Chapter 15 Chapter 15

Chapter 15 Chapter 15


The door burst open and two men stormed in. Both wore Vane's colors on their coats. Both had knives in their hands, blades catching the little light from the window. The first one was big, thick in the shoulders, with a scar running down his cheek. The second was smaller, faster looking, with mean eyes that darted around the room like he was looking for trouble.

The big one grinned at Kaelen. He said "Found you, ghost."

Kaelen didn't move. His hand was already on his knife under his coat. He just stood there watching them.

The small one looked around the room, at the bed, at the chair, at the window. He said "Where's the girl? The one who's been helping you?"

Kaelen said nothing.

The big one stepped forward. He said "Boss wants to talk to you. You're coming with us whether you like it or not."

Kaelen said "No."

The big one laughed. He said "Wasn't asking you."

He lunged forward with the knife.

Kaelen moved faster. His knife came out from under his coat. He sidestepped and slashed across the big one's arm. The blade cut deep. Blood sprayed out and hit the wall. The big one howled in pain.

The small one came at Kaelen from the side. Kaelen spun around. Blocked the knife with his forearm. The blade cut into his skin. Pain shot through him. He gritted his teeth and kicked the small one in the knee. It buckled sideways with a crack. The man screamed and went down hard.

The big one was still coming. Bleeding bad but not stopping. He swung wild with his knife. Kaelen ducked under it. Stabbed him in the thigh. Deep. The big one's leg gave out and he went down on the floor.

Kaelen stood there breathing fast. Both men on the floor in front of him. One moaning and holding his leg. One quiet and holding his knee.

The small one looked up at him. His face was white with pain. He said "You're dead. Vane's gonna kill you for this."

Kaelen said "Get out of here."

The small one stared at him like he couldn't believe it.

Kaelen said "Get out and tell Vane I'm coming for him."

The small one scrambled up best he could. Grabbed the big one under the arms. Dragged him out the door. Blood smeared across the floor behind them.

Kaelen stood there alone. His arm hurt where the knife had caught him. He looked down. His sleeve was cut open. Blood soaking through the cloth.

He grabbed his coat and ran to the window.

Rook was still down in the street. Looking up at him. Her face was white.

He said, "Run."

She ran.

He went out the back way. Down the stairs fast. Through a courtyard. Over a wall. He landed hard on the other side, rolled, and came up running.

His arm burned with every step. Blood dripped down his hand and onto the ground.

He kept moving.

Rook found him an hour later in the warehouse district. He was sitting in the dark of an abandoned building, pressing his sleeve against his arm to stop the bleeding.

She came in slow. Her eyes were wide and scared.

She said "You're bleeding bad."

He said "I know."

She said "They found us somehow."

He said "I know."

She said "How did they find us?"

He said "Someone must have seen you coming here and followed you."

She shook her head hard. She said "I was careful. I was so careful coming and going."

He said, "Not careful enough."

Her face crumpled for a second. Like she might cry. Then she steadied it. Made it hard again.

She said "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

He said "It's done now. Can't change what happened."

She said "What do we do now?"

He said "Can't go back to the room. Can't go anywhere they know about."

She said "The warehouse where you train? The one you've been using?"

He said "Too obvious. They'll check there first."

She said "Then where do we go?"

He thought about it. Elara's place. The Lamplighter's hidden shop. But that meant owing another debt. And putting her at risk if Vane's men followed.

He said "I don't know yet."

She sat down next to him on the floor. She was quiet for a minute.

Then she said "Your arm. Let me see it."

He pulled his sleeve back slowly. The cut was deep but clean. Still bleeding but not spurting like before.

She said, "That needs stitching up."

He said "Can't go to a doctor. They'll be watching all of them."

She said "I can do it."

He looked at her.

She said "I've done it before. On the streets. People get cut. You learn or they die."

He said "Fine."

She pulled a needle and thread from her pocket. Thin. Dirty. She held it up.

She said "This is going to hurt a lot."

He said "I know."

She worked on his arm in the dark. Her hands were steady. His hands were not. But he didn't make a sound.

When she finished, she tied it off and sat back.

She said "That's the best I can do. It's ugly but it should hold."

He looked at it. Ugly stitches. But closed.

He said "It's fine."

They sat in the dark for a long time. The building creaked around them with the wind. Rats moved in the corners making scratching sounds.

Rook said "They're going to keep looking for us."

He said "Yes."

She said "They'll find us eventually."

He said "Maybe. Maybe not."

She said "What do we do?"

He said "We move faster than them."

She said "Faster how?"

He said "Vane's money. The banks. We do it now. Tonight."

She said "You're hurt badly. You can barely move that arm."

He said, "Doesn't matter."

She said "You can barely walk straight."

He said "I don't need my arm to scare bankers. I just need to show up."

She looked at him for a long time. She said "You're crazy. You know that?"

He said "Maybe."

She said "I'm in. Let's go."

Across the city, Vane stood in his empty tavern. Dorry stood in front of him, shaking.

Dorry said "They found him, boss. Jek and Rill found him in that room."

Vane said "Good. Where is he?"

Dorry said "He got away, boss."

Vane stared at him.

Dorry said "He cut Jek badly. Real bad. Rill's knee is busted. They're both at the doc."

Vane said "He got away? Two of my best men and he got away?"

Dorry said "He's fast, boss. Real fast. And he had a knife. He knew what he was doing."

Vane grabbed a bottle off the bar and threw it against the wall. It shattered loud. Glass went everywhere.

He said "Find him. Find him now. I don't care what it takes."

Dorry ran out.

Vane stood there breathing hard. His hands were shaking. He looked at them. Didn't know why they wouldn't stop.

Alden sat in his study. The list was in front of him on the desk. Ten merchants. Ten names. All pulled out in the last week.

He read them again. Names he'd known for years. Men who owed him favors. Men who'd smiled at his parties and called him friend.

Now they were gone.

His tea was cold again. He didn't notice.

A knock on the door. Pearce stepped in.

Pearce said "My lord, there's something you need to see."

Alden said "What is it?"

Pearce held out a paper. A message. Short.

The Greyman sends his regards.

Alden read it. His face didn't change at all.

He said "Where did this come from?"

Pearce said "Tucked under the front door. No one saw who left it. The guards checked."

Alden sat there. The paper in his hand.

He said "Leave me."

Pearce left quickly.

Alden looked at the words. The Greyman. The name from the streets. The ghost that haunted Vane's men. The shadow that left papers on Crest's desk.

Now he was here. In Alden's own house.

He looked at the door. Locked.

He looked at the windows. Closed.

He sat there in the quiet. Listening.

Nothing.

But he knew. Someone was coming for him.

Crest sat in her office in the dark. The fire had burned out hours ago. The ashes were cold in the grate.

She hadn't moved since morning. Her clerks knocked. She sent them away. Her cases waited. She didn't care about any of it.

Eli's words kept coming back in her head:

Didn't do it.

Hungry.

So tired.

She pressed her hands against her eyes hard. She tried to push the words out.

They stayed.

She thought about her son. Thomas. Seven years old. Dead so long ago she could barely remember his face.

She thought about Eli. Seventeen. Same eyes. Same age. Same nothing.

She said to the empty room "I didn't know. I didn't know about him."

The room didn't answer.

She said "He was just a case. Just a file on my desk."

Nothing.

She sat there in the dark alone.

Kaelen and Rook moved through the night. The streets were empty. The city was quiet. No one saw them.

They stopped outside the first bank. Merchant's Trust. Silver Street.

Rook said "How do we do this?"

Kaelen said "We don't steal anything. We just scare them."

She said "Scare who?"

He said "The manager. Pellum. He's got a gambling problem. Vane owns him because of it."

She said "What's the plan?"

He said "You wait here. I go in alone."

She said "Alone? With your arm like that?"

He said "Yes."

She said "You can barely hold a knife."

He said "Don't need a knife for this."

He walked toward the bank.

He found Pellum in a back office late at night catching up on work. Or hiding from the people he owed money to.

Kaelen slipped in through a window. Quiet. Fast.

Pellum looked up. His face went white.

He said "Who are you? Guards! Guards!"

Kaelen said "No guards."

Pellum opened his mouth to yell again.

Kaelen reached for the echo in his pocket. Eli's paper. Still warm.

He pushed.

The room got cold fast. The lamps flickered.

Pellum froze.

A whisper came from nowhere. "Didn't do it."

Pellum said "What was that?"

Another whisper. "Hungry."

Pellum stumbled back from his desk. His chair fell over.

Kaelen said "Vane's accounts. Show me where they are."

Pellum said "I can't. He'll kill me."

Another whisper. "So tired."

Pellum cried out. He said "Please. Make it stop."

Kaelen said "Show me the accounts."

Pellum pointed at a cabinet against the wall. His hand was shaking badly.

Kaelen opened it. Found the ledgers. Found Vane's name. Found the account numbers.

He memorized them. Then he turned to Pellum.

He said "If you tell Vane I was here, I'll come back. And next time the ghost stays with you."

Pellum nodded. Tears running down his face.

Kaelen left the same way he came.

Rook was waiting. She said "Did it work?"

He said "Yes."

She said "What now?"

He said "Two more banks. Tonight."

She said "You can't do three in one night. You're about to fall over."

He said "Watch me."

They moved into the dark.

The second bank was easier. The manager was scared before Kaelen even started talking. One whisper and he gave up everything.

The third bank was harder. The manager was loyal. Had to work for it. Use more of Eli. More of the echo.

By the time they finished, Kaelen could barely stand. His arm throbbed. His head pounded. His vision blurred at the edges.

Rook held him up.

She said "You're done. You have to stop now."

He said "Got what we needed."

She said "Was it worth it? Almost dying?"

He looked at her. His face was pale. Blood on his sleeve.

He said "Vane's money is frozen now. He can't pay his men. They'll leave faster."

She said "And you? What about you?"

He said "I'll live."

She said "Barely."

They walked slow into the night. No room to go back to. No safe place left.

Just the dark and the cold and the next step.

Rook said "Where do we go now?"

Kaelen looked up at the sky. Grey clouds. No stars.

He said "Elara's place. The Lamplighter. Only choice left."

She said "You trust her?"

He said "No. But she owes me now. We'll see."

They kept walking.

Behind them, the city slept. But three people weren't sleeping.

Vane, drinking alone in his empty tavern.

Alden, staring at a note in his study.

Crest, sitting in the dark with a dead boy's words in her head.

They were all waiting.

And somewhere in the night, the Greyman was still moving.