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The guard pulled the boy behind him and half drew his sword.
Mara laughed.
“Get out of the way,” the boy said as he pushed past the guard. “I’m not scared of him. I’m not scared of you. You are a criminal. I am the prince of Talon.”
“We must leave, your highness,” the guard said.
“Fine. But I want to come back with Rupert. I want to hurt him.”
Mara smiled as he let his head thud back onto the bench. I’ll kill them all.
Silas’s chin and ears were chilly. He’d hacked off his beard, then shaved his face clean, and chopped off most of the hair on his head. He didn’t like it, but most of the people he knew in Talon had only ever seen him with a beard and long hair.
The burning hole inside him was worse than ever. It felt like he’d melt if he didn’t find Mara soon. He stared at a poster that advertised the hanging of an assassin for treason in one week’s time. This must be him.
He climbed the stone stairs of the clock tower that looked over Talon Castle and the main square where the hangings took place. He crept quietly, wanting to creep up on the – most likely – young whippersnapper that was assigned to watch from here. Always good to give the new ones a scare.
At the top, there was no-one to be seen. Only the huge golden bell that swung gently on a creaking rope. He looked out over the city. He could smell the Wane compound. Can’t get away from the stench in this place.
The sun was setting, and the people far below rushed about their business. The orange sunlight across Talon Castle slowly slid away, leaving dark stone behind. Silas dare not think about what suffering Mara must be going through. Hold on, boy. I’ll be with you soon.
Silas heard the soft thud of someone landing with great skill behind him. He spun and drew his blade. A young boy stared back at him, a thick scar under one eye.
The boy tucked his own blade away. “I ain’t seen nuffin.”
No front teeth, lost them in the Shadow Castle, I bet. “Points of entry?”
The boy shook his head. “My brother’s been lookin’. He’ll be back soon.”
Silas put away his blade, then sat against the wall. He nodded at the bell. “This thing still not working then?”
“Nah, not since I been here.” The boy sat against the opposite wall.
“You young ’uns seem to get out of training early these days.”
“We ain’t finished yet. A few of us been given this job to learn how to plan.”
Silas nodded. “Nice to get out of there for a while, I bet.”
“Yep. So… you the one that’s gonna kill him?”
An identical-looking boy, minus the scar, appeared on the stair. His nose bent out of shape. “This ’im?”
“Yep. He wants to know if you found anything.”
Twins. Quite the double act. “Any entry points?”
“It’s all locked up tight. We should know. We’ve robbed from all sorts of places. Including castles.”
Silas stood. “It’s been a pleasure and a waste of time.”
“I din’t say there wasn’t a way.”
“Then spit it out.”
“Meat wagon. Easy.”
