Page 6 of Zel
“Good,” she said, and then seemed to study Zel’s clothing, his breeches especially. If she knew him, then she was local and would also recognize the clothing of the Thieves Guild. If she drew attention to it, he was honor bound to kill her, and he could not risk two acts of mercy in one night. “You’ve got a spot of red on you, dear. Be well,” she said and continued on.
It was no wonder she had lived for so long if she was that wise.
Zel turned to head in the other direction.
“Such a fair and lovely lad,” he heard from her.
Zel spun around, because no one should know,no one, but when he looked in every direction the old woman might have gone, he saw no sign of her.
Already frazzled by the eventful night, Zel hurried to find his father and to better prepare for what came with the morn.
“You did it!” Rudy nearly bowled Zel over with the force of his tackling.
Zel and his father had returned to the Thieves Guild to applause and merrymaking in celebration of his induction as a full member. Rudy, Zel’s closest friend, had ascended to full membership the previous month. He was part of the pickpocketing unit that kept the guild in funds. The Queen could be quite stingy with her coin.
The Thieves Guild in full was made up of the pickpocketing unit, elite thieves for larger jobs, assassins like Zel, guards who were well trained but not as cutthroat or stealthy asthe assassins, information brokers known as whisperers who kept their eyes open and ears craned for anything important happening in the streets, and finally, the cleaners. Their job was to ensure that even if citizens knew the Thieves Guild was responsible for something, there was never enough evidence to prove it, and thus Thieves Guild activities remained rumors and guesswork.
Zel’s welcome reception meant the cleaners had already confirmed the kill and someone had reported back ahead of them. The little girl must have gotten away, or daggers and swords drawn would have greeted Zel and his father instead. He hoped she would be okay beyond a single night of escape. If an assassin had taken Zel’s parents when he was her age, he might not have made it this far without losing even more of his soul to survive in these streets.
“Yes, I did.” Zel hugged Rudy back, though he wondered if Rudy would be as jubilant if he’d witnessed the slaughter. Rudy was a handsome lad of Zel’s same age, with brown hair, sun-kissed skin, and blue eyes that required a pair of spectacles to see clearly.
The base of the Thieves Guild was beneath the city. There were many secret entrances through the city’s undercrofts. One such cellar entrance was in the storeroom of the shop Zel’s parents ran as cover—and used for additional funds, most of which still went to the guild’s coffers. The entrance led to a series of passages, which eventually led to the guild’s primary common room for dining and celebrations.
For being a bit dark and dank, the base was always clean, always warm in the colder months, and cool when it was hot. If missions were successful, food and drink were as plentiful as possible for during a famine.
“Rapunzel did well,” Gregor said, hugging Zel in the wake of Rudy’s embrace while more cheers rang out from othermembers. Zel preferred the shortened version of his name, but he could never quite get up the nerve to correct his parents. He had only begun correcting others the previous winter. “Though I think you were a bit more distracted than usual tonight,” Gregor added in a whisper.
“Sorry, Father.”
“It’s understandable, but you came through in the end, just like you will in the month to come.” Gregor kissed Zel’s temple before releasing him.
The cheers were the most other members of the guild—besides Zel’s parents, his teachers, or Rudy—had ever praised him. Even here among peers, Zel was often looked at as something to be wary of, envious of, or worse, like he was some savior set to acquire the fortune they all hoped to share when the sorcerer was defeated. The pressure was great and would get no easier until the deed was done.
Rudy was Zel’s closest and honestly only friend because he was one of the few who looked at Zel as simplyZel.
Well, when Rudy remembered that Zel preferred his shortened name over Rapunzel. It hadn’t been long since he’d begun to request it, but constantly correcting others grew tiresome, especially when so few listened.
Before Zel could find his mother in the crowd, Lothar’s voice rose above the rest. The many members in the room hushed and parted to reveal the guild master standing in front of the head table, where he would eventually sit. It and the other tables were covered in various foods and goblets overflowing with wine or ale.
“Three cheers for Rapunzel! Newest assassin for Queen, kingdom, and guild glory!” Lothar shouted.
“Oy, oy, oy!” everyone answered.
It was surreal. The time was finally upon Zel to fulfill his destiny. Amid such revelry, he could almost forget what camewith the morn and that he had made an orphan of a little girl tonight.
Gregor pushed Zel forward, and once Zel reached Lothar, he dropped to one knee in a reverent bow. Zel’s mask was already lowered from earlier, but Lothar pushed the hood from Zel’s head, cupped his cheek, and lifted his chin to make Zel look at him.
Lothar was not unattractive. If Zel were to guess, he would have thought Lothar looked about forty, but Zel’s parents had said he’d barely looked five winters younger twenty winters ago. He was long-lived, a supposed blessing from the Queen, but not immortal like he craved. The abundance of magical trinkets he wore was proof of that, from a ring that allowed for brief invisibility, to an earring capable of communication with whomever wore its twin regardless of distance, to any number of other baubles no one person knew all the secrets of, other than Lothar himself. Only someone gifted with magic could craft magical items. The greater the potential of the person, the greater the items they could create. Lothar had no innate magic, but with the guild at his disposal, he had the ability to acquire whatever he might wish for.
One item Zel had always been curious about was another ring, black, possibly even obsidian, with a circle engraved into it bisected by a horizontal line.
Everything about Lothar was a bit paler and brighter than others in the guild. Pale skin, pale hair that was almost silver, slicked back into a long ponytail, and icy blue eyes. For guild members, Lothar’s word was more law than the Queen’s, but his touch always made Zel’s stomach churn.
“Well done, dear girl.” Lothar leaned close to Zel’s face. “You are ready. The fairest of flowers have the sharpest of thorns, do they not? But they are no less beautiful for it, nor less worthy of beingpluckedin due time.”
Just as Zel could not show fear toward the sorcerer come tomorrow, he could not show Lothar his revulsion. “Yes, Master Lothar.”
Lothar lifted Zel to his feet. “I have a gift for you. Anna, come!” He snapped his fingers, and a woman stepped forward.
