Satchel turned up the gas on the stove. Addie sat at the old wooden dining table and looked around.

  “Bring back any memories?” Satchel asked, trying to be friendly.

  “Hardly,” she said. With an air of superiority, she continued, “I’ve surpassed the old man’s teaching and moved into a whole new league.”

  Annoyed, Satchel said, “Uh huh. And what league is it where you let another thief take both your pinch and your payment?”

  She shot him a nasty look. “Do the world a favor and fall down a dark shaft. Where is the old man?”

  As if in response to her question, Jarek stepped into the main room from the hall that led to the bedrooms. Seeing Jarek without a shirt on had an unsettling effect on people. His dark mechanical left arm grappled onto part of his chest, and scars of various sizes and shapes etched into his slim, muscular frame. He bore a hard expression on his face as he fixed his eyes on Addie.

  “What’re you doing here, girl?” he said.

  Addie’s face, so proud moments before, now had a tinge of fear on it. Her voice further betrayed her as she replied, “I just came for what’s mine.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Don’t play dumb with me. The little scum copped my packages and ruined my job.”

  Jarek shifted his gaze to Satchel. “Don’t know anything about the victims, eh? You lied to me.”

  Satchel shrank back.

  With Jarek’s anger trained on someone else, Addie gathered enough courage enough to ask, “So, do you have them?”

  Jarek relaxed, turned his back to her and said, “If you’re talking about the spyglass and parchment, you can forget it.” He sat in the chair at the head of the table. “There’s more to this than you realize.” He leaned forward, set his elbows on the table and interlaced his fingers. “And now you’re going to tell me the details of this job. Spare me nothing.”

  “I don’t have time for this. I just want to get paid.”

  Jarek slammed a fist on the table. “By the gods, child, I poured years of my life into making you a promising thief. The least you could do is answer some questions without any lip.”

  Conflicting thoughts seemed to fight for control in Addie’s mind. Eventually, she bowed her head, defeated. “What do you want to know?”

  Jarek he sat back in his chair. “Who hired you?”

  “I never got his name.”

  Jarek shot an annoyed look to Satchel and shook his head. “How are my apprentices so sloppy? Okay then, what did he look like?”

  “I can’t say much about that either. He wore a white robe with a hood covering his face.”

  “No distinguishing features at all?”

  “None. Well, other than that his hands were almost as pale as his robe.”

  Jarek mulled this over for a moment. “How did you meet him?”

  “It was the same night as the Liebert jewelry heist a fortnight ago.”

  Jarek brightened and chuckled. “You mean the one Anders botched?”

  His chuckle had a calming effect on the room. Addie seemed to relax.

  “The same. I was in the Temple District of Upper Ire. As I crossed the courtyard in front of the temple, he appeared out of nowhere in front of the temple doors. It startled me, but I kept moving. When I passed by, he called my name and motioned for me to come to him.”

  “He knew your name?”

  Addie nodded. “I asked him how, but he ignored the question and said he knew what it was I wanted most in the world. He said I could have it if I did something for him.”

  Jarek and Satchel exchanged knowing looks.

  “What is it?” asked Addie.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “In a moment,” said Jarek. “Finish the story.”

  “I said, ‘And what would that be?’ and my heart sank when he answered me. He knew it exactly.”

  “That’s when he hired you?”

  “Not yet. He said that if I was interested, I should return to the fountain in the Temple courtyard the following evening at the same time and receive my instructions.”

  “Curious.”

  “I didn’t get any sleep that night and turned the prospect over and over in my head. I think it was sheer curiosity that brought me back to that courtyard. I didn’t see the robed guy, but I found a sealed envelope with my name on it sitting on the rim of the fountain. Just like he said, inside the envelope was instructions about what to do and when.”

  “Do you still have the note?”

  Addie hesitated. “It’s going to sound crazy.”

  “It’s a yes or no question. How is that crazy?”

  “Well...as soon as I had finished reading it, the note disappeared in front of my eyes.”

  “Disappeared?”

  “It broke apart into tiny golden pieces that flared and then vanished. Like it had been set on fire.”

  Jarek’s jaw worked for a moment. He then said, “What did the note say?”

  “It told me to steal the spyglass from an antique collector down in Rowan named Gavin. It was a tough job, but I pulled it off flawlessly. I doubt he’s even realized it’s gone yet.” Addie smirked.

  Ignoring it, Jarek asked, “What else did the note say?”

  Addie continued, though with a little deflated, “It told me to bring the spyglass to Ledion Square at a certain time and trade it for something. It didn’t say what. I was to then wait for more instructions.”

  “Anything else you can tell me about it?”

  Addie sheepishly reached into her pocket and held out her hand. “This was also in the envelope.”

  She opened her fingers. Lying in the middle of her palm was a small silver ring. Jarek picked it up and inspected it. Satchel leaned in to get a better look. Intricately etched all around the circular band were small vines and roses. The handiwork was magnificent. Not a single flaw or scratch.

  Jarek muttered absently to himself. “Where have I seen these markings before?”

  Satchel began to say something, but Addie spoke first, “The note told me to accept this gift as the first of many blessings should I accomplish my task.”

  “Have you had it appraised?”

  “I thought I would keep it,” she said, embarrassed.

  Jarek scoffed. “That’s a first.”

  Addie snatched the ring back from Jarek’s hand and returned it to her pocket.

  “No need to get testy,” said the old thief. He sat back. “This whole business has me puzzled.” He rubbed his chin. “How is the White Knight tied to this robed man?”

  “What Knight?”

  Jarek relayed the encounter with Kazi.

  “Do you think we’re caught in the middle of a rivalry?” asked Addie.

  “Possibly,” Jarek responded.

  Satchel said, “What if they’re all on the same side?”

  “That’s stupid,” said Addie.

  “What makes you think that?” asked Jarek. “What purpose would it serve to send two thieves after the same items and then betray everyone involved?”

  Satchel hesitated, not expecting his mentor to entertain his idea. “Well, what if they wanted the parchment and to get it they had to promise the spyglass? But, they had no intention of parting with the spyglass. The guards showing up means that someone else tipped them off.”

  “That’s a lot of assuming, boy. And I still don’t see how the two are connected.”

  “You said earlier that you had seen the markings on the ring before, right?”

  “Your point?”

  “They look like the same markings on Kazi’s knife.”

  Jarek’s eyes widened. Jumping up, he rushed back to his room and reemerged holding the Komji’s dagger. He asked Addie to pull out her ring and he compared the markings.

  “By the gods, you’re right, boy!” The old thief spoke quickly. “Let’s retrace the sequence of events. Addie, you were to make the trade, but Satchel had been tasked with snatching both the spyglass and the parchment. Then Kazi should have brought them to the White Knight. So, the Knight knew where the spyglass was located and who had the scroll.” He paused to think. “Was the man wearing orange?”

  “What?”

  “Orange. Did he wear orange?”

  “Uh, I think so. It was dark...actually, yes he did. Just his hood though.”

  “A Guild man then. That explains that.”

  “Guild man?” Satchel said.

  “The Guild of Steam,” said Jarek. “They collect and preserve all manner of technology and information. Let’s finish the sequence. Addie was supposed to be captured along with her dealer by the guards. But, they hadn’t counted on your abilities.” He grinned. “Thanks to me, of course.”

  Addie rolled her eyes.

  Jarek continued, “Unbeknownst to everyone else, the Knight had a third person, Kazi, snatch both articles.”

  “But, why didn’t he have the guards bring it to him?”

  Jarek gave her a long look. “Who’s the most dishonest thief in town?”

  “Borruk. Everyone knows that.”

  “I trust the guards less than I trust him. The Knight is not stupid. They’d have divvied up the spoils and sold them off faster than you could blink. No, he had to have someone he could trust, or at the very least, control. To have manipulated the guard and the Guild, our Knight is a clever man.”

  “So what do we do then?”

  “Satchel and I are leaving in two days for Brunland. Someone there may be able to help us with the spyglass. They may even know about this scroll.” He leaned forward. “I could use your skills, Addie.”

  She pursed her lips and said nothing for a long minute. She then said, “I want payment.”

  “I’d expect nothing less. I’ll assume expenses for the trip, and you get a cut of whatever we find on the road and five coppers a day, besides.”

  “Deal.”

  “Good. Now, both of you get some rest. I have some business to attend to. Tomorrow, we make ready for the trek. Addie, use the spare room upstairs.”

  With that, Jarek grabbed a shirt and cloak from his room, slipped on his gloves, and walked out the front door. After he had gone, Addie climbed the stairs to the second floor but stopped for a look back at Satchel. They eyed one another for a few silent moments before she sighed and continued up the stairs, leaving the young thief by himself.

  He stared at the glow of the gas fire as he thought. Words from the conversation of the evening swirled in and around his mind. White Knight. Brunland. Spyglass. The scroll. The Guild of Steam. He shivered as he thought about how close he had come to death the previous night.

  Finding no resolution to anything, Satchel turned down the gas on the stove, went to his room and lay down on the bed. All the while, that accursed song kept playing through his mind.