Page 10 of A Forgery of Fate

“Good. So do I.” Gaari grinned, his gray eye shining. “See you there.”

Chapter Three

One good thing about Gaari, he was never late. Precisely an hour past noon, I spied him sauntering down the street, his white icicle of a beard and the bandage over his eye making him an easy mark. Next to me with my blue hair, we stuck out like spiders in a sugar jar.

“You look well rested,” he greeted me. “Where’d you stash your costume?”

I patted the knapsack over my shoulder. “Fal will have my head if I spill soup all over her dress,” I said dryly. “Shrimps secured?”

Shrimps.Our code word for money.

“Fattest ones yet.”

My chest swelled. “Good. That’s very good. No trouble with the thieves?”

Gaari blinked, as if he’d forgotten about my entire ordeal. Then he caught himself. “Ah, them. No, not a rascal in sight.” He chuckled. “Maybe they beat us here for noodles. Look at this line!”

There were at least twenty-odd people still ahead of us. Ilet out a woeful sigh. “I’ve been waiting since I left the auction house. Should we try somewhere else?”

“Not a chance,” Gaari said, towing me away from the line. “Leave it to me.”

“We’ll lose our place—”

“Have faith, Saigas. Come with me.” From his pocket, Gaari swept out a wooden fan and used it to poke and prod other patrons aside. I lost count of the glares we got as we shuffled inside Luk’s and made for the stairs in the corner. By some miracle, no one stopped us. Not one of the staff batted an eye.

Gaari parted the beaded curtains and motioned at the corner table. A waiter was already setting down a pot of fresh tea and two cups for us. When he saw Gaari, he bowed deeply.

Interesting.

“How much did you bribe him?” I whispered when the waiter slipped away.

Gaari landed on his stool. He looked tired and snapped his fan shut. “I wouldn’t waste your hard-earned coin likethat.”

“Then?”

A pause. “You could say he’s a former associate. He owesme.”

“A former associate?” I raised a curious eyebrow. Gaari was famously private, and I’d never met anyone else who worked with him. “Shall we invite him to eat with us?”

“Don’t get ideas,” warned my friend. “He lives by the third rule too.”

The third rule: No questions outside the job.

I scowled. “You run quite the operation, all these peoplekeeping secrets for you. You always know where and how to find me, whereas I…I don’t even know if your beard isreal.”

“Of course it’s real!” Gaari looked offended that I thought otherwise. He made a show of stroking his chin. “My life is not interesting. I’m just an old man who enjoys his noodles and happens to run a successful scam every now and then.”

“Scam indeed,” I muttered. “Watch your tells,oldman. Every time you lie, you find a way to bring up noodles.”

“You see, Saigas? You know me better than anyone.” He raised his tea to me before sipping more. “I’ll dry my cup to your powers of observation. They’re paying for lunch today.”

I rolled my eyes, but I drank too. The waiter was returning to take our orders, and from behind the sheath of my curtain-long bangs, I stole a better look at his face. A bell-shaped nose, cheeks as round as eggs, long ears, and black hair swept neatly under a hat. I’d seen him before, but where? Ineverforgot a face.

Ah.The answer pecked at the back of my mind, and I set my teacup on the table.

“You know, it’s funny,” I said slowly, regarding Gaari, “those thieves today came out of nowhere. There were plenty of other rich women they could’ve followed. And yet, they homed in on me.”

Gaari was washing our spoons in an extra cup of tea. “What are you getting at?”

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