Friday, December 8, 247
Midnight
I am more tired than I have been in two months. I can't think straight. I am also writing this in the kennel's infirmary.
After breakfast I went out to feed the pigeons. The ghosts didn't have anything useful to tell me. December seemed to be a quiet month as far as killings went. I returned to my lodgings, wrote down the morning's events, and at long last went on to the kennel. I had been itching to bag me some Rats all morning. When I arrived at the kennel, I found Tunstall and told him all about the newcomer to Corus. I described every detail of Relonda that I could remember.
I will not write the events leading up to the incident in the tavern. They are far too dull and dreary.
Tunstall, limping slightly, and I were walking pass the Barrel's Bottom when a chair shattered the glass pane of the window.
"Give me the money," someone roared. Tunstall and I exchanged glances before rushing into the tavern. All eyes were on the center table. Relonda stood on the table, a look of pure innocence on her face.
"I don't have your money," she said sweetly as she jumped into the air to avoid a man's arm. Relonda caught sight of us and grinned. She kicked the man in the face. He went tumbling backwards and crashed into another man's chair. The other man swore as his drink spilled over him and kicked the man in the head. The two men grappled. The one who had been threatening Relonda was thrown across the table and slammed into three other men. The common room exploded. Fights broke out in every direction. Tunstall blew his whistle to summon more guards before wading into the mess. I caught sight of Relonda leaping over the counter and ducking behind it. The tavern keeper had a cudgel in hand was trying to restore order.
Three more guards burst through the door. I ran to the counter. It wasn't easy. I had to bash a few heads to make my intentions clear. When I finally reached the counter, I ducked behind it. Relonda sat on the floor with a pouch of coins in her lap. She was smiling as she listened to the uproar. She was also twirling one of her knives through her fingers without even looking.
"You going to return that?" I asked, gesturing to the pouch. Relonda looked up at me and grinned.
"Hi, Beka," she said, "I told you we'd meet again." She slipped the knife away and shifted into a crouch.
"Give me the man's pouch," I said, holding out my hand. My other hand was on my baton. Relonda pursed her lips and shook her head.
"Nah, I'd rather not," she said. Then she leaped straight into the air. I gaped as she twisted, landing on the counter like a cat, and took off across the tables that weren't being used as shields.
"Tunstall," I shouted as I ran around the counter. Tunstall looked up. He was holding two men by their heads. The sight was rather comical. He saw where I pointed and nodded. I raced through the seething mass of people, almost getting clubbed in the head by a crazy woman.
I ducked beneath her swing and raced to the door. I saw Relonda disappear around the corner and I ran after her. I pounded down the street, ducking and weaving between people and carts. I skidded around a corner and stopped. There she was, ducking down an alley across the street. I raced after her. She was fast, I'd give her that, but she must not have had a lot of time to run in the Scanran quarries. She was lagging and she knew it.
She raced down another street. I could almost reach out and touch her. As we came to a cross roads, a cart pulled out in front of us. Relonda didn't have time to stop. Instead, she jumped into the air. She almost cleared the horse's back. Her toes caught on the saddle and she tipped forwards. She landed with smack and rolled with the impact. I ducked around the cart, but she was already on her feet and tearing down the street.
She ducked down another alley and I followed. It was a dead end. A ten-foot wall stood before us. Relonda didn't stop as she raced to the wall and jumped up. She kicked against the stones and caught the lip of the wall. She hauled herself up and vanished. I swore and ran around the building, searching for the other side of the alley. I found it, but there was no sign of Relonda.
A flash of blonde hair caught my eye. I spotted her ducking down another alley. I raced after her. She was gasping for breath and limping slightly.
"Relonda," I shouted. She turned and grinned. She ran faster. I ran after her. We were both gasping for breath when we rounded the corner. The Dancing Dove was ahead of us. We ran towards it. Relonda mounted the steps two at time. She tripped over the last. I snatched her arm and dragged her down. She swore as I landed on top of her. She squirmed and kicked and swore some more, but I had hold of her and I was not letting go.
She heaved and gasped for breath. "Okay," she gasped, "You won." I stood up and dragged her with me. The door swung open, smacking Relonda in the face. We staggered backwards down the steps. Rosto stood in the doorway.
"What is going on?" he asked, shutting the door behind him. The street was almost completely deserted. Everyone seemed to have found somewhere else they needed to be.
"She stole a pouch of coins and started a bar fight," I explained, "Tunstall and three other Dogs are sorting it out as we speak."
"I didn't start the bar fight," Relonda said. She twisted against my hold, but couldn't get free. Rosto sighed.
"Rel, what did we just talk about?" Rosto asked. Relonda looked up him with a feigned look of thoughtfulness.
"Hm, not exactly sure," she said. She probably would have stroked her if I hadn't been holding her arms behind her back.
"How much?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" I asked.
"How much do I need to pay to make sure she doesn't go to the kennel?" I cast around for a reasonable sum.
"The cost of healing any Dogs injured in the bar fight and the amount in the pouch she stole," I said. Rosto didn't even bargain. He just nodded. I let Relonda go. I knew Rosto would keep his word.
Relonda limped forward and flung her arms around his waist.
"Relonda." Relonda looked up. A wicked gleam shone in her eyes as she tossed the purse at me. Rosto sighed.
"Let me know how much we owe," he said before turning and leading Relonda around the side of the Dancing Dove.
I made my way back to the kennel. When I arrived, I went to Ahuda.
"There you are, Cooper," she said without looking up. "Where have you been?"
"Returning the Rogue's little sister to him," I said. Ahuda looked up.
"I heard she caused that mess at the Barrel's Bottom."
"She did. Rosto's promised the amount it costs to heal any Dogs injured in the bar fight and the amount in that purse." I placed the purse on Ahuda's desk. Ahuda raised her eyebrows.
"Nice work, Cooper. I'll deal with that. Tunstall would like to see you."