Another update, yay! I'm probably not going to have super-long chapters like Ch. 38 anymore (unless it's the climax or I want something emphasized and well done) because they usually take so long to make. I'm not sure when HJ will be updated, but I'm aiming for once a week (big task, if you consider my other writing projects).
This chapter is dedicated to Mama, AKA my grandmother. She's going to California and won't be back until April! You'll get why I dedicated THIS particular chapter to her when you read it. :'(
BTW, Ch. 39 in Hanso's Journal = Ch. 39 in Brynn's Diary. So if you want to look at both sides of the story, you can just look at what number the chapter it is and it's the same—and you don't have to read the whole 60 chapters! ;)
The Month of Eating (April) Age 10
Week 1
Mom shook me to wake me up this morning. I sat up blearily. "Mom?" I said. "What are you doing? It's Saturday!" No matter what people say about how horrible I am at remembering the date, I do keep track of weekends! I rubbed my eyes and curled up in my blankets again. But Mom grabbed it off me.
"Hanso! We have to go somewhere?" Mom said. She sounded excited.
I opened one eye. "Is it going to be some incredible awesome mission or whatever?"
"Probably not."
"Good night, Mom," I said sleepily.
"I'm serving you asparagus for every meal for the reset of the week if you don't get out of bed this instant, young man," she said, suddenly stern. I blinked and sat up, but I saw she was still smiling. I didn't want to test her, though. Slightly annoyed, I hopped out of bed, fixed up the blankets and pillows as nicely as I could, and grabbed my coat.
Dad was waiting for us at the front door. He had an excited grin on his face. "What took you?" he asked Mom.
"Someone inherited the sleepy-head gene," Mom announced. He laughed. "I can't really blame you, though," she said, turning to me. "You've had quite an exciting few weeks—some of the activities you did I am certain you will never participate in again. Namely, getting poisoned by Masila. Agreed?"
"Agreed," I replied.
"Come on, then," said Dad, and together we made our way outside. The air was sweet and fresh, the way it only is this early in the morning. The grass was still even wet from the dew. It was a pretty good scene, but in my opinion, my own dreams were better. "Oh, no you don't," Dad said when he saw me nearly stumbling. "You're gonna want to see this."
"Hey," Razor said, meeting up with us near the market. To my surprise, we completely passed the Thieves' Guild's entrance. He yawned. "My mom woke me up like three hours ago. Do you know what we're waiting for?"
"Nope," I said matter-of-factly.
"Darn," Julius grumbled, showing up. He was half-dragging Juliet. One of her arms was around his shoulders, so it was like he was supporting someone crippled. "Come on, sis! Don't drool on me!"
"I'm not drooling on you," she mumbled. "But a girl needs her beauty sleep."
"You don't need it," I offered. "You're plenty pretty already."
She blinked and got off Julius. "What?"
"Uh, nothing," I said, turning slightly red. I saw Julius give me a suspicious look. "So, uh, where's Kayley? I'd have thought they'd have woken her up, too."
"I think they're searching for her," said Razor. "They're obviously getting the class together. Why they want to do it on a Saturday, I have no idea…"
"What?" Juliet squealed. "They're searching for Kayley?" She stood rigidly, almost knocking Julius over. "Sorry," she apologized. "Look, I'll go and get her, okay? Just wait one minute!" She grabbed a bit of candy from her pocked, popped it in her mouth, and ran off to fetch our grumpy friend.
"Huh," Julius said thoughtfully. "Do either of you know where Kayley actually lives?"
I thought back to the time when everyone was sick, and I couldn't find her house. I had put it in a store where I knew she would most likely hang about, with a note clearly showing it was for her. I shook my head, a little bit surprised and a little bit miffed. "I do know she use to live in Terror Mountain, though," I said weakly, kinda like an attempt and showing I did sorta know her.
"Really?" Razor said, raising his eyebrows. "That's funny. I left when I was just a baby—so she's been living there longer than I have." He frowned. "Maybe we should ask her where she lives? In case there's an emergency-"
"Then Juliet will fetch me," Kayley snapped, rubbing her eyes. Juliet trailed behind her. Whoa, when the Wocky twin said only one minute, she meant only one minute. "What's going on?"
"No idea," I said.
Then Dad showed up. "Follow me," he said simply, and he began leading us towards the woods. I hesitated. Even with Dad around and it was morning, I still felt a little uneasy going somewhere that was supposedly haunted. Dad, though, seemed relaxed.
"Are we going to the abandoned guild hideout?" I asked.
He winced. "That was a confidential location, Hanso."
"Oh, they'll keep it a secret, right guys? I'd trust any of them any day," I said honestly.
"Really?" said Kayley skeptically. "Doesn't explain why you accused me of being a spy twice."
"Are you always going to hold that over me? I screwed up with that, I get it. But that's not going to happen again. I made a resolution. From now on, I'm going to trust all of you completely," I said.
She frowned. "That might be going too far. Any one of us could betray you-"
"No way," I began.
"Under torture," she finished.
"She has a point," Dad said. "And even then, anyone could betray you…" His voice had a hidden meaning in it, I could tell. Did someone once betray him before?
Well, that was an optimistic thought. Now that I considered it, Kayley's right. No matter if they're actually not spies or traitors, friends could still betray you if they're forced. It wasn't a happy idea. "Personally, I just keep everything on a need-to-know basis."
"Now that's going too far," I said. "Your friends need to know a little bit about you!"
"Really?" said Kayley, looking surprised. "Whatever, I wouldn't know. I don't have any."
"Hey!" cried the rest of the class behind us. Juliet especially looked hurt.
"No offense to you guys," she conceded. "I just don't really want to depend on anybody. I'd help you all out, though, if that's what you're worried about."
"We'd help you too!" Juliet said.
She shrugged. "Well, thanks. But that doesn't mean we're friends." There was silence then.
"Uh, Dad, be honest. Are we lost?" I asked after awhile.
He laughed. "No. Don't worry, son, I know this place like the back of my hand. What, you forgot Grandma Leslie already?"
"No, I remember her a bit," I said. She was a gypsy, and traveled from place to place. She still does, as a matter of fact, so I don't get to see much of her. But when I do, she always gets me great presents. Dad decided to stay here at one point, since he didn't like going around too much. But he's right; he did know the woods like the back of his hands. He probably even lived there once upon a time. "But how long till we get there?"
"A little bit more. Trust me; you're going to love it. Hannah talked Kanrik into doing it, too."
"Dad," I said, exasperated. "What could I possibly want to see at this time of day besides the back of my eye-lids?"
"That," he said, pointing.
Our jaws dropped. It was a huge glade of lush green hills, with an amazing water fall. I grinned, suddenly realizing why Hannah picked it. Not so long ago, we went through an under water one to escape from a cave. I smiled when I saw there was even some moss on the rocks.
But even more shocking was that the entire Guild was there; not as an angry mob waiting to bust a Guild leader out, but it seemed that they were….partying? A huge picnic had been spread, and the few people who knew how to play instruments were cranking up the volume. I saw a few of the little kids along with Timmy were happily singing along. "Okay, what the heck is going on?" I asked.
"Hannah said it had to be something big," Kanrik said, coming towards us. "To apologize for all those miserable months. Plus, we never did get to celebrate your birthday." He turned to the crowd. "Attention!"
Immediately, everyone turned to the Guild leader. Except Hannah, who was stuffing her face with cake. But she raised her hand, acknowledging us with a smile filled with frosting. "We're here to thank Hanso for his bravery in fighting Masila, one of the most dangerous enemies this Guild has ever faced. Without him, we'd have never managed to defeat her." There was a loud cheering. Kinda surprising, since just last month they were all set to kick me out and kill me. Kanrik gestured me forward.
"Thanks," I said sheepishly, "But I couldn't have done it, any of it, without my friends." I emphasized the word to Kayley and she rolled her eyes. "Without Juliet, would never have managed to get through all those awful months with everyone, everyone, doubting me. Without Julius, we couldn't have managed to have…er…" Master Jacques was there, so I couldn't really say that Julius helped me steal Garin's address. "To find necessary information. Without Razor, we couldn't have decoded some, um, codes we needed to find; not to mention he's now a pretty local medic. And…"
I grinned at Kayley. She looked at me, her arms crossed, her eyebrows raised. "Without Kayley, I would've never done it. Honestly, she's the reason why we're all still alive. The credit goes to her as much as to me. Without her, I wouldn't have even gotten on the boat. She was the one who tracked down the spy and saved Kanrik. She was the one I contacted and who rallied up the Guild to save us." She nodded her head, giving me a half-smile. I turned to Kanrik and gestured to my class. "So in all honesty, it was a team effort."
"I had a feeling you would say that," Kanrik said. "All of you, step forward." With that, he gave us not one, but two badges. We were now scoundrels, level five.
"Hey, wait! Wasn't the rules were that we could only get promoted every three months?" I burst out.
Hannah laughed, finally not eating cake. "Kid, seriously? You're worrying about the rules now? You deserve it!" There were murmured agreements.
Somebody said, "Can we get back to the party now?" Kanrik nodded. My class dispersed, too, with the twin heading straight for the cake and candy section, probably ready to fight for it with Hannah.
"Around this time, Masila's being transported to Faerieland prison," Kanrik told me when we were out of ear shot. He was wearing one of those rare smiles, and was more relaxed than I've ever seen him. Still, there was a kind of sadness in it, and I had a feeling it would never really go away. He just sent his former best friend to a lifetime of imprisonment. That can make anyone feel awful. But for now, I could tell that he was focusing on the happy parts. Like not having to be worried to get killed.
"You really do deserve it, you know," he said, nodding at the badge. "You really are loyal." He smiled at me regretfully. "And I'm sorry that I ever thought otherwise."
Week 2
Last week was just perfect. This week is just a nightmare.
It's so weird, how everything could just be all fine and dandy in one moment and then suddenly perilous in the next. Kinda annoying, really. Is this how being a thief would always be like? Even though I should be used to it by now, it's just waaay too unpredictable. Well, they did say in the job description that it would always be 'exciting.' They got that part right, I guess.
Is it just a coincidence that everything's happening now, when I'm in the Guild? Mom and Dad, though they're thieves themselves, would probably never have let me join if they knew how much trouble I'd gotten into the past few years. In their time, everything was mostly peaceful. They stole, ran away from the guards, end of story. Right? At least, I think it was mostly peaceful. It's already proven that I don't know a thing about their lives before me.
That's why I began asking questions to them at lunch. We were having asparagus (yuck!) anyway, so I didn't eat much. "Hey, do you remember last month when Master Serpent kidnapped me and stuff?"
"How could we forget?" Dad asked dryly. "We set it up with him."
"Yeah, well, remember you couldn't tell me anything because knowing would get me killed? Well, I'm not in danger anymore. You could tell me now!" I said this hopefully, eager for information. My parents looked at each other, uncomfortable.
"Son," Dad began. "I think we can both agree that you'll never be 'not' in danger anymore. From the moment you became a thief, well, besides being a primary target of the guards, people in the Thieves' Guild have been after you, too. Even the adults."
"What?" I said, blinking. Okay, I knew about Nort, but adults wanted to kill a ten year old? Now that's just plain mean. "Why would a bunch of grown-ups want to get at me?"
"Believe it or not, dear, some people actually were on Vlade and Zida's side," said Mom. "Plus, there's that other reason…" She and Dad shared the 'look' again. It's becoming really frequent—and very, very irritating.
"What other reason?" I persisted.
"It's best you don't know," Mom said calmly.
"But-"
There was a loud rapping on the door. "Oh!" exclaimed Mom, probably relieved with the distraction. "Would you please go get it, Hanso?"
I scowled at her. "Don't use that pouty face on your mother," Dad scolded. "Go on and do as you're told." I sighed, knowing I was beaten. I might have been able to weasel through one of them, though. Quickly, I went to the door to see who was doing all that banging. We didn't get much visitors (no surprise) and if it was someone who was going to kidnap me again, I'd—well, I didn't know what I'd do, but I was sure it'd be bad.
To my surprise, it was Kanrik. My jaw dropped. Unless it was for Guild business, lessons, parties, or being trapped/safe in prison, I've never seen Kanrik ever get out of the hideout. Especially not to see us! I just stood there, gaping, when he asked irritably, "Are you going to let me in?"
"Uh, sure," I said, backing away so he could enter. I was still staring at him. "What exactly are you doing here?"
"Bad news," he said simply.
I groaned. "Aw, come on! We just beat Masila two weeks ago!"
"And she escaped again," he informed me.
That hit me like a slap. Are we ever going to get rid of her? "But…how?" I managed. I was still reeling from what he said. Suddenly, I realized something, and I seized it like a desperate hope. "Wait a minute. The guards sent Masila to Faerieland, right? Shouldn't they know by now if she had escaped? Especially since they found out Sam's her nephew…and that she was caught by a bunch of kids who she might take revenge from."
He sighed. "Her assassins were watching for the guards that accompanied her when she was going to jail. There were plenty of them, but all they had to do was to get Masila's gag off her mouth. Then all of the Brightvalean guards agreed that yes, yes, they should definitely let her go. It's not as if she actually did anything wrong—she was an assassin, not a thief (like there's really much of a difference), and the guy she was supposed to kill was the leader of the Thieves' Guild anyway. They went back and reported that she went safely to her prison." He shook his head. "Even when they snap out of it, they're probably going to be too embarrassed to tell the Captain of the Guards for months at least. They'll probably only do it once they get desperate."
"How do you know this stuff, anyway?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I had a few thieves spy on the guards to ensure that she got to her prison. They were the only reason no one got killed—and they tried to get away quietly. Smart move, I think; she would've just made them betray me if she knew they were there."
Great. Just great. "How'd Hannah take it?" I asked.
"She didn't; I haven't told her yet. But if I did, I bet it'd be the usual. That scheming little b…better not say it with your parents within earshot." Despite the news, we both grinned.
"Well, at least we have her, right?" I said hopefully. "We have a more powerful truth-speaker. That has to count for something."
"Not by much," he said sadly. "The only reason she had such a good effect before was that she timed it perfectly. Still, I'll say this about Hannah, she definitely helped us. Masila's Assassins have greatly decreased, and I doubt she'd ever gather such a force like last time again. Numbers will not win this war for her."
"She'd plan something, though," I said. "But where she is she now?"
"That's why I want to talk to your parents," he told me grimly. He gently knocked on the door and opened it. My parents seemed deep in conversation, but as soon as they saw the Guild Leader…well, their reaction wasn't that much better than mine. They both stood up quickly, with Dad knocking over the table (with our food in it) and Mom desperately trying to clean it up.
"Sorry," Dad said weakly while Mom shot him a glare.
"It's fine," Kanrik said, waving them to leave it. "I have something to talk about more serious than spilled milk."
"Certainly," said Mom. "Hanso, maybe you should go to your-"
"No, I think he should stay," said Kanrik. My parents stared at him. "He'd already proven himself trustworthy, and believe me, this conversation would about your entire family." Whoa. He really was making good on that promise to trust me more. I smiled and sat on the chair, trying to look as innocent as possible. Needless to say, I failed miserably. Mom kept frowning at me. But I still got to listen. "Now, you might be already aware of this…but both of you are the best members of the Thieves' Guild. And I mean the best."
Dad grinned. "Sure we know. What's unusual is that you're telling us this. That's kinda showing favoritism, isn't it?"
Kanrik shook his head emphatically. "This is definitely about favoritism. Quite the opposite. I just need to emphasize why I'm asking you what I'm asking you; you might find it unreasonable, given that you have family to take care of." He nodded at me.
"Well, yeah," Dad said. "But we're thieves too. We'll do whatever you want, Kanrik."
"Within reason," Mom added.
"Sure," Dad confirmed. "Within reason."
"Masila's back," he said simply. Their eyes widened. He began filling them in, and since he already told me about this in the hall I began to get bored. I only started paying attention again when I heard him say, "…Which leads me to believe that she might be hiding in Terror Mountain."
"What?" I burst out. "That freezing cold place?"
"Yes, 'that freezing cold place.' She knows it better than I do; and I can certainly vouch that she has a talent to find the most secret places. In fact, she might not even need to; the old Thieves' Guild base is right there for the taking. There are plenty of desperate people there, so she'd be able to get more recruits."
"Wait a minute…what if she has a spy again? Remember, Sasha escaped and she can turn into anything," I asserted.
"Good question; but we can't worry about that now. You'll have to ask your friend Hazel. Personally, I'd like to send someone, perhaps Master Serpent, to keep an eye on her….what with her mysterious new talent popping up," he said.
I felt the need to protect Hazel. "Hey, she's a good kid! She wouldn't hurt a fly. I'll keep an eye on her. And no," I said with absolute conviction, "She will not turn evil."
He shook his head. "There was a point I believed that about someone too, once upon a time." There was a short silence. "Well, then, back to Terror Mountain. I need someone to check up on what's happening there; someone who's good at camouflage and blending in, who's used to traveling fast and discreetly." He looked at Dad. "That's you, Peter."
"Wait a second," he said. "You're asking me to abandon my wife and kid for who knows how long to check if a murderess is plotting to kill you?" I felt a pang. I was going to lose my dad? No. I refused to let that happen.
"I told you it might sound unreasonable," Kanrik snapped.
"It is unreasonable!" Dad snarled back with his arms crossed. "One night in the Haunted Woods, maybe. Hey, I could even get to Altador and back within a week. But Terror Mountain? It not only takes weeks to get there, it has other dangers besides Masila—as well as sliding off the Mountain itself."
"But you could do it," Kanrik said. "If you try."
Kanrik and Dad stared at each other until Dad's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Yeah, I'd find a way to do it somehow. If I try," he added. "That doesn't mean I would."
"There is another option," Kanrik said. "Though this one involves Liz, it requires neither of you having to leave home for a very long time."
"And how exactly is this including me?" Mom said suspiciously.
"Undercover work," Kanrik said, with a meaningful tone. I don't know what he meant, but my parents both stiffened. There was absolute silence in the house; which was kinda creepy, considering it's always noisy in some way or another (Dad's snores, for example).
Then Dad sighed. "I guess that settles it, then. I'll leave for Terror Mountain."
"What? But it's just undercover work!" I burst out. "Neither of you have to go anywhere far if Mom does it."
Dad shook his head. "It's a lot more complicated than you think, Hanso." He eyed Kanrik. "If I'm right, she's being asked to spy in a place where she hasn't been in a long, long time, and they might not trust her anymore. Hate her, even. Besides, it would be emotionally traumatizing, given to what she'd been through there." He turned to Kanrik. "You know that. It isn't much of the choice."
"It's the only one I could give you!" Kanrik said. "I hate to do this to you—especially to Hanso. Fyora knows I already owe him so much. The whole Guild does. The last thing I want is for you to sacrifice again- or worse, lose each other-"
"Not exactly making us feel better," Dad muttered.
"-But like I said before, you're our best thieves. Others have tried to convince me to get you to do both assignments at the same time; still, I know you have other priorities." He looked at me. "It was tough, but I insisted only one of you should do an assignment. Which one is entirely up to you."
Mom and Dad had one of those silent conversations. Mom looked at Dad mournfully, as if saying, Maybe I should…
Dad shook his head, putting a hand on her shoulder. He'd probably be saying, You can't risk it, Liz. He straightened up. "I'll go."
"But-" Mom squeaked.
"Liz," Dad said in a firm tone. It reminded me that even though he was usually a 'petri-pecked' husband and did almost everything she said, if it was a family decision, he ultimately got the last say with the matter. Mom's shoulders slumped, knowing she was beaten. "I'm going."
It's settled. Dad's leaving for Terror Mountain by the end of the month, and even while I'm writing he's packing with Mom. They're hiding something from me, I know it. I hate being kept in the dark—is this what everybody felt like when I said I couldn't tell them what I was doing for those two months? No wonder they got mad at me.
My dad's leaving for Terror Mountain. My parents have a secret.
This is just perfect.
Week 3
"Cheer up, kid. It won't be that bad," Hannah said to me at one point. I stared at her. It was the first time I ever heard her attempt to really lie, though I guess she was doing it for a good reason. I kept thinking about Dad and what we're going to do without him in class; and suddenly I had this big stomach ache. It was like there was a hole inside me, and I couldn't fill it.
Jacques even noticed, and ordered me out of class for the rest of the day. It didn't help that Kayley said before I went: "That's odd. Usually bereavement comes after someone already died."
"He's not going to die," I snapped behind me, but I didn't sound very convincing, even to myself. Having nothing else to do, I went to the Guild's main hall. It was usually packed with thieves and their kids, but on a weekday it was as quiet as the night. I looked around with just a tiny bit of nostalgia. Mom and Dad used to take me there a lot, even when I wasn't a thief yet. The tailored rugs, the colorful tapestries, the roaring fireplace, the tiny canteen—that was where I grew up.
Then I saw Hannah again, lounging about in a chair with an adventure book. She looked really bored, but brightened up when she saw me. She complained about last month, when Kanrik literally had to kick her out of the throne. Apparently, she liked playing queen because 'she could control everyone like dolls.' None of the thieves were amused by the comparison.
"I just hate it that I'm going to have to go next week," she said wistfully. "I'm even going to forget where this place is! I've stuck around since last November, and Brightvale's really grown on me. Still, I guess I can't stay here forever. I mean, look! I've been reduced to reading about adventures instead of being in them." She made a face.
"Wait, you're still going?" I said, shocked. "I thought you were going to help us now that Masila escaped again!"
She choked. "Masila escaped again?" Oops. I guess Kanrik didn't tell her yet. I forgot was confidential.
"Uh…Masila escaped again? Who said Masila escaped again?" I said weakly. "Masila didn't escape again!'
She rolled her eyes. "We're really bad liars, aren't we?" she said, shaking her head. But she smiled. "It was amusing to see that. I just took people's word for it; I always thought I was very convincing when I exaggerate a tiny bit in stories." I nearly snorted. "But what's this about Masila?"
"I don't think Kanrik would want me to tell you," I said.
She huffed. "Hmph. Well, that's gratefulness from the Guild leader."
"Don't tell him I told you," I pleaded.
"Sure thing, kid. Your secret's safe with me. I guess he doesn't want me interfering again—and besides, there's not much I can do against her anymore. I've done maximum damage already by taking out most of her numbers." She looked at me earnestly. "But if you need help, anytime, you know where to find me. I'm planning to actually read my fan-mail now."
"Okay," I said.
"And you know what? I'm even planning to keep better in touch with that Kanrik whether he likes it or not. How's once a month sound?"
I grinned. My mom would go crazy facing her alone, but she was fun to have around. "Who are you staying with? Please say it's not the inn."
"There are actually some very nice people from the inn," she said indignantly, "But no, I'm staying with Masila's much nicer younger sister, Marie-" Her eyes widened. "Sweet Fyora!"
"What?" I said, jumping up.
"We forgot all about her when your name cleared! She was even in the Thieves' dungeon in the celebrations at the beginning of the month!"
"Bet she isn't too happy about that," I commented.
"We should get her now," she urged, standing up. "Where's the Thieves' dungeon?"
"Uh…"
"Oh come on, kid," she said, exasperated. "You don't even know how to navigate through your own hideout?"
"First off, it's not my hideout. And second, yeah, I know where it is, but Mom doesn't like me going in there much…" And for a good reason. She doesn't mind me getting thrown into regular jail (at least, not really) but our dungeon is so off-limits. Could you blame her? The people locked in there are so bad that thieves wanted them off the streets.
"Well, this time is different," she said cheerfully. "You have me! There is nothing to worry about." Somehow, I thought that Mom would freak out even more she knew I was going with Hannah. But Hannah is an adult, so I shrugged and began leading her through a maze of hallways.
It's a miracle I didn't get lost, though we all memorized the map at one point. Hannah began complaining, but I managed to get us there soon. We stopped in front of a large tapestry of an old guy; the first king of thieves.
He was a huge Lupe with a scar running across his face, and his grey eyes plainly showed that he was merciless in battle. Not to mention, you know, the two boulders he was holding. They were the size of his fists (and that's pretty big), with one glowing silver and the other gold. And he appeared to be cracking them. With his bare hands! Now that's one Guild leader I don't want to mess with. Still, there was a kind of wisdom in his eyes that made it almost seem that he'd be actually kinda nice…if you weren't his enemy.
"Who's this guy?" Hannah said. Even she looked a little intimidated.
"The first every leader of the Thieves' Guild," I explained. "I can't remember his name—it's way to long and confusing. Um, Coalloadhe or something."
"Yeah…not that I don't like it or anything, but we're not here to look at pretty pictures. Er, if you could call that pretty. Where's the dungeon?" she asked. As an answer, I stepped forward and pulled the tapestry aside a bit, showing a heavily bolted door. "Whoa!"
It took both me and her to pry the lock. Thieves capturing thieves already know the tricks, so it'd be pretty difficult to get out of there. When the door finally stood open, it was pitch black. Hannah and I crept inside cautiously. Then without warning, someone grabbled my foot through the bars. "You have to help me," the person rasped. I tried to back away, but he had a tough grip. "Help me," he pleaded. "I'm old, innocent…I didn't kill my wife and daughter…it was someone else….I was framed…"
Now I was seriously getting scared of him—he was lying. Before I could cry out, Hannah wrenched me away. "Creep! Go hide in a corner or something." The old guy hissed, and it was silent again. "Marie?" she called tentatively.
"I'm here, Hannah," the Acara called. With her face looking tired and dark, she seemed more like Masila than ever. "Tell me my name's been cleared. Please. I can't take much more of this."
"Um, yeah, about that," said Hannah. "Well, ya see, your name's been actually cleared about three weeks ago. We just…kinda…forgot you."
Marie groaned. "Well, let me out then! Use Hanso's pendant." We did—it acted like a kind of key, and soon we were all out. "Thank Fyora! I thought I'd never get out of there. You don't know what it's like. Much worse than the normal dungeon, just so you know."
"Maybe you need some fresh air," Hannah suggested. "We all do. In my opinion, you guys spend way too much time staying underground hiding from guards."
"Says the lady who goes into caves by choice," I countered. She smiled. "Where should we go?" Then I had an idea. "Um, Marie? Would you mind checking on one of my friends for a bit?"
She frowned. "Why? I'm not a healer, Hanso."
"No," I admitted. "But you do have experience with persuaders."
Her eyes widened with understanding. "Oh, you want me to check on that little girl Hazel—see if she's got the talent?"
I shook my head. "I think she already proved she had the talent. Just…say something reassuring to her. Or whatever. Last time I saw her, she seemed to think it was some sort of curse, and for a seven year old she already has a lot on her plate."
She bit her lip. "Honestly, Hanso, there's not that much things reassuring to say. I've known five persuaders in my life. Two of them were evil, or as close to evil as you can get; thinking bordering cruel. One was just lovely, though I guess you can say she was a little pressured to be perfect. There's Kanrik, though you know he's a little paranoid."
"The fifth one was Sam," I guessed. "And he turned out pretty well."
Marie smiled. "Oh, yes. I've told him to never use his voice unless absolutely necessary. He's been raised with the belief that the power is practically evil."
"Is it evil?" I asked her.
She frowned. "I'm not sure. I know by first-hand experience that it could do a world of good, but it seems that people who truly tried to use it always turned bad. In my opinion, if you have the talent, don't use it. It's probably a bad idea anyway."
"Yeah," I agreed.
"Besides that, I don't think the little girl has anything to worry about," she told me. "The second evil person wasn't actually quite as evil…more like scheming, power-hungry. I think that Masila's just a special case." Her face darkened slightly. "Not that it gives me much comfort." We began entering the finer parts of Brightvale, with its manicured lawns and beautiful mansions. Hannah and I were pretty much used to it already, but Marie studied everything with a roving eye. "Hanso, what are we doing here?"
I frowned. "Hazel's a rich kid. We have to go to her house, remember?"
"Hazel is a rich kid?" Marie said, astonished. I sensed a slight disapproval in her voice, and maybe a hint of fear. I realized quickly that Charlie and Hazel's clothes were messed up as they spied on us from the tree—that's why no one recognized them as rich kids. That actually might be the only reason they got out of there alive.
"Aw, come on, they're not all bad," I said, trying to defend her.
"I know, Hanso. But it's just…" she looked around with a worried expression. "Never mind. I'm a little concerned, is all. You've already made friends with guards, and now this? Does Kanrik know?"
"Yeah," I replied earnestly.
"And besides," Hannah butt in, "Hanso can make friends with whoever he likes."
Marie said nothing, but she frowned for the rest of the way. I went to Hazel's house, trying to make sure neither of her bratty siblings was there. To my relief, it was only a new maid, and she was sound asleep. Well, maybe not sound asleep. She was snoring pretty loudly.
Hazel was playing alone in the garden, wearing a forlorn face. I remembered that she wasn't allowed to see Charlie anymore, and guessed that was the reason why she seemed so sad. But that didn't explain the dark circles underneath her eyes, and her messy, curly hair. Violet would die if she saw her sister now.
"Hazel?"
The little girl jumped up and was about to scurry into a tree when she saw me. "Hanso?" she whispered. She looked frightened. "You shouldn't be here. Daddy's home."
"Darn," I grumbled. I looked at her. "I just wanted to talk to you. Are you okay after, you know, what happened two months ago? Sorry I didn't visit you sooner—I got huddled up again."
"I'm okay," she told me sweetly. "Just…getting nightmares." She bit her lip, and said rapidly, "Also, the voice thing. Why did my voice change? I don't like it. And I'm-I'm scared." She looked like she was about to cry.
"Don't worry, Hazel," I said. "I have someone here that can help."
Hannah popped in. "How's my biggest fan?"
"Hannah!" Hazel squealed. "I didn't get your autograph yet!"
"Well, we can't have that!" Hannah said, grinning. She took out a pad of paper and wrote her name on it, plus a small message: To my biggest fan, Hazel. I rolled my eyes as she gave it to the little princess.
"Are you going to help me with the voice thing?" she asked.
Hannah shook her head. "Don't have that much experience with that. Marie, though, might be able to help." Marie timidly went inside the garden. Hazel and her studied each other carefully, like two frightened children. "She's Masila's sister."
"What!" Hazel said, backing away. The poor girl seemed to be searching for a tree, any tree.
"Don't worry," I promised. "She's a lot nicer. She's not at all like Masila."
"Yes, dear," said Marie in a kind voice. "I just want to help. Tell me what the matter is."
Hazel stared at her, and then glanced at me. I gave her an encouraging smile. "Well," she began softly. "My voice…changes sometimes. I can make people do things. And it makes me feel awful."
"Why's that?" Marie asked. "Don't you think making people do things is good?" I could see where she was going with this. It was a test to show how good Hazel is.
But even Marie was surprised by Hazel's answer. "Because all my life, I was the one doing things for other people." The little girl looked down. "Following whatever Violet did, obeying Ebony, curtsying to Daddy, making Mommy happy…." She shook her head. "I can't understand how it can be any other way."
"Look, Hazel," Marie said urgently, "Even if you didn't have this power, you shouldn't let other people control you. Try standing up for yourself."
"I can't," she said in a small voice.
"Sure you can!" I exclaimed. "You did pretty well last month standing up to Sasha, and then before that when you revealed her to be a thief."
"That was standing up for my friends. That, I can do. But I can't stand up for myself." She shook her head. "Will it go away? The power, I mean? If I don't use it?"
Marie shrugged. "I'm not sure. Before I insisted on her using it" – here, a look of regret showed on her face – "She seemed perfectly content on never utilizing it again. It was later that she began losing control." She nodded. "All right, perhaps you should try that, Hazel. Don't use your power for a bit. Then one day, test it on someone, perhaps a friend, to see if it doesn't work anymore."
"Okay," Hazel said.
"Is there anything else that's bothering you, dear?"
Hazel twisted her hands, and I knew there was something she wasn't telling us. "Spit it out, princess," I told her.
She looked at us with wide eyes. "Is it normal for a person with the voice thing to hear voices in her head?"
My jaw dropped—so did Hannah's. "What?"
"I hear…things," she said, slightly fearful. "One voice, actually. It's telling me something, but I can't make it out quite yet. It's a nice voice, and I want to hear it, but I'm not sure I'd like what it might say. Do you think I should-"
"Don't listen to it!" Marie burst out unexpectedly. I looked at her. She was very, very pale. She took Hazel by her shoulders. "Whatever you do, do NOT listen to that voice."
"Okay, okay," Hazel whimpered, backing up. The noise awoke the maid.
"Beggars!" she screeched, pointing at us.
"Time to go," I said.
Hazel looked at me. "I'll try to do what she said. Visit Charlie soon, okay? I think he's as sad as I am." I told her I would, and she ran back to her house.
"Marie, what's wrong?" Hannah asked when we were out of earshot. "Did something like this happen to Sam?"
"No," Marie muttered. "This never happened to Sam, Kanrik, or the other people I told you about. This only happened to Masila, and she mentioned it just once. At the time, I thought she was lying to call more attention to herself. But if what Hazel said is true…" Marie bit her lip, leaving us to think of the other scary possibilities.
Week 4
I woke up early in the morning again, but this time by myself. I figured no one would be in the living room, so I'd have time to go around and mope—but I was wrong. Dad was already up. His hair was crazy, like it usually is; but he was also wearing a serious expression, which was definitely unusual. He seemed to be thinking about something.
"Hi, Dad," I said. He jumped.
"Hanso! You scared me."
"I did? I scared a Master thief? Whoa!"
"Hey, don't use that cheeky tone of voice, young man," he said playfully. "Even Master thieves let their guard down in the morning."
I grinned. "Maybe I should do that more often-" Then I remembered I wouldn't be able to. He was leaving today, off on some scary mission in the Ice Caves. Kanrik promised that some Bori allies would help him as much as they can – Hannah even chipped in here, saying to look for someone called Armin – but we all knew that for the most part, he was on his own.
"Don't worry," he said, as if reading my mind. "I'll be back soon. Judging by what we know of Masila, she'll plan her big entrance soon; and then I can go home."
"Bring me a souvenir," Mom said, coming out of her bedroom. She had a false cheery smile on her face, though none of us were buying it.
"I will, Liz," he said, grinning. "What do you want? An icicle?"
"Or maybe a snowball," I suggested.
"Or some rock crystals," she chuckled.
We had to get serious again a few minutes later. Dad and Mom were frantically packing anything he might need, while I watched them. If only we could go with him. I wouldn't mind too much, but that would mean missing who-knows-how-many lessons, and Mom would fail in her duties as a Master thief. Soon, he was ready and we went to the harbor.
I looked around kind of fondly. Last time I went there, I had just gotten back from my own adventure of the high seas. It wasn't that bad, though I kept getting sick. Still, I went to warmer places. He's going somewhere cold. Very, very cold. I glanced at Dad, and I saw something weird. He had this half-sad, half-scared expression on his face. Mom didn't notice – she was too busy fussing over his things – so I asked him, "Are you okay, Dad?"
"What? Oh, yeah. I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"A friend," he said. I waited for him to elaborate. He sighed. "She went on a mission overseas, too. She never came back." He must've seen my face, because he said quickly, "Not that that's going to happen to me. I have a promise to keep. Remember what your mother said on Christmas?" I did. We had to go our separate ways for the day, but she said: I promise it'll be different next year.
"I hope you're right," I said.
He turned to me, and there was this sort of grimness in his eyes. He leaned over so only I could hear, and said, "Look, Hanso, your mother and I have some secrets that we keep for your own good. But I think that you're grown up enough to find some out. I can't tell them to you—but if you can, try to search for it. The answers might be closer than you think. And go with your instincts, no matter how crazy they are." He winked at me.
Before I could ask him anything else, someone called, "All aboard!"
He sighed. "It's time." He hugged me, and I squeezed him back.
I knew it was pointless, but I begged in a tiny voice, "Don't go."
He smiled sadly. "I have to. Take care of your mother, all right?"
"I promise," I said.
He turned to Mom then, but I looked away. I knew there would be tears, and if I see Mom crying I'd start crying, and then Dad would probably start crying too, and…it just wouldn't be good to do in a harbor full of other Master thieves that were going. I wished Hannah was here—she might've had some way to distract me, but she had left even earlier. Instead, I looked around the pier and saw another surprising sight.
A Gelert (not Kanrik) was hugging a Lutari about my age, probably his son. I was thinking where I saw the Gelert before, when it hit me—he was one of Masila's Assassins, the one that betrayed the Guild for a better life for his family. But I knew he was also one of the people who came back to our side first. It made sense to include him on the mission—he'd know how Masila worked. Faintly, I heard him saying, "It's time to pay back what I owe. Take care of yourself, Tyler, and your mother too. And your siblings."
"But they're all older than me!" Tyler protested playfully. His jet-black hair was messy, and went flopping around his face, but in a nice way. He had dark eyes, and a nice smile that seemed almost too big for his face.
"True," the Gelert said, grinning, "But you're a lot more sensible. Don't tell them I said that!" They hugged one last time. Then I watched both the Gelert and my dad go aboard the ship.
I felt myself go numb all over. I wanted to cry out, but I knew nothing I would say could make him come back. Kayley was right. It's almost like he's dying. But he'd come back. He promised.
"You too, huh?" said a voice. Tyler came up to me.
"Yeah," I said unhappily. "You're Tyler, right? Sorry, I was kinda eavesdropping."
"No worries," he said. "You're Hanso." He laughed at my astonished face. "You're pretty famous, you know."
"What class are you in?" I said conversationally. "I'm in Master Jacques's."
He shrugged. "My studies kinda stopped when my parents decided to join the Assassins. Uh, no hard feelings about that, right?"
"No hard feelings," I confirmed.
"I used to be with this awful Lenny guy," he informed me. I think I knew the one he was talking about. "My studies kinda stopped again, 'cause I have to help repair the damage we've done."
"But that wasn't your fault! I'll go talk to Kanrik about it-"
"Don't worry," he said. "All the other Assassin kids like it this way—they get to miss almost a whole year of school, at least until next January. And besides, I don't think I'll have any trouble catching up." He had a mischievous smile on his face. "Anyway, see you around. Maybe I'll get transferred to your class next year."
"Hopefully," I said.
Hopeful. It's been a pretty lousy month again, besides the celebrations at the beginning. But at least it ended in a nice-enough note.
In case you didn't notice, the abandoned guild hideout last chapter was actually the one from The Faeries' Ruin, where the other artefact was.