And they did. As they reached Fyn’s location, the avatar sprinted to his next target: a group of two-storey buildings overlooking a narrow alley. It joined their street at an acute angle and, as Annev watched, Fyn sprang across the gap, snatched the edge of an overhanging balcony, and swung himself onto a second-storey window ledge.
Not to be outdone, Kenton ran for the same group of buildings, but instead of grabbing the balcony, he threw himself towards the opposite structure and bounded off its stones before gravity could reassert itself. The raven-haired avatar flew in Fyn’s direction and tumbled onto the target balcony, landing a few feet higher than his rival.
Annev rolled his eyes, a small smile spreading across his face. They were showing off now, but he couldn’t afford to lose face in front of his companions. He was also reluctant to admit that he was having fun: he didn’t have to shepherd Kenton and Fyn the way he had worried over Titus and Therin, and it felt liberating to push himself without worrying about the competencies of his companions. He studied the gap between the two buildings and saw his path. With a running jump, Annev followed the same path as Kenton, but instead of tumbling onto the balcony, he angled his momentum so that his foot lit on the balcony’s rail and he sprang straight onto the rooftop. The other boys reached the roof a moment later, but before Fyn could attempt a third feat of acrobatics, Annev regretfully raised his hand, stopping him.
‘We should go lower. Height doesn’t bring us closer to Janak’s palace, and our theatrics will call too much attention to us.’
This time it was Fyn’s turn to roll his eyes. He didn’t outwardly object, though, and a few minutes later they were back on the single-storey buildings and moving swiftly but more stealthily towards Janak’s palace. By silent consensus, no one led the pack and they each found their own way through Banok’s huddled buildings, hanging eaves and twisted alleys. Once they had established a comfortable rhythm, they were more like a pack of shadows floating over a cobblestone street than a trio of young thieves leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Grey clouds drifted past the waning crescent moon, amplifying the effect, and the flickering light of the bonfires below was all that limned their silhouettes.
A quarter of an hour later, Annev reached the edge of the row of buildings leading to Janak’s keep. A wide street stood between the home he now stood on and the merchant’s palace. Annev looked across, gauging the distance between him and the roof of the keep’s first floor: it was nearly thirty feet. Even with a running start there was no way he could clear it. They would have to lower themselves to the ground and start from there.
Kenton and Fyn landed softly beside Annev and assessed the building in front of them.
‘Too far to jump,’ Kenton said, but as he spoke, Fyn took a running leap and cast himself off the edge of the roof. He didn’t land on top of Janak’s building, but he cleared the entire street – almost twenty feet – and landed softly in the shadowed recesses of the outer wall.
Kenton looked at Annev, they shrugged as one, and the reticent avatar followed Fyn’s example, beginning his run-up just as the door below swung open.
Kenton skidded to a halt, dislodging a handful of clay tiles in the process. As they started to slide, he dropped, rolled, reached, and slapped a hand over the moving tiles at the very edge of the roof.
‘Did you hear that, Nedders?’ a woman’s voice asked.
‘I heard it,’ a gruff male voice replied.
Annev froze in the shadows while Kenton tried to meld himself into the roof.
‘It sounded,’ the man continued, his speech a little slurred, ‘like a goose.’
‘A goose?’ the woman said. ‘Why ever a— ouch! Oh, you wicked man!’
‘’Twasn’t me,’ he protested. ‘’Twas the goose.’
‘Was it now?’ the woman teased. ‘Because it felt more like— ouch!’
‘Goosed!’ The man laughed.
The couple ambled into the street, their arms around each other’s waist as they made their way towards the bonfire. As they walked, the man’s hand kept drifting to the woman’s bottom. She squealed then laughed, apparently enjoying the game.
As the couple drew farther away, Annev slid forward to help Kenton, pulling the loose tiles back into place. He glanced back at the couple and noticed that the man hobbled a bit, favouring his left foot. Annev squinted at the fellow’s leg and saw that, instead of a boot or a shoe, the man – Nedders – had a peg leg.
Annev’s mouth dropped open, the tiles forgotten. He’s a cripple! And he’s walking around in broad daylight … with a woman at his side. He was stunned, and saw that Kenton’s openly confused look reflected his own. Annev reflexively rubbed his gloved left hand just as the shaggy-haired boy traced the mottled scar covering the left side of his face.
As the couple turned the corner and disappeared from view, Kenton glanced up and saw Annev watching him. His expression hardened and he snatched his hand away, quickly easing himself over the edge of the roof and dropping out of sight.
Annev sighed as he watched his scarred companion sprint across the street to join Fyn. In the past, he had wished he could openly commiserate with Kenton about his disfigurement – he had even pitied the boy – but knowing Kenton’s injury had indirectly led Myjun to him, and the suggestion that she and Kenton had been close, left Annev feeling petty and irritable.
Still, he couldn’t help wondering how different their lives might be here – in a town where someone could openly display their deformity without being shunned, mistreated, or murdered. In such a place, Annev supposed he could have led a normal life … but then, in such a place Myjun might have remained with Kenton. That thought twisted like a knife in his gut, and he was ashamed to admit that, in this instance, he was grateful for Chaenbalu’s prejudices.
Instead of climbing to his feet, Annev opted to dangle his legs off the side of the twelve-foot structure before easing himself down. As he turned to slide his torso over the edge, he glanced up and saw the black silhouette of a tall man in fluttering robes flitting across the rooftops.
Startled, Annev lost his grip and plummeted over the side of the building, landing flat on his back. He lay prone, winded, until he regained enough breath to scramble to his feet and dart across the street to Janak’s palace. When he reached the dark alcove where his companions were waiting, Annev spun and searched the rooftops for the dark figure that had been stalking them. He stood perfectly still, counting the seconds, but saw nothing.
After almost a minute, Fyn and Kenton shared a glance.
‘You all right, Annev?’ Kenton asked. ‘You took a bit of a tumble.’
‘I’m fine,’ Annev said, his eyes fixed on the rooftops. ‘I just … thought I saw something.’
‘What?’
Annev remembered. A man … wearing death’s cloak.
He shook his head. ‘I thought it was a person, but it’s nothing. Just a trick of the light.’