He thought it was the rain. The tap-tapping was so quiet. Keenin groaned and sat up next to the fireplace where glowing embers still smoldered. He didn’t feel right, but he wasn’t cold and he wasn’t hungry. If anything he felt too awake as though he had been waiting to get up, most likely the result of unconsciously hearing that annoying tapping sound like a squirrel knocking on a nut.

After listening a while longer, Keenin recognized the tapping pattern and looked towards the door. It was a knocking sequence his friend Lester had come up with. Keenin got up and started to approach the doorway, but he stopped himself. How could he know that the person outside was Lester and why would he come here? The rapping at the door ceased. Keenin strained his ears and heard the scuffle of feet in the dirt. Whoever was there must have been walking away.

Keenin grabbed the bucket of water beside the fireplace and poured it over the floor by the entrance to disarm the alarm before opening the door to the darkened street. 

“Lester,” he called out.

Cool air seeped by as Lester turned and Keenin felt the effects of the past month fall away, as though their separation wasn’t more than a phase, and Keenin’s weakness in not being able to help his friend might still be forgiven. 

“You always did work on your own time,” Lester commented. 

Keenin thought of the times he had refused help or told Lester to go ahead without him. If ever there was a time for Lester to be angry, it was now. So why was he letting this go?

“What are you…”

Keenin took a step out into the street and his foot hit a money bag that had been left in front of the door. He knew what it was, and yet it felt like a bag filled with guilt. It must have hurt Lester when Alaban paid away the debt. 

Keenin had been sure his friend was avoiding him, but the way Lester showed up each time was what made Lester his best friend. Perhaps, now more than he deserved.

“I don’t know,” Lester said to Keenin’s half question. “I wasn’t going to bother, but then I didn’t know what you would do without me. You get stuck on the easiest problems.”

Keenin smiled because he wanted to. He wanted them to be fine. He should have had the courage to tell his friend that he wasn’t returning, but he selfishly didn’t want this to change. 

“You’re going to lecture me now,” Keenin said, to bring back their old banter.

Lester smiled, and Keenin watched until the expression faded from his face. 

“Don’t quit.”

That said Lester turned again to walk away. Keenin had an uneasy feeling that he didn’t know where his friend was going.

“Lester,” Keenin called again.

His friend raised a hand in goodbye. 

Keenin felt the weight of the coins at his feet. He had no right to chase after, but there was still something he could do.

“Were still friends, right?” Keenin called.

This did get Lester to pause and turn.

“You’re asking me now?”

Keenin bent down to pick up the bag of coins and held it out.

“Let me see you off properly.”

Lester considered.

“I had something else in mind,” Lester said. “Do you want to help with one more job?”

                                                              *

Keenin followed behind his friend, still holding to the bag of money.

“Can’t you take the money?” Keenin asked.

Keenin didn’t like that Lester intended to leave town, but as the one who had created this rift Keenin knew it would be better. He would rather help Lester settle a new life than make him wait for a far off promise.

“I need to steal their clothes. If I look decent I might get work on a farm or with a traveling merchant,” Lester commented.

“Why did you never do this before?”

He knew that Lester was smart enough to get what he wanted. Even Keln hadn’t bothered Lester for payment because he would deny having anything until suddenly producing something valuable. He had viewed life as a game.

“I didn’t expect to get work here since my father’s a drunk. He would have stolen what I had,” Lester said as they made their way to the inn.

“You never said that before.”

“Of course I didn’t. I was in a gang of homeless thieves and as bitter as I am about my mother taking my little sis and remarrying, I thought I would spare them the trouble.”

“I never knew.”

“And I never told, but now I’m leaving.”

Keenin looked at the darkened houses as they passed. Any one of them could have been where Lester’s family lived. It was such a different feeling. Yet, there was a part of the story that didn’t make sense. 

“You could have left before if you didn’t like being a thief.”

Even Keenin had started to think about leaving and Lester had been here longer.

“Oh, That,” Lester said. “I didn’t think you could make it yet. The next town is a far walk and your survival skills are not great. You might remember that you could barely talk to people when I found you, let alone ask for help.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“Forget it,” Lester said. “I only wanted you to quit relying on people that weren’t there. I expect Alaban will toughen you up.”

Lester stopped them as the inn came into view. It was a cute two-story structure with six rooms upstairs and a kitchen and bar on the lower level. The stable beside was their way up since they could climb to the loft and up to the roof to reach the second floor.

“Are you still sure you what to do this?” Lester asked. “Your mentor was against you getting involved.”

“Friends come first,” Keenin said.

They entered the stables and moved down the rows of stalls towards the ladder at the back. This was the easiest part, but Keenin saw something that made him stop. In the stall ahead there was an animal that didn’t look like a horse. From a distance it might have been the correct size, but the shape was completely wrong. It was a big cat, but it wasn’t that exactly because the thing had a massive beak and bunches of feathers on its back. The creature lifted and settled its wings. There were two of these penned in the stalls ahead. The second was curled asleep in the straw.

“What are you doing,” Lester whispered looking back at him. 

Lester had already crossed the distance where the beasts were penned.

“Is that a giant bird?” Keenin asked pointing.

The creature did not look safe and it made him remember his bad encounter at the market the day before.

“It’s a griffin. Don’t stare at it. Just come on,” Lester told him. 

Keenin slowly started moving forward past the griffin. The stable doors creaked open, slashing light across his face. 

“Do you understand,” the person at the door said to a companion. 

Keenin ducked into an unoccupied stall as three men came walking to the back of the stables. Lester must have done the same because Keenin didn’t see him now.

“Why do I have to come with you?” the companion asked. 

As the two neared the stall with the griffin Keenin recognized the man who had threatened Alaban the day before.

“Because there are two of them,” the man said.

“An old man and a child will be nothing.”

Keenen realized that the man was talking about him and Alaban.

“My reputation means a lot to me, but I didn’t live this long being stupid,” the man said. “The damn white knight will catch up to us. So we make a distraction he cannot ignore.”

The man had reached the griffin and pulled an item off the saddle it was wearing. A gun. Keenin leaned forward. The griffin eyed him through the slats and pawed the ground. 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to cause trouble here? It’s way off our normal flight path,” the companion said.

“That’s what makes it even better. We’ll draw the authorities after us and then head back to the base while they waste their time in these crappy little towns.”

Keenin knew that it would be bad if he let them leave. He looked behind him for a weapon. There was a horseshoe pick hanging at the back of the stall. Could he stab someone with that? He stepped back towards the wall. The griffin snorted and screeched.

“Are you hungry already?” the man spoke to the griffin. “Baki, go order a raw steak for this girl. Maybe I’ll go ahead after all.” 

That said, the man left the stables with the gun tucked into his belt while the one called Baki following closely after. Keenin grabbed the horseshoe pick off the wall and avoided the gaze of the griffin as he started to follow after.

“Where are you going? You can’t chicken out now!” Lester called after him. 

“I know them. They’re going to kill Alaban!” Keenin exclaimed. 

“Then we should wake the butcher or the hunter. You can’t stop an armed man by yourself,” Lester reasoned.

Lester was probably right, but Keenin saw the urgency. He pushed the barn door open.

“I have to at least warn him.”

Lester caught Keenin’s arm before he could leave.

“Wait. Maybe we tell the gang. I know who’s nearby.”

“They won’t liste…”

He pulled his hand free from his friend’s grip when another ominous sight got his attention. In the inky expanse of the sky pinpricks of stars were obscured as heavy smoke curled up through the night. That was…the library.

“It will take me a minute,” Lester insisted, but Keenin wasn’t listening.

Tess, he thought.