There he was. Fox stood at the end of the alley, barely visible through the criss-crossing beams. If the pair squinted, they could just make out a satchel raised in his left hand and a wicked grin plastered on his face.

  ‘It’s close,’ Roland said, narrowing his eyes at the werefox.

  ‘How do you know?’ Holsley asked from his right. ‘How can you be so—’

  ‘Trust me,’ he replied. ‘I just know.’

  Roland could never explain it. The sense was more like a feeling, gently tugging at him. It was not unlike that feeling a person gets when they know they are being watched. Some otherworldly sense telling them that they might be in danger. He didn’t truly know how it worked, as it was something he had been born with, but he’d used it to great effect so far.

  Holsley took a deep inhale and held it, bracing himself.

  Roland nodded at Fox, giving the gnome above them a secret signal. Together, it had taken the trio just about the entire hour to devise a plan that suited each of their distinct tastes. Annoyingly, most of that time had been spent convincing Merhim to stay. With time pressing against Roland, he didn’t know when his next chance to snatch the ruby would come, so he couldn’t just run off and rearrange the rendezvous.

  The real worry was with Fox, however. The were-creature had given himself an hour until their faithful meeting. You could accomplish a lot in an hour, and Roland didn’t doubt that Fox had set up a nasty surprise for them. He expected Cold Bloods to jump out at any moment, which is why they had a plan.

  ‘My, my, Roland. You’ve been busy.’ Fox nimbly hopped over and ducked under beams as he came in closer, whistling as he did so. ‘Can barely walk into a pub these days without hearing about your exploits. If you weren’t such a criminal, I’d say you were a downright hero.’

  ‘You got my ruby?’ Roland called back to him. It was close, but beyond that, he didn’t know.

  Fox waggled the satchel about before nodding towards Holsley. ‘Your thieving friend got my ring?’

  Holsley shifted nervously.

  The young bard held his palm up and revealed the ring within it, which glimmered in the hazy afternoon light. In response, Fox opened the satchel and revealed the crimson shards shuffling about inside. It was the ruby. Roland’s heart fluttered. He had expected Fox not to bring it with him. Now, he had to make sure he left with it.

  ‘How would you like to do this?’ Fox came to a stop about thirty feet away. ‘Shall we venture inside your hovel, or do you want me to toss it over?’

  Roland glanced up. Merhim was sitting on the scaffolds above them. Good, that meant he was in position.

  ‘No.’ Roland fixed his sights on Fox. ‘It’s going to be a simultaneous exchange. You and Holsley are going to swap items at the same time.’

  Holsley gulped.

  ‘Sounds good to me.’

  Roland had to give his friend a little nudge to encourage him forward. Holsley did so reluctantly, keeping a close eye on Fox as he approached, but didn’t enter into the bramble of beams ahead. Fox was again navigating his way through the various wooden beams and planks that choked up the alley. At about ten feet apart, they both came to an abrupt stop.

  ‘You know,’ Fox said idly. ‘A thought has just occurred to me.’

  ‘Here we go,’ Roland whispered under his breath, placing a hand on the hilt of his rapier.

  ‘Why don’t I just take the ring and the ruby?’ Fox asked innocently enough. ‘Oh, and the lute as well, seeing as I would have won it if not for the rather rude intrusion of the guards? I mean, why not just take everything and leave you two with nothing?’

  ‘Is this the part where you spring your trap on us?’ asked Roland. ‘Or was it supposed to be a surprise?’

  ‘Well, you called it.’

  Roland and Holsley had been expecting this turn of events. If Fox had really wanted to catch them off guard, he could’ve demanded a trade happen right after he’d nailed Roland with a dagger, but he’d needed time to manufacture a trap. Roland assumed, and Holsley guessed that Fox was gathering some backup. He had expected to see some of the Cold Bloods step out from the shadows, but he hadn’t anticipated who would show up next.

  Heavy boots. Jingling armour. A distasteful clearing of the throat. When Roland looked behind him, he was genuinely shocked to discover the smug, bloated face staring back at him. Kythos Ravenpeak scratched his beard and hefted his mace over his shoulder. The bastard wore a face of pure disdain, his brows furrowed in consternation, and even from where Roland stood, he could see the murder in the tiefling’s eyes.

  ‘Were you expecting someone else?’ Kythos asked. Other tubheads appeared behind him, crossbows loaded. ‘You’re an elusive prick, Roland. I’ll give you that. The stunt you pulled with the scaffolding was impressive.’

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  Roland swivelled his head back to Fox. ‘You went to the guards!?’

  Fox shrugged coyly.

  ‘Does the guild know about this?’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ Fox replied smugly. ‘There’s no need for them to get involved.’

  Roland’s mind was whirring. The majority of his life had been spent beneath the Whisper’s watch. He had learned all their tricks, all their talents, but most importantly, all of their rules. A whisperer was never allowed to side with the law, not under any circumstance. They could pay a tubhead to look the other way and did pay tithes to the Ward Captain, but they never helped them apprehend a criminal.

  ‘You’ll be removed from the guild for this,’ said Roland. ‘Literally stabbed in the back. They’ll come after you.’

  Fox shrugged indifferently.

  Holsley had slowly and methodically made his way back to Roland and had come to the same realisation that Roland had a few moments ago. If Kythos was standing on the other end of the alley, it was a pretty safe bet that the whole area was crawling with tubheads.

  ‘What are you getting out of this?’ Roland asked then, stepping forward towards Fox. He was suddenly furious and didn’t quite know why. ‘This is a lot to risk.’

  ‘After the tubheads raided my tavern the other day, they ended up tucking me away for safekeeping,’ Fox replied, his voice dripping with venom. ‘Thought I would be rotting in there, yet again, but then you managed to escape the noose, Roland. Kythos came to me and asked for help. I refused initially until ol’ mama Ravenpeak said I’d be helping them get back at you. In return for my help recapturing you, I’d be released of all charges, given compensation equal to the value of the ruby, and a front-row seat to your next hanging.’

  ‘You’re joking,’ Roland said, almost laughing. ‘This is still all about watching me hang?’

  ‘It’s always about watching you hang.’ Fox took a furious step forward, teeth bared like a dog on the prowl. He gripped a hold of the nearest wooden plank, and Roland could see the wood crack within his clawed grip. ‘I should have just killed you back when I broke into your cell. You ruined my life, Roland. I was going to get out. I was going to be free, but after what you did, I was more imprisoned than ever.’

  ‘What’s he talking about, Roland?’ Holsley asked. ‘What did you do?’

  ‘Oh, I’m not surprised you don’t know,’ said Fox. ‘Suppose that’s not a bedtime story Roland Darrow would ever tell you.’

  ‘I’m getting tired of this,’ Kythos yawned above Fox’s rising voice. ‘We’ve got you this time, Roland.’

  ‘You say that so much it’s lost all meaning,’ Roland shouted over his shoulder.

  ‘You sure this is going to work?’ Holsey whispered next to Roland. ‘We weren’t expecting Kythos to turn up?’

  ‘Should be easier with Kythos,’ Roland whispered back, though he wasn’t quite sure. ‘As long as Fox chases after me, we should be fine. Do you remember where we’re all supposed to meet up?’

  Holsley quietly nodded.

  Silently, the young bard recalled the plan and ran through it inside his head. There were four exits to the alleyway. Two of them were the main entrances on either side, which were now blocked by Fox and Kythos, respectively. That left two. The second to last one was on Holsley’s right. He could go through the door of New Leaf and escape through the building.

  The last way was perhaps the most obvious. Up. Climbing the scaffolding and jumping onto the rooftops. Roland’s plan was simple but purely genius if you were to ask him about it. He would scale the scaffolds, leading Fox away from Holsley and steal the were-creature’s satchel before making a daring escape across the rooftops.

  Meanwhile, Holsley would rush back through the building, making his way through its innards and leading any surprise attackers in with him. While Kythos struggled over the upturned furniture they had toppled over in preparation, Holsley would also ascend to the rooftops and disappear at the first opportunity.

  Merhim had a different role in the plan. The gnome was a contingency. In his possession, he held the very irate Tiacat in a woollen sack. As soon as the chasing began, Merhim would slip away along the rooftops and seek out the closest crowd. There, he would disappear. If Holsley or Roland were captured, Roland hoped to manufacture a trade with Love — the cat in exchange for their freedom.

  Of course, that plan hinged on Love caring about her pet, which Roland still wasn’t entirely sure about.

  After that, they would all head different ways, splitting up their attackers as much as possible, and then meet at a prearranged location once they had shaken off their pursuers. Merhim would show up only if the other two had managed to slip out of danger.

  ‘You ready?’ Roland asked, bracing himself.

  ‘Yeah,’ Holsley nodded, tapping the drum of the lute hanging over his shoulder to ensure it was still there. He looked up to Merhim next and gave the gnome a curt little nod. Merhim caught the gesture and returned it with one of his own before disappearing from the scaffolding and climbing onto the roof of the New Leaf.

  Holsley blinked, and his eyes went wide.

  Another figure was crouched on the roof just above the gnome, not entirely hidden out of sight. This figure was becoming increasingly familiar with every quiet meeting. They weren’t doing much beyond kneeling and watching everything play out below. Through the darkness of their hood, Holsley could make out two stark purple eyes, and that’s how he knew who this was. It was her—the stranger who had been following them around.

  He blinked again, and she was gone.

  ‘Holsley,’ Roland hissed.

  ‘Oh, right!’ Holsley opened his palm and revealed the ring. He tossed it to Roland and gave Fox a wink. ‘I think you’d better have this.’

  ‘Go!’ Roland shouted.

  The rogue was the first to make a move, launching himself onto one of the beams. From there, he climbed, using his stone hand as a makeshift hook to help him towards the tops of the buildings.

  Holsley acted a split second later, rushing through the clear space between him and the front door of New Leaf. He barrelled through the entrance and slid the lock in the door as soon as he recovered from stumbling through the doorway.

  Kythos and Fox didn’t move as quickly, which Roland didn’t miss. They silently stared at one another as if conversing through thoughts alone. They had a plan, too, Roland realised, and they had been counting on this happening.

  He didn’t like that one little bit.

  Suddenly, Kythos and Fox pounced into the situation. Except not in the way that either of the pair had hoped. To Roland’s surprise, Kythos began to climb the wooden scaffolding along with his four subordinates, clearly chasing after Roland, while Fox nimbly passed through the gaps of the scaffolds and went after Holsley.

  ‘Damn it,’ Roland huffed.

  The rogue doubled down on the climb. Less than a minute later, he hoisted himself up towards the rooftops and saw, to his dismay, that they were riddled with tubheads. They caught sight of him straight away. He dashed forward, racing into the situation and ducked into a roll as a wayward arrow found purchase a few inches from his feet.

  All he could do was keep moving forward, knowing that Kythos was somewhere behind him. He cursed again under his breath. This is not how this was supposed to go.