Two torches lit the front entrance of the Crownsmith Cathedral as three carriages pulled up to the front. Two large doors swung open, revealing a large man and a small boy.

  Reese jumped out of the carriage. "Samir, horses. Bones, thank goodness you're here. I'm going to need your help carrying in some statues."

  Carriage doors opened and everyone started climbing out. Pots handed bags to each of them who in turn, carried them inside.

  "Just put everything on the table," Reese directed. "No need to lug everything to the thieves' common room."

  Lucia avoided eye contact with Benj as they both put their sacks next to a massive, gold-plated skull. The skull belonged to the previous leader of the Crownsmith, and now that it was out for everyone to inspect, it was easy to believe the rumors that he wasn't completely human. Two teeth jutted upward from either side of its lower jaw, giving it a nefarious look. Even more frightening than the skull was the person it used to belong to before it was severed, dipped in gold, and set out for display. Darius, a once powerful and brutal force, had been reduced to a table decoration.

  "Bones, is there any food?" Jafa set two more bags on the table.

  The tattooed man was admiring a statue he had carried in. He looked at Jafa and nodded before resuming his appraisal.

  Once all the loot had been brought in and everyone had eaten their fill of venison stew, they sat around the table.

  "Who wants to do the ledger?" Reese pulled a box off the floor and set it on the table.

  Lucia raised her hand. "I'll do it."

  Reese slid the box across the table. "Peppers has the ledger."

  Lucia rolled her eyes. She knew where this was going.

  "Who now?" A dark-skinned man with long, neatly tied-back ropes of hair walked into the room. He wore a long, black leather jacket and matching pants. Under the jacket, he wore no shirt; his chest was covered with tattoos and several low-hanging gold and leather necklaces.

  Reese pointed at Lucia. "Peppers."

  "I want to hear this one," Draiden sat down and looked at everyone expectantly.

  "The story is for helpful people only," Lucia said. "Everyone who helped has already heard the story, so there's no need to talk about it any longer."

  "She fed Axe poison peppers," Pots said in an outburst.

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  "She told him she was going to feed him peppers or feed him to the dogs." Jafa corrected. "When he opted for the peppers, it turns out... "he slid his thumb over his neck and made a ripping sound.

  "The real story," Reese said in a no-nonsense tone, "Was she gave Axe two options. The first option was Bash doing what Bash does best. The second was eating some magic peppers. Obviously, he didn't know they were magic. They were alchemically created to be hotter than any pepper ever made. He took one bite and then blew fire like a dragon. It melted his face clean off. You really should have been there. The moral of the story is don't eat Peppers' peppers."

  "The fire singed some of my arm hairs," Benj briefly lifted his sleeve exposing his arm.

  Draiden looked around the table. He wasn't sure what to think. "Where do you get magic, fire-blowing peppers?"

  "We've already been over this before you showed up, Draiden," Benj yawned. "Let's get this all tallied up before I fall asleep."

  Reese assigned Pots and Jafa the task of counting the coins. Draiden and Benj brought wares for him to evaluate, and Lucia wrote down Reese's approximations.

  When they opened the bags with the clothes, Draiden inspected each one. "If I wore shirts anymore, I would buy these myself. Bird, have you ever worn silk?"

  "No, but it doesn't seem very practical," Benj answered.

  "It's a shame," he tossed the silk shirt away and pulled out a pair of white pants. He held them up to himself. "Rusted relics, I'm too tall. Otherwise, I would take the lot."

  After sifting through the pile, he finally said, "Somewhere between thirty and forty."

  "Twenty-five talents," Reese instructed Lucia.

  Benj started lining up shoes and boots on the table. Draiden picked up a brown leather boot, compared it to the ones he was wearing, and then tossed it back on the table.

  Lucia picked up the boot and, upon inspection, gave it to Benj. "I'm buying these for Benj. He's going to need something nice to wear after we climb his stupid mountain together."

  Benj didn't want to explain that she had to make the trip alone. She was only just starting to warm up to him again. Besides, they were very nice boots. He thanked her and tried them on. They fit. He made a mental note to explain to her the rules of the Asven trek. Maybe tomorrow, he thought.

  "They're yours, Bird," Reese said. "Free of charge. Two royals and two for the rest."

  When everything was counted or approximated, Lucia added up the total. "About eighty-one royals all together."

  "That's a big catch," Draiden said.

  "We should probably split it with the women who earned the money in the first place," Lucia suggested.

  "Excellent idea, Peppers," Reese said jovially. "Draiden, tell the ladies that Axe is gone, and they are free to do whatever they want. As soon as they decide what they want to do, I will fund their endeavors."

  "Are you sure about that?" Draiden asked. "That's a big promise to make. I've talked to them; they have pretty big dreams."

  "The goal here is to clean up Canal Street. The bigger their dreams, the better." Reese slid a handful of talents off the table and handed it to Draiden. "Pay the grunts whatever Axe owes them, but make sure they're not around when you break the news."

  "Benj and I have decided that this is our last job," Lucia announced. "My father is getting anxious to go now that the weather has cleared up."

  "I figured our time had been running short," Reese stacked five royals from the table and slid them to her. "This is for you and Bird, along with my sincerest gratitude for everything you've done."

  Benj and Lucia thanked him in turn.

  "When you decide to come back, there's always a seat at my table for you," Reese said genuinely.

  "We're not sure what we're going to do yet," Benj admitted, "But if we ever come back, we'll come here."

  "We can look into getting you supplies tomorrow," Reese looked around. "For now, let's get this all cleaned up. I'm exhausted."