The Thief King

3 | The Pits

Kole descended the steps to the basement with half a heart to turn back. He was searching for words, ones that needed to be said, but the closer he came, the more certain he was that words were not going to be enough this night. There was also the matter of clandestineness to be considered. Although he trusted his crew members, he did not wish to air all his woes to his men. There was a threat against his self, and including anyone else would just be placing them in danger.

At the foot of the stairs, Kole straightened his back and frowned. The room was silent. Strange, since he had assumed they'd all be celebrating despite his lateness. Sleeping figures sprawled on palettes across the floor. He wondered just how late he truly was.

"I was starting to grow concerned," said Chase's voice. The man was scrutinising the log book at the desk Kole had bargained off a crook that considered himself a merchant. Chase looked up, seizing Kole in a stare meant to invoke guilt.

Kole opened his mouth to say something, but as he expected, the words were not there to support him. He pressed his lips together, walked to the desk, leaned over it, and pressed his knuckles onto its surface.

Chase leaned back. "What happened?"

Kole shook his head. His jaw ached from the continual clench he held. He had to tell Chase. His friend knew him too well for lies to work. "I was jumped." His voice was thick, the words clipped but coherent.

Chase's brow darkened into a scowl and his eyes swept over Kole, searching for signs of injury.

"Just a blow to the head." Kole waved away the concern, his head shaking slowly back and forth. "We... I... got bigger problems now."

"Was it Shogan? Did they follow you? I told you to take a tail—"

"It wasn't Shogan."

"Then who? No other thief in their right mind would jump you on your own turf. Unless those Hackley brothers got it in their mind they're good enough for something—"

"I don't know who it was." Kole sighed. Besides for his time with Sera, his head was still sore and his mind heavy. As soon as he had left her, the weight had returned. As bright a star as she was in his eternal night, she was only a star. She could only keep so much darkness at bay.

Chase stood up, walked round the desk and forced Kole to face him by the shoulder. "What happened Koltin?"

In as few words as possible Kole relayed the events and his task. Chase stood stoically, his jaw clenched at the part of Bay's death and he shook his head when Kole suggested the pits. Less in objection and more disgruntled acknowledgement that they would need to return there.

"Damn the gods to the sordid depths of this earth." Chase sighed. He rubbed furiously at his face as if to bring heat to his skin. "I swore I'd never return to that death hole and now we are not only returning, but we need something from it."

"You don't have to come." Kole folded his arms. "Look, its early enough, I can go on my own and you take care of Bay."

"You said you hid him in the canal?"

"It's the only thing I could think of."

Chase nodded. "We got four days to find this bastard. Let tonight not be wasted. We will see to Bay tomorrow. Right now, we have to move. Misty will get us in—"

"No! We're involving no one else."

"Ye canna say a death dealer's name an' expect her not to be hearing." A voice thick with sleep, yet soft enough to not cause them to jump, interjected. Misty stretched on her palette and sprung to her feet, as if she had just been resting. "What ye need?"