ELDIN

“I believe the Eastern Trading Port has been skimping on their taxes. It’s one gold regal per shipment and the records don’t match up to the recent economic boom here. If I’m right, they are striking several shipments a day from the records. I want you to sneak in and find proof of what they’re doing.”

Eldin stood in the middle of a summoning circle. It was similar to the Rite symbol, but had the complex runes of the Ghost language, Slatah’ȳl, written in a geometric pattern within it. Grasile, the Golden Lord speaking to him now, must have had extensive knowledge of the Ghosts to know exactly how to summon Eldin and not just anyone.

“Taknə,” Eldin said with a nod. He held up the two fingered sign to his chest and disappeared in a swirl of shadows, black fire burning the summoning circle as he accepted the job.

“For the love of Yrridan, must you do that?” Zinnia asked, her hand on her heart as Eldin manifested from the shadows behind her.

“Face Kūma next time. She’s my focal point.” Eldin patted the horse on the neck and she snorted. They stood on the edge of a market in Wavefront. The blue castle Lord Grasile lived in rose into the sky, the tallest turret shrouded in cloud. Beneath it were rows and rows of houses, starting from richly made mansions with white walls to hovel like lean-to’s braced against each other so the wind didn’t knock them down.

The market was set up in the middle. The clang of hammer on steel rang through the streets and the smell of sausages mixed with the earthy scent of an alchemist brewing potions at her stall. They stood outside the nearest tavern at the hitching rail. Eldin always found it easiest to leave Kūma in similar places so no one tried to steal her or report an abandoned horse.

“Stay close, Zin. Don’t wander too far. I’ll be back as soon as I finish this job.”

“Yes, yes. I’m not a child.” Zinnia waved her hand.

Eldin eyed her.

“I promise I will not wander. I don’t want to die in horrible pain,” she said, hands on her hips.

He nodded and faded into the surrounding crowd. They didn’t give him as wide a berth as some cities did, which made moving around that much easier. Once he made it to the end of the market square, he slipped down side streets and alleys until coming to the northern gate, which dumped out into the Eastern Trading Port.

The warehouse of exports looked like a bunch of buildings squashed together. It wouldn't have looked too bad if someone hadn’t painted each piece a different color. Beyond the warehouse were lines of taverns and brothels, with both men and women shouting to the sailors, showing off their goods.

The Telamus Docks were lined with boxes, barrels, and rope. More than a few ships were already docked and piscine strutted too and from them, carrying goods to carts to be brought to the warehouse.

Eldin’s destination would be the smallest building off the warehouse, painted green. It had a sign hanging above the door with the word ‘office’ painted in large red letters. Rarely did anyone make his job that easy.

“Skatē je.”

Shadows jumped at Eldin, enveloping him as he slipped from shadow to shadow until he was outside the office. He peeked into the tiny, grimy window. A woman sat behind a desk with stacks of paper nearly hiding her from sight. They rose several hands into the air. She’d take one from one pile, stamp it, and plop it on top of another.

As he watched, every so often she’d stop, look around, and the next form would disappear under the table instead of getting stamped and joining the rest. Scanning the area, Eldin spotted a piscine coming out of the warehouse not far from his position. He approached cautiously. A Ghost could never anticipate exactly how a member of the public would take their presence.

“Excuse me,” Eldin said, stopping far enough away so as not to scare the man. The piscine stopped, the fins on his forearms bristling. The spiny tips glittered in the sunlight as he turned them outward.

“What do you want, Ghost?”

“Just some information,” Eldin said, flipping his cloak back so the piscine could see his empty hands.

“Look, I don’t get involved with Ghost work. It’s bad for business.”

“I can make it worth your while.” Eldin slowly moved his hand toward the pouch on his belt. The piscine stiffened, but didn’t run. Eldin pulled a gold regal from the pouch and flipped it to the blue-skinned man.

He examined it and nodded. “I can’t promise I’ll know what you need.”

“All I need to know is the shift change for the office workers.”

The guarded look on the piscines face relaxed and he glanced toward the sun. “When the sun has fallen just below its highest point, the morning crew changes out with the day crew. Is that all?”

“Yes, thank you.”

The piscine hurried away, pocketing the gold coin. Eldin glanced at the sky. The sun was already cresting the highest point. It wouldn't be a long wait. He chose a low wall to sit against in the shadow of some empty barrels. Even when he didn’t invoke his magic, people rarely saw him when he didn’t want to be seen.

The office door was to his left and the door the piscine came from off to his right. He would see whichever one she left by. Hundreds of humans and piscine walked by him without a second glance. The only one to see him was a small child with a thumb in his mouth being pulled along by his mother.

The creak of the office door opening caught Eldin’s attention and he flicked his eyes back to it. The women swept out, meeting a tall thin man with an ink stain on his nose. She carried nothing with her. Eldin moved quickly, signing and allowing the shadows to deposit him inside the door. With a glance out the window, he could see the man and woman still talking.

He turned his attention back to the room. The stamped pile was nearly as tall as the unprocessed pile now. If she didn’t take the papers with her, they must still be in the room somewhere. It was tiny, with only a desk, a chair, and a shelf against the wall. A wastepaper basket stood next to the desk. He checked it first, but it was obvious the extra papers weren’t in there; only an empty ink bottle and a blank page.

The workers waved goodbye to each other. Eldin only had moments. The woman had slipped the papers under the desk, so he shoved the chair back and bent, feeling under the bottom. At first he didn’t feel anything, but as he was about to move his hand away, his fingertips ran over a fingernail thin crack.

The door handle jiggled and opened. Eldin froze, the sign already thrown up in front of his chest.

“Mr. Sand, a word, please?”

The door shut again as someone called out to the office worker. Eldin didn’t waste any time. He pushed his nail into the crack and a panel in the bottom of the desk fell open. Inside were hundreds of official documents like the ones on the desk, none of them stamped. He shuffled through them, finding documents dated to months ago and one from before the last pass of the comet.

Taking a range of dates, Eldin thumped the trap door shut. The discussion outside was coming to a close and the man with the ink on his nose jiggled the door again. This time Eldin threw up the sign and whispered, “Skatē je.”

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Shadows formed around him as the man came in. He glanced around and sighed. Eldin didn’t wait to see why.

“Tak je,” he whispered, and was pulled out the door.

The shadows deposited him next to barrels, and he watched the office door shut. The salty wind rustled his cloak as he set the documents on a barrel and placed the Rite on them.

“Kinə.”

They vanished, replaced by a bag of coins. Eldin slipped it in with the other, signed, and said, “Kūma.”

All turned black, and he reappeared at his horse. Zinnia wasn’t with her, but he hadn’t expected her to be. He stepped into the market, surveying the crowd. Only a moment passed before she came into view, zigzagging and pushing through the market goers. Eldin stepped into her path and grabbed her waist as she ran by.

“Hey, what–”

Zinnia fell still when she realized who had hold of her. She clutched a handful of dragon fruit to her chest.

“Give that back, thief!” cried a man in a white apron, pointing at her as he rested his hand on his thighs and panted.

“Did you steal those?” Eldin asked, releasing her. She dropped her head.

“I was hungry.”

“You don’t have to steal anymore. Not for food, not for clothes, not for anything.” Eldin reached into his money pouch and pinched out a few coins. The man in the apron straightened and stepped back when he saw Eldin.

“For the fruit,” Eldin said, holding out the money. The man held out a trembling hand and Eldin tipped his palm, letting the silver nobles fall into his palm.

“Th-thank you, sir.” He bowed and hurried back into the crowd.

Zinnia held the fruit out to Eldin.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“You paid for it.”

“What am I going to do with fruit? Here.” He took out one of each coin, held up a silver noble, and dropped it back into his pouch. “Your pay for taking care of Kūma, minus what you owe for the fruit.”

Zinnia’s mouth dropped as she accepted the coins. “But I didn’t–”

“She looks perfectly fine to me. That will be your job from now on. Whenever I go on a job, your job will be to keep an eye on our horses. The money will be yours to do with as you wish. You said you weren’t a child. It’s time to take some responsibility and act like an adult. Got it?”

Zinnia blushed, nodding, her head hung low, but then she looked up at him, her brows coming together in confusion.

“What do you mean our horses? I don’t have a horse.”

Eldin smiled behind his mask. “Yet. I don’t expect you to ride behind me forever.”

A smile broke out on Zinnia’s face. She dropped the fruit into her bag and threw her arms around Eldin again.

“Hey, now. We’re in public and I have a reputation to uphold,” Eldin said, but he didn’t push her away.

Even with the odd looks the passerby’s gave them, Eldin’s reputation was nowhere close to diminished. When they walked up to the horse dealer set up just outside the city, a stable boy dropped a bucket of oats and booked it towards a stable building twice as long as the ones in Wavefront.

A few moments later, an old man, hunched over and bald, shuffled out, holding a broom across his chest. He eyed Eldin leading Kūma, sparing only a glance for Zinnia.

“What do you want?” he asked, his voice rattling.

“My friend here is in the market for a horse.” Eldin nodded toward Zinnia. She stepped forward, holding out her hand.

“I’m Zinnia.”

“Barkly.” He tentatively grasped her forearm in greeting. “You need a horse?”

“Yes, please.”

“Follow me.” He glanced back at Eldin, who stroked Kūma absently, doing his best to seem nonthreatening. He sighed in relief, watching Zinnia and Barkly go into the stables.

“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Eldin murmured to Kūma. She tossed her head and snorted. Eldin closed his eyes and dropped his hood, letting the sea breeze rustle his hair. Waves lapped against the tapering cliff face, and for a moment, he felt at peace.

Reality came flooding back when the voices of Zinnia and Barkly floated from the stables. He pulled his hood over his head and turned his gaze to the voices. Zinnia bounced from the stables, leading a white mare by a rope.

Barkly hobbled alongside, having switched the broom for a cane. “She’s quite the bargainer. Found my best horse right away.”

“How much?” Eldin asked, reaching for his pouch.

“Ten gold regals.”

“Ten?!” Zinnia’s eyes widened.

“Does that include a saddle and bridle?” Eldin glanced up as he counted coins.

“I’ll throw the bridle in for free and take two more for the saddle.”

“What?! That’s thievery!” Zinnia frowned, glaring at Barkly.

“Is that so?” Eldin glanced at her, handing over the money. She shut her mouth and her cheeks turned pink.

“I thank you. I’ll have Lark bring you out the rest.” Barkly turned and walked back to the stables, a skip in his step.

“How could you let him take that much from you?” Zinnia turned her glare on Eldin.

“I’d say that’s a steal.” He checked over her horse, inspecting her hooves and pulling back her lips. “She’s young, obedient, and has a mild temperament. As long as you take care of her, she’ll more than pay for herself.”

Zinnia narrowed her eyes, glanced at her new horse, and they softened. She nodded and stroked the horse's nose.

“What will you call her?”

“Azra,” she said.

Eldin nodded. “A good name. Here comes your saddle.”

Lark was the boy who had run from them. The look on his face said he still wasn’t too keen to meet them, but he did his job and brought them over a bridle, a saddle, and a saddle blanket. He kept his eyes down and scuttled back to the stables as fast as he could.

“What’s his problem?” Zinnia asked, hands on her hips as she watched the boy run.

“Me, probably.”

“Why you?” Zinnia asked, wrinkling her nose.

“I’m a Ghost.”

“So?”

Eldin stared at her. “Have you ever heard the stories?”

“I think so, a long time ago,” she shrugged and grabbed the saddle blanket, attempting to throw it on Azra. The horse stood patiently as Zinnia tossed the blanket too far and it slid off the other side. “I can’t remember them, though.”

Eldin leaned against Kūma and crossed his arms as he watched her walk around the mare and dust off the blanket. No wonder she didn’t look at him like he was a monster.

“Are you going to help me or not?”

“The saddle goes on the horse's back.”

“I know that much!” She heaved the saddle, got it as far as her chest, and dropped it back to the ground.

Eldin raised an eyebrow and walked over to help. Azra shook her head at him as if saying it was about time. He rubbed her neck and tugged the blanket straight, then lifted the saddle and swung it on Azra’s back.

“Reach underneath and belt the saddle straps.”

Zinnia bent underneath the horse for the straps, sticking out the tip of her tongue in concentration. The bridal slipped on smoothly once Eldin showed her how to do it.

She made it into the saddle the first time, if barely, having overshot and almost went off the other side. The pommel saved her from completely going over and she hauled herself up.

“We’ll get you some saddlebags and traveling supplies later,” Eldin said.

“I’ll buy them this time.” Zinnia patted the pocket that her coins were in.

“Well, it looks like you’ll get the chance to earn more towards them.”

“What? Why?”

Eldin nodded toward the wisps of shadow forming around him. “I’ve got another job.”