Harding crashed onto the cavern hall floor. Someone yanked him up by the hair, exposing his vulnerable throat.
"Don't be so rude to our guest."
Granger, the second-in-command, waved for his men to release him. "Wasn't your boss coming for the Wolf King's head? Why send you instead?"
Harding rose shakily, his face all smiles. "Our boss says there were too many people outside. She's only just become the boss, so she had to establish her authority. She sent me to apologize at once. She also says we'll give the Wolf Gang half the proceeds from Mountainside Ravine and the Valoran Basin. Would that be acceptable?"
The second-in-command glanced thoughtfully at the Wolf King, who wore the pelt of an enormous wolf and looked like a wolf standing there.
"Not enough. I want her on her knees before me, licking my boots."
Harding agreed eagerly. "I'll go back and ask her right now."
He had barely turned when Granger seized his shoulder. Behind him came the Wolf King's icy murmur.
"You're not going back. By now, that woman who doesn't know her place should have lost her head."
"Fisher, you're a smart man."
"Even if the Oyster Gang joined forces with every gang in the Broken Mining District, you'd be no match for the Oskulas Mercenary Company. And the Oskulas Mercenary Company is only a tiny part of a much larger organization."
"With every advantage on our side, what reason do you have to refuse?"
Snow fell harder outside the window. Fisher watched the warrior before him, an Elite who had come claiming he could save them.
"That's exactly why I hesitate."
Fisher looked out the window. His men were patrolling, their figures fading in and out of the snow.
"Gold Narl doesn't fall from the sky. If you're