Book 2 - Shadows Linger by Glen Cook Page B

either way he would be off the hook.
    He was in the middle now. He hated Krage. Krage had humiliated
him for years, keeping him in debt, stealing food from his mouth
with ridiculous interest rates. On the other hand, Raven could
connect him with the black castle and crimes in the Enclosure.
    The Custodians were on the hunt, looking for somebody spending a
lot of old money. Little had been said publicly, but Bullock being
on the case told Shed just how seriously they were taking the case
up the hill. He’d nearly had a stroke when Bullock walked
into the Lily.
    What had become of the passage money? Shed hadn’t seen any
of it. He supposed Raven still had it. He and Raven were partners
now . . . 
    “What did Krage say?” Raven asked when Shed reached
the Lily.
    “Wants me to help kill you.”
    “I thought so. Shed, it’s late in the season.
It’s time to send Krage up the hill. Which way are you
leaning, partner? Him or me?”
    “I . . . Uh . . . ”
    “In the long run you’re better off getting rid of
Krage. He’d find a way to get the Lily eventually.”
    True, Shed reflected. “All right. What do we
do?”
    “Tomorrow, go tell him you think I’ve been selling
bodies. That you think Asa was my partner. That you think I did Asa
in. Asa was your friend and you’re upset. It’ll all be
just near enough reality to confuse
him . . . What’s the matter?”
    Always a trap. Raven was right. Krage would believe the story.
But Shed had hoped for a less direct role. If Raven screwed up,
Marron Shed would be found in a gutter with his throat cut.
    “Nothing.”
    “All right. Night after tomorrow night, I’ll go out.
You run to tell Krage. I’ll let his men track me. Krage will
want to be in at the kill. I’ll ambush him.”
    “You did that before, didn’t you?”
    “He’ll come anyway. He’s stupid.”
    Shed swallowed. “That isn’t a plan that does much
for my nerves.”
    “Your nerves aren’t my problem, Shed. They’re
yours. You lost them. Only you can find them again.”
    Krage bought Shed’s story. He was ecstatic because Raven
was such a villain. “If I didn’t want him myself,
I’d yell for the Custodians. You did good, Shed. I should
have suspected Asa. He never brought no news worth
hearing.”
    Shed whined, “Who would buy bodies, Krage?”
    Krage
grinned. “Don’t worry your ugly head. Let me know next
time he goes on one of his jaunts. We’ll rig up a little
surprise.”
    Next night Shed reported according to plan. And suffered all the
disappointment he expected of life. Krage insisted he join the
hunt.
    “What good would I be, Krage? I’m not even armed.
And he’s one tough nut. You won’t take him without a
fight.”
    “I don’t expect to. You’re coming along just
in case.”
    “In case?”
    “In case there’s a trap in this and I want to lay
hands on you fast.”
    Shed shuddered, whined, “I done right by you. Don’t
I always do right by you?”
    “You always do what a coward would. Which is why I
don’t trust you. Anybody can scare you. And you had all that
money. It occurs to me you might be in the racket with
Raven.”
    Shed went cold. Krage donned his coat. “Let’s go,
Shed. Stay right beside me. You try to wander off, I’ll kill
you.”
    Shed started shaking. He was dead. All he had gone through to
get Krage off his back . . . It wasn’t
fair. It just wasn’t fair. Nothing ever worked for him. He
stumbled into the street, wondering what he could do and knowing
there was no escape.
    Tears froze on his cheeks.
    No exit. If he fled, Krage would be warned. If he did not, Krage
would kill him when Raven sprang his ambush. What was his mother
going to do?
    He had to do something. Had to find some guts, make a decision,
act. He couldn’t surrender to fate and hope for luck. That
meant the Catacombs or black castle before dawn.
    He had lied to Krage. He had a butcher knife up his left sleeve.
He had put it there out of sheer bravado. Krage