Fox Hunt; Chapter 4

We make it another block before our shadow disappears into the crowd. For a second the thought that we should have approached him comes to mind, but I quickly throw it away. No, he would have run. He had been studying us. I doubt it was the last we'd see of him.

As we pass the next alley, I easily notice the figure leaning against the wall. A quick sideways glance confirms it's our shadow. I let my fingers brush my dagger as we pass. Let him try something. I'd had enough boredom for the day.

"Pst, Hunter."

I halt, waiting a second before turning my head to look at our shadow. The man calmly watches me in turn. He nods me over. His clothes look like they had certainly seen better days. Both his hands are in his pockets, hiding them from sight, but that look in his eyes- I'd seen it before. This man was no doubt the town troublemaker. Definitely not worth my time.

I turn my attention back to the path before me.

"I can tell you more about Sylvie than Lady Nightingale," he says off-handedly.

When I look back this time, he's casually studying the other townspeople milling about, no doubt searching for his next mark.

"Adrastus," Priamos mutters.

I can tell he doesn't buy the man's words. He clearly hadn't caught it. Sylvie. Either a clever ruse or he had indeed been familiar enough with her to refer to her by her nickname. Then again, I doubt he was stupid enough to make such a bold bluff to a Hunter.

"Humor me," I tell Priamos as I turn towards the alley.

I can hear Priamos sigh, but I can sense him following me.

The man pushes off the wall as we approach, holding out a hand. I take his hand. His other hand is there quickly as he shakes my hand.

"Blane Ricardo, thank you for hearing me out."

I refrain from looking down at my wrist. A simple sleight of hand that may work on others, but I hadn't missed it. He had taken my wrist communicator. Instead, I track his hands as they slide back into his pockets.

"You have a minute before I lose interest," I warn him.

"Of course, of course, I wouldn't want to waste your time like Lady Nightingale. That must have been rather tiresome. But first things first: a man's got to make a living. I don't request much, just a little something for my trouble."

At least this wasn't as tedious as sitting through Lady Nightingale's drivel, but I only had so much patience. I wasn't in the mood to play his game, especially if he thought he could play me.

He doesn't even have the chance to react.

With one hand, I've drawn my knife. The other grabs his shirt, slamming him back against the wall. Once he's there, the knife is up, pressed against his throat, a warning that I'm not playing anymore. I release his shirt so I can drop my hand to his pocket, pulling my communicator free.

"Here's my offer," I tell him, holding my communicator up. His eyes flick to it in surprise. He thought he had gotten away with it. "Tell me what you know and if it's good enough, I'll consider not throwing you in jail for stealing government property."

"I didn't steal that," he bluffs. "It's rude to frame potential informants."

"You have five seconds to regain my attention before I throw you in a cell."

"Lady Nightingale wasn't the only person Sylvaine spent time learning from," he offers quickly.

"You have my attention." I don't release him though. The knife still at his throat was enough of a warning that he still had to make it worth my while.

"I taught her the art of the sleight of hand, or rather, I attempted to. She wasn't much good at being a pick-pocket or thief. Said she didn't like stealing. She excelled at hiding in plain sight though. Even fooled a bunch of them city-slickers once, defiantly had Lady Nightingale eating out of the palm of her hand."

I'd have to be sure to check the prisons along her trail whenever I finally found it. Maybe she'd get desperate enough to try her hand at stealing and fail. If Blane was telling the truth, she hadn't been much good at it anyway and probably hadn't practiced much. How much of her ability to blend in was natural and how much was training though?

I study Blane for another second. The town troublemaker without a doubt. If he had tried to get money out of this information then I doubt he had trained Sylvaine for free.

"Should I assume you took a shining to her like Lady Nightingale did?" I drawl.

"Oh, no. Don't get me wrong, she had a pretty face and was nice to be around, but I defiantly didn't do it for free. Tiberius paid me. . . Both to train her and keep my mouth shut."

Somehow, that tracked. Lady Nightingale had said enough along that same line too. He had the good sense to keep sending her to me. Tiberius had been preparing her for years. She could blend in anywhere. She at least knew how to pick pockets and steal. What else would he make sure she could do?

I study Blane. He calmly watches me in turn. He was so willing to share information yet. . . I still had the feeling there was something he wasn't saying. Time to shake it loose.

I shove my communicator into my pocket. "Thank you for the information. I think it's worth a private cell. I'll have the militia make sure you're not bothered."

As I reach for my handcuffs, I can see his mind working. His hands come up, careful to say away from my blade to avoid escalating the situation.

"Whoa, hey, I didn't say that was all," he says quickly. I let my hand fall to the cuffs. "Lady Nightingale and I weren't the only ones Tiberius sent her to. There were others."

I refrain from pulling the cuffs free, but I don't release them, a silent promise to keep him talking. "Others?" I prompt him.

He nods. "She spent time with that retired soldier."

Retired soldier. Lady Nightingale had mentioned something about that. "David? Lady Nightingale already told us that he watched her when she was younger." This was what I was wasting my time for?

Blane shakes his head. "No, well, yes, but when she was older too. He taught her how to fight. I know because he did a stint as the town jailer." Was he rambling? "She came by one of the days I was doing some time. She was a much more attentive student for him." He was. Why? "It wasn't exactly a secret, but I'm not sure why Lady Nightingale didn't know. Though I suppose Sylvie had a reason for not wanting her to-"

"Who else?" I cut him off. I had had my fill of pointless rambling for the day.

"Who else? Oh, well, ha," Blane smiles pleasantly, "I don't actually know."

I swear, it was like he was trying to test my patience. "You really shouldn't be testing my patience with bluffs."

"I'm not bluffing," he says quickly, eyes flicking down to my hand still on my cuffs to make sure I haven't pulled them free. "There was another, but I don't know who."

I study him. He's not lying, but his assurance without knowing who doesn't help. I need to know why he's sure. "Convince me."

He blinks in surprise before nodding. "I went to Tiberius once for treatment. I heard him and Sylvaine. . . Talking in the other room. She was trying to get out of going to some lesson, training, it wasn't quite clear what exactly it was or what it was for, but Sylvaine didn't want to go."

I think for a second. The lesson couldn't have been with Blane. He had admitted to being there yet clearly not with the intent of teaching. Could it have been with this mystery teacher Blane seemed convinced existed or with the widow or retired soldier? Three possibilities.

"I'm not convinced. Why wouldn't it have been with the widow or retired soldier?" I ask.

"Because she was complaining about the weather. If she was spending time with Lady Nightingale weather wouldn't have mattered and it couldn't have been David. He was out of town for something."

I suppose the first argument was fair enough. Lady Nightingale didn't strike me as the type to be outside if the weather was anything other than nice. Then if it wasn't with him or the widow, and the retired soldier had been gone, who had her lessons been with?

I study Blane for another second. That was going to be all I'd get out of him.

Dropping my knife, I step back. I nod to the end of the alley. "Next time I won't be so lenient."

The troublemaker nods, moving for the end of the alley. Priamos wisely steps well out of his way. I watch him carefully as he melts into the crowd. After a second, Priamos turns towards me.

"You knew he was withholding that information."

I flick my eyes to him. I shrug. "I was fairly certain."

Priamos shakes his head. "You may not be good at faking emotions, but your ability to read people never fails to amaze me."

I bow my head gently before moving for the end of the alley. "A much more useful skill for a Hunter."

Priamos chuckles as he follows. "I can't argue with that."