Kael limped through Ashcoil Row's streets. His arm hung numb around Els' shoulder, his legs no better.
Worse were his wounds.
His forehead scabbed, but the sensation of the skin around it growing taut, and the blood hardening as he walked... disturbing, or was it disgusting? The crunch of his straightening nose especially turned his stomach.
The further they fled from the beggar street, the more he dreamed of collapsing onto filthy pavement to sleep at last. Not a weird idea at all. At least, stones sounded better than dragging himself like a corpse.
Others agreed with him; that's what he told himself when burly miners glared at him, Els, and Tonio from their doorsteps. Most watched them pass. But some waved a pickaxe at them, threatening him to get lost as if he'd brought disease to the neighborhood.
Els didn't linger in broader streets. She led him and Tonio through two alleys before slowing. "I still have the key to my house. Garrick's men might wait for us, though. Should we head to Aunt Lana's bakery?"
"I like Lana. A good woman... who can't keep her mouth shut." Kael shook his head. "You can be sure that Edwin, Walter, and Ben will know before midday. Hell, even that stuck-up Marc might show up. Either way, Tonio can't wear the relic forever."
Tonio slid the Silent Frame on his nose, then pushed it back. "Time before bad."
Els scratched her head for a heartbeat. Then, her gaze shifted, and Kael followed it. An old, hunched man sat against the wall. He didn't return their gaze. Instead, he stared at the empty junk bowl between his frail fingers, as if a copper crown would spring up.
Why would anyone beg in an alley this early? He filed the oddity out. Hunger, or perhaps another madman.
"Dad's friends were next on my list. I guess we can use our money to rent some place for the day." Ignoring the beggar, Els pulled out Joss' pouch.
He leaned closer, his nose almost digging into the pouch as Els pulled on the laces. Joss said he had gold to buy his life... so weren't they rich?
Copper glinted inside, along with a few silver crowns. He jerked his head back, a deep furrow creasing his brow. Where is the gold?
Els shook the pouch, and a single golden sheen pierced through. But his grimace only deepened. I have gold, he said. Which gang leader is that broke? Burn in hell with your deals, Joss.
Els' hands trembled around the pouch, and she smiled radiantly. "We're rich."
"Buy lot meat?" Tonio grinned.
It took Kael a deep breath for the corners of his lips to curl. "Yeah. Hoped for more."
"When did you even own a gold coin? I never did." Els chuckled as they passed the beggar. "Ah!"
She tumbled forward with a yelp, dragging Kael down with her.
His shoulder hit the cobbles. When he pushed himself up, he saw the beggar's skeletal hand wrapped around her ankle, his sunken eyes locked on the pouch.
"What—"
"I feel it. Coins. I'll pay my debt!" The man's cracked fingernails scraped the dirt as he pulled himself closer to the pouch. A smell of blood, old and left to dry, flowed from his filthy tunic.
"Release!" Tonio towered over the beggar, his foot hovering over his head. "Kill?"
"Wait." Kael pushed himself up. "A copper crown if you release her. Now."
"Copper?" The beggar tilted his head, then flicked them back and laughed. "I want no copper nor silver."
"Break his head. Maybe he'll think straight after," Kael shot back as he picked the coins from the ground. Did he mean it? Not really. But every vein in his face down to his neck throbbed. That madman wanted a gold coin!
Tonio lifted his leg without hesitation.
"W-Wait!" The man flung his hands up as if he had been holding glowing coals. Tonio's foot froze a thumb over his skull. "Nothing is given; all is traded. I'll follow the rule!"
Icy shivers wracked Els' shoulders. She jumped to her feet, her lips pursed, her green eyes watery. "Ash and blood. I'll shove an arrow down your throat next time you touch me. One for each of your dirty eyes if you keep looking my way. Let's leave."
Rule? Kael scowled. From whom? He rose with Els' help, but raised his palm when she turned. "What do you have for trade, old man?"
With a nervous glance at Tonio, the beggar rose. "I heard you. A safe place. I know of someone—"
Kael rolled his eyes. "Come, Tonio. Let the bastard scam someone else."
The beggar adjusted his grey tunic, even as Kael turned. "Lads doubt even divine words these days. My deal's fair, but if you'd rather let the likes of Garrick scam you, so be it."
Half-turned, Kael paused to give the man a sideways glance. "You said it yourself; we're lads. Why would Garrick want to trade with us?"
"Hahaha." The man pressed his hunched back against the wall. "I could tell you, if you pay the right price, of course."
With a smack of his lips, Kael fished two copper coins from the pouch. "I'm not spending more on a question." He threw them in front of the beggar.
The beggar snatched them, then flung them back with a grimace. "What do you want me to do with these? You know what? Fine. I'll take the loss if it gets us to serious business. Why else would Garrick want to trade?"
He crossed his arms over his chest, but his clasped hands did nothing to hide how much his hunched shape trembled. When he spoke again, his voice was lower, sweeter, almost gentle. "He owes. So much that his collection emptied the slum of its currency."
"No one's richer than Garrick." Els shrugged.
"Piles of gold on his desk. Chests filled with coins. Factories, properties, inheritance fees, and interest from his loans. Yet you tell me Garrick owes someone else?" Kael's voice trailed off. "Nobles from Veston? The king? Why would he borrow from them?"
"Again, your garbage imperial crowns." The beggar snarled. "He borrowed from the only god. The day he'll say 'pay' is coming. Trade if you want more, but know this. Garrick or the safe place—you can only afford one."
Silence devoured the alley.
Kael had heard that. From Jake. A single god who said 'pay'. How? Gods were distant shits who never answered prayers, but Garrick somehow struck a deal with one? Impossible. Or was it?
"Which basta—god said that?" His heart drummed in his ears.
The beggar scratched his messy hair a little too hard. "Stop playing with me, lad. You have three of his coins." He pointed at Els' pouch, then Kael's pocket. "Useless denying it. Those in debt feel them."
Wide-eyed, Kael slid his hand into his pocket. His fingers brushed cold iron minted with a set of scales. The stack of coins on the right side felt real to the touch. So was the heart on the other side.
Soft. Slightly warm. Wrong.
While he pulled the coin out, Els found the two hidden in her pouch.
"Yes! That's what I want!" The man spread his arms wide, as if weighing the options with his palms. A golden light leaked from his sunken eyes. "A clue to a place safe from pursuit, or information about Garrick's origin, and how he struck a deal with the Price Taker? Choose!"
For a moment, Kael clenched the coin. With the Broken Chain gone, no one seemed to know where Garrick had come from. If he could learn about his truth or weakness, he would have a real chance to kill the scum. All for three creepy tokens that seemed valuable in the worst possible way. A mysterious god of debt or whatever the bastard used to mess with the slums? The wind blew colder on his spine. He would have none of it.
His gaze shifted to Tonio. The rat-man's silence couldn't betray the rage in his clenched jaw.
His grip trembled around the coin, and he closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he didn't see Tonio's jaw or burning eyes. He only saw the sweat stuck to his hairy face and his droopy eyelids.
He glanced at Els, his hand relaxing. She handed him the two tokens, nodding back. They trusted him to lead them. He wouldn't trade immediate safety for future revenge.
"Safety for the three of us."
"Are you sure? That'll be one coin per person." The man's lips curled into a crooked smile. A couple of broken teeth jutted from gums the color of spoiled meat.
"I am." Swallowing, Kael tossed the tokens.
The beggar snapped his fingers. "We have a deal."
The tokens glowed gold for a breath, then vanished before they clanged on the ground. Tonio sniffed the air where the coins had been, confused by the lack of iron scent. How? The man gave Kael no time to think.
"You'll find safety with the Unanchored. Tell Marc Tharos sent you. He'll guide you to them. You're lucky you met me among all others in this godforsaken pit. God be with ye, lads."
As he sat back on his ragged sheet, Kael moved toward him. "Marc the stuck-up? Are you kidding me?"
The man picked his bowl up and stared at the junk with a foolish grimace. Silent. Off. His wrinkles seemed shallower, and his back straighter, but the light in his eyes was gone.
I'm too exhausted.
Kael shook his head and turned. "Let's catch Marc before he leaves for the factory."
"Wait... You believe his blasphemy about an unknown god?" Els frowned. "Look at him. He's just another broken man."
"Maybe." He pressed his lips into a tight line. "Or he anchored a truth that made the tokens vanish. Besides, we had no plan before and checking won't hurt... too much."
"Know Tharos?" Tonio tilted his head, then shook it. "Not know. Go, Marc?"
"I guess..." Els pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't want to hear you complain if he lied. We move to Lana until you're healed."
"Sounds like a plan." Kael forced out a hollow chuckle.
Even as Els pulled him from the alley, his heart wouldn't stop drumming. No man could spout nonsense at strangers' faces and live this long. Either the beggar really knew things that even Joss' information network never unearthed, or was extremely dangerous.