“It’s funny,” Rikki mused aloud as the group of thieves trekked through the forest towards Myrefall. “I never thought I’d be on this side of a manhunt before.”

“It’s strange, that’s for sure,” Crow nodded. “I’ve been at this for a week now, and I’m still getting used to it, myself.”

Suddenly, they heard a noise off to their left, and the three thieves ducked behind a cluster of bushes. They waited silently as a small patrol of knights walked passed, oblivious that they were even there. Once they were gone, the thieves stood up straight again. “Well, some things haven’t changed,” Rikki chuckled, drawing her hood a little further over her head. “We may be hunters now, but we’re certainly not the top of the food chain.”

Crow nodded, watching the backs of the knights disappear into the trees. “Let’s keep moving,” he murmured, picking up his pace slightly. They hadn’t seen as many patrols as he had the last time he had traveled to meet with Penelope’s group, but it seemed there were still a few roaming about. He didn’t like it. His nerves were already frayed enough from the stress of his arrangement with Jaxon. He didn’t need to deal with running into a patrol of strange knights on top of that. He didn’t know what he would do if he did, but for the sake of the other deal he had made with Penelope to abstain from killing her comrades, he didn’t want to stick around and find out.

[i]I’m making too many promises to too many people,[/i] he thought, fidgeting nervously with the hilt of one of his daggers. It was going to be difficult for him to honor his word to both of them, since Jaxon and Penelope had very different agendas. He wanted to just abandon his deal with the other thief and stay true to the knight, but in doing so, he would just end up causing her death. On the contrary, if he broke his word to her and killed a knight that was wandering too close to Jaxon’s hideout, that would surely cause contention between them too. He took a shaky breath. No matter what he did, it seemed he was at risk of losing her.

After some time had passed, Alistair spoke up. “So… about these knights were going to be working with,” he said hesitantly, meeting Crow’s gaze. “Do we know any of them?”

Crow glanced at his companion with a knowing grin. “Yes, Olivia is one of them,” he answered, nudging the other thief teasingly.

“Oh, good,” Alistair shrugged with forced nonchalance. “I’m glad we won’t be working with total strangers.”

Crow rolled his eyes, but decided to let the subject drop. His companion could pretend to be uninterested in the knight if he wished.

“[i]Are[/i] there going to be total strangers though?” Rikki asked with a frown. “You make it sound like there are more than two of them.”

“Well, yes,” Crow said, eyeing her tentatively. “There are three knights. Penelope and Olivia are two of them, but there’s one more man in their patrol.”

“Is he someone we can trust?” Rikki said skeptically.

“I think so,” Crow sighed. “At least, I trust Penelope to keep him from saying or doing anything that would hurt any of us.”

“Why would he listen to her?”

Crow wavered. “Because she’s a lieutenant,” he lied after a moment. “He has to do what she says.”

Rikki studied him briefly before nodding, “Well, I hope you’re right about that.”

“Me too,” he exhaled.

--

After a while, the thieves arrived at the edge of the road where Crow had met up with the knights last time. They lingered by the edge of the village for a while before he directed them to climb up the tree he had hidden himself in before, since it was too risky for them to continue standing out in the open. They settled down on some of the lower-hanging branches, keeping their gazes fixed on the road as they searched for Penelope’s patrol. As an added precaution, the thieves each kept a dagger in hand, just in case they were spotted by any less friendly faces.

Crow held his weapon tightly as he gazed down at the road, heart racing with nervous energy as he waited for Penelope to appear. He hoped she wouldn’t be much longer. The sooner this whole trip was over with, the better.