“They wanted her to know they were after her,” Gavin said.
“Obviously.”
“Why though?”
“Like I said, it makes you wonder.”
“That they wanted me to fail?”
“What do you think?” Gaspar asked.
“Honestly? I don’t really know what to think. Not anymore. It could be that this is only tied to the job, but—”
“But you wonder if it’s more than that.”
Gavin sighed. “I think I have to.” He paused and looked along the street again, then finally turned his attention back toward where he’d been coming from. “I need to find Hamish.”
“What makes you think this time will be any different?”
“You’re going to be with me this time,” Gavin said.
Gaspar grunted. “What makes you think I’m going to be any more useful to you than going alone? You have that friend of yours always listening in.”
It was the first time Gaspar had made it known he was aware of Wrenlow and his enchantment. Gavin thought that Wrenlow had hidden their communication, that he had proven that he was only scouting for them, but maybe Gaspar had overheard conversations.
“What makes you think that?”
Gaspar grunted again. “Don’t take my age for ignorance, boy. I’ve been around enough people to know things aren’t always quite the way they seem. You start to notice patterns, and patterns start to raise questions. In your case, with the two of you always whispering about, it made me wonder.” He looked over, and there was a knowing expression in his eyes. “Not sure how you do it and not sure it matters. You want to keep it to yourself, that’s your prerogative. All I’m saying is that you and that other kid have a way of talking.”
There wasn’t anything worrying about the way Gaspar said it. Either he wasn’t concerned about the possibility that Gavin and Wrenlow had a magical enhancement, or he was hiding it. Regardless, Gavin wasn’t sure that it mattered.
“Well?” Gaspar asked.
“Well what?” Gavin slipped along the shadows, moving closer to the house so he could get a better view.
Gaspar followed him. “Are we going to find this employer of yours?”
“As I said, we don’t know where to look.”
“We found him once before.”
Gavin looked over at Gaspar and frowned. It might be easier to do this without the thief. “We knew he was going to the market. Not anything else beyond that.”
“And he’s found you other times,” Gaspar said.
“Always when he had messages to send me.”
“How do you get back to him when you have messages?”
“Usually I don’t,” Gavin said, shrugging.
“How do you tell him when the job is done?”
“He always seems to know. I’ve never had to reach out to him.”
“Makes you wonder.” Gaspar looked over to the manor house, studying it for a long moment.
“How should that make me wonder?”
“Are you always this dense?”
“Not usually,” Gavin said.
“If he knows when a job is done and tells you that he has someone close to those you’ve been targeting, why do you think that should be?”
“I’ve made it a policy not to think about that.”
“Because of the killing.”
“It’s not only killing.” Lately there had been too much of that. “Besides, it’s not for me to decide.”
“You take all the jobs they offer?”
Gavin glanced over before shaking his head. “Not all of them.”
“What makes some of them worthy of your skills?” There was something almost sarcastic about the way Gaspar said it, though nothing in his expression suggested he was being sarcastic. It made it even more annoying.
“That’s where Wrenlow comes in. He looks into the background of those we’ve been targeting.”
“And this one?” Gaspar asked, nodding toward the manor house in the distance.
“Smuggler.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Gavin nodded. “As far as Wrenlow could tell. They’re known to move people in and out of the city.”
“People smuggler,” Gaspar said. “Slaver, more likely.”
“Probably.”
“Now I see why you were willing to take the job.”
“Not all of them have been like that,” Gavin said.
“What about the others? Anything tie them together?”
Gavin and Wrenlow hadn’t looked for connections between the jobs, but perhaps they should have. Given how all the jobs had come from Hamish, and therefore from the employer that Gavin still didn’t know, he should’ve questioned.
“I’ll look into it,” Wrenlow said on the other side of the enchantment.
Gavin nodded, frowning to himself.
“What did he say?” Gaspar asked.
“Did you hear him?”
“No, but from the way you looked at me, I suspected he must have responded.”
“He said he was going to look into it.”
“You want me to look into it too?”
“I wouldn’t want you to get more involved than you need to.”
“I’ve already told you, after what they did to Jessica, I’m involved. I’m willing to do what’s needed in order to take care of this. Once this is over, though, I can’t make the same promises.”
“I know.”
“No, boy, you don’t.”
Gavin just shook his head. “We’ll look into the connections they might have. If we find anything, I can let you know.”
“When I find something first, I’ll let you know. You can tell your friend that.”
“You just did.”
They stopped at a street corner, and Gaspar continued to look around. He had an intensity to the way he searched. Gavin found himself fascinated by the other man. Gavin wasn’t sure what it was, only that there was something intriguing about Gaspar. Maybe it was just the intensity he had, or maybe it was something else. Either way, Gavin couldn’t help but watch him.
“What do you know about the El’aras?” Gaspar asked.
Gavin glanced over at the thief, who gave no impression of paying any attention to him, but he had the distinct sensation that Gaspar was completely aware of everything happening. “What would you like to know?”
“Seeing as how I have no experience with them, other than at the Dragon, I thought you might be able to share with me.”
“They aren’t from here,” Gavin said.
Gaspar grunted. “That’s an understatement if I ever heard one.”
“They have particular talents.”
This time, Gaspar turned to him, looking at him and meeting his gaze. “By talents, I take it you mean enchantments. Sorcery.”
“Not sorcery. The El’aras have something different. Pure magic.”
“The same as the man we faced in the forest?”
“It’s not the same. Not really. Sorcerers use magic they summon, controlling it to do various works of art. El’aras have power within them. They’re born with it. Even the least powerful of the El’aras has what you and I would consider magic.”
Silence fell between them, and Gaspar continued sweeping his gaze along the street. There were others out, though not so many that they had to worry about keeping their words muted.
“How is it you know so much about them?”
Gavin hesitated. He didn’t know Gaspar well enough to tell him the truth. For that matter, he didn’t know anyone well enough to tell them the truth. Instead, he shared with Gaspar the lie he shared with everyone. “I was trained to be able to deal with them.”
“This mysterious mentor of yours.”
“He’s not so mysterious.”
“What happened to him?” Gaspar asked.
“He was killed.”
“You weren’t able to protect him?”
Gavin turned away, looking along the street. Movement near the
house where they’d just been caught his eye. “Something like that,” he said softly.
He hurried back to the manor house. Gavin didn’t need to look over to know that Gaspar followed. His training allowed him to be aware of the man’s presence at the edge of his vision. When they reached the manor house, they spread out. Gaspar seemed to know what they needed to do, and he moved off to the side.
There wasn’t any movement near the manor house now.
What had I seen?
There was no doubt in his mind there had been something, only now that they were near, he didn’t see anything at all.
“Can you tell anything?” Gaspar asked.
Gavin shook his head. “It’s dark. My vision isn’t as good at night.”
“No one’s is, boy.”
Gavin leaned on the building across the street from the manor house, staring outward. He didn’t see anything, but as he remained there, he searched for any sign of the movement he was certain he’d seen.
He was willing to wait. If it came down to learning more about this job, learning more about Hamish, and even learning more about the sorcerer who’d hired them, then Gavin was willing to do it.
“You’ve been quiet,” Wrenlow said through the enchantment.
“As far as I can tell, there was movement for the first time near the manor house, and I don’t really know what to make of it.”
“Movement as in your target has returned?”
“I doubt it,” Gavin replied. “The house has been empty ever since that night. There aren’t any guards, and without any guards there, I have a hard time believing she’s back.”
“Maybe somebody else came to see if you finished the job,” Wrenlow said.
“The only person who’s ever come to see if I finish jobs is Hamish,” he said.
“That you know of,” Gaspar said.
Gavin frowned. It was true. He wasn’t entirely sure that Hamish was the only person who had come. It was possible that others had, though he’d suspect that they were employed the same way Hamish was employed, which was to suggest that they were a part of something different. A network. He needed to better understand that network if he intended to discover who his employer was.
Gavin reached one of the bells trees near the fence. He hesitated there for a moment, then quickly scaled the tree until he got into the upper branches and reached the wall. He jumped over the wall and looked around the inside of the yard. There was much less chaos now than there had been before.
Gaspar jumped over the wall, landing next to him. The other man was far more limber than what Gavin would’ve expected given his age.
“Didn’t want you to think that I wasn’t going to come with you,” Gaspar said.
“You don’t have to do this. If something happens—”
“If something happens, I figure it would be best if I’m here with you. Given what happened the last time you were here—”
“The last time I was here, I managed to escape on my own.”
“You escaped… but look at what followed you.”
Gavin shook his head. “They didn’t follow me. The El’aras were here.”
“You sure about that?”
Gavin wasn’t entirely sure. He moved through the grounds instead of answering. Now that he was here and there was nobody else to be concerned about, he moved more openly. He probably should’ve done this sooner, but he’d been concerned about the possibility of his target’s return.
“Have you seen what’s inside the house?” Gaspar’s voice was barely more than a breath of wind, but somehow it carried to Gavin.
“My target wasn’t there by the time I got inside.”
“Because you took too long.”
“First you criticize the kinds of jobs I take, and now you’re criticizing how I do them?”
“If you’re going to do a job, you might as well do it right.”
“You sound like Tristan,” Gavin muttered.
“Who’s Tristan?”
“Only a pain in my ass.”
He crept from tree to tree, being careful to avoid the leaves of the bells trees. Gaspar seemed to know to do the same, avoiding them as they hurried toward the house.
When they finally reached the house, a shadow cast by the bright moonlight spread out over the lawn and gave them a little more space to hide. Gavin leaned against the building and listened, but there wasn’t any additional sign of movement.
Gaspar nodded toward the door, and Gavin motioned for him to take the lead. This part was more up the thief’s alley. When Gaspar reached the door, he tested the handle and found it locked. He grabbed something from his pocket and stuck it into the lock before popping it open. The speed with which he picked the lock astounded Gavin. Gaspar pushed the door open and stood off to the side. Gavin crept forward. This was his part of the job.
Stepping into the darkness, he took a moment to allow his eyes to adjust. Shadows covered everything. He crept forward and found himself in a massive foyer with statues that created dark pools near the walls, almost as if there were people standing there. Gavin reached for his dagger, unsheathed it, and held it out. There was a part of him that was concerned that the El’aras dagger might start to glow, and if it did, he would turn and run. There was no point staying in a darkened house with magic. Thankfully, the blade stayed dark.
He and Gaspar moved carefully along the hallway, and the old thief made almost no sound as he moved alongside Gavin. They reached the first door, and Gaspar tested it, pushing it open just a crack and poking his head inside. He closed the door and shook his head slightly.
They stopped at the next door, and much like the first, Gaspar was the one to look inside. When he was satisfied that there was nothing inside, he pulled the door closed again and shook his head.
They made their way through the hall, repeating this several times. At the last room, Gaspar poked his head in, then pushed the door open wider. Gavin stepped inside and was greeted by the room where he’d dove into the window. Gaspar pointed to the window, and Gavin nodded.
“I didn’t have much of a choice,” he whispered.
“You wanted to make as much noise as possible?”
“Sometimes.”
Gaspar chuckled. “Not much of a thief, are you?”
“I’ve never been a thief. My jobs pay.”
“So do mine. And fewer people die.”
Gaspar stepped out into the hallway and made his way down to the end, where he paused at the staircase. Gavin nodded. “That was where I was supposed to go,” he whispered.
“What was up there?”
“The target.”
“But not when you came.”
“Not when I came.”
Gavin hurried up the stairs, trying to be as quiet as he could. His feet sounded too loud against the steps, and he climbed as quickly as he could. At the top of the stairs, he hesitated as he looked along the hall.
“What is it?” Gaspar whispered.
“Nothing, I guess.”
Gaspar pushed against him. “What is it, boy?”
“Stop calling me that. It’s Gavin,” he mumbled.
Gaspar flashed a brief smile. “What is it, Gavin?” That wasn’t much better, at least not the way he said it.
Gavin shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure. Something is troubling me. Thought I saw movement up here.”
“You’re jumping at shadows. I’ve seen it with others before. Especially when you’ve run into trouble.”
Gavin frowned to himself.
Was that all it was?
He couldn’t deny he was a little bit jumpier than he usually was on jobs, but he felt something instinctively. He’d come to trust that feeling, and if it was telling him that something was off, then something was off.
He moved slowly and made sure to stay ahead of Gaspar. The old thief might be skilled and perfectly equipped for all of this, but there was something about this job that had Gavin troubled, and he wasn’t going to let Gaspar be the one to
take the lead here.
When he reached the next door, he settled his hand on it, focusing on the energy within him. This time, rather than doing it because he needed the strength, he did it because he wanted the reassurance that he was prepared for whatever was on the other side of the door.
“What are you doing?” Gaspar whispered.
“Just waiting,” Gavin said.
“Wait when we’re safe.”
Gavin pushed the door open. Nothing.
Gaspar swept in and hurriedly began to survey the inside of the room. He had a practiced way of going about it. As he navigated through the room, he went from spot to spot, looking at a table, then a desk, then a bookshelf. With each of them, his eyes hurriedly scanned everything before moving on.
“I don’t see anything here,” Gaspar whispered.
“I don’t either,” Gavin said.
“Are you sure you saw something?”
“I’m sure.”
Gavin stood in the center of the room, looking all around. His way of searching was different than Gaspar’s. As he looked, he tried to find anything that gave him the instinctive sense that something was off. That same instinct now told him to unsheathe the El’aras dagger.
It was glowing.
“Gaspar,” he whispered.
The other man was sorting through a wardrobe at the far end of the room.
Gavin turned slowly, holding the dagger out from him, moving carefully.
“Gaspar,” he whispered again.
“What is it, boy?”
“Look!”
Gaspar straightened and turned. His gaze drifted to the dagger, his eyes widening. “What does that mean?”
“It means there’s magic near us.”
“I take it that’s not you?”
Gavin frowned. “I can’t use magic.”
Gaspar just shrugged. “Can or can’t, doesn’t matter at this point. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t you. If this is something we need to be concerned about, then—”
A thump came from below them. The El’aras dagger started to glow even more brightly. There was someone out there.
How had Gaspar and I missed them?
Gavin moved toward the door. “We don’t want to be caught here with some magic user,” he whispered.
The Chain Breaker: Books 1-3 Page 13