The Pirates of Pacta Servanda (Pillars of Reality Book 4) by Jack Campbell Page B

you two go a little overboard on the whole thing.”
    “Jealous,” Mari said, her heart still pounding from recent events. “We’ll just get Alain into his robes. That shouldn’t be too hard.” She realized that it should have felt weird to have two other women helping her to dress her husband, but at the moment Asha and Alli felt a lot more like sisters.
    Once his robes were on, the three women hoisted Alain and began carrying him out of the room. “Wow,” Alli commented, looking at Asha as they headed for the stairs. “You’ve got some muscle hidden under those robes.”
    “All Mages prepare for any physical demands,” Asha said, impassive even while helping to maneuver Alain’s limp body down the stairs. “All physical effort must be as nothing.”
    They paused to adjust the load at the bottom of the stairs, Asha maneuvering Alain’s head so that his eyes were pointed toward the Mage who had been injured. “Mage Niaro, working with Dark Mages. You see, Alain,” she told him even though he showed no sign of being aware. “That is how the Mages found you in this city.”
    Mari stared at the fallen Mage, whose blood was forming a widening pool. “Shouldn’t we help him? He’ll die.”
    “He is nothing,” Asha said.
    “No. Nobody is nothing. Not even this Niaro.”
    Bev knelt down, looking over Niaro. “Well, this guy is nothing now. He just died. Hey, Dav, help me drag him out of here.”
    Together the two Mechanics pulled Niaro’s body through the door as the others got Alain out as well. Bev laid out Niaro straight, his arms folded across his chest, as if he were anyone else who had died and needed to be laid out properly. She dug in one pocket and pulled out a coin, placing it on Niaro’s chest in the old ritual.
    “Why are you doing that for him?” Mechanic Dav asked.
    “I’m doing it for me,” Bev said. “So that I know I’m not like he was.”
    Mari saw that the Dark Mage who had surrendered was standing blank-faced, his arms bound, amidst Colonel Faron’s soldiers. Some other soldiers were busy binding up the woman Mari had knocked unconscious.
    The owner of the building followed them out, shouting angrily. “You will pay! This was illegal!”
    “Hold on a second,” Bev said. She brought her rifle to her shoulder, causing the owner to stagger back and cover his head, but her shot went into the building and resulting in a tinkle of breaking glass. “Darn. My weapon went off and hit that oil lamp.”
    “Did you do that for you, too?” Mechanic Dav asked.
    “Nah. I did that for Mari.”
    Firelight was already flickering within the doorway as Colonel Faron turned to a detachment of police officers who had just arrived. “It is unfortunate that you won’t be able to save this building.”
    “If the fire wardens get here quickly enough—” one of the officers began saying.
    “
You won’t be able to save this building
,” Faron repeated in a way that made it clear no more argument was allowed. “Don’t let the fire spread to any other buildings, though.”
    Mari, suddenly feeling very tired, blinked at an empty, open-topped carriage sitting in the street.
    “My unit is supposed to take this carriage down to the quay,” Colonel Faron said as if talking to the air.
    “Get in,” Mari told everyone. It took some work to get Alain up and inside, but he was soon sitting limply between Mari and Asha.
    Only then did Mari notice how crowded the streets were, how many people were there, all of them gazing silently toward the Mechanics and the Mages. A low buzz of conversation started among the crowd, and Colonel Faron turned a pleading glance her way.
    “What do they want?” Mechanic Dav asked, glancing around worriedly and fingering his rifle even though the weapon would be useless against so many.
    “They want me,” Mari said. She stood up carefully in the carriage and looked out on the crowds, feeling a chill at their numbers and their watchfulness. And all of them were