Memory's Wake Omnibus: The Complete Illustrated YA Fantasy Series Read Online Free PDF Page B

larger building. He might be finishing early today, after a take like that. He couldn’t help but look back. He knew he should move on, away from the scene. It was poor form to remain and gloat on a take, and the large bag couldn’t be hidden away like the smaller purses he took, but this intrigued him. The oddity of the pair he’d stolen from made his curiosity demand more. The inept thieves would be realizing their loss any moment now.
    There.
    The boy turned back to where he’d put the bag down. He froze, staring at the empty spot on the table. He looked to his companion, who shook his head under the heavy hood. They both searched around, on the ground, panic in their movements. They stepped away from the stall to continue their hunt, unthinking, still with unpaid goods in their hands.
    Roen frowned. Time to be gone. A commotion seemed inevitable when the stallholder stepped out from his stall, raised his arms and started bellowing at the street rats. Roen turned away from the vendor’s tantrum, when the large man, towering above, reached out and grabbed at the scamp, ripping back the hood of the cloak. Something caught Roen’s eye, and he looked again.
    Blonde hair spilled out from under the fallen hood, and a girl’s face, soft like a petal, blushed pink with distress. Roen’s forehead knitted. He breathed out hard, a lump forming in his chest. No wonder it was too easy, the girl was the very image of innocence.
    The girl babbled to the vendor. He started yelling for city guards, shaking her in disgust by a fistful of her cloak. The sort of disgust with which a thief should be treated. Guilt heated Roen’s face. The stallholder kept up his hollering, building a crowd of curious market-goers around him. The girl fell out of her cloak and she and her companion ducked back into the crowd, eluding the larger man amongst the mass of people. Too busy looking behind them, the pair scampered straight toward the city guards that had come, roused by the cries of “Thieves”. He looked from the girl down to the bag he’d stolen, and swore under his breath.
    “Excuse me, Miss,” he called out when she passed within earshot.
    They both eyed him suspiciously and continued to scurry forward, clinging together. Roen snorted out a breath and swore again. He held up the bag into clear view.
    That got their attention, and the still hooded figure dragged the blonde toward him. Roen stepped back further into an alley, forcing them to come to him, out of sight of the approaching guards. Two girls, he saw with surprise now they stood before him. Maybe a couple of years younger than himself, which was still more boy than man. Both were attractive despite being exhausted and worn. He’d noticed before that they were dirty but could see now they were also damaged. One black-eyed and swollen, the other, the pretty blonde one, had a scratch clear across one of her cheeks, the ruby red of it contrasting starkly against her porcelain skin. They were both shaking and on edge, eyes darting, color drained from their faces.
    The guards passed by without looking their way. Roen let out a loud and exaggerated puffing noise and gave his best smile.
    “Nothing like a bit of excitement to start the morning! It must be your lucky day.” He continued his faux-labored breath.
    The two looked at him deer eyed and remained silent. He normally had an easier time getting a smile from a girl. Not my lucky day, he thought, and continued the show.
    “Well, I saw it all happen. Some dirty purse cutter making off with your bag. I thought I’d see if I couldn’t help out.”
    The blonde breathed out as though she’d been holding her breath since her bag vanished. “Thank you sir, so much. Thank you. You’ve no idea what this means... I....”
    Something about her face seemed familiar in the way that made his palms clammy. She was beautiful, even on the verge of tears, but what was yet another pretty girl to him? Roen let his act fall, becoming somber