The horse let out a whinny when Merhim slapped it on the rear end. The three watched it gallop off down the cobblestone streets, the hay cart trailing dutifully after it. They didn’t stop watching until the heavy hoofbeats had grown quiet and the horse had vanished into the night. Once it was gone, they turned back to the shadows of the tight alley.

  ‘It shouldn’t stop until it reaches the southern gate, eh,’ Merhim said, though Holsley suspected that was an educated guess. ‘By my estimate, that gives us a good twenty minutes before the guards double back to find us.’

  ‘And we can’t go back to the Fetch Inn,’ said Holsley. ‘So, where do we—?’

  Roland let out a little groan. The rogue was still sporting two rather nasty bolts in the shoulder and the thigh. Beneath his clothes, dark patches of blood were forming from the wounds, growing worse as he tried to pull them out. Holsley winced. He looked sweaty and pale. It was clear he had lost some blood.

  Holsley rushed over to him and took a look at the projectiles protruding out of his body. Grabbing a hold of the one in his shoulder, Holsley gave it a sharp tug and immediately stepped away from Roland when he heard the rogue let out a yelp of pain.

  ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘My bad.’

  ‘Oh, get out the way, kid.’ Merhim reached into his satchel.

  Holsley had seen the wooden box the gnome retrieved before on his travels. Healers tended to carry them. On the front of the box was a crescent moon sitting beneath a sparkling eye, and within the box was a kit containing bandages, splints, multi-coloured vials, and various ointments.

  ‘Where did you get that?’ Holsley asked, but he realised it was a stupid question. Merhim had been using it the other night as he had been fading in and out of consciousness. He’d only just realised it. ‘Never mind.’

  ‘I figured you two would end up getting hurt at the tail end of your stupidity, so I refreshed my healer’s kit.’ Holsley watched as Merhim got to work, forcing Roland to bite down on a wad of bandages. He tugged at the bolt lodged in Roland’s upper thigh, then pulled it out in a snap. Roland let out a muffled scream.

  Then, Merhim did it again to the one on the rogue’s shoulder. Once both arrows were free, the gnome cleaned and dressed the wounds they had created.

  ‘Doesn’t this seem familiar?’ Holsley joked. ‘An alleyway. A very injured thief. The sounds of thundering hooves in the distance.’

  Roland spat out the wad of bandages and let out a laugh. ‘I think we’ve got better odds this time.’

  ‘Oh no, you’re delusional as well,’ replied Holsley with a grin. ‘That probably means you have a concussion, too.’

  YOWL! They had almost forgotten about the kidnapped, or catnapped, Tiacat lying beside the rogue. She was still bundled up and tightly. Although the others couldn’t understand her, Holsley knew she was screaming to be released and promising pain if they didn’t obey.

  ‘Would you boys pack it in, eh!’ Merhim snapped, silencing both of them. ‘We can’t stay in this alleyway. Do either of you know where we can hide for the night? Somewhere safe.’

  The wind whipped past the sudden silence.

  ‘A new leaf,’ Roland said.

  ‘A new what?’ Merhim spat.

  ‘Oh boy,’ replied Holsley. ‘We haven’t been there in a while.’

  Merhim wrinkled his nose. ‘Anyone care to fill me in, eh?’

  ‘It’s an old flower shop,’ explained Roland. ‘After I was excommunicated from my guild, I used it as my personal lodgings. It’s deep in the Unending Alley, so no one will go looking for us there, and it was abandoned a decade before I came to call it home.’

  ‘Only problem is it’s not what you’d call a safe place,’ Holsley interjected. ‘I’d be surprised if it hasn’t fallen in on itself by now. There’s a really good reason behind why the shop has been standing empty for the past decade.’

  ‘Well, there’s only one way to find out,’ replied Roland.

  ***

  Tressa wasn’t called the City of Scaffolds for nothing. It was fair to say that the city was renowned for its makeshift appearance, but there were places within the sprawling buildings that were famous for it. One such place was called Blockers Alley.

  It was a long alleyway that was so choked with half-rotting wooden planks and diagonal beams that it was simply impossible to walk through. You had to climb over, under, and in every other direction through the tight beams in order to both reach the other side and access the buildings along the alley.

  On both sides of Blockers Alley was a row of abandoned buildings. The one they were looking for was distinguished from the others by its weed-ridden door and heavily worn sign. It was once a flower shop, and from what Holsley and Roland suspected, it had been a reasonably successful one, too. They didn’t know why it was abandoned or how it had got into such a state, but it had become a place of respite for them.

  ‘Well, it hasn’t fallen down,’ Holsley admired as he shifted his weight over yet another low beam. ‘I’m…well, I’m just surprised.’

  The more they stared at it, the worse it got.

  At some point, the building had collapsed in on itself, leaving the roof bent inwards and the second floor absolutely shattered. Rot had set into the bricks and timber, and wildflowers had reclaimed most of the shop’s front. There were windows, also, but you couldn’t see through them thanks to the slants of worm-eaten wood clogging up the panes.

  ‘Home sweet home.’ Roland struggled against the door. It didn’t budge. The door wasn’t locked, but years of water seepage had expanded the wood and forced it to become stuck in the frame. With a defiant kick, Roland was able to get it open and stumble inside.

  It wasn’t much different to the outside.

  The interior was still damp and rot-filled, but plant life had almost completely consumed it. Everywhere they looked, something thrived in the damp space — weeds and wildflowers, mostly. As you could expect from an old shop, there was a counter and shelves upon shelves behind it lined with cracked pots of dried-up plants.

  ‘Through here.’ Roland limped into a doorway behind the counter, and the three soon found themselves in a rough-looking back room. There was a hole in the ceiling, which let water drip through, and the plant life was still pervasive, but the wooden furniture looked hospitable. Roland plonked himself down on a chair and coughed at the dust that was suddenly kicked up.

  He had been given the responsibility of carrying the cat. Roland tossed the creature in the armchair next to him, and it let out a yowl of indignation.

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  ‘What’s it saying?’ Roland turned to Holsley.

  Holsley shrugged. ‘No idea. The spell has worn off.’

  ‘Those wounds of yours are going to be a problem,’ said Merhim, then he turned to Holsley. ‘Can your healing spell do anything, eh?’

  Holsley looked at the circles on his little finger; he still couldn’t cast any spells.

  ‘Maybe.’ He shrugged. ‘I can’t cast it now, though.’

  ‘Why not?’ Roland asked.

  ‘There’s a limit to how much magic you can use in a day,’ replied Holsley, gesturing to the circles on his little finger. ‘You can go over it, but at your own peril.’

  ‘It’s dangerous,’ Merhim added. ‘Better to leave it till tomorrow.’

  ‘How did you learn how to do all this?’ Roland asked then. ‘You know, learn magic?’

  ‘I told you, the elves taught me,’ said Holsley, taking a nearby seat. ‘Actually, I learnt the healing spell because of a friend of mine.’

  ‘Who?’ Roland raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Her name was Ariesse.’ Holsley thought back to the elven teenager and let his lips curl into a short smile. ‘She was…an interesting character. You would’ve liked her. The elves wanted me to learn a healing song because I was always tripping up and injuring myself, but I could never get it right. Ariesse told me it was because I didn’t have the right motivations, so she pushed me off a first-floor balcony and broke my leg.’

  ‘Sounds like a good friend,’ muttered Merhim, arms crossed.

  ‘Yeah,’ Holsley chuckled. ‘She was something else.’

  ‘You know, where I come from, magic is pretty common,’ said Merhim, gathering some rations from his bag. ‘Gnomes tend to be more in tune with the arcane than humans. We’re not so scared of it.’

  ‘Where exactly do you come from?’ Holsley asked then, suddenly curious.

  Merhim smiled, and his eyes grew wistful. ‘A place called Sunhome. It’s a big, floating city in the sky. Gnomes that leave it don’t ever tend to go back, seeing as it’s a challenging place to get to. Trust me, though, it’s a wondrous place.’

  ‘Why’d you leave?’ asked Roland.

  ‘None of your business, that’s why, eh.’ Merhim shot him a look. ‘Point is we gnomes aren’t as put off by magic as you humans are. We embrace it.’

  ‘Good for you,’ Roland muttered, then he leaned forward. ‘Listen, I think I know how we can get the ruby.’

  ‘Oh?’ said Holsley.

  ‘You’re joking, eh!?’ Merhim gave the pair an incredulous look. ‘Haven’t you gotten yourselves into enough trouble yet? You can’t surely be looking to stay longer in Tressa after what just happened.’

  ‘We’re still alive,’ Roland growled back.

  ‘Hardly,’ spat Merhim. ‘If I hadn’t been there, you two would be dead.’

  ‘If you weren’t there, we’d be fine,’ said Roland. ‘Something else would have come up.’

  Merhim replied with a derisive snort. ‘Holsley, surely you agree with me? It’s time to quit while you’re both ahead.’

  Holsley opened his mouth to speak, but Roland got his words in first.

  ‘What do you want us to do?’ Roland asked.

  ‘Leave the city. It’s really simple.’

  ‘No, it isn’t,’ said Roland. ‘I’m not leaving without that ruby. No way. If I have to do this alone, then I will.’

  Merhim threw up his hands. ‘Pah! You’re as stupid as you are ugly then, and it’s going to get you killed, Roland Darrow.’

  With a shake of his head, Roland disregarded the comment and stood up. Before Holsley could stop him, he was across the room and heading towards a set of half-collapsed stairs on the other side. ‘I’m going to my room. If you don’t want to help me, then I suggest you leave.’

  A few moments later, the walls shook from the slamming of a door above them.

  ‘He’s going to get you killed,’ Merhim warned Holsley. ‘I mean it, eh.’

  ‘I’ll go talk to him.’ Holsley stood up and dusted the dirt off his shirt. ‘If anyone can get through to him, I can.’

  ‘Do you agree with me, Holsley?’

  Holsley didn’t answer. Instead, he looked over at the cat on the armchair, still bundled up in his scarf. Its head was peeking out, and it was hissing incessantly as the creature struggled to free itself. Roland had wrapped it up tight.

  ‘There’s a crate over there,’ said Holsley. ‘Can you put the cat inside of it, please, until we figure out what to do with it?’

  Merhim grunted in reply.

  ***

  Holsley knew the way to Roland’s room by heart. After all, he’d been up there hundreds of times. The antique flower shop was rotting and one stiff breeze away from collapse, but the walls were strong with a thousand different memories. He would often come here with Roland to count their winnings.

  Odd, he thought then. They seemed to have been stealing so much back then, yet Roland continued to live like this. What exactly was he spending all of that money on? Did he spend it at all? Was there a stash of gold hidden around here somewhere? It made Holsley wonder.

  Roland’s bedroom was the first door on the next landing up beneath the partially collapsed roof. Holsley could recognise it anywhere. Aside from being a regular wooden door, it was riddled with gashes and marks from where Roland had playfully stuck his dagger into it.

  Holsley knocked on the door three times and entered.

  The room on the other side had aged as well as the rest of the shop. What had once probably been a small apartment for the shop’s owners was now a sparsely furnished space illuminated by a large circular window that had once been covered in planks. There were no paintings or portraits, but Holsley did spy several crudely carved drawings on the walls.

  ‘I hope I’m not interrupting anything.’ Holsley spotted Roland sitting beneath the window, his usual spot. ‘How’s the shoulder and, uh, thigh?’

  ‘Same as it was a minute ago,’ replied Roland. ‘Why’d you have to bring the gnome in on this? He’s a bloody nightmare?’

  ‘Who? Merhim?’ Holsley closed the door behind him. ‘I think he’s just concerned, Roland. You can kind of see why, right?’

  ‘Did he send you to convince me to leave the city?’ Roland clicked his tongue. ‘You know I won’t.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s what I figured.’ Holsley sighed.

  ‘What you gonna tell him?’

  ‘Not sure yet.’ Holsley shrugged. ‘What if, you know, uh, we just check on a potential exit? Just to make sure we have one ready for when the time comes?’

  Roland narrowed his eyes at him.

  ‘Just saying,’ Holsley continued, throwing up his hands innocently. He milled about the room, opening cabinets and drawers with reckless abandon. ‘It’ll get Merhim off your back, and we’ll know the way is clear when the time comes. Oh! Also, if we get split up, we’ll have a rendezvous point.’

  ‘It makes sense.’ Roland nodded reluctantly. ‘If it’ll shut him up, I’ve got an exit in mind.’

  ‘We could go tomorrow. After that, we can steal—’

  His breath caught in his throat.

  The drawer to the desk had been jammed, but Holsley had managed to get it open with some gentle persuasion. Inside, he found a small metal object made of guilt, which once might have been stunningly striking to have if it wasn’t now covered in black scorch marks.

  It was a firelighter.

  ‘You went back for it,’ he whispered in disbelief.

  ‘What?’ Roland asked.

  ‘Nothing!’ Holsley squirrelled the firelighter into his pocket. ‘Nothing.’

  Roland gave him a look, but nothing more came of it. Instead, the rogue continued. ‘We know that Fox has the ruby, right? I think we can set up a trade for the ring.’

  ‘The ring?’ Holsley was sharply brought back from his thoughts. ‘Why would he trade the ring for a ruby worth thousands of gold crowns?’

  ‘Trust me, he will,’ replied Roland. ‘That ring has sentimental value to him. It’s more than just a piece of magic jewellery.’

  ‘How do we know he even has the ruby anymore?’ Holsley asked. ‘What if he’s sold it?’

  Roland shook his head. ‘There are rules. I know he hasn’t.’

  ‘Right, it’s settled then.’ Holsley hurriedly crossed the room. ‘Get some rest.’

  ‘Wait.’ Roland held out his hand, and the bard came to a dead stop. ‘I’ve been thinking about what you said on the roof.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘You’re right, Holly.’ Roland shifted the rapier from his side and rested it across his lap. ‘I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you about this. You have to promise, though, really promise, that you won’t share this information with anyone. Not even the gnome.’

  ‘No,’ Holsley shook his head and flew eagerly to Roland’s side. ‘Not a soul.’

  Roland let out a sigh. ‘As you’ve probably gathered, this is no regular rapier. It’s magical. Its name is Truthseeker, and with it, you can force a person to speak the truth.’

  ‘Whoa.’ Holsley instantly knew the ramifications. ‘So, you’re telling me that Love had that and—’

  ‘Yeah, she had no idea. Good job, too.’ Roland replied with a nod. ‘All it takes is a simple cut. After that, if you ask a question, it’ll be answered honestly. If Love or Kythos knew about this, they’d learn everything I know in seconds, and I can’t let that happen. That’s why you can’t tell anyone about this.’

  ‘Where did you find it?’

  ‘I stole it from Berry Kellam,’ replied Roland, a smugness crawling across his face. ‘I’m sorry I can’t tell you anything about what’s happened to me these past few years, but I hope this is enough for now.’

  ‘It is.’ Holsley nodded. ‘Thank you for trusting me, Roland.’

  ‘I have a question for you now, Holly.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘Why did you come and rescue me?’ Roland couldn’t deny that the question had been playing on his mind. ‘You’ve risked so much to save me. I just want to understand why. What’s in it for you?’

  ‘What’s in it for me?’ Holsley repeated with a laugh. ‘Nothing, Roland. I don’t want anything. You’re my best friend. That’s more than enough reason to come to your rescue. I know you haven’t exactly been a saint in your life, but I don’t think you deserve to hang for it.’

  Roland gave him a wink. ‘Thanks, Holsley.’

  ‘Let’s get some sleep,’ Holsley said, standing and leaving the room. ‘I am knackered, and I need to refresh my spells.’

  It was only when Holsley was fully across the threshold with the door closed behind him that his smile dimmed to a frown, and he frantically retrieved the firelighter from his pocket. There wasn’t much light to see by, but it was just enough to make out the words etched along the sides.

  Holsley let out a breath.

  Property of Kythos Ravenpeak.