“I—they’re at my inn.”
“Uh, huh. Nice try, boy.”
Another guard approached. “That’s them, alright. Two teens. Sons of a noble,” he said, addressing Maiya. “Your actions bring shame to your entire family. I hope you understand the gravity of your situation.”
“What is the meaning of this?” Maiya fired back. “We’ve committed no crimes! We arrived just yesterday!”
“And this morning, no less than four shops were robbed by a pair of black-haired aristocrat teens.”
Vir hadn’t approved of Maiya’s aggressive bargaining, but she’d done nothing illegal. This had to be something else. Right?
“We didn’t do it!” Maiya said. “Someone’s framing us!”
“It’s the word of two boys against four reputable shopkeepers. Who do ya think we’re gonna trust, boy?”
“Two sons of the Suvir family,” Maiya retorted.
“Aye, and if you are who you claim to be and you’re found innocent, we shall make appropriate reparations. In the meantime, you’re coming with us.”
A quick glance of their surroundings painted a bleak picture. A half dozen guards in gambeson armor had encircled them, and their noose tightened with every passing moment, further limiting Vir’s options. It was plainly obvious that they stood little chance of winning a confrontation.
Not to mention the crowd—innocent bystanders would likely get caught up in the action, and he was sure that all the blame would fall upon him and Maiya.
But Vir didn’t need to win. Their disguises meant they could flee, then simply wipe off their makeup, and no one would ever find them. The vast benefits of the art of subterfuge were dawning on him.
“W-what evidence do you have?” Maiya shouted, her panic clear.
Vir took stock of his inventory. He had a single chakram draped around his neck, and a half dozen chakris worn as bracelets. Plus, his katar, currently concealed inside his waistband.
“Evidence? Boy, four shopkeepers have all lodged complaints of grand theft against you. Seems you stole a great number of goods from them all. Give up and come quietly. If you are who you say you are, I’m sure yer father will have you out after a night or two in the prison.”
Vir sidled up to Maiya and discreetly whispered into her ear. “On my mark, we’ll make a break for it. See that road over there?”
Maiya nodded subtly, eyeing the street that intersected the principal thoroughfare they were on. “We’re gonna run there. Make the guards think we’re giving up.”
His friend looked down dejectedly, acting frustrated. “Fine. It seems that my brother doesn’t want to make a scene,” she said. “We shall cooperate.”
“Good. Saran may be nowhere near where you’re from, but we take our security very seriously.”
“Yes, yes. Get on with it, then,” Maiya said, feigning irritation.
The guards sidled up around them and led them away from the rest of the crowd, shooing onlookers away.
That’s one obstacle cleared, Vir thought. No need to worry about hurting bystanders anymore.
They shuffled closer to the street Vir wanted to take. Maiya gave him a furtive glance, and he nodded back.
In one smooth motion, he retrieved the chakram from his neck and hurled it at the guard in front of them. Vir’s hands never stopped moving, lobbing chakris from his forearm in every direction.
With how close the guards were, it was hard to miss. Most bounced harmlessly off the guards’ gambeson, but some bit into exposed hands and necks.
Maiya was his perfect partner, shoving guards that began to react to Vir, and swiping at others with her katar to distract them.
They bolted for the street the instant an opening presented itself, running as hard as they could.
“After them! Capture them!”
Vir couldn’t believe how quickly the guards reacted, pursuing them into the alley.
They were probably anticipating we’d try and pull something… Vir thought, scanning the street for any alleys they could take. Behind him, he heard someone blow a whistle, whose sound echoed through the whole alley.
“Left! Turn left!”
She complied, leading them into a back alley. Vir followed on her heels, leaping over sacks of garbage and Ash’va dung. Maiya was less dextrous—the terrain slowed her considerably.
Vir took the lead, hoping to scout the other end of the alley while Maiya caught up.
As he neared the end of the narrow passage, two guards entered, cutting off his escape. Both wielded round metal dhal shields and spears, their deadly tips pointed straight at Vir, daring him to take them on.
Vir wasn’t an idiot. He had no intention of fighting battles he couldn’t win.
“Back! Double back!” he shouted, running to his friend. Then he saw the other end of the alley—where they’d entered—and despaired.
Two guards occupied the entrance, pincering them in. On both ends, their enemies moved in slowly, corralling them.
Think! What can we do?
Vir looked up. He saw balconies and poles jutting out horizontally into the alley. It took only half a second for him to chart a route up to the rooftops. Escape was possible… For him.
“Can you jump?”
She looked up and blanched. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t think I can,” she said, shaking her head. “Listen to me. I want you to save yourself. Escape on your own. Okay?”
Vir seized up. Only seconds remained before the guards were upon them. With a sigh, he retrieved his katar. It was an old, rusted thing, sharpened by his amateur skills on Riyan’s grinding wheel.
“What are you doing?”
He held up his weapon for the guards to see. Then he threw it on the ground. He removed his remaining two chakris and threw them down as well, clasping his hands behind his head.
“We’ve lost, Maiya. We need to cooperate.”
His friend stared at him blankly, biting her lip.
“Gods, this is frustrating,” she said. “If only you’d—”
Vir stared into her eyes. “Come on, I’m not gonna abandon you.”
She held his gaze for a long second, then nodded. She threw her own katar down.
Vir now understood how foolish he’d been, thinking he’d part ways with her if she wanted to leave Riyan. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.
“Even when the entire realm turns against you, I’ll be there by your side. Fighting until the end. So don’t tell me to leave you behind.”
“Vir!” Maiya whispered.
“Alright, brat,” a guard said, pointing his spear at them. “We could’a done this the easy way. But nope. You’ve gone and chosen the hard road. You chose pain. And it is pain that ye shall receive.”
Vir moved in front of Maiya, shielding her. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the worst.
“Bring it.”
33THE CULPRIT
“Vir? Vir! Oh, gods!”
Vir heard someone’s voice, but as his consciousness ebbed in and out, he found it hard to even walk.
“Into yer cell, boy!” the jailor said.
A great force crashed into Vir’s back, sending him to his knees. His palms scraped against a rough stone floor, tearing his skin. His arms, unable to bear his weight, gave out, and his face hit the ground.
“What did you do to him!” someone shrieked. Maiya.
As he lay with his face touching the cool stone, colors flooded his sight.
Great, now I’m hallucinating. That can’t be good, he thought. It took him a while to put the pieces together of what his eyes were telling him.
Though his sight barely worked—one of his eyes had swollen shut—Prana Vision flared at full capacity. In fact, he’d never seen such vivid colors before. The browns of Earth prana shone like an infinite expanse of prana, and the grays of Shadow Affinity prana were brighter than ever. Even the blacks were visible, interspersed among the brown.