As Merse and Drin readied their supplies in the store, Pia deftly removed the half of the sign that said "Odds and Ends" with a long hook and brought it inside.
"Not closing up?" Merse looked up and asked.
"Nah, I got a local part-timer, takes care of the shop when I have business to see to," Pia said easily.
"Why'd she take down the sign if she ain't closing?" Drin asked Merse as Pia went into the back, his insatiable curiosity starting to return.
"You really are a small-town hick, huh?" Merse snorted at Drin, who glowered at her. "Do you even know what that sign stands for?" At a negative shake of the head from Drin, Merse continued, but not until she cast a glance around to make sure no one could hear, even though the doors and windows had already been locked by Pia. "Any business what's got the word 'End' in its name is run by a member of the Guild , and takes in Guild business."
"What guild?" Drin asked, missing the emphasis. Merse stared at him like he had grown a third eyeball, stupefied at the boy's ignorance. Finally, lowering her voice, she answered.
"THE Guild , the only one you don't talk about," Merse whispered, frowning at Drin's blank look. "The Assassin's Guild ."
Comprehension slowly dawned on Drin, and his eyes inadvertently slipped to the door where Pia had exited the room. Merse could guess that he was probably remembering his clumsy attempt to steal from her and the deadly accuracy of her stilettos, as well as thanking his lucky stars he was still above ground. Drin nearly jumped as Pia re-entered.
"All set?" Pia asked cheerfully, and opened the door at Merse's nod, ignoring Drin's odd stare. The three strange companions exited the store and made their way to one of the secret passageways out of Dregsbale, grateful to have avoided any complications upon their departure.
"Where's the job at?" Merse asked Pia as they swung around through the woods, heading for the road.
"Request said Glasser Ridge," Pia answered, keeping an even pace into the trees.
**********
Two cold golden eyes scoured the ground around Crescent Lake. While the shaman's warning to the Alpha about a Soul-stealer had not been told to the rest of the pack, one wolfen had known something was amiss, and so had carefully eavesdropped. It was the only wolfen who could come and go like a shadow, his black fur blending into the night: Fens Nightwalk.
Since the body of Kayl Steelfur had been returned to the pack, Fens had not left the lake where he had last spotted Kayl...no, the fake Kayl, the Soul-stealer. Fens growled to himself for the umpteenth time, furious at having been taken in by the imposter. In truth, Fens could not decide what he was most infuriated by: that he had never suspected the fake, or that the fake had made love to Alra...
"Gaaaah!" Fens roared in frustration. Neither Alra nor Raka had been told the truth, and thus far neither of them suspected that the Kayl they had seen the past few days was not of their family. However, it was eating away at Fens, especially the promise he had made to the fake Kayl to take Alra and Raka as his own. He would never be able to move on so long as that Soul-stealer walked the eight realms.
Fens suddenly paused. Looking down, he spotted the faint outline of a footprint, nearly covered by the reeds. While the shores of the lake had been tramped by the entire pack searching for Kayl's remains, there was one important characteristic that made this footprint stand out: it was unmistakably that of a human. Gnashing his teeth in determination, Kayl noted the direction of the print and took off into the woods without looking back.