A draft drifted under the door, and it touched Ninian’s face with cool air while the rest of him was blessedly warm under two blankets that Laoise had heated before the fire. Ciara lay on the other side of the little room, snoring quietly. She’d protested mildly at being put to bed so early, but in the end had fallen asleep fast. Nearest the door, as if protecting them both, lay Laoise, and the shadow of her body rose and fell with her steady breaths.
In the quiet, Ninian told his mind to relax.
He had a debt to Máel Máedóc, and he couldn’t steal to pay it off. He had no doubt that if he nicked so much as a single coin, the shopkeeper would know, and he didn’t know how to do it any other way. If he knew how to earn a living, he wouldn’t have lived the way he did for so long.
With a sharp sigh, he rolled over. For once, he prayed to the Gods his parents had believed in, just let me sleep.
He had a full belly; he was warm, and, as far as he could tell, he was safe. You’ll never have a better chance, he told himself. Sleep now, and it won’t matter that you won’t be able to tomorrow.
Perhaps the Gods took pity on him after all, for eventually, miraculously, Ninian felt himself falling.
He didn’t land.
✽ ✽ ✽
“Ninian.”
He groaned quietly, wishing the voice would leave him be.
“Ninian! Wake up!”
Reluctantly, he opened his eyes to find Laoise crouching beside him. It was dark; the hearth was no longer glowing with embers, but he could see the woman’s face in the light of the moon through a grimy window. “What is it?”
She looked worried. “You were crying and calling out. Are you having a nightmare?”
Ninian sat up, scrubbing at his damp eyes. Now that he was awake, he really did feel like crying. “I always have nightmares.” He was wildly disoriented and glared at Laoise as a remnant tear from the dream slipped down his cheek. “You shouldn’t have—” He shook his head, blinking hard, feeling the sudden loss of sleep with profound regret. “You shouldn’t have woken me!”
Laoise pressed her palm to her mouth. “Oh, Ninian. I’m so sorry.”
Ninian rubbed his eyes, trying to pull himself together. “It’s fine.”
Quietly, Laoise settled to her knees. “Do you want to tell me what you were dreaming about?”
“No.”
Laoise folded her hands on her lap. “What’s bothering you, Ninian? I know there’s something.”
Ninian refused to meet her eyes. “Nothing.”
“Now, come,” Laoise said with gentle insistence. “That’s not true.”
“I—” He felt his hands clench at his sides, hidden in the blanket. “I’m in debt. That’s all.” He’d fallen into Máel Máedóc’s hands, and until he paid the man back or died, the shopkeeper would possess a bit of Ninian’s freedom. His will. Himself.
He shuddered from head to toe.
Laoise rested her palm on his shoulder, making him jump. “I don’t really believe that that’s all. But it is all I needed to hear.”
Ninian looked at her, still gripping the blankets in his fists. The power of the dream had faded, leaving him with nothing but faint anger and an unsettled feeling in his gut. “What?”
“Well,” Laoise said, patting Ninian’s shoulder with the hand that rested on it. “I might be able to help you with that.”
Shoving aside the distrust that sprang defensively up at her words, Ninian sat forward. “You can? What do you mean?”
Laoise gave Ninian’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll tell you in the morning, okay? For now, try your best to fall back to sleep.” She smiled. “I think I can fix this for you, Ninian, so rest easy.”
“Can you tell me now?” Ninian asked. “Please?”
“Shh,” Laoise said. “Don’t get so excited, or you really won’t sleep again. I promise, I’ll tell you in the morning. Don’t worry about it anymore.”
She stood and, offering Ninian one more smile, crossed back to her bedding. Ninian watched her lie down.
“Goodnight,” she whispered. “Sleep, all right?”
Ninian nodded and made himself lie back amongst the blankets.
I think I can fix this for you, she’d said.
Would it kill him to trust in that, just for a few more hours?
CHAPTER FIVE
The morning mist crept into the tenement, twining like soft roots over the floor. Ninian sat, wrapped in his blankets by the small fire in the hearth, while Ciara snored in the corner, and Laoise fed wood to the fire.
Ninian was dying to ask Laoise about what she’d said the night before, though part of him resisted, afraid to give in to hope.
Eventually, Laoise sat back on her heels and brushed wood shavings off her hands. “There.” She looked over her shoulder to Ninian. “You slept again, didn’t you?”
“I think so. A little bit.” It hadn’t been good, but he’d drifted along the border of sleep and wakefulness for long enough that he felt more rested than normal.
She beamed. “Good!” With a comfortable sigh, she crossed her legs and leaned against the edge of the fireplace, tucking her hair safely over her shoulder. “Any more nightmares?”
Ninian nodded.
“Ah, well.” Laoise shrugged. “Nothing’s perfect, I suppose.”
Ninian tugged on the first joint of every finger until it popped. “Laoise… About what you said last night…”
“Your debt?” Laoise nodded. “I know how you can pay it back.”
“I’m not allowed to steal anything,” Ninian said, running his fingers over the edges of the blankets. “So if that’s your idea—”
“It’s not.” She grinned. “Listen, Ninian. I saw you fighting yesterday. I know where you can put that to use.”
Confused, Ninian cocked his head.
Laoise leaned forward. “I can introduce you to some people. I’ll bet you anything that you’re worth your weight in coins.”
That definitely did not sit quite right. “These people,” he hastened to ask, hoping she’d simply phrased it strangely. “What would they want?”
“Odd jobs, most like. A good fighter’s a valuable asset, y’know? Lots of people have someone they’d rather not deal with themselves.” She shrugged, and Ninian let out a little breath of relief. That sounded all right. “I won’t say it’s the safest profession in the city, but it sounds to me like you’re gonna have some problems if you can’t take care of that debt.”
“I’ll die,” Ninian said. Something was whispering in the back of his head. With determination, Ninian forced it down. He did not have the luxury of being choosy.
Laoise clapped her hands together, startling Ciara from her sleep. “It’s settled, then! When we’re all sorted here, I’ll introduce you to my friends. They’ll take care of you.”
✽ ✽ ✽
Comfortably full of black bread and wrapped once more in his cloak, Ninian followed Laoise through the street. Ciara had vanished into the tangle of streets almost as soon as they left the tenement, but the woman didn’t seem worried. “She knows her way around,” she said with a smile. “Say, it’s brisk this morning, yeah?”