Part 13: The Light in the Shadows

We met again days later to split the bounty for Jordan Sarto's death. By then, Francesco Accardi's body cast its dead stench all across the clock tower plaza. He was hung from the Watch Council office for conspiracy against The City and consorting with a witch. Hopefully the next Thief-Taker General would be less ambitious.

Six and I watched his swaying body from where we sat on a rooftop across the plaza. "I know he was a bastard and all, but they should really cut him down soon, yah? Least before his guts burst with blowflies."

"Can't say I enjoy having the smell so close to home. Or the sight. It stopped being entertaining once the crows took his eyes."

A sack of gold landed in each of our laps and we looked up to acknowledge Lorena. "Count it if you want, but I had to shake down a few fences so I can assure you it's all there."

She sat on the other side of me and the three of us looked to the distant coastline. The asylum's lights were still on in a few places, shining across the dark like pairs of demons' eyes. "Moira's ghost will have plenty of company from now on," I muttered.

Six added, "May they rest in peace. Hopefully the Baron'll stop trying to use it as a prison now that it has such a bloody report."

"Speaking of prisons." Lorena leaned around me to slap him on the shoulder. "You need to find a better home for Scribe. You can't raise a baby in a flooded cellar."

"Oh don't worry, love. Moving day's fast approaching. Found a flat in Eel's End that's been boarded up for ages. Few rugs here and there and it'll be just like owning a real home." Six slapped his hands together and reached down his vest. "Almost forgot!" He took out a square of parchment and unfolded it so we could see the artful rendition of his masked face. The bounty on his wanted poster was set at fifty-five thousand gold.

"Pretty as a picture, innit?" He held it out proudly. "Fifty-five's not bad for a fingersmith, neither."

Lorena scoffed. "Please. I'm up to sixty-five. Of course, now that there is a greater risk for me to be seen in public, my services have gotten even more expensive." She brought a hand up to my shoulder and I promptly removed it. "What about you, Garrett? What did you get for your trouble?"

"Seventy-five." I have to admit, their groans made me smile.

"But you're just a thief! I kill people for a living!"

"What can I say? The toppers would rather die than lose their heirlooms and other conversation pieces." I was also sure that some of the ladies of high society wanted me taken alive and were willing to pay good money to see me one more time.

Lorena sighed and gestured to the plaza below us. "Well the witch was right about one thing: We really are too good for this city. We saved all those aristos' lives and they repay us by upping our bounty. At least we were paid." She glanced sideways at me with a hint of greed in her eyes. "What did you do with the the witch's stone?"

"Added it to my collection." Truthfully, I had hidden the tourmaline in the clock tower better than I had hidden anything else in my collection. The fact that Sarto used it to channel her power told me that I couldn't let anyone else get their hands on it. I was going to have to study it one day but in the meantime, I had to keep it out of reach.

That greedy look in Lorena's eyes eventually turned to disappointment when I stared down her playful thought of cashing the tourmaline in for more money. After that, I rose to my feet and stepped away from the roof's edge. The night was getting older and I had other things to do.

Before I got too far, I was halted by Lorena's hand on my wrist. "Hey. Don't be such a ghost all the time, Garrett. Linger for a while."

"Yah, mate." Six pulled a satchel from his back and began to reveal its contents. "Brought a little bread I thought we could break together. A little wine, too. All good stuff, bought not pinched from a shop in Auldale."

I studied them quietly for a moment. We ran into each other a lot back in the days when we were all smaller, skinnier and hungrier. We had grown in our separate ways but came to understand The City and excel at surviving its trials. I respected them a great deal for that, and for what we'd just been through. If I had to admit it under duress, I guess I would agree with the Queen of Beggars when she said that I cared about them.

Even though we only came together to complete a grim task, I had to admit that I enjoyed Six and Lorena's company, which meant that they had earned a little more of mine. I retook my seat on the edge of the roof and reached for the wine bottle after Six popped the cork. Lorena split the loaf of grain bread into equal thirds for each of us. The full moon drifted overhead and we laughed about the worst jobs we could remember, all while eating and drinking the time away.

End