They waited as the footsteps grew louder, then finally dissipated. While the boy was likely worried about being harmed, Vir was more worried he’d be forced to use Dance to slip away.
The fewer people who knew about that ability, the better.
“So, uh… wh-who are you?” the boy asked, averting his eyes.
“You first,” Vir said. “Why were you running from those people?”
The boy pulled out what looked to be a loaf of bread from under his clothing and sneaked a grin. Vir might’ve seen it through Prana Vision if he’d paid closer attention, but only if he’d been standing very close to the boy.
“I kinda stole some bread.”
Vir narrowed his eyes. “They’d chase you into the sewers for swiping some bread? I find that hard to believe.”
“Ha, ha, yeaaah, well,” he replied, scratching his head. “Times are rough, y’know? Hahaha.”
“Really?” Vir said. “Rough times, even for those who possess dual Water and Lightning Affinities?”
Shock flickered across the boy’s face, but only for the tiniest instant before it was gone, replaced by a look of suspicion that made him look several years older. “How could you know that?”
“I have my ways,” Vir replied. “Who are you, really?”
“Hmm. Well, I can see why he sent you. You’re better than you look. You pass!”
“Sorry, what?”
The boy grinned. “I’m Riyan Savar’s contact. Welcome to Daha.”
71THE WORLD BENEATH
“You? You’re Riyan’s contact…” Vir said, unbelieving.
“Amin. Pleased to meet ya!”
“This seems… awfully lucky for us to run into each other like this, doesn’t it?”
Riyan had said his contact would find Vir, but what were the chances of it happening here of all places?
“Nah. Riyan said you’d be seeking membership in the Brotherhood, so I figured I’d bump into you sooner or later. I spend a lot of time down here, y’know?”
“But how did you know it was me?” Vir asked. “Just because I know your affinities?”
“You had to be. Very few people know that, and I’ve never met you before, so you have to be. Also, you’re wearing makeup.”
Vir raised a brow.
“I can tell. You’re pretty good at it, though. No need to worry about most people finding out.”
The boy’s words were less than comforting to Vir, who relied on his makeup to ensure his safety. He knew his skills were up to scratch. Amin was just highly skilled, which gave him some credibility.
But still…
“I need some proof that you’re Riyan’s contact. For all I know, you could be someone just pretending to be.”
“You always this paranoid, or you just having a bad day?”
“Humor me,” Vir said, refusing to let this one go.
“Fine. Riyan’s a big scary guy, black beard. Always grumpy. And uh, you’re supposed to be Ashborn, and you came to him about six or so months ago for training. Oh! You’re also supposed to be prana scorned, but I dunno if I believe that one. Never met anyone like that before.”
If the boy knew that much, then he had to be Riyan’s contact. Amin might have been lying about this all being a coincidence, but then again, maybe not.
“You don’t look convinced,” Amin said.
“I guess I was just expecting someone older. You’re a bit young to be doing this kind of thing, aren’t you?”
“Hey, man, I do what I gotta do. People see a kid, they don’t ask questions. Especially someone who looks like an urchin.”
Vir didn’t miss the ‘looks like’ part. Certainly, disguising oneself as a young orphan would let them get away with a lot under the guise of ‘looking for food.’
“How much can I rely on you, Amin? Do you know why I’m here?”
“I mean, it’s not like I’m only Riyan’s agent here in Daha. I work for a buncha people. But I guess I owe Riyan some favors, so you can count on me. I’ll help ya out if I can! And nope, got no clue why you’re here. Care to share?”
“I think it’d be safer for both of us if I didn’t,” Vir said. “For now, I need a guide. You look like you know your way around this place.”
“It’s good to know the sewers. Handy. Why?”
“You know where to find some Jatu?”
“Oh, the Brotherhood initiation mission, eh?”
Vir had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Does literally everyone know about the initiation task?
“Yeah,” he said.
“Sure I do. But uh, you’re kinda in the wrong spot. They’re pretty far from here.”
“Can you lead me there?” Vir asked.
“Huh? Oh, yeah… maybe. Gee, I dunno. I’m kinda hungry, and this bread ain’t gonna last me a long time, y’know?”
Vir blinked at the boy. “What?”
“Okay, well maybe I’m not that bad off, but can you blame me?”
“You’re Riyan’s agent. You’re supposed to help me. Isn’t that what you just said? That you owed him some favors?”
“Hey now, I said I’d help, but Riyan never said I had to help for free, did he?”
Vir debated what to do for a moment.
He looks easy to overpower. Wouldn’t be hard threatening him, he thought idly, before just how cruel that was sank in. That was how Ekanai would think. Not him. Amin was just a kid. And besides, he needed the boy’s cooperation in the future, so that would be a terrible decision.
Then again, if he just gave in, Amin would see him as an easy mark and fleece him, just as the urchins at Saran did. He opened his leather coin bag and pulled out a single silver.
“Oh! How generous of you!” Amin’s eyes twinkled with greed as he reached out to grab it from Vir’s hand, but Vir pulled back at the last moment.
“You misunderstand. I know how this game is played, Amin. I’m not a chal, and if you mistake me for one, you’re going to regret it. Now, I don’t mind compensating you, but this is it. This silver is payment for all services you’ll render to me during my stay here in Daha. Do you understand?”
“Fine, fine,” Amin said with a grumble, reaching out for the silver, but Vir once again withheld the money.
“C’mon, man! What now?”
“I’ll hand over the silver after you lead me to the Jatu.”
“Man, that’s hurtful. It’s like you can’t even trust me.”
“I want to trust you, Amin. We both work for Riyan. But you need to earn my trust first. I feel like that’s a reasonable ask.”
“Alright, alright. Anyway, I never did get your name.”
“Riyan never told you?” Vir asked.
“Did he tell you mine?” Amin countered.
Fair enough. Riyan must have felt it safer that way. “Neel,” he said.
“Right. Once again, I’m Amin. Pleased to meet ya. Now let’s get going. Sooner we get there, sooner I get my coin.”
“And the sooner I can be out of this horrid place,” Vir said. “How do you even stand the stench?”
Amin laughed, taking the lead down the narrow sewer. “Believe me, I don’t. But you find ways of ignoring it if you spend long enough down here.”
Amin navigated through the tunnels with the ease of a practiced veteran, but Vir didn’t want to rely only on the boy. He continued marking tunnels up with his salve until they came to a set of tunnels that Vir had traversed before.
We’re going back? he thought. It seemed like they were headed right back to the entrance where he’d entered.
Sure enough, another half hour of walking through tunnels that all blended together put them right back at the entrance grate.
“Guessing this is where you entered from, yeah?” Amin said. “You turned the wrong way. Shoulda turned left. You’d have been there in no time.”