Through the Flames (10 page)

Nicolas nodded his head curtly in response. “Of course she did,” he remarked. “After all, that’s the function that you two need me for. Isn’t that right, Caleb of Kirakath?”

At those last words, Caleb and Katie both froze, shocked that Nicolas knew the former’s name.

“A young man calling himself Caleb of Kirakath freed about a dozen peasants from the slavery that they were to be sold into. With the man’s name and description in mind, they’ve ensured that you are a hero to their villages,” Nicolas said as he sat down on a nearby table. “I deal in illegally procured objects primarily, but I also deal in information.”

“You obtained that information incredibly quick,” Katie noted with a frown. “How is it that you learned of it before we could even get here?”

“My sources are very good,” Nicolas said simply. “Now, am I to assume that you would like to get some new clothes, two rooms, and a bath or two?”

“That’s correct,” Katie said, seeing that Caleb was about to say something. “We can talk about everything after we have cleaned up.”

“Fine,” Caleb said as he crossed his arms. His eyes darted towards Nicolas again. “Do you have clothes that will fit us?”

“You’re not a large man, but neither are you small,” Nicolas remarked with observant eyes. “If I don’t have something that will fit, then it will at least be close. Wait here.”

With that, Nicolas walked behind the bar and went through a door behind it.

Once the door was shut, Caleb turned to Katie. “Why are you stalling? If he deals in information like he says, then I might be able to find out something from him.” His words came out more harshly than normal, anger clearly reflected in his tone.

She looked at him with piercing eyes and said, “Shut up. I don’t care what you think we should do. You have no idea how to go about this. Without me to hold your hand, you’re going to screw everything up. Is that what you want? Do you want your quest for revenge to become impossible?”

Caleb was taken aback by her words. It seemed that her words had struck him fairly hard, seeing as no response came from him.

Taking a deep breath, Katie spoke again. This time, her words came out softer. “Give it some time, Caleb. Nicolas will help us with this, but there are some things you don’t know yet. I promise that we’ll talk to him about it tonight.”

Though her promise was not all that reassuring to him, Caleb nodded. He found that he could not bring himself to look her in the eyes after the way he had snapped at her moments ago.

Silence reigned as they waited for Nicolas to return.

* * * * *

“That was just what I needed,” Caleb remarked as he stepped through the door that was across from the door to the tavern.

About an hour had passed since he arrived at the Black Raven Inn with Katie, and he had just finished bathing and getting dressed. As a result, he was no longer clad in bloody clothing.

Black leather boots, loose black cloth trousers, a dark blue tunic that fell to the middle of his thighs, and a finely made black leather belt cinched at his waist made him look like a new man entirely. At Katie’s request, the only weapon that he carried at that moment was the knife his father had given him two years earlier. Its sheath was replaced with a new one that was made of the same leather and craftsmanship as his belt.

Walking across the dirt ground, Caleb pulled the heavy door open, being treated to a sight that made his eyes widen slightly.

Though he could tell that the girl before him was Katie, she was not the dirt covered girl with tangled hair anymore. With black leather boots that stopped a few inches below her knees, a pair of black leggings tucked into her boots, a dark red sleeveless tunic that fell a few inches below her waist, a slender black leather belt cinching her tunic to her waist, and a pair of fingerless black leather gloves on, she looked far different than he had expected. That was only the beginning of it though.

Her once dirty face and tangled hair were no more. There was no doubt that she was a girl, and a beautiful one at that, with her face clean, allowing her light skin tone to be clear and her eyes to sparkle like the emeralds that they looked like. In addition to that, her once tangled hair now fell to her shoulder blades and was held back in a ponytail by a piece of black leather that was laced up at its underside. It appeared as though her hair had become a more vibrant shade of red since he last saw her.

“You look very nice, Caleb,” Katie said, breaking him out of his thoughts. Her eyes seemed to brighten further at that point. “We were just waiting on you.”

Caleb’s eyes immediately darted to the bar as he stepped through the door and pushed it shut. His eyes stayed on Nicolas, who was sitting on the bar with his legs crossed, for a few moments before he turned his attention back to his female companion.

“I’m surprised,” he said, his voice low. “I thought you two would discuss everything without me. I’m not exactly in the know when it comes to the things that you two specialize in.”

“We can’t fault you for not knowing the game, Caleb,” Nicolas said as he hopped off of the bar. “You’ve clearly been living in a small village your entire life. You’ve been to a few other small villages, by my reckoning. Katie remarked that you were caught off guard when you entered my inn. I’m going to assume that you’ve ever been to a place that was large enough to have an inn, so how can I fault you for not knowing the game?”

The blond’s voice grew dry. He could not deny the man’s words. In fact, his next words only served to confirm them. “What game do you speak of?”

The raven haired man’s lips pressed together at that, laughter barely suppressed under the surface. “You prove my point so well.”

“The game is our lives,” Katie said simply. Indifference could be seen in her eyes. “We- Nicolas and I- are loosely associated with the Thieves’ Guild of Caldreth. Thus, we play the game. And before you ask, the game has no name. It is simply the game.”

“The game is how we interact with other criminals and the various men of importance,” Nicolas chimed in, his silky smooth voice sending a chill down Caleb’s spine. “As Katie so aptly says, the game is our lives. We were never taught it, but we know it better than we know ourselves. This ties in with your desire to find the men that serve under the banner of two crows pinned together by a black feathered arrow. Relax. Katie told me about the patch that you carry with you.”

Caleb’s eyes narrowed, but he could not feel upset with the redhead at that moment. He still did not feel well about snapping on her earlier. He also had to take into consideration the fact that he had not told her to keep anything between them.

“What do you know about the emblem?” Caleb asked after he took a deep breath. “Do you recognize it?” He removed the patch from its place between his belt and his tunic at that moment and held it up.

“I’ve never seen it before in my life,” Nicolas said plainly. “I reckon that I can find out who it belongs to, or find someone that knows, within a week though. If I don’t know about them by now, then they are staying under the radar.”

“I need to know who they are and where I can find those murderous bastards,” Caleb said, anger swelling. The anger was not directed at anyone present, which seemed to allow them to remain somewhat calm.

“If I were to whisper their name in the marketplace of Caldreth, then they would know they I was searching for them within one week. By the time I managed to get you their location, they would be halfway to the Isle of Akabar. Even you, Mr. Bandit Slayer, would have trouble getting to them then. Thus, I ask you to be patient. Finish your business in Caldreth. Once you are ready to go after them, then you can return here. At that time, I’ll be more than happy to find out where they are when you are ready to ride like the devil after them.”

Caleb seemed to deflate as he leaned against the door. “I don’t have much of a choice, now do I?”

“No, you do not,” Nicolas replied with a grim smile. “You should look at the bright side in the meantime. The longer they go without you going after them, the longer they think that they are safe. You will have your chance to seek this revenge that you so clearly desire.”

Unnoticed by Caleb, Katie’s lips pressed into a tight line as if she wanted to say something but could not bring herself to do so.

“There is no doubt in my mind that I will kill them,” Caleb said softly. “It’s my only purpose left now. Even if it kills me, I will succeed.”

It was at that moment that Nicolas and Katie first saw the fire in Caleb’s eyes burn at its full intensity.

“I believe you,” Nicolas said with a single nod of his head. “In the interest of helping you, I’ll let you two stay here indefinitely… free of charge.”

Katie’s head snapped towards his old friend at that. She could not believe what she had just heard him say. It was not something that she would have ever expected of him.

“Why would you do this for us?” Caleb asked, sincerely curious.

“You, Caleb of Kirakath, are going to make something of yourself. Of that, I am sure,” Nicolas said as he leaned against the bar with his arms crossed. “I don’t often see a man with such passion and determination. I figure you’d make a better ally than a foe, so it should be no surprise what kind of relationship I’d prefer.”

Nodding slowly, Caleb took in the information carefully. “Very well then,” he said after a few moments. “I believe Katie said that we should get horses to ride to Caldreth on. Do you have any that we can buy?”

“Katie already spoke to me about that,” Nicolas said with a smile.

“We’re not going to get horses just yet,” Katie said suddenly. “I wasn’t thinking clearly when I made that decision. I had planned on paying for a room here, so riding a horse to Caldreth paying for the horses to be kept in the stables would be too impractical.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you two had done all of the planning already,” Caleb remarked.

“We have,” Nicolas said dryly. “Thanks for asserting your opinion though.”

The younger man blinked in surprise. “Then why were you two waiting on me?”

“It’s impolite to eat dinner without calling all the guests to eat,” Nicolas answered.

“You… called me for dinner?” Caleb asked in confusion.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Nicolas asked.

Instead of answering verbally, Caleb gave the raven haired young man a look that appeared to question his sanity.

Caleb took a deep breath as looked at the longsword that his father had kept hidden under the floor of his bedroom. The constantly-polished sword was lying on the bed of his temporary residence, sharply contrasting with the dark blanket that covered the somewhat comfortable piece of furniture.

A knock at the door broke the young man’s focus on the sword, his eyes immediately going to the source of the noise.

“Come in,” he said as he turned to face the door, taking in his surroundings as he did so. The only pieces of furniture in the small room were the bed and a chest that he could put his belongings in. There was something about the simplicity of the room that he liked, in all honesty.

“Caleb, are you ready to go?” Katie asked as she entered the room. Unlike the night before, she had taken to wearing a dagger at her left hip. It seemed that she had left her six knives in her room though. Apparently, she noticed that he was eyeing her belt. “The city guard will recognize me. I’d prefer that they don’t think I’m trying to cause some trouble.”

“You must be pretty infamous,” he remarked as he lifted his sword from its place on the bed. As he attached it to his belt so that it would hang at his left hip, he said, “I’m still curious as to what you meant yesterday. You and your friend spoke of you being sent away from Caldreth by his uncle.”

“I’d prefer that we not speak of it,” Katie said with a sigh as she looked away from him. “I don’t want to lie to you, so I’m going to speak plainly. My past is not your concern. I’m just paying the debt that I owe you.”

“I know,” Caleb said as he looked at the girl that he had only known for a couple of days. “I can’t expect you to tell me much, and I never asked you about your past. All I said was that I’m curious.”

“You were prodding me to see how I’d react,” Katie noted as she made eye contact with the young met that stood before her. “You play a dangerous game. What would you do if I had decided to let you do this on your own?”