Gillette turned east at the intersection instead, pushing down a long, straight street that passed between lines of shops.\u00a0 With butchers, bakers, and tanners, that street was more commercial than any row Faradorn had been shown.\u00a0 It stopped abruptly by a wall and a small archway with two parapets above, not unlike several they had seen throughout their journey.<\/p>\n
Once they had passed beneath that archway, they could see eastern Versali-Virai was much humbler.\u00a0 Smaller houses lined the road that seemed to fade into disrepair before becoming naught but a dirt path.\u00a0 Still, even in that meek area, Faradorn took solace that the way was still lighted.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I ask you a question?\u201d Gillette wondered.\u00a0 \u201cYou seem to be awfully predisposed with the lights around here.\u00a0 Anxious almost.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is your question?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just seems odd you would come here in the middle of the night if you\u2019re so worried about the darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time since his arrival, Faradorn allowed a grin to cross his face.\u00a0 \u201cThe night doesn\u2019t frighten me, nor does the darkness.\u00a0 It\u2019s a shroud\u2014a shield\u2014and the light is a weapon.\u00a0 There\u2019s a balance to it I find comforting, which is why Versali-Virai sounded so appealing to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe City of Lights,\u201d Gillette said.\u00a0 \u201cSo that\u2019s why you came so late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had heard you could see this place illuminated from the sea, but I must admit I\u2019m almost happier to see it\u2019s speckled, not awash with it.\u00a0 I\u2019ve seen brightness like that before, and it is overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tour guide nodded and hummed to himself.\u00a0 \u201cWell, there\u2019s one spot toward the end of the tour you might enjoy.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be passing by closer to Wolden\u2019s Lighthouse on our way back on the north road.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should like very much to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillette drew to that unexpected warmth, and his smile returned, stretched broad across his face.\u00a0 His pace hastened, and he continued through the poorer section of the city, the visitor behind him every step of the way.<\/p>\n
The way before them fell further into disrepair, with houses crumbling away in their weaker corners and lanterns being traded for more primitive torches.\u00a0 The smell of fecal waste hung heavy in the air, and Gillette waved it away as if it had substance to it.\u00a0 Faradorn seemed not to mind, his sight set on the next gate that led past.<\/p>\n
The guide was not so quick to leave the area, even if it did smell particularly offensive.\u00a0 Just beside the archway, illuminated in the warm orange glow of the braziers there, a poor unclean child rested his back against the flaking wall.\u00a0 His clothes were no better off, with holes torn into his shirt and his slacks much too short to cover his legs.\u00a0 If Versali-Virai had been a colder city, the boy would have most likely succumbed to the elements.<\/p>\n
\u201cRavi,\u201d Gillette called out.\u00a0 The boy stirred, blinking weary eyes that struggled to see the world.\u00a0 \u201cA job for me is a coin for you,\u201d the guide said.\u00a0 That generous offer had the pauper on his feet in an instant.\u00a0 Gillette fished in his pockets and pulled out a handful of gold and silver\u2014money he had received from Faradorn earlier in the week by courier.\u00a0 With a little trepidation, the guide plucked a golden doubloon from his palm and flicked it to the lad.\u00a0 \u201cGet yourself something to eat, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Offering only a smile in return, Ravi skittered backward through the gate.\u00a0 He turned about in the darkness, but both of the men could hear his sandaled feet slapping against the stone road on the other side.<\/p>\n
Faradorn cast a discerning glance toward Gillette.\u00a0 The glare was not lost on the guide, who shrugged away that judgment.\u00a0 \u201cI remember a time when I was where that boy was: living in the gutters.\u00a0 Besides, a little generosity shared never hurt anyone.\u00a0 After all, it was you that gave me the hefty purse just to perform a job I always do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe would have been just as happy with silver.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I would have been none the wiser if you had decided to pay me my usual rate.\u00a0 Sometimes we decide to give a little extra, it would seem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s continue along.\u00a0 We\u2019re in no rush, but if we catch Bernard before he closes up the bar, maybe he could get you that deal we talked about.\u201d<\/p>\n
They pushed past the archway, arriving on the other side of the wall, where the houses regained their stability and, farther on, even their luster.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis part of the city, the farthest east, is well maintained,\u201d Gillette said.\u00a0 \u201cThey want to make sure any visitors who come from the road there see a healthy, thriving city, not a shantytown falling into disrepair.\u00a0 Truth be told, most of these houses close to the poor district are all owned by one man, and they\u2019re left vacant.\u00a0 Nobody wants to live there except for those who can\u2019t afford it, and he\u2019s not exactly known for his generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds like a scourge on this town.\u00a0 He must have plenty of money, if he\u2019s leaving homes empty here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillette swallowed away the tension in his throat.\u00a0 \u201cWell, it\u2019s not my place to say where someone\u2019s money should go.\u00a0 If Plesson Howell wants to hoard his coin, I say let him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Tis a shame for all the people in the poor district though.\u00a0 People like Ravi, that is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose you\u2019re right.\u00a0 But don\u2019t tell anybody I said that.\u00a0 Howell\u2019s got ears in every shadow.\u00a0 Suppose that\u2019s like the shroud you talked about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou seem intimidated by this man.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t have to,\u201d Faradorn pressed.\u00a0 \u201cI should hope I never have the misfortune of meeting this Howell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillette squared his jaw and kept walking, averse to continue down the path of that topic.\u00a0 Instead, the guide stepped off the road and waved his client over.\u00a0 \u201cIf we keep walking that way, we\u2019ll venture too far off course.\u00a0 This shortcut will speed up your return to the King\u2019s Charter, and you won\u2019t have to worry too much about the boring parts of the city.\u00a0 How many houses can you see before they all start to look the same?\u201d<\/p>\n
Faradorn didn\u2019t say anything, choosing instead to observe the glances down every alleyway his guide seemed preoccupied by.\u00a0 That far from the main road, the street lamps were at their backs, but Faradorn could see other sconces affixed to the backs of houses.\u00a0 He reached toward them, as if he could feel their warmth even from afar.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really shouldn\u2019t be here this late at night,\u201d both of them heard.\u00a0 Gillette gasped and hopped back, for another fellow emerged from the darkness between two houses.\u00a0 His windswept hair and thick mustache were dark enough to shield his face where the shadows couldn\u2019t.\u00a0 \u201cDishonorable folk prowl around here.\u00a0 We wouldn\u2019t want to see you hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have money,\u201d Gillette announced.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll give you everything in my pockets.\u00a0 Just let my friend go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow why would we do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
The emphasis on that word again\u2014we<\/em>\u2014was not lost to Faradorn, who looked to his sides.\u00a0 Two more men sidled from the alleyways on either end of the smaller street, and they weren\u2019t shy about brandishing weapons.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t going to end well,\u201d the visitor to the city said.\u00a0 \u201cFor any of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Gillette spun on his heel and looked at his client with concern.\u00a0 \u201cJust give them whatever money you have on you, and they\u2019ll leave us alone.\u201d\u00a0 The guide took his own coin purse and threw it to the ground in front of the mustached thug before him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d sooner take theirs,\u201d Faradorn said.<\/p>\n Incited by those brave, foolish words, the men on his side inched closer, even as he raised his hand.\u00a0 Somewhere behind them, the sound of glass shattering reported into the darkness.\u00a0 Everyone turned to look except Faradorn, who kept his eyes trained on the nearest robber.\u00a0 Another glass shattered, and another, closer and closer.\u00a0 They realized the lanterns and sconces that hung behind the houses dimmed, not as if their flames were being extinguished, but as if the fire was pulled through the air into something insubstantial.<\/p>\n Faradorn\u2019s raised hand made up for that encroaching darkness.\u00a0 His digits shined with a new light, illuminating his eager, vengeful eyes.\u00a0 As more lanterns broke around them and more flickering flames pulled toward him, even his lowered hand was aglow with magic.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t just stand there, you idiots,\u201d their leader cried out, pushing past Gillette.\u00a0 \u201cTake him down!\u201d<\/p>\n With a jerk of his wrist, Faradorn\u2019s hand shot forward to the nearest thug.\u00a0 A blast of energy accompanied that movement, landing upon the man\u2019s chest.\u00a0 That weaponized light threw the thief backward with intense force.\u00a0 He slammed against the wall of a nearby house and slumped to the ground before the light ever faded.<\/p>\n His companion across the way lunged forward, brandishing a knife that glimmered in the light of the visitor\u2019s hand.\u00a0 Faradorn spun about in the blink of an eye, ducking beneath that attack.\u00a0 Before the thug could turn his head, an elbow struck against the back of it.\u00a0 He was unconscious before he even hit the ground.<\/p>\n The mustached man wasn\u2019t fazed in the least by the quick, sour treatment to his henchmen.\u00a0 He rushed forward, a rod drawn back in his hand.\u00a0 Faradorn sank to one knee and let the light out one more time.\u00a0 Like quarrels fired from a crossbow, those energy projectiles met their mark.\u00a0 The leader of the bandits couldn\u2019t halt his momentum, and those shots of light thrust him airborne.\u00a0 Faradorn alternated his hands, firing one missile after another, the groans and gasps from the robber shrinking with each blast.\u00a0 His body flung to the roof of the nearest house, collapsing through the roof.<\/p>\n None of the bandits budged, and Faradorn breathed easy.<\/p>\n Gillette stood with his mouth ajar, ready to bolt at any moment.\u00a0 But in the sight of that surprising attack, he was fixed in his spot.<\/p>\n \u201cHowell has a habit of making things look different than they are, doesn\u2019t he?\u201d Faradorn asked.\u00a0 His eyes still drew to the damaged house the leader of the bandits had crashed through.\u00a0 As he turned on his heel, he kicked the rod the mustached man had dropped and scooped it up, holding it in his hand, which still pulsed with light.\u00a0 \u201cAfter all, I saw through his designs with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Stammering and holding up his hands, Gillette couldn\u2019t begin to protest or plead his case.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw you slip something to Garvey when we arrived near the King\u2019s Charter.\u00a0 That was his instructions to have Ravi meet you by the arch back a ways, was it not?\u00a0 But even then, I saw you hesitated to lead me here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHowell is\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy problem, not yours,\u201d Faradorn said.\u00a0 \u201cBut I do need you for one more thing, Gillette.\u00a0 I need you to carry my message to your employer.\u00a0 Tell him this city is going to change.\u00a0 Tell him people no longer need to fear what lurks behind the shadows.\u00a0 Tell him\u2026\u201d he went on, sweeping back his long hair to reveal the pointed ears of an elven people, \u201cthe last son of the Kolari is here, and Versali-Virai no longer belongs to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Gripped between his fingers, the rod he had acquired from Howell\u2019s henchman glowed, until it was brighter than the light on his hands.\u00a0 Gillette saw then the light was being transferred, leaving Faradorn\u2019s skin and entering the weapon itself.\u00a0 It grew so bright that if those houses were occupied, their inhabitants would have confused night for morning.\u00a0 The guide lifted his hand to block that intense light.<\/p>\n Then, all at once, it was gone\u2014the light, the rod, even Faradorn.\u00a0 Gillette was left in darkness, left to swallow away the tension of the promise the stranger had made.<\/p>\n Somehow, standing in those shadows, Gillette didn\u2019t feel quite as afraid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gillette turned east at the intersection instead, pushing down a long, straight street that passed between lines of shops.\u00a0 With butchers, bakers, and tanners, that street was more commercial than any row Faradorn had been shown.\u00a0 It stopped abruptly by a wall and a small archway with two parapets above, not unlike several they had 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