Chapter 16 Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Chapter 16


Magistrate Anya Crest did not sleep that night.

She sat in her office until dawn staring at the cold fireplace where Eli's paper had burned. The ashes were still there. She hadn't let anyone clean them.

When the sun came up she stood and walked to the window. Her legs were stiff. Her eyes burned. But her mind was clear.

Someone knew about Eli. Someone was coming to get her.

She couldn't wait.

She rang the bell on her desk. A few minutes later Captain Voss walked in. He was a big man bald with a scar above his eye. He had worked for her for years.

Voss said "You rang, Magistrate?"

Crest said "Close the door."

He closed it.

She said "I need you to do something. Quiet. No records."

Voss said "What kind of something?"

She said "Find someone. Someone asking about old cases. Old convictions. Prison records."

Voss frowned. He said "Old cases? How old?"

Crest said "Any case. Anyone asking about things that should be forgotten."

Voss said "What's this about?"

Crest looked at him. Her face was calm. Her voice was calm. But her hands were pressed flat on her desk to stop them shaking.

She said "Someone's trying to blackmail me. That's all you need to know."

Voss said "Blackmail? You?"

She said "Yes. Now will you do it?"

Voss said "Of course. Where do we look?"

She said "The slums. The docks. Anywhere the gutter rats live. That's where he'll be."

Voss said "He?"

She said "Or she. I don't know. Just find them."

Voss nodded. He said "I'll take a few men. We'll ask around."

Crest said "Quiet. I don't want panic. I don't want rumors. Just find whoever's digging into my past."

Voss said "Yes, Magistrate."

He left.

Crest stood there. Her hands were still pressed against the desk. She looked at them. They weren't shaking anymore.

But she didn't feel better.

Captain Voss gathered four men in the guard house. He picked the ones who knew the streets.

Their names were Dunn, Hake, Porret, and Simms.

Dunn was old with grey hair. He'd been on the force for thirty years. He knew every alley.

Hake was young and eager. Too eager. He liked using his fists.

Porret was quiet. Didn't talk much. Just watched.

Simms was the youngest. Nineteen. Still scared of everything.

Voss said "We're going into the slums. We're looking for someone asking about old cases. Old convictions. Prison records."

Dunn said "Old cases? How old?"

Voss said "Any age. Magistrate didn't say."

Dunn said "That's a lot of ground."

Voss said "I know. We start at the Drowned Rat. That place attracts all kinds. Someone there might have heard something."

Hake cracked his knuckles. He said "And if they don't want to talk?"

Voss looked at him. He said "We ask nice first. Then we ask less nice. But no killing. Magistrate wants this quiet."

Hake said "Quiet. Got it."

Simms said "What if we find the person? What do we do?"

Voss said "We bring them in. Magistrate wants to talk to them."

Simms nodded. His face was pale.

Voss said "Let's move."

The Drowned Rat was the same as always. Dark and smelly and full of men who didn't want to be seen.

Voss pushed the door open and went inside. His men followed.

The barman looked up. His face tightened when he saw the uniforms.

He said "We ain't done nothing wrong."

Voss said "Didn't say you did."

He walked to the bar. Put his hands on it. Leaned in.

He said "I'm looking for information. Someone's been asking about old cases. Court cases. Prison records. Do you hear anything?"

The barman shook his head. He said "I don't hear nothing. I just pour drinks."

Voss said "You pour drinks and you listen. That's what barkeeps do. So what have you heard?"

The barman said "Nothing. I swear."

Hake stepped forward. He grabbed the barman by his shirt.

Hake said "Swearing don't mean much down here."

The barman's face went white. He said "Please. I got kids."

Voss said "Let him go."

Hake let go. The barman stumbled back.

Voss said "If you hear something you send word. Understood?"

The barman nodded fast.

Voss turned to his men. He said "We're done here."

They left.

Outside Dunn said "He didn't know nothing."

Voss said "Maybe. But word will spread we're asking. Someone will talk."

They moved deeper into the slums.

They stopped at a rag-seller's stall. Old woman with missing teeth and sharp eyes.

Voss said "We're looking for someone asking about old court cases."

The woman spat on the ground. She said "I don't talk to guards."

Hake stepped forward. She didn't flinch.

Voss put a hand on Hake's chest. Stopped him.

Voss said "I'm not asking you to talk to guards. I'm asking you to talk to me. There's a difference."

The woman looked at him. She said "What's the difference?"

Voss said "Guards ask and leave. I ask and come back if I don't get answers."

She stared at him for a long time. Then she said "I heard something. Few weeks back. A man in a grey coat. Asking about the old prison. About cells down there."

Voss said "What else?"

She said "Nothing else. He paid and left."

Voss said "Paid with what?"

She said "Coin. Silver."

Voss said "What did he look like?"

She said "Quiet. Hard eyes. Didn't smile. Didn't threaten. Just asked and paid and left."

Voss nodded. He said "Thank you."

She said "I didn't tell you nothing."

He put a coin on her stall. He said "No. You didn't."

They walked away.

Hake said "A man in a grey coat. That's something."

Voss said "It's a start."

Dunn said "The old prison? Why would anyone care about that place?"

Voss said "That's what we need to find out."

They kept walking.

They stopped at a dozen more places like a tavern, a gambling den, street corner where beggars gathered, a fishmonger, a leather worker, a woman who sold information from a room above a bakery.

Some people talked. Most didn't. But the story was always the same.

A man in a grey coat. Quiet. Hard eyes. Asking about old things. Old cases. Old prisons. Old deaths.

Hake said "He's building something. A list."

Voss said "A list of what?"

Hake said "I don't know. But he's asking about the past. That means he's looking for something."

Dunn said "Or someone."

Voss looked at him. "Someone?"

Dunn said "People don't dig up old graves unless they're looking for bones."

Simms was the one who found the girl.

They were in an alley near the tanneries. A group of street kids were huddled around a small fire trying to stay warm.

Simms walked toward them. They scattered. All except one.

A girl. Maybe ten. Maybe younger. She was slow getting up. Her leg was hurt.

Simms grabbed her arm before she could run.

She said "Let me go!"

Simms said "I just want to talk."

She said "I don't know nothing!"

Hake came up behind them. He said "Let me handle it."

Simms said "She's just a kid."

Hake pushed him aside. Grabbed the girl by both arms. Shook her.

He said "You know anything about a man in a grey coat? Asking about old cases?"

The girl's eyes went wide. Just for a second. Then they went blank.

She said "No. Never seen him."

Hake shook her harder. "Liar. I saw your face."

She said "I don't know nothing!"

Hake backhanded her. Not hard. But enough to make her cry out.

She fell in the dirt. Blood on her lip.

Simms said "Hake. Stop."

Hake ignored him. He grabbed the girl's hair. Pulled her up.

He said, "Talk."

She spat at him.

Hake drew back his hand.

Voss's voice came from behind. "Enough."

Hake stopped. Turned.

Voss stood there. His face was hard.

He said "I said quiet. Not this."

Hake said "She knows something. I saw it."

Voss said "Maybe. But you're not going to beat a child. Let her go."

Hake let go. The girl fell back in the dirt.

Voss knelt down in front of her. He said "I'm sorry. He shouldn't have hit you."

She stared at him. Her eyes were wet but she wasn't crying.

Voss said "I'm looking for a man in a grey coat. He's been asking about old cases. Old prisons. If you know anything it would help."

She said nothing.

Voss said "If you see him you should run. He's dangerous. We're trying to stop him."

She looked at him. Then she looked at Hake. Then she looked back at Voss.

She said, "I don't know nothing."

Voss nodded. He stood up. Put a coin on the ground near her.

He said, "Get something to eat."

They left.

Simms said "She knew something."

Voss said "Probably."

Simms said "Why didn't you make her talk?"

Voss said "Because beating a child won't make her talk. It'll just make her hate us."

Simms was quiet.

Dunn said "Word will spread. The girl will tell her friends. They'll tell their friends. The man in grey will hear we're looking."

Voss said "That's the point."

Hake said "You want him to know?"

Voss said "I want him scared. Scared people make mistakes."

They kept walking. The sun was going down. The streets were getting dark.

Voss said "We'll stop for tonight. Start again tomorrow."

Hake said, "We didn't find him."

Voss said "We found a trail. That's enough."

They headed back toward the guard house.

Behind them in the alley the girl sat up. She wiped the blood from her lip. She looked at the coin in her hand.

Then she got up and limped away into the dark.

Kaelen and Rook were in the warehouse district. A new place. Abandoned. Far from where they'd been.

Rook was quiet. She'd been quiet since they left Elara's.

Kaelen said "What's wrong?"

She said "Nothing."

He said, "Liar."

She looked at him. Her eyes were red.

She said "They're looking for us. Guards now too. Not just Vane's men."

He said "I know."

She said "They hurt people. They hurt a kid today. A girl. She was just sitting there and they hit her."

Kaelen was quiet.

Rook said "That could have been me. A few years ago. No one would have helped."

Kaelen said "I know."

She said "Is it worth it?"

He looked at her. In the dark she looked younger. Scared. Tired.

He said "I don't know."

She said "That's not comforting."

He said "Didn't mean it to be."

She almost smiled. Almost.

Then footsteps outside. Fast. Light.

They both went still.

A voice. Small. Scared.

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

Rook's eyes went wide.

She whispered "That's her. That's the girl."

Kaelen stood up. His hand went to his knife.

The girl stepped into the doorway. Dirty. Limping. Blood on her lip.

She looked at them.

She said "You're the Greyman, right?"

Kaelen said nothing.

She said "The guards are looking for you. They hurt me. I told them nothing."

Rook stepped forward. She said "Why are you here?"

The girl looked at her. Then back at Kaelen.

She said "I want to help. They hurt me for nothing. I want to hurt them back."

Kaelen looked at her. At the blood on her lip. At the fire in her eyes.

He said "What's your name?"

She said "I don't have one."

He said "Everyone has a name."

She said "Then you pick one."

Rook looked at Kaelen. Then at the girl.

She said "What can you do?"

The girl said "I can run. I can climb. I can fit in small places. And I hate guards now."

Rook almost laughed. She said "That's something."

The girl looked at Kaelen. Waiting.

Kaelen said "This is dangerous."

She said "I don't care."

He said "You could die."

She said "Everyone dies."

He looked at her for a long time.

Then he said "Fine. You stay."

The girl nodded. She limped inside and sat against the wall.

Rook looked at Kaelen. She said "You're collecting us."

He said "Didn't plan to."

She said "Nobody ever does."

They sat in the dark. Three of them now. Waiting.

The girl was quiet for a long time. Then she spoke.

She said "The guard who hit me. I saw his face. I'll remember it."

Kaelen said "Good."

She said "What's your real name?"

He was quiet for a moment. Then he said "Kaelen."

She nodded. She said "I'll call myself Sparrow."

Rook said "Sparrow?"

She said "Sparrows are small. Nobody notices them. But they live."

Rook looked at Kaelen. He said nothing.

They sat in the dark.

Outside the wind picked up. The warehouse creaked.

Then Sparrow said "They'll find you eventually. The guards. Vane's men."

Kaelen said "Maybe."

She said "What will you do?"

He looked at her. In the dark his eyes were hard.

He said "I'll do what I always do."

She said "What's that?"

He said "Survive."

She nodded.

Then a sound came from outside. Footsteps. Many of them. Coming closer.

Kaelen stood up. His hand went to his knife.

Rook stood too. Her face was pale.

Sparrow didn't move. Just watched the door.

The foots
teps stopped right outside.

A voice. Low and rough.

"This the place?"

Another voice. "Yeah. Someone saw them come here."

Kaelen looked at Rook. Then at Sparrow.

He whispered "Stay behind me."

The door creaked.

It swung open.

Torchlight flooded in.

Men stood there. Five of them. Vane's colors.

The one in front grinned.

He said "Found you, ghost."

Kaelen's knife was in his hand.

Behind him Sparrow stood up.

She said "I told you I could help."

Then she ran at the men.