Chapter 1

I walked the street, no one giving me a second look. They all thought I was a beggar or street scum that preyed on the unwary. I was wearing ragged looking clothes and was dirty and kind of unkempt. Even though I was eighteen I looked much younger. It was the front I put on for the people.

I am James the street rat to many people or James the sneak. You see my mother ... well, foster mother always said, “People only see what you allow them to.”

My mother ... that is another story, she claimed me as a babe. My parents had died of some sickness that swept the city. The city guards were going to take me to an orphanage but mother claimed me, she told them I was hers. The guards did not care one way or another and turned me over.

As I grew up, I thought she was some cheap doss, (Prostitute). I was five and she had laughed until there were tears in her eyes, “James, I think we need to start teaching you how to open your eyes.”

That began my training, you see mother was a thief, a master thief, the best in the city. she was also completely unknown. She took precaution after precaution so that no one saw her face or realized she was the thief. Besides teaching me to see the world and the people around me she taught many other things.

Before I was eight I was an accomplished acrobat. By the time I was ten, I could read and write in four different languages. I could speak fluently in six. Before I was twelve, I was the best pickpocket in the city and I could open any lock. She also taught me how to fight, bare hands or with almost any weapon. She taught me herself and then paid visiting mercenaries.

I was a master of the blade when I turned fourteen; that was when things changed. War had come and with it, Mages. They said they had come to help the king but they almost never left the city. The merchants that were getting rich from the war had started setting traps for mother. Mom had laughed and waved off my warnings. When the mages got involved, it got harder for mom; harder not impossible.

Then it had finally happened, they caught her. The trap was one set by a mage, mom killed twenty men before a mage arrived and cast a spell that burnt her to ash. That was the birth of the Cat. Every week one of the mages or one of the rich merchants that hired them was robbed.

They had nicknamed mom, Cat and laughed at her and teased her the whole time they fought. Now, every time I robbed one of them I left a small metal Cat. The difference between mom and I was that I could see the magic they used for their traps.

I stopped and sat next to a corner.

I had spotted one of the kings spies; he was actually the head of the king’s spies. It was strange, the only one not after me was the king. I gave information to his spies sometimes, they had tried to pay me once and I had given him a tiny wooden Cat I had carved. The world of spies is one of discretion and misdirection.

I slipped the tiny image in a pocket and drifted away. I would have loved to see his expression when he looked at it. Now I watched as Lacaris looked around as if searching. I slipped a tiny mirror into my hand and flashed it across the street into his face. I put the mirror away and waited. Eventually he walked across the street and stopped next to me.

He was looking into the shop window beside me as a tiny piece of paper dropped into my lap, “Priority, if you see her give all assistance.”

Of course I did not touch the paper or answer his whispered words. He turned away and walked down the street. A few seconds later, two mage spies drifted out of the crowded street and only glanced at me before following him. When they had passed I stood and slipped into an alley. When I was a little ways in I slipped into a hidden pocket and waited.

It was a few seconds later that the mage spy slipped into the alley following me. As he passed me, I moved behind him and caught him in a hold. When I walked away thirty seconds later he was dead with no visible trace. I walked with a purpose, if the mages were involved in this, then I wanted a piece of whatever it was.

In the next street I stopped behind a street stall and unfolded the tiny paper. It was a picture, very detailed and there was a name written below, Elizabeth.

I frowned, they were looking for a little girl, the king’s daughter? I looked around and thought of the street slavers. I did not hesitate, I started walking fast. If she had been on the streets as long as I feared then she was in trouble. I knew this city better than anyone, the streets, alleys and many other hidden ways.

It was a quarter hour later when I stepped out of a gap between buildings. This was the home of the street slavers and I had to be careful. I had my rusty knife that would probably break the first time I used it. Hidden on my body were six throwing spikes and that was it. There were six men laughing and joking as they teased the little girl.

I did not think about what I was going to do. As I walked forwards I heard one of the men telling her she was being sold to the mages. Two throwing spikes dropped into my hands and then they were gone. As two of the men fell with the spikes through the backs of their heads, I reached the girl and threw another spike that took a third man in the throat.

The three remaining men spread out pulling daggers. I grabbed the girl and pulled her behind me as I started backing up. The three were silent as they moved to surround me. A flick of my wrist sent another spike into one man’s eye and then his brain. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement I recognized and grabbed the girl before throwing us to the side onto the ground.

There was a flash of light and then the wall behind where I had been standing exploded. I was back on my feet while the two men were distracted. A very special spike dropped into my hand and I threw it. The mage stood in the open as if nothing could touch him. This time he was wrong, the spike hit him in the chest as he was casting another spell. He looked down in amazement and then screamed as his staff exploded and fire came out of his mouth.

I moved forward quickly and pulled a dagger from the last man I had killed. As I moved back to the girl, the slavers struck. I rolled under one man’s cut, slit the tendon behind his knee and came up behind him in time to take his dagger and cut his throat. I turned to the other as he rushed me. I slid sideways, stabbing under his arm and into his heart.

I looked around and knelt to wipe the daggers and my hands. The mage was only a pile of ash and the rest were all safely dead. I looked to the little girl, she looked like she was only six or seven. She was crouching against a wall looking wildly around. I stood and turned towards her, “Are you Elizabeth?”

She blinked and nodded. I smiled, “I am here to take you home.”

I thought about the way out and knelt, “Elizabeth, I want you to stay behind me. If anyone attacks us go to the wall I point to and stay there.”

She nodded and I stood. Keeping one blade reversed and the other down and out I walked slowly to one of the narrow alleys out. We had not gotten far when a dozen men slipped out of the other openings into an intersection of the alley. I pointed to a wall for Elizabeth and went into a crouch.

As I backed up covering her, they charged. I took the first two easily, one across the belly and I ducked under the other’s swing and came up in time to shove a dagger under his chin and up into his brain. That was when the other appeared and attacked. She was dressed all in black and moved smoothly in the same fighting style I used.

I stayed between the men and Elizabeth while the other fighter moved around the edges. I killed two more when they stumbled over their fallen comrades, one with a cut across his throat and the other with a thrust through the side of the neck.

When I moved away, I realized the woman had already taken out six of the others and she had used some throwing spikes to do it. The two men that were left panicked and tried to run. I killed one when he turned away with a thrust through his back and into his heart. The other man died with the woman’s dagger in his belly.

I moved between Elizabeth and this stranger, “You fight well.”

She watched me calmly as if amused, “So do you.”

As I stepped back in front of Elizabeth I wiped one of the daggers and slid it under my belt. I reached back to Elizabeth, “Take my hand Elizabeth.”

She was hesitating and the woman nodded and seemed to wink. I risked a glance back and Elizabeth was reaching for my hand. When I looked back at the woman she had knelt and was wiping her daggers clean. I started moving sideways and she glanced at me, “there is another group between here and the palace.”

I nodded and just before I reached the alley she stood. I nodded one last time and slipped away, pulling Elizabeth behind me. After that I used smaller alleys and slip throughs, (a slip through is a narrow gap between buildings). I crossed the few streets quickly, when people looked at me they moved away fast.

It took almost an hour to reach the spot I had been heading for. I stopped in the mouth of a narrow slip through and knelt. I looked at Elizabeth, “There is a small gate just across the way. A man in a blue smock is beside it. Tell him, Lacaris said the kitchen needs a new helper.”

Elizabeth looked past me at the gate and then into my face, “Thank you.”

I smiled and caressed her face, “You are welcome.”

She smiled, “Who should I tell father...”

I laughed softly and leaned close, “Tell your father it was the Cat.”

She pulled back in surprise and then laughed in delight. I turned her towards the gate and gave her a gentle push, “Go.”

She looked around and walked across the street quickly. I watched as she spoke to the man that appeared suddenly. When the gate finally closed behind her, I slipped away. Ten minutes later I had retrieved a change of clothing, cleaned the blood off and started home. The streets were alive with rumors of mages and fighting.

I stopped at my favorite street vendor for sausage, bread, and cheese. I knew I was being followed as soon as I left him. I followed a complex pattern of alleys, slip throughs and hidden passages until I came out in the small stone grotto that was home. I set my things on a table and walked into the other room.

Dropping my rag-like clothing in a basket I walked into a stone tub filled with hot water. I sighed as I relaxed, I marveled again at this place that was my home. How mom had found this place I will never know. I finally sat up and washed myself thoroughly before stepping out and walking to the wall for a towel.

After drying off, I slipped a robe on and went back into the other room to eat dinner. I thought about tonight, the streets were alive with people and the mages would be screaming for blood. I smiled to myself, it was the perfect time for me to hit the Mage Primes’s mansion. I cleaned up and went back into the other room and lay down.

I set a mental alarm and slept; when I woke it was dark. I reached up and unshuttered the tiny mage light beside my bed. I dressed quietly, first in the strangely light chain woven with dyed spider silk that I had made and then the black Spider silk pants. Then came the weapons, two long fighting knifes and then the throwing spikes, darts and a variety of other things.

I shuttered the mage light and slipped out. I could hear the taverns as I made my way through the city. A half hour later I was facing the outside wall of the mansion. Slipping on cat’s claws I started up. I smiled at the open window and went past. I stopped one floor above and moved sideways to another window. I could see the web of magic that warded the window and smiled wider. I moved slightly to the side, grasped the frame and pulled.

The frame shifted and then opened like a door. I slipped into the room and looked around again. I quietly closed the window and pulled the hood out of my chain. It was made of soft spider silk with a gauze like veil that dropped over my face. I pulled the hood over my head and walked through the room. At the door leading into the hallway I listened for a minute and silently opened the door.

I could see the webs of magic woven back and forth down the hall. I only had to bypass two as I made my way to the study. I looked the door over carefully and pulled four wooden needles made of salt marsh vine. I carefully pushed each through the magic at each corner and moved the two on the open side across the door. A few seconds later I was standing in the room. I looked around and slowly made my way to the desk.

First was the large bowl of loose gems. I picked the three out that had magical energy in them and tossed them around the room. Next was the small stack of gold bars. All of the bars were normal except one that glowing with magic, that one I put under the desk. After the bars was the small stack of gold coins.

After that, it was the books of magic and several scrolls. In the desk I found a couple of message scrolls and took them. I used the ink on the desk to write out “Cat” on the top of the desk and set a tiny metal cat next to it. I slipped out the way I had come; putting everything back like it was when I entered.

As I was making my way through the dark passages of the city I could feel another presence. I stopped at the last intersection before home and listened. I thought I knew who my follower was and smiled. When I entered the grotto, I unshuttered the mage light and crossed to the counter.

I took a pitcher and went to the wall where a small fountain of water splashed quietly into a basin. The water was ice cold and I marveled again at this place my adopted mother had found. I filled the pitcher and crossed the room to the low table that held everything I needed for tea. I set the pitcher down and took my heavy pack off and set it beside the table.

I crossed my legs as I sat and poured some of the water from the pitcher into a black tea pot. The pot sat on a flat box looking object; it had what looked like a plate in the center and two gems at the front edge. I put the pot on the plate and touched the emerald at the edge. The plate glowed and I felt the heat as it warmed up and then got hotter.

I turned over two of the small cups and set them on saucers. I opened the pot and a metal tin that held my tea. It was very special and had cost me dear, both in time and expense. I put a single scoop in the pot and closed the lid. I looked to the opening into the grotto, “Well? Are you just going to stand in the dark?”

A moment later she walked out of the dark. She calmly walked to the other side of the table. I could see the humor in her eyes as she crossed her legs as she sat. I glanced down at the tea pot as it began to whistle and touched the ruby. I placed a cloth over each cup and poured the tea into the cups carefully, watching each as the tea seeped through the cloth and into the cup.

When I set the cup in front of her, she lifted it to smell it. Her eyes went wide and she smiled before taking a sip. I held my cup and savored the aroma for a minute before taking a sip myself. I sighed when I set the cup down, “How can I help you oh shadow in the night.”

She grinned, “What did you get from Primes?”

I laughed, “A little of this, a little of that.”

She looked at my pack and I could see her curiosity. I grunted when I grabbed it and lifted. I opened the top and pulled out the books and the message scrolls. I watched her eyes as they fastened onto the scrolls and widened. I opened the first and glanced at it. Like all mage writing it was written in all four languages my mother had taught me to read. I looked at the girl across from me, “You serve the king?”

She hesitated and then shrugged, “Sort of.”

I slid the document across the table and watched her as I opened the other message. She was frowning as she tried to work out what the message said. I looked down and read the second message quickly. I cursed to myself and looked up at the girl. She was still frowning at the message and I sighed, “That one says they are authorized to use any means necessary to make the king agree to their terms. Including kidnapping or killing any of the royal family.”

She looked at me with her eyes narrowed, “You can read their writing?”

I nodded as I bent over to set the pack down. While I was bent over, the opening at my neck widened and the chain holding the one thing my mother had taken from my real father came into view. The girl gasped and rose quickly, “Where did you get that?”

I followed her gaze and tucked the ring away, “It was my father’s.”

She bit her lip looking at me and then turned to the door. I stopped her as she took a step, “What is your name?”

She looked back and I could see her humor was back, “You can call me Shadow.”

With that she slipped into the darkness and I stood and grabbed the other message scroll she had left. I carried it to a shallow basin and touched a black metal rod to it and watched as it burst into flame. I dropped it into the basin and watched as it was consumed.

Moving to the wardrobe I grabbed clothing that looked like it belonged to a young merchant apprentice. I took them to the pack and slipped them inside, shoving the mage books in as well. Picking the pack up, I walked to the mage light and shuttered it before walking out. I stopped at the first narrow intersection and pushed a brick back into the wall before continuing on. Behind me the wall seemed to close, becoming just another dead end.

It took another half hour to cross the city to the small slip through I needed. I stopped and listened as I had done several times before reaching out to push a certain brick in. Part of the wall next to the brick moved and suddenly there was a doorway with a set of stairs leading down. I slipped down the stairs. At the bottom was a door on the right. I turned away and faced the other wall before pressing another brick and a section of wall opened into a room.

I sat the pack down and closed the door before crossing to a small bed and lying down. It was only moments before I was asleep. I dreamed of shadows slipping through the night looking for me and a beautiful woman that laughed softly.

When I woke, I knew it was morning and slid out of bed. I moved to a small mage light and unshuttered it. I grabbed my pack and started putting the gold bars on a table. I pulled several things from a niche in the wall, a mage burner used for smelting and the three large molds I used as well as the stamps. It took almost four hours before I stopped and sat back to look at my handy work. I had several stacks of new gold coins; these had a crown on one side and a sleeping cat on the other.

I put a couple of dozen in my hidden money belt and decided to do some visiting. I slipped the merchant clothes over my blacks and left. In the bazaar, I found the wood runner stall and slipped inside. The oldster that ran the stall looked up. For some reason he was one person that always seemed to see through whatever I wore. The old man grinned, “Welcome wily cat.”

I grinned back, “Well met old man.”

He laughed, “Still causing trouble?”

I shrugged as I moved deeper into the stall, “is there something better to do?”

He grinned and I began sorting through several things I needed or wanted. When I came to a bin of bark I glanced at the old man, “You had someone come in from the deep woods?”

He nodded and I carefully looked at the pieces of bark before selecting two large slabs and then another slightly smaller piece. I carried them to his make shift counter and he wrapped the first two and then the third. I put everything in the cloth bag he offered.

Back on the streets, I made my way carefully to the busy part of the city listening to the clamor and gossip as I moved. I was almost to the fancy coffee shop when I saw Lacaris. I looked in the window next to me and froze. As I stood looking into the window Lacaris drifted closer. I touched an older woman next to me, “excuse me? What is this place?”

She looked like a rich merchant’s wife but strangely, instead of yelling at me she laughed. “It is a mage shop.”

I looked at her in surprise and she smiled kindly, “Not all mages are men. This place is run by a small group of female mages.”

She drifted off on her business and Lacaris stepped up next to me, “they are rivals of the other mages here.”

I nodded as I looked inside the window at a tiny jet black cat. I felt Lacaris slip something into my hand, “a gift from an admirer.”

Lacaris turned and walked away as I turned to the door and walked into the shop. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a shadow drift across the door behind me. I knew Lacaris had a shadow following him and grinned as a young woman looked up at the bell over the door. She smiled at me, “How can I help you young merchant?”

For some reason this woman drew me like no other. I looked at the window display, “The cat? How much?”

She laughed, “Oh, that is not for sale.”

I looked back at her, “Why not?”

She walked closer looking at me carefully, “You are not exactly what you seem, are you?”

I felt a tingle of magic and saw threads being changed and a throwing spike dropped into my hand. She started and looked down at my hand. When she looked back into my face it was with surprise, “So.”

She smiled and took another step that brought her next to me. She reached into the display and carefully lifted the cat and turned to me. “It is not for sale because I have been waiting for its owner.”

She quietly held the small cat out to me and looked into my eyes. It took everything I had to put the spike away and raise my hand, “The spell?”

She shrugged, “one of discovery.”

I finally looked down at the cat, “Why?”

She smiled, “I knew you would come for it. I ... We, wanted you to know we are not like these others.”

I looked up into her eyes, “Why does that matter?”

She blushed, “We do not ... do not want to be robbed.”

I smiled as I turned towards the door. I looked over my shoulder, “I only take from those that have taken from me.”