Thieves at Heart (9 page)

He turned down a residential street, little houses packed close together with clothes hanging from windows. The guard stopped in front of one of the doors and pushed it open and out of the doorway tumbled a large black and white dog, its ears and tongue flapping rather stupidly about its head, its tail smacking the man in the leg with loud thumps. The guard laughed and stood up, patting his own chest and the dog responded by standing up on its hind legs, licking the man’s face enthusiastically. From the door popped a little boy, his freckled face breaking into a smile as the guard ushered them all indoors, closing the door behind them with a thud.

Tavera frowned. The boy’s face and the dog looked familiar. All the freckles. The dog’s face and happy demeanor. They both reminded her of the block lord they had run into, the one who had the dog Derk fed. What was a guard doing with someone possibly related to a block lord? Tavera shrugged and walked by the house, careful not to step in anything that had been tossed out in the night. When she walked by the door she could hear the dog barking inside and the man shushing it, the clatter of bony toenails on the floor. She originally planned to watch the guard until she had to meet with Derk but thought better of it. The guard was probably home till the beginning of his shift.

She spent the rest of the watch roaming around, balancing on any ledge that she came across, hopping off of them and running to find the next one. She was balancing on her eighteenth ledge when she felt eyes on her and she saw Garin staring at her from across the square, his arms crossed over his chest. Adults were part of the group now and he looked like he had been cuffed recently. Tavera just leaned forward and did a handstand, walking a few steps on her palms before she let the weight of her legs fall back towards the earth.

As her feet arched she felt the coin loosen and then fall out of her boot, bouncing off her hip and into her skirts as she planted her feet on the ground, the metallic clink singing merrily as it bounced along the ground. Tavera chased after the coin, seeing something out of the corner of her eye. As her hand closed around the coin, Garin stepped on her foot and pulled at her hair. Tavera screamed and took the coin in her other hand once he took his foot off. A low growl rose in her throat as she got her balance and stood up. She pushed him so hard he fell back onto his backside with a bounce, the adults now looking to see where the scream had come from.

“You hem-chawing Forester!” Garin shouted at her from the ground, and Tavera sucked in her breath as she clutched her coin to her chest, feeling all the eyes now on her. Her skin grew hot. She felt a thousand ugly things boil in her stomach and threaten to explode from her mouth. Instead she just turned and ran, fighting back her tears and her anger, not caring who saw if she was running now. She knew she was fast, just a blur of blue and brown and black cutting its way through the streets, light on her feet. She found the steps up into the rooms they were staying in, showing the keeper the token they had been given for their room before he let her up the stairs.

Tavera still had a few moments before she had to meet with Derk and she didn’t want to show up a bedraggled mess or wearing the clothes those stupid villagers had seen her in. She put the chair up against the door before she opened her pack, pulling her tunic and top skirt off, laying them across the bed as she looked over the rest of her clothes. Her nose sniffed at her winter leggings, finding them clean and she jumped out of her boots, sending them flying across the room. Leggings, a different colored tunic, a belt, boots. Tavera pulled a cap out and set it on her head before she shoved everything else back in her pack, looking at the cloak that hung on the peg by the door. It was too hot to wear it right now but it would cool down after sunset and Derk would chide her if she said she was cold. She yanked it down, noting its lack of rabbit fur around the face and put it on before she left the room. The room guard did a double take as she walked by but said nothing as she sauntered down the steps.

Derk was already waiting at a table at the bar and the look on his face made her slow her steps, lowering her head as she came closer. The lines on his forehead were deep and his eyes could have been said to be smoldering if they were any color but that bright blue. If fire could be blue and angry, that was what Derk’s eyes looked like. He was already drinking from a rather large mug, no food before him and he set his eyes on Tavi, not seeming to notice her at first. He looked at her again and his eyes went up and down, from boots to brow. “What’s all this?” he asked when she was close enough to not have to shout for her to hear. “You look like a boy.”

“But I’m a girl,” Tavera said, slumping into the chair diagonal from him. The hat even covered her ears and she wouldn’t have to worry about sitting properly, which Derk insisted. Derk just snorted and took a sip of his beer, pushing it towards her before he eyed her again, his mouth seeming to disappear from his face as he pressed his lips together.

“Did you have a nice time on the town?” he asked. He said it like he meant to say it like he cared but he just sounded annoyed. Tavera shrugged, laying her chin on the tabletop. She wrapped her hand around the mug and looked up at Derk, her thin brows furrowing on her small face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Your meetings go bad?”

Derk ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it as he blew out his cheeks. “Not bad, just…you remember that man I told you about? Hock?” He waited for her to nod before he continued but before he could he looked up, a forced smile poking the corners of his mouth and making his eyes bigger. He waved his hand over his head and Tavera turned in her chair to see who he was waving at.

The man he was waving at couldn’t be a thief. This man was too fat. He was having trouble getting through the rows and aisles of chairs. He had a great brown mustache sitting under his lip and framing the sides of his mouth. His large frame bumped into chairs and patrons as he made his way to the table and he sat down next to Tavera, the little girl unable to keep from staring at him as he settled in. Hock drummed his fat fingers on the tabletop and looked to Derk first, then Tavera, raising a brow at her. “And who’s this lad? Are you starting to collect children, Derk? Start a bench school for little takers?”

“This is her, Hock, this is Kiff,” Derk said. Tavera could hear the hint of exasperation in his voice and saw him cover his mouth with his hand in a further attempt to hide his annoyance. It either worked on the big man or the big man didn’t care what Derk felt at the moment. Hock chuckled and looked to Tavera. She couldn’t help but lean back in her chair away from him, his presence pushing against her. “She’s just dressed as a boy for some reason.” Derk shrugged and collected his mug back from Tavera, taking another gulp before he gestured towards her with the mug. “Well, here she is.”

“A pair of plow-all-days, a pitcher of the bitter and a bowl of yesterdays,” Hock shouted at the man behind the counter, making Tavera jump in her seat. He looked to Tavera and smiled genuinely at her. “Would you like something sweet, little Kiff?”

Tavera looked to Derk with big eyes and he nodded slightly. She scratched her cheek with her shoulder and nodded to Hock, feeling a bit shy next to the big man with the loud voice. A man was playing the two-pipes in the corner while a girl sang, both of them not nearly loud enough to drown the man out as he shouted again. “And a bowl of bleeding hearts for my little friend!” He smiled at Tavera once more, pulling a deck of cards out from his shirt and shuffling them with his fat fingers. “Play a game of Woo with me, boy? For old time’s sake?” He started to deal before Derk could even nod.

Tavera sat there in her chair, watching as Derk picked up his cards. He didn’t bother arranging them, as always, while Hock moved his cards around a bit, trying to get the combinations set up. Hock already had a mate in his hand but not the right combinations to win. The cards were worn but painted by a skilled hand, probably a deck the fat man had bought somewhere. She watched as Derk picked up a card and placed it to the far left in his hand, throwing down a number. His blue eyes didn’t scan Hock but Tavera, trying to pick up what she knew about the fat man’s hand. She narrowed her eyes as if she were concentrating to let him know Hock had a mate already and Derk pressed his lips together as he stared at his cards, considering his approach.

“So, you like being with this boy here?” Hock asked, picking up an animal card and throwing down a stone card. He didn’t look at her when he asked but she still just nodded, knowing he’d see out of the corner of his eye. “And what do you like about being with him?”

“Well…he keeps me safe. And he teaches me. How to tell how much someone has. Where they’re hiding it. The best way to turn one thing into another thing. How to plan and wait. And how to fight.” She thought back to the fight earlier with the village boy and how it turned out. Tavera fought him back and ran. That was what she was supposed to do. Get away. She had accomplished that though a part of her worried one of the adults in the group would come into the bar and recognize her. The costume change might help her avoid detection and if they were looking for an adult similar in appearance to her no one looked less like her than Derk.

“And what does he get out of it, little one?” he asked, watching as Derk picked up the card Hock threw down, exchanging it for the fire card he had in his hand. Derk’s eyes shot over to Tavera and for a second she though she saw alarm there. Tavera felt confused. What did Derk get out of what? Out of Tavera being his daughter? She frowned, taking the mug and pulling a sip off of it, swishing it in her mouth, the beer fizzing and tickling.

“I guess he gets help. I’m a good helper. I’m small and I fit into places he can’t.” Was this the kind of answer he was looking for? Tavera’s mouth dropped as she tried to give a good answer. “And two crows see more than one, right?”

“True, two crows see more than one. So, you’re a good helper. But are you a good taker?” He looked over at her now and he didn’t look as kind as he had before. Tavera was starting to dislike him. A man set a dish with two roasted rabbits, a pitcher of ale and a bowl of chopped bloodroot and barley salad on the table, setting a bowl of heartberries in their juice before her. She didn’t bother asking but ripped into one of the rabbits, thinking of the two she had seen earlier today. This one wasn’t soft at all. Just crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. If she saw Garin again, maybe she’d bite him.

“I’m a good taker,” she said, mouth half full of meat. “I took stuff before I met my pa and not just food. And I’m a good watcher, too. Derk says I barely needed teaching on that.”

“Oh, and what have you watched as of late? You seen anything of interest?” Hock threw down a rain card and picked up another flower, Tavera seeing the man’s displeasure with his cards. Derk looked to her but she kept her face still, dipping a bit of meat into the berry juice, painting it pink.

“I saw that one of them town guards is helping the block lord with all the freckles,” she said quietly. “The one with the big black dog. He’s got some boy of his living in one of the small houses by the animal blocks. I saw it today while you all were having your meetings.” Tavera didn’t care if she sounded a bit insolent. She didn’t like the way Hock was talking about her pa. She wanted to ask him what was the last thing he stole but it would probably upset Derk. Tavi hadn’t seen Derk like this before. As angry as she was, she still didn’t want to ruin anything Derk had going with this man who seemed to be important.

“So, you get training and he gets a lookout. That’s good. For now.” He put down a card and picked up a good one, a leaf card, before he reached over Tavera and lifted a haunch of the rabbit off the plate, ripping into it with his teeth. Derk hadn’t eaten anything but was trying to stare at his cards, looking to Tavi for a clue. She wiped her nose with her hand, though she shouldn’t have. Derk put down another leaf card, picking up a card from the pool and taking a gulp of beer. Hock smiled.

“Though the bit about the dog and the boy, that’s good to know. You’re not bad to have around. Of course, him having you around and us keeping you for ourselves, those are two different things. D’you understand that?” He looked to Tavera, his brown eyes serious in his pale face. His hair showed a bit of grey as he looked at her, the lantern light illuminating the age in his face. Hock looked her over and laughed, setting his cards down on the table. He picked up the leaf card and put it on top of his pile, picking one he didn’t want and setting it out, flipping all his cards over for Derk to see, grinning. “That was a quick game now, wasn’t it?”

Derk gave her a look that was half a glare and half a smirk, throwing his cards on the table while Hock laughed. “She knows when to pick sides now, at least!” Hock almost shouted, laughing again before he took another huge bite out of his food. “Going for the big win, were yah?”

“As always,” Derk chuckled, collecting the cards up and putting them in a pile. Hock finished the bit of rabbit with a loud, slurping sound and set the mangled bones on the plate, wiping his hands on a piece of cloth that had been dropped there as well.

“Well, I’ve met the girl and had my say. Where’re you headed to next?” Hock asked, collecting his cards in his large hands. Tavera ate one of her berries, wondering what Derk would say.

Derk just shrugged. “Probably north, not sure yet. I’ve been a bit busy with other things to really put an ear in,” he said. He looked at Tavera, not with blame but she knew it was because of her. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel so she just ate more.

“Well keep an ear in, Derk. We’ll be calling on you soon. And maybe we’ll call upon your little girl-boy here.” Hock heaved himself out of the chair, putting his cards in his belt before he smiled at Derk, a real smile. “Always a pleasure, Derk. Behave yourself.”

Derk just nodded and kept his eyes on the table, Hock nodding a goodbye to Tavera before he ambled away, shouting a farewell to the barkeep. Tavera took a spoonful of the barley and bloodroot in her hand, pushing it into her mouth and licking her fingers as she chewed. “What’d he mean, behave?”