“Have ye seen the little monster, captain?” a merchant asked a passing guard.

  “No, not today,” the soldier said, pausing from his patrol. “Why do ye ask?”

  “Because I’m tired of losing out on my profits,” the trader replied. “One of these days yer just going to have to cut her down.”

  “Says ye and every other merchant on the docks, but we can’t stop what we can’t catch,” the captain stated. “Besides, we’re not organizing a manhunt to stop a small time thief.”

  “Ye remember how it all started, don’t ye?” the merchant retorted. “It’s only a matter of time before someone ends up dead, ye know that, right?”

  “Probably,” the guard agreed. “But if yer so set on it just hire a bounty hunter.”

  “Out my own pocket?” the merchant asked, incredulous. “Just do yer damned job.”

  “Yer choice,” the guard replied with a shrug. “But I’ll tell ye something, I just saw one of those…whatever ye call them. Big fucker, damn near pissed myself looking at him. Maybe you need to hunt a monster with a bigger monster.”

  “A bigger monster, huh, maybe yer right,” the merchant considered. “Could ye point him towards my stall, perhaps?”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” the guard replied, departing.

  Sitting across the way from them, hidden amongst stacks of crates and boxes, was the little monster: a small girl. Given the name Astraea but going by Raea, she was aged 14 and standing four and a half feet tall. Her hair was tangled and dirty, yet a brilliant shade of red that was unlike that of anyone else she had ever met. Her clothes were old and worn, little more than rags, and her feet were bare.

  She sat in her little nook, watching the dock workers file about in the midsummer morning’s light. These docks, along with the conjoining marketplace, formed the bulk of Raea’s home, the port of Child’s Abode.

  There wasn’t much to say about Child’s Abode besides that. It was the biggest city on the Island of Carsani, or rather the closest thing it had to one. Most of the people on the island were simple farmers or shepherds, isolated from the true powers of the world. This port was the only thing connecting them to life beyond the sea; it was also one of the few places on the island where a thief could make a living.

  Raea listened to the rhythmic, heavy sound of the guard’s footsteps as he walked off, heading back towards the docks. Getting up on her hands and knees she peered over the crates, seeing the merchant and sneering at him. A monster? She didn’t even know that meant, they’d called her that so often.

  The girl climbed down from her perch, attempting to remain hidden among the crates, green eyes set upon her target. She studied him, the way that he’d pace back and forth in front of his stall, how he’d stop and talk to a potential customer, doing everything he could to get them to look at his wares.

  Those wares were simple, nothing more than food, mostly salted meats to be sold to sailors. Raea eyed the thickest cut of beef and waited. The merchant stepped away from his stall, tracking down a ship’s captain and managing to engage him for a few moments. Raea took her opportunity, taking off at a sprint.

  However, she didn’t make it but a few steps before she was stopped, scooped up by the most massive, muscular arm she’d ever seen.

  “Hey now, what do you think you’re doing?” she heard a gruff voice ask her.

  The girl instinctively struggled and twisted against the restraint, quickly freeing herself from the man’s loose grip and stepping away from him. She tensed and drew back in shock, taking in this man’s enormous frame. Easily more than six feet tall and broad shouldered, he wore padded leather armor with bands of steel sewn into it. He carried the large sword sheathed at his hip with apparent ease. Even more surprising was how old he was, with a bald head and a short beard on his worn face. His most unusual trait, however, was his purple eyes.

  Raea couldn’t look for long though, because the merchant approached them, the full grown man looking like a teenager next to the giant warrior.

  “Trying to steal from me again, girl?” the merchant asked, eyes burning with hatred. “I’ll have yer damn head for this!”

  The man attempted to grab Raea, but she danced around him and raced off. She nimbly sidestepped an inattentive woman as she ran, before brushing past an older man, pushing him behind her to collide with the merchant as he gave chase. They tripped over each other, causing both to fall along with the few goods that had been in the elderly man’s arms. Both cursed at Raea as she fled. Looking behind her at the spectacle with a smirk, the girl ran into a hapless woman, knocking both of them to the ground.

  Falling on her face, Raea sat up, wincing at the pain caused by the new scrapes on her cheek. A look over her shoulder told her she couldn’t dwell on it though, as the merchant had returned to his feet and to his chase. She stood and took but a single step before seeing the pair of guards block on her most obvious escape route.

  “Get ‘er!” the merchant yelled. “Get that damned thief!”

  Raea smirked and glanced out of her peripherals. She took off running down the first avenue of escape she saw, an alleyway along the side of a merchant house. She turned the corner at the back of the building and began climbing, scrambling up to the roof, finding purchase on the loose stones of its walls.

  Sitting out of sight up above, the thief watched as the merchant and two guardsmen came down the alleyway. Unsure of where she went, they looked like dogs searching for a bird among gutter rats.

  “She got away again,” one of the guards said after several minutes of intensive searching, with a tone one would use when describing the inevitability of the sunrise.

  “Damn it, and we were so close today!” the merchant yelled, slamming his palm into the wall directly below Raea. “By Carag’s fat prick, we’ll get that little bitch next time!” The thief struggled to suppress a giggle at the scene.

  The three men left the alleyway heading back to the marketplace, with Raea following along the edge of the roof before settling in behind the big sign at the front of the merchant house. She watched as the men disappeared amongst the crowd. Raea sighed, thinking that she was now safe, when she noticed the large man walking in front of the building, stopping and looking up at her with his purple eyes. She tensed, fearing that he would alert the guards. But the old man kept his silence, smiling at her instead.

  Confused, Raea sank back behind the sign, feeling at the new wounds on her face and nestling herself between the sign and the roof. Her escapade had earned her little more than her continued freedom and a gnawing feeling of incompleteness.

  She laid there until the sun climbed higher into the sky, when the sign no longer cast its shadow upon her.

  ***

  Raea sat on a hillside overlooking Child’s Abode, the town clearly visible in its entirety. Her eyes scanned over the collection of buildings, following along the rough rows they made up. Without the knowledge of someone like Raea who had lived amongst those buildings for years it would be impossible to tell most of the constructs apart from one another. From this distance a wooden hovel looked like any other wooden hovel. Only the temple with its high tower was visually distinct, the new stone work standing as a symbol of pride for the local merchants who had gathered together to generously fund its construction.

  The little thief closed her eyes and smiled. In her mind she could see the front of the temple and the greatest point of pride on it. Affixed to the great oaken door was a depiction of the Prophet’s Hands, the symbol of the Caragian faith, a pair of hands within a circle, palms open and facing the viewer, as if offering something. It was a common image but this one was special in that it was made of perhaps the only worked silver on Carsani. That alone made it worth the cost, a statement of the merchants’ wealth and piety. Raea chuckled at the thought of wrenching the bit of precious metal from its socket and making off with it. But what would she do with it? Maybe just throw it into the ocean, letting everyone watch it disappear into the depths. An act as inexplicable as calling a young child a monster. She found that fitting.

  A pang of hunger ripped Raea from her fantasies. With a groan she stood, turning towards what that temple was meant to replace. A shrine older than the town itself, sitting alone on the hilltop.

  It was a simple building, one made without the benefit of mortar, as its newer cousin was. Instead the stones kept their shape through nothing but their own weight. Long ago one would have seen the symbol of the Prophet’s Hands rendered on every block, but the carvings had long since faded away. The modest doors sat on rusted hinges that would never again allow them to open fully. Raea pushed them as far as she could and slipped inside.

  The interior of the building was cool despite the summer heat outside. A simple dirt floor combined with a handful of aged pews in crooked rows gave the temple a rustic feel that was only enhanced by the simple stone altar that could have been easily mistaken for a just a small table. A quartet of young children in tattered clothes had been playing in the corner when the tortured sounds of those hinges drew their attention.

  “Raea!” one of them squealed as all of the children leapt up and ran towards the new arrival.

  Raea staggered back a step as the little ones wrapped themselves around her midsection.

  “Do ye have anything for us?” one of them asked, eyes gleaming.

  “No,” Raea answered, grimacing.

  “Oh,” the response came.

  “That’s enough, children,” a voice called out from the altar. “Why don’t you go back to your play?”

  The children broke off from Raea and returned to their corner as a priest in dark robes approached the thief. He smiled at her, soft and warm like a parent’s loving embrace.

  “Hello, Father Paul,” Raea said, returning the smile before padding towards the corner farthest from the children. The priest shuffled over to join her.

  “Ah, my child, it is always so good to see you.” he said as he approached. He held Raea’s chin and inspected her face. “I see you’ve added to your collection today.” The priest turned back and walked to the front of the temple, returning with a bowl of water and a rag.

  “Father Paul,” the girl said as he returned. “I’m sorry…I’ve got nothing to offer ye today.”

  “Oh, Astraea,” the priest said in a low tone, sitting down next to Raea.

  “Please don’t call me that,” the girl replied. “I’ve told ye so many times, I don’t like that name.”

  “So you have said,” Father Paul stated with a sigh. “And as I’ve told you time and time again, you don’t need to bring me anything. The farmers leave enough for me and the children, you only endanger yourself with these escapades. Now, hold still.” He wiped at the scrape on Raea’s face with the wet cloth, the girl wincing as he cleaned the wound.

  “I know,” the girl responded. “It’s just-“

  “You were once like those children and you feel it is only right,” Father Paul interrupted. “Yes, yes, so you’ve told me.”

  Raea advocated for her own innocence with a grin as Father Paul finished his ministrations. She instead only came off as awkward and guilty, her eyes just a bit too wide and her smile just a little too toothy.

  “Of course, I know that you’re not that altruistic,” Father Paul said with an audible sigh. “Like the fabled Thief of Lysette you are less the charitable hero of the common folk as much as you are the trickster looking for petty revenge.”

  Unable to find a response with words, Raea resorted to a simple shrug.

  The priest stood up and walked away with the bowl and rag. “I assume you would like some food,” he said as he stowed them. “I have soup ready.”

  “Yes!” Raea said at once, almost despite herself.

  “Alright,” Father Paul replied with a chuckle. The priest returned with a simple wooden bowl filled with a broth containing chunks of vegetables. Raea forwent the spoon he offered, instead slurping the soup directly.

  “You must not have eaten anything all day,” Father Paul commented as he sat down. “Unusual, you get enough for yourself more often than not.”

  Raea lowered the bowl from her mouth to answer. “A man got in my way. Some purple-eyed…freak.”

  “Purple eyes?” the priest queried as Raea resumed eating, nodding as she did.

  “Must have been a Varathian,” he commented. “Rare to see them out here.”

  “Varaphian?” Raea asked, muffled by the soup.

  “Varathian,” the holy man corrected. “Powerful warriors who have given away their humanity for strength and power. I suggest you keep your distance from him.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Silence held for a moment as Raea finished her meal. “What do ye mean?” she asked, setting the bowl down.

  “Those merchants or the guards might hire him to track you down,” the old priest said, his fingers laced together under his chin. “If he catches you there isn’t much you’ll be able to do.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Raea replied. “The guards have been trying to catch me for years and see what good it’s done them.”

  “They’re nothing like him,” the priest cautioned.

  “We’ll see about that,” the little thief said, standing up. “Thanks for the food, Father,” she added, turning away.

  “Why don’t you stay for the night?” Father Paul asked. “With the Varathian around you might be safer here.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Raea said, walking towards the door.

  “Very well, if you insist,” the priest replied, sighing.

  Raea smiled to herself as she exited the temple.

  ***

  Dusk brought quiet and stillness to Child’s Abode. Locals returned to their hovels, sailors returned to their ships, neither caring to venture out into the night. The sole exception to this were the patrons of the town’s inn.

  Looking into that inn was Raea, standing on top of some crates stacked up beneath an open window. Breathing in the aroma of the food and drink, Raea took in the sight of these night dwellers, arranged in rows of tables and benches, indistinguishable to the untrained eye but distinct to her knowing one. At one table a couple of merchants spoke in hushed tones with a ship captain. The deals they were making were the lifeblood of their businesses. At the bar a small group of housewives sat listening to a sailor recounting his adventures. They never bought drinks but tall tales were worth more anyway. Over in the furthest corner sat the last and, Raea was certain, the least of these people; a woman selling that most ancient of services. Overlooking all of this was the innkeeper, needing all of this to happen here so that he could afford to open the doors tomorrow morning and of course keep a couple of guards on standby to ward off little monsters.

  Raea held her hand up against the window sill. In her mind she saw a shower of sparks cascading miraculously from her fingertips like a mage from one of those old stories, setting light to the building. It would all come crashing down after it had spread its flame to the rest of Child’s Abode.

  A fitting punishment, or so she thought when it first came to her mind. “No,” she said aloud, shaking her head. “Too much.”

  “Hey you!” she heard a man yell. Turning her head, Raea saw a sailor, clearly drunk, stumble his way down the alleyway leading from the inn’s entrance. The girl watched him in silence.

  “You’re a little…a little on the young side, but,” he said as he approached her, “I think you should do nicely.” The man rested his elbow on a crate, holding up a coin between his fingers. “You don’t have much to offers up here…” he held his hand over his own chest, Raea frowning at the gesture. “But I don’t needs much tonight, though,” the man continued, wearing a smile that was clearly meant to be charming but was only ever lopsided. “What do ye say?”

  Raea smiled back at the man, leaping down to the ground and turning so that she was face to face with him. “I say yer breath is terrible,” she said with an overdramatic sniff. She then stamped on his foot, grinding her heel in.

  “Ow, ow, ow!” the man yelled, holding the bruised foot in his hands as he hopped around on the other. “That hurts!”

  “I know,” the girl replied, punching the drunken man in the jaw with a right hook, sending him headfirst into the wall.

  “Huh?” the drunkard voiced from the ground. “Wha…what?”

  Rubbing her knuckles and basking in self-satisfaction, Raea turned and began walking away before a gravelly yet hearty laugh filled the air. The girl’s attention snapped back behind her, only to see the drunkard still moaning on the ground. A moment passed before she thought to turn her gaze upward, where the Varathian was watching her from the inn’s roof.

  “That was quite the display,” the purple-eyed man said, slowly clapping his hands several times. “That’s not the first time today you’ve impressed me.”

  “So?” the girl asked as the man leapt down to the ground.

  “What’s your name, child?” the elderly warrior asked.

  “I’m not a child,” she responded, fist clenched in impotent anger, “I’m 14!”

  The man laughed as he did before. “When you get to be my age, almost everyone is a child.”

  Raea glared at the old man, annoyed and suspicious, an alley cat eying a lion. “What do ye want?”

  The silence was abrupt, ushered in by the Varathian’s change from a good natured smile to a sharp stare. “Straight to business, then? Fine, then I’ll need you to-“

  Raea didn’t stay to listen, taking off at a sprint down the alleyway. She turned the first right then the next left. Looking behind her she didn’t see the man in pursuit. The little thief slowed to a walk, looking all around her, alert for anything. She rounded another corner and stopped.

  The girl listened carefully, only to hear silence. Raea breathed a sigh of relief, smirking with self-satisfaction. The sound of footsteps wiped her expression clean.

  “Are you going to keep doing this?” she heard that gravelly voice echo through the alleyways. “At the very least could you do the roof hiding trick for me? It was very nice.”

  Raea’s breathing slowed, matching the unhurried steps of the Varathian. She couldn’t climb out of this one, the Varathian knew that trick. But she was still confident that she could find a way out of this. She’d had the run of this town for years, while he was a fresh arrival.

  “Little thief, don’t you know I can hear you?” the girl heard from over her shoulder.

  Raea’s eyes went wide with shock, turning to see the Varathian towering over her. She scrambled to get away, nearly tripping over herself as she began running. The girl fought the urge to look behind her, trying to the keep her eyes forward to the end. The itching sensation of fear fought back and she conceded, looking back over her shoulder. He was standing still. She blinked and he was running, running faster than a man his size had any right to. Faster than her.

  Forcing herself to calm, Raea slowed slightly, just enough for the Varathian to gradually catch up to her. Feeling his presence at her back, she turned on her heels and reversed direction, ducking low to the ground under her pursuer’s outstretched arm. She began laughing as she sped past him, laughing with glee and confidence. This was a Varathian? Some superhuman who could catch her? She’d been running for most of her life, how was he any different?

  A small rock struck her in the back of the head. This was different. Her vision blurring and balance lost, she tripped and fell to the ground like a bag of so many bricks.

  “Ach,” Raea emoted through gritted teeth, lost in her muddled senses.

  Attempting to pull her hands to her head proved futile, as they were being pulled behind her back and tied together by the Varathian. Through hazy vision the girl kicked out at the looming figure of the Varathian only for her foot to be caught with ease, presenting the opportunity for her ankles to be tied together as well.

  “What?” Raea asked groggily as the Varathian gripped her by her bound wrists and hoisted her over his shoulder. “Ye threw a rock at me?”

  “That I did,” the warrior replied. “Seemed the fastest way to end this.”

  Raea blinked, trying to readjust her eyes, while her other senses pulled in what information they could. The sensation of the rope around her wrists digging into her skin was the most intrusive sensation, but she could also hear those footsteps against the ground, plodding along through the town.

  “Don’t worry, it will all be over soon,” her captor said, sounding almost soothing in his tone.

  “Wha-“ Raea managed to get out before she was jolted to a more alert state when the Varathian dropped her on the ground.

  “Where are we?” Raea asked, looking around her. She ascertained the answer to her own question quickly enough. It was the guard barracks, in an entryway where the Varathian, the merchant that she had attempted to rob that morning, and a couple of guards were standing. The girl laid vulnerable and prone between them.

  “Ye caught her,” the merchant said, staring at the thief with wide-eyed disbelief.

  “Yes,” the warrior answered in a matter of fact tone. “Can I get my pay now?”

  “Of course,” the merchant said, approaching the Varathian with a coin purse. “Ye’ve certainly earned it, Sir Cian.”

  “Thank you,” Cian replied, taking the payment in hand. “Now then, we’ll be on our way.”

  “We?” one of the guards asked.

  “Yes, I’ve sensed something that requires my immediate attention,” Cian answered.

  “Sensed something?” the merchant asked. “About the girl?”

  Raea twisted and contorted her body, trying to get up onto her knees. Cian gave her a swift kick, forcing her back into her prone position.

  “Yes, there is a great danger about her,” Cian responded. “I must take her out of the town and dispose of her.”

  One of the guards leaned towards the other, half-whispering. “We always knew she was a monster. Perhaps we should?”

  “No,” the merchant interrupted, taking a step forward. “Why must ye leave town? Kill her here if ye must.”

  “You lot have no idea what you’ve been dealing with,” Cian said, even-toned. “You’re lucky that I came along when I did.”

  A silence hung in the air, Raea taking deep, long breaths as if her life depended on it.

  “Fuck ye,” the merchant said at last, producing a knife from his belt. “We’ll just take care of it right here.”

  “Not one more step!” Cian exclaimed, drawing his sword and pointing it at the offending man. “This must be dealt with carefully, outside of town where there will be no collateral damage.”

  “Enough of ye and yer ‘collateral,’ whatever the fuck that means,” the merchant retorted.

  “No, no,” one of the guards said, grabbing the merchant by the shoulder and yanking him back. “Yer the expert, Sir Varathian. We’ll trust ye on this.”

  “Thank you,” Cian said, sheathing his weapon. “And thank you for the money,” he added before picking up his prey and stepping outside. “What are ye doing?! Yer letting her get away!” the merchant yelled.

  “Calm down, turns out we were right,” one of the guards replied. “Ye need a monster to fight a monster.”

  “Besides, did ye see the way he held that blade?” the other asked. “Are ye trying to get us all killed?”

  Raea glanced over her shoulder as the Varathian effortlessly carried her through town. She looked back at the guardhouse getting further and further behind.

  “So they’ve been right all along,” Raea said to herself. “I am a monster.”

  “Calm down, girl, don’t get ahead of yourself,” the Varathian said, walking down the road towards the hills overlooking the town.

  “What?” Raea asked. “Didn’t ye say that ye sensed something in me?”

  “I did say that,” Cian replied.

  “So am I a monster or not?” Raea asked.

  “Oh, I have no idea,” Cian said, placing the girl on the ground as they reached the edge of town. “I was hoping that you might have something to say on the matter, actually.”

  “What?” Raea said, mouth agape. “I…I don’t know any more than the people in town. Less, actually.”

  “Hm,” Cian emoted. “Disappointing.”

  Raea glared at the old warrior. “Disappointing?”

  “I’ve been searching for something for a long time, something special,” Cian replied. “I thought you might be it, given what the townspeople said about you. Turns out you’re just a little girl.”

  “Well,” Raea replied, frowning. “Now ye’ve ruined everything for me, just for yer curiosity.” She paused for a moment. “Unless ye’d like to just…let me go,” she added, staring up at the warrior meekly.

  “No,” the Varathian stated without hesitation.

  Raea’s eyes widened and her breathing quickened as her fist rose in anger. “Ye think ye can just come here and ruin my life!” she yelled. “I”ll kill ye!”

  “You couldn’t kill me if I was blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back,” Cian replied, kneeling down next to Raea. “Now listen, I’ve got a reputation to uphold. Besides, after that scene you think they’re not going to treat you with even greater prejudice?”

  “Um,” Raea began, unsure of how to respond.

  “So instead of you killing me, I’ll make you an offer, and you better take if I do say so myself,” Cian said. “I’ll get you off this do nothing island. If nothing else, the thieving will be better.”

  Raea stared at the Varathian, blank eyes of surprise dominating her face. “Well,” she finally said, snapping herself out of that state. “If there’s no other choice I guess…” she hesitated for a moment. “No, there’s still something keeping me here.”

  Cian raised a brow in mild interest. “Oh, so you do have some place you belong. Some sanctuary, perhaps?”

  “I suppose there is one,” Raea answered.

  “Alright, then, lead on.” Cian said, gesturing towards the road.

  ***

  Standing in front of the temple on the hill, Raea looked out of the corner of her eye at Cian. The Varathian was leaning against the wall, waiting for her to go through the door. She did so, being greeted by the sight of the priest standing in the candlelight, dusting off the altar.

  “Father Paul,” Raea called out nervously.

  “Raea,” the priest said, surprised. He abandoned his task, moving towards the girl as fast as his legs could carry him. “What brings you here at this hour?”

  “Well,” the girl said, unsure of herself. “I…was caught.”

  “Caught? Caught by who?” Father Paul asked. “You’re not making any sense.”

  “The Varathian,” Raea began, looking away from the priest. “He was hired to hunt me.”

  “I…see,” Father Paul replied, stopping in his tracks. “Except, why are you here now? How?”

  “He convinced the guards that I was too dangerous, that I needed to be taken care of outside of town,” Raea answered.

  “So what? You escaped him?” the priest pressed, “If that’s the case I’d gladly shelter you for the night, but-.”

  “No,” Raea interrupted. “He let me go, but…” she paused, glancing over her shoulder at the doors. “He’s offering to take me off the island.”

  “Oh. I see,” Father Paul said, sitting on a nearby pew and holding his head in his hands. “I suppose that I…won’t be seeing you again.”

  “Actually, I was hoping that ye could help me instead,” Raea said, smiling.

  Father Paul peered through his fingers at Raea for several still seconds. “No. I was going to say that I could shelter you for a single night but you can’t stay. You must leave town at the very least and leaving the island is better. If the guards find out you survived after having already seen you captured there will be nothing that I can do to protect you.”

  “Oh,” Raea said, eyes slowly widening. “Then ye want me to go with him.”

  The priest did not voice confirmation, only keeping his face buried in his hands.

  Raea half-turned towards the door, preparing to leave. “One more thing, please, before I go,” she said, her voice straining under her own nerves. “Is it true what they say about me? Does it have to do with my parents?”

  “Enough, Astraea,” the priest said with a sudden harshness, lowering his hands. “I told you not to worry about that.”

  Raea stared back, knowing from Father Paul’s tone and the use of her full name that he would not be discussing that topic, just as he always had before. “Right,” she finally said, blinking away her hesitation. “Goodbye then, Father.”

  The girl started walking towards the exit, listening for a response. Yet she heard nothing, the priest sat in silence, turned away from her. Raea stepped out of the temple with no further words between them.

  “You done?” Cian asked, still leaning against the wall.

  “Yeah,” Raea answered, staring at the ground.

  “Heads up,” the Varathian said, tossing a cloak at the girl. “You’re going to want this when we smuggle you out of here.”

  “Wait,” Raea said, catching the garment reflexively. “I haven’t told ye that I’m coming with you yet.”

  “Like I said earlier, this is really your only option,” Cian replied.

  Raea scowled at the cloak in her hands. “Ye planned this, didn’t ye?”

  “In a sense,” the Varathian admitted, taking the first steps down the hill. “But you didn’t turn out to be as special as the townspeople implied. Serves me right for believing a bunch of superstitious cowards.”

  “…What exactly were they saying about me?” Raea asked, fidgeting with the cloak in her hands.

  “Hm?” Cian emoted, glancing at the girl from over his shoulder. “Said something about you having a deadly power that was just waiting to be unleashed. Really the vagueness of it all should have been a warning but this search has been enough to consume a lifetime or two. I was really hoping against hope, I guess.”

  “Well geez, thanks,” Raea said as she donned the cloak, voice dripping with sarcasm. “I’m glad I could be such a disappointment to ye.”

  “You’re welcome,” Cian returned in kind. “Congratulations on being such an utterly boring person.”

  “Hmph,” Raea replied, jogging to catch up with the old warrior. “Where are we going anyway?”

  “With any luck, my dear fugitive, you’ll be on my ship before long,” Cian answered.