Everything vanished before my eyes. The colorful market stalls, the green and blue rooftops of the Green Rose, the ground beneath my feet, the setting sun that bathed everything in a foreboding red, the people in the marketplace – all of it disappeared, leaving only me and the Rider.
I knew he was looking at me. His face was exactly as I remembered it. Three years had passed, and by all rights, I should have forgotten him. But he had always been there, somewhere distant yet ever-present in the back of my mind.
In my heart.
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. As if the mere sight of this forgotten evil had awakened something that should have remained dormant forever. It burned. Sweat dripped from my forehead as I clawed at my chest in confusion and desperation, wanting to tear through my skin and flesh to rip the pain straight from my bones.
Something inexplicable was happening to me. I couldn't flee; the will to do so had been literally ripped away. All I could do was stare at the Rider with eyes of damnation.
He smiled. And I could hear his voice again. I could feel my father beside me, holding me down. The clinking of the two copper coins he had paid for my very being.
Then a wagon passed by, breaking our line of sight. The chains binding me dissolved, and my legs began to move on their own, as if I were a wild horse that had caught the scent of freedom after months of captivity.
My heart, I remembered, he poisoned it!
Though I hadn't known it at the time, that thought was surprisingly accurate. I had indeed been poisoned by the Rider – just not in the usual way.
I ran through the crowd, which had reappeared as if by magic. I collided with a woman carrying a basket of fruit. She fell, and I ran right over her, trampling the apples and pears without a second thought.
I was terrified I might run into the other man, the one from the tent, but fear and the pain I had just experienced drove me forward. I quickly left the marketplace and turned into a side alley. Then another, and another.
Back then, he said three years. Has it really been three years?
Another alley. I ran through trash and spiderwebs. I kept looking over my shoulder, each time expecting to see the Rider's figure right behind me or to hear the hooves of his steed.
I must have wandered aimlessly through the Green Rose for an hour. By the time I finally returned to the inn where we were staying, exhausted and half-deaf with fear, the sun had already set behind the horizon.
I stepped inside, but not before glancing over my shoulder one last time. There was no sign of the Rider. It did little to calm me. Inside, the other boys were waiting, already seated at a table in the cornern. Quiet saw me first and waved me over.
I trudged over to them slowly. My face must have been pale and drenched in sweat, but I finally managed to calm myself down, at least a little.
"Where have you been all this time?" Sebastian asked. "We were supposed to meet half an hour ago."
Without answering, I pulled out a chair and sank into it. My eyes wandered through the tavern. I didn't recognize anyone. That was probably for the best.
"Probably got lost," Ninefingers joked. "You weren't actually still at the fortune-teller's, were you?" he added skeptically.
I shook my head. "No... well, yes, but that's not important!" The words finally tumbled out. The others tilted their heads, confused.
"Corin, what's going on?" Sebastian asked. I didn't know what to tell him. How could I even begin to explain this situation? "We need to leave. We should go. Now, immediately."
"What?" Ninefingers exclaimed. "We haven't even started our work yet!"
Sebastian nodded. "Ninefingers is right. Besides..." He pointed to the empty chair at the table. "We haven't seen the old man since this morning. We can't go without him, and I bet he's not willing to leave just yet."
I swallowed hard. I had to make them understand that this wasn't like before. This wasn't just my father. This was... something else. "Where is he? I need to talk to him."
Ninefingers shrugged. "Where do you think he is?"
"I..."
Suddenly, my courage faltered. I wanted to protest further, but I was too exhausted. My thoughts were too jumbled to make sense of anything. The echo of the pain in my chest still lingered. There was just too much. Ninefingers looked at me for a moment longer before shrugging again.
"Anyway..." he said, slowly turning to the others, still keeping one eye on me, "I think we can really get started tomorrow."
Crosseyes and Quiet also started listening. Sebastian kept his eyes on me a little longer – maybe he could tell something was wrong. But I needed a moment to gather my thoughts. I didn't want to waste my words. When I didn't say anything more, Sebastian slowly turned back to Ninefingers.
"Good targets?" he asked.
Ninefingers nodded enthusiastically. "Dozens of them. Mostly strangers to the city, like us. They all want to catch a glimpse of the new Love, just like the old man predicted."
He smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Maybe he's the real fortune-teller after all–"
"Fortune-teller!" I blurted out, causing Ninefingers to flinch slightly. "The fortune-teller told me we should leave!"
The others fell silent. Ninefingers even looked a little concerned. He was the only one besides me who put any stock in the prophecies of a stranger. But Quiet raised an eyebrow. "Hm?" he grunted questioningly.
"I know, I know," I replied, "you haven't made any loot yet, but–"
"We?" Sebastian interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean, we?"
"You're not listening! I said, we need to leave!"
But Sebastian's gaze didn't falter the slightest. He was the leader and thus needed to know about the action's we took regarding the nature of our bond. I realized, he and the others wouldn't listen, before I got clean, now that I've caught their interest.
My gaze dropped. Then I sighed and pulled the small pouch from my pocket, the one I'd taken from the man with the fiery red hair. "I got this today."
The others leaned forward to inspect the little leather pouch. Quiet reached for it, but Ninefingers suddenly slapped his hand away. He looked at me with wide, trembling eyes. "You didn't... steal from him, did you?"
I nodded slowly. "I did."
Ninefingers let out a nervous laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're either the bravest or the stupidest person I've ever met. No, wait, I know the answer. That guy looked like he could kill you with a glance. And you just... took his pouch?"
"Wait... are we talking about the one you described earlier?" Crosseyes asked.
Ninefingers nodded to him. Crosseyes tried to hide his nervousness, but his eyes darted around the room. Quiet, on the other hand, examined the pouch with curiosity, his fingers brushing over the intricate stitching.
"And that's not all," I said, my voice low. "I saw the Rider. He's... someone from my past. He's here to collect me."
"Collect... you?" Now Crosseyes didn't even try to hide his nervousness anymore.
I gathered my courage. "He did something to me, three years ago, and paid my father for it. Now, he's here to 'see the results'. He's got a nightmarish steed the size of a wagon!"
Nobody spoke for a while. Then suddenly, Ninefingers burst out laughing, slapping the table. "The Rider? Are you serious? Come on, Corin. You expect us to believe that?"
Crosseyes shifted uncomfortably, his hands fidgeting in his lap. Quiet tilted his head, his expression unreadable. Sebastian, however, grew serious. He leaned forward, his eyes locked on mine. "Corin, are you in danger?"
I nodded slowly. "We all are."
The table fell silent. Even Ninefingers stopped laughing, his smirk fading as he glanced at the others. Sebastian exhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair.
"Alright," he said finally. "We'll have to wait for the old man anyway. I hope he shows up tonight, even if he's stumbling drunk. When he does, I'll tell him we need to leave."
I nodded gratefully, a massive weight lifting from my chest.
For now, at least, they were listening. I couldn't get out of this city sooner.