Page 30 of Wanted: Rogues and Bards

Looking up, he addressed the sky and any deity who thought the timing of this storm was hilarious. “Fuck you, too. I can’t get a single break tonight, can I?”

The raindrops came down faster, closer together, aiming to soak him if he didn’t get a move on.

A move on to where, though, was the question.

“Tonight,” Lirion bemoaned, walking faster, “has definitely been a disaster from start to finish. Is it too much to ask for one good thing to come out of it?”

Clearly, it was.

By the time Fenric reached the rental house, he was soaked to the bone. It didn’t matter whether he was in his human or cat form, being drenched left him in a pissy mood. When he added in the fact he had no new coin and had spent a good chunk of his evening in jail, he wasn’t fit to be around anyone.

Thankfully, when he crept into the dark house, he found everyone had either turned in for the night or was still out carousing. His wet boots squelched as he padded up the stairs. His cold, wet clothes clung to him like a second skin and his hair dripped water down his face.

A low creak cried out from his bedroom door as he slipped inside. He quickly shut it behind him and paused, listening for Hapi’s low breathing. Necromancer or not, the elf still liked to sleep, and he could be nasty when someone disturbed him.

Just a whisper of breath rose from his side of the room. Fenric took one step. His foot landed on something round that shouldn’t have been there and he tumbled over, landing hard, barely catching himself enough to stop his face from slamming into the floor.

“What the fuck!” he roared, not giving a shit about Hapi and his sleep.

There was immediately a clatter of bones and a scraping noise as one or more skelebabies scurried away to hide under Hapi’s bed.

“You’re late getting back,” Hapi stated in a sleepy voice. A teardrop flame appeared, cutting through the darkness when the elf lit a candle. He rolled over on his side, his pale blond hair falling across his thin shoulder as he stared down at where Fenric still lay on the floor in a heap. “The skelebabies were worried and wanted to wait up for you.”

“And they had to do it in front of the door?” Fenric grunted as he picked himself up off the floor. There was more grunting and swearing as he peeled off wet clothes. They made a loud splat on the wood as he dropped them, along with the thud of his boots.

“I thought this was just a quick snatch and grab. You said you had the perfect place scouted.” Hapi sounded less sleepy now as he watched Fenric dry off with a towel he’d left in their room from earlier.

“It was supposed to be, but the whole thing was an utter disaster and I ended up spending a couple hours cooling my heels in the Pomor jail.”

Hapi let out a dry snort. “You’re joking.”

“But it wasn’t my fault.”

“It couldn’t have been. Your stealth and thieving skills are flawless.”

Fenric took the pat to his ego. Hapi wasn’t the type to say platitudes and other nice things just to soothe a person’s ruffled feathers. If he said someone was good at something, then he believed it based on hard evidence.

After pulling on his last pair of clean pants, Fenric threw his towel down with the rest of his clothes forming a puddle on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed facing his friend. “I chose Cartwright’s place because he and his wife were supposed to be attending this fancy dinner.”

“He’s the rich merchant?”

Fenric made a noise of agreement. “The house was supposed to be empty except for the cook.”

“Who I’m sure you took care of.”

“Of course. Except Mrs. Cartwright didn’t go to dinner. She invited in a pretty boy for some bedroom fun without her old husband.”

Hapi huffed a dark laugh. “And I’m guessing you ran into him. Probably thought you were the husband come home early to kill him.”

“No idea. But when Mrs. Cartwright realized she was caught, she ran to the window, tits flopping everywhere, and started screaming thief and intruder. Loverboy and me made a run for it, but it was too late. We got grabbed and chucked in jail for our troubles.”

Hapi rolled onto his back, near silent laughter tumbling out of him at Fenric’s bad luck. “And I’m guessing the watch rounded up anything you’d managed to pocket.”

“That’s just it—I ransacked the entire first floor and there was nothing. Nothing, I tell you. Not a single fancy candlestick or good piece of cutlery. Not even a painting worth a damn. All the rugs and furniture were threadbare. I swear, if that man has more than two gold coins to rub together, he’s got them hidden somewhere no one is going to find them. Unfortunately, because of the lady’s screaming, I didn’t get to search the second floor.”

“So, your pockets are empty once again,” Hapi observed.

“Two coppers and lint. That’s all I’ve got for now.” Fenric threw himself down on the thin mattress and pulled his blanket partially across his body. The air was warm, but the rain had left a chill to his skin. “My face has been seen around town too much now. It’s getting too hard for me to wander around Pomor. I might scout out Björnkill soon.”