“You!” Canus demanded, “Face me.” Pausing, he added, “Stay where you are, both of you.”

  I wiggled, trying to get in a better position to hear them. Not being able to see made it hard to realize just how bad the situation was. While I was tempted to rip off my hood, I knew any chance of a peaceful resolution would go out the window.

  Sani said, “Stay calm. This doesn’t have to be a fight.”

  Avian no longer used her fake deep voice. “Look around, champ. You’re outnumbered. Put the sword away.”

  “You’re a woman,” Canus said, sounding surprised. “What the hell is going on?”

  Kiri said, “We mean no harm, we just need to pass through.”

  “Both of you are women?” His footsteps clumped as he moved to the right. “I bet this isn’t even a prisoner.

  “Don’t take off his hood,” Kiri said.

  “Oh shit.” More footsteps. Less organized, like he fumbled backwards.

  The apprentice growled louder.

  “Get him away from me,” Canus said.

  “Grab the soldier,” Avian said. She bumped against me as she advanced.

  I untied my bindings and removed my hood. Avian surged toward Canus, dagger in hand. I grabbed her elbow, pulling back before she could plunge the blade into him. “No.”

  “Tye.” Canus gasped while he pushed against the advancing apprentice. “What is the meaning of this?”

  “Pull him back!” I shouted to Kiri. She tugged on the rope, giving Canus enough space to slip free.

  I pointed at his sword. “Sheath it, or I will let her go.” I raised my eyebrows. “She is a Brigand.”

  His mouth gaped open as his eyes searched the room, as if he’d find an answer floating in the air. “I have nothing against you, Tye.” He chucked his sword to the ground and put his hands up. “Have you come to finish off Lar?”

  I took a step back, shocked by his reply. If he believed we were responsible for everything Lar accused us of, then why wasn’t he more frightened? Like me, he had been friends with Lar, why not speak up for his friend?

  “Lar is lying,” I said.

  Canus nodded. “No shit.” With his hands still in the air, he said. “When I heard the stories, I didn’t know who to believe. Both of you were my friends.” He shook his head. “Then he had Duclos, Mathys, and Gaspard arrested. Claimed they were part of a conspiracy. I knew them better than that.”

  The three soldiers he mentioned arrived in Palla Cahua around the same time as Canus and me. Over the winters, we developed the bond soldiers tended to build. He was right about them. They wouldn’t conspire for anything worse than getting out of a night watch. “You can put your hands down,” I said.

  “Don’t be so quick to trust.” Avian glared at me.

  “I’ve known him a lot longer than you.” I stepped toward Canus. “The night of the fires, I had caught Lar with spell-crafting items. The guards came. He claimed they were mine.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t attack the council without good cause.” Canus’s shoulders relaxed, but his hands were clenched into fists. Being tense with an armed brigand in the room made sense, but I wondered how much he believed me, or if he still held loyalty to Lar and was merely saying what he thought I wanted to hear.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Watching his reaction, I said, “I didn’t attack the council, nor Lar. We borrowed some things from his house, and the horses from outside the stable. The fire at Lar’s cottage was an accident.”

  “What about the fire at the council building?”

  At first, I thought he had to be making it up. Why would someone attack the council and burn down that building? It couldn’t be a coincidence, the entire thing had to be connect to Lar and his spell-craft. “I didn’t know that burned as well. It must have started after we left.”

  “Do you think Lar killed them and burned the building?” His forehead scrunched, “And injured himself?”

  “What about the guard that was with him?”

  “He was uninjured,” Canus said. “He said he intervened before you could finish off Lar, and he chased you away.”

  “So the guard was in on it?” I remembered back to that night. Four horses outside. One for each council member and one for a guard. At the time, I thought it was odd they only had one. Perhaps it was the only one Lar trusted to have his back, even if things went bad, as they did. Was it just him and the guard, or were others involved? “Who replaced the council members?”

  He shook his head. “The seats are still open. Lar is going to appoint temporary council members this night.”

  “Do you know who he will pick?”

  Canus shrugged. “He had some out-of-town visitors. Perhaps he brought them in to sit.”

  “Anyone I would know?”

  “I’ve heard they are low-ranking nobles.”

  “Too much talking,” Avian said. “Time to go.”

  I glanced at Sani. “We have to make sure it looks like he didn’t let us pass without a struggle.” I turned back to Canus. “Sorry, old friend, but for your own sake, we must rough you up a bit.”

  He stepped back and put his arms up. “I’ll just say you overpowered me.”

  I shook my head. “Lar is making arrests on anyone he claims is conspiring against him. Better to not take a chance. A quick beating now is better than rotting away in a jail cell later.” I focused on Avian. “Hold him.” I lunged forward.

  Canus reached toward me, but Avian moved in the way, grabbing one of his arms and twisting as she moved behind him. With the arm bent, she lifted it, causing him to yelp.

  I balled up my fist, but hesitated for a moment.

  “Don’t think about it,” Sani said as he advanced and punched Canus in the eye.

  Lunging forward, I hit Canus in the chin. Avian got hold of his other arm and leaned back, causing him to arch. I punched him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

  We continued to beat him until he stopped resisting. Then we tied him to a chair. A sick feeling washed over me as I looked at his bruised and bloody face. If Lar was as evil as I suspected he was, then one day Canus would not only forgive me, but thank me for this. For now, though, I likely turned a friend into an enemy.

  “Should we get you back in the hood?” Kiri asked.

  I shook my head. “Since they are on lockdown, if anyone on watch sees strangers walking through the streets, they will know something is up.” I paused. “Even if the watch captain approved us entering, he would have insisted on sending a patrol to watch us.”

  My attention fixed on Canus. “Sorry again, old friend.” I held my breath for a moment and then told Kiri and Avian to strip him.”

  “What’s the plan?” Sani asked.

  “You are going to wear the Palla Cahua uniform and escort the Apprentice through town on the main road.” I glanced at Avian. “The rest of us will stick to the shadows, staying close enough to help if he gets into trouble.”

  Avian asked, “Are you hoping they will see him and just figure one of their own is escorting a troublemaker through the streets?”

  Most of the time, when something happened during watch, it was exactly as it appeared. This wasn’t a large market with a village. Most of our crime was petty. I nodded.

  “That might work until we get to the town square.”

  “Shit.” I closed my eyes, berating myself for not giving the plan enough thought. “A local guard would bring him to the jail, not out of town.”

  “Should we keep undressing him?” Kiri asked as she struggled to get his pants down past his thighs.

  “Yes.” I grinned. “We only need to get him that far.”

  “We’re not locking him up.” Kiri stood up and crossed her arms.

  “That’s not what I’m suggesting.” I peered at Canus, then focused back on Kiri. “We’ll talk about it once we are outside.”

  Blood dripped out of Canus’ mouth as he chuckled. “All this, and now you don’t trust me?”

  “Better for you not to know. They can’t torture you for information you don’t have.”

  His forehead wrinkled. “They can still torture me, I just won’t be able to make it stop by giving them the information.”

  “Works the same for us,” Avian said.

  “Don’t listen to her.” I bent closer to him, making eye contact. “You never were a good liar. They would read it on your face if you knew. They’ll realize the same about you not knowing.”

  “If he’s not a good liar, then won’t they realize he is lying when he says we attacked him and tied him up?”

  I pointed at Canus. “Look at him. It is exactly what we did.”

  Avian finished pulling off his shirt. She threw it to Sani.

  He switched uniforms, leaving the Casi one on the floor.

  “I have another idea,” Avian said as she picked up the Casi uniform.