The Memory of Darkness (on hold until October)

25 - Delicate Matters

Lorcan stared in delight at the bag of coins in front of him. One hundred florins, all to himself. It wouldn't buy him a house with a vineyard on the shores of Lake Navaris, but it was a start. A light knock on the door of his room interrupted his thoughts. "Come in," he said, quickly stowing the bag under his bed.

The door was opened by a plump, dark haired boy, slightly older than him. Lorcan had seen the boy before but never spoken to him. Most of the people involved in the earlier prison escape had moved on before such a large gathering of people attracted too much attention. He was unsure of who the boy was, or why he had stayed but the plate of pie that he was carrying looked most interesting.

The newcomer coughed before speaking. "Would you like this? There wasn't much left, so I thought I'd best offer. It's apple."

"Thank you," said Lorcan. "That was good of you."

The boy stood staring at him intently. "I'm Gideon," he said after a while. "Gideon Sparrow. I'm thinking of changing it, my name."

Lorcan had heard far worse names and wasn't certain why it needed changing but chose to keep that to himself. "Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm-."

"I know who you are," said Gideon. "I don't think I'm supposed to know, but I do. Is it true?"

"Is what true?" asked Lorcan, full of innocence.

"What you did?" The older boy's eyes were wide.

"I don't know," said Lorcan. He thought that there was something oddly childlike about the newcomer, and he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"I've heard things," admitted the other boy. "I don't mean to, but sometimes I can't help it. You can raise the dead."

"True enough," said Lorcan.

"Alys said that there's something not right about you, and we'd be better off without you. Darien told her to shut up about that."

Lorcan shrugged. "I don't think I like Alys very much."

"She's a spiteful cow," agreed Gideon. "Her sister Runa's lovely. You wouldn't think they're related."

Lorcan felt his cheeks redden as he remembered the soothing warmth of Runa healing the wounds on his back. "Yes, she seems like a good sort."

"Your secret's safe enough," said Gideon. "I wouldn't worry too much, we look after each other here. Are you going to change your name? Even if people don't know what you did, being a sil Vaddrin might raise a few eyebrows."

"I might," said Lorcan, with a shrug.

Gideon gave him a nervous grin, finally handing over the plate of pie. "Few people go by their real names around here."

"For a gang of criminal mages, that's probably sensible," said Lorcan.

The older boy nodded. "Darien isn't his real name. I don't know what it is, but not Darien. The Tevlyn sisters might be who they say they are, but I'm not sure, and-," he paused. "I'm babbling. Sorry."

"Don't worry about-."

"I hear your first job went well," said Gideon, with an eager grin. "You just wished yourself into the vault, took the money, and wished yourself out again. That's handy, that is, being able to do that." His face fell. "I can't do anything useful like that."