The clerk looks up at us and smiles. He’s obviously such a nice guy. I almost feel bad for all the times Lictor marched past him on all the Rides like he was nothing.

  The Janitor smiles back at him. “Liam, Folke is going to have a lot of questions and will need some help to navigate the grounds.”

  Her voice is smooth, like she has never shouted in her life. I shake my head to clear it and focus on Liam. He’s having the same kind of reaction. He licks his lips and I can see his cheeks flushing.

  “Yes, Lady Janitor, of course.”

  “Thank you.” She beams at him, then spins to look at me again. “I have to go. There’s still a lot to be organized and I can’t spare any more time. Good luck, kid.”

  “Thank you,” I manage to say.

  She winks at me and fades out of sight. I didn’t even notice her touching a rune on the chest of her overalls before she vanishes. I was concentrating too hard on keeping eye contact and not letting my gaze wander.

  “It’s always an experience to talk to the Janitor,” Liam says after a silent moment.

  I’m thinking of what to do next, but the title stops me. “The Janitor? Isn’t Lictor a Janitor too?”

  “Well, yes, obviously, but she’s the City Janitor. Our Janitor. Sir Lictor handles the war effort.”

  “Right, of course.” My mind’s elsewhere already. It’s hard to grasp it’s been two days. These people all seem to know each other and be so used to how things work here. “You’ve been on a lot of Rides as well?”

  “I started this morning, but have already worked enough to have money for the rest of the year,” he says with a wink.

  I don’t think I’ve seen anyone wink at the village. Maybe it’s a city thing. Maybe they’ve all picked it up from the Janitors. I try to focus. “Liam, please, I need to ask someone about the mission I’m being sent on. Not Lictor. Someone who planned the whole thing.”

  He looks at me and licks his lips.

  I get the message. “Right, well, who then made the decision about the mission?”

  “That would be the council, but you can’t just waltz to meet them. They’re the council!”

  “I don’t have time to ask for permission. Please, point me in the right direction!”

  He takes a moment to consider, spinning the quill in his hand. I notice he has mostly been doodling on the papers. There’s a stick figure with a cloak and a cowl and a badly drawn compass on its chest. “As the Janitor did vouch for you,” he says slowly, “the chambers are upstairs, but…”

  “Thanks!” I shout. Footsteps approach from the corridor that leads to the rooms I left Lictor and the rest of the team in. I need to get away. Now. I haven’t seen any stairs yet, but I don’t have to make everything work this time.

  It’s like hunting. The terrain is unfamiliar and I’m not completely sure of my prey, but at least I can always try again if I get caught.

  I slink through another new door, climb another flight of stairs. The main hall with the artifact is huge, but it turns out the main building is even larger. Corridors and rows of doors circle around the central hall on multiple levels. I have been walking for maybe fifteen minutes and haven’t yet seen anything twice. I peek into a study hall with some sort of lecture going on. Another one is empty except for a real janitor sweeping the floor between the chairs. One door leads to a barracks with a dozen guards maintaining their gear. One of the guards notices me open the door, but I’m gone before he has time to react.

  I got out of the office before getting caught. Liam didn’t mention anything about me being searched for, so I guess Lictor hasn’t been through there yet. It had to be him coming. I could recognize the way he marches. The others must have caused quite a scene if he took this long to get out.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  Soon, things might get much more difficult.

  I find another set of stairs and consider taking them. I’ve gone up two floors already and I’m guessing the third one must be the highest one. The air keeps getting warmer the higher I climb. Down where the artifact was, the air was cold and dry. Here, it’s warm and carries smells of people. The lower floors must have been left to the Janitors alone.

  I hear hurried steps and muffled voices from around a corner. There’s clanking of armor and thud of heavy boots, so I take the stairs up three at a time. As I peek down, a small group of guards is taking up positions around the stairs.

  “What if we’re late and he’s already been through here?” one of them says.

  A woman with a tightly pulled ponytail on top of the head answers. “Not your problem. You stand here and make sure he can’t come down again.”

  She turns her head up toward where I’m at and I pull back behind the bannister of the stairs. “You three, up. Check everything is as it should be and wait for the moment.”

  Sounds of heavy boots echo up the stairs. I take in my surroundings before deciding where to go. The corridor reaches in both directions, but the other way looks more promising. That way, it opens up to some larger space with fancier lighting. The stairs felt like some sort of service entrance, so I turn and run as fast as I can without making too much noise. Running on an even floor is easy compared to the paths I’m used to. The sound of my soft boots is lost in the clattering and stomping of the guards climbing the stairs.

  The corridor leads into a grand landing hall. Suddenly, the glare of the magical lamps is in my eyes, reflecting off gold and lacquered wood. There are more lights here than on the lower floors. The air is even warmer, almost humid and suffocating and full of smells. Sweat masked by cologne, leather, fur. Most areas in the building have been plain and functional, but this space is fancier than any I’ve seen. A grand staircase, larger than all the ones I’ve climbed, leads up from somewhere. Probably the entrance meant for important people.

  There are more people here, clerks bustling and merchants or nobles and wizards standing around. The wizards look almost comical to me. They are wearing long robes that remind me of bathrobes and tall conical hats that must be highly impractical anywhere else than in a fancy landing hall. One wizard gets his hat stuck on the door frame, so maybe they are impractical even here.

  Heavy steps echo from the corridor I came from. I look around the hall anxiously, trying to spot somewhere to hide without drawing attention to myself.

  “Hey, kid, here,” a man says and gestures for me to come.

  There’s a conspiratorial tone to his voice that sounds like I shouldn’t trust him, but that I should play along at the moment. I step closer. His eyes are slanted and his ears sharply pointed. Somehow, they’re nothing like Mandollel’s soft elven features. His hair and beard are pitch black and his mustache stretches sideways and curves upwards with pointy ends. His clothes are midnight blue and blood red, all silk and brocade.

  “You look like you’re in trouble,” he purrs.

  I glance at the two guards who step into the hall from the corridor, their heads turning, looking for something.

  The man follows my look and raises an eyebrow. He chuckles, a low thump of laugh. I have no time to think, as he grabs me by the shoulder and twists me around, stepping between me and the guards.

  “Relax, they’re pretty thick,” he says. “I’m Astaroth, Astaroth Sulphurspew, by the way.”

  Despite the situation, I nearly choke as I try to keep myself from laughing out loud.

  “I know, I know. Bit of a family burden, the name. Just roll with it. But who are you, young man?”

  “Folke,” I tell him before I can stop myself. Though I’m still on a Ride, so it doesn’t matter. The man reminds me of a lynx, all stretch and yawn, hidden claws and sharp teeth implied. From somewhere, I smell the slightest hint of something like a spoiled egg.

  “Are you an adventurer, mayhap? A hunter, an explorer?”

  “Well, yes,” I reply, keeping my eyes on the guards. I move to stay behind him as the guards walk past. They don’t look particularly clever to me either, to be honest. The guards move through the room, not really looking into groups of people or checking any potential hiding places. It reminds me of Lian searching for something she has lost. I could probably slip right past them if I wanted.

  The man follows my gaze and chuckles. “Tenorsbridge guards have always been an afterthought, even before the latest developments.” He points down with his thumb, toward the lower levels.

  His words make me think of something and I get truly desperate for the first time in a while. Lictor doesn’t need guards to find me. Once he notices I’m gone, he can go on a Ride. Take as long as he wants looking. Come grab me the moment he feels ready. My time here is even more limited than I hoped.

  “Hmm, what’s the matter?” Astaroth says. “You twitched.”

  I feel like Lictor is going to grab my shoulder at any moment from behind. I’m spinning and squirming in place, my eyes darting around the room. “It’s nothing! I just thought of something. I’m in a hurry!”

  “That much is clear,” he says and chuckles. He seems to do that a lot. “Where to?”

  There’s no reason to hold back. “I have to meet the council. Or at least someone in charge. It concerns the war.”

  “The war? Didn’t know there was one. Lucrative, wars.”

  The glint in his eyes sparks an inspiration. I know exactly what to say, and lower my voice. “I don’t think this one will. I’ll trade you for information.”

  He leans closer to my face, grinning so the tips of his teeth show. “Perfect.”