A Thieve's Life (Jin's Saga)

Deadman Walking Named Joseph

Author's Note: I got nothing to say really... Just shocked about Joseph being alive. Didn't see that coming and I'M the one whose writing this! :S

 Chapter 11

"Oh come on, now, Jin. Is that any way to treat an old friend?" Joseph Frey asked, with a subtle threat in his eyes.

I shut my mouth with a snap, and watched him with my wide eyes as I sank to knees in utter disbelief.

"Didn't you miss me?" He asked casually, sitting in a comfy-looking chair.

"You ... I killed you! You can't be here! You're dead!" I screamed, shuffling backwards until my head hit the hard wooden door behind me.

Alen was stirring, lying on the floor with his hands bound and blindfolded. Elesis spun looked around blindly and someone had stuck a gag in her mouth so she tried in vain to say something.

"Well, obviously I'm not," He said in his annoying sarcastic manner.

I looked at the Breton, not sure what to think.

"No, no, you're dead. I saw you die!"

Joseph lounged in his chair as if it was a throne, and he looked down at me with a bored expression.

"Did you really think you could kill me after possessing the Skeleton Key for so long? That little bit of Daedric magic was more than an unbreakable lock pick. It contained such a power that not even my great grandfather knew existed! I unlocked some of its potential, which included the power to stave off death," Mercer said simply, looking at me as thought I was dense.

"You ... you can never die?" I asked, my heart sinking.

"Only when I wielded it could I keep away death and you rudely took it off me while I was temporarily dead," He glowered at me, and I flinched under his harsh gaze.

Suddenly, he smiled again.

"How's the guild doing? I assume you're Guildmaster by now," He continued, looking oddly interested.

I frowned as anger surging through me as I thought about the guild.

"No, not anymore," I said quietly, and Joseph's curiosity peaked as he leaned forward.

"Really? Why not? I was certain that Ron would make you the head," He said thoughtfully.

I couldn't believe I was having a rational conversation with a man whom I had thought dead five minutes ago, but I felt myself almost wanting to tell someone about what had happened with the Guild.

"He did  ... and then kicked me out last week," I mumbled, and Joseph laughed loudly.

"He kicked you out of the guild? Yusoga's little protégé? What in Nocturnal's name did you?" He asked in surprise, wiping a tear of mirth away.

"Nothing," I sniffed, and his eyes widened as something dawned on him.

"You were kicked out because of me, weren't you?"

"Yes! If you hadn't started this little band of thieves then Skyrim wouldn't be slowly going poor, and the High King would never have ordered me to sort out this mess, just as Ron did!" I fumed, much to his amusement.

"Let me guess, Ron threw you out of the Guild because he found out you were working for the Stormcloak family? I bet he thought you were a traitor," Joseph guessed accurately, and I frowned.

"How did you know?" I inquired suspiciously, and a part of me was marveling about how easy it was to sit and chat with a past enemy, let alone one I'd killed.