How to Make a Sinner Sleep

37 | wish; under the free skies

Kaden opted to stay in a small tavern with a reputation for being welcoming and warm, despite its lacking features.

In the carriage, Arlo had been wide-eyed, glittering curiosity shaped in his face that had gotten more round over the days. The mangled, bruised and bony child almost seemed to be a delusion of the past.

The boy excitedly pointed at everything—from the low hanging trees that passed outside the Academy, to the gates of the city that were towering, fit to welcome a giant inside. Kaden had indulged him, though his knowledge was limited.

Where to find the perfect fools to trick and use for crime? He could find it. Secret organizations that could find information or take illegal trades? Easy.

It wasn't exactly something to be proud of, murder was no celebration, but it suited his current tasks.

Of course, the priority of this trip was mainly Arlo's enjoyment, and to satisfy the blank slate of the child's curious mind. He wouldn't attempt anything risky while watching the child.

As they walked down the bustling streets, busy with midday business, Arlo lifted his eyes and smiled widely.

"Everything looks so clean, Kaden! There are so many people, and they all look so happy!"

They were surrounded by commoners, and the streets were still lined with filth. But the poor envied the middle class, and they envied the rich. To the child who had been submerged in the deepest filth, this was a salvation brighter than the dazzling sun.

Kaden's gaze grew far-away as he watched the little exchanges in the corners, the lovers sitting at a bench, or the sellers running around with baskets.

Indeed, a normal life like this, plain and simple, was all he desired back on the broken streets, where he starved for days. He longed to feel sated and at ease, without need to cower in the shadows and learn to grow numb to pain.

However, he had indulged in status and for a time, looked down on the poor that he once was.

A manifestation of his own hatred. He never harboured a dislike for the poor—he despised himself for how weak he was.

Now, in this second life, he felt at peace.

No longer desperate to prove himself, nor terrified of ending up on the streets again.

The time spent in solitude terrified him more than any starvation or abuse could. A life with nothing, no voices except his own. There was enough food to sustain him, a strange fullness at the odd fruits and plants that surrounded, but it was a fullness that felt empty and bleak.

Then, as he was lost in the meanderings of thought, a rumble shook the earth and stormed through the crowd. Most kept to the sides of the street that were often busy and dangerous.

In front of the roaring wheels of a luxury carriage, two children stood. Their eyes went wide in a bleak mixture of terror and surprise.

Kaden cursed under his breath, his feet moving faster than his thoughts as he sprinted across and wrapped one arm around each child. He kicked off with his leg, bundling them to his chest.

They slammed against the cobblestone, Kaden bearing the brunt of it all.

He recognized the crest on the carriage, claiming one of the richest nobles in the land. A particular man Kaden sought out.

Richard Halls.

The door to the gold-inlaid carriage creaked open as a well-dressed man peered coldly outside, disgust rampant in his stare. However, it was quickly hidden with a glaze of false sentiment.