Part 1: With Great Power

Baron Northcrest was dead. There was no telling when it might have happened. Maybe during the Graven riots—maybe at the hands of Jordan Sarto and her fake Thief-Taker. The Houses were always good at keeping their secrets from the general public and I didn't care to look into it myself. The end of the Northcrest dynasty was pretty obvious when all of his banners were taken down and his Watch was disbanded. A new Baron was staking his claim with the efficiency of the ones who came before him.

I've only known Elias Northcrest as the Baron of The City and it was interesting to live during a changing of the Houses. For the few days The City went without the old Watch, it seemed like every thief and thug was having their way with the people's valuables. There was wholesale looting in the poorer districts. The aristocrats hired mercenaries and former members of the Baron's Watch to try and keep themselves safe. I wasn't afraid of their hired help, so while most other criminals stabbed each other in the back over the slim pickings in places like Riverside and Shoalsgate, I went right for the prizes in Dayport.

I wasn't going to stop stealing just because the Queen of Beggars and the rest of the Keepers were trying to induct me into their fold. She seemed to think that being one of them would come naturally to me, but the only thing that really came naturally to me was taking what originally belonged to others. As far as I was concerned, that was a far more interesting use of my time.

I stood in the attic of an old widower's townhouse, thoughtfully eyeing a sliding puzzle that concealed a wall safe. Aristocrats love their elaborate locks and I loved them for it. If I slid one panel the wrong way, small vents in the picture frame would release a gas that would leave me paralyzed. I had learned that much from several work orders I found around the house. With the power of the primal, I could clearly see the pathways scratched into the wood of the puzzle by the backing of each panel. Once I was sure I knew the right sequence to set the portrait, I began to shift the panels carefully.

The widower's former wife certainly had her own beauty, complimented by the amethyst necklace depicted in the completed portrait. The necklace itself was even more beautiful in person. I stood there admiring it in the moonlight coming through holes in the attic's roof. The necklace was designed to drape most of its gems down a woman's collarbone to embellish the cleavage. The widower's sister-in-law was going to be pleased to see it once Basso delivered it to her, but I might have to steal it again to add to my personal collection.

I started to close the safe but stopped when something landed on my right shoulder. One of the Queen of Beggars' messengers looked up at me and I frowned right back. When they were that calm, I knew it was because she sent them to page me. I brushed the rat off my shoulder pad and finished resetting the puzzle before leaving the attic through a window.

I hadn't removed the glyphs from the clock tower—they seemed to be the only way I could have one place in this city still to myself anymore. Ever since I accepted her apology and tentatively agreed to watch out for anything apocalyptic, the Queen of Beggars has been sending her rats to seek me out while I'm on the job. This was going to have to stop. I had my life to live and no matter how much the Keepers wanted me to live every moment for them, that just wasn't going to happen.


I was still doing research in the old library, trying to find out if there was a final solution to all of this madness. Madame Xiao-Xiao had been extremely helpful in that effort since I started taking jobs from her, which meant I didn't have to spend all day rooting through those books. She had found scraps of journal entries that hinted at a way to put the primal to rest again. Something about a glyph to end all glyphs. The ritual might cost me the extra senses I had gained but I was ready to trade them in for an end to the responsibility that I didn't ask for.

The Queen of Beggars didn't need to know that, though. She would probably send Costa after me for having the idea.

When I arrived at the old church, she was sitting on a pew above ground, staring in the direction of the defaced altar that she normally sat near. "When I said that I would watch over The City," I grumbled, "I meant 'in my spare time.' You can't keep sending your rats after me while I'm working. What if one of them springs a trap that gets me killed?"

She ignored my topic and started one of her own. "Were you thinking about attending the new Baron's public address? I hear he has great things planned for The City."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "People in charge always say that and it always turns out to be a disaster. What do you want from me, Beggar Queen? I haven't seen, heard or felt anything suspicious in weeks."

"Because you're not looking, listening or feeling in the right places. You're still treating this as something you have no stake in; therefore, to you it is only an afterthought. You can't afford to pretend to be so blind anymore, Garrett. I thought you understood that."

I sighed deeply and sat down on the pew behind her. "All right. Where do you want me to look?"

"You could start with the door I showed you. I noticed that you still haven't brought Costa back into The City."

"I gave him a task and I'm giving him time to do it." For all I knew, he had already found a place for Lorena's son to live but it was a convenient enough excuse for why I hadn't shown him how to get back.

She started to angle her head towards me. "Garrett—"

"As much as you claim that I have a choice, you sure are pretty insistent that I take on this responsibility." I narrowed my eyes at the silver oval that dangled from her ear.

"You have a choice in how you handle the responsibility, Garrett. But your fate..."

"Here we go." I rolled my eyes and moved away from the pews.

"... has always been to have it. Let Costa guide you so that you can make an informed decision."

"We'll see." I turned to leave the church. I still needed to deliver the necklace to Basso before I ended my night.