Thieves' Race

by Isaac Padgett

  I turned to head back to his house when I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder. It was that blonde boy that was constantly stopping and messing with Jack. Elroy, or something like that.

  "What do you want? I have nothing for you!" I spat, yanking my shoulder out from under his hand. I glared at him for touching me, waiting for an explanation.

  He stared back at me with what seemed to be an equal amount of contempt, though this was fueled more by the disgust at my station in life. My disdain for him was because he wouldn't leave my friends and me alone.

  "You think that you're so much better than me, just because you and your family have plenty of coin, don't you? Better than the gutter living trash that can barely afford to put food in their bellies without resorting to less savory work. Well, you're wrong. You're no better than me, and we both know it. We both use people to get what we want."

  "I'm not better because I have money; you're just a horrible person who has to push people into doing something bad when they obviously don't want to. Why don't you just leave Jack alone? He wants nothing to do with you. And neither do I. There's nothing you can say to do that will make me like you, let alone trust you."

  Elroy started to laugh loudly, his hair bouncing around his head, "Oh, it doesn't matter at all what he tells you, lass. I know the truth of the matter. I've known Jack longer, and I've seen into his soul. He'll go back to thieving sooner or later. I know it to be a fact; honestly, I just want to speed it up a little. And I don't give one whit if you like me or not."

  I glared at him, and he just smirked arrogantly in reply, "Tell me what it is you want, right now, or I'll scream for the guard. I'll tell them you tried to rape me. Who do you think they'll believe, me, or street scum like you?"

  He glared back at that but stopped arguing, "Fine. I need you to convince Jack to join me. I already know how you're going to react, but honestly, it really is in everyone's best interests. You have to trust me, whether you like it or not. I don't want anything to happen to anyone; I'm just a thief. Not a murderer. I'm being forced to do this, but I don't think it's too late yet. It can still be called off if we hurry and get Jack to join."

  With a scoff, I turned on my heel and stalked away, forgetting all about trying to go back and sort things out with Jack. Elroy didn't try to stop or follow me, and when I looked back, he was gone. For some reason, part of me believed that he was scared about something. Maybe he had gotten in over his head with someone powerful. It had nothing to do with me, and I didn't really care anymore. I was getting tired of his meddling. Jack needed rest, not stress.

  The last thing I saw that night in my mind was Jack, looking foolish with blue lip marks on his cheek, standing with a confused look coloring his eyes.

  5

  Aether

  I woke up the following day because of a loud crash right outside my window. The neighborhood we lived in was relatively quiet, with the occasional barking dog or slamming door, so it caught me off guard. Groggy, I stumbled out of bed, the wooden floor grains digging into my bare feet. Rubbing my face tiredly, I took a look outside my window, but all I could see was smoke and people running in every direction. It was almost as if they were scrambling to get their children and belongings together, though, in my tired state, I couldn't figure out why.

  My bedroom door slammed open, hitting the wall with a bang, and my mother stood in the doorway, calling out to me frantically, "Aether! There are raiders in the town! Get to the emergency cellar in the town square NOW!"

  I still didn't really know what was going on, sleep had yet to flee me, and cobwebs were still covering my mind, but I remembered all the practice drills and tried to make my way to the town square. I trusted my instincts to take me where I needed to go.

  People were running around everywhere, trying to save the few things they owned and felt they couldn't live without or hiding their children. Making sure everything was where it was supposed to be and getting to their hiding spots.

  Almost all common courtesy and respect fled in the panic that ensued because of the raid. One woman fell and was almost trampled before a young man helped her to her feet.

  I couldn't tell where the smoke was coming from, but it was most likely something in the poorer section of town. That was always where the raiders hit first. It was like a ring of insulation around the city that kept the wealthy safe, giving them time to bunker down. I always thought it was wrong, but such was the way of life.

  "Jack! Was it his section that was hit first? Oh, I hope he makes it somewhere safe.."

  Jack usually joined me in the cellar, but I wasn't sure if he would have time to make it there in an actual raid. Or if he would even want to join me there.

  The small trap door that led to the deep underground cellar was hidden under a vegetable stall. Opening it was easy, once you knew where it was, but it was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, and the steps under my feet were the only thing I could feel connected to.

  It was already almost full, and being crammed into a dark cellar with all the children and women was horrible. It was dark, and no one was allowed to make a sound. I could hear screams of pain coming from above, battle cries, and things crashing around. I could picture the scene above and just waited for the cellar door to be found and the raiders to descend those steps into the darkness, where we would have nowhere else to flee.

  Suddenly, something from the darkness grabbed my hand and placed a hand over my mouth. For a long moment, the scene of raiders already hiding in the darkness flashed through my mind.

  The hand was rough with callouses, particularly the fingertips. My lips were pressed against scars that felt somehow familiar, but I couldn't piece it together. Right as I bit down on the hand, wanting to cause as much pain as possible, I felt the familiar lips brush against my knuckles as the stranger gave my hand an affectionate squeeze. I squeezed back apologetically, but Jack only grunted softly. I could feel him clench and unclench his hand, trying to return blood flow to the spot where I bit. I had to stifle a laugh, using his hand to block the noise of my wheezing.

  Everything seemed safer and calmer, the darkness less intimidating, knowing Jack was here with me. For some reason, knowing he was beside me banished all the fear that had been growing from the moment I heard that there were raiders. I knew he would protect me, do his best to keep me from danger. For a brief moment, I wondered if Elroy was somewhere in this cellar or if he had somewhere else to hide out during the trouble. The dark part of me hoped that he hadn't made it anywhere safe and was right now fighting for his life. Would serve the bastard right.

  It felt like hours passed in that darkness, with nothing but shallow, fearful breathing piercing the silence. Even the babies had to know something terrible was going on, for not one of them let out a squeak or whimper. It seemed that the only thing that kept me sane was the anchor I had from Jack's hand holding onto mine so tightly.

  Finally, the doors above creaked open ever so slowly, sunlight shining in and lighting up the whole cellar, blinding us in the process. The fear was evident on everyone's face and most squinted into the light to try to make out who was standing there.

  After a moment, the gruff voice of my father called down to us, "It's over—a small raiding party, easy enough to overcome. We lost one man. Let us come together, remake what was lost, and mourn that of which was taken from us."

  Chatter broke out but slowly died down as those women who were married tried to discern if it was their husband who had been killed or their son. The good news of safety was tempered down with just that one death. No one could be happy, knowing that when they breached the surface, they could be faced with an ultimate truth.

  Looking back on it, I spent most of that day in a daze. I remember picking my way through the ruined houses and looking at what a "small raiding party" had done. This one raid was larger than anything I could remember, though the village hadn't been raided that often.

  In fact, as the years had passed, it had b
een so long since one that most thought they were over for good. Today's events put that belief to rest.

  Jack broke away from me to help put out a small fire, and I walked alone, confident he would catch up after he was done with the blaze.

  The silence in the aftermath was almost deafening, so the sound of pebbles scraping underfoot caused me to turn to see an unfamiliar shape rise up from the shadows and turn towards me.

  Jack

  Ash stained my hands black, and I could feel it scratching on my cheeks as well. There was no way to get rid of it all, so I contented myself to rub it on my pants for now. With a wry smile, I noticed that the new streaks on the old clothes didn't do much to change their appearance.

  I turned to see where Aether had run off to and saw her about twenty feet in front of me. She was walking with an absentminded look in her eyes, looking everywhere but not really seeing anything. I wondered what was actually going on behind those pretty eyes.

  Seemingly out of nowhere, a stranger rose from behind the remnants of a falling-down house, having been hiding under a small pile of driftwood and charred timbers. I watched Aether turn towards the sound, and surprise filled her face as the raider raised his hand. A casual backhand blow split her lip, filling her mouth with blood and knocking her to the ground. He easily slid a sword from his scabbard, and an evil grin stretched across his face.

  He grunted at Aether and whispered, "No need to worry, I like em stiff. Ye won't even know it's happening."

  I was the only person left in this area, the rest having run off to fight the rest of the fires and try to rebuild what they could. Only I could see how much trouble she was in and how little time there was to do anything at all about it.

  I saw her open her mouth to scream out, ask for help, anything, but no sound escaped. Tears filled her eyes from hopelessness as panic closed her throat. I sprinted, trying to cover the distance between us as fast as possible, but time seemed to crawl by slowly. In desperation, I flung one of the new knives I had just gotten, but a stone turned under my foot and made me miss my target, the knife barely scoring a shallow cut along the man's side.

  It was enough to distract him, though. He turned slightly, a small grunt of pain escaping from him before I jumped, flying through the air. I knocked the sword from his grasp and brought the both of us tumbling to the ground.

  We wrestled for a few minutes before I saw a flash of steel and felt a slight pinching sensation. After a moment, I let out a grunt full of pain and staggered up, drunkenly pulling a knife, stained red with my blood dripping off of it, from the place it was lodged in my stomach before collapsing with a sigh. I drove the knife into the raider's eye with what was left of my remaining strength, causing him to shriek and thrash before falling still.

  Silence descended over the village until a few men who had started over at the sound of clashing metal cried out, running over to the scene of the struggle. One, in particular, cried out, "We missed him! How in the world did we miss him? Who cleared this section?"

  The chieftain stood tall over me and commanded for silence with a raised hand before speaking. "Somebody, go get Mary. She needs to know what happened here."

  The rest of what he said faded to a murmur as I felt Aether close to me, stroking my hair, damp from sweat and blood. Her hand tried in vain to staunch the blood, which seemed to flow out like those waterfalls we had visited together. I could feel myself slipping away, and I tried one last time to speak to her.

  "No, Jack, don't talk. It's going to be okay. We'll get you help, and everything will be fine. This can't be happening again; it just can't!"

  As she cradled me against her, rocking me back and forth, I opened my eyes, seeking to meet her gaze. When I found her eyes locked on mine, I sighed happily and gasped out slowly, "My love….my beautiful...Aether…. I always…loved you… ya'know."

  Her green eyes were hidden behind her shoulder-length blonde hair, but I could still see that they were filled with tears.

  I faded with that smile on my face; the last words I ever spoke, right before the quiet passing, was, "I'll always be there, lass. Just…for…you."

  Aether

  The next few days seemed to pass by at a crawling pace, grinding on torturously slow, time seems to drag by. I was numb to everything around me, eating only when someone put food in my hand and against my mouth.

  Part of me couldn't believe that Jack was gone...part of me didn't want to believe it either. He had been such a central force in my life, ever since that day, years ago, when I had caught him breaking into my home.

  My fingers traced over the wolf heads set in the hilts of the daggers I had bought for Jack. They were the last thing I had from him, taken from his body and given back to me for remembrance. I heard the door open, and floorboards creak as my mother made her way to my bed.

  I slowly looked up at my mother, who was approaching with a look of sadness mixed with one of determination, "Now look here, young lady. I know what you have been through was a lot, but you need to get a hold of yourself. He can't come back, and you moping around like this just makes his sacrifice in vain. He died so you could live, now live, damn it all."

  Tears filled her eyes, and she clutched her hands together, wringing them painfully, "I don't wanna see my baby waste away as well. So here. Take the laundry down to the river bank and wash it up. That should keep your mind off things and keep you busy. At the very least, it will get you out of the house and into some fresh air."

  I sighed and picked up the basket from next to the door, stumbling down to the river where I sat, mechanically washing our clothes. All I was thinking of was Jack's special little smile that he seemed to have only for me and the way his eyes seemed to light up whenever I saw him. I knew something had to change, or I'd lose myself in the misery, become a part of the memories.

  "If I had known how to defend myself, maybe that wouldn't have happened the way it did. I would have been able to protect myself and Jack as well." And as soon as the idea struck me, I shoveled the clothes into the basket, still dripping wet, and took off to Gregory's house.

  "Gregory!" I called out, pounding against his door frantically, bruising the side of my hand, "Gregory, come out, please. I need to speak with you!"

  The bear of a man opened the door, filling the frame with his massive build. From his wide mouth came a voice so gentle, most wouldn't believe it came from him, "What can I help you with, lass? Did a horse throw its shoe?"

  I looked up at him with a set look of determination on my face and said with a slight crack in my throat, "I want to learn how to fight, how to defend myself. Can you help me?"

  He looked me up and down with a calculating expression before nodding and gruffly saying, "We'll see what I can do."

  The next few weeks were grueling, the relentless smith setting me countless, seemingly meaningless tasks. At one point be made me move a whole pile of rocks about half a mile to lay a foundation for a shed and then decided that he wanted them back where they originally were.

  By the end of a moon, though, I had to admit that I had built up some pretty serious muscle for a girl. I could now lift more than my weight with relative ease, and the wooden practice sword he had me train with every day felt as light as a feather at the start of the day. By the end of that day, however, all of my muscles would ache, and lifting the sword then would be a pain, my arm shaking with effort.

  In fact, a day came as I was beating away at a small dummy set in the smith-yard when he came out with a long package in his hands. Watching me move for a few minutes, I noted with pride that he didn't correct my techniques anymore, so I had to be moving through the forms correctly. The fight almost seemed like a dance.

  How Gregory had learned so much about swordplay, I would never know and wouldn't ask. I didn't dare risk pushing him away when there was still so much left to learn.

  "Okay, lass, you're done with that dummy. It's time to step up your training."

  I nodded, out of breath from the bout with
the sword but excited nonetheless. I let the piece of wood slide out of my fingers and held out my hand for the package, only to have said package slam into my arm hard enough that I thought I might have broken my arm.

  "Never just drop that sword. And never think you're safe, no matter who you're with or what you're doing." Gregory let the cloth cover slide off to reveal another wooden practice sword, "Now pick it up and try to hit me as hard as you can. Come on, lass, I don't have all day."

  I looked dubiously at how he was standing, feet spread slightly as he had taught me, but his sword was at his side, nowhere near the defensive position he had drilled into me. I thought about waiting for him to be ready, but the look he got on his face at my hesitation made me send a half-hearted overhand attack towards his head.

  I never even saw his arm move, I just felt the jarring sensation of my sword coming to a halt a good foot away from him and then an exploding pain radiating out from my side.