"What sort of job?" she asked mildly.
"Come to my place." He hustled Teza out the back door into the bitter blue twilight.
Winter had come with a certainty since Teza returned to Immilmar, bringing snow and freezing winds. People dressed in layers of wool, leather, and furs and hurried more than normal through the busy streets of the Iron Lord's capital.
The tavern Teza and Rafbit had left was a tiny place tucked away in a back alley in the lowest, dirtiest part of the city. It was a place frequented mostly by patrons who had moved beyond the law and did not wish to be bothered by the guardians of the Huhrong's peace. Thus, it was very unusual to see a horse standing against the wall near the exit. Especially a horse of such magnificence and color.
Rafbit's eyes widened when he saw it, and he chuckled. "You're slipping, Teza. Inside taking your ease when this gorgeous animal is out here looking for a new master."
"He's not looking for a master," Teza said dryly. "He's looking for a meal."
"A meal? That horse doesn't look hungry. I've never seen a beast look as healthy as that one." He walked toward the black animal slowly but confidently.
Teza agreed. To her relief, the aughisky had flourished since they returned to the environs of Lake Ashane, and now his glossy sable coat and perfect conformation made him an eye-catcher in a city where most of the horses were short, shaggy work beasts. Already several of her competitors had disappeared. "Be careful," she added, a warning to both the half-elf and the aughisky.
Rafbit reached out to clasp the horse's bridle, the only tack he wore, but the aughisky flung his head away. His long teeth shone against his black muzzle, and his eyes glowed with a strange greenish fire.
Rafbit fell back, swearing. "Gods, what that beast needs is a tenday with a horse-breaker."
"No," Teza sighed. "All he needs is understanding." She whistled softly. Prancing and snorting in the cold air, the water horse came immediately to her side.
Rafbit was astonished. "He's yours? Where on Toril did you get such as him?"
"I earned him," Teza said, smiling in memory of the Witch of Rashemen and the tricks they had played on each other.
"Well, I've never seen anything like him!" the half-elf marveled. "Will you sell him?"
The young woman put her arm around the horse's neck-a caress he rarely seemed to like-and answered shortly, "No."
Rafbit nodded once, but his eyes strayed to the horse often as he led Teza and her aughisky to a ramshackle building near the warehouse district by the busy docks. He ushered her into his quarters, stoked the fire in his brazier, and came arrow-straight to the point.
"I am organizing a thieves' guild in Immilmar, and I need a second officer I can trust."
Teza couldn't have been more surprised if he had asked her to marry him. "A guild!" she snorted. "In Immilmar? The Huhrong would have you hanging in the gibbets in days."
Rafbit's gem-blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "Not necessarily. What a guild needs to survive in a city like this is subtlety, patience, and a careful hand to control the thieves and their activities."
Rafbit was a burglar, and a good one, who had never been directly linked to any of his successful crimes. But the leader of an organized den of thieves? It made Teza laugh. "Subtlety? Patience?" she mocked. "From you?"
Her friend grinned, unoffended, and leaned toward her. "That's why I need you. I have talked to most of the thieves in Immilmar, and they are interested, but I need someone to help organize the guild and its functions; to set up a system of rewards, opportunities, and arbitration. To find safehouses, set a watch on the guards, select suitable targets…"
"And what are you going to do?" Teza interrupted sarcastically. "Count your percentage?"
"Well, of course, any member will have to pay dues for guild services. But there will be plenty of work for two."
Teza had to admit she was intrigued. An organized thieves guild would be an advantage to the city's popula tion of rogues… unfortunately… "There is still the Iron Lord. He will not tolerate organized crime in Rashemen."
"He will if the organization does not flaunt its presence. We will keep the guild small, make it open only to those who can prove their worth."
"Now, how are you going to do that?" she demanded.
"A test of skill. Any thief regardless of age, sex, or origin can join as long as he or she can pass a test."
Teza's eyes narrowed. "Does that include me?"
"Umm… yes," Rafbit hesitated. "It's only fair."
Teza jumped to her feet. "You ask me to join your little light-fingered squad, but you expect me to prove my worth?" she cried, her voice rising dangerously with every word.
"A mere formality!" Rafbit hastened to calm her. "It's really only to reassure our patron. He should be aware of your value to the guild. Just as I am."
The horse-thief stilled, her long legs apart, her arms crossed. "Patron?" she growled.
"Yes! He is our key to success. A judicial authority with a penchant for collecting rare gems. In exchange for any 'collectibles' we might find, he will be our ears and eyes in the Iron Lord's court."
Teza's glance narrowed in speculation. "I want to meet him first."
Rafbit shook her hand. "Done."
The meeting went better than Teza had anticipated. For one thing, she didn't really expect there to be a patron. But two days after Rafbit's invitation, she and the half-elf met a short, powerfully built man cloaked in rich snowcat furs and quiet self-importance.
The official acknowledged her identity with a lift of his thick eyebrow. They talked briefly. The man and Teza examined each other from head to boot, and both were satisfied with what they saw.
When the meeting was over, Teza turned to Rafbit. She was still wary of his motives in this venture, yet the pres ence of a patron in the Huhrong's courts put a different light on the matter. She was willing to take the next step and see what happened.
"What is the test you had in mind for me?" Had she not been watching her step in the muddy snow, she might have seen Rafbit's mouth move in the quick, hungry grimace of a stoat on the hunt.
"It's simple really. I have a customer who lost a particular item and is willing to pay for its recovery."
Teza did not accept other people's use of "simple" without explanation. "What, exactly, and where is it?"
"A book. In the library of Lord Duronh."
Teza stopped in midstride. "Are you serious? A book? That's ridiculous. I'm a horse-thief! You're the burglar."
"If you are going to be my officer," Rafbit explained patiently, "you need to excel in many skills. Your ability to steal anything four-legged is legendary. So is your talent with disguises. You've also been known to pick pockets, purses, and bags. But can you break into a house and steal something useful? That is your test."
Teza, ignoring the flattery, conceded he had a point. Yet she couldn't help asking, "Who's testing you?"
To her surprise, Rafbit's pale face turned whiter and the gleam went out of his eyes. "I have already been tested," he growled, and he would not say any more.
That was why, three days later, in the deep of a cold, still night, Teza rode the aughisky into the quiet streets of the city. She breathed a silent prayer to Mask, the god of rogues and thieves. Her enterprise that night would be to the god's advantage, so she hoped he was paying attention.