David Dalglish - A Dance of Cloaks

“I know what happens to people who refuse my father,” Aaron said. “They die.”

Robert smiled.

“We all die, son. The question is, who are we when we do?”

Aaron lifted the amulet before his eyes.

“Everything good about mankind?” he asked.

“Everything we wish we were and most often fail to be, Aaron,” said Robert.

But he wasn’t Aaron anymore, not then.

He put the amulet in his pocket, where his father wouldn’t see it. When he turned to leave, he paused, then glanced back at his teacher.

“Do you pray to Ashhur?” he asked.

Robert sighed. With what he had already said and done, Thren would surely take his life. There was nothing left to risk.

“Not as much as I should,” he said. “And nothing like I did when I was younger. The world is harsh, Aaron. Sometimes it seems like Ashhur isn’t even listening.”

He thought of the girl, pleading to Ashhur for him to give back her father. The hurt in Robert’s eyes was so plain, Aaron wondered who he had prayed for Ashhur to send back.

How cruel a world, thought the boy. But I won’t be its cruelty. I won’t.

Aaron left.

Robert poured himself a drink and sat down on his bed. And waited.

A aron searched the entire compound. Dustin was nowhere to be found. Holding in a curse, he went looking for Kayla. He found her in the mess hall, eating with several other men. Aaron’s mind raced, trying to think of a way to talk to her without letting it be obvious. If anyone might help him in protecting the girl, it’d be her.

Summoning his courage, he walked straight up to her. If there was no subtle way, then being brazen about it would be less likely to draw attention than some half-assed secret communication.

“Kayla,” he said, feeling the eyes of others on him. No matter where he went, he was Thren’s son, and the thieves acted like a word from him would be their deaths. It might have been true, but it still made him feel uncomfortable. Of course, any attention made him feel uncomfortable. He preferred the corners and the shadows, not front and center.

“Yes, Aaron?” she asked.

He felt even more awkward with Kayla looking at him. He kept thinking how pretty she was. It didn’t help that with her leaning toward him, he had a nice view down her shirt.

“I need to find someone,” he said. Kayla shrugged and stood from the table, having already finished eating. A couple others mocked her for leaving a glass full of beer, but another cheerfully volunteered to finish it for her. When they were far enough away, Aaron blurted everything out at once.

“I need to find Dustin,” he said. “The one you fetched for my father.”

“Dare I ask why?”

“I’m going to kill him.”

Kayla held her surprise well.

“Again…dare I ask why?”

They were at the door to the mess hall. Aaron waited until she pushed open the door, then used its creak to help hide his voice.

“Because he’ll kill her,” he said.

Kayla immediately knew who.

“Shit,” she said. “You’re out of your mind. He’s a pro, Aaron.”

She led him down the hall. In the quiet, their voices seemed more ominous, their whispers carrying far. Kayla led them to her room as quickly as possible.

“You can’t,” she said once she shut the door. “You don’t even know her name. You’re throwing your life away, don’t you understand?”

Aaron clenched his fingers around the medallion through the fabric of his pants.

Everything good about mankind, Aaron thought. Everything good about me.

“I have to try,” he said. “Please, tell me where he went.”

Kayla bit her lip and stared at him. She’d joined the Spider Guild in search of money and reputation. So far, she’d rescued an old man from a prison and slaughtered a priest in front of his flock. Her reputation wasn’t exactly on the upswing. Aaron’s infatuation with her, while first seeming to have possibilities, had turned out to be a threat. What in the world would Thren think if she encouraged open rebellion within his own guild, let alone by his son?

“By telling you, I risk my own life, do you understand that?” she asked.

That seemed to shock Aaron a bit. He blushed, realizing how stupid he was to have not thought everything through.

“I can’t,” he said, turning to leave. “I can’t risk your life, not for me, not for her.”

“Aaron,” she said, grabbing his shoulder and turning him around. She smiled at him, even as her insides churned. What the abyss was wrong with her? She owed this boy nothing. Nothing!

“I researched the Eschatons before the job in what little time I had. Delius was a noble who turned to the priesthood only a few years back. He has a mansion in the western district. It’s sparsely furnished and poorly staffed. He gave away much of his wealth to the temple. The girl might be there, or she might be in the temple. If she’s in the temple, you haven’t a prayer of getting to her. Either way, that mansion is the first place Dustin will look.”

“Thank you,” Aaron said.

Kayla gave him directions to the mansion, as well as a brief description of what it looked like from the outside.

“Dustin’s started ahead of you,” Kayla said. “But he’ll need to ask around first to find out where they live. You might be able to beat him there. Hurry out, and try to be back before sunrise. And for the love of all that’s holy, don’t let anyone see you.”

After he had been gone for about ten minutes, a hard knock roused her from her thoughts. Her heart leapt into her throat. She grabbed one of her throwing daggers and held it tight in her hand. If Thren wanted her, she would die fighting him. She wouldn’t let him torture her.

Body tensed for combat, she flung open the door. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when she saw Senke standing there looking baffled and worried by the dagger she held in her hand.

A aron felt oddly exhilarated. He’d never been out at night on his own. Thren had always insisted someone accompany him on his rare excursions out of the complex. Usually the reasons involved safety, the Trifect, and rival guilds wanting to settle a million old grudges. More and more, though, Aaron thought that his father wanted to keep him from feeling a taste of freedom.

He ran along the rooftops. With so many nearby logging towns, especially those on the northern edges of the King’s Forest, the houses were built sturdy, tall, and with mostly flat roofs. With his weight, the wood and plaster easily held him. He landed softly as he could, but he also ran fast. Bits of gray cloth trailed in the air behind him, the ties to the mask that covered his entire face. Only his blue eyes were visible.

As he neared the western district, the going got rougher. The west was far from the wealthiest of districts, but every part of the city had its betters, and they always clumped themselves together. As the buildings grew fancier, the roofs grew more slanted, with multiple floors, odd decorations and stone creatures, as well as the sharp triangular rooftops that had been fashionable at some point. Instead of racing along, he leapt and climbed. Sweat poured across his skin, the air was devilishly cold, but through it all, Aaron smiled.

I’m not Aaron, he thought. Haern. Haern can rebel.

It was strange thinking like that, but it made sense somehow. Let Aaron be shy. Let Aaron cower to his father and steal as ordered. Haern would hide, and he would survive. And tonight, Haern would kill, but unlike Aaron, it’d be for good. He knew just enough about sex to know that whatever Dustin planned to do, it’d be horrific torture before he actually killed the girl. He couldn’t let her go through that, not because he didn’t have the courage to lie to his father.