Mala was never going to leave this party.

Garon had to admit he was having more fun than he had thought he would. He had danced, not only with the girl who had reminded him of Kiri, but a few others as well. He hadn’t stepped on any of their feet, and while he didn’t particularly enjoy dancing, there was something appealing about the nervous excitement of standing so close to a woman he had only just met, linking hands and moving in the steps of the dance with her.

He had spent some time by the buffet tables as well, and the food was definitely a cut above anything he had ever eaten in his life before. It would have been worth coming to the ball for the dessert table alone, especially the white sweet treats that looked like crystallized clouds, frozen in time, but dissolved as soon as they touched his tongue. He couldn’t imagine how they were made; they seemed like magic.

Having eaten as many delectable morsels as he could, Garon was back on the dance floor. Between dances he kept trying to corner Mala to ask when they might be going back to the boat. She just laughed and found another friend to dance with him. Every time. His feet were beginning to hurt, and his stomach was cramping a little with the combination of exercise and too many treats.

He released the hands of yet another girl as the music paused for a moment.

“That was lovely, thank you, my lady,” he said, absently. He had just caught a glimpse of Mala by the desserts. He hoped she would stay still long enough for him to talk with her, and maybe he would get just one more of those cloud things while he was at it.

The lady didn’t seem bothered that he wasn’t paying her any attention. She disappeared into the crowd and Garon pushed through as quickly as he politely could to get to his sister.

“Oh, Garon,” Mala said. “You’ve tried these, haven’t you?” She held up one of the white treats.

“I have, but I’ll have another.” Garon snatched it out of her hand and popped it in his mouth. He kept talking, a little garbled by the food. “It’s getting near dawn. I have to be at the docks in three hours. I need to go now, Mala. Come on, it’s been fun, but it’s been long enough.”

“I told you,” Mala said. “I’m the guest of honor. I can’t leave early!”

“How,” Garon demanded through gritted teeth. “Is this early?”

Mala patted him on the cheek. “Silly boy. Tell you what, I’m not leaving, but you can go on ahead. I won’t mind. Just give me a kiss goodbye, and then be on your way. I’ll be sad to see you go, you know, dear brother. Who knows when we will see each other again?”

That made Garon feel a little guilty about leaving. Should he try to get every moment he could with her? But they hadn’t been talking or anything, just seeing each other in passing between dances. And they had to say goodbye sometime. With some relief he thought of an alternative.

“I’ll see you when I return the clothes, Mala.”

“No, just keep them,” Mala said. “We’re leaving as soon as we get back to the boat. My lord already had them make all the preparations. You’ll need those clothes if the King ever invites you to another party. Or any of the ladies you met tonight! Did you make an impression on any of them, do you think?”

“I don’t know, Mala,” Garon said. “Goodbye, and be safe, sister.” And he leaned over and kissed her forehead. Mala smiled and squeezed his hand.

As he turned away he heard her whisper. “Good-bye.”

~

The line of carriages was still waiting in the drive that looped through the park before the palace. Having decided he couldn’t wait long enough to take Useph and Mala’s carriage back to the docks, Garon didn’t fancy the walk. This part of the city might be safe, but he would have to walk through some dangerous districts to get back. He’d never done it in the wee hours before, but he knew it would be a little risky. Well, nothing for it. He followed the drive back out toward the heavy metal gate, where three guards stood in the open space.

Garon started digging in his pocket for his invitation, thinking he would be expected to prove he had a right to be there, but it seemed the guards were not suspicious of a well-dressed man, particularly one who was leaving the palace.

“Sir,” one of them called to him as he approached. “Shall we call you a carriage?”

“Uh, no,” Garon said, quickening his step and drawing even to them. They exchanged a look, concerned frowns showing on their faces, and he quickly added. “I’m not going far.”

“Of course, my lord,” the guard said, relaxing. “Good night, sir.”

Garon nodded and left them behind at a brisk pace. He wasn’t worried, now that he’d left the guards behind, to be walking in these streets, but he suddenly was well aware that the opposite of what he had told the guards was true. He had a long walk ahead of him and he longed to be in bed as soon as possible.

So he wasn’t paying attention at all as he walked along, letting his mind wander back to the pretty girls he had danced with, and the voice that came out of a side alley took him completely by surprise.

“Garon!” the voice said, and then louder. “GARON!”

Garon stumbled away from the voice, trying to pivot at the same time as his feet seemed to forget which one’s turn it was to step next. Kiri, dressed like a middle-class woman of the city in a fine dress that was a bit wrinkled, stepped out of the shadows towards him.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed, much more quietly than when she had called his name. “I was looking for Mala, but you…” she stopped and cocked her head to the side. A smile crept up her lips. “Hello, Garon.”

Garon found his feet again and ran over to her, stopping himself just short of grabbing her into a hug. “Why am I here? I’m here looking for you!” he said. “I’ve been looking for you since you left Westfall.”

“Oh,” Kiri looked down at her feet. “No one was supposed to come looking for me.”

“I did and I’m not sorry.”

“Yeah,” Kiri said. She looked back up at him and squeezed his hand. He felt a shiver go up his neck and swallowed hard. It was such a simple thing to her, no more meaningful than when Mala had squeezed his hand back at the party. But to him, it was completely different. He tried to concentrate on what Kiri was saying.

“I should’ve known you wouldn’t let me leave without an explanation.”

“You’re right,” Garon said. “I do want an explanation.”

Kiri sighed heavily. “I might owe you one. But there is really no time for one now. I mean it, there is no time. I shouldn’t even be here, I just--I heard Mala was leaving and I thought I could see her one more time.”

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“She is leaving; I just came from her goodbye party. You haven’t seen her yet, have you?”

“No.” Kiri still hadn’t let go of his hand, but her eyes drifted towards the palace.

“I didn’t think so.” Garon moved over to lean against the wall of the building beside Kiri. When he moved, Kiri let go of his hand as if she’d just noticed she was still holding it. He pressed his hand against the wall. It was marble and cold in the predawn air. The first hints of day were brightening the sky. This was the coldest part of the day; soon the sun would warm this marble. For now, it tried to get its heat from him as he leaned against it. He let it. He needed to cool his head. “Mala is self-absorbed, but she would have mentioned it if she'd seen you.”

“But then you have seen her,” Kiri said. “How is she?”

“She’s happy,” Garon said. “She loves being a high lady. You know it’s the only thing she ever wanted. I never thought she’d actually get it.”

“I know. It’s hard to believe.”

“So, yes, she’s happy,” Garon said. “Super rich, and she loves that. She just gave me these clothes.” He swept a hand down the line of his absurdly expensive garments.

“They’re nice,” Kiri said.

“They’re great,” Garon said. “Way too nice for me, but-- They’re nothing to her. She won’t miss the cost. But I’m worried about Lord Useph. It might seem crazy, but I think he--”

“He’s a criminal,” Kiri said flatly.

“How do you know that?” Garon asked.

“How do you?” Kiri shot back. She looked up at the brightening sky and shook her head. “Look, it’s like I said. I really don’t have time to explain. And I don’t have time to see Mala. Tell her hi from me, I guess. I’m glad she’s happy. I’ve got to go.” And she really would have left, but Garon grabbed her arm.

“No,” he said. “You’re not just running off without explaining, without...anything.”

Kiri looked down at his hand, gripping her arm tight. He let her go, but his eyes were narrowed and his face set in stubborn lines. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I really, really can’t stay and explain,” she said. “I have to be somewhere.”

Garon nodded slowly. His arms stayed crossed. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll come with you. We’ll walk and talk.”

“Can’t do it,” Kiri said. “You can’t go where I’m going. It’s not safe.”

“But you’ll be safe there without me?” Garon said. “You’re just making me more determined to come. You can’t stop me.”

Kiri stared at Garon, chewing her lower lip. Garon hoped she was coming to terms with the fact he wouldn’t let her get away with leaving again. She broke into a sudden smile, “Huh.”

Garon didn’t know what had made her happy, but he was relieved she had yielded. “Good. Show the way.”

~

Kiri meant to tell Garon she was the Firebrand, but it turned out to be a hard thing to spit out. How could she just say “I’m the Firebrand” when she had been working so hard for so long to never even hint at it? So her explanations danced around that crucial fact.

She had been helping some of the children in the Outside slum, she told him, and now someone was in deep with the Thief Lord and she needed to check on them. It was urgent that it happen now and that was why she hadn’t been able to stay in the High District. It wasn’t long before she ran out of things to say that didn’t involve her acting as the Firebrand. Now she was stuck waiting nervously for Garon to respond.

Why wasn’t he saying anything? They passed through the East Gate against the tide of people coming into the city that always swept in with the early morning, as soon as the guard opened the doors, and Garon just followed quietly in Kiri’s wake. Kiri led Garon off the main road and into the warren-like passages of the slum, and still he was silent.

“We’re almost there,” Kiri said. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the city? I’m sure you have a job or something.”

“I do,” Garon answered, so at least she knew he wasn’t giving her the silent treatment. “And my boss won’t like that I’m late, but I can handle it.”

“Okay, then,” Kiri said. They walked a little longer in silence. The people they passed openly stared at Garon’s fine clothes but he ignored them. If it were any later in the day, they would have had a following of beggar children hoping for coins from Garon’s purse.

“Kiri,” Garon said, slowly. “Why have you come to Laed?”

“To go to the Academy,” Kiri answered quickly. “Gilliam thought I should.” It was a dirty trick to bring up Gilliam’s name. It would usually put Garon off immediately, but this time he plugged on.

“And that’s what you’ve been doing here?” he asked. “Attending classes?”

“And working for the school,” Kiri said. “And, you know, in the Outside…charity work.”

Garon guffawed. “Charity work!”

“Oh, look,” Kiri said, cutting him off. “We’re here.” she gestured at a cluster of homes. “We go in the back.”

Garon stifled his laughter, which Kiri was annoyed to have heard in the first place, as he followed Kiri around one of the little shacks. They climbed over a rain barrel and then Kiri leaned in toward a window and whistled softly. A moment later a boy stuck his head out and looked the two of them over. His eyes narrowed.

“Who’s he?” he asked.

“This is Garon,” Kiri said. “He’s an old friend of mine. You can trust him.”

“If you speak for him, Firebrand, good enough for me,” the boy said. “Come on in.”

They climbed in through the window, and once they were in, Kiri looked nervously back at Garon. She expected him to be dumbfounded with shock, and maybe angry on top of that. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“I knew it!” he said. “I knew it!”

Kiri threw her shoulders back and tossed her head defiantly. “You did not! You didn’t have the first clue!”

“Yes I did,” Garon said. “I’m not stupid. The Firebrand left Westfall Valley when you did. And there were other reasons, too.”

“Well, fine then,” Kiri said. “Then why did you let me lie all the way here?”

“Ha!” he said. “You admit you were lying!”

Colin was staring open-mouthed at both of them, whipping his head back and forth to follow the fight. They both became aware of this at the same moment, and fell silent.

“Um, this is Colin,” Kiri said quietly. The man and boy nodded to each other, and then Kiri said, “Is Tagg here?”

“Not yet,” Colin took her cue and ignored the fight, which, for him, was surprisingly good manners. “My mom made breakfast for you.”

~

They took their breakfast in the house’s tiny main room. There were only chairs for two, so the two women sat and Colin and Garon ate leaning against the wall. Garon thought of the last time he had eaten, the little clouds of sweetness that had melted on his tongue. The contrast with the lavish ball was stark. He ate his lumpy porridge using a crust of bread as his spoon because the family didn’t have any besides the big one hanging by the pot. The texture of this food wasn’t magical at all.

He kept trying to catch Kiri’s eye, but she carefully wasn’t looking at him. She kept up polite conversation with Colin’s mother, who made no comment on finally seeing the Firebrand out of her disguise, but talked inanely about the weather. Kiri had to know Garon was waiting for the true story that led to their coming here, but she obviously didn’t want to tell it. As soon as she finished eating he swooped down on her.

“Pardon us,” he said to Colin’s mother. “I need a word.”

Kiri looked like a startled deer. Garon dragged her back to the narrow hallway where they had first come in. They had to both stand flat against the wall to keep from touching.

Garon wouldn’t have minded touching, but he needed to concentrate on getting Kiri to tell him what was going on.

“That was rude,” Kiri said. “They’re our hosts.”

“You’re the Firebrand, they’ll allow it,” Garon said. “Why are we here?”

“We’re waiting for Tagg,” Kiri said. “But not for much longer. He should be here by now. I’m really starting to worry about him. You know what? You could really help me out here. You stay here in case he comes and I’ll go see if I can find him.”

Garon was not going to be sidetracked by her attempt to make him feel useful. “Kiri, I don’t even know who Tagg is.”

“Don’t use my name!” she snapped. “Here, I’m just Firebrand.”

“Fine,” Garon said. “Firebrand, who in the seventh circle is Tagg?”

“Right.” Kiri stared at the ceiling and nodded slowly. “Ok, this is going to be really complicated, so just keep your mouth shut until I’m done, got it?”

Garon grinned. He’d won, so he was happy to agree. “Sure, I can be quiet.”