THE AURIC GAZETTE

CAPTAIN ABBOT’S VICTORY

FAMED MYSTERY THIEF CAPTURED DURING PALACE BREAK-IN

BY PIERRE DUPONT

A disturbance at Glassen Palace has left the royal guards in a frenzy as several masked assailants broke in just after midnight. A maid and kitchen boy, who wish to remain anonymous, were out walking in Glassen’s gardens when they heard a strange noise coming from a sewer grate caught their attention. To their horror, a group of four masked individuals came clamoring out of the grate. The pair immediately alerted the guards, who arrived at the scene in record time.

While three of the would-be-thieves managed to escape, the famed thief known as the Golden Shadow was caught by none other than the ruggedly handsome Captain of the Guard himself, Finneas Abbot. While Captain Abbot was not available for a statement and told this reporter to “get out of my fucking face before you join the thief,” sources from inside the palace report that the identity of the Golden Shadow is none other than Aelia Gothel, daughter of famed poisoner Millicent Gothel.

Aelia, who was charged with multiple petty crimes in her teens, hasn’t been seen since her late mother's death nearly five years ago.

In case readers have forgotten, Lady Gothel was caught distributing poison thought to be intended for His Royal Majesty King Daurian and sentenced to death. Aelia, who had just turned twenty at the time, was found innocent of involvement and released following her mother’s sentence.

While we are still unsure of Aelia’s intentions during the Glassen break-in, she still seems to hold some resentment for Captain Abbot, who was made Captain of the Guard after he caught Lady Gothel during the seizure of her hideout, as evident but the rather prominent black eye and split lip he was sporting after Aelia’s arrest. More on page six.

Ella tossed the two week old newspaper aside as she cleared empty pint glasses from the suspiciously sticky bartop. She had managed to get an evening job as an assistant bar keep at the Slippered Tabby Inn and Bar. A better name for it would have been The Rat Infested Hell Hole, but she somehow doubted her new boss, a rather twitchy sliver of a man with oily black hair named Barron, would have gone for it.

The Slippered Tabby was located in a less than desirable area of Auric known as the Slumps, but after nearly a dozen rejections, it was this or dragging her desperate ass back to Callum.

Ella tried to reason with herself that despite how gross the bar was, it did seem to be one of the safer businesses in the Slumps. She heard rumors of several other establishments getting robbed daily, but so far the Slippered Tabby had been untouched.

Naturally, when she told Rosalind about her second job, her step-mother wasn't thrilled. She was even less thrilled when she found out where this new job was located. But then Rosalind had developed a terrible cough that resulted in needing to call for a doctor, which came with a hefty bill. Then there was an announcement that the blanket of snow they had gotten had spread to the southern region of the country where it typically never snows, killing several crops, driving up the price of food due to scarcity.

With the funds left by Ella’s father dwindling fast, there was no way they could afford these unexpected bills with just Ella’s bakery job, and thus Rosalind was forced to accept the situation.

The job itself wasn’t too bad, except for the fact that fights seemed to break out nightly at the Slippered Tabby. Or the time her coworker, an incredibly stupid woman by the name of Winnie, accidentally set a new crate of lager on fire and for some reason decided it was Ella’s job to put it out. Then blamed Ella for the fire, which resulted in her earning the nickname Cinders by both the regulars and Barron as a result.

The name probably would have only lasted a day or two, but then when Ella was climbing a ladder to grab an expensive bottle of whisky, the hem of her dress rode up, revealing a rather distinctive birthmark in the shape of a flame.

Ella had made the mistake of complaining to her step-mother and step-siblings when she got home that night. All three found the whole situation incredibly funny and had taken to calling her Cinders as well.

Still, the tips made all the grievances she faced worth it. Oddly enough, Barron made so much money that he didn’t try and take a cut of Ella’s tips, which had been a regular headache with Callum.

It was coming up to closing time, and most of the regulars had already stumbled off to wherever they went when they weren’t drinking away their wages. Only an old man lay hunched over a table in the corner fast asleep. At least Ella hoped he was asleep. Barron was in his back office while Winnie cleaned up the store room.

While she was attempting to wipe up whatever mystery mess was making the counter so sticky, two men walked in. Normally, this wouldn’t have caused Ella alarm, as it was mostly men who drank at the Slippered Tabby, but these two had a sinister aura about them.

Both were monstrously tall, so much that Ella, who was tall for a woman, had to crane her neck to look up at them. One was very broad and muscular, with short red hair, a beard and a scar that ran from his left eye to the opposite corner of his mouth. The other was skinnier, and had an eel-like look to him, with black hair slicked back with so much gel it looked wet, a blunt nose and thin lips that revealed large, yellowed teeth.

The men approached the counter and Ella swallowed hard when she realized just how alone she was. The man in the corner hadn’t stirred at all in the last hour.

“What can I get you gentlemen?” she asked politely as she tried her best to smile. The muscular redhead said nothing, but the greasy one gave her a creepy smile and said, “We’re looking for Barron, love. He around?”

On cue, Barron came out the back with a crate of beer bottles in his arms, which he nearly dropped upon seeing the men.

“You have visitors,” Ella said weakly, pointing at the men with her dirty rag.

Momentarily, Barron’s eyes bulged in panic before putting on a very large, fake smile and practically shook as he shoved the crate into Ella’s arms.

“Izar, Braken,” he said in an octave higher than normal. “I wasn’t expecting you for a few more days.”

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The greasy one shrugged. “Boss wants her cut now.”

The mention of boss and her piqued Ella’s interest. She glanced between Izar and Braken and Barron. Whoever this boss was, it appeared Barron had no desire to cross her.

“Of course,” he said, his voice still far too high pitched. “I’ll go get it. Ella, get these gentlemen whatever they want. On the house.” He all but ran into the back.

Naturally, they wanted the expensive whisky, meaning Ella had to climb the ladder.

“So, you’re the famous Cinders,” the greasy one said, pulling up a bar stool as Ella poured them two generous glasses. She blinked at him in surprise.

“That’s me,” she said, pushing the glasses towards them. “How’d you know?”

“You’re the only new girl who's been in here in years,” the redhead said. His voice was as deep as Ella imagined it would be. He picked up the glass, saluted it towards her and then downed it, placed the glass back on the counter and gave her a look that said “another.”

Ella poured him another without a word.

“No offense,” the greasy one said as he eyed her up and down. “But you look too… clean… to be in here.”

“That’s really not that offensive,” Ella said, looking around at the grimy bar. The greasy man laughed before taking a sip of his whisky.

“But seriously, what’s a nice girl like you doing in this shithole?” he asked.

Ella shrugged. “We all need to make a little extra money somehow right?”

A dark gleam fell over the man’s eyes. “True enough,” he said over the rim of his glass. There was something in the way he said it that made Ella’s stomach twist nervously.

“Listen,” he said, leaning in close to her. “If you ever need to make a little extra money, why don’t you come give us a visit?”

“I’m not selling myself,” Ella said quickly. The greasy hair man smirked before looking her up and down again.

“Shame,” he said softly. “But that’s not what I meant.”

Ella cocked her head and frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

The man ran a finger over the rim of his glass. “Our boss is always looking for people to do… side jobs,” he said, his voice trailing off.

“What kind of side jobs?”

“You’d have to take that up with her,” greasy hair said with an oily smile. “Think about it. If you decide you do want to earn a little extra geld, come visit us at the Glass Pumpkin. Ask for Lady Nyx and tell her Izar sent you.”

That meant the redhead was Braken.

The names Glass Pumpkin and Lady Nyx were vaguely familiar, but Ella couldn’t recall where she had heard them before. Before she could ask, Barron stumbled out from the back room that housed his office, a large brown bag loudly jingling with gelds. Judging by the size of the bag, there was enough money in there to pay Ella’s expenses for at least a month.

“Here you are,” Barron said as he handed the bag off to Izar. “It’s all there, I swear.”

Izar handed the bag off to Braken and gave Barron a lazy grin. “Don’t worry, if there’s any missing we know where to find you.” His tone was pleasant enough, but the threat was clear enough. These men and their Lady Nyx were not to be trifled with.

Barron said nothing, but his waxy skin did turn several shades whiter.

Izar nodded to Ella as he and Braken turned to leave. “See you around, Cinders.”

Once the door had swung shut behind them Barron slumped against the counter, looking like he wasn’t sure if he should faint or vomit.

Bella poured him a drink of the expensive whisky she had brought down, and shoved the glass his way. Without uttering a word, Barron took the glass and down it, grimacing as the liquid burned down the back of his throat.

“What was that about?” Ella asked as he slammed the glass down on the counter. The noise woke up the man in the corner, who looked widely around as if he wasn’t entirely sure how he’d gotten there.

“Go home Malcom,” Barron snapped at the man. Malcolm stood on wobbly legs and stumbled out of the bar. Ella wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up passing out in the alleyway out back.

“Well?” Ella pressed when they were alone.

“Well what?” Barron didn’t seem to want to meet her eye.

“Who were those men? And why did you give them money?”

Barron rubbed a tired hand over his tired face. “Don’t worry about it, Cinders. It has nothing to do with you.”

Ella was not going to be deterred.

“What’s the Glass Pumpkin? Who’s Lady Nyx?”

Barron visibly shuddered. “No where you need to be and no one you need to know.” She began to open her mouth to argue, but Barron cut her off. “Ella, seriously, drop it. The less you know the safer it is for you. These aren’t people to get involved with, trust me.”

Barron pushed off the counter and headed into the back, nearly knocking over Winnie who was coming out.

“What’s up with him?” she asked, frowning over her shoulder at Barron who hadn’t so much as looked at her as he shoved passed. Winnie claimed to be thirty-five, but Ella suspected she was exaggerating by at least five years. She had crudely dyed blonde hair that always had an orangish tint to it and fine lines beneath her eyes. She was still an attractive woman, and knew how to flirt with the patrons to get larger tips.

Closing the bottle of whisky and turning to put it back on the top shelf, Ella said, “some very sketchy men just came in looking for money.”

Winnie still. “Let me guess, one greasy looking weasel that doesn’t know what soap is and a ginger troll that could probably take on the King’s entire army?”

“Yeah, that’s them.”

Winnie let out a sigh of relief. “Glad I was in the back for that. They always creep me out.”

Hooping down from the last ladder step, Ella turned back to her coworker. “Who are they? Barron seems dead terrified of them, and he gave them enough money to feed my family for a year.”

Looking over her shoulder at the back door as if to confirm Barron wasn’t coming back, Winnie leaned in close and whispered, “they’re some of Lady Nyx’s men. Barron pays them a fee for keeping the bar from getting robbed.”

That would explain why the bar never experienced worse than a couple of drunk patrons getting into a fist fight.

“Who is Lady Nyx?” Ella asked.

Winnie snorted. “You really are a sheltered little lamb, aren’t you?” Ella felt her face heat, but repeated the question. “Some people know her as the Fairy Godmother. She’s the faerie that runs the Nightshades.”

Ella didn’t need Winnie to explain who the Nightshades were. She had seen the name come up hundreds of times in the Auric Gazette. They were one of the most vicious and notorious gangs in the Slumps. Named for poisoning anyone who crossed them, the Nightshades were very rarely actually found guilty of any wrongdoing, but the entire city knew that was because they were good at disposing evidence and paying off any witnesses. Or in many cases threatening the loved ones of witnesses.

The only known associate to ever be caught was Lady Gothel, but from whispers in the Slumps the late poison master had been more of a freelancer than an actual Nightshade member.

On realizing who Izar invited her to meet, Ella’s knees became very weak and her stomach clenched painfully as if she had drunk the Slippered Tabby’s entire stock of alcohol. Ella might have grown up a little sheltered, but even she knew that once you started working for one of the gangs in the Slumps, you were in it for life. She could only imagine the jobs Lady Nyx would send her on. Clutching the counter, she took a very deep breath.

“You alright?” WInnie asked, eyeing her with concern.

“Fine,” Ella muttered.

Placing a comforting hand on Ella’s shoulder, Winnie leaned in close. “Look, just be polite and keep your head down when the Nightshades come collecting and you’ll be fine. As long as Barron keeps paying their fee they’ll leave us alone.”

Not trusting herself to speak, Ella nodded grimly. There was no way she was ever paying Lady Nyx a visit, so there was nothing for her to worry about. Or so she thought.