The Ritual Read Online Free PDF Page A

finished he walked around me, and I felt like a horse being inspected at auction. I clenched my jaw and my fists, but when he bent closer to check my ears my temper got the better of me and I snapped, “Want to check my teeth while you’re at it?”
    His generous laugh was unexpected, and it lifted the tension off me a little. I neither knew nor cared whether he had intended that effect, but took advantage of it and shifted my focus to the task ahead, moving off without checking whether he followed.
    A little way out from our camp I stopped to allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness, knowing that it would take at least half a measure for full night vision to take effect. The sky was clear but moonless, and I paced restlessly as I watched everything around me regain its contrast, shifting from pitch black to dark outlines to forested copse, until the branches and leaves were as detailed in the dim light of the stars as they were in the brightness of day. The air smelled fresh and spring-like, with a hint of wood -smoke wafting towards us from our target villa, and the leaves on the trees susurrated in the light breeze. It helped to calm me down somewhat.
    It was around a measure after midnight when we began to move towards the stately residence, and I was satisfied with the lack of noise I made as I crept through the underbrush. I assumed that Zashter observed how I moved, but he didn’t comment, and I expected a full report once I’d completed the job.
    “Does your sister ever come with you?” he asked once, startling me with his breath on my cheek as he spoke in my ear. His voice was pitched at that level just above a whisper which carries the least through silence, and I matched it automatically.
    “Sometimes. Not usually during burglaries, but she helps if I need something fancier than lockpicks, or if I need a distraction. She has less experience at being quiet though; my teacher was never hers.”
    He remained silent after that, and for a while I could almost believe that I was on my own, and act accordingly. I made my way through the garden towards the house, located the servant entrance, then ignored it; the servant quarters would be very near to it, and the last thing I wanted was to run across someone. I needed a quiet entrance, and it never ceased to surprise me how often that turned out to be the front door.
    When I reached it I spent several heartbeats with my ear pressed to the wood, holding my breath while listening for snores, whines, bone-gnawing or any other sounds a guard dog might make. There were none, so I took out my roll of lockpicks and took extra care in selecting the right one for this particular lock.
    To my great relief the burglary went smoothly. The villa was a bit easier than I was capable of tackling, which compensated for my anxiety. Zashter did nothing but follow and observe, and although I remained aware of his gaze throughout the operation, I knew he would not interfere. This was my skills test, so I was required to demonstrate what I could do on my own.
    When we finally returned to the campfire it must have been more than four measures after midnight, and I wa s dead on my feet. Shani looked like she hadn’t slept, giving me a worried look when I entered the firelight, but Mior was snugly tucked into his sleeping roll and never stirred even when we started talking.
    I gave Shani a weary smile, and she started her usual routine of washing my face as Zashter settled down in a comfortable cross-legged position. Taking up his own cloth he scrubbed at his skin and asked, “Who was your teacher?”
    It brought me out of my half-doze back to alertness – I had not expected an interrogation until the next day, when I would hopefully be more rested, but answered without hesitation. “A human called Naerev. I met him by chance, though I found out later that he had a reputation for being a skilled thief. I’d been trying to learn on my own, but wasn’t having much luck with it, and when I