“Anla?” Al asked as he continued to rap on the door. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she said, though if he hadn’t been a wizard, he probably wouldn’t have heard it.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No.”

“Okay. If you want, I can sleep with Tel tonight. I just need my pack and clothes.”

The door opened a few moments later and his things were put outside. He noticed it was dark, the curtains closed. “If you want to speak, I’d be happy to…” he began but she closed the door and he heard her lock it.

He took his things to the other room and deposited them on the floor. “I think Anla’s not well.”

Telbarisk looked up. “’Not well’? She’s sick?”

“Maybe. She’s locked herself in our room and won’t let me in.”

Tel stood. “Let me speak with her.” He was about to move from his spot when he turned and looked out the window. Across the narrow street was another hotel, the walls a bright blue stucco. One floor down, and very visible to any of the quartet looking out their window, was occupied by a couple loudly engaged with each other. The man pushed the woman against the window, his head buried in her neck so that only his medium-brown hair, long enough to tie into a tail, was visible. Tel narrowed his eyes and would have dismissed it, but Raulin chose that moment to look up not at Tel, but at where Anla’s room was.

“I see,” he said quietly and left for Anla’s room.

He knocked. “Anladet, if you want someone to listen or talk to, I’m here.”

Surprisingly, the door opened a minute later and he stepped inside. He swiftly went to her window and reached between the drapes to close the casements, then turned to face her. She threw herself into his arms and began to cry.

* * *

Music filled the air, originating some few streets over from where Raulin and Takiya were walking. “What’s that?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s the surprise I was telling you about.” Her black eyes sparkled with mirth. “Would you like to go see what’s happening?”

“Yes! It sounds like fun!”

She led him by the hand down a few alleys before hitting a wall of people standing and looking out at the street. “You’ll probably get a better look than I,” she said, “since you’re so tall.”

“You’ll laugh when you meet Telbarisk.”

“I should! I want to meet your friends. You’ve said so much about them.”

“Soon. I need to work a little more on gathering information before I devise a plan involving everyone.”

He felt her arm wrap around his waist. Since everyone was watching the spectacle in front of them, they didn’t mind the display of affection. Then again, no one had minded the dozen other infractions over the last few days. Her hand slid down his hip and in, causing him to laugh in surprise. “Later,” he growled into her ear, giving her a quick kiss on her jaw.

Finally there was movement as the music was so close he could feel it vibrate in his chest. He thought for a moment they were creveirs; they walked on stilts and had elaborate costumes. Pinks and purples were favored with some blue and green in the mix and plenty of gold, silver, and copper.

“It’s a parade!” he said with a laugh. A group walked by holding blue and teal streamers, the inside actors pretending to be fish with shining scales.

“Not just any parade,” Takiya said. “This is the Abarikha, the Bounty Festival. It starts today, on Ap Filox’s Day, and goes for two and a half weeks, through days for Queyella and Zayine’s aps, and ends with Beliforn’s. So, starts with love and ends with marriage and lots of feasting in between.”

“That’s a holiday I can get behind.”

“You’ll see a lot of people wearing masks during the Festival.”

“Really?” he asked. Now that was convenient. He hadn’t told Takiya he was a trirec, just a thief in town as a favor to a client. And even though he wanted to introduce her to his friends, there had been no way he’d show his bare face in front of the wizard. Maybe before they parted in June, but not now. Wearing a festival mask solved this neatly. And that was very good because he was going to need his friends’ help soon.

His contract was mundane, but also frustrating. He needed to discover where a secretive group met bi-weekly, the contractee hoping that he could bribe his way into the council and attain whatever power he was looking for. While he had a short list of potential members, he was only one man.

He had been tailing one of his suspects the day after they had arrived in Riyala when he had heard two people sniggering. He turned and saw two women, one wild and dark with sharp features and angles, the other pale and rosy with bronze, curled hair. He noticed they were watching him and tipped his bowler, then continued to trail after his target. They followed him.

“You’re not very good at this,” the darker one said.

He turned. “At what, miss? I’m walking home.”

“No, you’re following that man up ahead, the one with the burgundy waistcoat. We’ve been watching you for about eight blocks now, right Sheska?”

The redhead nodded with a smirk. “Might have been nine. I lost count.”

“And why would a man be following another man unless he means to mug him?”

“I won’t be doing that, miss,” he said quickly, watching the man continue on down the street.

She folded her arms. “None of our business what you wish to do with a man, except that this is our territory. And if you’re doing business in our territory we’ll have to talk about cuts.” She rubbed her fingertips together, then drew a finger across her neck. “What are you thinking?”

It was about this time that Raulin had formed a theory as to what was going on here. They were thieves that thought he was new in town and was poaching their marks. Their little back-and-forth sounded very rehearsed. He smiled. “Well, I’m thinking that I’m new in Riyala and was here as a favor to someone, not to establish myself. I’m thinking I’d be gone as soon as it was done. But, these are just thoughts.”

“Hmm,” the darker one said, grasping her chin in thought. “What do you think, Sheska?”

“I’m thinking that if we let him do this one job it’ll turn into two, then three. Can’t let these things slide, Takiya.”

He held his hands up before looking quickly around. He was slightly annoyed that he had lost the man, but turned his focus back to them. “One job. In fact, maybe we can come to some sort of agreement, an exchange of help for help?”

“And why would we help someone who can’t even tail a mark casual-like?”

“Because I knew you were thieves and intentionally drew you out so I could get help in this contract.” It was a lie and it stung that he was bad enough to get caught by a low-level gang of thugs. He was really starting to question whether his heritage played a bigger role in his success as a trirec than he originally had thought.

The two women looked at each other, then Sheska leaned in and spoke into Takiya’s ear. “It’ll depend on the cut,” she murmured.

“How much are you being paid for this favor?” Takiya asked, turning back to him.

“Seventy-five gold with expenses.” Actually, it was two hundred and fifty.

Both their eyebrows rose. Takiya spoke. “Give us fifty and we’ll help.”

“Twenty-five and I’ll steal something of equal value. Whatever you want. And I’ll do it tonight.”

The two women exchanged a quick glance. “I like his bravado,” Sheska said.

“That means he’s either really stupid or really good.” Takiya turned back to Raulin. “All right. Follow us. If you’re really that good, there’s a place you can hit. We’ll even be nice and give you until dark to case it.”

He had walked behind them in silence, feeling like he was getting dangerously close to the edge of the spell’s distance, until they stopped. “That building,” Takiya said. “There is a necklace of gold with three purple stones clustered in the center. Steal it and we have a deal.”

“Do I get any more information about it? Who’s necklace is it? Which room is it in? Where in the room?”

“It is the necklace of the lady of the house. That’s all the information we have on it.” Takiya pulled out a pocketwatch and looked at it. “It’s almost five now. You have about two and a half hours to case it. We’ll stop by in that alley on the hour. Our offer ends at midnight.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

He tipped his hat again and walked across the street.

At six o’clock, as promised, they moved down the alley near the fire escape. “How long do we give him?” Shaska asked.

“Five minutes. Maybe two in the beginning. He won’t be done.”

“This is turning out into an interesting evening. You promise we won’t get into trouble?”

Takiya nodded in consideration. “Either he’s good and we get some great help on our next job or he’s lousy and he shoos from our territory.”

Shaska examined one of her curls for a few moments. “He’s cute, huh?”

“Oh, what happened to you and Gigre?”

“Gigre and I are fine. I can look.”

Takiya’s face broke out in a smile. “He is. I kind of like a guy with longer hair, yeah? So tired of the short, parted, and oiled like everyone else. He’s a handsome devil. And that walk…like a cat! If he’s not a thief then I’d love to know what he does in his spare time.”

“I’m sure you’d some spare time,” Shaska said and they laughed.

“Ladies?” Raulin said and they turned to find him hanging upside-down from the fire escape. His bowler was in his hand, which he passed to Takiya. She looked in, looked up at him in shock, then back down.

“You have it already?” she said, lifting the necklace out.

He grabbed the bottom of the escape for support and slowly moved his legs from the railing over his head to the ground. He was showing off, but this was one of those times where he felt it was an acceptable thing. “What was that about me being cute?” he asked, wiping the grit off his pants.

Takiya had laughed and the three walked out of the alley.

Raulin invited them to dinner. Sheska declined, but Takiya joined him. By the time they had arrived at the restaurant, he knew he was going to seduce her. This wasn’t like his usual marks; she was a brutal flirt and she had likely made the same decision. He had bedded her that night in the hotel across the alley from the group and awoke with her tangled in his sheets.

He’d spent the last few days with Takiya, soaking in the city, feeling carefree and happy and wanted. It had been some time since he’d felt so relaxed. And in between visits to rooms and secretive places, he’d managed to get his first contract done. The drop was done, too. Now, he had to focus on the other one, the hard one.

Lady Asetra Fremark was betrothed to Eri-Viscount Viren Silant, a smart match in the noble world. Both families ran cities that already had strong trading ties and the couple seemed fond of each other. The small issue, the niggling little problem, was the rumor that she had a commoner lover. If it were true, as she had escaped detection thus far, it would be a big problem for confirming the Silants’ offspring. Raulin would have to spend the full two weeks tailing her. If she were very good, he would need help.

After they had gone back to his hotel room and delivered on his promise of “later”, he had the owner’s son next door with a note for Tel and Al to convene in the common room in a half-hour. “We’re going to go meet them,” he said to Takiya as he closed the door.

Her face lit up. Even though she was two or three years older than him, she had young moments that, if examined, would remind him of someone else. Those expressions had been rather forthcoming since her impression of him as a piss-poor thief had changed. “Really? Everyone?”

“Not sure,” he said. There was much he hadn’t told her, basically to keep certain elements in the dark, but that one was too complicated, and too painful, to elaborate upon.

They dressed. (While the owner said little at seeing Raulin in his shirtsleeves, the public would likely feel differently.) Takiya fretted that she wouldn’t look nice enough for them, adjusting her hat and making dismayed comments at her choice in outfit for the day. While he watched and calmed her fears, he wondered if she was just like that or if he had oversold his friends. He trawled through the last few days’ worth of conversations and couldn’t reach a decision.

Raulin put on his festival mask, giving an excuse about them being on their way to an event. She put hers on as well and they set off to next door.

He saw Telbarisk sitting through the window and felt relieved. A part of him worried they wouldn’t show.

Raulin opened the door and ushered Takiya inside. His smile wavered when he saw that all three, even Anla, were sitting on the davenports in the common room. They were engaged in a quiet conversation. Anla looked up and met his gaze, startling for a moment before plastering a smile on her face. The other two noticed her gaze and turned to look at them, neither looking pleased.

“Hi, everyone. This is Takiya. She’s been helping me with my contracts here in Riyala.” He noticed that Al’s jaw dropped at that. “Takiya, this is .rd Alpine Gray, Telbarisk of Nourabrikot, and Anla.”

“Hi!” she said warmly. Anla gave a small wave, folded her hands in her lap, and looked ahead. The other two said nothing. She fumbled with the ribbon ties and took her mask off. “Raulin has told me so much about you. I hope we can work well together.”

Takiya’s smile slipped when no one said anything. Finally, Anla smiled again and looked up. “Yes, we’ll work well together…and…I think that…” He hand shook visibly as she took a few gulps of air.

Telbarisk leaned in and murmured, “Let’s go. It’s okay.”

She paused at this, nodded, then let him help her up. “It’s was nice…meeting you,” she said to Takiya in a whisper, meeting her eyes briefly.

“Same,” Takiya said, trailing off.

When the two were gone, Raulin turned to his new beau. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on. Let me talk with Al and figure it out. I’ll meet you at the hotel before we go to the park.”

She nodded and pressed his hand quickly before leaving.

Raulin sat slowly in the armchair across from Al. “You want to explain to me why you were so rude to Takiya?”

Al gave him a hard smile. “I told you that if you ever hurt Anla again, we were through.”

“Hurt her? How have I hurt her? She said we were through!”

“And you thought inviting her replacement to meet us with Anla present wasn’t going to be painful?”

“I didn’t invite her! And why would it be painful?”

“Because you two were romantically involved. And what were Tel and I supposed to tell Anla. ‘Stay here, we’re going to a meeting with Raulin and you’re not invited?’”

“Last I knew she wasn’t speaking to me. If I so much as looked at her, she tried to cut me with her eyes.”

“It’s been four days since anyone has seen you. Maybe if you cared so much about us you’d have checked in.”

“I was working on my other contract.”

“Sure, and tumbling with that new girl so that you can get over Anla. Have you yet? Or are we going to stick around Riyala until you figure out where you are with her?”

“What do you want me to do, huh? You want me to pine away for Anla for the rest of my life? You want me to never be with a woman again because she and I are over? I’m supposed to cut out my withered heart and toss it at her feet like one of those saps in your books?”

“No,” Al said quietly. “That would be hypocritical, wouldn’t it? Also unrealistic. I just want you to answer me, truthfully, that you haven’t done any of this to put Anla in pain. That you didn’t intentionally hang around our hotel in hopes that Anla would see you two. That you didn’t just happen to rent a hotel room across the alley so that Anla can look down and see you and your girl tumbling at all hours.” He held up his hand. “Don’t speak. Think, then answer. If you value my friendship, you’ll be honest.”

“Why, does she care?” He gave a light laugh, but Al’s face was hard. “I went to another hotel to avoid Anla so there wouldn’t be any complications.”

“To avoid Anla or to avoid Tel and I seeing you do that to Anla?”

Raulin hissed a breath. “I’m tired of this. I can never do anything right by any of you. Yes, fine, I was hoping that maybe she would understand some of the loss I was feeling if she saw she had lost me. Flaunt my new relationship, make her a little jealous. Obviously it didn’t work. She’s happy. She smiled and was polite.”

“’You can tell volumes about a man by how he treats another who has wounded him.’”

“And Tichen makes a return. Wonderful.”

Al took a very slow breath in before standing. “It’s a ‘no’ from me; I won’t help you. And Tel asked me to speak on his behalf as well. Anla is interested, but don’t accept her offer until you two figure out things.”

Raulin stood. “Oh, so now I’m a terrible person for moving on?”

“I was on your side before this,” Al said, moving past him. “I tried to talk to her as much as I could. I thought she was being unreasonable. I saw how hard you tried to save her brother and that there was nothing more you could have done. I was hoping you two would reconcile. Now, maybe I’m thinking you need to step back and figure out what you want from her.”

“You know what I want from her. She’s not interested!”

Al gave him a hard smile again before going up the stairs to his room. “Stop fooling yourself that you’ve moved on.”

Great, Raulin thought as he walked out the door. He was really counting on Tel for his ability to detect people and their movements. Anla would be better, with her ability to follow sound, but she was out of the equation. And how was he supposed to reconcile with Anla if he couldn’t work with her?

Takiya was sitting on the edge of the bed when he came back. “Let’s go,” he said. “The performance should be starting just after we get there.”

“What was that?” she asked quietly.

“What was…? Oh, I apologize again,” he said, touching his chest with his fingertips. “I had no idea they would behave like that. I’ll have a talk with them and maybe the next time we’ll have a better introduction.”

“It seemed like they were mad with you.” She looked at him. “Why is that?”

He took a deep breath. “I spoke with Al. He seemed to think I had done something to upset Anla. I assured him that wasn’t the case.”

“Oh,” she said. “What is she to you?”

“Anla? She’s…a friend, though we’re not really on speaking terms at the moment. Something happened that she’s mad at me for and I can’t seem to make it right in her eyes.”

“But she seemed eager to help.”

“I was surprised by that. Now, would you like to go?”

“You think I’m stupid,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

“No, I don’t think you’re stupid,” he said slowly.

“Let me say that I might not have been clever enough to figure it out what’s going on with your friends, but I was smart enough to stick around to get the full story.”

He sucked in his teeth. “You eavesdropped on Al and my conversation. Al has a peculiar way of thinking…”

“What, honestly? And it wasn’t his words that I was paying attention to.”

Raulin ground his teeth for a moment. “Anla and I were romantic, yes, though nothing serious. She’s had a hard time with men in the past and I don’t think she knows how to love. Or maybe it was just me. Either way, we’ve never declared our love for each other nor have things gotten too intense in other ways. But, she’s been mad at me and considers our relationship concluded. And I moved on.”

“By using me to make her jealous.”

“What, do you think I love you? I’ve only known you for less than a week!”

“No, gods, no,” she said with a mirthless laugh. “I’d hope you’d have more sense then that. And don’t worry, you’re just a fling to me as well.” She stood. “And flings I’m fine with. I didn’t ask for anything more. I wouldn’t want anything more. But I have enough respect for myself not to be a weapon, to be used to hurt someone else. I think you should go across the street and apologize to that girl.”

“I think I’m sick of having to grovel to her.”

She picked up her skirts and made for the door. “Then I want you to leave Riyala. You’re finished. If we catch you operating here, we’ll knock you out and dump you in front of the station ourselves.”

“What, you and Shaska?”

She stood in the doorway and gave him a sickly smile. “That house you broke into as a test? One of my parents’ houses. That was my mother’s necklace. My father is the head of the Thieves’ Guild in Riyala and one of the most powerful men in the city. It’s how we fed you that information for your job; he’s also on that council your client wants in on. Thanks for the heads up on that, by the way; that information won’t do your boss any good if they switch their days and times.

“So, yes, go right ahead and finish your theft and see if you can do it with our interference. Enjoy the festival.”

Raulin took off the stupid mask after she had left and wiped his face of his sweat. Yet another unfair thing in his life. He’d had a string of them since he was ten; why should this time be any different? He’d survived a shipwreck, several incarcerations, the death of his mentor, fighting a crazed wizard, being burned with combustion, his friends turning on him, and rogue trirecs slicing up his arms. He’d survive this, too, somehow.