“Thatprovesyou didn’t just catch them yesterday!”
If they had been any closer to town, As’ad would have been concerned that the girl’s increasing volume would attract attention. Determined to play it out, he continued to act as though nothing was amiss.
“I don’t see how.” He smiled at the rat in his hand and rubbed between her little ears. “It is true that I have become fond of rats“—he held up his hand when she tried to protest— “when they are not demolishing a village’s storehouses,” he appeased.
She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him. “Nobody is fond of rats.”
As’ad shrugged lightly. “Their loss. I have found them to be quite intelligent and affectionate.”
“Ha!” She brandished her finger at him again. “Intelligent, huh? Meaning you can train them.”
He scratched his cheek as though contemplating the idea. “Yes,” he mused. “ I suppose that is very likely possible. I have never kept any quite long enough to determine that.”
The girl’s frown became more contemplative and ever-so-slightly less hostile.
Taking that as a hopeful sign, As’ad went on the attack in his mildest, most reasonable tone. “It sounds like you have a theory. Some story that you’ve created in your mind about me. Would you care to share the thoughts that led you there?”
“Well, first off, you showed up awfully quick when the messengers were sent for you.”
As’ad purposefully turned his back to her, to demonstrate how little he was concerned by her presence and to put Khudha away. “I believe that came up the other day, didn’t it? I was able to arrive in a timely fashion because I was already heading this direction. I’m following a pattern, you may recall.”
He couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like the girl was grinding her teeth. He faced her again and leaned against the handcart before crossing his arms casually across his chest.
She sighed heavily through her nose. “Wouldyoucare to explain the odd behavior of the rats? They didn’t react normally. To anything!”
“How exactly are rats that have been formed by a curse or some other magicsupposedto react? All our standards for normal are thrown out the window.” He scratched his ear, then very deliberately stifled a yawn.
“But what about the excrement?”What was this girl’s obsession with droppings?“None of the big crowd of rats left any—”
As’ad interrupted, “Again, magically produced or prompted creatures tend to follow different rules than the rest of us.”
“—but the Marzaries noticed rat leavings on their table at the party,” she finished as though he hadn’t spoken. “Which lends credence to my ‘theory’ that you are using trained rats in some capacity to pull a con.”
Fear stabbed at As’ad’s chest like a spear. Only the years and years of hiding his thoughts kept him from revealing the accuracy of her statement, even as a bead of sweat trickled down his spine. He hated to do it, but the threat pushed him to poke at what was likely a sore spot for her.
“I wonder that you’re here confronting me on your own. Did no one else think your questions were valid?” He pushed off the handcart and walked closer, still leaving plenty of space between them. “So far, I haven’t seen you produce any proof of your words. You may, of course, run back to Nahr with your little tale. But your presence here, alone, makes me think they don’t tend to listen to you, do they? Are you, perhaps, known for wild stories?”
The hurt that flickered across her face pinched at his heart. He had scored a direct hit and he knew it.
“Go home, miss,” he said quietly. “Your family will be missing you.”
Something else appeared in her expression for a split second. “Are you still heading to Jabal?”
“Yes. I’m working that direction.”
He was confused by the abrupt change in her line of questioning. Even more so when she nodded, sharply turned on her heel, and stalked off into the darkness back toward Nahr. Somewhat absently, he noted the large pack she wore on her back. He hadn’t initially noticed it in the dark and now wondered what her unstated goal was. Who brought that much luggage to confront a con man? A weapon would make sense, but he doubted she was carrying an entire rucksack of knives and slingshots.
Still unsettled from the confrontation, As’ad’s interactions with his beloved pets were stilted. They didn’t seem to notice, content with the treats and belly rubs. For some reason, the encounter lingered in his mind, and the little one-man tent felt rather crowded. Sleep eventually took him, but not before the guilt about his parting shot had been stuffed down more than once.
No longer in a hurry to put distance between himself and the site of his last con, As’ad took his time the next morning getting ready for the day. When he did begin walking down the road, he was plagued by an itchiness between his shoulder blades. Several times throughout the day, he looked behind to search for the source of his unease. Nothing was ever there.
The terrain was an interesting mash-up of desert and jungle. More substantial green plants began filling the view, while dry sand collected at their roots. When the wind came in from the north, it was hot and dry. If the breeze shifted to swirl in from the south, As’ad felt sticky. The contrast would normally keep him entertained as he experienced and observed these new sensations.
Instead, he remained jumpy throughout his midday rest and while passing a much smaller village that afternoon. On any other day, he might have gone in to purchase perishable food items, but the wariness he just couldn’t shake convinced him to skirt around the community instead.
Nothing unusual—or even interesting, really—happened that evening or the following day. The third afternoon after being mean to the girl, he did venture into a small community that lay not far from the road to purchase some fresh fruit. It broke up the monotony a wee bit, but he still hadn’t regained his equilibrium.
The fourth day finally felt like winter was approaching. The night’s coolness lingered longer than before. Sometime after lunch, a light rain began. More mist than anything, the fine droplets seem to hover in the air and cling to everything. As’ad stopped early that evening. His rats remained dry and warm under their oiled canvas, but he fared less comfortably. His fire that night was larger than usual. Although still some weeks away from the true mountains, the low foothills provided more, and different, plant life than he was used to. One side effect/benefit was the ease with which he could now collect firewood. He stashed as much as he could in the cart against the day that his path took him away from the abundance.
