A Jewel Among Thieves

Chapter 4: The Second Point

The silence stretched between them for a while longer before Safia decided to break it. It certainly wasn't doing her any good, and she only had so much time. "So," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "What made you decide to be private security instead of a guard like your brother?"

Rezo raised his eyebrows. "Let me guess, this is a ploy to get me to ask you how you became a thief so you can feed me some sob story then segue into why I should let you out. I'm not falling for your tricks."

Safia was glad her invisibility hid the faint flush she could feel heating her cheeks. Still, any information she could get out of him could be useful, so she snorted. "My story's nothing special, and not worth going into detail over. I am interested in how a man like you can exist without even a whisper among my kind. So I wondered how you'd found yourself in this line of work. If you don't want to tell me, then that's fine."

"Hmmm." The way Rezo continued to study her, or rather her shadow, with narrowed eyes made Safia think he'd seen through her feigned disinterest. But then he was speaking again. "I've never had the right...temperament to be a guard. I enjoy my freedom and not being bound by the kinds of regulations that a guard has to follow carefully."

Safia hoped the irony of him liking his freedom while keeping her locked up wasn't lost on him. Still, his words had the ring of truth to them. She wondered what part of his temperament wasn't suited and chose to prod Rezo a bit more so she could get a better sense of him. "And your brother already being a guard had nothing to do with it? You weren't worried about being stuck in his shadow? You've already said he's better than you."

But Rezo only laughed. "If you only knew why that's so funny," he said, still chuckling. "But no, I've never been worried about being in Kasen's shadow. He was born to be a guard. And I was born to be me."

The faintly mocking grin he wore had Safia gritting her teeth. Every move she tried he seemed to counter or sidestep. He was entirely too smart, and he might call her slippery, but he was far more so. Like an eel, the huge kind she'd heard lived deep under the water and could take a chunk out of you. He had that kind of predatory air about him.

"Let me guess, you were born to be a thief then? That it's just where your skills happen to lie?"

Safia glowered in Rezo's direction, but did her best to keep her annoyance out of her voice. "No, I grew up poor and the thieves I saw seemed to have better lives than we did. So I decided to become one. Simple as that." She left out the part about her father. She didn't want Rezo to know that much about her, not to mention he'd probably think it was a lie she was using to try to make him feel bad for her and let her out. Though if she'd thought it would work, Safia had no problems trotting that particular tale out. But only if she figured it had an actual chance of working. Otherwise there was no point in picking at old scars.

"You say it's simple, but it's not as if many thieves take apprentices, especially not Cats. Maybe if you were a Monkey, it'd make more sense. But most thieves don't like competition. And to get so far as to be the level of professional you are without being born into it, I'm even more impressed."

There it was again. Rezo knowing far more about thieves than he should, even for someone familiar with the guards. The guards themselves didn't know that much about thieves and how her kind interacted with one another. "You're too good to have failed at being a thief, so how do you know so much about us?"

As soon as the words left her lips, Safia wished she could shove them back into her mouth. She could have probed more carefully, not let him know what she'd figured out, until she used it against him so she could get out. But instead, she'd let her mouth run away and ruined that chance. She cursed herself.

A shadow flickered across Rezo's face then his grin was back. "I catch thieves, that's my job. Did you think I got so good without studying your kind? Don't you know quite a bit about guards for the same reason? Or you should, given you're a professional."

This time Safia wasn't about to just let his lie stand. "You know more than you can possibly know from just studying us or talking to people. You've somehow been involved with thieves in the past, and not just trying to catch us. You've lived among thieves before, haven't you?"

Dark eyes hardened as they stared in her direction. "You're a clever kitten," Rezo said, all trace of his smile gone. "Far too clever. If I didn't have you caged, I'd be more concerned. I should have known given you're the most professional Cat I've ever picked up that I'd have to watch my step with you, even if you are locked up."

Safia swallowed a wince. She'd pushed the wrong way and now his back was up. He was viewing her as a threat again, not someone amusing. Repairing this was going to take time, finesse, and her keeping a tight rein on her mouth to curb its usual habit of running off. That was the reason she'd never been able to get a Monkey apprenticeship.

Straightening, she stared right at Rezo, not letting any of her internal anger at herself show. "You have my tools besides me being locked in. I don't see what you're afraid of. If I could have escaped, you know I would have."

Rezo folded his hands across his chest again as he stared in her general direction again. "You do raise a good point, but I think I'm going to have to be careful. You've already proven yourself to be as much a fish as you are a Cat. I..." He trailed off as his eyes went wide and a flush ran up his cheeks. He jerked his head away to stare at the ceiling, hands balling into fists. "Wha-what did you do?"

Safia looked down and saw the problem immediately. Her invisibility potion had worn off.