“So you lived near the forest?” she asked. “Is the rest of your family still there?”
“My father, mother, and my younger sister are. My two older brothers are road patrol knights, so they don’t spend much time at home. They monitor the forest roads far from the city, mostly trade routes. Perhaps it’s because we live where we do, but my family’s always been drawn to the road patrols. We like being away from civilization.”
It was strange to think that Tristam had a family. Obviously, he hadn’t sprung up fully grown just to capture and interrogate her, but still, the idea of him belonging somewhere, of having people he cared about and who cared about him, was intriguing.
“Why are you not there with your family?”
“I thought I would join them. But everything changed when Jack—” He stopped. “There’s still some time before sundown. We should get some rest so we can both stay up the night. Why don’t I take first watch? It’s been a long day, and you’re still healing.”
Kyra pretended not to notice the abrupt change in topic. “Aren’t you worried I’ll murder you in your sleep?”
It was just an offhand comment, but he looked at her thoughtfully. “I’ve seen your reaction to death,” he said. “You won’t kill me.”
“I’m touched.” But as Kyra looked for a place to lay her blanket, she couldn’t deny her relief at his vote of confidence, however backhanded it was.
They were running. Or rather, the man carrying her was running and she was looking over his shoulder as leaves and branches flew by. There was growling and snapping of teeth in every direction. The man stumbled. Kyra screamed, but he caught himself—and her—before they tumbled to the ground. He set her down and bent over double, head down, his weatherworn face creased even further with exhaustion. Around them, the growls grew louder, frightening and familiar at the same time.
A crash of branches close by, and the man picked her up again. Sharp twigs scratched her face and hands. He set her down and took out a jar filled with something black and foul-smelling. She cried when he smeared it on her face and hands, then on her arms and the rest of her body.
“Stay still. Don’t make any noise.”
She choked down her sobs. The man took one last look at her. “Be brave,” he said, and left. She was alone, and the growls were coming closer.
Kyra woke up screaming. Branches swayed above her, mixing with the stuff of her dreams and sending her into a greater panic. She was on her feet shaking off her blanket, when she glimpsed Tristam staring at her a few paces away. Slowly, her wits returned and she stood like a cornered deer until her breathing slowed.
“Nightmare?” he asked.
She nodded, not quite trusting herself to speak.
“Sit down. You’re shaking.” Tristam came toward her slowly, as if afraid she would bolt. He took her blanket and wrapped it around her like a cloak. The weight of his hands on her shoulders was comforting, and she was almost reluctant to pull away, but she grasped the blanket and settled back down.
She’d had the dream before, but never so clearly. “I think I’ve been in a forest before.”
“You dreamed about it?”
“It was very clear.”
He sat down on a fallen log, still watching her as if he expected her to panic again. “I gather that Flick and Bella are not your real family.”
She shook her head. “In my earliest memories, I’m alone on the streets. Flick and Bella didn’t find me until later.”
There was a familiar flash of sympathy in his eyes, and she waved it away. “Don’t pity me. I was luckier than most of the gutter rats. And Bella and Flick were as good as any family once I found them.”
“They do seem to care about you.”
Kyra pulled her blanket tighter, as if by doing so she could pull her memories close. “Bella’s son died before I met her. I think she needed someone else to mother.” Now Kyra was dead too, as far as Bella knew. One more heartache to add to Bella’s long list. She pushed the thought aside. “Flick and I also bickered a lot. We still do. But he never took my coin or my food, though many times we needed for both. At least until I learned to earn my own coin.”
Kyra stopped when she remembered how she’d earned more money and that she was talking to a Palace knight. She braced herself, waiting for him to call her a lawless thief. She’d had no choice in the matter, she thought fiercely. If he’d been starving, he’d have done the same.
To her surprise, he gave a gentle chuckle. “You think I’m going to say something about you being a thief.”
“You didn’t mince words about me before.”
“I was angry.” He paused. “It was unfair of me.”
Kyra didn’t know what to say to that.
He leaned forward, looking first at his hands in front of him, and then raising his eyes to hers. “Do you ever wish you knew more about your real family?”
She searched him for any sign of mockery, but he seemed sincere. “What gutter rat doesn’t? I was jealous of the serving girls. They were always gossiping—this one grousing about having her mother’s hips, the other about her father’s complexion. I thought they were so lucky just to know how tall they’d be, how they’d turn out.” She smiled wistfully. “I would have liked some warning that I would be so small.”
Tristam had a way of listening that made her feel like he really took in what she said. She’d resented it in the interrogation room, but out here, it was kind of nice.
“I suppose there is some comfort in having a path set out for you,” he said. “Some younger sons resent having siblings to live up to, but my brothers were good to me. I respected them and learned a good deal.” He caught her eye. “Of course, things are different now that I’ve decided not to follow in their footsteps.”
Kyra remembered what he’d said earlier about joining the road patrols, and how abruptly he’d changed the topic. She bit her lip, gauging his receptiveness. “Who’s Jack?”
Tristam’s shoulders stiffened, and he made a visible effort to relax again. “I suppose there’s no reason to keep it secret,” he said. “Jack was a friend. We came to the Palace the same year and trained together almost up until I became a knight.”
“Was?”
“He was killed in the first Demon Rider raid. I joined the city’s defense to avenge his death. I thought it would be a simple thing, but it grew more and more complicated. The Demon Riders evaded us despite our best efforts. There were people working against us, leaking our secrets to the barbarians. I hated them and vowed to capture those responsible, but even that was not what I expected.” Tristam paused. “Sometimes, when you look more closely at your enemies, they start looking less like enemies.”
Kyra realized with a jolt that he was talking about her. Tristam was still lost in his own thoughts.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” he said. “Though I’m not quite sure how to say it.”
“Tristam, you’ve been interrogating me for weeks. And now you can’t ask a question?”
There was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes before his expression turned serious again. “When you watched the rent collection, you saw me there?”
She nodded. “You stood right by the wagon, commanding the Red Shields.”
“And when the Demon Riders attacked Forge, did you recognize me when you saw me on the streets?”
When Kyra nodded again, he fell silent, as if he were turning words around in his head. “You didn’t have to throw that rock,” he finally said. “It nearly got you killed.”
Again, she worried he was mocking her, but the only thing she saw in his eyes was curiosity and a desire to understand.
“I did hesitate,” she said. “But I guess there wasn’t much time for thinking.”
“I’m grateful,” he said, “for what you did.”
The night passed without any sign of the Demon Riders. As the sky began to lighten, Kyra refilled their water bottles at a nearby river. The spray was cold in the morning air, and Kyra
took a few moments to stretch her stiff limbs. Tristam was rearranging their packs when she came back with two full water skins.
“Here,” she said, laying them down behind Tristam.
He jumped at her voice. “How did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Come up behind me so quietly. I’d be on latrine duty for a month if my commander had seen you sneak up on me like that.”
Kyra shrugged. “I’ve been practicing.”
Tristam shook his head. “Do it again. Just walk to that tree over there.”
She humored him, strolling to the tree he had pointed out and noting with satisfaction that her footsteps were almost completely quiet, though she could hear the occasional rustle. When she came back, he was shaking his head, staring at her as if she’d grown an extra arm.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I spent an entire childhood in the forest and still make more noise than you do after a day of practice.”
“Maybe you need to lose some weight.” Kyra walked back and tapped gently on his well-muscled stomach. She smiled impudently up at him, and there was a glint of grudging amusement in Tristam’s eyes as he took her hand to pull it away. He was just a second slow to let go of her. It was barely noticeable, but long enough for Kyra to go still, and to understand that their conversation last night had cracked the walls between them. It would not take much to bring them down completely.
They stepped away from each other at the same time.
“Should we break camp?” she asked. She touched the spot on her palm where his fingers had been, but let go when his eyes flickered to the movement.
Tristam let out a slow breath. “Let’s move to a different place tonight.”
They did a respectable job of pretending nothing had happened. The two of them kept a careful distance between them as they traveled, and when they spoke, it was about the trail and their mission. Kyra spent the silent periods between conversations calling herself choice names. She knew better, after James, than to make eyes at any man who held a knife over her. She’d seen enough of life to know how dangerous a nobleman could be to any city girl, much less a prisoner of the Palace.
They spoke little as they hiked, and eventually, Tristam picked a spot for their second shelter. Kyra busied herself with gathering leaves and branches, but when it came time to enter the shelter, she was reluctant to go in. She told herself it was because she was tired of cramped spaces, and not because she felt self-conscious to be in such close quarters with Tristam. She looked around. It was late summer, and the trees were lush with leaves.
“The shelter’s too cramped. I’m spending the night up there.” She pointed to a particularly dense tree.
She could tell from the look in Tristam’s eyes that he knew the real reason she didn’t want to stay close. He slowly nodded his acquiescence. “Give it a try.”
Climbing always cleared her mind, and this tree was a joy to climb. Smooth bark, well-spaced branches. It might as well have been a ladder created for her benefit. She went up a good distance and settled herself into a fork.
“Can you see me?” she shouted.
“Are you sure you’re not spawned from squirrels?”
“So you can’t?”
“You’ll be fine. Just don’t fall down.”
From the treetop, the forest looked quite different. There was much more sky and more sun, but it was actually harder to see to the front and sides because leaves blocked her view. Kyra wondered if she’d be able to see Forge if she climbed higher.
Soon the sun waned, and cricket chirps replaced birdsong. Kyra found herself tiring more quickly than she’d expected. It was still early compared with what she was used to, but she was feeling the lingering effects of the poison. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she considered tying herself into the tree.
She was awakened by the brushing of leaves across her face, first one by one, then clumps at a time as she tipped off her branch. Kyra grabbed at leaves as her eyes snapped open, sending a few handfuls to the ground before her hands closed on solid wood. She hung there for a moment, palms raw, and squinted down toward Tristam’s shelter. She couldn’t see if he had noticed or if he was even awake.
That had been a bit too close. Slowly, Kyra pulled herself back up and added sleeping in trees to the list of things she wouldn’t do again. She waited for the crickets to resume their chirping, but they didn’t. There was a rustling to her right, perhaps ten trees away, but she couldn’t get a clear view.
Kyra climbed down, lowering herself from branch to branch until her feet touched dirt. From behind the bushes, Tristam looked at her questioningly. She caught his eye but didn’t try to explain. Better to be quiet. From the ground, she couldn’t see as well, but she could still detect the rustling in the distance—a shifting of leaves that went against the wind.
She left Tristam at the base of the tree and ran toward the movement. Somehow, the forest felt safer at night. The cool air invigorated her, and whatever dangers she feared earlier seemed less threatening with the darkness to keep her safe. As she came closer, Kyra slowed and ducked behind some trees, her breathing loud in her ears as shapes resolved in front of her. There was a line of shadows hiking through the trees. They had long hair and were clad in strange wraparound tunics. The Demon Riders walked silently in single file, gracefully stepping over roots and ducking under branches. Kyra couldn’t see all of them from where she was, but there must have been at least a hundred.
A crash of foliage above Kyra made her jump. Nearby, a tree bent and swayed under an invisible weight as leaves rustled and rained down. Against the moonlight, Kyra saw a shadow: a long tail, curling and straightening in the branches.
Kyra dove back behind the tree, heart pounding wildly. Had the beast seen her? She kept absolutely still, too terrified to move. But there was no roar or shout. Kyra reminded herself to breathe and risked another look.
Now that she noticed one demon cat, she saw others. Four cats total, leaping from tree to tree in the same direction as their riders. The entire group was traveling somewhere. She trailed them, staying well behind the group and timing her movements so they were masked by the cats’ tree landings.
Kyra grew more and more alarmed as she followed them. The Demon Riders were headed toward Forge. She trailed them a little longer, hoping they would turn, but their path didn’t waver. If they really were going to the city, she needed to find Tristam. Making one last note of where they were, Kyra retraced her steps. She burst through the trees to find Tristam pacing the ground in front of his hiding place.
“They’re on the move,” she said without preamble.
“The Demon Riders?”
“They’re going to Forge. We have to get back.”
She could see his dark eyes moving as he absorbed her words. He gave a curt nod. “Let’s go.”
She dashed back in the direction from which he’d come, but she soon realized Tristam wasn’t used to running in the dark. Several times, Kyra rushed ahead, only to have to wait as Tristam caught up. Even at that pace, he was coming dangerously close to twisting an ankle. Thankfully, the demon cats left so many fallen branches in their wake that even Kyra could follow their trail.
The tracks continued to lead straight toward Forge. After a while, Kyra and Tristam ditched the trails for the main road. Kyra breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the guardhouse and hitched Lady back up to the cart.
Finally, the trees gave way to farmland. In the red glow of dawn, she could see the outlines of Forge. But it was too early for sunrise. Tristam had noticed the glow as well, and he reined Lady in. Kyra hopped out to get a better look.
“No,” Tristam whispered.
Kyra’s skin prickled as she realized his meaning. “Are you sure?” she asked.
Tristam’s eyes remained fixed on the horizon. His hands clenched the reins in a death grip. In the distance, the red flickered and grew as the first plumes of smoke rolled into the sky.
T W E N T Y - S I X
> The city streets were dark. So dark that the flames in the distance didn’t make sense. Kyra could almost pretend that it was a mistake, but as they rode farther in, past quiet houses and darkened storefronts, they heard screams and smelled smoke. They began to see people. First a few, and then more and more ran toward them, fleeing the inner city. Soon, the roads were too clogged for the cart, and they continued on foot, working their way upstream. With so many people around, Kyra couldn’t see anything beyond what was right in front of her. All she could do was follow blindly in Tristam’s wake, dodge the onslaught of people, and hope the tall knight had a better view.
Tristam turned and grabbed Kyra by the shoulders. “The fire’s in the southwest district,” he shouted.
Kyra stared at him in horror. “The Drunken Dog!”
The smoke grew thicker as they ran, burning Kyra’s eyes and coating her throat. She almost crashed into a soot-covered man supporting a hobbling woman. Nearby, a young girl stopped and doubled over, coughing uncontrollably. Palace soldiers appeared in the mix, shouting as they attempted to control a crowd that only half saw them. Kyra desperately scanned faces as she ran but recognized no one.
Kyra heard a roar behind her and spun around. A demon cat backed a terrified woman and child against a wall. The cat crouched low, tail waving in the air. A guard jumped in front of them, spear ready. The cat slashed at the guard, and he jumped aside just in time. Tristam put a hand to his sword. Kyra stopped as well, torn between helping him and finding her family. Tristam looked at her, and she knew that he’d read her thoughts, just as she knew he was trying to decide if he could trust her in the city alone. For a split second, he hesitated.
“Go check on the inn,” he said, turning his eyes to the creature. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
He drew his blade and shouted a challenge. The demon cat coiled around to engage him. As Tristam and the guard faced the animal, Kyra forced herself to turn away. With no weapons, she was no help to them, and she needed to get home.
Without Tristam to clear a path for her, the crowds paid Kyra no heed. She fought her way through, collecting bruises and bumps as she jostled her way upstream toward the fire. One man barreled straight into her. He would have knocked her off her feet if she hadn’t fallen into another man, who swore at her to watch where she was going. Kyra pushed on, consumed by her need to get home. Maybe it was just a coincidence that The Drunken Dog was at the heart of the fire. Maybe.
Midnight Thief Page 18
