Her focus shifted to the sword on his hip as her hand crept to the dagger in her waistband.

  Suddenly, Bird grasped Red Beard’s shoulder.

  “You should have seen the look on your face!” the tabby forced an accompanying laugh, breaking the tension of the moment. The mark unconsciously joined in, immediately apologizing to Whydah, before helping her up. She felt her insides somersault. Was it from the danger or his impeccable reliability?

  “It’s okay,” she let out a long breath. “For someone my size, it happens more often than you think. No harm done. Clearly, I arrived at the wrong moment!”

  Bird again jumped in effortlessly. “No, no, that’s entirely my fault. It was my dramatic flair that started the sequence. I’m sorry, Whydah, let me get you a horn to make it up to you.” The tabby nodded towards the nearly empty cups of his two new friends. “It looks like you gentlemen could use one as well.”

  This, too, was by design. He didn’t want Red Beard to even think about his coins before they were long gone. Signaling to Egon for four more drinks, Bird fished the silver he’d just lifted from the blacksmith out of his jerkin pocket as payment.

  Deliberately outpacing the two humans, the troubadours made small talk until they drained their horns and said their goodbyes, reluctantly blaming an early departure.

  “We won’t be far behind you; we’ve got a long ride tomorrow as well,” offered Green Hat—Aarol?

  Even better. If they notice before morning, it could be a big problem!

  Thanking Egon and Gella again, the performers bid farewell to the dwindling crowd and made their way into the night, three cottages down to the White Horse Inn.

  “Well done!” Bird beamed at Whydah. “Your execution was perfect!”

  “Not quite. I was sure he made me, and I have to work on the landing a bit.” Whydah grimaced. “My hip hurts like the shadow realm with every step.”

  Bird giggled sympathetically.

  “Not funny,” she snapped as they limped into the White Horse and up the stairs to their rooms. “Let me drop my gear. I’ll be over in a minute to count the haul.”

  This was their ritual following every performance. The pair pooled all funds given and taken, dividing the proceeds equally.

  Closing the door behind her, Whydah dropped her pack on the bed and winced before plopping herself beside it, rubbing her right hip. That will be a nasty bruise tomorrow. The accommodation was simple: a wood-framed bed and a small chest of drawers topped by a wash basin and a fresh urn of water. An uncomfortable chair rounded out the furnishings.

  Fishing through the multitude of pockets on her pack, the halfling gathered all her contributions to the evening’s proceeds: the funds from the hat, the 3 silvers from the dwarf, and Red Beard’s purse. This is unusual. She didn’t notice it at the time, but the purse held something more than coins. Her fingers traced multiple points and sharp edges through the velvet cloth. What have we here? She undid the cinch, extracting a silver necklace and pendant into the light for a closer look. Hello, my beauty!

  There was no forged clasp. Instead, the chain threaded through the topmost of three elegantly woven circles stacked in a triangle at the pendant’s apex. Expertly joined with an inverted crown, the silver setting capped an exquisite shimmering crystal. The length of her ring finger, but slightly thicker, the stone ended in a tapered point.

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  Partially translucent, its milky depth boasted a reflective property, returning flashes of deep blue, yellow, and green. Each colorful fleck was mesmerizing, floating within the crystalline structure as it refracted the surrounding light. I’ve never seen anything like you before.

  Whydah made up her mind instantly, calling it a memento to commemorate her first success as a thief. I’m entitled to it. We don’t need to sell it. We can live well for quite a while off that haul. Without further justification, she slipped the chain around her neck and tucked the pendant under her tunic. She dismissed the shiver that prickled her skin. It must be the cold metal.

  Gathering up the rest of the evening’s holdings, she pushed herself up off the bed, reminded immediately of the twinge in her hip, and limped across to Bird’s room.

  Two quick knocks preceded a muffled confirmation from within. Opening the door, she took in a space identical to her own. The cat was grinning, hunched over the bed, and his share of the take.

  “Not a bad take at all! I got one gold off the blacksmith, and that elf had two more, along with four silvers and three coppers in his purse! How did you do?”

  Whydah dropped onto the bed and added her acquisitions to the collection.

  “Three silvers from a dwarf that cornered me as I was leaving the stage—wanted to talk about lute playing.” She shot him a wry smirk. “It was an expensive conversation for him.” Bird nodded slowly, a chuckling purr rumbled from his chest in acknowledgment. She poured the given coins into the pile while he quickly added them.

  “Four silver and twenty-two coppers, sweet! And how about Red Beard? Are you saving the best for last?”

  “I haven’t even looked yet.” She tossed the purse. He deftly caught it, dumping its contents into the pile. Four gold, one silver, and a single copper coin spilled out to join the collection.

  “Wow! That’s a lot to carry in a small town like this.” The cat’s fingers were busy shifting the coins into two equal amounts.

  “Okay, that gives us six silvers, thirteen coppers, and two gold each, with one extra gold. What should we do about that?”

  “You hold onto it,” she muttered, feeling a slight warmth rise to her cheeks as shame and guilt from the undeclared necklace and pendant blossomed inside her. “I trust you. I’ll take the next one that comes out uneven.” Bird met her gaze before agreeing with a nod.

  “You really took your time getting to us at the bar. I felt like I was spinning that yarn forever, waiting for you to get into position!”

  “Oh, that’s right. I almost forgot!” Whydah blurted, “I had another pigeon stop me on my way over to share some information.”

  “Anything good?” Bird asked idly, more focused on gathering his share of the coins and dividing them among his coin purse and multiple pockets within his pack. Never keep all your money in one place.

  “He told me about an abbey razed to the ground not far from here. It was called the Luminarium.”

  Bird’s head snapped up at the mention of the name. His coin sorting stopped abruptly, his eyes now squarely on Whydah, but his mind raced. Tsuta—What if they came for him again and leveled the abbey to cover their tracks?

  “Wasn’t that where Tsuta went after we parted ways down south?”

  She nodded, sharing all the details from the farmer.

  “Okay, we’ll be late to the party, but I think we have to go. He got us out of a lot of scrapes. He’s a solid elf, we should be there for him.”

  “I agree,” she nodded. “If we can help, we should.”

  “Then it’s settled. We’ll ride at first light. You said the abbey was deeper in the Glimmerstones. Who knows, maybe we can keep chasing this mysterious treasure at the same time.” He met her shaking head with his signature feline grin.

  “You’re incorrigible!” she teased, her lips spreading into a smile.

  Bird’s smile faded. “You know it’s not just my love of gold, right? It’s a funny story when we tell it on stage, but my entire family had to flee because of what I did. The least I can do is help them get back on their feet.”

  The spoken words dropped a weight of obligation heavily onto his chest: Whydah, his family, and now Tsuta. Bird dropped his gaze. There’s only so much of me to go around. Whydah recognized his introspection immediately. She collected her share as he resumed the deliberate division of his coins into various locations. Saying goodnight, she crossed the hall before hurriedly packing her things. Now they had two reasons to make a rapid pre-dawn exit.

  The Glimmerstone Enigma?

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