Free Among Thieves by Douglas Hulick Page B

Dealer?” asked Degan. I had told him I was looking for a fence named Fedim, but not why.
    “Not yet,” I said. “Right now, we walk and watch. I need to relearn the lay of the land. If we’re lucky, some of my old contacts may still be around.”
    “And if we’re not lucky?”
    “Some of my old contacts may still be around.”
    “Why do I have the feeling that it’s going to end up being an unlucky night?” said Degan.
    I ignored him.
    Much of the cordon was as I remembered it. The main thoroughfare, Solace Way, was broad for Ten Ways and narrow for any other part of Ildrecca. Nearly half of its cobbles were missing, and the rest were covered over with mud and refuse, making the footing tricky. Side streets were little more than alleys, and the alleys little more than near-accidental spaces between buildings. What little sky we could see was smudged over with smoke, hiding the stars.
    The buildings themselves were a jumble of old and not as old, all running to ruin. Roughly one in five was missing a roof, walls, or some other critical portion of architecture. Here and there, I saw a flower box, a tiny garden, a newly painted lintel—attempts by the Lighters to make their fragment of the cordon more respectable, more homey. While it might have made them feel better, to me it only underscored the desolation of the place.
    I felt eyes upon us the whole time. We needed no sign, had to speak no word to be spotted as outsiders by the Kin of Ten Ways. Street traffic was low this time of afternoon. I saw no one following us, but I didn’t believe that to be true for a moment.
    I paused on corners and in doorways, asking after old names, slipping the occasional coin to jog memories. Most of my former contacts had either vanished or become tight-lipped. I wasn’t local anymore, and that meant I wasn’t to be trusted. I couldn’t turn up anything on Nicco, or Kells, or even on the Dealer I had been sent to find, Fedim.
    Finally, when I had paid three different Kin to track down one of my more reliable sources from a decade back—a Whisperer named Elek—only to find he had died six months ago, I lost my temper.
    “So who the hell has taken over for him?” I demanded of the ragpicker who had informed me of Elek’s demise— after I had paid her for the privilege.
    “That’d be, ah . . . ah . . . ” she began, before breaking into a nervous coughing fit.
    “Eliza,” said a dark voice off to the side.
    I looked over and saw a cloaked figure sitting in a doorway. His outline was barely visible, so well did his clothing match the shadows.
    “ Silent Eliza?” I asked.
    The man nodded, or should I say, the cowl of his hood did.
    “Where is she standing now?” I asked.
    “Rose and Castle.”
    I knew the tavern. I tossed a copper owl his way, saw him pluck it out of the air. He chuckled as I walked off down the street. Degan eyed me as we went, but he refrained from saying anything.
    Silent Eliza was anything but; she was loud, raucous, and still one of the best Ears there was in Ten Ways. When people think you are too busy talking to listen, they let things slip. It cost me more than I would have liked to get the information from her, but a jug of wine and a handful of hawks passed under the table got us directions after an hour or so of listening to her go on about . . . everything.
    The sun was just beginning to edge below the horizon when we left the Rose and Castle. We had only gone a few blocks before Degan nudged my arm.
    “That’s the third one in as many blocks,” he said.
    “What?” I said.
    “Ahrami.”
    I looked down and found myself slipping the pouch back beneath my shirt. Sure enough, I could feel a seed under my tongue, softening.
    “And?” I said.
    Degan shrugged. “Nothing.”
    “It’s not as if I enjoy being here,” I said.
    “Of course not.”
    “I worked my ass off getting out of this damn place. Coming back is the last thing I wanted to do.”
    “Mm-hmm.”
    “And then being