Honor Amongst Thieves

Chapter 4– Love’s Flight

Great, yet another hot day, thought Artemis. He had been sent out to work the crowds in the higher end of the Tyronian market, a job earned simply because there were too many guards to trust the more inexperienced thieves not to get caught. Too bad it’s the most boring kind of theft there is, he thought, somewhat resentful. Mostly it consisted of trying to blend in with the crowd for fifty-five minutes just to have five minutes on an attempt. It was approaching noon, and he had only taken two purses. Granted, that was more than most could have done, but still, he lusted for the scare, the panic, the silence of a good breaking and entering. I don’t even know why Terni sent me, Jerrie and Rumple always do better, and sending me today is overkill. It might even get more guards posted. Maybe he doesn’t trust me? But how would he know I lied about Raven. I trust Jerrie, Rumple, and Rane too much to believe they told him. What if they DID betray me? Artemis broke off that disturbing line of thought. If Old Terni wished to ask him questions, he would send for him. There was a new influx of shoppers looking for a meal, so it was time to focus back on the job.

It was five in the afternoon, and Artemis was sitting down on a bench outside of Butterby’s pub with a small goblet of wine after his eighth successful pick of the day. Overall he was working the crowd just a little bit above average, having decided he’d try to get back into Terni’s good graces, if he had indeed fallen out of them. Old Terni told his workers to pull out of the market at around six, because at six thirty the guard shift changed, providing the law fresh eyes, and shoppers began to leave, giving thieves less cover. All told, that meant that Artemis had enough time for one good pick left. Seeming right on cue, a fat man, with clothing that screamed wealth, came strolling into the square and began to browse the shops and stalls. And there was his belt purse. Artemis had to fight off a feeling of déjà vu from long ago, as this purse seemed as large and as loose as the first one he had ever picked, the one that had gotten him inducted into the guild. This is going to be fun, he chuckled to himself as he began to make his move.

At around six thirty Jerrie, Artemis, and Rumple gathered just inside the guild hall to compare takes before presenting them to Old Terni. This was a common practice for the friends, as it gave them a chance to praise each other and to even out the spoils so that Terni could not find fault with any of them. It might have been cheating a little, but Terni must have known about it, and he didn’t complain.

“I like it, Rumple. The story of how you two got that bracelet off that woman is priceless,” said Artemis, chuckling.
“Yeah, we thought you’d like it,” replied Jerrie. “Your turn, what did you get off the masses?”
“Nine, one of them rather large,” said Artemis, showing off the final pick he had gotten off that wealthy man. “What do you two think?”
“Oooh, nice! Open it!” said Rumple with all the enthusiasm and glee of a child with their present on the Day of Bells.
Artemis undid the drawstring slowly, just to add a bit of tension, and then reached his hand in without looking. He paused, then looked. “Why can’t the big purses I get ever be filled with gold or jewels?” Exasperated, Artemis pulled out a small handful of peanuts and a crumpled paper. Jerrie and Rumple started laughing uproariously.
“Great, I got a snack bag,” Artemis said, handing the bag to Rumple, knowing her fondness for Jerrie and other kinds of nuts, and began to read the crumpled scrap of paper.
“So what’s it say?” asked Rumple around the peanuts she had just popped in her mouth. “Arty?” Artemis’ face had become focused upon reading the paper, and suddenly looked up, a startlingly intent look upon his face.
“Jerrie, have you told Terni about the ring yet?”
“No, I haven’t, I was going to do that tonight.”
“Don’t. Where is it?”
“Hidden under the cards in my room.”
Upon hearing this, Artemis thrust the rest of his pilfered bags into Jerrie’s hands and dashed off, paper in hand. As he started climbing stairs, he shouted back, “Get those to Terni, with my apologies.”
“Arty, what’s wrong?” shouted Rumple, getting no answer in return. “We should follow him.”
“No, we’re almost late as it is, and we need to see what else he got on his trip before we give them to Terni.”
“Alright, but right after we give them to Terni we’re going to find Artemis.”
“Agreed.”


The meeting with Terni ran longer than usual, as some of Artemis’ bags had held some truly exquisite gems, which needed to get appraised. After the meeting, Terni offered to share his dinner with Rumple and Jerrie in apology, and, even though they wanted to look for their friend, the offer was too good to pass up. So it was that Jerrie and Rumple didn’t make it to Jerrie’s room until about eight thirty, with the Twins already up, and darkness outside the window. Unfortunately, there was no sign of Artemis himself, but underneath the cards, where there had been the ring, nothing remained except the piece of paper that had been in the bag. Rumple picked it up and read it aloud.

To the Black Ghost,
My master wishes the ring greatly, and is prepared to pay handsomely. He is offering you the Sapphire Heart necklace, as well as a 10,000 gold piece gem. If you are interested in making a trade, be on the first flat roof south of Butterby’s pub by eight. Come alone. I will be waiting.
Raven

“Well, whatever’s happened has happened, the meeting’s been and gone, and all we can do is wait. I hope he got what he wanted.”


Artemis began to eat a quick dinner at Butterby’s at seven thirty, feeling slightly guilty for having left his friends behind, but when he had read that note, all but one thought had been driven from his mind: I can see her again. With this thought he had dashed up to Jerrie’s room, gotten ready, taken the ring, left the note as an explanation to his friends, and began the long jog to the center of town. Finishing up his dinner, he paid Mr. Butterby and left, finding the most convenient spot to climb. As it was, he reached the roof south of Butterby’s at what was, by his reckoning, exactly eight, with the last glows of sunlight disappearing even as he walked out into the middle of the roof, casting the city into darkness. He fingered the ring in his right hand.

“So it appears we meet again, Artemis,” said Raven, stepping out from the roof hatch of the house. Even in this light, her beautiful red hair caught his attention, as did the moonlight reflected in her eyes.
“It does indeed, Raven. I do hope that my trick in the marketplace did not overly inconvenience you, or lower yourself in the eyes of your mentor.” Looking at him, Raven thought two things at once. It’s true, I love him. Please, Tahira, give me the strength.
“Not at all. It rather annoyed him, I must admit, but he can distinguish the success of your job and the success of my job. He doesn’t blame me, as long as I can bring it back tonight.”
“Ah, yes, the reason you called me to this meeting. Your method of contacting me was genius.”
“I thank you, sir, though it was not purely my idea.”
“Though, I must ask, is it wise to show me where your guild hall is?” indicating the roof they were standing on.”
Raven looked at him questioningly, and then gave a nod of understanding. “Ah, my dear Artemis, surely you, of all people, knows how easy it is to pick the locks people usually put on top of roof hatches. I sat there, waiting for you, without even disturbing the family below.”
“Ah, that makes sense.”
“Doesn’t it? But enough of these pleasantries. Let’s get to business.”
“Yes, let’s,” concluded Artemis, wanting to get the business over and done with, so that hopefully she and he could talk for a while, without their jobs getting in the way.
“Now, do you have the ring with you?” she asked.
“Of course,” he said, showing her the ring in his hand, too far away for her to snatch it. She took out a strange device and held it to her eye.
“Magic detector,” she said to explain. “Very well, it is the genuine article. Now, in this bag,” pulling out a small pouch, “is the gem. What I propose is this. I give you the necklace, which I also have, you give me the ring, and then I give you the gem. That way we make sure there is no way one of us can cut and run without losing something of value.”
“Well thought out, I must compliment you again,” he said, flashing a smile. Did she just blush? “I agree.”
Approaching him slowly, she withdrew the necklace from behind her back and showed it to him, displaying she had no weapon concealed with it. She held it out in her face-up palm, and though they both wore gloves, they felt something in their touch as he took it. Her breathing sped up slightly, and he had to restrain himself from simply holding her hand until the sun came up. Looking into each other’s eyes, they withdrew and tried to calm themselves without the other noticing the reaction they had had to the touch. Calmer now, Raven said, only half-jokingly, “Well, Artemis, you appear to finally have taken my heart from me. Now what are you going to do?”
“Me? I am going to fulfill my part of the bargain. I have your heart, so I offer you my ring,” he replied, also half-jokingly, holding out the ring between thumb and forefinger. She reached out for it, taking his hand in hers as well. This time neither was willing to resist the feelings that coursed through them. Gently pulling themselves together with the gentle hold Raven had on Artemis’ hand, they grew close. Neither said a word, they simply looked into each others eyes and knew. Knew that the other had experienced the same heartache since they had been apart, knew that they held the same feelings for each other, and knew that this was the person that they wanted to spend the rest of their life with, no matter the obstacles facing them. Such was the love, the joy, the sheer unbridled delight coursing through their hearts that, as one, they closed the distance between their lips to experience the most wonderful kiss either had ever experienced. A kiss such as this had never been experienced by either of them, and it seemed to them that there was no way that a connection so pure had ever been experienced by anyone on the mortal plane, or indeed the heavens above.

Raven was the first one to muster the willpower to break the kiss. Looking into Artemis’ eyes, she smiled. “I accept the ring.” She smiled wider, and they both began chuckling uncontrollably, reeling a little from the emotional release they had just experienced. “Now then, my last part, the gem.”
As she said this, she seemed to falter, and a look of consternation crossed her wonderful face. Artemis looked at her questioningly, but she just shook it off and handed him the bag. Feeling the weight inside it, he smiled at her. She smiled back, but it seemed to be a smile tinged with sadness. Now, why would she be sad? On a spur of the moment decision, Artemis undid the drawstring of the bag.
“No, please!” Raven exclaimed, but too late. A large, smooth piece of granite dropped out. Artemis stared uncomprehendingly at it. At the sound of feet running away in front of him, he looked up in time to see Raven leaping from the roof they were on to the one behind her.
“Raven!” he called, beginning to run after her. There was no way the necklace, no matter how beautiful, could possibly pay for the ring, and he wouldn’t be able to hide something as major as having had a magic ring and losing it from Old Terni. One thing he would never allow himself to do was to disappoint his second father.
“Let me go, Artemis!” she called back. Please, Artemis, turn back. Tahira, make him turn back! She jumped to the next roof and resumed sprinting, her well-trained muscles carrying her at speeds that had lost many a guardsman.
Unfortunately, Artemis was faster than many guardsmen. Also successfully making the leap, he continued to chase after her. “Hold on, Raven, we can talk.” Why was she running like this? If this was planned by her guildmaster, they could still work it out like reasonable people, couldn’t they?
Shutting his cries out of her mind, she threw herself over another gap, then made a sharp turn to the right. All that mattered to her was to escape. Oh Gods, what will he think of me? She leapt over another gap, then another, all the while hearing him behind her.
Having given up calling to her, Artemis resolved himself to catch her. Sprinting across the roofs of Tyro in the moonlight was not the safest thing in the world, but if he wanted to see her again, he was certain it had to be done. He watched as she dove headfirst off the roof ledge she was running off. He didn’t miss a beat, as it was a trick that was common among all rogues. He reached the gap to the next roof, a gap he would have had a hard time making, and dove off as well, throwing himself out into empty space. He flew for a few instants, then made it through the open window into the third story window of the building across from where he dove, just in time to see her roll out of her own dive and run through the door of the room, thankfully empty.
Damn it, he made the jump. Thank Tahira he didn’t miss it. I’ve GOT to lose him. She sprinted out of the door of that room, turned a hard left, and almost flung herself down the stairwell at the end of the hallway. Jump, turn, jump, turn, jump, turn, jump, turn, jump, turn, jump, turn, and she was out into the street outside of the house. She paused, getting her bearings, then turned to the right and kept sprinting, her breath becoming labored now, as she pushed herself to her limit. Have to get away!
Artemis made his final jump and pursued her down the street. He passed one, two, three doors. He didn’t know why he bothered keeping track, he was hopelessly lost anyways, his only thought catching her. His breath burned in his chest, but he refused to relent. Have to catch her!
Raven made a hard turn to the left, down an alley between two long unidentifiable buildings, probably some kind of apartments. At the end was a dead end, as the two buildings ran into a third. Reaching to her belt, she withdrew a grappling hook and began twirling it. Throwing it as hard as she could, she hooked it on the edge of the roof ahead of her. Reeling it in as she kept running at the wall, she made sure it was secure just before turning her momentum and essentially running a short distance up the wall before she had to truly climb. As she was about halfway up the two-story affair in front of her, she saw another grappling hook latch itself beside hers, and she swore. Why won’t he give up?
Artemis also ran up the wall, and would have sighed, if he had any breath too, as Raven threw herself onto the roof and grabbed her grappling hook. At least she doesn’t want to kill me, or she’d have a perfect chance now. Reaching the top of the roof, he unhooked his grappling hook as he saw her resume running over the roof. Standing up, he resumed sprinting off to the right, in hot pursuit. He could tell she was beginning wear down, and if he could just manage to keep himself going, he might stand a shot of reaching her. With a new burst of speed, he threw himself after her. She leapt to the next roof and so did he.
Making a sharp right, Raven was gasping for breath. Must not be caught. It had started to repeat inside her head, providing her a rhythm and a driving force. If it weren’t for that, she would probably have given up by now. She heard her steps behind her, and did her best to speed up as well. She threw herself over one gap, and looked ahead at one of the largest gaps she had ever tried to leap. Well, he made my heart fly. Let’s see if it works for the rest of me. Allowing herself a grim smile, she pushed herself to her limit, planted her foot on the edge, and threw herself out into space.
“RAVEN!”
Throwing herself into a forward flip, she thrust her legs out at her highest point, getting every ounce of force she could into crossing the gap. Her feet hit something, and she slid along her back onto the roof. In pain, she rolled over to look back. “NO!”
Artemis’ foot reached as close as it could to the edge of the roof, and he through himself out over the gap Raven had just crossed. He had made it across most of the street below when he saw the edge of the building he was trying to get to rise up far too quickly. Sorry, Raven. I can’t make it. He smacked hard into the smooth face of the building, his shoulders, arms, and head the only parts of him above the roof line. Stunned, he slid down until he was hanging by his fingertips. Scraping his feet against the smooth face below him, he knew he would get no purchase there. Normally, he’d be able to pull himself up onto anything with his fingertips, but after the chase, he was already at the limits of his endurance. He felt his grip weakening, and he knew he was going to die, as it was almost to land safely from a two story drop onto the cobblestones below.
Just as his fingers were about to fail, a hand grabbed his arm, and a beautiful face, haloed in red, appeared above him. Raven pulled, and Artemis pulled himself up with all the strength he could muster. Together they managed to get him safely onto the roof, where they lay panting for a short amount of time. All too quickly, however, Raven staggered up.
“Artemis, please stay here. Give up.” With that, she resumed running.
Sorry, Raven, I can’t do that. Stumbling into a run, he resumed his chase. She had run in the same direction he had just jumped, and he followed. Luckily the roofs here were closer together, only about six feet apart, which were easy for himself and Raven. He jumped off the roof he had rested on, then ran across and jumped again, and again, all the while in pursuit of Raven, who seemed almost ready to pass out. He knew he was.
Can’t make it much longer. Don’t think he can either, Raven thought as she sprinted off to the right and jumped another gap. This roof was slightly longer than most, giving her a chance to get a bit of rhythm before she jumped again. Jump she did, and saw a three story building in front of her. Thankfully the third story window was open, so she just dove from her second story roof into the third story window. She landed oddly, but still rolled to her feet, clutching reflexively at her left shoulder. She ran up the stairs to the roof hatch, shoving it open.
Where is she going? She must know by now she can’t lose me. I won’t give up. All this went through Artemis’ mind as he rolled to his feet inside the dwelling and pursued her up the stairs to the roof. He got out of the hatch just in time to watch her jump the gap in the same direction she had been heading in when she dived in. This girl doesn’t know when to give up, does she?
This guy doesn’t know when to give up, does he?, Raven thought sadly. She leapt over another easy gap, then saw a rather large gap in front of her. She eyed it with depression as she threw herself into the third story window to escape having to try to leap the full gap. It’s almost time.
Following her, Artemis saw that he was gaining. In what seemed a stroke of luck, the window across from the one he jumped through was open, and Raven was in the middle of jumping through it into another open window of the building next to it. Artemis followed her through, and amazingly the window across from this one was open as well. Raven dove through. As he jumped between the buildings, Artemis suddenly thought, Five windows, all in a line, all open, at about eight thirty at night, what are the odds of that? As he came out of the roll in the next building, he stood up to find Raven with a dagger pointed at his throat, and someone he didn’t know pointing the bad end of a crossbow at his face. Not very high. He looked questioningly at Raven, panting from her chase, holding her shoulder, as if in pain, and he noticed that she had tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she mouthed at him, then something far too hard hit him in the back of the head, and he knew no more.

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A/N: Looking for reviews as usual. And dont forget to browse the other titles in the line up!