Douglas Hulick - Among Thieves

Okay, I was being paranoid.

I sat back in my chair and rubbed my face. A Gray Prince? Me? What the hell did that even mean? What was I supposed to do? The only firsthand examples I had came from a dream-walking woman who wanted to kill the emperor, and a glimmer-using schemer who had hidden behind a mask of darkness. Since I didn’t exactly see myself wrapped in a dark cloak and holding vague, mysterious meetings in abandoned mansions, there weren’t a lot of useful pointers there.

What was a Gray Prince, anyhow? The head of an organization that ran underneath other organizations. A Gray Prince was a Kin who worked past the street and cordon level, even past the level of the city. Looking at what Solitude and Shadow had wanted, I knew they thought broad. And big. And long-term.

And, I realized, deep down, they wanted to be as good as Isidore had been; as good as the man who had organized the Kin and made himself into the Dark King. Princes wanted to show they were kings.

Except I didn’t want to be a king. I just wanted to be a Kin. Only I didn’t seem to have much choice about that now.

I looked over at Kells. He was watching me, a hint of a smile on his lips, cold ice in his eyes. And I realized I didn’t need to look to Solitude or Shadow or any of the other Princes, or even Isidore, for examples; I’d had one of the best organizers in the Kin as my mentor for years. And I still did, if I was lucky.

“The offer you made a few minutes ago,” I said. “Is it still good?”

“It is. And it includes about a dozen of my people who are in Solitude’s organization as well. We’re yours, if you want us.”

“I can’t offer you anything right now,” I said.

“You saved us; the least we can do is return the favor. Once you start having some stronger sway on the street, we can talk price.”

I shook my head and looked out past Kells, at the street, and Ildrecca. Drothe, Gray Prince of… what? A Jarkman who’d tried to have me killed? A Djanese Mouth for hire? A handful of Cutters who were wearing colors I hadn’t known I had? And now, thirteen Kin in another Prince’s organization. What the hell kind of a start was that?

I shook my head and began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he said.

“My ‘organization,’ ” I said.

“What about it?”

“Almost half of them are Long Noses. Who the hell starts a criminal organization with a bunch of Long Noses and no money?”

Kells began to laugh as well. “Sounds like a perfect fit for you.”

I nodded. “I suppose it does.” I took a sip of cold coffee and considered. Yes. Those Noses would come in handy when it came time to bring Solitude to heel someday. After all, there was still an empire to save and the Kin to keep alive, and I’d be damned if I’d let her fowl it up.

When we left, Kells insisted on paying for the meal. It was only fitting, he said; after all, I was his boss.