A low-pitched voice caught her attention. Not so much the tone or a sense of familiarity, but the content. “You hear another of them bastards got cut last night?”
Carth looked for who spoke and found a younger man with a wild shock of dark hair on his head, leaning forward intently. The three others at his table all sipped tall mugs of ale, two of them with eyes already glazed over. They might be drunk enough for her to pilfer from them, but they had the look of sailors, men without much money. More than that, Vera had warned her to stay clear of men like that.
“Careful, Bren,” the man across from him said.
Bren raised his glass and took a long drink. “Why should I be careful here? There’s nothing but drunks here.”
“You’re here,” the man next to him said.
“I’m a drunk.” Bren took another drink. “Shouldn’t we talk about it? After so many getting cut, don’t you wonder what’s going on?”
“They’re still the A’ras,” the third man said. His brown eyes looked at the others more clearly, and in the time Carth had been watching, he hadn’t touched his drink. “You talk about them and they find out. Best to leave well enough alone, Bren.”
The other two men nodded.
Bren finished off his ale and slammed it down. “I’ll leave it alone, but you don’t need to be so damn scared to even talk about it. Especially now, with the Reshian making their presence known.” His voice rose as he spoke, and talk at some of the nearest tables began to die down. The sober man grabbed Bren and pulled on his arm, but Bren shook him off. “No reason to be scared down here, Foln. They ain’t down here. They’re never down here.” When another man grabbed at him, he stood. “Fine. I’m going.”
As Bren weaved his way through the tavern, he bounced off one of the poles and Kel slipped forward, moving too slowly as he slid his hand into Bren’s pocket and back out. Bren tripped over Kel and they both fell forward.
“What you think you’re doing?” Bren said.
Kel crawled back, his eyes wide.
Bren patted his pocket and Carth watched with growing concern as the man realized that his coin pouch was now in Kel’s hand.
“Boy?” Bren thundered.
Carth glanced at the kitchen. If Vera discovered Kel had been caught grabbing scraps, she’d throw him out. She might start to ask about how Carth and Etan managed to bring in so much coin. They all might be out of a place to stay.
Kel continued to scoot away, not saying anything.
The door to the kitchen opened and Vera poked her head out.
The voices in the tavern began to die down as Bren towered over Kel.
Carth darted forward and slipped her hand quickly into Kel’s pocket as she helped him up. Bren stormed over to him and shoved Kel away. As he did, Carth quickly dropped the coin pouch and kicked it toward the pole.
“You filchin’ from me?” Bren demanded.
Kel shook his head, his gaze going to Carth as he searched for help.
Damn him! Bren didn’t have enough coin to begin with, and he was already leaving. Kel knew better than to go after someone like that.
“I felt you grab—”
“Sir?” Carth interrupted.
Bren blinked, slowly turning his gaze away from Kel.
“I think you dropped your purse when you tumbled,” she said, motioning toward the pole.
Bren staggered toward the pole and leaned forward, carefully clinging to it for support as he did. He grabbed his purse from the ground and held it up to the light, a confused frown on his face. For a moment, Carth felt a flutter of fear that she’d grabbed the wrong purse, but then Bren shook it and stuffed it back into his pocket.
Conversations in the tavern began to resume. Carth allowed herself a moment to think that he might leave without saying anything else, but Bren took a step toward Kel. Kel didn’t move, standing stiff and frozen in place, staring with his wide-eyed expression at the larger man.
“I felt him grabbin’,” Bren muttered.
“I think you just bumped into him,” Carth suggested as she stepped between man and boy. She looked past him to his now-standing friends, praying that they would take him from the tavern without another incident. “An accident. That’s all.”
The sober man eyed Carth strangely and then nodded, rushing forward to grab Bren. He pulled on the larger man, dragging him toward the door. “You’re drunk, Bren,” the man said.
“That’s what I told you,” Bren answered.
“You said you were a drunk. I’m saying you are drunk.”
Bren grunted as the door opened and he was pulled outside. “Pretty much the same, don’ you think?”
The other men with him glanced at Carth and shrugged as they followed the others out of the tavern.
Carth grabbed Kel and pulled him to the kitchen, feeling that crawling sensation between her shoulders again. As she closed the door behind her, she noted the thin man watching her again.
“What was that?” Vera demanded as soon as the door closed. “Did you try to steal from one of my patrons?”
Kel hung his head. “I’m sorry, Vera. It was a—”
“An accident,” Carth cut in, shooting him a glare to keep him silent. What had Kel been thinking? Why would he have risked thieving from a man like Bren? There wasn’t likely to be much of value in his purse anyway. Any real coin he had would have been spent on ale throughout the night.
Vera crossed her arms over her chest as she looked from Carth to Kel. “Accident?”
Carth shrugged. “The man was drunk, Vera. He bounced off the pole into Kel when they got tangled up. Can’t blame that on Kel.”
Vera watched her a long moment before scanning the tavern and then waving her hand. “Get out of here, both of you.”
Carth started away from the kitchen. When she reached the door, she realized that Kel hadn’t followed.
His hands were clasped together, and he fidgeted with his fingers while looking at her. “Vera,” he said.
Vera stood in front of a pot, stirring what smelled like chicken broth, and glanced up. “What is it?”
“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have—”
Carth slammed the door to the back of the kitchen open, startling Kel. “You coming?”
The other boy blinked a moment and nodded. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled to Vera and ran toward the open door.
When they were through, Carth jabbed him in the chest with her finger. “What was that about?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She pulled him down the hall to their room. The floor creaked overhead and footsteps thudded across the boards. Carth lowered her voice and leaned toward Kel. “I saw what you did. What were you thinking, grabbing at that drunk?”
“That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”
Kel attempted to shoulder past her, but she grabbed his wrist to keep him from getting too far. “That’s why we’re here, but it’s not to get caught. We’re only to take scraps. Bren didn’t have any scraps for you to claim!” They reached their room and she pushed open the door, stepping aside to let Kel into the room.
“Who’s Bren?”
Carth closed the door more firmly than she intended. “Bren was that stupid drunk you decided to steal from. Didn’t you even look at him? He barely had enough to pay for his drinks, and then you go and grab for his purse.” She planted her fists on her hips as she faced him, waiting for him to answer, but he didn’t. A flush rising in his cheeks was all the answer she got. “Well?”
Kel threw himself onto his bed and backed into a corner. “What do you want me to say? I don’t recognize scraps as well as you do.” He pounded the wall with his fist, turning his back to her. “Stupid thing, anyway. They’re not scraps. Just coin from all the drunks they let into their tavern.”
Carth took a seat on the edge of his bed. “It’s either that or you sell what Vera wants you to sell. It’s what we’ve got to do because we’re strays.”
“Strays. Etan
and I are strays. Not you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kel managed to turn so that he could look at her. His hair stood in disarray, rubbing against the upper bunk. “What do you think it means? You’re no stray. Strays are given up. Left. Unwanted.” He swallowed and she noted that tears welled in his eyes. “That’s not you. I saw the way you were dressed when you came.”
“You don’t know anything about me!”
“Because you refuse to share!”
The sound of footsteps coming down the hall made her turn. Was it Etan? She didn’t want to have him show up while she argued with Kel. They had been together longer, and she knew which side Etan would take if it came down to it.
“Well?” Kel said.
Carth ignored him and crawled up into the top bunk.
What did he know about her? She wouldn’t tell him how she’d seen her mother dead. Or how her father, who was supposed to have been following behind her, playing nothing more than a game, was missing. She refused to tell him that she had been happy, really happy, and had lost everything. How did that not make her a stray?
Carth wiped tears from her eyes and pulled the knife from her pocket, setting it next to the pillow. She reached under her pillow and pulled out the books reclaimed from her home, the only scraps she had left of that time.
Forcing herself to control her breathing, she pulled the books to her face. When she inhaled, she could almost smell the remnants of her mother, a connection to that past, a hint of pine and tehla spice that she wished she could find once more.
But she couldn’t. There was no more home for her.
Carth didn’t even bother opening the books and rested her head on her pillow.
As she tried to sleep, Kel finally spoke again. “Thanks.” When she didn’t say anything more, she heard him crawl out from his bunk and stand on Etan’s, the pressure from his hands pushing down on her bunk. “You didn’t have to help me back there, so thanks.”
Carth didn’t turn to face him. “I thought I was helping another stray,” she said. Her hand slipped to the hilt of the knife and she squeezed it, feeling the weight of the handle pressing against her skin.
Kel breathed out heavily. “I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He stepped down, his boots settling heavily on the floor. “That was quick thinking, what you did.”
“I shouldn’t have had to.”
“You’re right,” Kel said.
“Don’t be stupid again.”
Kel was quiet for a moment and she heard him crawling back into his bunk. “I’ll try not to.”
Carth took a deep breath, pulling her mother’s books to her face and inhaling their scent again. When she couldn’t sleep, she flipped one open, choosing at random, and left the page open as she settled her head on the book. She might not be able to read Ih, but as she fingered her mother’s ring, she could have comfort that her mother had once read these books. For a little while, she didn’t feel like the stray that she was.
7
Darkness covered the street along the docks as Carth moved as stealthily as she could, each step silent against the night. Kel didn’t manage nearly so well, his heavy boots slapping against the cobbles, making nearly as much racket as a horse trotting through the city.
“Do you have to be so loud?” she asked.
Kel jogged up to her, breathing heavily. Even that was loud. “I’m not as quiet as you.”
“You’re not,” she agreed.
“I’m not as quick at grabbing scraps as you either.”
Carth veered toward a pool of shadows. They didn’t really help keep Kel any quieter, but at least in the shadows they would avoid some detection. “Nope.”
“How?” he asked.
Carth paused near a point, the river rushing noisily over rocks. At least here, Kel’s voice wouldn’t carry quite as well. “How what?”
“You. You weren’t a stray before you came to Vera. I know that. So how is it that you manage to walk so much softer than me and have such quick hands? Were you a thief before Vera found you?”
“Vera didn’t find me.”
“Fine. Hal found you. Pretty much the same.”
Carth turned to face the river, listening to the sound of it rushing over rocks as it flowed toward the sea. She could jump in, let the river carry her. She’d learned to swim the surf in places like Darfan and didn’t fear the water. If it flowed far enough, she might even make it all the way back to Ih-lash, where she’d been born. She never understood why her parents had left a land they so clearly loved and come to Nyaesh. Whenever she would ask, her mother’s response was always the same: Later. Now there would be no later.
Kel stood next to her, his shoulder brushing up against hers. “Were you a thief before?” he asked again. She shook her head. “Maybe trained by the A’ras?”
“Careful,” she cautioned.
Kel faced her, a smile splitting his mouth. “Funny that you would tell me to be careful. I’ve seen how you sneak out, come back with full pockets. You never stray this far in the city. Where do you go when you run off?”
“Nowhere. And I wasn’t a thief.”
Kel studied her face a moment, the moonlight reflecting off his deep brown eyes, making them almost appear black. “If you say so. Doesn’t change the fact that you have faster hands than me.”
“I didn’t see you complaining when I split my collection with you tonight.”
Kel grinned again. “I didn’t say I’d complain. It’s nice to actually collect enough for a change.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Vera doesn’t care if we don’t bring in coins.”
“Maybe not, but I can’t imagine she likes it when we don’t bring in what she wants, either. There’s a price to staying with them.”
“Yeah? Then what’s the price?”
“I don’t know. But there has to be something. Vera might not tell us outright, but that don’t mean we get a free pass. And if I can’t sell enough, then I got to collect scraps.”
“But I’ve seen you collect enough before.”
“Have you? I’ve never really managed to move quickly enough. Most of the time I have to use the bump technique.”
“That’s a stupid way of collecting. You’d be crashing around the streets.”
Kel arched a brow at her. “Yeah? Before you came, that was all we needed. Then you show up and demonstrate your quick hands, collecting scraps that would last a week before.”
“Vera doesn’t need the money anyway,” Carth said. When Kel arched a brow at her, she shrugged. “The Lyre is busy enough that she doesn’t need the money to feed us.”
The tavern was busy. Most nights it was crowded, with the attached inn managing to rent out its rooms more often than not, especially situated near the river as it was. That much business wouldn’t require her to need Carth and the others to bring in much money. Did she have them selling in the street to keep them busy? It would keep them away from the tavern during the day, at least give Vera a chance to cook without them bothering her, and she’d never asked them to stick around to help.
“Where have you been going at night?” Kel asked.
Carth shook herself, pulling her thoughts back to the conversation. “I’ve just been wandering.”
“That’s not safe, you know. The A’ras patrol more than they used to. There’s something going on outside the city that makes them nervous. You get in the way…”
“I’m safe enough.”
“Yeah?” Kel grabbed at her arm quickly and pulled on her. “What happens if—”
The suddenness gave her a flashback to when the man had grabbed her outside the square and covered her mouth. Carth jerked on her arm, tearing it free, while pulling the A’ras knife from her pocket.
Kel raised his hands and took a step back. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’d ask you the same thing!” She jabbed at him with the knife and he took another step back.
His
feet slipped and he started to fall.
Carth jumped for him.
There would be no way for her to reach him. Kel had moved too far from her, but fear for him must have made her quicker than she should have been. She reached him, grabbing for his wrist. For a moment, she had him.
“Don’t let me fall!” Kel pleaded.
His wrist began to slip. Carth didn’t have a strong enough grip, and he slipped from her, falling into the churning water.
The current pulled at him, too fast for him to swim against.
Cursing, Carth stuffed the knife into her pocket—she wasn’t about to lose the one thing that might help her get revenge on the A’ras—and jumped into the river after him.
She was a strong swimmer, but this was madness!
Cold water slapped at her, and the frothy churn tried to pull her under. She kicked, keeping her head above the water, and swam with the current, trying to reach Kel. Each stroke carried her far along the shore. If she wasn’t careful, she’d float beyond the city… or more likely, get bashed into the rocks.
Kel popped to the surface not far from her. With another stroke, she reached him and slipped an arm around him, keeping him above the surface.
He coughed and took a hoarse breath. “Carth?”
“Can you swim?”
“Not in this. Water is too fast!”
“It’s not too fast. Just kick your legs.”
Kel looked at her, his eyes wide and the color drained from his face. “You should have just let me go. Now we’re both going to drown.”
She started kicking, trying to get to the shore. They’d been pulled to the middle of the river, and the shore looked to be over twenty yards away. “We’re not going to drown,” she snapped. “But you have to help.”
Kel finally started to kick. They moved slowly toward the shore, angling against the fast-moving current. The only advantage to it being night was that none of the shipping boats sailed, leaving the river as a churning black sheet.
The Shadow Accords Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 6