The Ritual Read Online Free PDF Page B

that as a half-elf it was a matter of pride to me that I could get by without selling my body. As far as I knew, half-elf women were either slaves or whores or both, and it always gave me a sense of triumph to know that Shani and I were neither. Still, I had already told Zashter more than I was comfortable with, and even though he was a half-elf, I wasn’t sure that he would understand.
    He scrutinised me, expression still unreadable, then finally gave a curt nod. “One more question on that topic. Have you ever fucked someone in order to rob him afterwards?”
    I shared a smile with Shani. “Yes, but only if the man in question appealed to us.”
    “Us?”
    “Yes. We generally double-team them, and they get a very good night out of it.”
    For the first time that night he looked taken aback, then his features went blank again. “So you do sell your body then.”
    “Not the same,” I snapped. “ We choose the man, and there is no set price. In fact, on a few occasions our victim looked a lot richer than he was, and we took nothing at all.”
    “Such gallantry,” he sneered. “Well, you’ll be pleased to know that I won’t be rating your performance in that regard.”
    “What, my performance in fucking, or in robbing people afterwards?” I said before I could stop myself.
    The corner of his mouth curved up. “Either.”
    I felt a sudden stab of disappointment and immediately got annoyed with myself for it. So far Zashter irritated and appealed to me in equal measures, and I was seriously wondering at the wisdom of having thrown my lot in with him and his brother. To bring the conversation back to business I asked, “So, how did I do?”
    “You have a solid grounding and a good touch,” he replied immediately, switching to smooth professionalism. “You didn’t get distracted or lose focus, and you know what to take and what to leave.”
    I started to smile, but he wiped it off my face when he continued, “But you took far too long at everything – the locks, locating the riches, moving through the rooms, stashing everything away… We ought to have been finished in half the time it took you. Moreover, you were sloppy. You left doors and boxes open, moved things out of the way without then putting them back. Neither is acceptable.”
    My indignation rose and I opened my mouth to p rotest, then hesitated. He was my teacher now, and what he was doing was telling me where I needed to improve. I could not allow the fact that he riled and unnerved me simply by looking at me play a role in that relationship.
    “Why should I close doors and move things back?” I asked instead, keeping my voice calm and neutral. Shani had finished cleaning me and sat back on her sleeping roll, watching the conversation with interest.
    “Many people who live in houses this big don’t check their jewellery boxes every day. If you return them to the same state as when you arrived, it could take days before they discover anything missing, by which point you’ll be miles away.”
    I gave a thoughtful nod. It wasn’t something that had ever occurred to me, but it made perfect sense now that he explained it. “I understand, but how does that work for doors? I can close them, but I can’t lock them again.”
    He held out his hand. “Give me your lockpicks.”
    The order startled me. A thief’s lockpicks were such an essential tool to the trade that handing them to someone else almost felt like an invasion of privacy. I would never go out without my lockpicks – to do so would be as inconceivable as going out without clothes.
    He didn’t push, didn’t insist, simply sat there with his hand outstretched. His eyes seemed even darker than normal in the sparse light of the fire, and I imagined that I saw understanding in there, maybe even sympathy. It might have placated me, but instead it prickled. I didn’t need sympathy – certainly not from him – and I wasn’t going to let silly sentimentalism stop me from learning