Nerio woke with the room still dark. Etteilla snored softly in the bed, while he had slept atop the wooden floor with only a blanket above him and a pillow under his head. A marked improvement over the rocks and jackets he had been sleeping under the past few days.

Remember to ask them for a sleeping bag, and to yell at Niccolo for confiscating mine when I left the island. Everything he's done for me, yet he wouldn't let me steal one on my way out. I'm damn lucky he didn't find the bike's mirror.

He dressed and left the room without waking Etteilla. By the light on the horizon he knew it was six in the morning. He found Diego and Asanina silently eating breakfast downstairs. Asanina still looked half asleep while Diego had clearly gotten none.

"Morning," Nerio took a seat facing Asanina, "Can I have some?"

"You're here aren't you?" Asanina replied before taking another sip of coffee.

Nerio put a biscuit and a trio of sausage balls on his plate before reaching for the open jar of jelly. He could tell it was cherry from the smell, but he knew what it was from Asanina's presence. She was allergic to strawberries, and she never liked "that grape shit" as she called it, "When are we heading out?"

"An hour," Asanina said.

"Soon as the Sun finishes rising," Diego interrupted.

Good luck getting Etteilla up that early.

A moment of silence passed as Nerio chewed on his meal, "Niccollo said you had some artefacts you could spare for me. I'm sure he told you about the assassins."

"I don't, and he did," Diego said, "I owed him a lot, but not enough to give you anything more than a bed."

"Are you kidding me!? The only reason I'm here is for some protection! I may not be in great standing with the company right now, but I haven't been fired."

"If the court had any sense you'd be in a much worse state than that." Diego calmly finished his plate, well aware of the meaning of his words.

Nerio could only stammered out a series of pronouns and "just"s as the table grew larger.

"What?" Diego was almost giddy at seeing Nerio so flustered, "Don't act shocked. Not all of us disagree with the court's decision. How anyone can think you deserve to-"

"Dacian!" Diego stopped at his real name. It was spoken with a sterness unexpected from such a small old woman, "We do not speak ill of our guests. Nor do we belittle members of the company."

Diego petulantly grumbled some insult under his breath, "I'm still not giving you any artefacts, not unless you gave me something in exchange. Like some information on the woman. Who is she? How did she keep up with a Catalan vehicle? A stolen one, I might add."

Damn, I'd hoped Niccolo didn't notice that.

"What's there to say? She's a stranger, I got paired with her at the start, and I had to tell her I was a Catalan because of the teams of assassins sent after us."

Diego scowled at him, "We both know she couldn't get that horse down here without some kind of help. She's got something. It sure as hell ain't artefacts or you wouldn't be begging for ours."

"She doesn't have anything," Nerio's voice lowered and angered.

Belittle your mark and when they're low intimidate the intel out of them. Did you really think I wouldn't recognize a Catalan tactic?

Diego leaned forward, "You better start cooperating Nerio. I'm only helping you because Niccolo told me to. The sentencing could come down at any moment, and I don't want to be on the hook for what you do with my weapons."

"Let the court's judge, Diego. A case like this is often only cause for renegement or firing, not prison. Anyone would have done the same for their friends," he visibly recoiled at Asanina's scolding.

Diego remembered he was no longer a school child and returned to his original ego, "The problem is that they weren't friends. The court's letting that get in the way of their judgment. We know he did it. The fact that they haven't decided his sentence—that they look at who he is and what he's done and are wavering—that disgusts me. Knowing what he is, I wouldn't waver."

Nerio was quiet, too scared to even reach for more food to fill his hungry stomach. He looked to Asanina for support, but saw only her empty chair.

Diego took advantage of Asanina's absence, "How many was it that you let die? Six right? Six Catalans killed because of you. By you. And you're trying to ask for weapons? They'll just as soon end up in my back as your enemy's."

Shut up. Shut up.

"Hell, even if they don't put you in a prison, once they fire you I'll be sure to be the first one to put a price on your head. Just wish they'd let the bounty maker act as the hunter."

A loud creak on the stairs stopped Diego's tirade on his lips.

"Good morning," Etteilla said. She nervously glanced between the pair of men, "Oh, don't let me interrupt the conversation, [Do you want me to break this guy's nose?]"

Don't rock the boat Etteilla. The last thing I need is more people in the company against me.

"It was already over," Nerio didn't use the third arcana to inscribe any further meaning to his words. He had nothing to add, but Ettilla saw more.

He was sunken low in his chair. He stared blankly at his half-full plate, yet his arm remained tight on his chest. He looked smaller than she had ever seen him like he was a moment away from vanishing into nothing.

She grabbed a fistful of sausage balls from the center plate, "You still need me to help you get your bike ready?"

He blinked and life slowly returned to his body, "Y-yeah. Thanks for reminding me." He stood, and Etteilla took the remaining food from his plate before the pair left the room. They stepped on the porch, and Nerio immediately fell into a chair.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Etteilla gave the moment time enough to pass before speaking, "Are you sure you don't want me to hit him? I'm not with your company, so I don't give a damn about making them mad."

"I'm fine," Nerio lied.

Etteilla stood before him, blocking his view of the rising Sun. His eyes remained unfocused, "You don't sound fine. Hell, you look worse."

"It's temporary. Trust me, you get used to it."

Etteilla eyed the small window in the door. Diego sat alone at the table happily eating his meal, "There are some things you shouldn't get used to."

Nerio finally looked at her, "you also learn to keep some thoughts for yourself, especially when they'll make more enemies."

"Ugh, you sound like my grandma. At least you aren't old enough to be a lost cause. . . yet." Etteilla wiped a bit of the cherry jelly from Nerio's stolen biscuit onto her finger and ate the rest.

"Learn what?"

"Sometimes it's okay to stand up for yourself; it's okay to get some revenge."

"Stand up for myself? I hunt artefacts and shoot people for a living, can't stand much more than that."

"Stand up for yourself even when it's a bad idea, even when the danger is merely social. Observe." Etteilla drew a circle around the jam with her free hand.

Which spell was that, the third?

A fly landed on her jammed finger and took a small bite before walking into her empty palm. She made a fine movement with her hand, some other ritual no doubt, and put her index and middle fingers onto the fly. Surprisingly, the fly calmly accepted the petting.

"That was the communication spell, right? It can talk to animals?"

"It lets you understand not talk. This little guy doesn't know a word leaving my mouth; he just knows that if he lands on Diego over there and walks around a bit he'll get this jam."

"And you want that because?"

The fly returned and Etteilla smeared the jam onto the wall for it, "The sixty-eighth arcana. It's on the complicated side of spells, so let's just say that he won't be forgetting about the fly any time, well, ever."

A loud "Smack" hit Nerio's ears as Diego slapped his own arm. Nerio's eyes met his through the small window on the door, "This ain't a house for insects! Shut the damn door!" Hearing this, Etteilla kindly apologized and gently closed it. All the while a wicked smile rested on her face. For the first time, Nerio was glad he had been stuck with Etteilla. He'd never survive competing against her.

Her sadism satisfied, Etteilla asked Nerio if he was ready to leave. He nodded, and the pair stepped around the corner of the house. There, Etteilla went to the small stables and shrank and sealed Zippy. Nerio found the motorcycle and reached for the bike's mirror.

Wait, Diego knows I stole it.. he's definitely going to lock it up here to stop it from rebuilding where I am. Shit. I can't take it with me, and there's no way I could keep up with Etteilla on an ordinary bike.

"Want me to shrink it for you?" Etteilla asked, no doubt parsing his thoughts thanks to the third arcana. Nerio nodded, and, one casting of the twelfth arcana later he had his motorcycle in his palm. Fearing Diego would notice the missing bike and demand to search him, Nerio gave it to Etteilla to hide within her robe.

They then made their way to the front of the house where they could see Asanina struggling to put half-empty ammunition boxes into her truck.

Her small head peered past the side of the box, "There you are, I was wondering when you'd get tired of him. Can one of you help me? It seems I'm a bit too old for this part of the job."

Etteilla helped her heave the box into the truck's bed. Nerio was about to properly introduce the pair when they set it down.

The box lowered, and Etteilla gradually saw more of the old woman's face, "Jesus Christ!" Etteilla leapt back and her right arm jumped to her left palm, the fireball ritual she had used to light their camp two nights ago. She took in Asanina's wrinkled visage and relaxed, "Sorry, you're just so old. I thought you were a goblin."

Asanina was taken aback by Etteilla's shout and raised a fist to her mouth to stifle a chuckle when she parsed Etteilla's words.

Nerio was mortified, "I'm so sorry about her. She's. . . vocal."

"Don't be. I saw you last night, but I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Asanina, I'm a Catalan," she held out her hand and Etteilla took it.

"I'm Etteilla, I'm a magician."

Nerio tightened his lips to stifle a scream [Don't tell everyone you meet!].

Etteilla raised an eyebrow, "Why not? It's not illegal to be a magician. Plus, I'm proud of who I am unlike a certain mercenary that gives weapons to dangerous criminals."

The three of them made short work of packing the truck. Especially after a quartet of men wearing Stetson hats appeared to help. The four introduced themselves to Nerio, but he didn't bother memorizing any of their names. Once it was finished, the four men climbed into the truck's bed and Asanina told Nerio to sit in the cab with her.

An hour passed, and when Nerio was certain Etteilla wasn't listening he spoke to Asanina, "Thanks for standing up for me back there."

"Thanks aren't for the minimum. Surely Rugerro taught you that."

"I'm sure he did somewhere. How is he?"

"He's doing fine. Teaching keeps him busy, but he's finally taking a break. You can't chain yourself to your job I told him. Never cared to listen to his grandmother. No, he had to wait for the whole damn world to come crashing down and a note from god telling him he can't do a thing about it to even consider a vacation."

"Really? What finally made him snap?"

"The verdict."

Oh.

"He did everything he could; he kept going to the court even after 'guilty' had been passed down. They eventually got tired of him interrupting their debates on the sentence and barred him from the courtroom. I knew damn well that wasn't enough to stop him. so I told Niccolo to take him to a dinner to "boost his spirits" after the news. While they were out I stole his keys, locked his doors, and mailed them to Svalbard."

"Are you serious? Why Svalbard of all places?"

"I'm always serious. He needed the break. For his sake and your case's. But he's the sort to never take a real break. Sending him to Aruba or some other vacation spot would leave him worrying about home more than relaxing. The cold there will give him a challenge to overcome. Work to keep his mind off of work."

Asanina glanced from the road to find Nerio silently gazing out the window to the blur of vegetation flying past them, "Don't worry though," her words caused him to worry more, "Rugerro might not be able to defend you to the judges anymore, but I can. Do well on this job, and I'll put in every good word I can. Not to mention whatever artefacts we pull from the site."

"Yeah, I never asked what the job actually was."

Asanina gave a thin smile, "You already agreed. Do you really want to spend the next few hours stressing over what you have to do?"

The rear window slid open and Etteilla's head poked through in answer to her question, "So, where are we going?" She asked. Her tone betraying her eavesdropping.

"Wait, shouldn't we get those guys in on this?" Nerio motioned to the cowboys behind Etteilla.

The women stared at him, and Etteilla pointed to one of the men. He was sitting on the floor instead of the bench lining the sides of the bed and was repeatedly poking his arm and comparing them.

"What? He just found out one of his arms is longer than the other. It's normal."

"They're the same length," Etteilla said.

"No, his right arm is clearly at least three centimeters longer than his left. Could be five, but the angle makes. . . What?"

Etteilla looked to the driver, "Asanina, being the only two normal people here, I don't think we need to share the plan with the rest."

"Nerio, that was embarrassing. I'm looking through the mirror and I can tell it's no more than four centimeters off."

This was the seventh time Etteilla regretted being paired with Nerio. Once for each of the two nights he made her sleep outside, once for each of the two mornings he had forced her to wake early, one for cutting her first night in a bed to five hours, and one for the assassins on the train (she didn't regret his help on Navajo Bridge, but he hadn't armed those people. At least, not to her knowledge).

"Back to the subject," Asanina began, "A small sinkhole formed near the Temple of Quetzalcoatl a few days ago. Initial surveys found a tunnel, which we believe goes right under the complex and beneath the temple. A team of archaeologists from the National Autonomous University has already set up a dig site; the company was able to convince the university to delay the excavation until tomorrow. We're going to pose as a geological team testing the stability of the tunnel and retrieve any artefacts that might be hidden there."

Etteilla nodded, "So, we're sneaking into an ancient ruin and stealing all the old crap we can find? Er, I mean all the magical old crap. Obviously. [I'm taking anything I can hide in my robe. Nerio, if you tell her about my plan I'll throw your bike out of the window.]" Nerio believed her and remained silent.