Sarta crossed her arms and glared at the boys.
“Seriously, he’s a very scary person,” Hunlok added. “I’d rather do him a favor and leave on good terms with him. I don’t like having a debt to anyone, least of all people that make me more uncomfortable than a pack of Sartas!”
Sarta’s eyebrows came together, “Hey!”
Liden took a deep calming breath and nodded, making eye contact with each member of their group. He needed to be calm. Just do some shows in front of the Alchemy shop, grab the potion with the green label when the owner came out to watch their show, then get back to Wren’s mansion he called a cottage. Simple plan. “Let’s put on a show!”
They walked through Kyt, following Wren’s directions until they came to the street with the alchemy shop. Not wanting to be too obvious about their true intention, they started setting up for their show a couple of buildings down from their target.
While Liden and Knell set up a small stand for their supplies, Sarta walked up and down the street, waving a long, red tape ribbon, swirling it around herself in spirals, calling out to passersby while she pointed toward where they would be performing. Debir stood up on Hunlok’s shoulders and they walked a circle around the street, gathering attention with their bright coats and ridiculous top hats Wren insisted they all wear.
“Start smiling,” Knell said as she set an assortment of juggling implements on the table. “Remember, this is fun!”
“Right.” Liden forced a smile onto his face and spun around with a flourish of his own bright red coat with long coattails. He much preferred the more functional black uniforms they had trained in at Wren’s cottage, but dressing up like a poppy flower was part of their deal, so he plastered on his fake smile and spun around to face the crowd. When he stopped spinning he stared in disbelief. There was actually a fairly respectable group gathered. This was actually working!
Hunlok walked over to their performance area and Debir did a flip off Hunlok’s shoulders, landing perfectly on the ground with two hands raised above his head. The crowd cheered and he bowed. With a flick of his coat, he pulled a bouquet of flowers from the air, and plucked a single rose from the group that he handed to a young girl who was standing next to her parents. She hugged it to her chest and pointed enthusiastically at Debir who performed a back flip into a roll.
Hunlok linked arms with Liden and they threw Knell up into the air in a long, slow layout flip. She landed on their interlocked arms and they threw her up again. This time she tucked her body into a tight position, increasing her speed and adding a half twist into her flip. When she landed, her left leg missed their linked arms and she then spun around, swinging her arms for balance before falling backwards onto the ground. She did a great job acting as if this was not part of the show, waving off help and insisting she was okay. Debir ran to her side and forced her to sit down on a chair, then he jumped up onto Liden and Hunlok’s interlocked hands and started doing the routine.
The audience roared with laughter as he flipped around and landed with his silly top hat and coat. They continued the acrobatic routine with Knell stepping in again to finish with some jumps and flips in positions that were beyond Debir’s flexibility.
At this point the crowd was growing and Liden spotted the door of the alchemy shop open and an older man stepped out onto the front walkway to watch. Sarta was now hopefully in position to do her part.
Liden grabbed three weighted knives from the table and stepped forward for his part of the show. “I warn you, this next part of the performance is not for the faint of heart.”
Debir stepped up with an apple sitting on his flat, upturned palm. Liden spun around, swinging one of the long knives through the air, cutting it clean in half. Some of the people in the crowd gasped and held their hands over their mouths. “Thanks mate!” Debir said with a cheerful smile, taking a bite from the half-apple. He handed the other half to a young boy in the audience who eagerly started eating.
Liden then started juggling with the knives. The hours of practice under Wren’s direction made this part of the act flow effortlessly for him. “These knives are razor sharp,” he called out to the audience. He stumbled a little on purpose and he could feel a shudder pulse through the people. Then the real tricks started; he threw one knife behind his back, then another.
Knell got up onto the portable table she was using for a small stage. “Please,” she shouted over the crowd as she motioned for silence by placing her finger over her mouth. “For this next trick he’ll need complete silence so he can concentrate.”
“You’re just saying that,” Debir shouted with a wave of his hand, “because she wants him to have kids someday.
Liden started juggling the knives under his legs and the audience began roaring with laughter. “Careful there boy!” Hunlok said as he slapped Liden on the back.
Knell gasped, covering her eyes and Liden staggered forward, but kept the knives moving between his nimble hands. He spun around and grabbed all three knives from the air, ending the performance with a long, low bow.
“Let’s hear it for my friend who is,” Debir ran up to Liden making a show of patting him on the chest, arms, and legs, “as far as I can tell, still in one piece!”
The crowd cheered and the four performers bowed low to the ground. “The next trick requires a little bit of help from the audience,” Liden said, stepping up to the line of onlookers. He took off his hat and set it down on the ground. “For my next trick I’m going to make money flow directly from your pockets into that hat with my eyes closed.” He closed his eyes and placed his hands over his face. As he waited, there was some murmuring from the crowd. Liden cracked his fingers open and looked down at his hat. “That didn’t work at all how I planned!”
Knell pushed him aside and dramatically shook her head at him. “Just ignore my friend,” she called out to the people. She looked at him over her shoulder then tapped the side of her head as if telling the audience a secret.
“It’s time for the amazing fire tamer!”
While they had been talking, Hunlok lit some circular wicks on the ends of a length of rope. He stepped forward and began swinging the string around his head, over his shoulders, and in front of his body in intricate patterns. The fire made long streaks through the air as he increased the speed of spinning the rope. He twisted his body so the rope swung around him, even looking as though it was passing through his body at times. The audience was completely enthralled, and some even began to drop some coins into the hat Liden had left out in front of them.
To his left over the heads of the crowd, Liden watched as Sarta darted out of the alchemy shop and waved a hand at them. She had it. Time to wrap things up and get out of here. Liden tapped Debir on the shoulder three times. While the crowd continued to watch Hunlok, Debir pushed the performance tools off the small table and into a large bag, then sat on the table. He squirmed around a bit until he was curled up in a small ball of bright colored coat with a top hat.
Hunlok finished his fire dance and Knell stepped up front again. “It looks like our dear little friend needs some rest.” She pointed back at Debir.
“And it looks like my magic trick is almost done,” Liden added, pointing down at his hat suggestively with an exaggerated raising of his eyebrows.
Knell pushed him back and stepped out front. “We couldn’t leave you without one final display. So here goes!” She fell backwards with her hands raised high in the air. Liden and Hunlok caught her in their arms, then threw her straight up into the air above their heads. She kicked her legs out into a split and they caught her, each holding one leg at the ankle. They raised her high in the air and twirled around in a circle, then bounced and pushed her up while they came together so she went to standing straight up on their hands that were held above their heads.
She bowed, but that threw off her balance, and she fell, twisting on her way down so the boys moved and cradled her under her back and set her on the street. The three of them bowed, Liden retrieve
d his hat from the ground and walked a quick circle around to collect any more coins people would drop, but as Wren warned them, after the show was over, the crowd quickly dispersed, most too cheap to pay for the show they had enjoyed. But that was the life of a street performer. Besides, they had to get moving so they could meet up with Sarta and head back to deliver their prize to Wren.
Liden dumped the coins he was able to collect into a purse that he tied on his belt. He hoped it would be enough, with the item Sarta had taken, to pay off the dangerous spy so they could make their way to Zulholm. Considering the size of his house, Liden didn’t understand why he needed their coins, or to steal anything from a hole-in-the-wall shop, but understanding him was not Liden’s job. He had done his part, now he wanted to be free of this debt.
They folded their top hats flat, flipped their jackets inside out to hide the bright colors, collapsed their table and stowed all their gear into packs they put on their backs, and just as quickly as they had gathered a crowd of people in the streets, they disappeared, blending into the bustle of the pedestrians. Now they were just a group of teens with packs, walking past the bakery and cooper shop to meet up with Sarta.
His heart felt like it would pound out of his chest as he contemplated what he had done. They just did a street performance as a distraction to rob an alchemy shop for a mysterious man with a booby-trapped house. He was an accomplice to robbery. The feeling was a little unexpected, but it was exhilarating! They had actually pulled it off. He smiled at Knell and nodded his head in satisfaction. “That was actually kinda fun,” he said to his friend.
“Yeah, you did okay.”
“Fire show was amazing Hunlok!” Knell added.
“And you, Debir,” Liden clapped his hands. “Star of the show! Really great job!”
Debir shook his head and looked away. Being a street performer was definitely not what he’d expected when they had set out on the trip, but he did notice how each of them had come alive in front of the crowd in a way Liden hadn’t seen before.
The group turned a corner to where they were going to meet Sarta, and she wasn’t there. Knell took a quick step forward as if to run, but Liden grabbed her arm. “Remember to look casual,”
Knell turned with a look that could have burned holes in brick, but she slowly calmed down and nodded. “Where is she?” As she spoke, Sarta darted out from a hiding place a couple of buildings down and gave an exaggerated bow. “That little imp!”
“Let’s just pick her up and get out of here,” Hunlok said, keeping a steady pace, closing in on Sarta.
Sarta pulled the small jar from her pocket while the group was still about four yards away from her, then she tossed it up at them. “That’s not casual,” Liden said under his breath, as if he anticipated what was about to happen.
From behind, he heard a voice and instantly knew its owner. “There it is!”
While the others were turning around to see who had spoken, Liden darted forward and grabbed the alchemy potion. “Scatter!” he screamed as he spun and ran back toward the older man he had seen from the alchemy shop. He pumped his arms for speed as he ran through the streets, ducking in and out between people. He felt like such a fool! The man must have realized something was stolen and followed them right to Sarta. Why hadn’t he looked over his shoulder a single time? Wren told them to be watchful and cautious, and now he had failed at that as well.
“Stop! Thief!”
In front of him, two men in armor held out their hands for him to stop running. There was no way for him to outrun them, he doubted his basic attacks could take down seasoned guards, and the crowded street would soon bring him to a near-stop. He slowed down, skidding to a stop. “Thank you for saving me!” Liden said, still catching his breath. “That man is trying to take my things!”
The man from the alchemist shop came in quickly behind Liden and slapped him on the back of the head, then started grabbing at his pockets and his sack. “Ouch,” Liden dropped to the ground in a submissive way, trying to convince the officers that his story was true. “Stop beating me! I’ll give you what you want, just don’t hurt me anymore. I swear I won’t tell them about you and the things you do.”
The man stopped striking Liden and looked up, shocked. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve heard enough!” the officers said, grabbing both Liden and the alchemist. “We’re going to the prison where we’ll get to the bottom of this!”
“What? He’s a lying little thief!” the man protested. “He stole from me!”
The officer backhanded the alchemist, instantly silencing him. “That’s not what it looked like to me! Now shut it, both of you, until we ask you to talk.”
Liden remained silent as he was dragged down the street to the prison. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen next, or how this was any better than being taken to prison by himself, but it did bring him some satisfaction to see the confused and clearly upset alchemist being dragged along with him. When they got to the prison, one guard took Liden while the other searched the man. They took all of Liden’s things and set them on a small stool outside of the cell, then shoved him. “Keep quiet in there!” The bars swung shut with a resounding clash that came with a sense of finality. There was no way he was getting out of this.
The reinforced oak door at the end of the hall slammed shut as the guards filed out, leaving them alone in their cells.
“Who sent you?” demanded the older man.
Liden remained quiet. He honestly didn’t know who Wren was, and now that he had time to think it over, he was starting to see things from the perspective of the other man. They had stolen something from him, and now he was locked in a prison cell with a fat lip. The man hadn’t done anything wrong to him personally, yet here he was. Liden looked at him and wanted to spill everything. If he told the man about Wren, perhaps he could get out of this fix, but at what cost? Then again, there was a look in the man’s eyes that seemed dark. He didn’t even know why, perhaps it was just stubborn pride, but Liden felt right in keeping silent. It was as if he was on the right side of this argument, despite knowing that he was definitely in the wrong.
“You have no idea what you’ve done!” the man finally said, then he turned his back to Liden, folded his arms over his chest, and sat down on a stool in his cell. “But it doesn’t matter. Those fool guards will check our stories, and I’ll be released, and you’ll rot in this cell, or perhaps lose a hand for thievery. You’ve crossed the wrong person, and you will pay.”
Liden looked away from the man and over to the pile of his belongings that still sat on the bench just outside of his reach. He wondered again, as he had when he’d tried to talk his friends out of this caper, what was in that jar, and who Wren chosen to rob?
Chapter 14
Wren moved through the outer keep without drawing attention. He weaved through the many hawkers selling their wares and the throngs of customers they competed for as easily as a snake slips through tall grass. His mark, a tall man with a prominent nose and a balding head of gray hair walked twenty yards ahead of him, entirely oblivious to Wren’s interest. Wren was not only biding his time until he would strike, but he was studying his mark, listening to his speech and watching the way the man moved.
“I’ll take the pheasants,” the mark said in a rather condescending tone. He offered a few coins and then cleared his throat impatiently while the seller took the dead pheasants down from a rack and placed them into a burlap sack.
“Your master will enjoy these; they are the finest pheasants caught this year,” the hawker said.
“Yes, I’m sure,” the mark replied as he took the small sack and turned to continue on through the crowd.
Wren followed the target not to the main palace, but to a smaller building made of stone adjacent to the main keep that served as a bunkhouse for the city guard. Wren waited outside until his target reemerged a few minutes later, carrying a small roll of parchment under his left arm. The man turned down a side alley run
ning between the main palace and the outer castle wall. Wren glanced around to ensure no one was watching, and then he made his move.
Two short whistles called the raven down from the parapets above. The bird dove downward, aiming for the man carrying the sack and parchment. Upon seeing the bird swoop in front of him, the mark jumped back and fumbled the parchment onto the ground. This not only kept the man’s attention focused on the bird, which was now flying away, but also gave Wren just enough time to reach him.
Just as the man stood up with his belongings, Wren reached up and grabbed a handful of hair with his left hand, jerking the head back to expose the soft, flabby flesh under the jaw as he pulled a short knife and slid it around the man’s throat.
“Scream and you die,” Wren cautioned.
“Do you know who I work for?” the man asked. “You are the one who should be frightened.”
Wren pulled back on the hair even harder. “Is your master in?”
“Why should I tell you?” To the target’s credit, he showed remarkable composure and spoke in the same condescending tone he had used with the pheasant hawker.
I don’t have time for this. Wren thought to himself. He kicked the back of the man’s right knee and dropped him to a kneeling position. A solid whack to the right temple with the knife’s handle put the man out cold, and ripped a handful of hair from his balding head before he crashed down to the ground. Wren removed the man’s outer coat and then dragged the body up against the wall. He glanced up and down the alley once more and then removed his own cloak. He draped the cloak over the man and pulled an old wine bottle from a satchel to make it appear as though this man was nothing more than a drunkard who had passed out. Wren knew the alleyways were not regularly patrolled. This particular alley led directly to the city watch commander’s quarters, and most people were not foolish enough to make trouble here.
But then, Wren wasn’t like most people.
Wren and the Ravens Page 18