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  The figure, not a stride from him, was enveloped by darkness, and stood almost a foot taller than he. Gareth back stepped a few paces, bringing both he and the mysterious figure into the light of a torch that hung from the closest pillar. In the torch light, the man seemed even more imposing than he had from the shadows.

  Pale skin, white as snow, reflected the light, causing an almost halo effect around him. He was tall and slender, but not the way Gareth was used to seeing from people in the slums, it was much more similar to the nobles he would see around the upper quarter of Eitane, fine built, elegant even, with an air of superiority.

  ‘Enjoy sneaking up on people, I see.’ Gareth said, regaining his composure.

  ‘A talent we both share, it would seem.’

  ‘And who are you?’ He asked the stranger, already knowing the answer.

  ‘Names are but a distraction, we are here to conduct business, are we not?’

  Exactly what he thought the man would say. ‘We are,’ Gareth said, removing a large leather wrap from within his coat. ‘The item you requested from my employer.’

  The man reached out a hand, but Gareth pulled back slightly, and waited.

  ‘Such distrust,’ a vulpine grin touched the stranger’s lips. He reached inside his own coat and pulled a small black pouch from an inside pocket, tossing it to Gareth. The pouch clinked with what could only be the sound of coins when it hit Gareth’s outstretched hand.

  ‘I like to make sure we’re both getting what we want, is all.’ He handed the leather wrap to the man, who promptly opened it, and scanned the contents of the parchment within.

  He seemed pleased with whatever was written on the sheets of parchment and sealed them back within the wrap. The man took a step forward and stretched out his hand towards Gareth, ‘well done, young thief.’

  Gareth gripped the man’s forearm tightly and shook. The stranger’s pale skin felt unusually cold within his grasp, but the engraved silver bracer he wore, felt warm, as if heat radiated from it. He pulled back quickly and nodded to his imposing client.

  ‘We’re done here.’

  THREE

  Ancient, warped floorboards creaked from the slow, but pre-meditative heavy steps of an enormous man. Selene was indebted to the inn’s proprietor for his paltry standards and maintenance of the premises. She knelt in the shadows of a doorway at the end of a corridor, removed from the threat that would soon be upon her.

  Silent, but with alacrity, she inserted her lock picks and manipulated the mechanism within. Her quick fingers and practised hands allowed her to make short work of the lock’s tumblers, and the door opened in-wards, without so much as a groan.

  Selene moved through the opening and into a spacious dark bedroom, closing the door behind her. Well adjusted to the blackness from stalking the ill-lighted corridors of the inn, she could make out every inch of the room. She had broken into the rooms of the inn many times, as it was one of the finer inns in that section of the capital, and guaranteed her a bountiful visit upon each return.

  To make certain the inn kept its favourable reputation, and her large take, Selene only took what she presumed the wealthy patrons would not miss. Or at least an amount the patrons would not expect to lose from their regular travels around the city.

  With great nimbleness and refinement, she glided throughout the room making no more noise than that of the smallest, and meekest of rodents. A trove of valuables were scattered throughout the room; silver hairbrushes, expensive vanity mirrors, jewel encrusted bottles that Selene imagined held expensive fragrances.

  None of those items met her risk versus reward criteria. She was aware those were all every day objects that would certainly be missed by the room’s occupant upon their return. Instead, she moved to a great chest in the corner of the room.

  The chest was a deep, solid wood, reinforced by heavy metal straps that wrapped around top to bottom, and side to side, meeting in the centre with a wide lock. Unusual and large for a chest, the lock appeared to rival that of the one she'd just picked.

  Once more, she removed the picks from her belt, and worked on the complicated chest lock. Only moments had passed, but she could see the lock had twice as many tumblers as the door lock, and each much more precise. While other thieves may have given up and made an effort to force the lock, Selene relaxed and let her senses guide her as she always did. A sense of serenity filled her, the hands of the experienced thief moved swift and smooth setting each tumbler in position.

  The lock clicked and Selene turned the picks with a satisfactory smile across her face. She heaved the sturdy wooden lid of the chest up, her grin grew steadily broader at the sight of the treasure before her.

  Amongst clothes and additional bits and pieces, two bulging leather purses lay in the right corner of the chest, alongside what seemed to be a large jewellery box. Selene’s fingers slipped to the bag at her waist. She fished out her own empty coin purse and began removing coins from the two purses in the chest and transferred them to her own. She drew the drawstrings tight and stowed it away secure in her bag before shifting her attention to the large box.

  The jewellery box had no lock, which was no surprise to Selene, as the lock on the chest had been relatively complex. The hinged lid opened inaudible in her hands, and she saw the topmost compartment held several bracelets and a beautiful gold necklace with a sapphire pendant attached to it. Her eyes grew wide and she couldn’t help but remove it from the box and hold it up against her neck.

  Selene had seen many of the wealthy girls do the same thing while she spied on their houses from cover. She imagined the life she would have had to have to possess such fine jewellery. Wealthy parents, a considerable home, servants, and the finest clothes, these had all been the object of her dreams since she was a child.

  Selene searched her memory, but strained to remember a time when she had parents and a home. Wealth was never and would never have been a part of her life, had her parents survived. Like most orphans, cast out to fend for themselves, life had been difficult for her on the streets. With her parents gone, she had no one to watch over her.

  Over time, she found a resilience once unknown to her, and she adapted to her unfamiliar surroundings. It wasn’t long before she came to know the routines of merchants and discovered when they would dispose of food. Sometimes she even succeeded in breaking into the occasional empty room an inn might have in the less prosperous portions of the city. Which provided for at least one decent night’s rest from time to time.

  After a too long moment, she remembered that it would be extraordinary for even the most illustrious of thieves to live a life so full. She placed the necklace back into the box’s top tray and removed the compartment to reveal the bottom section.

  There were over a dozen rings of all shapes and sizes, with metals and stones she had seldom seen. With delicacy, she sifted through the trove of rings, and selected one that would fetch a decent price from the merchants she sold to. Someone with so much jewellery wouldn’t miss a single ring, and if they did, they would put it down to a misfortune and nothing else. No one would ever suspect thievery of one ring when so many finer ones still lay in their place.

  Satisfied with her haul, Selene replaced everything as she had found it and re-locked the massive chest, before making her way to the door. She placed an ear to the lock on the door and listened for a moment for any sound that would indicate a guest was roaming the corridors beyond.

  With not so much as the sound of a snoring drunk wafting through the halls, she opened the door to the room just enough for her to slip outside. Without a second thought, she turned and re-locked the door with a couple of flicks of her tools, ensuring no one would ever suspect she had been there.

  Her point of entry lay only a few strides from the doorway as she’d let herself in through a second-floor window. She had taken but a single step from the room when she heard the clink of metal on metal come from the opposite end of the hallway behind her.

  ‘You ther
e, turn around.’ A deep voiced man yelled from much too close.

  Selene punched the wall softly, but enough to hear her knuckles crack along the hallway, 'Gods damn you, I had ten more minutes.'

  Footsteps grew closer, it was evident he didn't care about his atrocious timekeeping. The window was barely feet from her and she knew the guard’s size and armour would slow him down, giving her a tremendous speed advantage.

  She lunged for the window without a seconds hesitation and forced it open with haste, lowered herself out and hung from the edge of the broad wooden frame. Not wishing to venture a run in with a guard on the streets below, she knew the rooftops would be her only choice.

  Before she could look for the swiftest route to the roof, the guard’s head and shoulders appeared from the window.

  ‘Stop right there, girl.’ He said as his hand reached for her.

  She smiled. ‘Not tonight, champ.’

  An angry guard snatched at her coat as she sprang from the window frame to a beam that protruded from the building and held the inn’s sign. The large wooden beam was enough to allow her to haul herself up to a second-floor window, and again on to the overhang of the roof.

  Cool night air caressed her face as she stood upon the roof of the inn. Rooftops had been her escape from many dangers over the years and no one knew them quite like Selene, it was where she felt most at home in Eitane.

  She paused for a moment and took in the beauty of her city, marvelling at the simpleness of how the light from the harvest moon filled the sky. Beams of moonlight danced from rooftop to rooftop, illuminating the opaque blue tiles as far as the eye could see. The light created a rippling effect that almost made the quarter come to life, like an ocean surrounding her on all sides.

  Most people in Eitane only saw the city from the streets and couldn’t appreciate its true magnificence. Few got to gaze upon the city from such heights, save for the king from the high towers of the palace in the north of the city.

  Walls made of the brightest white stone encircled the capital. Each of Eitane's quarters, where not divided by the river, were separated by a wall of almost equal height to the outer boundary. On nights such as this, it acted like a colossal mirror, reflecting the moon’s light in a wave back across the entire city.

  A cry from the streets below snapped Selene’s attention back to the more imperative matter of her escape, and the threat of imprisonment. She recognised the same guard’s voice who had tried to snatch her only moments before. He was now calling out for aid and informing passersby that there was a thief on the roof.

  Selene thought it best not to wait for his aid to arrive, turned on her heels, sprinted south across the building and made a dash for the next rooftop. She glided with flawless dexterity from rooftop to rooftop, never needing to guess which way to go or if there would be a place to land when she leapt. It was all muscle memory and instinct after so many long years.

  Having reached the edge of the merchant’s quarter unscathed, Selene relaxed her pace and took in her surroundings. The streets were quiet, save for a few men returning home from the local tavern. Bested them again, she thought. She had spent over half her life stealing, at first to survive after her father died, but in recent years, to make sure she stayed in the manner she’d become accustomed to.

  At last satisfied that no guards pursued her, and that none, save the creatures of the night were watching, Selene descended to the streets below. She was still some distance from her home, but it was safer to descend there, rather than draw attention to herself closer to her residence.

  The walk was short and safe in that part of the city, but each footstep was silent and calculated. She knew no other way, Selene had been trained by perhaps the best thieves in all of Emeer, undeniably the greatest in the entire Thieves Guild.

  * * *

  The familiar rust stained door of her home was in front of her before she knew it, she smiled a little as she unlocked it and entered. It had been a good night, plenty of coin and a long but exhilarating chase to satisfy her need for excitement.

  ‘Selene, is that you?’ A voice called out from the kitchen.

  Selene removed her bag and heavy cloak before making her way through to the kitchen. The sound of water boiling, and building steam rattling the top of a pot, let her know she would not get to bed without an obligatory cup of tea and the conversation that accompanied it.

  She pushed the kitchen door open and to no surprise, saw Molly sitting at the old, but sturdy oak wood table, cups and tea ready, just waiting for the water to finish boiling.

  ‘You’re up late, Molly.’ Selene said, moving towards the stove to remove the pot of water.

  ‘As are you, dear. All in one piece tonight too, I see.’

  Molly had been an old friend of Selene’s mother and father, but Selene had barely known her before she left Eitane to go to the port of Credne, in the southeast of Emeer. Molly’s husband was a fisherman, just like Selene’s father, but when time’s got tough, Molly and her husband moved to Credne hoping to find work. It wasn’t until her husband’s death some years before, that she moved back to Eitane in search of old friends and family.

  ‘Don’t worry so much, Mol, I’m faster than those lazy city guards, they never catch me.’

  ‘Aye, so you keep telling me. But more often than not, I see you come in here bloody and bruised. So if it’s not the lazy guards, then who might I ask is working you over?’ Molly asked in her usual concerned, motherly tone.

  Selene poured the water into the teapot on the table and smiled at Molly. She had never known her mother, who had died giving birth to her, and her father had died at sea when she was still so young. She enjoyed having someone around that cared for her like a parent would even if it got a little annoying from time to time.

  ‘I don’t think a couple of scrapes and bruises is anything to be concerned about, Mol, you don’t have to worry, no one is beating me.’

  The look on Molly’s face told Selene that she didn’t quite buy that story, but she would not push her for information. They’d lived together for a few years, and after a while, a silent understanding had been reached. Molly wouldn’t ask questions about Selene’s nightly activities, and Selene would do her best not to get hurt while doing them.

  ‘Indeed. As I’m sure you know, I only ask out of concern, dear. I meant to tell you earlier, but you were off gallivanting of course. I was on my way home from the bakery when I over heard some people talking. They were speaking softly, but apparently two local boys have been missing since last night.’ She paused for a moment. ‘So you can see how I might have been a little more worried about you tonight than usual.’ Molly finished, with a deep look of concern on her face.

  Selene perked up a little. ‘Missing? What do you mean?’

  ‘Well, according to the shopkeeper, a family at the edge of the merchant’s quarter where out searching all morning after being to the city guards. They say their sons went to bed last night and when the mother tried to rouse them for breakfast this morning, they were gone.’

  ‘Just gone? Do they think they might have run away or something?’ Selene asked.

  ‘Not the type, from what I’ve heard, plus they took nothing with them, no clothes, money, not even a loaf of bread missing. Some are saying they might have been kidnapped.’

  ‘Kidnapped? From the Merchant’s Quarter? If it were the slums or the docks, I’d have an easier time believing it, but there’s twice as many guards around here. Surely someone would have seen or heard something.’

  Molly said nothing, just shook her head with a grave look of concern. Selene was worried too, she’d moved to the Merchant’s Quarter as it was a huge step up from the slums.

  She always thought that that was the safest part of the city, other than the upper quarter where the rich and noble lived. The king ensured that the merchants of the city and their property were well guarded, to ensure better trade and encourage people from across Emeer to come to the city of Eitane to do busines
s.

  Selene’s concern was not for herself though, she always worried about others, such as Molly. But in that moment, she wondered about the safety of her friends, who all but a few, lived in the slums. If someone would dare kidnap children from the Merchant’s Quarter, then the few guards who patrolled the slums would be no deterrent.

  The lure of her bed soon took over, and she emptied her cup, kissed Molly on the cheek and bid her goodnight before heading to her room to sleep. It had been a long day and a tiring night, she had been looking forward to her bed, but with the news Molly had brought, she wasn’t so sure sleep would come any time soon.

  FOUR

  Her neck pulled tight, every muscle in her body screamed when she arched forward out of bed. Sleep had gripped her all too fast when she’d entered her bedroom, the short but heavy curtains of her room left open, boots discarded aimlessly, clothes slept in, all evidence of that.

  Soft rouge and mauve painted the sky through her bare window, the hour was far too early. Her face showed only regret for the previous night’s adventures when she stared off into the mirror opposite the bed. Selene’s usual brilliant blue eyes were dim and full of sleep, her long chestnut hair plastered to one side of her face forced her to cringe, the image of brushing it fired a chill down her spine.

  The aroma of Molly’s cooking wafted through from the kitchen below, a sudden insatiable hunger struck. She quickly threw on some clean clothes and dragged her aching body to the kitchen where a grinning Molly greeted her, along with a table filled with bacon, eggs and fresh baked bread.

  ‘I'm happy you got up before the food got cold, I hate the thought of you eating breakfast cold every morning. How did you sleep, dear?’ Molly said as she placed a pot of water on the stove to boil.

  ‘Not as well as I’d have liked to, but I’ll take what I can get.’

  Selene sat down at the table all too fast, shooting pain and stiffness brought her mind back to the exaggerated jumps, and extensive chasing by the city’s guards. She inhaled deep to relax her body, but the hard wood of the chair was almost painful to sit on.