Chapter 17 [Mission]

“I can’t believe me own eyes! Ye actually came!” Locke’s crooked grin was contagious, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “Ol’ Nic said ya prolly wouldn’t, but I told ‘em. I told ‘em, I says, that Rowan’ll find us, you’ll see. An’ Nic was all—”

“Locke!” a voice called from the bar, and I saw Nicholas walking toward us. His round belly pushed against the seams of a stained white shirt and the floppy hair that I remembered was completely gone. “You’re gonna talk the poor lad’s ears off. And can’t ya see he’s not alone? How daft can ya be, boy?”

The man reached the table and placed a hand on top of Locke’s head before smiling at me. “It’s nice to see ya, Rowan. As ya can see, this one here still can’t contain himself. Too much energy, and even sending him out to hunt for game can’t burn it out. And it’s nice to see you’re not alone. My name is Nicholas, and the yapper here is Locke. It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Likewise.” Nathaniel stood and reached across the table, shaking the man’s hand. “Nathaniel.”

“Aurora.” She stood and gave a small curtsy before sitting back down.

“Oh my,” Locke spoke, looking across the table as if he’d just noticed they weren’t alone. “Rowan! Wha’ ya gone an’ done to have an’ angel sittin’ at yer table?”

Aurora flushed slightly, and I couldn’t help but notice Nathaniel’s shoulders tense. If you don’t tell her how you feel someone else will. I’d planned to stay out of it, but maybe I should have a word with him when it’s just the two of us.

Before Locke could say anything else, Nicholas smacked him on the back of his head with his palm. The boy rubbed the back of his head and complained, “Owww! Now whatcha go an’ do that for, Nick?”

I glanced across the table to see Aurora failing to hide her laughter behind her hand. Even Nathaniel’s lip twitched slightly, causing me to smile as well. It was rare to see the young man show much emotion, and it made me wonder what type of life he’d had before joining the Academy.

“Mind your manners, boy,” Nicholas scolded. “Ya don’t talk that way to a lady ya just met. Now why don’t ya go check on their grub and let me have a word with Rowan here?”

“Fine, fine,” the boy grumbled and headed toward the kitchen, still rubbing the back of his head.

After watching Locke pass through the swinging doors, Nathaniel turned back and looked me up and down. He glanced at Aurora and Nathaniel sitting across from me, and seemed to hesitate, so I stood and patted him on the shoulder.

“Why don’t we grab our own booth and catch up?” I asked, then turned back to my companions. “I know we have much to discuss, so I hope you’ll excuse me for stepping away for just a moment.”

“Please, don’t allow us to hold you up,” Nathaniel replied, waving us away.

Aurora just nodded, not even looking toward us. Instead, she was staring toward the swinging double doors with hungry eyes. I chuckled and patted Nicholas on the shoulder while gesturing for him to lead the way.

Instead of leading us toward one of the other available tables in the back of the restaurant, the short, chubby man walked by them, pushed open the back door and stepped out. I followed closely and was surprised to see a quaint little garden in a fenced area behind the shop. There were a few different plants with oddly shaped fruits and vegetables hanging from branches and vines along the fence.

Nicholas took a seat on a stone bench in the center and motioned to another bench across from him before looking up at the stars. I took a seat and followed suit, enjoying the scenery while waiting for the man to speak up.

“Do you think the sky is really like this?” Nicholas eventually asked.

For the first time in a long while, I was taken aback. “Pardon?”

“The sky… outsideof the Tower…” he spoke cautiously, giving me the side-eye as he did. I could understand his hesitation. Not only was it a sort of unspoken taboo for citizens of the Tower to discuss what was outside… but Nicholas had been a Deacon of the Church of Liberation. It was a known fact that official members of the clergy had more information than others about the Tower and its history. For one to speak so openly…

Why would he risk bringing this up? And what makes him think that he can trust me enough to do so? Wait…

“Nick… are you in some sort of trouble? That waitress earlier seemed…” I trailed off, looking at the man.

“Aye.” Nicholas nodded. “When Locke was excommunicated from the Church… it wasn’t as simple as him being kicked out like I told you when we first met. In fact, I was worried that our interactions could have caused you trouble… I’m glad you’re okay, son.”

He took a deep breath, gave me a wry smile, then continued, “Locke wasn’t lying when he said he was questioning the Church, and it isn’t such an uncommon thing for young scribes to do. He… took it further than he should have. Much, much further. That boy may act like a fool, but he’s far from it. When our parish was called for the annual gathering on the Origin Floor… Locke broke apart from the rest of our group and went… exploring…”

“How he managed to do it is still beyond me, but later—a couple of days before we met you—the Priest of our Church on the First Floor dragged me and the other Deacon to the scribe’s quarters while the boys were working. He destroyed every one of the boys’ trunks until he reached the foot of Locke’s bed… when he dumped the contents, an old, tattered book fell out with the rest…”

Nicholas went silent. I scrunched my brow and ran my thumb along the design on my cane while considering what the man said. So… the boy stole something valuable… and now they’re both on the run. I’m sure that whatever that book was couldn’t have been toodetrimental for the Church to lose or else it would have been better protected. Perhaps it was something that was only meant to be seen by those already sworn to the Church.

“Why would you tell me this?” I asked, curiously. We’d only met once, and though I was sure we’d both left good impressions on each other, that wasn’t enough to warrant giving me so much trust.

As if a switch had been flipped, the chubby man’s whole demeanor changed. He sat straighter, his shoulders were broader, and his eyes hardened. It was like the man had gone from being an everyday citizen to a hardened veteran in an instant. Without breaking eye contact, he fished out something behind the chef’s apron he wore and held it out for me to view.

Not for the first time in this conversation, I was surprised. The man held out a small badge with a pointed, upside-down heart. He stayed in that position, still as a statue, and looked at me as if he were waiting for something.

Having already viewed the man’s information and knowing he was no threat even if this were some sort of trap, I pulled out my own pendant and held it in my palm for him to see. Nicholas let out a breath I hadn’t realized he’d been holding and quickly pocketed his medallion.

“Agent Ravan,” he finally broke the silence. “You have been issued a mission by the Order. You are to take the boy currently known as Locke into your Party and protect him until instructed otherwise. Once you’ve cleared the Fifth Floor, you are to return to the Origin Floor to receive further instruction from our contact in the Grandhardt branch of That Damned Bazaar.”

Whatever had come over Nicholas to change his personality to such an extent faded and—sounding more like himself—he added, “Oh, and Kel wanted me to tell you he said hello.”

“Of course, this would have something to do with that old drunk,” Rowan muttered, but not soft enough to keep Nicholas from hearing. The man laughed so hard he had to place his hand on his belly to make it stop jiggling.

“Ha. That’s certainly one way to describe him. I thought he would take the boy himself when he stopped to have his drinks re-filled. Wasn’t I surprised when he told me the name of the Agent he’d selected for this mission.” The man shook his head. “I would have never guessed you were part of the Order.”

I raised an eye, “Seeing the state the two of you were in on the First Floor, I could say the same.”

“Heh…” Nick scratched the back of his neck. “Not all of us are powerful. In fact, the only training I received was physical, and that was many years ago, before becoming a scribe. The Church usually only accepts orphans or those who are truly devout into their ranks. After being inactive for so long… I may have let myself go. Of course, we were never truly in danger, but thanks to you, I didn’t have to reveal myself to the boy.”

“He doesn’t know?” I asked only for Nick to shake his head. “Was the information in that tome so terrible that he required protection?”

“It’s not the information I’m concerned with,” Nick answered. “It’s what the boy did to get the book in the first place. Locke is… special. My original mission was to infiltrate the ranks of the Inquisitors. Only a few months after being made a Deacon, Locke was brought to me by another agent, and I was told to look after him. I never knew why… though after spending so much time with the boy, I have my suspicions. Perhaps you’ll be informed when you meet your contact in Grandhardt.”

“Now… Do you accept this mission?” Nicholas asked.

Well, it had crossed my mind to ask the two to join us, anyway…

“I accept.”