The Shadowmage Trilogy (Twilight of Kerberos: The Shadowmage Books) by Matthew Sprange Page A

cried.
    With no more excitement seeming to be had, the crowd soon went back to its business and Lucius joined them in filtering away. He took a circuitous route around the market, as much out of habit now as wanting to throw off anyone who might have grown overly suspicious at his presence near the theft, and then headed back to his team’s rendezvous. They had picked a sub-alley, which was probably an overly grand term. It was a dark and filthy place, full of discarded food, rags and, Lucius suspected, vermin. The key, however, was that it was quiet, with no peddlers spilling over from the main trading areas, and no pedestrians taking a short cut from one market to another. Lucius’ only worry was that they themselves might get robbed here by some desperate footpad, though he trusted in his own abilities to protect the kids.
    Markel was already waiting for him when he arrived, perched on top of a stack of wooden boxes. He smiled as Lucius approached.
    “Seen Treal yet?” Lucius asked.
    “Nah. She’ll be here soon. Good mark that one, I’ll bet,” Markel said by way of compliment.
    Lucius shrugged. “Didn’t go so well. Sorry about fingering you like that – I thought the woman had made me, couldn’t think what else to do.”
    The fact he was making a heartfelt apology to a twelve year old boy did not strike Lucius as being odd in the least. After having worked alongside the two kids for the past few days, he had begun to treat them as equally as they had treated him from the start.
    Markel shrugged the apology away. “Not the first time I’ve been collared – hazard of the job. Anyway, you did the right thing, throwing suspicion away from yourself. You have to trust in the other guy getting away – that’s his job.”
    “And you made the switch?”
    “Easy. Treal snuck in and took it just before they grabbed me.”
    Lucius looked at the boy with a quizzical expression, prompting Markel to ask him what he was thinking.
    “I’ve been wondering,” Lucius said. “You earn good money doing this, and have been doing it for a while. What do you spend it on?”
    “Oh, you think that kids can’t spend money wisely,” Markel said, mocking him. “Most of it goes to our parents right now. Doing this beats working at some butchers or tanners, and they don’t complain when they see how much we bring in. The rest we mostly give to Caradoc for keeping.”
    “Caradoc?” Lucius asked.
    “He’s the lieutenant of the Night Hands. You’ll meet him soon, I guess. He takes a special interest in kids who join the Hands, says they are the future. It was him who got Ambrose to start watching the teams in the markets.”
    “So what does he do with your money?”
    “Holds it for us. Says we would just spend it on beer, and he’s probably right. When we leave the teams and become proper thieves, we get the money. Spend it on the gear we’ll need – lockpicks, a decent blade, silk rope. That stuff’s expensive.”
    “When do you think you’ll get accepted?”
    Markel pursed his lips in thought. “A year maybe. If we carry on doing well. I’ll probably see you in the guildhouse then.”
    “You think?”
    “You won’t be with us long. You’re too good. They’re just testing you, seeing how you work, and whether you can be trusted.”
    Lucius sighed. “Tell you the truth, wasn’t planning to stay around long. Just wanted to earn some money, then leave.”
    “You mean leave the city?”
    Lucius nodded.
    “Nah, you’ll stay.”
    “Oh, yes?”
    “The money’s too good. If you can avoid getting caught, that is, and I don’t think you are planning on that any time soon.”
    Leaning back against the wall, Markel closed his eyes and dozed while he waited, leaving Lucius to his thoughts. Lucius marvelled in the kid’s ability to switch off so quickly. He was hard to restrain at times but whenever there was nothing to do, he could fall into a light sleep almost on command.
    Stifling a yawn himself, Lucius was