The door creaked shut behind him. Before he could move, a familiar voice sliced through the gloom.
"Oh, Kael!" Lana rushed from behind her counter, her round stomach stretching a brown apron taut. She froze before she could hug him, her lips quivering. "Sorry, I took you for a boy I knew. Sad story. His mom died. A smart woman, heh, just unlucky, like us all born in this dumpster. But Kraghor watches over us. Look at me, I'm talking without letting you answer. What'll it be?"
She returned behind her counter, and Kael adjusted the round frame of his dark glasses with an ironic, but warm smile.
"I'm sure he'd be happy to know someone still thinks about his mother." His eyes darted to the counter, where loaves of brown bread lined in metallic baskets peered from under flour-smeared towels.
"Heard you're one of the best bakers. I'll take a loaf for now. Another tomorrow if I like it."
Lana threw her blond ponytail over her shoulder, head held high as she put a broad loaf into a small burlap bag. "Whoever said that knows his bread. One copper crown. Another for a canteen of water. The bag's on me this time, but it'll be a copper crown from tomorrow onward, so you'd better keep it."
Kael set two copper crowns on the counter. Only after he removed his hand, and Lana confirmed their sheen, did she hand him the bag. "Nice doing business with you, young man. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." Kael waved his way out.
That woman would never change, would she? Always talking as if each regular was a member of her own family in dire need of more gossip than bread.
He could learn a thing or two from her, at least about not letting paranoia paralyse him when the script remained uncertain.
The streets became less dim, and his bag breathed of cheap flour. Garrick's men might discover Tonio in their search for Joss Ren. Might—a possibility.
If he took facts alone, was he truly hunted? Except for Garrick, Silma, Brannick, and the two thugs who accompanied him down the mines, members of the Black Cask didn't know him.
The Ragged Crown was gone. Even if they discovered he had killed Ash and Tovin, Joss Ren would prioritise his own survival. Same for the Sump Dogs, who were likely next on Garrick's list.
He walked down the neighborhood, his arms crossed, a hand around his chin. Winter had fully submitted to spring, revealing the grime that had traded the whiteness of snow for a sad gray. In slightly warmer air but still thick with industrial dust, he focused on Tonio.
Relic 78 was all that protected Tonio. The rat-man understood it by now.
I can plan around it. One hour out per day. Keep the other hour. If the Black Cask knocks, they'll find a hairy beggar with a fearsome reputation. Yes, that'll work for now.
With lighter steps, he jogged back to the third beggar street, the bag tucked against his stomach.
The battle for Jones' home still raged beside the tannery. Brook's group finally overcame Melk's, only for a new group to wrestle ownership from the exhausted winners. Noting this group's cunningness, he pushed the cloth in the doorway of his shelter.
"It's me." He slid his round glasses from his face.
Els exhaled, while Tonio lowered his nails, his glare softening. "Bread?"
Kael swung the burlap bag at Els. "Of course."
She brought it close to her nose. A single whiff made her lips curl. "I can recognise Lana's bread among a thousand. How is she doing?"
"The same as always. I thought she'd never stop when she almost recognised me. It was nice to see that chubby aunt again."
"Right—"
Tonio snatched the bag, cutting Els off. He poked the grey loaf with a thick thumb and shook the canteen of water. With a nod as if Kael had passed his test, he flung the bag back to Els, then took relic 78 from Kael's pocket.
"Tonio trust Kael. Kael trust Tonio." He slid the glasses on his face with one hand, dragging Kael by the back of his collar with the other. "Catch rat."
"Now? Wait! I need to tell you something," Kael gasped as Els chuckled.
"Fast first. Tell after." Tonio simply forced Kael out and put on the glasses. Fog erupted for a heartbeat, drowning his face. Then the rat-man's features shifted to those of a hairy man.
Kael patted Tonio's arm. "Listen, Tonio. And let me walk on my own." Tonio, let him go, and he flattened his collar with a grumble. "Look. From now on, I need you to return before you feel the relic become bad. In short, stay outside half-less. You understand?"
"Why?" Tonio tilted his head, but a single word erased his confusion.
"Garrick. His men might come. It's just a precaution to keep you safe."
For a moment, neither of them moved from the entrance of their shelter. Silence thickened with the unspoken rage burning in Tonio's red eyes and contorted mouth.
He spoke first, his voice a suppressed rumble echoing twenty years of hate that demanded to be unleashed. "Kill Garrick?"
Kael's knuckles tightened for three heartbeats. Then, he sighed through twisted lips. "We're too weak, too outnumbered. No, Tonio. I fix you first. I fix myself. I become strong. Then, we'll get our revenge."
Tonio unclenched his jaw, slowly nodding. "I make Kael fast. Trust."
"I trust you." Kael patted Tonio's back, and he was led to a winding alley connected to the edge of the second street.
Rats scurried around heaps of trash. They barred squarish teeth at the intruders as if they were masters humans should fear.
Tonio spoke a single word. "Catch."
Kael glanced at him for a moment. "Is it even that hard?"
Tonio answered with a pointed finger at a rat less aggressive than the others. No words. A silent direction.
"I guess I'll get this one, then..."
Kael approached, his steps slow, his arms stretched toward the rat. Once three steps separated them, the other rats squeaked. He ignored them.
His target didn't move. It narrowed its dark, beady eyes. Somehow, a wave of contempt struck Kael, as if the rat defied him. See if I don't catch you!
He leapt, his hands brushing gray fur. Yet, his eyes widened when he closed his fingers. No fur. No sensation at all. Instead, the rat jumped over his fist. Paws knocked on his sleeves as he crashed between rotten entrails and human shit.
Cursing the stench, he wiped his sleeve against his mouth.
The other rats began to rush at him, but a single step from Tonio scattered them. He pointed at Kael's head, where the rat paced as if it had conquered new territory. "Slow. Again."
The following hour was a torturous ordeal... mentally. Kael lunged, approached silently, and kicked. Nothing worked. He even tried to stomp another rat in retribution, but ended up splashing piss on his pants from a puddle.
When he felt his forehead veins about to burst, Tonio grabbed his shoulder. He shook his head, his lips curled down. "What speed?"
Hadn't he explained it yesterday? Kael took a deep breath first, then another. Eventually, he answered with his definition. "Only the first strike matters."
Tonio nodded. "Rats same. Fail, rats attack, or gone. One chance. Watch."
He nudged Kael back and dashed at the gray rat in the same movement. His coat flapped, and his arm blurred. He didn't jump or slow down; he plucked it on his way. When he shoved his fist toward Kael, the rat shook its head in search of the ground. Before it could understand how it ended up in this firm hand, Tonio twisted its neck.
Kael opened his mouth, then closed it. Just like that? Really? I am that bad!
While he thought that, Tonio caught two more rats.
The others finally understood why a single step from this intruder had frozen them and scrambled through holes in the walls. Soon, only Kael, Tonio, and the trash remained in the alley.
"Tomorrow again. Today, train grab."
With a wave, Tonio led the way back to the shelter.
Kael followed him in, brooding over the searing heat burning his guts. Humiliated by a rat! He'd catch ten tomorrow!
The thought did nothing to cheer him up, not when Els laughed until she slapped the ground when she smelled the sludge smearing his shirt. "Defeated by rats! Hahaha. I can't. And you said you don't lose fights." She gazed at Kael's distorted face, then slapped the ground again. "No, I can't. Hahaha!"
"Cook the damn rats and leave me alone!" He snarled from a corner as he cleaned his shirt with a third of the canteen's water.
His grumpiness didn't stop Els from teasing him as she skinned and hollowed out the rats. The scent of cooking meat eased his shame, tearing grumbles from his stomach. By the time he sat with them, he laughed at her jokes.
"Seriously, you should have seen that rat move. It might have had a truth." He shoved a slice of bread topped with the juicy meat in his mouth.
"A truth that made you trip on your feet?" Els grinned.
"Maybe," he answered between munches. "I'll become better anyway. Right, Tonio?"
"Worst impossible." Tonio bit on his bread, his voice quivering at the taste. "Bread and meat. Good! Els always cook. Better than Kraghor."
"Hahaha. You can't blaspheme like that." Els scratched Tonio behind the ears, and he let out a satisfied growl.
Kael smiled. To him, they were more important than any of the eight bastards.