.
I rolled up the bloodstained outfit and put it in a small backpack. I’d have to give that to Mother Ho for washing and mending. The old woman had terrible eyesight and never askedquestions. My mentor and I appreciated her very much, always paying her properly for her services.
After changing, I took a few deep breaths. The cleanup procedure was soothing, but my mind was still racing. The cut I got from the cultist still hurt. And the outfit that I had packed for cleaning stank of blood and those horrible creatures. And the dragonblood’s words were still ringing in my ears“Swear that you will fulfill my three requests.”What have I gotten myself into with that deal? I was tempted to open the file, but I had something far more important to do right now. I needed to go rest and pull myself together. And then I could properly check how much of the loot I had managed to keep.
The Garden of the Nine Gates was just up ahead. It wastheplace to get drunk, forget about worries, and to find someone to spend the night with that could get your mind off of things. The leaders of the gangs that controlled the Lower City made an agreement that this place would be neutral grounds. No fighting allowed. If you wanted to fight so badly, you had to go to the underground arena in the basement. The tavern was on the ground floor, where one could get all kinds of drinks and food. You could rent a room on the first floor to get some personal space. And on the second floor was a brothel for those looking for fun and to ease their minds.
The Garden of the Nine Gates was a place where the boundaries between worlds blurred. You could see anyone here: tired merchants or gang leaders, spies and officials, even nobles who decided to indulge themselves. All under one roof, where the unspoken law was “No fighting. No killing. No questions.”
All of it existed under the protection of the city guard, the guilds, and the largest gangs in the city. The owner of this place was an old acquaintance of my mentor, so I was always welcome.
The narrow street leading to the Garden of the Nine Gates seemed quiet and peaceful, but I couldn’t let myself be careless. It was a habit, and it wouldn’t let me just walk down the street without keeping an eye out for any signs of danger.
Maybe I was paranoid, but the shadows seemed deeper than usual, and every rustle made me grip the hilt of the dagger hidden in the folds of my jacket. I felt like I couldn’t relax. Even here, on neutral territory, there could always be someone who’d try and get some coin by catching me off guard.
But so far, everything had been quiet. Too quiet.
I didn’t like it.
And when three people came around the corner toward me, I finally relaxed a bit. Just delinquents. They didn’t try to hide their intention — their eyes were full of greed, and daggers and bats were ready in their hands. I stopped, assessing the situation. Footsteps came from behind me. Two more of them. They moved confidently, and slowly, as if they were certain their victim had no chance.
“Nice evening for a stroll,” one of them said hoarsely, grinning. “You know how this goes. Leave all your stuff and you can walk away. If you refuse, you’ll stay here. Forever.” His nasty grin annoyed me.
I slowly turned my head, looking at each of them. I didn’t let it show on my face, but I was getting pissed off by people who thought numbers could replace skill.
“Do you even know whose territory you’re in?” I asked, my voice low, but my tone sharp. “The Garden of the Nine Gates is neutral territory. Moonface Tong is patrolling here tonight.”
“Shut your mouth and hand over everything you’ve got,” one of the wannabe bandits snapped, yet there was a note of uncertainty in his voice. But it was too late now. They had already started this.
I didn’t wait. Hitting first was the golden rule of living on the street, and it was still ingrained in me.
My first strike was lightning fast. I plunged the long dagger into the throat of the nearest bandit. Blood splattered the walls, and I turned around, dodging the attack of the guy next to him. The short dagger slid across his wrist, cutting both tendon and muscle. He screamed, and then the scream turned into a squeal as I plunged the blade into his stomach and twisted sharply.
The third bandit tried to attack from behind. As if sensing the air move, I ducked under it and then sprang back up, slamming my elbow into his face. His nose cracked, and he staggered back. I didn’t give him time to get his bearings. I grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head against the wall. Once. Twice. The third time left a bloody smear on the bricks. This fight was, for some reason, making me less tense.
The remaining two did the dumb thing, and attacked instead of running. One of them swung a knife wildly, and I caught his wrist, yanking him toward me, so that I could ram him into my dagger. The other one tried to swing at me, but I moved aside, letting the blade arc through empty air. I struck back quickly, and precisely. I stabbed his neck, cutting the main artery. Blood gushed out, and I quickly stepped back so I wouldn’t get this outfit dirty as well.
The first idiot who attacked me tried to get up, so I annoyedly walked over and plunged my dagger into the base of his skull. He jerked and then fell limply.
There was silence again, only interrupted by my heavy breathing. I looked at the corpses, making sure that they were actually dead. Then, slowly, I wiped my blades on the nearest bandits’ clothes and put them back into place.
“Brother Lao, are you in a bad mood today?” A dozen thugs armed with all manners of weapons came out from around the corner. They were led by a young man with a tattooed face, the main feature of the tattoo being a crescent moon on his forehead.
“You’re slacking, Brother Zhao. They tried to rob me.” I smiled in response. We had known each other since we were ten and considered each other close friends. Well, as much as our kind could.
“You aren’t wearing any Tong marks, so these idiots thought they could rob you.” He turned to look at one of his goons, who grimaced as he reached into his coin purse and handed Zhao a few coins. With a satisfied smile, he handed me half of his winnings.
“I always bet on you, brother. Will you be staying in the Garden of the Nine Gates long? My shift is until dawn and I’d be happy to have a drink with you.”
“I want to get myself together and get some rest, so we can grab a drink when I get up.”
“Alright,” he nodded and then ordered his men to clean up. All the valuables would be taken, and the bodies would be fed to pigs, or fish. Nothing was wasted down here.
I took a step toward the Garden of the Nine Gates, but stopped when I felt something warm trickle down my arm. One of them had managed to hurt me after all. I clenched my teeth, closing my eyes for a moment. Then I wiped my hand on my pants and continued walking. My mood was even worse.
The Garden of the Nine Gates was just up ahead. It was bursting with life and light, a steady flow of people coming and going, and I knew many ways of relaxation and distraction awaited inside. Before I headed to the door, I looked back at the dark street where the five men were lying. Their blood was already soaking into the stones, becoming part of the city.
I sighed and moved into the light coming from the tavern’s doors, but before I entered, I felt a hand grab my wrist. I instantly tensed up, and turned around, ready to attack, but I found myself face to face with an old man. Deep wrinkles carved his face, and his eyes were dull and cloudy, as if he were looking through me. He didn’t say a word, just shoved a crumpled note into my hand and immediately disappeared into the crowd like a ghost.
