Kalen towered over Cas as they stood almost nose to nose. She knew there would be curious eyes gawking from nearby windows. The slums were overcrowded and there wasn’t any privacy to be expected unless you were behind closed doors, but she didn’t care about either of those things. The only thing she cared about was keeping the money in the hands of Father Brendao.
“What business is that of yours?” she demanded. “You can’t prove anything.”
Kalen sighed. “Listen, I know what becomes of thieves in this city. I don’t want that fate for you.”
“My fate is none of your concern,” Cas retorted.
Kalen looked at the church for a long moment before turning back to her. “When I first arrived in this city…”
“You spent months looking for a church to Maarlen until you finally turned up here, I know,” Cas snapped. “You’ve told me this story a hundred times.”
“And I found you here,” Kalen continued. “I knew from the moment I saw you that our fates were intertwined.”
Cas grunted. “I’m amazed you can still say that with a straight face.”
“It’s true,” Kalen insisted. “At any rate, I don’t care how good you are at what you do, everyone gets caught eventually… You should consider a change in profession.”
Cas’ eyebrows shot up. “Do you think I’m doing this because I have a choice? You know I have no usable references and at my age it's either this or selling my body in the Veridian District!”
Kalen’s face turned red at the mention of the city’s red light district. “You have other options…”
“Like what?” Cas demanded.
“You could marry me,” he said without a shred of hesitation. “I would look after you…”
Cas scoffed. “Even if I found you tolerable as a partner, your family would never approve. I have worked as a maid for you nobles and have lost count of the number of mothers I’ve heard complain to my mistress about conniving lowborn women bewitching their precious sons and the lengths they had to go through to break them apart.”
Kalen blinked. “I won’t pretend that our union won’t have its challenges…”
“Besides,” Cas continued, cutting him off. “I happen to find you insufferable.”
“I think I’ve grown on you,” Kalen grinned. He then turned serious. “Listen, Sandra, I don’t know how long this church will be able to remain here…”
Cas’ eyes went wide. “What do you mean?”
“The war in Amarlin is getting worse,” Cas said. “It’s not just the commonfolk who are being displaced… It’s nobles too. The city’s fathers want to divert the sewer and build homes for them here.”
“And what about the existing residents?” Cas demanded.
Kalen looked away. “I’m ashamed to admit that the people I spoke to cared little about their fate.”
Cas felt her blood turn cold. “How long before this plan is put into motion?”
“Work on the sewer diversion won’t begin before spring,” Kalen began. “But they will probably begin raising land taxes soon enough to begin forcing people out. The only way to secure the church’s future is by buying the under it.”
“So it’s a matter of money,” she breathed.
“As is the case with most things in the city,” Kalen replied, shaking his head sadly. “I’m afraid that the amounts we are talking about is more than I can afford to tithe and more than you can get by lifting purses in the Bazaar,”
Cas scowled. “How I earn money is none of your concern.”
She was about to walk away when Kalen said. “Do you think Father Brendao would accept the money if he knew where it came from?”
Cas whirled around and snarled. “You wouldn’t dare tell him! You haven’t any proof!”
“You’re right, I wouldn’t,” Kalen admitted. “Not without proof, anyway, but I think you should tell him where the money comes from.”
“If Maarlen or Imton, or whichever God wants to judge anyone, they can judge me, I will bear that responsibility willingly,” Cas snorted. “All that matters to me is that those children and Father Brendao can go to sleep with a roof over their heads and food in their bellies.”
“I would want to know if the food I was eating was bought with stolen money,” Kalen replied. Cas could tell from the look in his eyes that he was being completely sincere and could no longer bear being in his presence.
“Spoken by someone who has never experienced true hunger,” Cas said softly before pushing past Kalen as she stormed away from the church.
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This wasn’t the first time that they’d argued over her life’s choices, but there was something about Kalen that got under her skin, and Cas knew that if they continued the conversation, she would probably have ended up punching him square in his holier than thou mouth. She veered south towards the sea and glanced over her shoulder. Kalen was watching her leave but gave no indication that he was about to follow her. Good.
She walked aimlessly to clear her head and soon found herself at one of her favourite haunts, the roof of a derelict building with a view of the southern docks, a favourite. There was a sense of adventure in watching the tall masted sailing ships gliding over the waves past the shadow of Fort Verdin, bound for parts unknown. Cas often dreamed of setting sail on one to see the lands that she had only heard about in stories for herself.
The Eternal City was founded on the Isthmus of Targaria, a finger of land just over a mile long at its narrowest point that connected three continents and separated two major seas, the Setara to the south, and the Genean to the north. The city was called the Gateway to the World and had grown rich from the sheer number of people and goods that passed through.
Just as her anger at Kalen was subsiding, Cas sensed before hearing movement through the building below. She moved as silently as a shadow to a corner of the rubble strewn rooftop. The locals knew this building had been picked clean, but stowaways were common enough on the visiting ships. She moved to peer over the side even though she didn’t think jumping would be necessary and frowned when she saw a pair of men standing on the street. They appeared to be deep in conversation, but she could tell from the way they moved their heads that they were acting as lookouts. On their own, the movement in the building below and the two men on the street could be benign but put together, it implied something more sinister was afoot.
Before she could assess her situation further, the door to the roof opened. Cas’ heart began to pound. She had been followed.
“Hello there,” a jovial voice called. “I know you’re up here and I assure you I mean no harm.”
Cas didn’t reply as she weighed up her options. The man continued. “That church of yours is in grave danger. I have a proposition for you...”
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on the church!” Cas roared as she came charging out of the shadows to find a lanky, middle aged man standing with his arms folded as he leaned against a ledge.
“Oh, I wouldn’t lift a finger against an impoverished priest and the orphans under his care,” the man said innocently. “I’m not a monster. The City fathers on the other hand… They plan to turn the whole area into upmarket manors.”
“I’ve heard,” Cas managed, furious with herself for being so easily provoked.
“Then will you listen to my offer?” He asked and raised his hands as Cas eyed him suspiciously. “You have nothing to fear from me. I’m just an old man here on his own.”
“That’s a lie,” Cas retorted. “There are two of your goons watching the street and at least one more downstairs who is no doubt waiting for your signal to pounce.”
The lanky man’s face split into a broad grin. “No slipping anything past you, eh?”
“What do you want?” Cas asked tersely.
“Well, since you asked,” the man said without missing a beat. “I have a big job coming up and it so happened that you’ve crippled my burglar…”
“He attacked me,” Cas said sharply as she quickly looked for any avenues of escape.
“Yes, Harvey told me all about you,” the man said. “You remember Harvey, the plainest most boring man you’ve ever laid eyes on?”
Cas nodded cautiously.
“He was impressed with your skills, and I can see why,” the man continued, as he scrutinized Cas. “I want you to replace my man.”
“To do what?” Cas asked suspiciously.
The man shrugged. “To steal something. The payoff for the first job is five crowns.”
Cas’ eyebrows shot up. That was at least double what she had pocketed this morning. Perhaps it would be enough to pay off their land taxes for another year…”
“And if you perform the first job well, there’s a second that pays…” the man paused and smiled. “Well, if we pull that off, the church and those orphans won’t be wanting for money in their lifetimes.”
The cloud avarice was dispelled almost at once from Cas’ eyes and her suspicions returned. “Your man had this huge job lined up and he still went around committing petty thefts?”
The humour vanished from the man’s face and Cas took an involuntary step back. “Yes, Starkey is an egotistical idiot. Perhaps it is for the best that he’s been forced to sit this job out.”
The man shook his head and was genial again. “So, what say you?”
“What will I have to steal?” Cas asked carefully.
“A key,” the man replied. “That’s all I can say for now. If you want to know more, come to my…”
He paused and grinned broadly. “My Lair in the slums.”
“But…” Cas began.
“We have ways to get in and out of the city, don’t you worry your pretty little head,” the man chuckled.
Cas backed away as the man left the ledge and approached her. “Think about it. If you’re interested, Harvey will be waiting for you by the East Gate at dawn tomorrow to bring you in.”
Cas eyed him suspiciously and the man’s grin broadened. “Look, if I was after revenge for my man, I already have you surrounded in a secluded building. I’d just have done it here.”
“I’ll think about it,” Cas said at length.
Her body tensed as the man’s hand shot out. The man smiled as he held out his open hand. “The name’s Dirk, by the way.”
Cas hesitated before shaking his hand. “Manes.”
“I look forward to the pleasure of your company tomorrow, Ms Manes,” the man said as he walked towards the door. “I get the feeling that this will be the beginning of a lucrative partnership.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything,” Cas warned, but the man had already disappeared through the door, making a huge racket as he tromped down the stairs.
She walked over to the side of the roof and watched him appear at the door with Harvey in tow. Dirk looked up at the roof and waved at her before whistling down the street. The two men watching the street ran over and fell in step with him as he led them away. When they disappeared around a corner at the end of the street, Cas realized she had been clenching her fists ever since she confronted Dirk. She unclenched them and the tension left her body, forcing her to grab onto the ledge to remain upright.
The roar of cannon fire made her jump, and she turned to see a huge galleon charging in from the sea towards the city’s South Harbour. She was huge yet graceful, and cannons gleamed from the ports of her three gun decks. The roaring head of a lion was emblazoned on her sail and her name, the Lion of Glorfian, was painted in gold on her prow. The ship’s cannons thundered as they returned the salute from Fort Verdin’s guns.
She forgot about her encounter with Dirk and his men earlier that morning for a moment and wondered what far flung land this ship had hailed from and what she was doing in these waters. Then, she realized that she had never ventured beyond the Eternal City’s walls. She watched the Lion for a moment longer and decided it was time for that to change.