Chapter 5 – Can’t Refuse

Cleaner than I’d ever been, I started toward Juniper Street, so named for the juniper bushes that lined either side of the street. The wolf-folk estates on the other side of the river cast their long, dark shadows over the landscape, their vast pieces of land covered with old stone homes that had been crafted with love and care, built to last for centuries. On my side of the river, the houses were mostly made of wood and cheap plaster with a few exceptions. 

One of these was Moonshadow, a small neighborhood of thirty properties crafted from cold stone, each one with its own unique style and purpose. The quarter was in the shadow of the wolf-folk section of town, hence the name. Wealthy merchants, who chose to live in Puerto Manada rather than travel from town to town, and tradesfolk, who made and sold things to the Wolf-folk, called it home. It seemed the local crime boss did as well. 

The magnitude of these homes was daunting, but each one was as beautiful as it was imposing. All of them were clean and lacking in the distinct scents I typically used to navigate the city. It made my trip difficult. If not for the junipers, I might never have found the street. Finding the right gate was just a matter of time as each gate was clearly marked with the house number, one of the few things I could interpret. I couldn’t see the houses very well, not with my eyesight, the only thing I could tell you was that they were taller and tightly packed together.

Number fifteen smelled as clean as the rest of the houses in the neighborhood, except for the smell of roses. I smelled a lot of roses, the red and pink scent coming from the small front yard. I took a deep breath and pushed open the gate. The scent of cold stone short stairs leading up to what I assumed was the front door and main entrance was about ten paces from the front gate. I knew better than to use the main entrance. Instead, I searched for a servant’s entrance. I found it quickly, another stairway tucked out of view that went down below the main entrance.

I knocked on the heavy oak door and a metal slat opened, followed by a gruff, “State your business.”

I licked my lips, needing to be clear. “I was told to come here for some work.”

The response from inside came, “Who told you to come?”

“Carlos,” I answered, and the slat slammed shut. The door opened a moment later revealing a goatman in a very nice suit. He had grey hair and goatee. And from his forehead were two short round horns with needle sharp points. Part of me wondered how many poor unfortunates met their end on those horns, but I quickly shoved that thought aside.

The goatman studied me up and down with a single raised eyebrow. “Carlos sent you, you say?”

“Yes sir,” I replied.

Sounding doubtful, the goatman stated, “You are much cleaner than most of those sent by Carlos. I suppose that is an improvement. Very well, follow me.” He then turned sharply and went deeper inside, calling back, “Close and lock the door behind you.”

I closed the door behind me as requested and the moment I slid the last lock into place, I knew there was no turning back.

The lower level of the house was much nicer than anything I’d ever experienced before. It was well-lit with gas lights every few meters along the walls. The wood was dark and rich, suggesting it was well-maintained and stained regularly. And the wood floors under my feet were pristine, the wood was smooth underfoot and even reflected some of the light. Everything smelled clean with a hint of citrus. Citrus was not cheap in Puerto Manada, and to use it as a cleaning agent . . . it was clear to me this was a place of wealth and opulence. And if this was where the servants lived and worked, then I was sure the upper floors were much nicer still. As we passed one door after another, I almost stopped at the door to what must have been the kitchen or pantry. It smelled absolutely divine. Sage, mint, sugar, and some kind of salty beast meat. Carrots, potatoes, and . . . cabbage, but it didn’t smell bitter. Was that what cooked cabbage smelled like? How much different was the taste? I wanted very badly to smell and taste every color that wafted out through the seams of the door.

“Keep moving,” the goatman ordered.

I hadn’t realized I’d slowed down to enjoy the tantalizing scents. I quickly hurried to move past it, though part of me was reluctant to do so.

The goatman led me past a stairway leading up, toward the back of the house and into a small office with a large, finely made, and probably very expensive desk. I could smell the rich cherrywood it was made of, with its red-brown color, somehow richer than other woods I’d smelled in my life. There was a tall, padded leather chair on the far side of the desk and two smaller chairs closer to me, also wrapped in leather but of a lower quality than the one behind the desk. The scents, while similar, had a different quality to them. The fireplace on one side of the room was lit, a small fire emitting heat and warming the room comfortably. Thankfully the smoke mostly rose into the chimney and not into the room, giving a pleasant scent that didn’t overpower my senses. Over the fireplace mantle was a portrait of a regal looking birdwoman. I assumed it was Catalina herself. With feathery bright blue hair and a sharp and slightly hooked nose, she looked thin, frail almost, but those eyes. Those were the eyes of a predator. They sent shivers down my spine just looking at the portrait, and I was about to meet her. Was this fear? I’d never felt anything like it before. 

I was starting to think up a plan to escape but the goatman spoke again, “Sit and wait. Touch nothing. If anything goes missing, so will you.”

The threat was obligatory. I might not have been afraid to steal from Catalina, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew that to do so would end in my death. I had no interest in dying. I nodded and sat in one of the two chairs on my side of the desk. I assumed the leather, padded throne on the other side was Catalina’s.

I sat and waited. I don’t know how long I sat there but I knew I would be on her schedule, not the other way around. Catalina would come when Catalina wanted to and only if she chose to come at all.

I smelled perfume from the hallway first, then heard very light footsteps. The way this kin moved . . . it was like they were gliding across the floor. The door opened softly, and I stood immediately to greet whoever it was, but a melodic voice ordered, “Sit.”

My legs moved against my will, leading me to the closest chair. A feeling of helplessness bubbled up inside me as I felt my body act without my command. My heart raced as I tried unsuccessfully to regain control over my body. I was painfully aware of how powerless I was at that moment.

The woman glided past me and around the desk before sitting in the large chair. She smiled gently but again, the look in her eyes was absolutely predatory. “Carlos sent you?”

I nodded, “Yes, ma’am.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Polite as well. Interesting,” she said, pausing to tap a talon-like fingernail on the wood desk. “You are a badger-folk, yes?”

I nodded again. “Yes, ma’am.”

“More interesting,” she said leaning forward. “And you are a thief? A pickpocket?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She leaned back in her chair. “A half-blind pickpocket. Very interesting indeed.” Suddenly, she straightened up as she looked at the chair next to me. She stuttered slightly as she said, “You will answer his questions. If you lie, he will know. Do not lie.”

He who? I looked to where her eyes were trained and saw a hooded figure sitting casually in the chair next to me. I hadn’t even sensed his arrival. Or had he always been there? I prided myself on my senses. No one had ever gotten the drop on me like this. Once again, I felt something unusual and wondered if it was fear. I knew this person next to me could have killed me and I never would have seen it coming.

The hood fell away to reveal a wolfman and I felt my heart skip a beat and an unknown emotion course through me. I was curious as I stared into the wolfman's golden eyes, wondering what he was going to do next. 

He spoke, his voice deep and guttural, “Thank you, Catalina.”

Catalina bowed her head in deference to the wolfman. It looked like she was going to say something but then glanced at me and held her tongue.

I heard a barely perceptible grunt of approval from the wolfman. I had never met a wolfman before, and rarely ever saw one, let alone actually sit across from one. I’d seen pictures in my book, but those were cartoonish at best. They almost never came to my side of town. I’d only ever heard rumors about them coming. No one I knew would be stupid enough to draw one of the wolf-folk to this side of the river unless they were looking to die a painful death.

The wolfman focused on me. “Boy, how old are you?”

“Fifteen,” I answered.

He demanded, “How long until your Job Day?”

“About six months,” I answered.

The wolfman leaned forward, coming close enough that I could make out some of his features. He was lithe but there was a strength there I couldn’t quite comprehend. Hair covered most of his face, though I couldn’t tell if it was fur or a beard. His eyes were like Catalina’s, only more intense if that was possible. Then, there was a soft glow in his eyes. It was said that when a Mystic skill was used, it would make your eyes glow. I tried to look away but found I couldn’t. It was like I was locked in place.

He gruffly asked, “What are your skills? Common or better only. I don’t care about your basics.”

I felt a strong resistance within me, desperate to keep whatever secrets I had safe. I knew that if someone else knew all of my abilities, they would be able to counter them. This thought kept me from speaking, yet the words seemed to come out of my mouth anyway. “Fighting—” I barely started when he interrupted.

“Rank?”

“Beginner,” I answered.

He nodded and said, “Continue, but give me your ranks as well.”

I did as I was ordered, “Lockpicking - Beginner, Hiding - Beginner, Pickpocketing - Intermediate, Footwork - Beginner, Dodging - Beginner, Safekeeping  - Beginner, Stealth - Beginner—” I was cut off when Catalina gasped.

“Do not lie,” she snapped.

The wolfman just smirked. “He can’t lie. Not while he’s under my spell. You had a real gem with this one. Anything else, boy?”

“Synesthesia - Beginner,” I answered, bringing Catalina to her feet and around the desk in a heartbeat. She moved so fast and so smoothly I thought she was going to attack me, but instead she kneeled at the feet of the wolfman.

“Please, leave this one for me. He has too much talent for—” Catalina stopped speaking when the wolfman raised a hand and looked away from me to gaze at her.

I blinked a few times as I was suddenly freed from his magic. It sent shivers down my spine to think about how helpless I was.

“Catalina,” the wolfman said gruffly. “His talent is exactly the kind I’ve been looking for.”

“But sir—” Catalina tried to protest but the wolfman was having none of it. He stood abruptly and raised a hand as if to strike her. The action dislodged something from the wolfman’s cloak. It was a pewter necklace with a dark gem set at its center.

“What’s that?” I asked, surprised I had spoken.

The wolfman stopped himself from striking Catalina, slowly lowering his arm while the birdwoman cowered. Finally, seeming to have decided against striking the crime boss, he firmly warned, “Do not question me, Catalina.”

Then he turned to me, one hand going to the pewter chain and pendant. “This is none of your business, boy.”

He was close enough that I could see it clearly. My eyes were fixed on the familiar-looking pendant in his hand and I asked, “Can I take a closer look?”

The wolfman didn’t put the necklace away, fingering it instead. Eventually, he asked, “Why?”

“I feel like I’ve seen it before,” I answered.

The wolfman raised an eyebrow. It was also the first time I caught a whiff of the wolfman’s scent. He’d hidden it so completely before, I thought he might have been a projection or something. I’d heard there was a Mystic skill for that. “Have you now?”

“Maybe,” I said. I didn’t want to tell him where I thought I’d seen that necklace before.

The wolfman leaned forward and I averted my eyes, afraid he was going to enchant me again. I got a small chuckle that sounded approving somehow. The pendant was held in my view in the palm of the wolfman’s hand. “So, have you seen this?”

I had. The familiar curves of the intersecting lines of eight circles that created a larger circle with a simple piece of black glass in the center. I looked up at him then at Catalina and back. “What is it?”

The wolfman asked, “Where have you seen this? I cannot tell you what it is unless you tell me where you’ve seen it.”

I was hesitant. It was my most prized possession. It meant more to me than my book. If I told this wolfman, would he take it away from me? Again, there was that feeling I couldn’t place. Was my boon being suppressed? Was that even possible? I shook my head, trying to clear the unfamiliar feeling. I was Fearless. “I have one.”

Leaning in closer to look me in the eyes, the wolfman asked, “Did you steal it?”

I shook my head. “No, sir.”

Then he asked, “How did you come by it?”

“It was my mother’s,” I answered.

The wolfman gripped my face, bringing my face closer to his. I didn’t fight him or try to shy away. His eyes glowed and he let go. “How did you come by it?”

“The orphanage gave it to me. They said it belonged to my mother and that it was now mine,” I replied, once more unable to stop myself from answering.

The wolfman grinned, his sharp canines looking more pronounced in the firelight. He stood tall again and looked at Catalina. At some point, she had shifted into a corner of the room and was covering her head and shaking. “Thank you, Catalina. You will be rewarded for bringing this boy to me.”

Catalina barely poked her head up to look at the wolfman. Stuttering, she managed a short reply, “I live to serve.”

The wolfman turned back to me. “I’ve got work for you, boy. I need you to make a delivery. Catalina will put you on a boat very early tomorrow. You’ll find out where you’re going only after you’re on the boat. I can’t risk you telling someone before you leave.” The wolfman then reached into his cloak and pulled out a purse and a satchel. He hung the satchel over my head onto my shoulder then took my hand and placed the purse in it. “Some coins to get you ready for the journey. Buy dried meat and fruit, enough for at least a month, a good traveling cloak, boots, and a knife. And if you have enough left over after that, two sets of clothes. Dark colors only. Lastly,” he paused and pulled out another satchel, which he opened and rifled through before producing a thick tome that didn’t look as though it should fit in the bag. He showed me the book and grinned before saying, “Some reading material for the trip.” He then opened the satchel he gave me and slid it inside, making it disappear from view. It was strange because the bag didn’t seem to change or get heavier when he did. It only took me a second to realize it was a magic bag. This one bag was worth more coin than I was likely to be able to steal in a lifetime and he was just giving it to me and trusting I wouldn’t disappear with it. “The package I need you to deliver is already inside your bag. Do not open it. If you get caught, not knowing what it is might be the only thing that saves your life. Any questions?”

I was dazed by all the information I just had foisted upon me. It was a lot to take in and I had a million questions. “What is that necklace?”

“Make the delivery and you might find out,” the wolfman said with a grin. I hated this tactic. He baited me with the information after telling him I had a necklace just like his. Then he changed the terms.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Better you don’t know,” the wolfman answered, his eyes darting toward the door. “Anything else? I need to get moving before they notice I’m gone.”

I only had one more thing and it wasn’t a question, “About the book . . . I can’t read.”

That made the wolfman growl, sending that unfamiliar feeling down my spine again. He turned sharply to Catalina. “Get him Reading. You will be reimbursed for the expense.”

What did he mean ‘Get him Reading?’ “What’s that mean?” I asked but didn’t get an answer. The wolfman was gone. His scent was gone. There was nothing that indicated he’d ever been here in the first place. Did he mean for her to get me a skill stone?

Catalina was standing again and looked much more confident now that the wolfman was gone. She snapped, “What’s your name?” Then waved a hand in the air before I could answer. “No, don’t tell me. Better I don’t know. I can’t tell anyone what I don’t know. Remember kid, sometimes, it is better not to know things. You’re less likely to get killed for not knowing anything.”

I nodded, but I still felt confused by the situation. All I knew is that I would be getting on a boat tomorrow to some unknown destination.

The coins in the purse in my hand shifted slightly as I hefted it. I sniffed at the air and smelled iron, copper, silver, and something else. Something I couldn’t place.

“Go now, boy, you have a trip to prepare. I don’t recommend telling anyone anything that happened today and don’t say any goodbyes. It’s better if people think you disappeared or died,” Catalina said, brushing down her dress and skirt before primping her feathery hair a little. She paused to glare at me and asked, “Why are you still here?”

I quickly tucked the purse into my waistband out of habit then hurried out the door to the waiting goatman. I was shown to the exit and breathed a sigh of relief to have survived whatever that meeting was.