Page 16 of Bound and Tide

Both nodded.

“What’s inside?”

Costa licked his lips, looking away, and Maia picked the box up to hold possessively. It had a brass hasp lock on its side and a narrow slit in its top, but was only the size of a bread loaf and appeared rather light. She worried the box’s edge and began, “I don’t know exactly, and it’s kind of complicated anyway. Stavros worked for this high harbor family who used to be really powerful in Bendcrest, but then—”

“Spare me the details.” He held up a hand. “What are you meant to do with it?”

Maia finally gave him an approving look. “Switch this box with another without anyone knowing.”

“That’s all?” Xander reached into his satchel, pulling out a vial and a silk that had been folded many times over. He held them out in offering.

“What’s that?” she asked with none of the fascination the items garnered.

“A show of good faith to prove my potential assistance,” he snapped and shook out the fabric so that they could see it was a quite large swath. “You soak this veil in this concoction, and then anything kept beneath the silk will be invisible for about an hour, including you.”

Maia gasped and reflexively reached out.

Xander, of course, snatched the pieces back. “Have we got an accord?”

Costa’s mouth opened, but Maia broke in first, “What exactly do you want in return?”

“You’ll see.”

“No.”

“Maia.” Her brother turned a thin shoulder on Xander and eyed her fully. “He could help us pay off all of Dad’s debts.”

“He’ll be worse to owe. I just watched him kill Tobias.”

At that Xander grinned—perhaps the girl wasn’t a complete loss.

“But Tobias was kind of dumb,” Costa said carefully.

Maia scratched her chin. “I did trick him with loaded dice the other day.” Her gaze went cold, turning back to Xander. “And I got away from this guy with, like, a simple splash of water.”

“Right, so what he wants probably isn’t even that bad.” Costa’s voice rose, filling with motivation. “I’d rather owe one skinny guy we might have to hide from than a whole high harbor family—”

“I’m right bloody here!” Xander threw his arms out, and noxscura brought itself to his fingertips, passing over the enchanted items and into the chamber. The room’s long shadows bent and curled, but he’d been wrung rather dry, and the coalescing darkness gave up, falling embarrassingly flaccid.

The two children watched after where the arcana crumpled in on itself, slithering into obscurity and leaving the shadows a little shorter.

“I’ve had a long day, and it’s cold out,” grumbled Xander. “Look, I’m offering the two of you my help and my coin, both of which you are clearly in dire need of, in return for your assistance with a non-criminal act. You’ve got to be tired of those by now, yes?”

“Fine. We’ll do it.” Maia drew herself up to her full height which would have been the slightest bit endearing if it weren’t so ridiculous.

“We will?” Costa’s dark eyes went wide and round, and then he turned to Xander. “I mean, we will.”

Xander licked his teeth. He wanted to summon fear into their hearts, not assurance, to bend them to his will with force, not promises, but getting what he wanted usually meant more to Xander than anything else. “Wonderful,” he managed through a grin that was wholly unconvincing, even to himself. He dropped the silk and the vial on the nearest table. “Remember, you’ve only got an hour, and then that fabric will burn away and you’ll be visible, so be quick with your pointless box switching. I’ll be back to work out the rest of the details—you two can stay alive until then, yes?”

Costa nodded earnestly and Maia just rolled her eyes.

Greasy air coated Xander’s lungs as he took a deep breath to solidify the decision. He dropped a gold coin onto the table, not nearly enough for the two to flee, but enough to keep them out of trouble. “Get rid of that rotten sludge and fetch yourselves some meat that had legs, for darkness’s sake.”

Productive evening, he thought, letting himself out into the alley, killed a man and rounded up a couple minions. Swiftness took him away from the slummiest roads and filled his lungs with fresher, if stinging, cool night air. His arcana remained chaotic and weak, but his step was lighter, and the grin that found its way onto his face was new.

Normally Xander grinned because he’d gotten one over on somebody, but he wasn’t even sure if he’d made a very good deal seeing as he had no idea what Maia and Costa—no, what Stavros owed. But he’d made the offer nonetheless, and he’d be holding the two to their end of the bargain, as embarrassing as it would eventually be to admit what he needed.

Darkness had fallen over Bendcrest by the time he returned to The Sleepy Salmon’s street, a stabbing chill whipping down the road. The shops and homes were mostly dark, The Salmon’s torch like a beacon at its end, but a softer, homier glow flickered behind drawn curtains in a single shop’s front window.

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