reactions confirmed his thoughts.
‘Very well. We shall see what information Hakiem has. Saliman, take Mor-Am and
Moria and go with Mungo to find the storyteller. Bring him here and -‘
‘No!’ the boy cried, interrupting. ‘Hakiem will only give the information to
Jubal personally, and he is to come alone.’
‘What?’ Saliman exclaimed.
‘This sounds like a trap!’ Moria scowled.
Jubal waved them to silence as he stared down at the boy. It could be a trap.
Then again, there could be another reason for Hakiem’s request. The information
might involve someone in Jubal’s own force! An assassin … or worse, an
informer! That could explain Hakiem’s reluctance to come to the mansion in
person.
‘I will go,’ Jubal said, rising and sweeping the room with his eyes. ‘Alone,
with Mungo. Saliman, I will require the use of your mask.’
‘I want my knife back!’ Mungo declared suddenly.
Jubal raised a questioning eyebrow at Mor-Am, who flushed and produced a short
dagger from his belt.
‘We took it from him when we caught him,’ the sell-sword explained. ‘A safety
precaution. We had no intent to steal it.’
‘Give it back,’ Jubal laughed. ‘I would not send my worst enemy into the streets
of Sanctuary unarmed.’
‘Jubal,’ Saliman murmured as he surrendered his hawk-mask. ‘If this should be a
trap …’
Jubal dropped a hand to his sword hilt.
‘If it is a trap,’ he smiled, ‘they’ll not find me easy prey. I survived five
to-one odds and worse in the pits before I won my freedom.’
‘But-‘
‘You are not to follow,’ Jubal ordered sternly. ‘Nor allow any other to follow.