Sil greeted Zayn, wearing one of her robes that showed enough skin to distract even the most noble of men, and Zayn was far from a nobleman. Neither of the two had said a word, and Zayn already felt like she had him on his heels. She was very good at using any tool at her disposal to gain the upper hand in even the most routine of interactions, and Zayn was certain she had picked this particular robe with the intention of disarming him.

  “Ahh Zayn, what a nice surprise,” she said as she opened the door and gestured for him to take a seat in front of her desk. She was one of very few individuals in Cleeve’s Landing that used Zayn’s real name, which always caught him off guard. He didn’t intend on keeping it a secret, but most folk only knew him as the ranger. “I hear we have a lot to catch up on. Sounds like you’ve been out there causing quite the stir with the coin I’ve given you.” She let her hair down as she walked towards Zayn and sat on the edge of her desk before him, taking the high ground.

  “Great to see you as always,” Zayn said, doing his best not to be distracted by the very vivid memories of that same robe getting thrown on his floor, while Sil joined him in his bed. In the good old days, at least to Zayn, the two had an unspoken arrangement where they celebrated successful jobs together by sharing a bottle of the finest booze the Mermaid’s Folly had to offer, with an after party in Zayn’s quarters. That was before Sil took the mantle of the kingpin of the slums, which ended their loose partnership. It was bad for her business to be seen assisting the guy going after some of her patrons, although Sil would still employ him from time to time.

  “I wish I could say it was great to see you, but you look like shit, Zayn. Those shiners do make your green eyes pop, though.” She added with a grin. As she said the word green, her robe slowly started to change from the dark red it had been to a forest green, knowing it was Zayn’s favorite color.

  “I wish I could say these were the first black eyes I earned from looking into one of your private parties, but we both know that would be a lie," Zayn said, rubbing his ribs. The poultices were beginning to wear off, and he’d need to reapply for the medicine to continue doing its work.

  “Oh you mean the job that I lent you coin for? Don’t come in acting all high and mighty when you know I’m the one paying you to look into it,” her smile faded. “My workers are family, and I want Trina found. She was set to become my apprentice.”

  “I’m sure her father would have loved that,” Zayn said dryly.

  “She was old enough to make her own choices,” Sil replied. “She was about the same age as both you and I when we first started working together.”

  “She is a child, with a loving father. I don’t think that’s a fair comparison Sil,” Zayn said, trying not to get too heated. Zayn reminded himself that he had come here to ask her for a favor.

  “Girls with fathers still need a way to earn coin. She made her decision to go at it alone instead of relying on a man to provide for her,” Sil said, as she stood up from the desk and made her way to the throne like chair behind it. It was a sign to him that the conversation was headed towards business, and the pleasantries were over.

  “Either way, that path has her missing, and the last place she was seen was under this roof. And now, I have to go tell a father that I’m not bringing his girl home,” Zayn said with an edge to his voice.

  “I told you, she left that night. She wasn’t taken here. I walked her out myself, and it was well after the Duke and his party left. If she was kidnapped, it happened on her walk home.” She was starting to get heated as well. Zayn decided it wasn’t worth pushing any further on that topic, and he kept his mouth shut.

  “So your time in the Landing is coming to a close. You can’t leave without having one last drink with me, can you?” she said, the smile on her face beginning to resurface. She disappeared for a moment, as she bent over and opened one of her desk drawers. When she reappeared, she had two cups and a bottle of Widowmaker wine. Zayn knew these cups well. They were courtesy of the Mermaid’s Folly, and were the ones the two would drink out of when they were celebrating their last job. Most of Cleeve’s Landing knew Sil as a cold businesswoman or criminal, based on who was speaking, who conducted a hostile takeover of the slums. Zayn was one of the few who got a peek into her sentimental side, which still lingered under her surface from her previous life.

  She filled both glasses, and pushed one towards Zayn. The blackberry scent greeted Zayn and his mouth watered. Sil knew it was his favorite. “What are we celebrating?” Zayn asked.

  “Celebrating your new chapter, Zayn. And to wish you luck. You need it.” She raised her glass towards him and took a sip.

  As much as Zayn wanted to take a drink and see where the bottom of the bottle would take them, he kept his cup on the table. “Can’t partake. I have a fight with Teli when I’m finished here.”

  “Zayn, you are maybe the dumbest human I’ve ever met,” Sil said with exasperation. “Why the hell would you do a thing like that? If you were trying to get yourself killed, there are far easier ways that aren’t as public. You two are typically even, and in your state you wouldn’t last 10 seconds in the ring with one of the novice fighters.”

  Zayn knew she was right, but he took out his last six coins and pushed it towards Sil. “After settling up with you, I need a way to put some coin in my pouch before I head to the wilds. Seems to be my only option with the short amount of time the Duke has gifted me.”

  Sil sighed, rose from her seat, walked to a cone on her wall, and began speaking into it. “The ranger isn’t fighting anyone today, and if I hear about anyone in the slums making a go at him or preventing him from leaving the city in any manner, they will find themselves a few pounds lighter come tomorrow. He’s currently under my employ, and I will take that as an attack on me. Make it known.”

  Well that took care of Zayn’s primary goal for his visit. Sil’s word would at least protect him from anyone that wanted to survive in her slums. She sat back down and Zayn had her focus once more. “I paid you that money to find the girl. So find her. It wasn’t a loan, Zayn. I’m serious. She’s important.” She raised her glass, “Now drink with me and stop brooding.”

  Zayn raised his glass to hers, and the two drank. The sweet wine filled his tastebuds and the alcohol warmed him. It was strong stuff, and always reminded him of the blackberry wine that his father would brew during autumn in The Wilds to help keep them warm during the brutal winters. Sil was visibly pleased to see him enjoy it.

  “Thank you for the wine. One of your finest batches yet,” Zayn said, taking another drink before putting the cup back on the desk. She proudly brewed the stuff herself. “Back to the girl. You know that’s over. I have to get out of the city today. You and the smith need to find someone else to find her, but if the Duke is involved, I’d say this one is closed.”

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  “I have sources that say that she’s no longer in the city. I don’t think your job is over, ranger,” Sil said with a sly smile. She loved when there was a twist in a job. It reminded her of the stories that she read as a young girl, and kept her hope alive after losing her parents.

  Why would anyone take the smith’s daughter out of the city, Zayn thought. Cleeve’s Landing was in a remote part of the Terakin Kingdom, and if someone were looking for new talent, they would look within their own walls first. A willowy teenager from Cleeve’s Landing was not worth taking your chances in the Wilds. Zayn’s initial hunch was that some new brothel was looking to start up in the slums backed by some shady noblemen, and they were being a little heavy handed with their first round of recruitment. More times than not, that’s where his disappearance cases for young women led. Some sick old man that is willing to trade in the souls of children in exchange for a few more coins on the balance sheet.

  “Why would anyone take her out of the city, Sil?” Zayn responded, shocked. “Traveling alone in the wilds is dangerous, especially with a city girl who doesn’t know her way around. It makes no sense.”

  “There’s more to this one than either of us know. I’ve been hearing more and more chatter about Terakin agents making their way to the city.” Sil sipped on her wine, “It has to be connected. All I know is that there was a group of men that left with a teenage girl. My source said they were wearing rag-like clothing with obvious bulges of armor underneath.” This wasn’t the first time Sil had brought up these agents. She was naturally paranoid given her profession, but it seemed highly unlikely that a small city town like Cleeve’s Landing would get the attention of Terakin. It was the kingdom’s primary seat, and with skirmishes breaking out on the borders with the other kingdoms, they had their hands full elsewhere.

  “What would the king’s men want with Trina, a smith’s daughter? By all accounts, she was just a serving girl at a tavern; how would they get on the radar of the kingdom?”

  “There was something different about that girl. There’s a reason she was the first to come along that made me change my position on having an apprentice.”

  “What was different?” Zayn asked.

  “Well, she was gone before we had time to figure that out. She had a way of convincing people of things though. People she had no business convincing,” Sil said, mysteriously.

  Zayn knew instantly what she was hinting at, and he couldn’t hold in his anger. “You didn’t think it was pertinent to mention that to me before now? I mean come on, Sil, if you really want her found you have to be a bit more forthcoming. I wouldn’t have went at the Duke so hard if I knew the victim might be touched by Tera,” Zayn said, slamming his cup on the table. “ Fucking hell.”

  “I didn’t know for sure if she was touched by Tera, and I wasn’t trying to put that brand on her unless I did. It doesn’t matter either way now if the King’s Men have her, I’d say that it’s become a certainty at this point.”

  “Great, so not only am I getting kicked back to the Wilds, but Terakin agents will be roaming about the place.”

  “What, you don’t think you are a match for them? You always told me there was no one better to travel the wilds with than you,” Sil said in a flirtatious tone. She was doing her best to reduce the tension building in the room.

  “I said a lot of things to get you in my quarters that first time. That was a lifetime ago, and I’ve been in the city too long. Maybe I’ve lost my touch?” This was a serious concern of Zayn’s. Since arriving in the Landing and leaving the Wilds behind, he had only spent a few nights at a time in the wilds when a job called for it and never that deep into the woods. He’d imagined it had become quite a different place, especially with his father no longer being around to cull the creatures that roamed between here and Helos, Terakin Kingdom’s second largest city.

  “I’ve seen the way you handle yourself in the city, Zayn. You are still built for the Wilds.”

  “I’ll be finding out either way. I need to get out of the city before someone takes that option away from me. My last stop will be the smith’s to check in and inform him of my failure.”

  “Gods you are dramatic. Always brooding. You haven’t failed yet, but you will if you keep feeling sorry for yourself. I’m telling you there’s still a chance to save her. Whether the Duke will let you back, I can’t say, but you can still help the girl.” She continued, “My sources said they more agents arrived last night, and they were seen leaving the city gates shortly after with a teenage girl. Trina is the only girl reported missing this week, so it has to be her.”

  “Great, so they have a lengthy lead on me, especially if they are comfortable traveling through the night.”

  “Just stop finding the negatives, and do what you do best. Go find the girl. If you can get her back to the gates, we will get her back in the city. And take these back.” She shoved the coins back across the desk to him. Zayn didn’t argue and stowed them in his bag. Those coins would at least allow him to get a bed and roof over my head tonight at Colt’s Inn, assuming it was still in operation.

  “Thank you, Sil. You always love when a man is in your debt.”

  “I don’t have to let you keep that coin for you to be in my debt. Remember you promised we would run away and start again somewhere new, without all the thieving and people trying to murder us? I’m still holding you to that promise.”

  “That was before you built yourself your own kingdom here, Sil. I don’t see you leaving that behind.”

  “The world is changing, Zayn. A quiet life is seeming more and more appetizing than what I think is coming.”

  “What would that be?” Zayn asked.

  “Just take care of yourself out there.” She opened up another drawer and grabbed a cloth-wrapped object. She stood from the table, signaling that their time was over. She walked Zayn to the door, and handed him the object. “Take care of this too. I’ll be expecting you to bring it back to me.”

  Zayn unwrapped the cloth, and found a dagger, with orange lines running through the blade, and an Ember Ruby at the bottom of it’s hilt. He’d only ever seen her use it on one occasion. A house guard was getting the best of her while they were making our escape after looting the vault of Ser Manford, a corrupt nobleman, and in a state of desperation she took out the dagger and plunged it in the shoulder of the guard. It looked to be the first time she used it, as the effect seemed to be a surprise to her. The coat surrounding the blade burst into flames and the man instantly fell to the ground in agony, screaming. Sil, panicked, quickly removed the blade and looked at it horrified. She was like a statue due to her shock, and Zayn nearly had to tackle her so they could continue their escape.

  “You know what this blade does, Zayn. Only use it if you really need to.” While Sil ran a guild of Thieves, she didn’t like to get her hands dirty when it came to violence. That was the whole point of having a crew.

  “Sil, I can’t”

  “You can. It’s a waste here. Bring it back when you return with Trina, and we will be even.” Zayn grasped the blade, the hilt humming in his hand. He tended to steer clear of magical weapons. They were unpredictable, and he'd seen faulty ones explode in the hands of the wielder. He didn’t have to worry about the latter with this one at least, having seen it in action already, but he would follow Sil’s guidance, only using it when the situation truly called for it. The only weapon he was truly comfortable with was his bow.

  “Thank you,” Zayn said. “For everything.”

  Zayn knew she deserved so much more, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. Sil brought him out of the darkest point of his life. After his father died, Zayn stumbled into Cleeve’s Landing with no direction, and drank what little coin he had down the drain. He fell further, resorting to theft when a day’s worth of begging didn’t net him enough for a meal and a drink. Sil saw something in him, pulled him off of the street, and started training him on how to survive in the darkness of Cleeve’s Landing. At first Zayn thought she just needed his bow, but as time went on, he realized she was in need of an anchor herself, she was just better at hiding the demons of her past.

  She helped put Zayn’s skills to use. He was still stealing, but it was at least against the corrupt, and much easier to rationalize. She showed him that he could still have a purpose in this life, when he had lost all hope. Sil was the only woman that he truly felt anything for romantically. He couldn’t bring himself to share any of those things. That would have felt too much like a final goodbye, and he wasn’t ready for that yet.

  “Take care of yourself, ranger.”