“Because you don’t let him have a more crucial role on the team.”
“What would you have him do?” Gavin asked. “Sneak in alongside us? He’s not a fighter. He’s not a thief. He’s the planner.”
There were other titles he could give Wrenlow, and all of them would be equally true. He thought that “planner” would seem the most appropriate to Gaspar.
“You don’t need him to plan. You just need him to be another voice in your ear.”
“Maybe I do.” Gavin turned and made a point of looking over at Wrenlow. “What do you propose? If we do have to go into the Captain’s home, how would you suggest we go about it?”
“It’s not possible,” Wrenlow said.
“Good,” Gaspar said. “I was afraid that you were going to offer some suggestion about how you thought we might be able to break into the one place in the city that’s been off-limits to those of us who have lived here for the last few decades.”
“I’m just saying that nobody knows what’s in there. Only a few people within the city have ever spent much time there,” Wrenlow said.
A realization dawned on Gavin. “That doesn’t mean nobody has. We can question them. Maybe we can find some of the information we need.”
“Gavin,” Wrenlow said, “no one is going to betray the Captain. Everybody is afraid of him. Hell, I’m afraid of him, and I don’t even know him.”
“You know him well enough.”
“I know him by reputation. That’s not the same as knowing him. Besides, I don’t want to go in and risk getting the kid hurt.”
“We’re not going to be risking him. If the Captain has this kid, then all we have to do is be prepared. Watch. Be ready.” Gavin wasn’t sure it’d be that simple, but he kept that to himself. “Why don’t you see what you can figure out. Piece together what’s known about the layout of his home. Maybe we can find something that’ll help us.”
“That’s not going to work,” Gaspar said.
Gavin swiped the marker off the table. “You never know.”
“What are you going to do?” Wrenlow asked.
“I’m going to go take a look at Erica’s home. I’ve got to figure out why her son was kidnapped, maybe get a better sense of who she is.”
“I can tell you who she is,” Gaspar said. Gavin arched a brow and Gaspar grunted. “Not like that, boy. She was an easy mark. And her son would have been a target.”
Gavin doubted it would be so simple. It never was. “I still need to find it. I presume she gave you some idea of where it is.”
“Some. Not enough for me to help you know where to find it.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s not quite right.” Gavin smiled at Gaspar. “If anyone knows how to find anything in the city, it’s you, isn’t it?”
“You aren’t going to be able to use that on me.”
“Use what?”
“Whatever you think that you’re trying to do. I don’t know if you think it’s cute or what.”
Gavin batted his eyelashes. “You don’t think it’s cute?” He was met with a glare, and he started to laugh. “Come on. I’m just going to take a look. If I go without you, you’ll miss out on all the excitement.”
“If I go with you, then I have to deal with whatever excitement you bring.”
Gavin smiled and headed toward the door. He checked to make sure that he had his El’aras dagger and was comforted by its presence. He felt better after sleeping, despite not liking the dreams he was having.
Ever since coming to Yoran, he’d felt increasingly tied back to Tristan and his training. Partly that was because of the reason that he’d come to Yoran in the first place. Cyran had suggested that there might be jobs for him to take. The other part, he suspected, was because of his newfound knowledge that Tristan lived. Gavin now thought about his old mentor even more than he had before.
He sighed and pulled the door open. Out on the street, he blended into the crowd quickly. He rounded a corner, unsurprised when Gaspar joined him.
“I didn’t think you were going to come with me.”
“You don’t even know where you’re going,” Gaspar said.
“No. I figured I would just wander my way around the city until I figured out where I needed to go.” Gaspar frowned at him, and Gavin started to laugh. “I’m not serious.”
“When it comes to you and some of the foolish things you do, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
They headed through the streets, and Gavin paused at one corner, raising his hand slightly. Gaspar didn’t need for him to do it. He’d paused as well.
Three constables navigated in their direction.
“Something’s going on with them,” Gavin said. “I’ve been watching. It seems like more and more constables are moving in some sections of the city. I don’t really know what’s taking place, only that I don’t care for it.”
“It’s probably nothing,” Gaspar said.
“Probably?” Gavin glanced over to him, arching a brow. “You’ve lived in the city a long time. You know what’s normal and what’s not.”
“I know what’s normal, and…”
“That’s not normal.”
“No,” Gaspar said.
The constables stopped while making their way along the street, much like when Gavin had been following them before. They paused, talking quietly, and it wasn’t clear what they were doing.
Gavin shook his head. “I followed them the last time I saw them, but I didn’t see anything.”
“It’s not a good idea for you to follow the constables.”
“They aren’t going to learn what we did with the El’aras.”
Gaspar shot him a hard look. “You think I’m concerned about that? No, it’s the enchantments we have.” He tapped his ear. “They have ways of detecting them.”
“How?”
“They have ways.”
That confirmed his earlier suspicion that the constables had enchantments of their own. That would be the only way to detect others. “I’d like to get ahold of their technique.”
“Why? Isn’t your dagger enough?”
“It’s a bit obvious. I’d like something that wasn’t quite so deadly looking when I carried it.”
“Don’t worry about it. When you carry it, it doesn’t look deadly.”
Gaspar started off, and Gavin laughed to himself before following him. When he caught up, the thief was trailing after the constables—the very thing he’d told Gavin not to do. Gavin said as much.
Gaspar glanced over at him. “I don’t have any reason not to follow them.”
“You have the same thing I do,” Gavin said, tapping his ear.
“Not on me.”
Gavin frowned. “There’s a reason she gave it to us.”
“There’s a reason she gave it to you. I didn’t say I wanted it.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And you’ve come in and disrupted everything I’ve been working for,” Gaspar said. “Threw off my other jobs, too.”