“How would I know?” replied Runt. He came forward another two steps then stopped. His features were somewhat recognizable now. “That was some trick.”
“Trick?” asked Bart, unsure just what he was talking about.
“You disappearing,” he clarified. “Never seen anyone do that before.”
Bart gazed at the lad in uncertainty. “You said they fled,” he said, ignoring the comment about him disappearing. “Do you know which way they fled?”
“Oh yes,” replied Runt. “It was quite spectacular.”
“Spectacular?” asked Bart. He didn’t like the sound of that.
Runt nodded. “Explosions. Lights. There was even a gust of wind that knocked townsfolk every which way.” He then paused a moment before saying, “Best show I ever saw.”
“Which way did they flee?” he demanded.
Runt paused a moment as he gazed at Bart.
“Well?” asked Bart. He didn’t have time simply to stand around talking. He had to get out of here and fast.
“How did you disappear?” Runt finally asked.
“That’s not important right now,” Bart said. “Just tell me which way they fled.”
“If you tell me how you disappeared,” Runt said, “I’ll tell you where they went.”
That was a secret he wasn’t about to reveal to anyone, let alone a street kid. Information of that sort tended to make the rounds and he didn’t want the fact he had the Cloak to become common knowledge. Instead, he pulled forth a coin and held it up. “I’ll give you this if you tell me,” he offered.
Runt looked at the coin being offered and could see it was silver. “I’d rather know about the disappearing,” he said.
A moment later, a second coin joined the first.
“This way!” he heard someone yell from the street. Taking a step back toward the mouth of the alley, Bart glanced down the street and saw a dozen guards running his way. In front of the men was a boy some years older than Runt. It took Bart less than an instant to recognize the boy as being one of the two Runt had called his brothers.
“Why you little…,” he began saying to Runt when all of a sudden, Runt leaped forward and wrapped himself around one of Bart’s legs. The two coins in his hand went flying.
“Assassin!” the boy yelled as Bart kicked and tried to dislodge the little bugger.
“Runt!” Hearing the cry of his little brother, the lad with the guards broke into an all out run toward the alley. A knife glinted in his hand.
Unable to dislodge the boy, Bart was about to strike out with the butt of his knife when another lad emerged from out of the darkened alley. Leaping off of a broken crate lying nearby, Runt’s other brother flew through the air. His body slammed into Bart’s shoulder and hands grabbed the arm holding he knife.
The unexpectedness of the attack caused Bart to lose his balance. Stumbling backward, he hit the ground with a thud. Immediately, he and the older brother began fighting for control of Bart’s knife. While they struggled, Bart kicked at Runt with his free leg.
“Assassin!” Runt screamed again just as Bart’s foot struck him forcefully in the side. Though he grunted from the impact, he didn’t let go.
Bart’s fist repeatedly hammered into the older brother in an attempt to break his grip. Again and again he pummeled the boy mercilessly in the head. When he felt the older boy’s grip relax slightly, he wriggled the captive hand free and struck with the knife.
Aaaaaahhhh!
The boy cried out in pain as the knife sank into his side. With the fight now out of the older brother, Bart struck Runt in the head with the butt of the knife. The first blow did little but elicit a cry of pain. The second one knocked him unconscious. Quickly extricating himself from the now limp body, Bart scrambled to his feet.
“Runt! Parel!” cried the remaining brother as he entered the alley. He saw his two brothers lying amidst the debris littering the alley with Bart standing over them. One was writhing in pain as blood flowed from a wound in his side, and poor little Runt lay unconscious beside him. On his heels, guards boiled into the alley. Bart turned and fled, moving deeper into the alley.
“Kill him!” he heard the brother scream to the guards entering the alley. Fleeing for his life, Bart dodged trash and debris as he ran. Behind him, the guards were hot on his tail.
He had almost reached the end of the alley when more guards appeared before him and blocked his escape. Not willing to give up without a fight, Bart barreled forward. Before the guards even realized he was close, he leaped. At the same time, he pulled the hood of the Cloak over his head just before colliding with the lead guard.
Bart held onto the hood tightly as he and the guards fell in a heap. Once they hit the ground, Bart began to roll. Rolling into the legs of another guard, he had the satisfaction of hearing him cry out as he was knocked to the ground.
“Where did he go?” one of the pursuing guards hollered as they began emerging from the alley.
Hidden by the magic of the Cloak, Bart quickly extricated himself from the pile of bodies and came to his feet. Guards held torches aloft as they scanned the area.
“Curse that assassin!” another guard exclaimed.
“He couldn’t have gone far,” an older guard stated.
As the guard started organizing the rest of them into search parties, Bart quickly left the scene. Once he turned onto a side street and the guards were no longer in sight, he pulled back the hood and became visible once again.
He cursed himself for a fool. He should have known better than to think that anyone here, even someone as innocent seeming as Runt, could be trusted. It was a mistake he wouldn’t make twice.
At least he’d learned that Riyan and the others had fled. But where would they have gone? That question would have to remain unanswered until he was out of the city. Moving through the darkened streets and alleys, he avoided contact with locals and guards alike.
He knew the gates would be closed and closely watched. The earlier reconnoitering he did upon first arriving was of little use now. He had acquired only a good idea of the immediate vicinity around the inn. Now he was paying for his shortsightedness.
All around him the city was awash with lights and moving bodies as they hunted for him. He was fairly confident in his ability to thwart the searchers. It was the magic user from the castle that he was most worried about. Ducking into yet another alley, he waited while six guardsmen hurried down the street.
As the guards were passing by, a noise came from deeper within the alley behind him. One of the guards glanced into the darkened recesses of the alley. Bart pressed himself against the side of an adjacent building, sure that he was found. But the guard failed to see him and soon continued past.
Turning his attention to the darkness of the alley’s interior, he saw movement. The shadow moved forward toward the end of the alley where he was standing. Bart remained motionless except for his hand which moved to clutch his knife. Eyes locked onto the shadow, he braced himself for whatever may come. Then the shadow entered an area that was more illuminated and he saw it to be a drunken beggar.
Relaxing somewhat, he moved along the side of the wall toward the mouth of the alley until he could see down the street in both directions. When he saw it was clear of searchers, he moved out. Behind him, the beggar noticed his movement and mumbled something. Whatever he had said was lost as Bart quickly moved away down the street.
Keeping close to the buildings bordering the street, he stayed in the shadows as best he could. Still not using the protective magic of the Cloak, he instead relied on his time tested skills to keep from being seen. Moving from shadow to shadow, blending in so as to be almost invisible, he worked his way ever closer to the wall surrounding the city. He had to get over before daylight. The time of the thief was during the hours of darkness.
When they first arrived, he had noticed that buildings were built against the inner side of the defensive wall that surrounded the city. Most cities allowed such since the protective wall was designed to keep invaders out, not in. Perhaps one would be tall enough and enable him to reach the top without too much trouble. Those most likely to be allowed to be built the tallest would be along the wall near the river and lake where an attack was less likely.
