A Secret Man of Blood

Chapter Eight

Lit by the steady gaze of the moon, Squad watches the bridge from an alley, his face filled with attention. The streets of Blitz are possessed by a midnight quiet, and only a handful of people have passed this way in the time Squad and the others have been watching.

"Do you know the identity of your source?" Anya asks.

"All I know is that they work for the Scrovengi embassy in Blitz and they want to talk about the invasion of the Jade Empire."

"The press is saying that the Scrovengi already control twenty percent of Jiangese territory," adds Indigo, Anya's brother.

Sig shakes his head sadly. "War...what is it good for? Absolutely nothing." He suddenly cheers up. "Still, it pays the bills."

"I'm going to go out on the bridge now," says Squad. "You guys hang back. It'll spook my contact if they see any of you – especially you, Sig. Sorry to hurt your feelings."

Sig waves away his concern. "I don't believe in feelings. I'm made of straw. My spirit animal is an assassin who refuses to talk about emotion. Then again, I'm pretty sure I pissed off the psychic who told me that..."

*

Sig walks down the street and is addressed by a bulky woman dressed in purple robes and covered in gold bangles.

"Line my hand with silver and I'll tell your future!"

"I'm too hungover for this. Who are you?"

"I'm a medium."

Sig snorts out a laugh. "You look extra-large to me."

Eyes narrowing in malice, the woman retorts. "You'll die before the age of forty."

"I'm forty-two."

*

...Remembering this encounter, Sig shakes his head. "Ever since then I've been able to have sex without achieving an erection: the side-effect of a gypsy's curse gone wrong."

Anya, Indigo and Squad all make disgusted noises, before Sig adds. "Of course, I can also have sex with an erection. The gypsy wasn't very good at her job. Although since that day my balls have expanded to seven times their natural size, but hopefully that's pure coincidence."

Without commenting on this, Squad looks at the others. "I'm going over to the bridge now."

"Good idea," Anya and Indigo say in unison.

"I've got more stories," Sig hopefully adds, but Squad is already gone.

Swift jabs of unease hit Squad as he steps out into the centre of the bridge, making sure he's visible from the many possible vantage points. He doesn't want to spook the contact, because the Scrovengi-Jade Empire war is by far the largest current world issue and this insider knowledge could be key to stopping it.

Instinct alerts Squad to a presence nearby and, without giving any signals, he readies for combat. A figure resolves itself from darkness, holding a small circular device: it's a Scrovengi male, tall and imposing, but displaying the palm of his free hand, its claws deadly but holding no weapon. He indicates the orb he's holding, then places it in his pocket. "A cloaking charm, given to me by a techno-mage."

"What's your name?" Squad asks.

The Scrovengi looks around warily. "Call me Lev. I handle communications for the Scrovengi embassy here in the Samarian capital." Lev looks around again, as if all his superiors are standing at his shoulder, then continues at a more rapid pace. "I was handling the encrypted magi-graph messages and saw something I shouldn't have. The border skirmish that precipitated our attack on the Jade Empire was staged by elements within our regime, and I don't know how far up the conspiracy goes."