Thieves' Race

by Isaac Padgett

  I was only halfway home, picking my way slowly through the broken path when I was stopped by four shadows stepping from a small alleyway.

  One of them, Elroy, a very old acquaintance of mine from days long before, stepped forward into the light, "Jack, my boy. We need you for a job we just picked up, you were asked for specifically. I guess he heard how good you were and wants only the best. Big payday, enough that you could actually retire from all this, for good. What you have to say, man, you in?"

  I tried to shoulder past them, but two hitters blocked my path. These men were handpicked not for any particular skills they had but for their immense size and strength—that, as well as their desire to break bones. "I told you once already, but I'll tell you again if I need to. I'm not in the business anymore; the life of lifting is behind me. Leave me be, Elroy; I don't want to fight about this."

  The short, slightly blond boy just smiled sadly, his green eyes lighting up, "Well, I'm sorry, my man. But I can't do that. See, I already took payment for the start of the job, but we need you along with us." He nodded slightly to the two hitters, "Convince him. But don't hurt his fingers or his head; we need them both intact."

  The two men grinned at each other and rolled their shoulders back, stretching out and cracking their knuckles. With confidence born from intimidation, they started towards me with their guard wide open.

  With a deep sigh and a slight prayer, I let out a burst of speed towards the hitter on the right, my feet barely seeming to touch the ground. In surprise, he sat back on his heels and crouched a little to maintain balance when I hit him. He expected me to try to tackle him or maybe shove him to the side.

  Leaping at the last second, my foot touched down on his thigh, his bent knee giving me all the platform I needed to flip over his head. Spinning myself in midair, I punched the back of his head, just behind his ear. Years of fighting and balance didn't disappear overnight, and at one point, I was the best there was.

  He crumpled to the ground, grunting, while the other stepped back warily, wondering what my next move was. Not bothering to feint towards him, I spun around and sprinted down the alleyway. No use to tempt luck again against a second hitter if I didn't need to.

  Elroy called after me, his mocking laughter ringing down the street, "You can't run forever, Jack. I'll find you, no matter where you go."

  "He's gone, boss. What we gonna do now?" The hitter who had been used as a springboard gingerly picked himself off the ground, rubbing his knee softly.

  Elroy started to speak but was interrupted by the fourth shadow stepping out into the light. The light revealed a man, richly dressed, with a condescending smile that was soon replaced by a look of scorn, "I thought you said you could get him in on the job. I'm paying you good coin; I expect the best. Not only in people but also in the work they do. Was that truly your best work, boy?"

  Elroy kicked the ground in anger, not used to anyone talking down to him. At least, not doing it and able to get away with it. Standing there and listening to the man's insults got under his skin more than anything he could remember. "Look, I told you before that I could get him, and I will. It'll just take a little bit of time. You said it yourself; it doesn't matter when the job happens, just that it does. Right?"

  The man waved his hand contemptuously, "That I did. But if I find out that you exaggerated your abilities in any way...I may just have to take care of your presumptuous attitude myself. And trust me, boy, you don't want that to happen."

  The look in the man's eyes was so cold and deadly that Elroy swallowed hard, trying to get past the lump that appeared in his throat, "No, no need to do anything like that. I told you I'd take care of it, and I will, no worries."

  "Yes, see that you do. I'd rather not find my time wasted. Now, I grow weary of this miserable place. Couldn't you live somewhere...cleaner? No matter. Be sure that when I see you again, you have good news for me." As he spoke the last words, he stepped back into the shadows and disappeared from view.

  Elroy and the two bully boys looked worried, trying to pierce the shadows to see if they could spot the man. Elroy even went so far as to send one of them into the alley to search; the man was nowhere in sight.

  "That man, if that's what he really is, gives me the shivers, that's for sure. You two, get back to work. Our plans shouldn't be too much longer, hopefully, and then we'll have Jack in the palms of our hands."

  Traveling in the poor quarter could be tricky at times. There were no actual solid streets; the shops on the paths were designed to be able to be taken apart and moved at a moment's notice. The result was that all the pathways occasionally moved, so you had to rely more on your sense of direction than any map or path. Unless you were quick of wit and could tell north from south, it was easy to lose your way in the darkness.

  I had been running these streets since I was old enough to walk, though, so I never even doubted where my feet were taking me.

  Bursting out of the side street and onto one of the few main market roads, I slowed, not wanting to knock into anyone who was out late. My feet nimbly leaped along the cracked walkway, instinctively avoiding the loose stones that would cause me to trip or stumble. On busy market days, it wasn't unheard of for a tripped person to be trampled to death by the uncaring passerby. And though it wasn't too busy now, it still wouldn't do to lose my balance in this area.

  In the poor quarter, almost everyone was uncaring. People would steal your purse as soon as look at you, and few would go out of their way to make sure you were okay.

  I refused to make eye contact with anyone, knowing the desperation and despair I'd see in their eyes, deciding quickly to hurry to the shack known as my house.

  The place reeked of week-old, rotten food and booze. It was a broken-down, two-room building, one room for my parents, and the other was the bathroom, kitchen, and my room all rolled into one. The smell on warm days drove me out of the house in an attempt to escape.

  My mother was a lazy woman who was content to sit in a chair and issue orders like a queen, all the while eating most of the food and gorging herself on sweet drinks and candied meats. Her behavior drove my father to find happiness in hard liquor, turning him mean and angry all the time. Almost all of our money went to feed their addictions.

  It had been a long time since I felt loved at home, let alone anywhere else. In fact, it had been a long time since I even felt like I was home.

  Luckily for me, neither of them were currently awake, though that could change at any moment. I curled up in the corner farthest away from the waste-hole and tried to cast my busy mind into sleep.

  Darkness overtook me, and gratefully, I succumbed.

  2

  Jack

  Darkness swirled, and I found myself staring out at a lake, crystal clear and swarming with thousands of fish. Rainbows reflected off the many scales, dazzling the eyes and lending more movement to the water. A pair of turtles swam lazily in the water, paddling side by side.

  Aether lay laughing on the sand with her hair hanging down, almost past her shoulders. She looked into the water and saw the two turtles. Smiling, she reached out to touch one briefly on the shell. Surprisingly, it didn't try to flee, and she cooed with delight, "I'm gonna name you cookies because you're so sweet."

  Both of the turtles stared out of the water at her, probably wondering why this crazy woman was talking to them.

  I knew it was a dream. It was always a dream and one that I had many nights before. And yet, I found that I was looking forward to it just as much as always and that it was just as pleasant and...freeing.

  Sneaking across the sand, I could feel the heat slowly digging its way deep into the soles of my feet. Hardened by years of running everywhere barefoot, I could barely notice the difference in the sand's temperature the closer I got to the water.

  Aether was directly in front of me, still paying far too much attention to the turtles to notice me. Holding back a laugh, I kicked some of the sand at the back of her head and turned to run to the
water's edge. My head was thrown back; I could feel my hair bouncing along as I raced to try to get to the water before she caught up with me. The turtles turned and quickly swam for safer, deeper, saner waters.

  The moment my feet touch the edge of the water, I could feel her smashing into my back; her flying tackle sent us both tumbling into the shallows of the lake, laughing and holding each other. We were content at that moment, and I longed to stay there forever.

  My dream self, the luckier of the two of us by far, slowly brought her down into a soft, warm kiss. It melded all the thoughts in my head together and stopped being about the two of us apart and more about how we fit together so well. And the moment that thought even crested my mind, I came awake in the early dawn hours.

  For once, I had been able to sleep through the whole night. Sometimes, I would end up having that same dream four or five times, all in the same night, but I never could get to grow tired of it. I looked forward to it, as it was the only good dream I had anymore. The rest were far too dark to remember kindly.

  I was lying on the dirt floor, still curled up in a ball, but my hands were reaching out, almost as if they were trying to catch the remnants of a fleeting dream. Which, in a way, they were. I wanted to grab that memory and hold it against me, though I knew in my heart I never would be able to.

  I sat up slowly, stretching my stiff muscles. It was always my neck that bothered me the most; often with a kink so bad, I could only turn it so far without it sending shooting pains down my back. Sleeping on the floor would often leave me with sore and aching muscles, "I gotta see about buying some straw or something, maybe make it a little better. It'll certainly help with my back, that's for sure."

  Scanning my surroundings, I strained to hear what had woken me up. Faint scratching sounds seemed to be coming from under the only window we had, set just a few feet from where I was laying. Deciding to see what animal was amusing itself on our wall, I quietly crept over to the window and peered out.

  Aether looked up at me, crouched on the ground, with a slight smile on her face that widened when I appeared. "Hey, Jack. I thought you might like a little bit of company for today, seeing as how special it is and all. Plus, I kind of still owe you for yesterday," She quietly whispered, trying not to wake anyone else up.

  Groaning softly, I whisper back, "It's my date of birth, isn't it? Damn, I was hoping you'd have forgotten by now."

  Aether tried to assume a shocked expression but failed miserably, "How could I ever forget my best friend's birthday? That's an insult, Jack! But I have all sorts of plans on what we get to do for today! I even have a picnic for that lakeshore down past Ol' Fredricks place. You know, the one that Mikey and his buddies are always talking about?"

  My breath caught in my throat as I was once more reminded of the dream I always had. That lake...if only she knew.

  Out loud, I responded to her, "You didn't have to go through all that trouble, lass. Just the fact that you remembered is a perfect enough gift for me. Besides, you probably have much better plans for today that you had to move back. I don't want to keep you from them."

  She laughed and shook her head, both her hair and eyes dancing merrily, seeming to study my face intently, "Are you kidding me? I've been planning today for months. There is absolutely nothing else planned that I'd rather do than spend today with you, Jack. You should know that by now." And with that, she gave me the cute little frown she always did when pretending to be upset with me. And as hard as she would try, it wouldn't last long before I'd make her smile again.

  I laughed softly, shaking my head, and smiled at her. I let my speech slip into the way I talked on the street, knowing it made her smile once in a while, "O' course I 'member, lass. I just be teasin' ye. But smile fer me, t'would light up me day better tha' tha' risin' sun over yonder."

  That got the smile I wanted, along with a deepening blush as she looked away, focusing on everything that didn't involve me. It made me smirk a little.

  With just the bare few seconds that her eyes weren't on mine, I studied her intently once again, making the image of her in my mind all the more solid. All the little signs that she gave when feeling a certain way were as easy for me to read as the ground of the woods in a hunt.

  Some of them, however, I wish that I would never understand. When she was sad, it cut through me like a knife and brought sorrow upon me deeper than any pond. One real frown from her would ruin my day until the moment I saw her smile again.

  Her voice interrupted my scatterbrained thoughts, "So, come on silly, what are you waiting for? We have to get a move on it if we want to get through all my plans. There's a busy day ahead of us; let's go."

  And with that, she bounded to her feet and set off down the road away from my house, her dainty little feet skipping along the path. She only went a few steps before calling back over her shoulder, "And Kate wants to see you as well. I don't know how she knew it was today; she seems to know everything that goes on around here! But you know she won't be happy until she sees you, so that cuts my time with you even more."

  She frowned over her shoulder at me but didn't even bother waiting for me to get ready. Groaning, I got dressed as quickly as possible, almost tripping on the empty beer and whiskey bottles that littered the place. I managed to catch up with Aether just as she was reaching the outskirts of the poor quarter and the entrance of the wealthier portion of the village. Lucky for her, I lived near the edge, so there was little hope of getting lost.

  The village was laid out in almost a circle, with the primary market square in the center and the rich folk with their houses surrounding it. Us poor folk were on the outer edge, with a fluidity that changed by the day. All the filth, waste, drunks, and beggars were dumped here with little to no care in the world.

  Any beggar that was caught panhandling in the primary market square was flogged and driven out. During raids, there was a main cellar located under the market, but it was usually full by the time anyone from the poor quarter could get there. I'd oft sneak in to keep Aether company, but sometimes, I was stuck outside hiding.

  As dangerous as life could be for the poor, it was a life. People peddled their wares or services to any who would pay, in coin or food. The sun rose, time turned, and people made do.

  I hunted to both pass the time and raise a little coin, as well as put some food on the table. A couple of times, I tried to convince Aether to come out with me on a hunt, but the thought was abhorrent to her, and she declined.

  As our surroundings turned more and more into the fancier houses, I could tell we were getting close to the market. I was unlikely to be harassed as long as I was with Aether, but a small part of me didn't want to risk it. I paused and called out nervously, "Aeth, you know I don't like it here. Can't we go around or something?"

  She didn't even bother to slow down, let alone stop and turn around, calling over her shoulder, "No, we cannot go around because there is something here I need to grab. So you can just hush and come with me, or you won't get your surprise." The girl infuriated me at times, but I was helpless against her. Shaking my head, I trudged along after her and tried to fight off a smile.

  Aether knew she could almost always get what she wanted and knew exactly how to get me to go along with whatever hair-brained scheme she'd come up with.

  Finally, after a few more minutes, I sighed with relief. I knew where we were going, and it was the one store I was at least comfortable with. The smell of tanning hides assaulted me, but the nearby ringing of metal made me smile.

  Gregory's Smith was a quaint little store with a small, well-run forge behind it. He was known as one of the better smiths in the area nearby, with people coming from two to even three villages over to get his work. He lacked only the funds to expand his forge to the vastness it could be. The man could make pieces that were so beautiful they made grown men cry to hold.

  He could easily be the richest man here, but for one thing. He refused to charge people what the metal was worth. He said it was worthl
ess to make something so beautiful if all it ever did was sit on a shelf because no one could afford it. In his words, the true beauty of something was it being used to its purpose. That his real profit was seeing the happy looks on people's faces as they got the things they needed instead of the coin he could have made.

  Stopping out front, I could hear Gregory working in the forge. I decided to finally put my foot down and admonished Aether, "I'm not going to take one more step until you tell me why we're here. There ain't nothing I need, and everything here would take me years to even think of buying."

  Aether rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue at me, "Jack, I know you hate surprises and all, but for just this once, can you shut up and deal with it? And I won't tell you a thing because I don't want you to take a step anyway. You'll wait right there, and I'll be back in just a moment."