Part Three - The Associate - Chapter Twenty-five

"Finn, wake up." Baisan shook my shoulder and I lazily waved at him to try to ward him off. It didn't work, and he shook me again. "Get up."

I groaned and opened my eyes to glare at him. "What?"

"I need you to go out with Ninavi."

"Why me?"

"Kassia and Stria left earlier. I'm taking out the boys, and Castin's staying here to guard. That leaves you." He poked me. "So? You were complaining about not being let out."

"I wasn't asleep when I was complaining," I muttered, but I sat up anyway and stretched. After a moment, I rotated my wrist experimentally. It was feeling better, probably due to Baisan making sure I didn't do anything with it. "You know, I think I might be able to climb soon."

"And if you try, you'll fall to your death," he said. He walked away and returned with a piece of bread from the night before, which he held out to me. It was so unusual for us to have extra food that I rarely ever ate in the morning, so I dug in eagerly.

"If Tannix's money is lasting so long, why do we even need to go out?" I asked through a mouthful of bread.

"What else are you going to do with your time? Besides, you don't want to get out of practice, do you? Someone else might become the best thief in Zianna."

"Unlikely." I got to my feet. "No other thief brings in as much money as I do."

"You don't steal it, it's given to you," Baisan said.

"But stealing led to me becoming friends with Tannix which led to the money."

He pointed towards the door. "Go."

I laughed and did what I was told. Outside, I ripped another piece off the bread and looked around. "Ninavi?"

Ninavi landed lightly beside me. I glanced up to see where she'd come from. There was a boarded-up window just above me, but the sill left more than enough room for climbing. She grinned at me. "I've been practicing. I'll never be as good as you, but," she shrugged, "I'm much better at acting."

"I stand no chance at beating you there," I agreed.

"And really, I'm more a beggar than a thief." Ninavi started walking ahead of me, and I followed her, still eating my bread. "Finn?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Lord Tandrix..."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you called him Tannix."

Ninavi walked backwards a few steps just so that she could give me an annoyed look. "Do you think Lord Tandrix meant what he said about me fitting in at his ceremony?"

I regarded her carefully, wondering what kind of answer she was looking for. "I think you could easily fit in, given the right clothing."

She spun around, so I caught up with her. We walked in silence for a while, weaving through the streets we knew so well to reach one of the busier ones. As usual, the bigger streets were crowded with people and merchant carts. I glanced up and down the road, taking in the different stalls and what they were selling.

Ninavi's voice broke into my planning. "Why are you and I better at blending in than the others?"

I sighed. "Ninavi, you know why."

"But Castin was born in a brothel too," she said.

"Maybe his father was a Native," I replied with a shrug. I went back to trying to plan which stalls to go for. "Or a foreigner. Or maybe he was a Telt and Castin just doesn't look like him."

"Do you ever wonder about your father?"

Annoyed, I almost snapped at her until I saw the look on her face. "Oh, Ninavi. No, I don't wonder about him. Why should I?" I took her hand and drew her back into a little alley, where we were out of the way of the moving crowds.

She brushed tears away from her eyes. "Because... because I want to know who mine is. Stria and Kassia knew their fathers."

I pulled her into a hug and she clung to me, burying her face in my tunic. Her next words were muffled. "Do you ever wonder if he was one of them?"

"One of who?"

"Like Lord Tandrix. Rich and powerful."

"Well, he was a Telt, so at the very least he was richer than a Native ever could be," I said.

"If the world was fair, you and I would be rich." Ninavi pulled away from me.

"If the world was fair, you and I would never have been born," I pointed out. "Because our mothers wouldn't have had to work in a brothel. I don't know about you, but I'm quite happy that I was born. Even given where we live and what we have to do to survive, don't the good moments make up for the bad?" I smiled, hoping to coax one from her.

It worked, and she tentatively smiled at me. "I guess so."

"Besides, you and I are good at having fun." I put an arm over her shoulders and drew her to my side so that I could whisper conspiratorially. "See that man over there? He's far too rich to be in the lower city. We have to help him fit in, don't we?"

Ninavi's smile grew into a mischievous grin. "Maybe you should go talk to him, and then I can help him."

"A wonderful idea. On my signal."

She nodded.

"Ninavi is turning into quite the thief," I announced proudly as we walked back into our ruined building. Castin was idly throwing pebbles across the room, but he was the only one still there.

"Are you letting him ruin you, Ninavi?" he asked.

"Ruin, hardly!" I sat next to Castin, and Ninavi placed herself in front of him. "If I'm the king of thieves, you must be the princess."

"Princess of thieves. I like that." The pouch she pulled from under her cloak caught Castin's eye instantly, but she didn't hand it over to him. "So what does that make Castin?"

"The bodyguard." I nudged him. "Isn't that right?" Without giving him a chance to reply, I continued speaking. "See, Ninavi? Who needs a rich Telt father when we're the royal family of all thieves?"

"I'm sure your father was the lowliest of all Telts," Castin said. "So low, in fact, that the other Telts refuse to acknowledge him as one of them."

"And your father was banished from his home country for being so annoying that they couldn't stand his presence anymore," I replied with a grin.

"But at least he had fun doing it."

"I'm sure he did."

"Well, I win then," Ninavi said. "Because my father was a rich lord, which means that I'm a lordess."

"That's not a word," Castin said, shaking his head. "I guess that makes you a lady, though."

"Lady Ninavi, Princess of Thieves," I declared dramatically.

Ninavi laughed. "If I'm a lady, maybe you should tell Lord Tandrix to take me to that ceremony."

"I'll tell him the next time I see him," I promised. A thought occurred to me. "Castin, where's Baisan?"

"He won't let you go. You're not healed enough."

"I'm fine," I said. "Besides, you don't know what I want to ask him."

"I think I have a pretty good idea."

"You don't know what he'll say."

Castin raised an eyebrow. "I think I have a pretty good idea."

It took less begging than I expected for Baisan to agree to let me go to the upper city. All I had to do was point out that I had been there countless times, and I knew my way around. He reluctantly agreed to let me go, as long as I didn't draw any attention to myself. No stealing, no climbing around the rooftops, and of course, no being arrested—all of which I agreed to heartily.

Tannix had left behind the blue cloak, by accident or on purpose, I couldn't tell. I was more than happy to wear it again. As I pulled it on, I noticed the red crystals on my bracelet and quickly came up with an idea. Slipping the bracelet over my hand, I crouched in front of Ninavi and held it out to her. She'd been tentative to take it, but I'd insisted that a lady needed some nice jewellery.

Besides, I had a feeling I'd be wearing blue for a while.

Getting into the upper city was easy. I was careful with my wrist while climbing, using my right hand more to steady myself than putting any force on it. The blue cloak fit well enough to not get in my way. As always, going up was easier than going down, but when I finally hopped to the ground, it was much sooner than I'd expected. My wrist and shoulder were sore, but my back felt fine. I hadn't had a chance to look at it, but Kassia said there was hardly any scarring. Soon, the brand would be the only easily noticeable proof of my time in jail.

I brushed off any dust from the cloak and pulled up my hood before heading out onto the wide upper city street. I regretted the promise I'd made to Baisan about not stealing. With the blue cloak, it would be much easier to go unnoticed. It looked new, and if not expensive, at least it made it look like I worked for someone rich.

I wandered openly down streets I usually snuck through, only bothering to avoid getting too close to guards. They were unlikely to recognize me, but I was still cautious. I passed by the marketplace, which was bustling with people. Part of me wanted to go walk through it, but I knew the temptation to take something would be too great. Instead, I walked past it, heading for the Order.

The walls soon came into view. I did not intend to climb over them; I knew it would be too risky. I still wanted to look at them. My thoughts wandered and I remembered the first time I'd climbed over them, to escape the guards who had been chasing Baisan.

So much had changed in that single moment, and I wondered what my life would be like if I had hidden instead of climbed. Baisan probably would have been caught and arrested, and Castin would have had to take over the group. I probably would have never joined them. And, of course, I would have never met Tannix.

Meeting him had resulted in both good and bad. He was easily the closest friend I'd ever had, in spite of the difference in status. He'd given me food and his money had fed the rest of the thieves. I'd been arrested and tortured because of him, but if my theory was correct, the men were after me all along, and he was the only reason they hadn't killed me. Without him, I would have never gotten involved in the first place. The letter would have gone unread.

I became suddenly aware of the weight of the Order ring hanging against my chest. Such a small thing, which had intertwined my life with that of a lord. Someone I should have hated, but instead had instantly liked. On the face of it, our friendship didn't make sense. Tannix didn't make sense. My feelings didn't make sense.

"Boy! What are you doing?"

Shaken from my thoughts, I looked over at who had spoken to me. It was one of the guards standing near the Order's front gates. While thinking, I had gotten a lot closer to the gates than I intended. I started to mumble an apology when I suddenly had an idea. "My master sent me to deliver a message to Lord Tandrix of West Draulin."

The guard glanced at his companion. The two of them were wearing the usual yellow uniforms and light armour. They had swords hanging from their sides and spears in their hands. The one who had spoken looked back at me. "We will pass on your message."

"I was told to deliver it directly to the lord, sir," I said, shaking my head apologetically.

The guard turned to the gate and rapped against it with his spear. A moment later, a younger guard walked up to the other side. "What is it?"

He gestured at me. "A messenger for Lord Tandrix. Go get him."

"Get Lord Tandrix?" the other guard asked. "What if he refuses to come?"

I waved my hand tentatively to get their attention. "Tell him Sir Baisan sends the message. I'm sure he'll come."

The second guard looked at me in disbelief. "Lord Tandrix. Of West Draulin."

I shrugged. "They're good friends. I don't think the lord will mind."

"No lord enjoys being summoned." The guard sighed. "Particularly not the ones who are rich enough to buy a kingdom." He continued mumbling as he walked off.

I stifled a laugh, and hid my face so the remaining guards wouldn't notice. The wait was spent trying to avoid eye contact without acting too suspicious. I clasped my hands behind my back, and mostly stared at the ground until movement near the gate drew my attention.

"Of course Sir Baisan would send you," Tannix said for the sake of the guards. But there was a touch of warning in his voice meant solely for me.

"I'm the fastest messenger, my lord," I replied politely.

"I know." Tannix motioned for the gates to be opened. Instead of inviting me in like I expected, he walked out past the guards. "Luckily, I was already on my way out to the city. Come, we'll talk along the way."

I followed him, letting some distance come between us and the guards before speaking again. "Where are you going?"

"To see my brother," he replied. "What are you doing here? If I didn't know any better, I would say that you wanted to be killed."

"If I wanted to be killed I wouldn't have run away from jail," I said. "I came to the upper city to practice climbing again. I wandered closer to the Order than I meant to and the guards noticed me. I had to tell them something."

"Sir Baisan?"

"I had to pick a name you would recognize. I almost said Lord Finagale but thought better of it."

"Thank the Goddess you think sometimes."

"I always think," I said. "Besides, I like the sound of Lord Finagale. Especially when you say it."

Tannix laughed. "What about me saying it makes it better?"

"It sounds almost real coming from you."

He said nothing but smiled warmly. We walked down a street I'd rarely been to, which was bordered by large buildings that looked like houses. It wasn't where most people in the upper city lived, and I realized that they must be the richer versions of the inns we had in the lower city. There were guards scattered around, and some other rich looking people walking in and out of the buildings. Tannix led me to one of the larger ones and knocked on the wooden door. While waiting for a response, he turned to me.

"Well, Lord Finagale, ready to meet someone who outranks me?"