by Philip Blood
She smiled wanly, “Will you, Aerin? If I told you the terrible things I have done to those others in life who have loved me, would you still care? Would you still be my friend?”
“Yes, there is no doubt in me,” Aerin replied.
Mara hugged him to her.
“I would die for you, Mara,” Aerin told her sincerely.
She stiffened as if a blade had been thrust through her. “Don’t say that to me, Aerin, don’t ever say those words lest you be caught and destroyed. Promise me, you will never say that to me again!” she grabbed him forcefully by the shoulders and looked into his eyes to measure the sincerity of his response.
“All right, Mara, if it is that important to you. I just wanted you to know how much I cared.”
She pulled him into a tight embrace and he felt her shaking with tears, “I know, boy, I know.”
The night of the Freedom day celebration, Aerin pushed his way through the crowd on his way to meet with Dono. People were thick in the streets wearing their costumes and masks. Tonight was the night Dono thought Lor might attempt to break into the Merchant Master’s Villa.
Aerin finally arrived at the corner outside the abandoned building, where the day before Dono had followed Lor to his stash of burglary tools. They figured Lor would have to come here before the night crawl started.
Dono was nowhere in sight, so Aerin stepped into the shadow of an alley to wait. The dark tight fitting clothing he wore made him part of the shadows.
Aerin felt a stab of guilt as he realized it was his friend Lor who had taught him how to move about the city unseen. He reassured himself with the thought that he was here to stop Lor from making a big mistake.
Across the street and up the block, Lor stepped out of the building doorway. He also wore dark clothing and carried a dark bag over his shoulder containing tools.
“Where are you, Dono?” Aerin whispered under his breath. It took all of Aerin’s training to hold still in the shadows when Lor looked his direction. Lor had once explained to Aerin that at night it was movement which caught the eye, not shape.
As Lor headed for the nearby alley to climb to the High Road, Aerin took one last desperate look for Dono, but the red-headed boy was nowhere in sight. With a heavy sigh, Aerin started up the nearby drainpipe, climbing alone into the night to follow his friend. He still didn’t know how he was going to stop Lor, but he knew he had to do something.
Aerin thought of various wild plans, as he followed his friend across the rooftops. He would tackle Lor at a convenient spot and beat the insanity out of him. Or, he would catch up and then threaten to call the Guardsmen on Lor if he entered the Merchant Master’s Villa. The problem with these, and other plans, was obvious to Aerin, Lor would just rob the merchant on a different night, being careful to make sure no one was following him next time.
Before long Lor reached the merchant quarter, and quick as thought, he descended halfway down a building and then leaped onto the top of the guard wall that surrounded the Merchant Master’s Villa. Aerin took considerably more time navigating down the building and reaching the wall. By the time he was on top of the wall he feared he might have lost too much ground, he couldn’t even see which way Lor had gone.
Aerin leaned down to study the top of the wall in the dim moonlight, looking for scuffs in the moss to help him see which direction Lor had traveled. He heard the snap of a small branch and instantly fell forward onto his hands. He lowered himself quietly onto his stomach along the top of the wall so as to present the least visual target. A strange sound of bushes rustling and water dripping started nearby.
Slowly, so that he barely seemed to move at all, Aerin rotated his head so he could look toward the sound. A guard on patrol inside the merchant’s grounds stood a few feet away relieving himself on a bush. A few moments later he was finished and moved away back toward the path where he did his rounds. Aerin finally breathed again. From his nose-to-stone position, he noted a scuff mark and knew which direction his friend had gone.
As Aerin moved along the top of the wall he soon came closer to the actual main building of the Villa. He slowed while listening and watching for signs of guards. Just as he was nearing a large tree, whose branches spanned all the way from the wall to the main building, Aerin noticed movement on the roof of the three-story mansion. He froze in position on the wall.
High above he saw Lor lower himself from the overhanging eve of the roof. Lor held onto the rain gutter until he hung by his hands, dangling above the long drop. Lor swung around so that he now faced out from the building. Next, he bent at the waist and brought his legs up until the tops of his feet hooked over the top of the rain gutter. Aerin’s heart leaped into his throat as he saw his friend’s hands release their hold so that he was hanging from the high rooftop held only by the tops of his feet.
Lor extracted a thin metal tool and then, hanging from his bat-like perch, inserted it between the shutters of the closed window in front of him and tripped the latch. As precarious as his hanging position seemed, Aerin was amazed to see Lor remove an oil can and take the time to drip oil into the hinges of the shutters before slowing pulling them open. With a graceful swing, Lor transferred his weight off his feet and onto his hands, where they were placed on top of the two open shutters. He swung himself down off the roof and into the room below. Just after he was clear, a guard sauntered around the corner of the building and walked slowly across the stone patio below the open window.
Aerin waited for the guard to move out of sight around the corner of the Villa, before climbing onto the thick tree branch that stretched over the wall. Once up he stood and followed it to the main trunk, then picked a good branch and climbed up until he was slightly above the roof of the main building. He dropped to the roof, with a small thump, and then paused to listen in case anyone had heard him and given the alarm, but all seemed quiet.
He felt his heart pounding, like a smith's hammer, when he hung down from the rain gutter at the window Lor had left open. He couldn't talk himself into hanging by his feet, as Lor had done, so he tried to catch the top edge of a shutter with his foot. Attempting to put his weight onto the shutter caused it to move, and he lost it again. With his hands starting to sweat, Aerin decided he was going to have to do something quick. He started his body swinging with the thought that he would just let loose and swing into the room below. He swung twice, to make sure he had enough velocity to carry him in through the opening, then let loose. He hadn’t counted on his body continuing to rotate, and so he found that he was flying into the dark room below with his feet coming up into the air. He tried to twist, like a cat, to keep himself from landing on the windowsill and breaking his back but found himself only halfway around when he struck. There was a moment of pain and panic, as he tried to keep himself from falling out the opening, but he lost the battle and started to pitch headfirst out the window.
A hand grabbed the top of his trousers from behind and stopped his progress, nearly yanking his pants off his body.
A moment later, he was hauled into the room and found himself on his back, the wind knocked out of him from the impact on the windowsill. Lor’s frown etched face looked down into Aerin’s.
“What are you doing?” Lor hissed in a quiet, yet forceful voice.
Aerin opened his mouth, but he still didn’t have any breath to fuel his voice, so his lips moved without sound.
“What’s wrong with you?” Lor demanded.
Aerin finally gasped in a breath, as air returned to his empty lungs.
“I landed on the windowsill,” he explained in a gasp.
Lor’s frown deepened, and he hissed, “I know that now keep it down, or the guards will be all over us! I asked what you think you are doing following me!”
Aerin rubbed at his sore side, and answered in a quieter voice, “You asked what I was doing and if I was all right.”
“Yes, and if you don’t hurry up and tell me, I’m going to pitch you back out that window!”
“I�
�m following you.”
“Did you strike your head? I figured that out, now tell me why?”
“You’re here to rob the Merchant Master, I came to stop you,” Aerin finally said, blurting it out.
Lor was speechless for a moment, and then he released Aerin’s shirt and stood up.
Aerin got to his feet.
Then Lor turned on him, poking a finger into his chest, as he whispered, “You listen to me close, what I do is my own business. I’m your friend, Aerin, but that doesn’t mean I have to explain myself to you. Now get back out that window and leave me to my business.”
Aerin took a deep breath and steadied his resolve. “I can’t do that.”
“By the Dreadmaster, you CAN! Do you know what they do to thieves if they get caught? They brand them… or worse. Now get out of here before you get me caught and they think you are part of it!”
“I’m not climbing back out that window for two reasons,” Aerin replied. “First of all, I am not going to let you do this, and second, I don’t think I could make it to the roof anyway,” he added in a rueful voice, trying to break the tension between them.
Lor looked at him in disgust for a moment, but his features finally softened. “You probably would fall, though I doubt you could break anything in that bonehead of yours. Fine, I’ll get you out on the ground floor. Follow me, and for Ragol’s sake, keep quiet!”
Aerin crossed his arms and didn’t make a move to follow Lor.
Lor stopped, frowned and came back to whisper range. “What are you waiting for, the return of the King? Come on!”
Aerin shook his head, “I’m not leaving without you.”
Lor threw his hands in the air and actually stomped around in a circle.
Aerin noted that it is hard to stomp without making any sounds, but Lor managed somehow.
“YES, you ARE!” he exclaimed, actually breaking his whisper for a moment, before realizing the volume of his voice.
Aerin spoke in a simple whisper, “No, I’m not.”
Lor grabbed Aerin by his tunic and tried to pull him along, but Aerin used one of the arm sweeps they had been taught in hand-to-hand combat and knocked Lor’s hand free.
Lor scowled so deeply his eyes nearly shut. “What are you going to do now, fight me in the Merchant Master’s bedroom?”
“If I have to.”
“Do you understand that we’ll both be caught? They won’t hesitate; punishment for being caught red handed is administered immediately.”
“Yes, I know.”
Lor reached up and pulled his own hair in frustration. After a moment of gritted teeth, he relaxed and said, “Fine, do what you want. I have business to take care of, so you just keep quiet.”
With that, Lor turned and headed for a chest of drawers while pulling a cloth sack from his pocket.
Aerin stood where Lor had left him, unsure of how to stop his friend without calling the guards down on them. He moved over and tried to talk Lor out of it, but Lor kept rifling the drawers in a quick and efficient manner.
“Lor, this is wrong. There are other ways to solve whatever problems you have.”
“It is none of your business.”
“Yes it is, you are my friend, and so whatever problems you have I’m here to help.”
“If that were true you would get your sorry ass out of here.”
“I can’t do that, not until you see that this isn’t right.”
“That’s where you are wrong, this guy is so rich he won’t miss any of this, but it could be life…” Lor stopped himself, “…it could be important to my life,” he amended, lamely.
“I understand, Lor, believe me, I do, but there are other ways. Let’s get out of here and we can figure out a solution together.”
“Excuse me, I need to get to that cabinet,” was all Lor said, having finished with the drawers.
Aerin moved to the side with a sigh. It was obvious that Lor’s mind was made up, and Aerin couldn’t tell him he knew about Lor’s mother and sister, without admitting he was spying on his friend. Suddenly, Aerin had a new idea.
He went to the bed and pulled down the cover and then removed the top sheet.
Lor looked over at him for a moment in puzzlement.
Aerin tied the sheet into a makeshift bag, and moved over and knelt by a chest on the other side of the room.
Lor came over and stopped above him before whispering, “What, exactly, do you think you are doing?”
“Stealing stuff,” Aerin replied, putting a silver picture frame he found into his bag.
If Lor’s voice had been angry before, now he breathed fire, “You will stop that nonsense, immediately! I will not have you branded a thief on my account!”
Aerin stopped for a moment and looked up at Lor, “Look, as you so aptly put it a few minutes ago, what I do is my own business. I’m your friend, but I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“I see what you are up to; you think if you start stealing that I will quit just to stop you. Fine… rob away, thief!”
With that, Lor spun around and stalked out to another room.
Aerin paused a moment, Lor was right. He had been hoping that Lor would leave with him if he started to steal. Aerin considered what his friend was going through, his mother was sick and blind. He had a sister to support, and all he knew Aerin was doing was trying to stop him from accomplishing the only thing he could think of to help his family. Aerin felt ashamed.
He started going through the trunk in earnest.
After a few minutes, Aerin had checked the rest of the room and followed Lor out to the dining room, where they lifted the various silver plates, eating utensils and crystal goblets. Neither of them spoke.
Lor finally looked at Aerin and said, “All right, it is time we got out of here, we’ve been pushing our luck for some time.”
Aerin nodded and followed Lor to one of the side doors.
“I had intended to leave using the tree again, but I don’t think you can get to the roof without making a ruckus. We’re going to have to sneak out between guard rounds, and find a way up over the wall.”
Aerin nodded and then he knotted up his sheet and slung it over his shoulder.
With a look at his eyes, Lor checked and saw that he was ready. He eased the door open a crack to check the patio and path that led from the door. They had to cross the patio and enter a patch of grass before reaching the shrubbery area along the wall; it seemed clear.
The two young thieves slipped out the door and scampered across the openly exposed patio. Aerin’s bag of bootie thumped against his back and the silver pieces inside clanked.
Lor looked over his shoulder, with big eyes of reproach, but they kept going.
They reached the shrubs and wound their way through the thick bushes into a small clearing at the inside edge of the wall surrounding the Merchant Master’s property. Aerin looked up at the wall, estimating it to be twice his height. Lor dropped his sack and made a saddle for Aerin's foot by interlacing his fingers, so he could give him a boost.
“I don’t think that will do it,” Aerin whispered.
“It will if you stand on my shoulders; now get a move on!”
Aerin hesitated, “You’re lighter than me, so you should stand on my shoulders.”
Lor looked up at him in exasperation, “And how are YOU going to get to the top of the wall after I am up?”
“I could say the same for you,” Aerin replied.
“Trust me when I say I can get there without you, now are we going to pitch a tent here, or are you going to get off your fat ass before the guards find us?”
Aerin stepped into Lor’s hands and up onto his shoulders. He could just reach the top of the wall with his outstretched hands. He pulled himself up and managed to swing a foot onto the top. As soon as he was steady, Lor gave a short, quiet whistle to get his attention, then his bag full of loot was tossed up. Aerin grabbed it and set it gently on the top of the wall. He turned to take a look back down for his fr
iend.
Lor’s sack was designed to act as a sling, and he had it slung across his back to leave his hands and arms free. He was just considering whether it was worth the time to remove it and toss it up to Aerin when he felt the hard grip of a hand grab him by the shoulder.
Aerin looked down just in time to see the guard grab Lor. The man had a cudgel in his right hand and Lor’s shoulder grasped in his left. Aerin didn’t even hesitate, he jumped. He still held the knot of his bag so he and the bag landed behind Lor and the guard. At the sound of the thump and clank that signaled his arrival, the guard aborted his strike to Lor’s head with his cudgel, in order to see what was behind him.
Aerin used all his strength and swung the knotted sheet around in an arc that struck the guard on the shoulder and side of his head.
At the same time, Lor twisted out of the guard’s loosening grip, spun on his heel to add momentum, and slammed his bony elbow deep into the guard’s gut. With a 'woof' of escaping air, the guard doubled over and dropped his cudgel to the dirt.
Aerin shoved the guard and he staggered forward, banging his head on the solid wall.
Lor jumped behind the dazed, bent over guard, and clasped his hands together again; signaling to Aerin he was ready to give him another boost.
Aerin got the idea and dropped his bag. With quick acceleration, he stepped into Lor’s hands and then onto the guard’s back and vaulted up to grab the top of the wall. This time, he had barely got on top when his bag of loot struck him, nearly knocking him off the other side of the wall.
He recovered just in time to see Lor vault off a rock, kick off the trunk of a tree and launch upwards to grab a wrist thick tree branch. He continued his momentum with a swing that brought him around in an arc toward the wall. He released at the height of his swing, flipped and landed cat-like on the wall. With a grin at Aerin, he added, “Care to follow me?” then dashed off down the wall toward the buildings of the city, where they had originally arrived.
Aerin scooped up his bag and ran after his friend, laughing.
Behind them, they heard the whistles of guards sounding the alarm, but once they reached the safety of the roofs there was little danger anyone could follow them. They had escaped.
