it did. With a snarl. Smooth Skin got to his feet and stormed off, leaving Lydia to rake in the entire pot.
“Now can we please get out of here?” Kevin asked, sure Smooth Skin was going to return with thugs.
“Hey, kid, 1 know when to quit!” Lydia paused just long enough to make the bardling’s heart race, then grinned. “And now, my friend, is definitely the time!”
Only when they were outside and halfway down the block did it occur to Kevin that he hadn’t seen Tich’ki since they’d entered the temple. As though just thinking of her was enough to conjure her up, the fairy suddenly appeared at his side, wings fluttering, grinning her feral grin and waving a colorful piece of parchment
“Wait a minute,” Kevin said. “That’s a tarot card!”
“Two points to the clever lad with the lute!”
“But—Let me see that!” The bardling snatched the card from Tich’ki’s hand before she could dart away. “This is one of the cards from the deck Lydia was using! It’s The High Priestess, one of the Major Ar—Ha! No wonder that man couldn’t get all the Major Arcana cards! Lydia, you were cheating}”
“Shh! You want the guards after us?”
“But—but—you were! You and Tich’ki were in it together, weren’t you? What did you do, Tich’ki? Use fairy magic so no one would notice you? That’s it, isn’t it? You looked at the other players’ hands and slipped Lydia the right cards—You were both cheating!”
Lydia stopped. Placing her hands firmly on the bardling’s shoulders, she told him, “My naive young friend, what did you think the others were doing? Hell, boy, we were all cheating, I realized that from the first hand! I just cheated better, that’s all.” Grinning, she released him. “You know who those two men were? The fellow with the beard—well, I don’t remember his name; it’s been a while. But he is a very successful gem merchant. The other one, the beardless guy, hasn’t changed much at all. His name is Selden, and he sits on the city council. Neither one of them are going to miss what we took from them!”
“You Stole from a city official!”
“He’s not going to let anyone know he was—let’s see, how does the formal term go?—participating in an illicit gambling operation. Come on, Kevin: smile! We’ve got our funding back, and more. Now let’s go bribe ourselves somebody useful.”
But just then an angry voice shouted, “There she is! That’s the woman who robbed me! Guards, after her!”
“Oh, right,” Kevin said sarcastically. “He’s not going to let anyone know.”
And then he and Lydia were running for their lives.
As the guards charged, Tich’ki leaped straight up into the air, wings a blur. “See you later!”
She darted off at top speed as Kevin and Lydia raced through the crowded streets of Westerin, weaving in and out of knots of people, the guards’ heavy footsteps pounding behind them. The air rang with cries of “Thieves! Stop them!” But no one even tried to block their path.
Of course not! Kevin realized. Nobody wants to risk getting involved!
“This way!” Lydia gasped, pointing to a narrow alley.
But Kevin stumbled to a stop, staring. In there^ The place stank! It was filthy with piles of garbage and who knew what else. Worse, it also looked like a dead end!
He almost hesitated too long. “Got him!” a guard yelled. A rough hand grabbed at the bardling’s arm, nearly pulling the lute from his back. Kevin kicked out savagely and heard a grunt of pain. The guard lost his hold, and the bardling dove into the alley.
Wonderful. Now
Trying not to breathe too deeply, he raced after Lydia, struggling to keep his footing on the slippery, muddy earth, telling himself the puddles he couldn’t help splashing through were water, only water.
None of it seemed to bother the guards. They came pounding after him, swearing, armor and weapons dashing as they ran.
“Kevin!” Lydia whispered, snatching at him.
Where did she think she was going? That didn’t even qualify as an alley! It was only a—a crevice, a space where the backs of two buildings didn’t quite meet.
