ASAIO

We vote the next Moon, after we’ve all talked bout the job with our various cliques and slept on it.

Flynn had come back to the warehouse alone yesterday. He said that Asher went back to Michie and Madge, to make sure they were doin alright in the storm. After we told Flynn bout the job for Kamon, he immediately ‘decreed’ the idea was horrible.

I wanna do it. It’d be the first real risk we take since Seran’s death. Seht and Ellie-Darlin are waitin to see what the majority votes.

We sit in our circle of Garnets. Mustletop and Genavieve cut up some of the vegetables from Michie, slicin them with real good quality knives that Seran and I stole a couple cycles back. Seht, Ellie-Darlin, Flynn, and I decided to divide the crop evenly between the Garnets after all.

“Okay,” Ana says, gnawin on a yellow vegetable with just a bit of plague at its root. “Is there any more discussion that needs to be had, questions that need to be answered, concerns? Or are we okay?”

“There are always questions and concerns that go answered,” Shimmy says.

“Thank you, but that was neither a question or a concern,” Seht says as he braids Uyala’s hair, since he finished up with Ellie-Darlin’s. I snort and Shimmy slaps his knee in laughter.

“I don’t trust a Damaskragan man,” Shis-Aspinova says. Her unsaid words remain heavy cause they’d already been spoken the Moon prior. Thievin ain’t somethin she’s ever been comfortable with. She’s fun to hang around, and we all respect her boundaries, but she’s always got more reservations when it comes to stuff like this–she probably wouldn’t have joined us if she’d met us still under Seran’s reign.

“What if he’s not really just an entrepreneur,” Crimson says, “but a wealthy man that escaped the bowels of prison?”

“How romantic,” Seht says dryly.

“A bowl?” I say. “Ain’t no way their prisons are shaped like bowls.”

“No,” Flynn says with a small shake of his head. His snakes chortle at me. “Asaio–”

“And what if he’s really on the run, and we’re about to get in trouble with the Damaskragan authorities by just associating with him?” Crimson continues. “What if we get those posters, the ones that you get when you’re wanted for coin?”

The thing is, Shimmy’s the storyteller, but those stories are always entertainin, whimsical fantasies. Crimson’s just a bit paranoid–he always believes what he’s sayin. Crimson can’t lie.

“That sounds horrible,” Shis says.

“We’ll go and be sent to the Slaughter Houses,” Seht says.

“It ain’t so bad, really,” I say with a laugh. Ellie-Darlin just smiles ruefully at me.

“Guys, really,” Vernon interjects. “I doubt Kamon is someone like that. If he were, then the bug lickers would’ve gotten to him. Remember. We need opportunities. We need connections to survive. What about when Michie finally goes? How many more bodies can we steal off the streets without one of us being caught again?How many Garnets are we willing to lose to the lickers, over and over?”

Lahla kisses Vernon on the cheek. “I still don’t like it.”

“I know, love.”

Vip sighs. “I hate to say it, but we need adults that can front for us. We’re just kids.”

“Yeah, you’re always wanting adult supervision,” Crimson says.

Vip shrugs. “What’s wrong with that?”

“We’re doin real good for just kids, though,” Vernon says. “Don’t you doubt that. We’re the best group of kids.”

“Romantic,” Seht whispers to me.

“Whimsy,” I whisper back.

“Kimsy,” he says. I laugh.

“Okay,” Ana says. “All who are in favor of doing the job for Kamon raise your hand.”

Vernon, Vip, Ana, Kim, Crass, Mustletop, Genavieve, Crimson–to everyone’s surprise, Uyala, and Ellie-Darlin raise their hands.

Flynn, Lahla, Shimmy, Shis-Aspinova, Malloo, and Seht do not.

Upon seein Seht keep his hand down, Uyala’s goes down too.

The lack of a unanimous decision disappoints me a little, just cause I really like it when the whole group gets to mess around together, but I get it.

“This feels so silly,” Ellie-Darlin whispers to me. “When we wanted to make decisions back at the Sanctuary, those who wanted to just did it.”

Vernon nods. “Okay, then. Normally I would say just us here would do the job but, if we make it, then that changes things for all of us cause that means we might be gettin more jobs from this guy or we might get some real sway over whatever he builds.”

“Or we could be left in the dust after he gets rich and aligns himself with the Rubies or the Lime Men instead,” Shimmy says. “Think about it. Let’s say we risk our lives as his little kleptos, he starts a gambling house, and we do not get shot down by the lickers. Kamon makes a profit. What stops him from going back to his rich company in Damaskraga and leaving us to deal with the aftermath? Did he give you three any incentive to stay? An ultimatum?”

“He got fired,” I point out, but I don’t think he hears me cause Vernon speaks right after.

“No,” he says. “He didn’t.”

“I think both of you are thinking too far ahead,” Ana says. “Two hundred coin each person. We ain’t signin a contract with this man.”

“It could lead to a contract,” Shimmy says. “Like the Gem Lady.”

“It could,” Vernon agrees.

The general mood shifts with the mention of the Gem Lady. That wasn’t a good time.

“But we don’t know that,” Ana emphasizes.

“Why don’t we just steal it without him knowin, figure out what’s in the shipments, and then demand that he give us the coin in exchange?” I say. “That way he ain’t gonna two-time us like the Gem Lady did and we prove we can do all that on our own, that we don’t need him. It could be fun. Maybe the stuff that’s in there is worth more than that damn shiny two-hundred coin, or we can use it to start up our own gamblin hub again. I mean, if we can con a noble, we can do this.”

“Just steal his ideas,” Seht says. “I like it.”

A grin comes over Vernon. “That’s… smart.” He stands up, wraps his arm around my neck, and rustles the top of my head. I laugh and try to shove him off, then he kisses me on the forehead. “Look here at Asaio! Look at him, growin a brain or two.”

“Only took thirteen cycles,” Seht says.

“Hey!” I say.

The other Garnets, even the hesitant ones, agree that this is the best course of action.

In a City like ours, it’s so easy to be manipulated. We’d all rather starve than have to say, Yeah. We’re livin like this cause we got two-timed, cause we thought we could trust another friendly man who offered somethin in our interest. Ain’t no one does anythin in the interest of others, not even family, not all the time. Even us Garnets, we’re stuck together cause we had to survive. The love bit came after.

“We split the group into two. One half watches Kamon, gets a lay on him, the other have watches Yaselle’s Bugs and the Pitters on the docks, see where we can get an openin. The rest of y’all, or a couple of y’all, see Michie and be ready to have our backs in case this goes entirely to shit,” Ana says.

“It won’t,” Vernon says. He whacks my head again. “Right, Asaio?”

“Right.”

***

We spend most of the rest of the Moon split up into those groups. Crass, Ellie-Darlin, Vernon and I spend a good portion of the time watchin Seventh Harbor and what remained of Yaselle’s Bugs after their rumble with the Pitters.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

A series of arsons happened last night, lit by both gangs, and it greatly disrupted the flow of the harbor. Ellie looks at the scene and pales. “Oh,” she squeaks. “I don’t like fire.”

The Seventh dock at Mecraentos Harbor is hard to access for many reasons. The first and foremost bein that the entire harbor is considered a territory of the Rubies.

The Rubies are the oldest gang in Mecraentos, and they’re less a gang and more of a mini-government, nearly. Not quite, but nearly. They’ve got land and power in places in other cities, it’s said, like Ronnuel and Porclan and Andel and whatever else is out there borderin us, but those are only rumors. The Rubies control a bunch of counterfeit trade that the nobles and Industries can’t quite seem to get rid of. They work against the fixes prices and fixed class rations, but that’s a battle fought on the daily since them prices are hard to fluctuate without access to the farms and factories–which the Rubies do have access to, but they ain’t got the power yet to actually change anythin.

Thing is, the Rubies are also incredibly violent. They’re fear-mongerers. So much so that the lickers would rather work alongside them than not.

Since we ain’t affiliated, we just avoid them. As much as possible.

But they have control of most of the docks thanks to deal made with the lickers and the Industries, so a bunch of em are always on watch. That’s problem number one.

Problem number two is the fact that, even though Seventh Harbor is the smallest of all the harbors and therefore the most optimal for a smaller gang like the Bugs or Pitters to try to stake their claim, there are still a bunch of ships that come in and out of there. Vernon said that Kamon said the boat we’re lookin for’s gonna be painted bright red wtih three orbs carved out on the head, so it ain’t supposed to be too hard to identify, but it’s still hard to get to while workin around all the shiphands that are loadin and unloadin.

Problem number three is the fact that the Bugs and Pitters are gonna be goin at it at the same time. While a wonderful distraction for many Ruby enforcers and the lickers, that also means we ain’t gonna be able to predict what entrances we have exactly, what their scuffin may prevent us from doin, if it’ll get us caught faster.

Problem number three may also be a potential benefit cause of the sheer number of tourists we got. Most of them come by from other Cities, to be near the capital Fortress, but there are a good many from the Ten Islands. They provide a good cover for when we got to leave–since the crowds are supposed to be thick as the sea itself–but that also means we got to be careful or else we disrupt the peace and take the heat and attention away from the gang warfare that’s happenin.

As the Suns hide away, our watch groups turn back to the warehouse to have one final discussion and to solidify a plan.

I take Ellie-Darlin’s hand as we navigate the rooftops, her keepin me steady more than I her. We’re laggin a bit behind Crass and Vernon and makin easy progress when a flash of somethin red and bright silver catches my peripheral vision.

“Stop, Darlin,” I tell Ellie.

She does and looks around. I thought the colors I’d seen were caught rigid between two plague-ridden spires that once probably held up a tent or a balcony, an addition to the tiltin rooftop to create space, but now faded black and purple. I walk closer to them and peer round the corner. Nothin.

“Huh,” I say. “Guess it was–”

“Hello, illuminated Soul.” The voice sounds somethin straight out of my nightmares. Croakin and deep and utterly deceptive.

I whip around, movin my hands and beggin the branches around me to attack whatever creep’s just appeared. I try to pull at the plague-ridden wood, but that don’t work since it’s hardly alive and ain’t attached to a livin source anymore; no roots, so it can’t whisper to me. My fists form a punch instead, but I get caught mid-swing.

Asher, straight faced, says, “Sorry.”

“What in the sweet world,” I wheeze. It takes two more seconds for my brain to process. “Oh, Suns! You scared me.”

“I know.”

Ellie-Darlin peers over the corner, studyin him.

“I thought you said that you Garnets would notice if I was watching you all,” Asher says. His dead-pan voice makes it hard for me to tell if he’s jokin.

“You’ve been watchin us this whole tiem?”

“Your whole watch was my whole watch.”

“Wow.” I whistle. “guess we ain’t as good as I thought.”

“Yeah, no.” I laugh.

Ellie-Darlin steps forward and reaches out. She touches his hair, his mouth, his teeth, brushes her fingers against his eyes. He does not flinch or question it, gives no indication of bein uncomfortable except for the slight crease of his brows. “Asher,” she says, hand still waverin a bit over his nose.

“Hi, Missus.”

She bops the tip of his nose. “Do not call me Missus.”

And that’s that.

“So what time are we going to strike?” Asher asks.

“We?” I repeat.

“Yes? Unless you don’t want me there.”

“Nah, I mean–well, the other Garnets still don’t know you. Were you listenin while we were in teh warehouse too?”

Asher shakes his head. “No, I was with Michie and Madge.”

“Well, we’re sendin some people there to work with Michie while the rest of us do this. Not for Kamon, by the way. That fell through. Just for us.”

“Oh,” he says, but he does not ask why. He shrugs. “I like to keep busy. I’d like to help.”

“Yeah, I get that but the Garnets got to trust you first. Know you have our back, you know. Can’t just lurk and listen in and think that’s the same thing as talkin with us.”

He pulls his cloak closer to him. “Sorry,” he says, real sincerely.

“Nah, you’re okay.”

Ellie adjusts her lenses with one hand and squeezes mine with the other. “It is getting late,” she says. “Come back with us, meet Vernon while we finish planning.”

Asher seems sways a little. His expression doesn’t change much but I feel like he’s uncomfortable.

“There a specific reason you don’t want to or…?” I say.

“No, it’s okay,” he says. “I’ll come. Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Ellie-Darlin asks.

“Are you not annoyed?”

“No? Am I?”

“Your inflection’s changed when I arrived and you’ve taken a few steps away from me.”

“What?”

I take Asher’s hand with my free one. “Come on, root-brain.”

“Boot-brain,” Asher murmurs. I laugh.

Ellie-Darin says, “Shoot-train?”

“Loof-lane?”

“New-name?”

***

We finalize the plan at the warehouse. The others don’t react much to Asher’s existence cause we’ve recruited so many times, more than the number of people livin with us now, but I know they observe his every move and test him in similar ways that Ellie-Darlin did. He wins a few points by bein introduced as Michie’s kid. Same with showin off his bow and arrows.

The whole time we’re plannin and re-plannin ths job, Asher stays real quiet in the corner. It looks like he’s sort of spacin out; his eyes not really focused.

The plan’s simple. We’re gonna split up into four groups. First one made of Vernon, Shimmy–who changed his mind about helpin when we agreed not to go back to Kamon, and Mustletop. They’re gonna be on watch for Yaselle’s Bugs and the Pitters. On watch, we found they weren’t actively hashin it out, but the remnants of the fires suggested that they weren’t havin hand-to-hand rumbles. Nah, they were fightin dirty. Plus, when Vernon and Ki masked around, locals said that there had only been three or four brutal murders. All the other deaths had to do with drownin in the harbor or the arsons themselves. So those three should be good. they just got to make sure that, if there are any more inciidents, that our group is safely out of the way.

Second group is made of Kim, Genavieve, and Asher. They’ll be doin somethin similar: lookin out to make sure our group is out of the way of the lickers and the Rubies.

Third group is the group that’s actually gonna be sneakin onto the ship. Ana, Vip, Crass, and Crimson are deemed best for that. Vip’s plague lets him climb real well, and Ana’s the most agile of us all. When the group was a lot smaller, back when Seran was runnin things, Vip and Ana were an iconic duo of watchers because of just how slippery they are.

Crass is important for a different reason. Her plague gifts lets her be an insanely good swimmer. She’s gonna be comin onto the ship from the ocean, from behind the ship, with Crimson on her back. She’ll be the one leavin with the haul since it’s less likely that the lickers or the Rubies will be able to follow her in the water.

And Crimson–well, Crimson partially got the sneakin around job cause he ain’t any good in a rumble. Not his fault. The skin of his arms is slowly mergin into the skin on the side of his body, makin it hard to move, but he can see well in the dark.

Last is Ellie-Darlin and I. We’re the entrance and exit out of the harbor for everyone but Crass. Mostly me since the plan is to use my leaf and branch whisperin to let the group cut through a section of plague-ridden trees and forest area onto the rooftops of the Fyi streets.

It’s risky, since we will definitely have the lickers on our trail if they find out we have someone who can unnaturally move trees in our group, but it’s the best shot.

“Sound good?” Vernon says after the recap.

There was a lot of discussion about who would be best for what, lots of back and forth, but everyone seems settled now. If things don’t turn out well, we adapt.

***

Some of the others like to stay round the harbor, when we can get away with it. I don’t. The sound of the waves crackin against the sides of the ships, seein the ocean pull rocks under and eat up entire crates, the vast nothingness, the stingingly salty air–it makes my stomach feel queasy. The ocean’s a dangerous place, I’ve always thought.

We pull through back-alleys and climb up old sewage pipes onto the roofs. Then I cut through paths of trees and brush. We avoid the main entrance on Harbor Street, a real original name, that’s guarded by three lickers who pat you down before comin on. If you ain’t registered as one of the few businessmen approved by the nobles and Industry, or a tourist, then there is little reason for you to be wanderin round the ships.

It takes a bit for us to figure out how to move twelve kids without much sound, but we manage by takin it real, real slow. Most of the authorities and Rubies are too focused on the incomin bells and the yellin of captains on docks.

Ellie-Darlin and I watch from above as the Garnets disperse below us, slippin into four different alleys between tourist-targeted shops that are owned and run by the bug lickers. Most og the Garnets will get back on the rooftops. Some will hide within the crowds.

Here, the smoke plums ain’t nearly as bad. Steppin off of wooden bridges come men and women from the Ten Islands. The Islanders wear lighter clothes that show a lot of flesh and don’t accommodate for our harsh rains. When the lickers catch hold of them, they round up the Islanders and force them to put on more modest “non-indulgent” attire, especially them women, which is ironic cause they don’t give a damn about modesty on Carnum and Catum.

Despite this, the tourists still smile. The music of the City can do that. Only the best buskers and performers are permitted here, and their charm is such that you ain’t able to turn away once you’ve been caught in a performance or song.

There are at least three times the number of people here as in Market Street, even though the suns have hardly risen, but they ain’t wanderin nearly as freely. They’re bein stopped every three seconds by the lickers and then being grabbed aggressively at the arms by the Rubies.

The red-necked Rubies. Now, those men and women, they turn their plague into art. That’s how you know if you’re with a Ruby versus someone else—they emphasize their horns, their moldin skin, their broken noses, the black veins that run all through their body, with red and black blood tattoos and makeup.

The tourists from the Islands can’t hide the shock from their faces. The merchants that are bringin in imports from around the kingdom seem content to bein brutally shoved through, stripped down, and crates broken in-to by the lickers and Rubies.

“They are moving,” Ellie-Darlin whispers.

Crass is already in the water, Crimson on her back. I don’t know where Shimmy or Mustletop went, but I can see Vernon steadily growin his arm so that he can climb onto the top of a different tree, the skin of his arm stretchin and the bones expandin until you can see the fluid green and the black veins within, mixin together in a gruesome portrait.

For Ellie-Darlin and I, most of today will be waitin. On alert, of course. But waitin.