Shadowdance 01 - A Dance of Cloaks

wants. Do you know what that is, boy?”
    Aaron almost denied it, but he remembered what Robert had always said: any question he asked, Aaron should already know the answer to. And Aaron did know the answer. It terrified him more than anything.
    “A killer,” Aaron said, his voice once more a whisper.
    “The perfect killer,” Robert gently corrected. “He’ll starve you of love, affection, friends, faith … everything but the blade and the shadows.”
    Aaron sniffed and rubbed his nose against his sleeve.
    “What should I do?”
    Robert handed him the amulet. The boy took it as if it might burn him. His eyes were wide as he traced a finger over the gold.
    “Pray, Aaron. Pray for anything and everything. We live in a harsh world. One day your father will place you at the edge of a cliff. I’ve heard the stories about you. I know you killed your brother when you were but a child. You can jump down that ravine, or you can stand tall and refuse him.”
    “I know what happens to people who refuse my father,” Aaron said. “They die.”
    Robert smiled.
    “We all die, son. The question is, who are we when we do?”
    Aaron lifted the amulet before his eyes.
    “Everything good about mankind?” he asked.
    “Everything we wish we were and most often fail to be, Aaron,” said Robert.
    But he wasn’t Aaron anymore, not then.
    He put the amulet in his pocket, where his father wouldn’t see it. When he turned to leave, he paused, then glanced back at his teacher.
    “Do you pray to Ashhur?” he asked.
    Robert sighed.
    “I know I should not answer,” he said. “But what I have said is already enough for your father to kill me. Yes, I pray to him, Aaron, though not as much as I should. And nothing like I did when I was younger. The world is harsh, Aaron. Sometimes it seems like Ashhur isn’t even listening.”
    He thought of the girl, pleading to Ashhur to give back her father. The hurt in Robert’s eyes was so plain, Aaron wondered whom he had prayed for Ashhur to send back.
    How cruel a world
, thought the boy as he left Robert’s room, a plan forming in his mind.
But I won’t be its cruelty.
    Not anymore.
    He searched the entire compound. Dustin was nowhere to be found. Holding in a curse, Aaron went looking for Kayla. He found her in the mess hall, eating with several men. His mind raced, trying to think of a way to talk to her without letting it be obvious. If anyone might help him in protecting the girl, it’d be her.
    Summoning his courage, he walked straight up to her. If there was no subtle way, then being brazen about it would be less likely to draw attention than some half-assed secret communication.
    “Kayla,” he said, feeling the eyes of the others on him. No matter where he went, he was Thren’s son, and the thieves acted like a word from him might be their deaths. It might have been true, but it still made him feel uncomfortable. Of course, any attention made him feel uncomfortable. He preferred the corners and the shadows, not front and center.
    “Yes, Aaron?” she asked.
    He felt even more awkward with Kayla looking at him. He kept thinking how pretty she was. It didn’t help that with her leaning toward him, he had a nice view down her shirt.
    “I need to find someone,” he said. Kayla shrugged and stood from the table, having already finished eating. A couple of others mocked her for leaving a glass full of beer, but another cheerfully volunteered to finish it for her. When they were far enough away, Aaron blurted everything out at once.
    “I need to find Dustin,” he said. “The one you fetched for my father.”
    “Dare I ask why?”
    “I’m going to kill him.”
    Kayla held her surprise well.
    “Again … dare I ask why?”
    They were at the door to the mess hall. Aaron waited until she pushed open the door, then used its creak to help hide his voice.
    “Because he’ll kill her,” he said.
    Kayla opened her mouth to ask a question, then closed it, having figured out the answer.
    “Shit,” she said. “You’re out of your mind. He’s a pro, Aaron.”
    She led him down the hall. In the quiet their voices seemed more ominous, their whispers carrying far. Kayla led them to her room as quickly as possible.
    “You can’t,” she said once she shut the door. “You don’t even know her name. You’re throwing your life away, don’t you understand?”
    Aaron clenched his fingers around the medallion through the fabric of his pants.
    Everything good about mankind
,