"I thought I told you not to follow me," I lectured as Jayde jumped onto the barstool next to mine.
"No," he countered, "you said you were an assassin and you said you weren't a good role model but you never told me not to follow you," he flashed Kari a crooked grin and tossed a few crowns on the counter. "Water please."
She poured him a glass of water and slid his coins back to him. "Water is free, handsome."
I turned to Lyon, who looked incredibly amused by the whole situation. "Why did you let him in here? It's a bar!"
"Yeah and we are the owners so we decide who can come in, I decided he could. There's no law that says he can't be in here, he just can't drink the alcohol."
"Why did you follow me Jayde?" I groaned.
"I told you. You saved my life, so I owe you. I'm a good worker. Sometimes I can find odd jobs in the Slums for a few crowns so I have some experience. I'm strong too so I can do any lifting you need done. You don't have to pay me either."
I rubbed my temples. "How is that any different from slavery? I didn't get you out of that situation just to have you put yourself back in it!"
"But this time I'm choosing it," he rested his arms on the counter and I could see they were covered in scars, burn scars. "I don't have anywhere to go. My mom died a couple years ago and I don't have any other family to speak of. I fair better than some on the streets but none of us want to be there. It's common for orphans to sell themselves into slavery isn't it?"
That odd pain in my chest came back, the one I got when I left him in the streets. I didn't want to leave him alone then and I didn't want to leave him now. But this isn't a good life for a kid.
"I could always use a server," Kari piped in. "It would take a lot of stress off my shoulders."
"He could prove useful in info gathering," Lyon suggested. "He's charismatic and adults tend to ignore kids or think they won't understand what they're talking about. Plus he seems to have really attached himself to you."
I looked between all three of them and sighed. There was no way I would win this and a part of me didn't want to either. "Alright, alright fine!" Jayde began to bounce in his seat. "However! I absolutely abhor the slave system. You will work a real job here for crowns. And you won't be sleeping in the streets either, I can't have a server looking like I just dragged them out of the Slums. I have rooms upstairs, one will be yours. Lyon will take you out for a haircut and some clothes that don't have holes in them," I messed up his hair, annoying him. "This isn't a life debt Jayde, it's a job, and that means you're free to do as you please. Which includes being able to leave whenever you want."
"I don't think that would ever happen. I mean I already know your secret," he joked.
No kid you just know one of them. "Go ahead and take him out while there's still light out," I slid off my stool and stretched. "Let me see him when you're done so I can see if he's presentable. I'll be in my office."
As I turned to leave I felt small arms wrap around my waist. "Thank you Miss Rose," Jayde's voice was quiet. "I promise I won't make you regret this."
I scratched the back of my neck, knowing Lyon would tease me later for the embarrassing blush creeping onto my face. "Sapphyre. You can just call me Sapphyre, or Saph, or something other than Miss Rose. Makes me feel old."
"Come on kid!" Lyon's loud voice boomed behind me as I felt him detach Jayde from my waist. "I know an excellent barber and tailor in town who owes me some favors and," he dropped his voice to a whisper, knowing full well I could hear him anyway, "I also know a really good sweet shop nearby."
Lyon left with Jayde and I continued towards my office being sure to shoot Kari a "don't you say anything" look on my way up. As I opened my door a dark figure shot passed me and I chuckled as Shade curled up by the fire place.
"Got tired of all the attention huh?" I teased and he huffed in response. "Me too."
I opened a drawer in my desk and pulled out a stack of files. Each one was a mark of some kind, human or monster, that we had accepted that month. A murderer who fled town after killing his wife, a rapist that was proving difficult to find, Soulless that were creeping to close to the outskirts of Lyca, a wraith creeping around the monastery, and a shape shifter using it's abilities to frame others for crimes they never committed.
"And none of this includes the bandit gangs that hide in the Slums and on the outskirts of town," I mumbled to myself and ran my hand through my hair. "I'll let Lyon take his pick from these and I'll take up the stragglers. I need a break anyway."
I grabbed the folder marked "Brigette Wright" and tucked it into the drawer on the opposite side of my desk where our completed jobs for the month were stored. The drawer was deep and already more than half full of contracts of some kind. Thankfully they weren't all assassinations, some were escort, bodyguard, or bounty hunting jobs.
"It's not perfect by any means but at least crime has gone down a little since last year," I huffed and rubbed my temples where a headache was beginning to form. "And with that paperwork done it's time for," I opened the drawer above where I store my contracts and sighed, "more paperwork."
Only this paperwork was for the Den. Kari ran my funds but I still oversaw everything from what we needed to keep in stock down to our statistics. It was always boring and hardly ever changed. The kitchen needs more herbs, vegetables, and meat which means I needed to make a trip to the market and go hunting soon. Kari was low on ingredients for her ale which means Lyon and I will either have to run the bar ourselves or find another barkeep while she gets what she needs since she won't share her recipe. There was a few tables that needed repairs which meant a trip to the blacksmith for some nails. The spring festival was in a month so we would have to be sure to have extra supplies to account for the copious amounts of food and alcohol everyone seems to consume during it.
"Alright," I groaned as I stretched. "I'm done for the day!" As I stood I winced and rubbed my back. I was starting to get stiff and being hunched over a desk wasn't helping.
Deciding I needed to stretch out a bit, I quickly locked my office door before standing in the center and releasing my tension with a sigh of relief. The change only took a couple of seconds but in those seconds my body got hot and several bones popped before I looked in the floor length mirror and saw my true form. My headache was gone now that my horns were no longer hidden and with my wings outstretched behind me my back didn't feel so stiff anymore.
I felt a nudge in my hand and gently scratched behind Shade's ears. "It's been awhile since I changed, two months at least. I wish I didn't feel so cramped in my human form," I complained to him and gave my wings a few soft test flaps. "I'll have to go flying soon or I'll get rusty."
I gently preened the feathers on my black wings with precision and smiled. They were the thing I missed most about this form and I fussed over them as often as I could. Their color was beginning to dull from me not tending to them in months and I made a mental note to make sure I properly cleaned them soon.
A knock on my door made me jump. "Saph are you still in there?"