The farmer was still smiling when he left them to inspect a stall with goats of all ages. Anna and Thief slipped away and were soon lost in the morning activities of the market. Dancers twirled, singers sang, and vendors shouted over each other to call attention to their goods. Anna and Thief moved up one aisle and down another, buying a meat pie from an insistent child, and then cups of tea from a gaily dressed woman who claimed to have more varieties of tea than the King’s own kitchen.
They gawked at wood carvings so intricate and real that a live animal in their midst might be mistaken for one of them and paintings of far off places with beautiful women in colorful costumes. Smells assaulted their noses, children raced, vendors hawked, and the two of them wandered and stared until Thief exploded into action and knocked a man to the ground.
A crowd gathered as the man tried to regain his feet and escape, but Thief placed a foot on his neck and waited for the first palace guards to arrive. Each time the skinny young man under Thief’s foot attempted to free himself, Thief placed more weight on his foot.
Anna whispered, “Let him go. We can’t have trouble.”
“Hey, wot’s going on here?” A winded guard demanded as he charged up to them. “Let that man up, I say.”
Thief said, “Bad man.”
“Didn’t you hear me? Let him up.”
Thief didn’t respond other than to give one brief shake of his head. Four more guards arrived, one taking charge as he demanded of Thief in a more reasonable tone, “Why are you holding him down?”
Thief lifted his foot as he reached down and pulled open the shirt the man wore. Three purses spilled out, one of them Anna’s.
“That’s mine,” she cried, patting her waistline to make sure, then snatching it off the ground. The strings had been neatly sliced with a sharp knife.
A well-dressed man wearing blue the color of a summer day and the attitude of a lord stepped forward and reached for another purse. He opened it and said, “Mine.”
A sword appeared in the hand of the guard, the point touching the chest of the man. He said in a calm voice that carried with authority, “Anybody claim the third?”
When nobody spoke up, a voice behind Anna whispered loudly, “If nobody wants it, I’ll take it.” Several people laughed as the guard retrieved the last one and held it high for all to see. When again, nobody claimed it, he pronounced, “If any of you hears of a lost purse, send them to the guard.”
“What about him?” A voice asked.
Anger stirred within the crowd. A cutpurse ranked low on the social scale, an occupation despised by any who had lost the contents of a purse to the likes of him. “The dungeon,” someone snarled. Others took up the chant. “Dungeon. Dungeon. Dungeon.”
“That’s enough of that,” the guard said, motioning for the cutpurse to stand and said, “You will find stealing harder without all of your fingers.”
One of the other guards reached out and held up the man’s hand for the crowd displaying a thumb and only three fingers. “Not your first time getting caught, is it?”
The cutpurse had remained stoic, lips pursed and obedient. However, he flashed a look of hatred at Thief an instant before he spun and freed himself from the guard’s hand. In less time than it takes to blink, he darted into the crowd, squirreling and running, then he leaped over the counter at a stall and disappeared behind the tent. All five of the palace guards were in pursuit, but even Anna, who had never been in a crowded market, realized they would never catch him.
The crowd dispersed, many of them grumbling and making threats if they should ever see the cutpurse again. One or two muttered their appreciation for Thief’s quick action.
The incident revealed to Anna how vulnerable she was in this new place. With a gulp of regret, she realized that she was not here to enjoy the trip. It had been a dangerous waste of her time, an action of a child. Squaring her shoulders, she led the way out, Thief obediently following like a great puppy.
Nearing the same gate that they had entered the palace grounds, she still mumbled to herself for allowing the distraction to keep her from her goal. Glancing up, she noticed the stone wall that lined one side of the market. It was the dungeon, the repairs where a red dragon had knocked part of it down to free Raymer clearly visible.
She pulled to a halt, almost causing Thief to bump into her. Raymer had spent a year behind that wall. It was one of the recent tales of the Dragon Clan, known by all.
From the corner of her eye, Anna saw another palace guard approaching. She glanced around, finding no place to run. No choice presented itself but to face the guard. Anna decided to go on the offensive.
“I want to speak to you,” the guard said in a voice used to giving orders.
“And if I don’t want to speak with you?” She puckered her mouth and prepared to stare down the guard.
“Not you, miss,” his eyes were on Thief. His voice turned more friendly. “That man you took down back there, how’d you figure out what he was doing?”
Thief pointed to Anna. “He touched her.”
The guard had pulled to a stop a few steps away, smiling and nodding. “That all?”
“No.”
“Well, tell me, man. I’d like to train my men with what you saw.”
Thief said, “Eyes.”
“Ah, you were watching his eyes. I understand. He has to make sure nobody is watching him when he makes his move. Very clever,” The guard said. “Is there anything I can do for you while you’re here?”
Anna stepped forward. “No, but thank you. We’re in kind of a hurry.” She wished to spend as little time with King Ember’s palace guard as possible. Nothing good could come of it, but a lot that was not good could happen. She took Thief by his elbow and walked to the gate without looking behind.
The crunching of his boots on the gravel stayed with them. I need to let him do something for us, or he’ll never leave us alone. She turned, “Can you give us any help with directions to the Northwoods, sir?”
“I sure can. First, you’re heading for the wrong gate. You want the Warrington Gate, which is up that way,” he pointed. “If you get lost, ask anyone. Don’t delay, and you’re better sleeping well off the road until you get to Anders. The Brown Bear Inn is clean and safe, but avoid any in Ryland or Menno, if you can.”
“The inns in those towns?”
“Neither is a place for a pretty little girl like you, but keep your brother right at your side for protection.”
The guard believed Thief was her brother, and she didn’t correct him. The information was good, but she didn’t know where any of the three villages were, except that they must be on the road to the Northwoods. She thanked the guard and turned to enter the market again to find the Warrington Gate he’d told them to take.
When they left the market, they entered a section of town that was winding lanes that twisted and turned as if no construction worker knew how to make a straight line, or perhaps they were intoxicated. She could seldom see more than a few doorways ahead. When they passed an inn, Anna couldn’t help glancing at the window. When passing the second of the inns on the street, she caught sight of James, the traveler from the day before.
He had been looking into the street, and as she saw him, his head turned away as if he’d seen her first and was trying to hide. She increased the pace and looked behind often. When they finally found another gate, she verified with the guard that it was the Warrington Gate.
Outside the walls was a cleared area where no trees were allowed to grow near the walls for the defense of the palace. Enemies couldn’t sneak up, and archers on the walls had an open field of fire. When they reached the edge of the forest, Anna pulled Thief into the underbrush and waited. She watched the gate, expecting to see James appear at any time.