Chapter 1
Ardon
"Stop thief!"
Caishel cursed under her breath as the roar of outrage erupted behind her. She'd only taken one fruje. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the stallholder chasing her, his chubby face glowing as he tried to match her speed. A laugh bubbled up inside her as she wove through the crowded marketplace, dodging the people who tried to stop her. He had no chance of catching her.
All her attention was on the stallholder and she didn't see the noble who blocked her path. The tall aristocrat had seen her coming and planted his feet wide to take the impact. Caishel ran headlong into his stomach, forcing the air from his lungs in one big whoosh. Strong hands grabbed her skinny arms and held on tight. Her desperate struggles only resulted in the loss of the fruit.
"Let I go!"
Ominous ripping sounds from her shirt frightened her and she kicked frantically at his boot clad shins, but her bare feet had no effect. She had to escape quickly or he would bring her before Duke Robard's law courts and her true nature might be revealed.
"Hold him, Ailan." Her heart sank as the Duke's voice rose above the marketplace noise.
An eager crowd gathered in anticipation of a free show as the Duke stepped to the side of the noble called Ailan. "Now then, my good people, who calls this boy a thief?"
"That would be me your lordship," the stallholder whined as he nervously approached the Duke.
Caishel carefully watched the face of the noble holding her, hoping for a chance to escape. On his cloak, immediately above the house emblem of a silver dragon, were the rank marks of a Sire. A look of disgust crossed the noble's face. His nose lifted haughtily and he took shallow breaths as the stallholder came closer. Arrogant man. Who did he think he was? She'd heard life in the sky castles was luxurious, but downside only the strongest survived. Let the lofty Sire try living in the filthy streets of Ardville and see how clean he could keep himself.
"That's not exactly a major crime, is it?" Duke Robard said dismissively and Caishel silently chuckled with glee. The Duke had lost interest. "Ailan, attend to this, would you?"
With a negligent wave of his hand Robard gathered his entourage around him and left the market, heading for the skyport.
"How much?" Sire Ailan asked the stallholder.
"Three d'jars, your lordship."
"For one fruje?" The Sire looked suspiciously at the man, recognizing the greedy expression in his eyes. "I'll give you half a d'jar. That should be more than enough."
Sire Ailan tossed the stallholder a coin with his free hand and the man snatched it out of the air, checked its authenticity with his teeth and hurried back to his stall. Now the show had finished, the crowd lost interest and wandered off.
Caishel had tried to free herself while Sire Ailan negotiated with the stallholder, but the noble wasn't so easily fooled. He'd kept a tight grip on her arm the whole time.
"Going so soon, boy?" Ailan asked. Caishel saw his lips twitch with humour.
Relief flooded through her. He still thought she was a boy.
"Let I go." Thankfully her voice sounded young, not frightened. The Sire frowned and took a closer look at her. She shrank as far away from him as his hold would allow.
"I'll release you if you repay me for the fruje." She could still hear the laughter in his voice.
"You stupid? Why would I steal fruit if I could pay? Where you think I get money for you?"
For a moment, Caishel thought she'd gone too far. He was going to hold on to her. What would she do if he discovered she was female? More to the point, what would he do?
"I'm going to let you go now. Make sure you don't get caught thieving again." As he spoke, Ailan released her arm and Caishel stepped away from him, rubbing the sore spot on her skin.
"I not get caught," she stated, then muttered under her breath, "I wouldn't have been caught before if it wasn't for you."
She quickly disappeared into the crowd before he changed his mind. Once out of his sight, Caishel ducked down an alley between two tall buildings. After all the excitement, she decided to stay low for a while. All that trouble and she hadn't even got the fruje!
Using the back alleys, she headed for the artifact shop that sold relics from the ancients. Looking in the shop window reminded her of her father, and thoughts of him always calmed her down. She turned the corner and swore under her breath. Sire Ailan was walking down the narrow street ahead of her. Caishel quickly ducked back into the alley. Cautiously peering round the corner, she gritted her teeth in frustration. Why did he have to stop in front of the artifact shop? She sighed and began to pull back out of sight, but a flicker of movement overhead caught her attention.
High above the street, a pedestrian bridge spanned the space between the upper stories of the buildings. A misty figure flickered into existence out of nowhere and Caishel's stomach dropped in horror as it pushed a large urn from its pedestal. Once the urn started tumbling to the ground, the figure vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
The urn hurtled towards the unsuspecting Sire and Caishel desperately flung herself from her hiding place. She rammed her small body into Ailan's, knocking him sideways to the ground where they ended up in a tangle of legs.
"What the..." Ailan began, struggling to his feet, but he blinked in shock as the urn smashed noisily in the exact spot where he'd been standing.
"Saw it coming. Didn't want you to get hurt," Caishel muttered.
She watched as Sire Ailan slowly looked up at the empty bridge, then dropped his gaze to her face. Recognition dawned in his deep brown eyes and her heart sank. Her safety depended on her anonymity on the streets. She couldn't afford to be labelled as a troublemaker.
"What are you doing here?" Ailan asked as he brushed down his clothes and straightened his dark brown hair. "And why did you push me out of the way?"
"I owed you one. Don't owe nothing now."
"You really thought you owed me?" Ailan raised an eyebrow in surprise at finding a thief with principles. "Now you've saved me from disaster, perhaps I should tell you my name. I'm Sire Ailan of Lan, part of Duke Robard's court. What do they call you, boy?"
"What's it to you?"
"I'd like to talk to you, and it would be easier if I knew your name."
"Cai--Cail." Idiot, she berated herself silently. Don't tell him your real name.
"Pardon?"
"Name's Cail. What you want to talk about?" She tried to sound as gruff as possible.
"Let's eat while we talk, shall we?" Ailan led the way back into the market and approached a hot food stall where he purchased two babbit pies and mugs of kee.
Caishel picked up her pie and, aware that Ailan was watching, desperately tried to restrain her hunger. Soon, all that remained was an empty cup and rich gravy dribbling down her bare chin.
"I don't think I'm that hungry after all." Ailan pushed his own food away. "I'll just drink my kee. It seems a shame to waste this, though. Would you like it?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Caishel seized and devoured the hot pie.
"You said you wanted to speak to me." Wiping the last of the gravy from her chin, she savoured every drop as she licked her fingers clean. To her horror, she realised she'd dropped her street cant and her next words came out abruptly. "What you want to talk about?"
"I'm in your debt for saving me from serious injury, maybe even death. I'd like to thank you. How would you feel about being my page? You look about the right age, and a job would be better than stealing."
"A page! Up there?" She jabbed a finger skywards at Ardon Castle floating high above the town. The Sire must be joking. Nobles didn't give scruffy urchins important jobs.
"Yes. Up there."
"Me. A page! Don't be daft. I live on the streets. Why you want me for your page?" Despite her astonishment and excitement, Caishel remembered to keep talking like an urchin.
"Do you want the job or not?"
"What do I get out of it?" She looked at him suspiciously.
"Food. A bed. Education. If we suit one another, I'd pay you a small wage."
"Would I have a room of my own?"
Caishel tried to hide her interest. She wouldn't be able to accept the position if she had to share a dormitory with the other pages. In such close proximity they'd soon discover the truth about her.
"You'd have a small closet off my rooms, and yes, it would be entirely yours."
She felt her body relax with relief. A room of her own would ensure her safety. She would be able to accept the job and get away from the dirt and grime of the streets.
"Okay." Caishel tried to stop the happiness showing on her face.
"Does that mean yes?"
"You've got a deal. I'll be your page." She glared defiantly at Ailan, daring him to withdraw his offer.
"Fine. I've got a few matters to attend to. Can you be ready in an hour?" She nodded. "Meet me at the skyport and I'll take you up to the castle."
"See you at the port then." Caishel turned to leave.
"Cail. You will turn up, won't you? I don't think you'd like the consequences if I had to come looking for you."
Caishel turned, her eyes narrowing warily as she looked at him. Sire Ailan stared piercingly at her, but did not speak. Turning, he hurried away and disappeared quickly into the crowd.
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