Thek moved faster than Addie expected; she couldn’t react fast enough. She had positioned herself to counter whichever of them came at her first, but she hadn’t counted the Thek’s speed. When he lunged forward, Addie dodged like she had planned, but the man reacted quickly and snagged her wrist. He then spun her ‘round, trapped her arm in a wrist lock against her back and then pushed up. She started to scream, but Thek’s massive hand clamped down over her mouth, cutting the her off. Addie tried to break free, but Thek pressed hard with his arms, twisting her in multiple directions all at once. Pain wracked her entire body. Even with a free arm, she was helpless.

  Slin watched all this with an air of smug indifference. “Didn’t seem so bad to me.”

  His eyes drifted to Addie’s. She was staring daggers back at him.

  He cleared his throat. “But to be on the safe side, Brunk? Please break the girl’s legs. They didn’t say what condition she had to be in, just had to be alive, right?”

  Brunk and Slin both laughed. Such ugly laughs they were.

  Satchel watched the scene unfold from his spot on the roof. As soon as he had seen the trio, he had hidden behind the chimney.

  Fear gripped him. He wanted to help Addie, but how could he fight against three grown men? Sure, he’d clashed with city guards in the Pipes and had come out all right, but it had usually been one-or-two-blow encounters and then he ran. There was no running here, and it’d take more than one or two blows to free Addie. Satchel looked at Thek again, and he suddenly wasn’t sure he’d last long enough to landeven one. His eyes met Addie’s. She was pleading with him to do soemthing.

  He became angry. First at the men for making him afraid, then at Addie for allowing herself to get into this situation. She’d been a pain for the whole trip. No, for longer than that. She deserved what was going to happen to her, right? How dare she beg him for help. She wouldn’t come to his had the roles been reversed. He then became angry with himself. Angry and ashamed.

  What do I do? he thought.

  Brunk stepped closer, brandishing a large billy club with eager cruelty in his eyes.

  Still, Satchel didn’t move, his muscles frozen in place. His vision was obscured as a dark figure moved right in front of him. Its sudden and silent appearance startled him. The figure told him to stay put and then slipped over the side of the roof.

  The moment was so brief Satchel almost didn’t realize it was Jarek. The old thief stepped from the shadows, placing himself in the middle of the group. His sudden appearance startled Slin and Brunk. Thek tensed up and tightened his hold on Addie.

  “I suggest you let her go unless you prefer an early death,” said Jarek.

  Slin recovered and said with a sneer, “The only death ‘round here will be yours, old man. The girl's the only one we need alive." He twirled his knife between his fingers. "I should thank you. My blade's been thirsty for a little action.”

  He took a step toward Jarek.

  Then everything happened at once.

  Jarek scooped up the plate Addie had dropped and flung it hard at Slin. The edge smacked the thug’s nose, causing blood to erupt. The wiry man cried out in pain, dropped his knife, and grabbed his face.

  Brunk growled and lumbered forward, club raised. In one motion, Jarek unsheathed his knife, ducked low to avoid the potbelly’s swing and slashed at his left knee. The knife met its target and Brunk collapsed onto the ground, his mobility gone. Slin had recovered and made to recover his weapon. Jarek dashed forward, moving a little to the side, and sliced the right forearm, forcing Slin to drop his knife again. For good measure, the old thief spun around and bashed the back of the man’s head with his metallic left arm. The blow caused Slin's face to smash hard into the ground. He twitched and then slumped to the ground.

  Jarek fixed his gaze on Thek. Satchel shivered. He’d only seen that look twice before. Both times had been right before Jarek brutally killed a man.

  “Release her, now.” The command wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be.

  This time, Thek’s resolve faltered. He had the look of one who now realized there was no way he could win against his opponent. Despite this, Thek still held his ground.

  Then, Jarek simply wasn’t there. In a blink, he was to one side of Thek and Addie. He drove his knife straight into the man’s right thigh. The soldier grunted and on Addie loosened. The girl flung herself forward and tumbled to the ground.

  Thek's right hand pawed dumbly for the dagger at his waist, but he never unsheathed it. Within a half-second, Jarek’s hands were wrapped around the back of Thek’s head and lower jaw. The old thief twisted just enough not to break the neck. The move sent Thek spinning into the ground. The man’s body slammed into the hard dirt with a satisfying thud. Jarek straddled Thek’s back, grabbed his hair and yanked back to reveal his neck. He then pressed his knife against the skin near the vein.

  The man struggled to break free but to no avail. As the dagger broke his skin, Thek grunted again.

  Leaning forward, Jarek said, “Who hired you? What do they want with the girl?”

  “He’ll kill us,” Thek replied.

  “I’ll kill you right now.”

  “Don’t say nothin’, Thek,” said Brunk. Jarek shot him a nasty look that shut him up.

  Thek then did a curious thing: he sighed.

  “Slin did most of the talking," said the soldier. "I didn’t get a good look at his face on account of the cloak, but his skin was white as a sheet and the voice was smooth. He gave us a sack full of coin and promised more if we captured the girl and sent word back to Ire.”

  Jarek spat in disgust. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You leave town now. If I hear that you return here, I will find you, and I will kill you. If I ever see you again, I will kill you. If you come with a mile of this girl again, I will kill you. Clear?”

  Thek nodded once.

  Jarek let him up but not before relieving him of his coin purse.

  “The price of stupidity,” Jarek said.

  Thek silently helped potbelly to his feet. Then the two of them grabbed Slin and dragged him out of the alley.

  Satchel slid down as Addie got to her feet. The three thieves stood in silence for a moment. The sun had not yet appeared on the horizon, but its glow brightened the eastern sky. A light gust of wind made Addie and Satchel shiver. It matched the cold look that Jarek gave them.

  “If I recall,” he said, “I told the two of you not to cause any trouble.”

  Neither Satchel nor Addie replied. Though his voice was steady, Satchel knew that Jarek was furious.

  The old thief turned to Addie. “I imagine this was your doing.”

  “Satchel called for the game,” Addie protested.

  Jarek shook his head. “I expected more from you. Settling things with Satchel could have waited. You can forget your payment. Go back to Ire. Hells, you can stay in Temna, for all I care, but you’re not to travel with us anymore.”

  Addie fell silent. Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. She sniffed hard, trying to hold them back. Jarek’s gaze fell on Satchel.

  “And you. Snag was the right way to handle this, but it could have waited. But, what bothers me more is that you froze in the face of danger. You’re stronger than that and you know it.”

  “How could I have done anything?” Satchel replied. “I was scared.”

  “Everyone gets scared, boy. How you handle your fear proves if you’re a man or not.”

  Satchel looked down at the ground, feeling the weight of Jarek’s every word. Jarek’s hand press on his shoulder.

  “There will be other tests,” said the old thief. “They never go away. Learn from this and make a better choice at the next one. Now, come on. Let’s get back to the inn. The Knight is after us and will know we were her.”

  Satchel stood and followed Jarek as he left the alley. After a moment, Addie rushed past and stopped to face their mentor.

  “I’m not done,” she said. “And you’re not done with me. Whether you let me or not, I’m going to follow you. I don’t care if I don’t get paid. The Knight is after me…after us. And he won’t stop unless we make him.” She was on the verge of crying. "I'm...sorry."

  Jarek eyed her for several long seconds. “All right, girl,” he finally said. “But this doesn’t happen again. From here on you listen to me. Understood?”

  Addie nodded, wiping her eyes.

  With that, they returned to the inn, gathered their belongings and continued their journey north.