Page 44 of The Withering Dawn
I nodded, slowly getting to my feet. Georgie was munching on his bread, wholly uninterested in my presence now. I looked around, searching for a small shop of some kind, and spotted a stall down the road where a plump old man was selling various items of food.
“Come,” I said to the boy, leading him toward the stall. “What do you want?”
He rose up on his toes, peeking over the edge of the long wooden table to see what the man was selling.
He could be no older than I was when I first met Antonio and my already upside-down life turned sideways and cracked down the middle. I watched him scan a few red apples, some tangerines, and some small jars with cloth tied over the top. Immediately, his attention settled on those and he pointed, still chewing on a mouthful of bread.
I picked up one of the jars and found it full of gold.
Honey.
I smiled to myself and glanced down at Georgie. He was still staring at the honey like he was waiting to dip his hand inside and lick it off his fingers.
“Two jars,” I said to the vendor, grabbing a second jar and handing the man a couple coins from my coat pocket.
“Alright, Georgie,” I said, crouching down in front of him again. “Don’t eat all this at once, yeah?”
I handed him the jar and he nodded, his eye bright. “And don’t go looking for the man on Green Street anymore.”
Again, he nodded, peeling off the fabric top on the jar and sticking his finger right into the golden honey. As soon as he licked it, he smiled, his entire demeanor seeming to relax.
Fuck, I wanted to take him with me.
“Can I share with my friends?”
“Of course you can. That jar’s yours. You have someplace safe to sleep?”
He nodded. “I sleep in the church sometimes. Other times I sleep in the orphanage, but I sneak out. It’s boring there.”
I chuckled, ruffling his shaggy, brown hair.
“Cap’n,” Cathal said as he returned, out of breath. Next to him was Kristoff, equally out of breath like they’d both been jogging about town. “Found him. Lives up on a hill in a mansion.”
I groaned as I stood, realizing again how close we were to the revenge we all deserved.
My eyes went to Kristoff. “Want a job?”
“Sure.”
“You go to Antonio’s house, you knock on his door, and you tell him, not his servant or anyone else, that we’ve got his treasure.”
“Do I give him your name?”
“You tell him Jacob sent you.”
He nodded as I pulled a small pouch of gems off my belt from Antonio’s stock of treasure and handed it to him.
“Let this motivate you not to get it wrong.”
He opened the pouch to peer inside and blinked a couple times at the sight of the precious riches.
“Where should I tell him to meet you?” he asked.
“Down the beach, where the cliffs meet the water. Tomorrow morning.”
He nodded, tucking the pouch of gems into his pant pocket and looking around like prying eyes could reach out and take it from him. Then, he was off. He skittered down the road, almost colliding with a strolling couple as he headed further into town. Cathal stepped over to my side and watched him with me until he disappeared into the crowd.
“Kristoff isn’t the brightest. Think he can do it?”
