I eyed him for a moment, and concluded that refusing would be the wrong choice. He needed to feel like it was a debt he could pay back, needed to know I wouldn't hold this over him.
"I run shelters for people in need. Here, and in a few other towns. You can help me with them." He nodded quickly, and I smiled. "Now, what do you need help with?"
"My... my guardian," he said in a voice that implied this person was anything but. "I need to get away from him. He can find me no matter how far I run. Can you—can you keep him from finding me?"
"Is he a sorcerer too?"
The kid nodded, his eyes falling to his worn shoes. The sorcerer must've used some tracking spell, but it wouldn't be hard for me to take this kid off his radar.
"I can do that. Would you like to come with me?"
His eyes widened, the earlier sharpness replaced with a soft vulnerability that for once made him look his age. "I can't right now. I have... I have someone I have to go back for. I can't leave her."
A sister? A girlfriend?
"Okay. How about we meet right here after sunset?" I suggested, and he swallowed hard, then nodded.
Carefully, I clasped his left forearm, and squeezed. "It'll be okay. Everything will be okay."
He nodded, then glanced around. "I need to go. I can't stay out too long, or he'll know."
I dropped my hold, and he turned around, ready to bolt.
"What's your name?" I asked before he could disappear, and he turned back, his brows furrowed. I knew before he spoke that it wasn't real, but I let him get away with it. Maybe over time, he'd trust me enough to give me his real name.
Unfortunately, that was the last time I ever saw the kid.
