That was all a long time ago.I fought back the waves of grief that inevitably welled up anytime my mind drifted to my father.Fingering my locket to quell the memories, I focused on the task at hand.
The pain was fast and fierce as the healing liquid seeped into my cut.White foam formed around the gash.I bared my teeth, hissing in a quick breath.The cauterizing felt far worse than the wound itself, but it was nothing compared to the pain of an amputated leg lost to the ravages of infection.I had witnessed many gruesome things under my father’s tutelage.
After disinfecting my wound and cleaning up with the bath salts provided in glass jars along the pool’s edge, I waded out and dried by the fire.
Now that I was more or less presentable, I continued on my way.
When I arrived at the Charred Snake, it was far later than expected, and the typical din of the tavern had fallen silent.Teon sat just outside the front door, snoring loudly, lost to the world.My eyes widened when I saw a mark written in charcoal next to the door.It had not been there earlier that night.Two snakes intertwined, forming anoand anecasting a shadow in the shape of a flame.I knew this mark well: the Order of Emberlight.These tags appeared all over town, and though their purpose wasn’t clear, it made me worry that something had happened.I rushed inside.
My knocks on Garrick’s door went unanswered, which made me fear the worst.I carefully cracked open the door and spotted Garrick face down on his desk, and my pulse shot up.“Garrick!”
He stirred with a loud snort, blinking—only asleep, thank dust.
“There you are, Cas.I tried to stay up.What took you so long?”he said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
“Long story.”
“Care to elaborate?”
I didn’t particularly.My eyelids were heavy, and I wasn’t exactly proud of what had happened, so I deflected.“First tell me why the Order of Emberlight tagged your wall.”
“Bloody hells!”Garrick said, jumping up.“What in the dust do they want with me?”
He dashed out of the tavern with me on his heels.Garrick took a quick glance at Teon, asleep on the job, and sighed.“Useless.”He rubbed away the charcoal with the edge of his shirt until the image was just a dark smudge.
The Order of Emberlight intrigued me, and a pang of regret hit, which Garrick picked up on the moment he looked my way.“Cas, they’re nothing more than a band of vigilantes and rebels who will all end up dead.”
“Isn’t that what I am, too?”
“The jobs you do are only a flea on a dog.The Order of Emberlight is trying to kill the damn dog.And it’s a dog with very sharp teeth.”
Garrick’s dismissal of my work was like a slap in the face.Half the reason I did what I did was to mete out justice in the only way I could.
“That’s the point,” I said.“Iwantto do more.”
Garrick gave me a measured look.“Not at the expense of your life,” he said, and the look on his face said the rest:Don’t leave Elena to fend for herself.
He was right, of course, but that didn’t make it easier.From the moment I’d heard of the Order of Emberlight, I’d wanted nothing more than to join them.But I had also promised my mother I’d keep my sister safe—her dying wish.That was myrealjob.
“C’mon,” Garrick said, ushering me back to his office.“Let’s finish our business.Seriously, though, what took you so long?It’s not like you.In fact, I’m not sure you’veeverbeen late.”
All the problems of tonight came rushing back.Garrick continued to stare.He wouldn’t let this drop without some explanation.But I didn’t want to mention the other thief, at least not until I knew what I was dealing with.First I’d decipher the parchment, and then I’d decide what to tell Garrick.
So I simply said, “Guard problems.”
His eyes opened wide.“Were you seen?”
“I had my mask on.”Technically the golden-eyed thief had seen me, but I didn’t want Garrick to worry—or scold me—about that.
“Thank Queen Amara.”He sat back down at his desk and let out a long breath of relief.“Did you get the gold?”
I removed the sack of coins from my bag and handed it to him.It was hard to hold back a smile.
“Excellent.”Garrick emptied the heap of gold onto his desk and split it into three piles of varying sizes.“This is for the kitchen maid,” he said, pointing, “and this is my twenty percent commission.”Finally he tapped the largest pile.“And this is for you, Cas.Good work tonight.Not a bad haul.”
Garrick took a decent cut, but he was fair.He helped to find me targets and provided intel.He knew my preference was to hit only targets who were truly bad people or had done my family harm.He was the middleman and my only point of contact.It was best to minimize the number of people I interacted with.
I scooped up my share of the gold and stashed it in my pack.
