“We have barely one or two people we can count on anymore. And getting to them is even riskier. I can’t put the children in such danger.”
“It does seem like you’re playing with fire,” Vir said.
Janani hung her head in shame. “The children have far better odds of escaping unnoticed with bags of groceries. I only send the eldest, of course.”
Vir sighed. This was terrible. Had he known the situation was this bad, he’d never have tarried in the Ashen Realm.
Now that he was here, though, what could he actually do to help? Should he raid the stores of a Chitran merchant hostile for Janani?
Doing so might feed the orphanage in the short-term, but Vir shuddered to think of the consequences they’d pay for it. The shopkeeper would report the incident to the enforcers, who would no doubt come looking.
While they might hide the produce if they’re smart about it, Vir doubted the secret would last long. And when his actions came to light, the orphans would suffer dearly.
“What of the rebels? Can’t they help?”
Janani averted her eyes. “The rebels… To be honest, they’ve done as much harm as they have good.”
“Meaning?”
“While passion burns strongly in their hearts, they lack the organization to do anything meaningful. Most often, their emotions drive them, and they lash out at the Chitrans. Sometimes even at innocents. The repercussions always haunt us after.”
The more Vir heard of the rebels, the more he felt they were an obstacle, rather than an aid. It seemed that, for now, he was on his own.
Vir could protect them by himself, but what would happen if he were elsewhere? What would happen if he left the city?
He was but one demon. Capable of being only in a single place at once.
But Vaak…
Vaak was a symbol. Vaak could be anyone. Anywhere. Anytime.
The seed of a plan formed in Vir’s mind, though it was still far too early to act on it.
For now, he could at least do what he could to ease their immediate pain.
“When is your next food run?” Vir asked. “I’ll handle it.”
Janani’s eyes widened in surprise. “That is… most kind of you. But I cannot ask you to take such a risk.”
Vir smirked. “Then it’s good that you didn’t ask. I volunteered.”
“Y-you don’t know the route! You’ll be spotted!” Janani argued.
“I won’t. I swear to you I can get there and back undetected. I can’t say how, but please trust me. If it means risking one less child, then I am more than happy to do it.”
Janani continued to hesitate.
“Just tell me where I need to go. I’ll handle the rest,” Vir said.
Janani finally bowed her head. “Thank you. Thank you so much!”
Vir walked out of the orphanage with a set of directions. The merchant was in the Chitran part of town at the center of the city. The theft was to take place in a few hours, after the business closed for the day.
“Yo!” a voice said.
Vir turned to find Bolin leaning against the orphanage’s wall.
“Bolin,” Vir acknowledged. “Can I help you?”
Bolin glared at Vir in obvious anger, though Vir couldn’t understand why.
“Did I offend you somehow?”
“I heard everything, you know?”
“I know,” Vir replied. He’d sensed a child outside while he spoke with Janani. But nothing he said was especially sensitive—especially to any of the orphans. He hadn’t paid them any mind.
“You… know?” Bolin asked in surprise.
Vir just smiled. “So? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You shouldn’t be going. It’s my duty.”
“So that’s what this is about.”
“You’re right it is! You’re new to the city. You’ll get lost without me. You need me!” Bolin said; desperation stained his voice.
Bolin crossed his arms. “We go together.”
Vir shook his head. “Absolutely not.”
“Janani… She didn’t tell you everything,” Bolin said quietly.
“What do you mean?” Vir asked.
“The grocers… they’re only one way we get food.”
“Right, Greesha. She told me.”
“No. Not Greesha. Things have been bad these days. We… we had to get creative finding food. Beggars can’t be choosers, y’know?”
Vir’s eyes narrowed. “You beg on the street?”
“I wish,” Bolin said, scoffing. “We’d be beaten the moment we tried! Or worse. No. We rummage for scraps. Garbage piles, trash bins… that sort of thing.”
Vir stepped back reflexively in horror.
“Janani… she hates it. Can’t stand that we have to do it. She’s the one who goes rummaging, but we help out, too.”
“I… I’m sorry,” Vir said.
“So you see? We can’t mess this up!” Bolin cried. “The food runs are precious for us.”
Vir put a hand on Bolin’s shoulder and stared him in the eye. The boy shuddered under his intense gaze.
“Thank you for telling me this, Bolin. I understand how important this is for you. I truly do. But please also understand that I am capable of fending for myself. I only wish to help.”
“Fine,” Bolin said, looking away. “I’ll give you this chance. But don’t mess it up. If you do…”
“I promise I won’t interfere again,” Vir said with a smile.
“G-good,” Bolin said, whirling and walking away.
Vir watched the boy’s back, simultaneously admiring his grit… and despising the ones who’d forced such a life upon these kids.
“Shan,” Vir muttered once Bolin was gone.
The Ashfire Wolf pounced down from a nearby rooftop.
“You saw?”
The black beast gruffed.
“Then you know what must be done. Let’s go.”
17THE BORED SAVANT
Vir’s jet-black cloak fluttered gently in the breeze. Samar Patag wasn’t a windy city, but the Gargan Sea provided a constant, refreshing wind that moderated the sweltering humidity. It helped to reduce his sweat. Sweat that could ruin his face paint if he wasn’t careful.
Vir was currently crouched atop a stone dome in the Chitran neighborhood, looking down over the town. Nonexistent in the slums to the north, domes such as these made for ideal vantage points.
Had he initially entered the city from the southwest—where the castle and the nicer buildings near it sat—he might even have concluded that Governor Asuman was doing a half-decent job running the city. Though they couldn’t compare to Avi or Balindam, both the roads and the buildings here were larger, fancier, and cleaner. More akin to Daha’s Commons than the Warrens that ringed it.
Getting here was far easier than he’d expected, for there were no walls dividing the slums from the Chitran part of town. The slums gradually became ex-Gargan Laborer Calling land, and finally proper Chitran turf as one neared the castle.
From his perch, both the store he was to rob, as well as all the nearby streets, were visible, giving him a near-perfect vantage.
Vir glanced up at the keep. The castle stood tall and proud in the distance.
My family once lived there, he thought wistfully. It might’ve been brief, but for a time, his mother and father had reared him in those very walls.
Walls that stood tall and forbidding to him now. Like Daha, the castle area was walled, and within it, the keep rose prominently above the rest of the city.
Must’ve been nice… A warm, nostalgic feeling welled up inside Vir. Along with a tinge of regret.
Shan gruffed from beside him, prompting him to refocus on the more pressing matters at hand.
“That’s definitely a trap,” he muttered. Shan wheezed in agreement.
Vir didn’t imagine Bolin’s supply raids usually encountered a half dozen armed Chitran guards, lying in wait to ambush him.
Unbeknownst to his foes, however, Prana Vision had just ruined their plans.