The roof of the village gambit appeared at the end of the alley as I rounded the corner. It sat shrouded in the last of the morning mist, the sign that hung above the door reflecting the light.
I came up the steps, banging my fist on the window as the street behind me filled with carts on their way to the merchant’s house. When there was no answer, I peered through the grimy glass until the gambit appeared in the shadows. He hobbled toward the door, his eyes squinted against the light, and when he opened it, I pushed in.
“What the—” he grumbled.
I went straight for the cabinet in the back, sinking down onto my heels and looking inside. Rows of velvet-lined trays were stacked side by side, filled with silver chains and glittering baubles. But it wasn’t there.
“I traded you a gold ring for a jeweled dagger and a necklace the last time I was here.” I stood, going to the next case.
“Do you have any idea how many gold rings I have, girl?”
“This one was different. It had notches imprinted in the metal, all the way around.”
It wasn’t until I looked up that I realized the gambit was almost naked. His long shirt fell over his bare legs like a skirt. He huffed, making his way around the counter, and he pulled a black wooden box from another case. He dropped it on the counter before him and leaned into it, glaring at me.
I lifted the lid, and the light coming through the window fell on the shine of a hundred gold rings. Every size, some with stones, some without. I raked through them with my fingers until I saw it.
“There.” I held it up before me, turning it in the light. “How much?”
“Ten coppers if you get the hell out of here.”
I smirked, dropping the coins onto the counter. The bell chimed above me as I opened the door, and I went down the steps, pulling the leather string from where it was wound tightly around my hair. I slipped the ring onto it and tied it around my neck, clasping the jacket at the top.
The fog finally cleared as the sun peeked up over the first rooftops, and I looked out over a sun-soaked, shimmering Dern. So many memories crept through the alleyways, so many ghosts. I followed them back the way I’d come, and when I passed the tavern, Saint’s table was empty, the two teacups left sitting alone.
The bell for the merchant’s house rang out, and I cut through a side street to the docks, not wanting to see any merchants or traders from the day before. If we wanted to outrun the talk that had probably already started, we needed to get on the water. By now, the crew would be readying the ship, waiting to shove off.
“A real shame.”
A voice came from the opening of the next alley, and I stopped, staring at the shadow that crept over the cobblestones before me. It stretched and grew as Zola stepped out from behind a whitewashed brick wall, his black coat pulling around him in the wind.
“It’s a real shame to see you waste your time with the likes of that crew, Fable.”
My hand slid around my back for the knife at my belt. I’d never told him my name. “How do you know who I am?”
He laughed, his head tilting to the side so that he could see me beneath the rim of his hat. “You look just like her.”
My heartbeat skipped, a sinking feeling making me feel off-balance. “And just like your mother, you’ve made some really stupid choices.” Three men stepped out of the alley behind him.
I looked over my shoulder, to the empty street that led back to the gambit shop. There wasn’t a soul to see whatever Zola had planned, and it wasn’t likely I’d come out the other side of it.
I stepped backward, the trembling in my hands making the knife shake. I wouldn’t be able to make it past all four of them, but if I went backward, I’d
have farther to run before I reached the docks.
There was no time to think. I turned, pivoting on my heel and launching myself forward to run with the knife at my side. My boots hit the wet stone and the sound multiplied as the men took off after me.
I looked back to where Zola still stood, his coat blowing in the wind, and slammed into something hard as I turned, the air leaving my lungs. The knife flew from my grasp as I fell forward and arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders.
“Let go of me!” I screamed, shoving into the man who had me, but he was too strong. “Get off!”
I reared my foot back and brought my knee up in a snap, driving it between his legs and he fell forward, a choking sound strangling in his throat. We tumbled backward, and my head hit the wet cobblestones, making the sky above me explode with light.
My hand reached for my boot, sliding West’s knife free, and as another man came over me, I swung it out, grazing his forearm. He looked at the blood seeping beneath his sleeve before he reached down, taking my jacket into his hands and the third man wrenched the knife from my grip.
When I looked up again, his fist was in the air, and it came down with a crack across my face. Blood filled my mouth and I tried to scream, but before I could, he hit me again. The light swayed overhead, the black creeping in, and with another, it flickered out.
