Blood dripped from Brígh’s nose, but she didn’t seem distracted. She’d fallen back into his easy stance even as her blood soaked into the dust.
She has to have a vulnerable spot. Everyone did. Everyone had to. But other than her nose, which evidently didn’t bother her at all, Brígh didn’t look like she had any injuries to exploit. She moved comfortably, no compensating for any weakness. So where…?
Oh.
It seemed a little dirty, but… well, Brígh hadn’t mentioned any rules.
Ninian feinted like he was going to charge, and Brígh took the bait. The woman lunged forward while Ninian found his center again, and Ninian dropped his shoulder like he meant to accept Brígh’s attack head-on.
Brígh’s shoulders turned. A punch was coming.
Time seemed to slow. If that blow made contact, Ninian would certainly be knocked out, maybe for good. Ignoring the chill of the thought, he let gravity take over.
Keeping his legs solidly under him, he fell into a graceful crouch.
And sprang up directly underneath Brígh.
Ninian’s bony shoulder crushed upward between the woman’s legs.
Brígh let out a cry and stumbled backward.
Ninian danced a safe distance away as Brígh fell to her knees, gasping. Holding his stance, ready to evade a surprise offense, Ninian watched Brígh drop her head with a groan. After a few moments, she held out a hand. “All right, kid,” she wheezed, face contorted. “That oughta do it.” She looked a little ill. “Damn, I’m glad I haven’t got …”
Ninian reluctantly helped her up, and Brígh hobbled to the gate and leaned on it.
“I found a good one, didn’t I?” Laoise said with a smirk.
Brígh grimaced at her. “He moves well. Though in a proper fight, I would expect him to finish me once I was down.” Her gaze flicked to Ninian. “We can work on that.”
“So,” Laoise said, resting her head triumphantly on the bars of the fence, “we all set?”
Brígh nodded. “Go back inside and tell Fergus to give you your due.”
“Fergus? The lazy kid?”
Brígh rolled her eyes. “The lazy kid. Yeah.”
Ninian still stood uncertainly in the middle of the courtyard. The side of his face ached from where Brígh had backhanded him, but there was a perverse little grain of satisfaction behind his breastbone; he’d given more damage than he’d taken.
“Kid, c’mere.” Brígh beckoned Ninian over as Laoise walked back to the hovel. “Follow me.”
Ninian grabbed his cloak and followed Brígh around the front of the building, where Laoise was leaving, looking very satisfied as she slipped a leather purse into her pocket. She waved to Ninian. “Good luck.” She grinned, patting her pocket. “You might need it.”
Ninian looked to Brígh. “What did she get paid for?”
“Hm?” Brígh’s eyes followed Laoise until she turned out of sight. “You.”
Ninian’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Brígh waved a hand absently. “She’s not one of us, but she doesn’t supply anyone else. She’s useful.”
Ninian tugged at the top joint of his thumb. “She brings you people she thinks you could hire, and you pay her to do that?”
Brígh frowned. “‘Hire’ is a bit of a funny word.” She watched Laoise’s retreating back with a degree of coldness. “But she gets paid.”
It wasn’t too much of a shock, Ninian supposed, but it did sting. He’d let himself believe that Laoise was on his side. That had been foolish. His shoulders dropped a little. “I see.” Served him right for trusting someone so quickly.
Still. Even if she’d been self-interested, Laoise hadn’t lied. She had introduced him to a way to pay off his debt, so Ninian forced himself to concentrate on the immediate future. That was all that mattered.
“Anyway,” Brígh said, clapping Ninian on the back too roughly to be friendly. “Let’s go.”
Shrugging his cloak back tightly around his shoulders, Ninian went.
CHAPTER SIX
After a little while of walking, Ninian couldn’t keep biting his tongue. Brígh had been stopping people in the street every once in a while, clearly familiar with them, and everyone she exchanged words with looked at Ninian with appraising curiosity. “Who are those people?”
Brígh grinned. “Your new family. I’m just spreading the news.”
Ninian pressed his lips together. “Oh.”
Pieces had been coming together in Ninian’s head. He wasn’t stupid. Brígh’s constant use of ‘us.’ The nearness to the Inner Maze. ‘New family.’
He thought of Máel Máedóc, of the giant shopkeeper’s glinting eyes and fists that would end Ninian’s life. The memory of freezing terror sent a shiver down to his fingertips.
So be it, he decided quickly. He could fight on behalf of a gang until his debt was paid.
Brígh whistled while Ninian walked in silence. He made sure he kept his head up, despite the nerves buzzing in his gut.
Ninian suspected that the walk felt longer than it actually was, but the next thing he knew, Brígh had stopped outside of a gray-blue house with windows of spiderwebbed glass. Ninian raised his eyebrows at it. It was actually a proper house, with two stories, and Ninian could see furniture inside.
“Brígh!” A voice came from down the road, and Brígh looked up. Ninian saw a man with curly, honey-brown hair jogging toward them. He looked about twenty, with a compact build and an open face that easily broke into a smile; his moss-green eyes flicked between Brígh and Ninian, full of energy.
“Ah.” Brígh didn’t smile as the man arrived. “What’s the word?”
The man was a little winded, but he grinned all the same. “I came when I heard! Is this him?”
Brígh nodded. “Did you talk to Cahir?”
“Sure. Nothing unusual.” He beamed at Ninian. “Hey, there! I’m Ruairí. You’re Ninian, right?”
Ninian nodded.
Ruairí’s smile just got bigger. “I heard you’re a fighter! Well, good on you!” Ruairí clapped Ninian on the back hard enough to knock the wind from Ninian’s lungs, and Ninian flinched away. Ruairí tucked the offending hand into his pocket, but Ninian still watched him uneasily. Then Ruairí snapped his fingers and turned to Brígh. “Oh! There was one thing. Since he’s kinda young, Cahir wanted to know what your call was.”
Brígh’s lip curled in thought, and then she sighed. “A lot of potential. Shouldn’t let him go.”
Ruairí’s smile made Ninian wonder if Brígh’s words were a good thing. “Well, then I suppose I’ll see you tonight, Ninian. Try and prepare yourself, okay?”
“For what?” Ninian demanded.
Ruairí laughed. “We’re a bit of a mess, so you’ll have to wait to get things sorted with the boss.” He waved his hand airily. “Don’t worry about it, it’ll be worth the wait.”