Addie leaped across the gap and landed softly onto the roof of the butcher’s shop.

  Where is he? she thought.

  The game had gone on for most of the night, by her guess, and not once had she laid eyes on Satchel. She continued to move across the rooftops until she came to the market square. She had passed by this way at least twice, but this time something caught her eye. In the middle of the square, something lay on the ground. It was small, yet it sparkled under the light of a full moon.

  Could that be it? she thought. Or maybe—No. It’s a trap. He must be nearby.

  Her eyes searched the entire square thoroughly. Then, she spotted him. A small figure crouched low near a stack of crates. She checked her belt to make sure the piece of red cloth she had found was secure. She would get the jump on him, tie him up and make his defeat all the more humiliating. Sticking to the shadows, she quickly crept along the rooftops. He still hadn’t moved by the time she reached the roof directly over him. She heard him breathing and couldn’t help but smile.

  Gotcha.

  Addie leaped down on the figure. To her surprise, what she landed on was not human. At first, her landing was soft, but the cushion gave way to a sickening mixture of hard edges and mush. The piles seemed to swallow her. As a horrid stench wafted up, she realized that she had crashed into a trash pile. She cursed as she started to get up, but something or rather someone fell onto her back and pinned her down, her arms sandwiched between debris and her chest. Hands began to feel around her body, scrabbling all over her back, sides, and waist. She tried to fight back, but they pressed down harder. A sense of helplessness balled up in her chest.

  She gritted her teeth. Mustering her strength, she rolled to one side. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to free one of her arms. Reaching back, her hand searched for anything to grab. She caught hold of what felt like a neck. Perfect. With one smooth motion, she rolled again, twisting her hips just so and simultaneously pulled. The attacker peeled away from her and landed short of the nearby wall.

  “Red cloth again? Too predictable.”

  She looked at her attacker in shock. To her surprise, Satchel lay on the ground holding the red cloth from her belt. Addie snarled, rose from the trash pile and charged him.

  ~*~

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  Satchel barely had time to spring to his feet and dodge Addie’s tackle. He wheeled around and took off at a run. In a straight-line chase, Addie was faster; he would have to out-maneuver her. He turned down alleyways and climbed over fences to slow her pursuit. It worked, but he knew he couldn’t slack off. He had been watching her for a good while and was sure he knew the location of her hideout.

  It’s close by, he thought. Almost there.

  Then, he stopped dead.

  Where is it?

  His eyes drifted upward. He groaned. High on the top of a tall chimney, Addie had pinned the other piece of cloth. The girl had taken advantage of his weakness in straight-wall climbs. He gritted his teeth and leaped up onto a nearby fence. Pulling himself onto the roof, Satchel came to the base of the chimney, let out a breath, gripped the stone and began to climb. His muscles ached from the effort, but he pushed this aside. He had to win.

  A noise diverted his attention. She was closing in. Nearly there. Just an arm length away now. He reached for the piece of cloth. Suddenly, he was yanked off the chimney and slammed onto the roof. Addie stood over him.

  “Nice try.”

  She pinned him with her left arm and with her right she rifled through his pockets. Finally, she found what she was looking for and pulled it out. It was a small round metal plate. At first, she stared at it, confused. Then, her eyes widened.

  “You made the square your hideout?”

  Satchel smiled. “Hiding out in plain sight.”

  She pressed her foot on his solar plexus. “You won’t feel so clever here in a minute.” She grinned. “After I win.”

  Struggling to breathe, he held up a piece of red cloth in each hand.

  “What?”

  She looked up at the chimney. The marker was still there. Satchel used her momentary distraction to sweep her legs. She fell down the side of the roof and then down onto the street. Satchel’s silver marker dropped from her hand. The boy got to his feet and climbed up the chimney as fast as he could.

  Addie gasped for air and started to stand. "Dirty...trick," she said between teeth.

  “What have we here?” said a thin, scratchy voice.

  She looked up. A small and wiry man with greedy eyes and a face shaped like a rodent’s stared down at her. A grin spanned the width of his face. Two taller men flanked rodent-face. The taller one had a potbelly and a stupid-smug expression on his face. The other had the thick build of a soldier, but his eyes evoked a more calculating mind. Of the three, Addie deemed him the most dangerous.

  “Lookit, Slin,” said potbelly, “I think it’s dat girl we’re lookin’ for.”

  Slin sighed, “Of course it’s the girl, ya git.”

  The one that looked like a soldier moved toward Addie, but kept to one side, his movements cautious.

  As he did, potbelly’s back straightened. “Hey! What’s you doin’, Thek? Is my job to tie her up.”

  Thek stopped, but kept his eyes on Addie. “We need to be careful with this one.”

  “Are kiddin’ me?” said Slin. “You scared of a little girl?”

  “The old man trained her, and we lost the element of surprise. Don’t underestimate her.”

  Though clearly annoyed, Slin seemed to consider his words.

  “All right then,” he finally said, “you grab her.” He pulled out a knife. “And I’ll make sure she regrets it if she tries anything.”