“You know, when you said we should meet outside the castle, I was thinking something like tea and cake…” Illford muttered. He sat in a cush seat and straightened his suit jacket. Across the carriage, Nico sat with his hood up. The iconic feather earring hung out enough to be visible. The city whisked by as the coach driver whipped the geldings on.

Nico remained silent, his hood hiding his face all too well. ‘No wonder the citizens are infatuated. A mysterious image pulling hidden strings is out of a book.’ Illford chuckled at the irony. Nico influenced the people as a mysterious person while the nobles did so openly, yet the daily news and gossip relate to their worries about the Hand of Hermes. ‘Perhaps he’s still mad. Pouting?’ Illford regarded Nico. ‘Brooding,’ he corrected.

“You opened my eyes, Illford.” Nico turned and faced the noble, causing the other to minutely flinch from the hollow hood. “What sort of deal do you have in mind?”

Illford smirked. “What makes you think you have the leverage for a deal? I thought she pounded humility back into you.”

“Because you haven’t threatened to expose me yet, implying your desire for an amicable relationship.” Nico leaned forward and laced his fingers under his chin. “I’m listening.”

“We both want the same thing.”

“Oh?”

“You want chaos for your reason and I want chaos for mine,” Illford knocked on the back wall and the carriage turned off of its circling course.

Nico was a statue and Illford clicked his tongue. Nico had learned from their last conversation and hid his reactions and face.

“And if I want to end this kingdom?”

“Then I’ll double cross you and leave you as a casualty of change.” Illford stated promptly. “I’m a straight forward man. Once this partnership isn’t profitable, it is void.”

~~~

Nico sweated behind his hood, trying his best to keep his hands still and hoping that Illford didn’t see how wet his palms were. This man bluntly addressed his concerns with a sword. He stared at the smiling noble and grit his teeth. Even if he refuted the deal, the man would benefit, revealing Nico’s nature and identity. He could turn the nobles against Nico and easily profit.

‘How do you outwit someone who is smarter and has more power?’ Nico slowly shifted, trying to exude indifference. Illford show no reaction to his efforts.

Illford was cunning. He’d made Acterine house uneasy while proving his power, and now the other houses were hastily hiding their hoards, putting it in one place; the castle. The nobles don’t trust each other, they do trust the king to be indifferent. Putting the silver under the King would protect it.

‘The silver is all in the glass palace. And Illford wanted that. Why?’ Nico puzzled through what little information he had. Illford came to the city under the context of attending the Prince’s twelfth birthday. Nobles of the whole kingdom will attend, and perhaps the king.

‘He plans to steal all the silver at the ceremony. Using his pathfinder to sneak in.’ The king will be in attendance, or should. Who knows what he’ll do. ‘This is a chance to meet the king.’

“What do you have in mind?” Nico asked coldly. Illford’s smile deepened. “Ever heard of martyrs?”

The carriage stopped, and Nico glanced out the window. They were outside the city on a trodden dirt road. Far out to both sides were fields of golden wheat populated by occasional huts and stone buildings.

“We need to build up the Hand of Hermes as not a mysterious figure, but as a hero.”

“Martyr implies my death. Are you asking me to help you by killing myself?”

“I’m touched that you offered. But alas you will remain on your two feet.” Illford motioned to the door, a second later the coach driver opened it.

“This is your stop. You’ve spent a lot of time in the city mucking with things. We can twist that to be actions against nobles, but for true heroism, it needs to be more personal.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“You intend for me to be…a lawman?”

“Nothing so boorish. No, a killer. But the right kind. Monsters have been roaming the woods to the west, take care of them.” Illford waved. Nico looked at the man incredulously. ‘This twiggy bastard.’

“Oh and Ni--Hermes. Do be seen. Not just by me, me and the commoners.” Illford closed the door and the carriage rolled off in a haze of dust back towards the city.

Nico tore off his cloak and folded it into his satchel and started walking along the road to the nearest patch of houses, internally cursing. ‘Jay would be thrilled to watch this,’ Nico thought, looking back at the speck that was the carriage. “They’d get along.”

A boy wearing a sun bleached tunic and pants too short for him walked into town, smelling of soot and sweat. His head swayed with webs of hair shining in the light. He came upon a girl tending to a fence, her body slick with sweat. She adjusted her hate and looked up at Nico. Then he noticed he was staring.

“What are you doing looking like that?” The girl snapped, turning back to her work. Nico shifted on his feet and cleared his throat.

“Could you tell me where I am, please?”

“The backwaters of’ learn to read a map,’” She didn’t turn around.

“Is there an inn in…around.”

“Yes,”

“I’m Nico.” He waited for a response. When none came he moved closer. He grabbed the log she was attempting to nail and held it up. He drove a nail halfway through and turned to her to hammer it the rest of the way in. She gawked, looking between him and the board. Eventually she hammered the nail. They moved onto the next one, finishing the row when the sun drooped right above the horizon. Nico grabbed his back and walked off.

“What was that?” She demanded.

“You looked like you needed help,” Nico replied. A drop of surprise broke through her sorrow. Nico held his tongue and headed into town.

The inn was easy to find. The evening rush gathered at one building. Nico smelled them before he saw them. Alcohol was thick in the air.

“Fancy a drink, traveler?” A bartender called, they looked up and froze.

“Rays and burns,” They said.

Nico stood puzzled for a long while before his hands shot up to his head. ‘Damn.’

~~~~~~~~~~

“Could I have your attention please?” A girl shouted in the streets. People glanced at her in confusion and some stopped. The girl strode into the middle of the street, unfazed by the currents of vehicles passing on both sides. “I have something important to tell you guys!” She shouted again. The girl shouted again and jumped up and down.

“Miss! Get out of the street.” A man waved, allerting traffic. The girl smiled brightly and leaped over the cars with inhuman power. She landed a step away from the man and clasped his hand. “Could you help me get their attention?” She asked.

“Where are you parents!” he roared. The girl winced a little, but kept smiling. “Over here, please direct your attention here!” She stepped back into the street. Cars swerved, narrowly missing the young girl.

Crowds of people started yelling at her, trying to get her out of the street. Their anxiety grew. The girl ignored their pleas, moving with skips and hops as her overgrown hair sprayed behind her.

“Listen to me.” She called, vaulting over a braking car. She moved quicker and quicker, dancing in the middle of the street. The crowds flowed on the side walks, worried and following the small girl. Her small arms flashed in the artificial light and her onyx hair hid her seemingly frail body.

The shouts of anger and fear died, replaced with cheers as the girl continued to dance. “Do I have your attention yet?”

“Yes!” They shouted in unison. She spun and twisted in a fluid dance, the street and cars acting as the stage. She moved across the city, followed by a loyal crowd. She leaped up and balanced on a weathered wall before turning and facing the people. There were a few hundred people gathered, a good number.

“There is something I’d like to do.” They nodded, smiling brightly at the dancing girl. “Stone your hearts before you answer.” The cheers became less joyous, turning into madness.

The girl’s hands sparkled in a dazzling display and a ring appeared on her hand. Her voice sounded like a whisper but reached all the ears. “Can you lend me your souls?”

“Yes,” They replied. Their movements turned stiff and the girl giggled as she turned to the abandoned mansion. She pulled the coral pendant from beneath her oversized shirt and walked along the blue path.

She stepped into the large hall. The water on the floor soaked her feet and she grinned at the glass case sitting at the head of the chamber. She moved closer.

The water rippled and the girl fell to her knees in a red puddle. A thin fin sprouted from the water, barreling towards the wounded girl.

“I should have expected that,” The girl clicked her tongue as a horde of people blocked her from the fin. They lifted her up and pulled her away from the blender that appeared. Thousands of fins appeared from the floor, slicing the horde of humans to bits. The girl shifted her carrier’s arms and examined the scene.

“Even in death you're a massive pain, Rio.” The girl crawled forward and pulled two severed legs to her wounds. They molded themselves to her body and the girl stood, facing the flooded chamber.

“Let’s dance our hearts out, you beast!”