In the heart of the city of Kelvort, there is an old Tennre church that was once caught in the crossfire between the mages and the steppe clans during the war, leaving half of it in ruins. Its bell tower rises like a broken tooth, many of its roof tiles are loose, some are even missing entirely, the white window glass is shattered, and the stone walls have collapsed on the west side. A fire destroyed the wooden benches and the altar, leaving the interior of the church blackened. For a long time it served the district residents as a memorial, a reminder of the danger posed by the steppe clans, and therefore, it had never been restored.

Cade and I had sneaked into the ruins and climbed the partially intact staircase of the bell tower. Sparse narrow windows let in wind and sunlight through the masonry onto the weathered steps. Nevertheless, lime and moisture hung so heavily in the air that I felt like I could taste them on my tongue.

I was relieved when the steps abruptly ended just below the church roof, and we found ourselves standing under the cloudless sky again. Only the cracked east wall and the debris at our feet reminded us that the staircase had once led further upwards.

Cade and I were already accustomed to heights from tightrope walking. The thought of what might happen if one of us made a wrong move didn't torment me as much as it perhaps should have when I stood on Cade's shoulders and reached for the roof edge to pull myself up.

"Well? Can you see the arena?" Cade called up to me from below as soon as I hoisted myself up.

I slowly straightened up and took a few steps up the roof, while a fresh November breeze blew my hair from my forehead.

The good weather had driven the district residents out to the market and the streets, so we had earned good money with our performances in the morning. But it wasn't until up here, about forty meters high, that I realised the Counting couldn't have fallen on a better day. We had an unobstructed view of the ceremony hall and the oval arena, separated from us only by a row of houses and the spectator stands.

It was therefore not surprising that Cade and I were not the only ones who had come up with the idea to watch the count from the roof of the old church. Already, ragged-looking boys and girls were squatting all around us. Street children, I presumed. Most of them were half-breeds and at least shared the dark hair colour and brownish skin tone with Cade and me, so I didn't feel as uncomfortable as I would have if all of them had been pure-blooded district residents.

The children glanced at me fleetingly before returning to their conversations, their eyes fixed on the arena as if spellbound. My gaze swept over them and then stopped at the rope tied around the remnant of a stone statue placed on the roof ridge. I picked it up and looked around questioningly, hoping that I wouldn't have to pull out my own rope from under my coat. No one protested, so I ran back to the roof edge and threw the end down to Cade.

"Yes," I said. "The arena is clearly visible."

"And the balcony?" Cade asked, his eyes shining with excitement. "You know, the big one where they make the announcements?"

"We can see everything from here."

"Hey, you there!" a child's voice called behind me. "What language are you speaking?"

I turned around and caught the curious gaze of a blond boy. He sat next to a little girl with a similarly wide chin and narrow eyes. The boy was one of the older children here, but he was still a few years younger than me.

"Tinurian," I replied shortly, resolving to speak only in District language from now on so as not to attract unnecessary attention. After all, Cade and I had decided to wear ordinary clothes instead of our gleeman's garb for this very reason.

"The gleemen's tongue? Ha! Now I remember why you look so familiar!" the boy exclaimed. "I saw you earlier on the stage in the marketplace. You're one of them, a gleeman!"

All the children's eyes slid to me.

"That's true," I mumbled, rubbing my neck.

The boy grinned. "You were really good at juggling. My sister loved it. Can you show us again?"

"I don't have anything to juggle with," I said. But when I saw the disappointed look on the girl's face, I pulled out a felt pouch from my pocket where I kept the deck of cards that Cade had given me for my birthday. "But how about a card trick?"

The girl smiled shyly.

I shuffled the cards as I walked towards her and held them out to her. "Pick one. But don't show it to me."

The girl drew a card, took a quick look at it, and nodded to me. I closed my eyes, took it back from her fingers, and put it back into the deck to shuffle. Then I fanned out the cards in front of her again, this time with the front side up, and pretended to be confused as I looked down at them.

"Was it this card?" I asked after some hesitation, holding one out to her.

The girl shook her head shyly.

"Hmm," I said. "What about this one?"

She giggled and shook her head again.

"Oh, darn. This usually works so well... Oh, what's this?" I reached my hand towards her ear, noticing her brother tensing up before pulling my arm back and holding a card in front of her face. "No wonder it didn't work! The card was behind your ear the whole time!"

Some of the children clapped and smiled. Even the girl giggled and leaned against her brother, who put his arm around her.

"How did you do that? With magic?" she asked me in a squeaky voice.

Magic?

I grimaced, but before I could respond, her brother burst into laughter. "Of course not, you dummy! He's from the steppe. There's no magic there. And what kind of magic would it be anyway? Certainly not blueblood magic and not witchcraft either. No, gleemen only know sleight of hand tricks, and those have nothing to do with magic." He turned back to me. "Ain't that right?"

"No magic, just quick fingers," I confirmed.

"What's your name anyway?" The boy moved aside to make room for me on the roof ridge.

"Ares," I said, settling down next to him.

The boy's eyes widened, and he hastily pointed to Cade, who had climbed onto the roof by now. "And what's his name?"

Cade was tall and wiry. Wherever he went, he immediately stood out because of his confident, relaxed demeanor. So I wasn't surprised when the girls around us started whispering and casting interested glances at him after he had stood up to his full height.

"That's Cade."

"Cade and Ares," the boy mumbled.

When he noticed me giving him a puzzled look, he cleared his throat and looked towards the arena. Just as I was about to ask him his name, Cade squeezed between me and the statue.

"Nice card trick," Cade said, grinning, then whispered to me with a fake cough, "Show-off."

"That's rich coming from you," I whispered back.

He put his arm around my neck. "Someone's getting real cheeky lately, hm?"

"You're the one to talk! Stop!" I tried to break free from him, but he pressed me down with his weight and rubbed his knuckles against my skull.

"Stop it!" I exclaimed, half amused, half annoyed.

"You want me to stop? Does that mean you admit that I'm the stronger one of us?"

"Never!"

"Oh yeah? And what about now?"

"Ouch! Let me go!"

"Only if you tell me who's the strongest."

"You! You are!"

"And the smartest and the most handsome?"

"You and you again! And now stop!"

Finally, he let go of me. I rubbed my sore head grumpily while he leaned back laughing.

Loud cheers rose up to us, and the boy next to me thrust his arm forward to point at the arena, where two white-haired figures were just taking their positions on two opposite stands. "Those are the augurs! The king's magical combat elite!"

The two figures in dark blue robes bowed slightly to the crowd, then spread their arms, and an expectant silence fell. However, it was short-lived, because when an iron gate was raised at the edge of the arena, through which ten strong men were driven by guards with halberds, the roar started again.

The men looked around hurriedly. Despite the frosty wind, they wore only loincloths, leather breastplates, and sandals. Swords and shields had been handed to them, but they didn't hold them with the conviction of a gladiator forced to fight for his life but rather loosely like a farmer with his pitchfork. Two of them even dropped their weapons, another tried to chase after the retreating guards.

In the meantime, the augurs had lowered their arms again and now turned away from the crowd, moving so close to the edge of their stands that they could oversee the entire arena. They bowed to each other, and after they straightened up again, all the gladiators froze at once. Only the two who had dropped their weapons bent down first to pick them up before assuming the rigid posture of their comrades.

"Do you see the one on the right?" the boy whispered to his sister. "He's called Dorian the Radiant. He's one of the strongest augurs in the empire. Of course, he lives in the first district, like all the others, but his ancestors came from here."

The girl's eyes widened.

"Dorian the Radiant," Cade repeated next to me, and when I glanced at him, I was startled by the excitement on his face.

The gladiators marched towards the center of the arena, where a judge had drawn a thick line of light sand in the dust. The movements of the men were as uniform as those of a well-drilled army. Arriving in the middle, they divided into two groups of five fighters each, who positioned themselves with wide stances about ten paces apart.

"Do you know they're controlled by the Pale Ones?" I asked Cade. "That they have no control over what happens to them?"

"Don't worry," the boy cut in before Cade could answer. "For the games, they only take criminals who have long been convicted."

"That's what they want the district residents to believe," I whispered to Cade in Tinurian. "But they also take foreign slaves and lurkers. Lurkers like you and me."

Cade chuckled. "Oh man. You're becoming like Lewjn, I can already tell." He put on a grumpy expression, tilting his head to the side, crossing his arms, and furrowing his brow deeply. In Tinurian, he said, "Don't do this, don't do that. Stay away from the Pale Ones, or they'll eat you. Magic is so evil. Boo-hoo."

I burst out laughing and hit him on the side. "Stop imitating my grandfather, you idiot!"

He rubbed his shoulder and replied with a grin, "What? It's true. You already have the same grim expression as him!"

The excited cheers of the audience swelled as the two groups of gladiators approached each other. At first, their movements were stiff, then they began to run and finally crashed into each other like two clenched fists. I almost believed I could hear the clatter of metal on metal, but the roaring applause of the spectators drowned out all other sounds.

When the first gladiator fell to the ground, the screaming became so loud that I wished I could cover my ears. One of the augurs flinched as his gladiator was impaled by a spear from the opposing team. The other gladiators in his group froze for a moment, but then quickly regained their composure. The fight went on.

"How do they do it?" asked Cade in awe. "How can a single augur control so many gladiators?"

The boy next to me cleared his throat. "Augurs are able to fragment their minds and send out these fragments using their magic to gain control over people's bodies," he explained, visibly pleased to share his knowledge with us. "This allows them to control entire armies. Of course, only foreign troops. District residents cannot be controlled by them, due to the Five Laws of Magic."

Another gladiator fell to the ground, and the crowd cheered.

"Fluke," grumbled the boy.

"Five against three," remarked Cade. "Looks like this Dorian isn't as good after all."

The boy snorted. "He would still win even if he only had one man left on the field!"

One of Dorian's gladiators was now cornered by three opponents. Although he fought valiantly and parried every blow with his sword as if he had never done anything else, he was gradually pushed back towards the edge of the arena.

I had been watching the whole thing with morbid fascination and was about to look away when the gladiator made a sudden leap forward, thrusting his blade just below one of his opponent's armpits—precisely where the armour did not cover his upper body. This thrust was too precise to be a coincidence. Even someone like me, who knew little about fighting, immediately realised he had been waiting for one of his opponents to make a mistake and neglect their defense.

Several gushes of blood spurted from the wound of the injured man, in the rythm of his heartbeat. He took two steps back before his knees gave way and he fell backward into the arena dust. There he lay, while the augur who had controlled him suddenly began to sway. At the same moment, his team's attack faltered.

That was all Dorian needed.

His last three gladiators, who had previously retreated and appeared defensive, almost weak, now lunged at their opponents. They didn't just strike at anything within reach; their attacks were focused and ruthless. Every wound they inflicted on their opponents was swift, clean, and deadly. They struck at necks, lower abdomens, and thighs. The counterattack lasted only a few seconds, but the battle was decided.

Dorian was the victor.

"Did you see that?!" shouted Cade, who had jumped up and was gesticulating wildly.

The crowd roared with excitement. I couldn't deny the racing of my own heart, although I couldn't comprehend how I had allowed myself to be swept away when seven people had just lost their lives in the arena. They had felt the pain and had seen death coming, yet had been powerless to defend themselves. Instead, one of the augurs had commanded their bodies.

But the augurs were unharmed and were now being celebrated as heroes, while the surviving gladiators, visibly shaken, were escorted out by the guards. They had covered a few meters when one of them suddenly broke away from the group, darted towards one of the blood-soaked corpses, and hugged it tightly. With horror, I watched as the guards tried to drag him away from the dead body. In vain. The man couldn't be moved, no matter how hard they hit and shouted at him. Finally, one of the guards stepped behind him, pulled a club from his belt, and swung it across the back of his head. The man went limp, and his grip on the corpse loosened. The guards grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out of the arena. A trail of blood stained the sand.

"Dorian the Radiant," murmured Cade, his eyes fixed on the augurs. "Don't you think the name alone sounds grand?"

"Hey!" someone shouted from the street below. "Get down from there, you rascals! I've called the guards!"

The street children all jumped up at once and dashed to the eastern side of the roof, where the stairs were located. I slowly got up, bewildered by their strong reaction. The blond boy had also jumped up and was waving frantically for us to follow him. "Come with me, I can guide you back safely to the marketplace through the alleys!"

I glanced at Cade, who just shrugged but then joined the boy and his sister.

We were the last ones to descend the rope into the stairwell, which was already filled with the panting and hurried steps of the children. The damp cold burned in my lungs after a short time, but I forced myself to keep up with Cade and the two siblings, who were practically flying down the stairs. When we reached the bottom and stumbled into the church aisle, my legs were trembling.

Ahead of us, the children darted over moss-covered rubble to the west side. We followed suit, climbing over the stones of the collapsed walls. I longed for a break as we emerged onto the side street. However, Cade kept relentlessly following the boy, and the fear of losing sight of him drove me to run after him.

We had crossed the street halfway when a scream pierced the air. I looked to the right in alarm. Four men in red uniforms, armed with clubs, had turned the corner from the main street. I caught a glimpse of the screaming, struggling girl who had been grabbed by one of the men by the arm before I ducked behind Cade into the safety of a shadowy alley.

A cool breeze swept between the buildings but failed to dispel the ubiquitous stench of urine and vomit that lingered here. Stray dogs and cats fled from us or cowered together whimpering and hissing. Kelvort was not as prosperous as the other four major district capitals, at least that's what Grandfather had told me, and the further we moved away from the arena, the more I saw of this poverty. Stone houses gave way to crumbling buildings, the streets narrowed, grew darker, and the stench more pungent.

At some point, we stumbled upon a group of figures huddled closely together, rocking back and forth, their arms wrapped tightly around themselves, heads bowed.

As we approached, one of the figures lifted her head from her trance. It was a woman with dark, sparse hair. Her gaze was fixed, and her greenish-tinted lips were twisted into a grotesque smile.

"Don't look," whispered Cade.

I didn't want to, but there was something in her eyes, a desperate madness that held me captive. Suddenly, she opened her mouth, but instead of teeth, I saw only gums and a green tongue. Cade pulled me away, and I finally managed to tear my gaze away from her. A shiver ran down my spine as her shrill laughter echoed behind us.

The boy in front of us had continued babbling about the games without interruption. His frustration was directed at the guards who had deprived him of seeing the actual battles between the augurs. Neither he nor his shy sister seemed to have noticed anything about the Nightcross addicts, or perhaps they were already accustomed to such encounters.

I was relieved when we left the alley behind us and turned into a slightly wider one. However, sweat had broken out on my forehead, and I felt like I couldn't get enough air, so I loosened my shirt collar a bit. Cade, who had noticed, stopped and told the boy that we needed a break.

"Is your friend okay?" the boy asked Cade, as I leaned against a house wall and put a hand to my chest. "His lips are blue."

Cade stepped in front of me. "He's fine."

The boy furrowed his brow but left it at that.

We waited until I had recovered, then continued walking. I had lost my sense of direction some time ago, but something told me we were moving away from the marketplace, not towards it.

This uneasy feeling turned into certainty as we entered an alley where a strong-looking man was leaning against a wall next to a door. He cast only a fleeting glance at us, nodded to the boy who was a few steps ahead of us, then disappeared into the rundown building. A blast of discordant music erupted into the alley and fell silent again after the door closed behind him.

Cade and I stopped simultaneously.

"Cade," I murmured. "I don't think—"

"I know," he said, clenching his fists. "Hey," he called out to the boy. "You're not leading us back to the marketplace. Where the hell are you taking us?"

The boy paused. When he turned around, his face was devoid of expression, while his little sister pressed herself against him. "He's looking for you."

Cade fell silent.

"Who do you mean?" I asked. "Who's looking for us?"

"I'll go to him," Cade said quickly, "but first, I'll take Ares back to our troup."

The boy shook his head. "The fence wants to talk to both of you."

"What fence?" I glanced between the boy and Cade. "Why does he want to talk to us?"

Cade spun around to face me. An urgency, very uncharacteristic of him, flickered in his eyes. "Go to your uncle! That way!" He pointed down the alley we had just come from. "That should lead to the marketplace. Stick to the main streets. I'll follow as soon as I—"

The door swung open, and once again, music and laughter flooded the alley before subsiding.

"I thought I heard a couple of rats," muttered a dark, croaky voice.

Cade's shoulders tensed as he looked past the boy towards the door, where a gaunt figure had appeared. The man was dressed entirely in grey. Even his hair, tied back, was grey, and his skin appeared colourless to me. In one hand, he held a pipe.

"Cade, my friend," he said, spreading his arms as if in greeting before taking a step towards us. A clicking sound accompanied his movement, and my gaze fell on the wooden stump protruding from under his right trouser leg.

"You haven't visited me in the past few days. And after your performance today, you simply disappeared into the crowd. You're not even wearing your usual garb. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to avoid me."

"That had nothing to do with you," Cade asserted firmly. "We've just been very busy and wanted to see the Counting today."

"So you're not trying to keep your little friend away from me? Well, that's a relief."

Cade gritted his teeth. "As I said, it had nothing to do with you. Why do you want to talk to me?"

Drawing on the pipe, the man limped over to a crate a few meters in front of us and sat down with a groan. Apart from his wheezing breath and my pounding heart, I heard no sound in the alley.

"Who is that?" I whispered to Cade.

Before he could answer, the man's head jerked to the side, and his gaze bored into the boy beside us. "Get lost."

"Not until I've received my payment," the boy stuttered, "for bringing them to you."

"Are you deaf?! I said, piss off!"

The boy's lower lip began to tremble, and for a moment, I was sure he would burst into tears. But then he bit his lip, shot Cade and me a glare, and hurried away with his sister.

The fence turned back to Cade. "It's not me who wants something from you, it's you who wants something from me. Or do you no longer need money?"

Cade narrowed his eyes. "So that's what this is about? You have work for me?"

"Of course. You're one of my most diligent bees, although we see each other far too rarely."

"And how much will there be in it for me?"

"I can't give you a fixed amount, but I guarantee it will be more than what you've earned in all the years combined."

That seemed to grab Cade's attention. "When do you need me?"

"Right now." The fence smirked. He chewed on the mouthpiece of his pipe before pulling it out of his mouth and pointing it at me. "But you'll take your friend here with you."

"No," Cade said immediately. "Give me someone else. One of your street urchins."

I had been listening attentively to the conversation, and although I didn't understand exactly what they were really talking about, Cade's words hit me like a blow. Did he really prefer to work with a stranger rather than with me?

"Either he's in, or I'll never do business with you again," the fence snapped. "Then you'll have to make do with the income you earn from your performances in your colourful costumes for whatever you need money so desperately for."

"Why him of all people?" Cade exclaimed. "Look at him, he's sick! His heart is weak, he's constantly short of breath and coughing! He's not capable of working for you!"

Sick? Weak? Incapable? My breath literally caught in my throat. I knew very well, I could barely juggle for fifteen minutes without running out of breath and my vision narrowing. Oh yes, I was all too aware of my own weakness, but I hadn't wanted anyone else to figure it out, which was why I never missed my training and never shied away from performances. My body, my lungs, and my heart belonged to me, and I determined their limits, not the other way around!

That's why I had already taken a step forward before realising what I was doing. "I'll do it!"

Cade yanked me back by the coat. "Shut up," he hissed. "Let me handle this and go back to your uncle." When I didn't move, he pushed me roughly. "Go!"

But I had made up my mind, so I stood my ground and fixed my gaze on the fence. "I'll take the job."

"Agreed." The man tapped out the tobacco, then tucked his pipe into his cloak and rose to limp over to us.

"No, Ares," Cade pleaded. "Please, go now. Trust me—"

"What's this nonsense, Cade?" the fence interjected. "Surely Ares is a man who can make his own decisions, isn't he?"

I blinked, uneasy about something in his tone, then nodded reluctantly.

Cade closed his eyes briefly before turning fully to the fence. "He doesn't even know what we're talking about!"

I shot him a heated glance. "Tell me then!"

But Cade just lowered his head.

It was the fence who finally answered me. "We're talking about a break-in."

***

Hope you enjoyed this chapter ☺️ please don't forget to vote and / or let me know your feedback 💕