A Woman's Weapon — Mercedes Lackey

The Guild Master was ill, his rival's workplace was a noxious slum, and his apprentice's father had twenty dead horses. Tarma knew that something was seriously wrong; now all she had to do was convince her partners Kethry and Warrl and then figure out what to do about it.

This story originally appeared in Sword & Sorceress 9 in 1992.