This’s the main problem with the Madam. She tells you to wait at the restaurant and then leaves the restaurant.

At least I have time to pick on my favourite drug runner today. “How’s training going?”

“It’s not,” Ave replies.

“Fine by me if you go die, dagger in the back. Not my duty to teach you how to survive.”

Ave tilts his head, pointing to the small shield lying in the stage corner.

Oh, almost forgot, he’d finally bought what he wanted. Gambling, guess it pays out sometimes. Sometimes. I rise from my sitting position, “Okay, but you know damn well you’re smarter than all of us ‘round here. Put your mind to something ‘sides the next con’ or gamble. You’d be a great warrior if you weren’t always chasing the next fun.”

“He’s right Ave,” Ash says.

“Hey, I don’t see y’all having a talent that Mads abuses day and night. I need my vice, I’m too young not to have one. And I’m great at gambling, that’s the problem. In fact, I bet I have to work with both of y’all tonight and your date’s fucked.” He grins.

Bastard. Always foul-mouthed, too smart for a ten-year-old.

“Take that back!” Ash stands quickly and bunches up Ave’s top-cloth left fist ready to knock him out. Damn, I love her.

Ave just keeps smirking as he pops another owmnut into the air. Ash angrily pushes him away and smacks the owmnut down.

“You’re for sure destined to become a fire witch Ash, wow,” Ave says, trying to appease her anger as he steps back and gathers himself, picking up the owmnut.

“Shut up. Ruined my nap with your negativity, little punk.”

“Hey, it’s hard to keep track of what you all believe in, I forget Kane’s crap all the time.”

“Just shut up Ave,” Ash says. “Why do the boys around me talk so much?” She sits back down, closing her eyes.

Grinning, I hurl my rusted katana straight for Ave’s head. He has no time to reach for his shield, that should teach him.

Ave ducks quickly, fear written all over his face.

But in an instant he rises from the ground he’d thrown himself on, fuming. “You know I was just thinking to myself – how pitiful, greatest swordsman the island’s heard of in sixty winters reduced to being a butcher of kids for the fun and pleasure of others, how pitiful. Two years is a long time to hate yourself, that’s what I was thinking! How pitiful. But it seems you relish in infanticide.” Ave says dusting himself down.

“What’s the point of that? You came in dirty. And you’re ten, not an infant, I’m going to leave before I do actually kill you.” I kiss Ash goodbye before leaving.

“Be back in time for your spanking,” Ave shouts, smiling as I exit.

“Fuck off.”

Damn it’s cold. Winter’s here. The sky’s cloudless and the sun’s bright. But the light fades quickly this time of the year.

Looking around at all the empty streets and all the new huts surrounding the restaurant I can’t help but think, “Will the Madam’s little construction project save more lives than it takes? How many frozen corpses will we find this spring?” Time’ll tell. Hope Mook’s sisters aren’t amongst them.

Although people can hate the Madam, and they should, they can’t say she didn’t improve the slums. After the fiasco with the restaurant, she kidnapped the same stone wizard’s daughter and ordered him to rebuild all of it, himself. He begged for a crew to assist him a hundredth of the way through before he was given a large group of able-bodied boys to choose from, not knowing that in picking them he sentenced their families to the same fate as his daughter. Even now they haven’t finished. They say the restaurant’s foundation will be re-levelled when they’re done, to mark the day.

The docks to the north, a short walk right of the restaurant, were the first things rebuilt. Giving the slums a beautiful facade. For as you move south, left past the restaurant and deeper into the maze of huts, the once warded central road that the fire kingdom generously built decades ago starts losing its structure and the street chatter gets quieter. Your life in danger with each step further in. Even more so as, further south, the island veers northeast sharply, like a hook. Leading towards the poorest, the most desperate, and the barren frostlands beyond that.

The paths are still chaotic and disarrayed but the huts are uniform now. At least here, near the docks. Ten steps tall, ten steps wide, and ten steps long, the uniformity of it all is so beautiful it almost distracts you from the fact that you’re charged three coppers a day to live in them, almost a silver a month. The people with nothing in their pouches forced to rebuild their destroyed huts further south, further away from the trading paths with the rest of the nothing.

Shivering I rub my hands together, “Damn it’s cold.” The rebuilding’s supposed to attract more merchants, but most are still too scared and too fond of their lives to venture here. “The Prisoner Slums.”

Keenan being the exception.

Keenan’s haggling his ice concoctions by the entrance, as usual. Black skinned, white haired, and blue eyed, he looks like the world beyond the slums. He has a hunger and shamelessness to sell anything that even Ave verbally admires, something he never does. Being a water wizard, Keenan surprised everyone by coming back here years after leaving. No one he knew was still alive after-all.

Slum millionaire, he could leave anytime. Built the waist-high mud wall that runs around the perimeters and the small hut to the right of the entrance that adheres to the Madam’s specifications in one night himself months ago.

His window open to the path to and from the restaurant, he’s always either sleeping inside or selling his water wares and concoctions by the opening. People think the Madam allows him profiteering off of her land because of the added security that a wizard brings, but I know better.

Keenan knew of today’s proceedings so he’d thought up the idea to suck up to the Madam again by making today’s only colour option blood red. Seems like business is dead because of it, but that smile on his face probably means she’d paid him well for her ice-cone.

Approaching the hut and sitting down I lean my back against the wall, facing the path. Keenan continuing to lean on his window from inside his hut. Relaxing, I reach into my upper-cloth, near the cloth-belt, and pull out a wide leaf I’d plucked and cut seven days ago. Perfectly aged.

“That’s a beaut,” Keenan remarks, “Seven days?”

I nod. The leaf’s square, dead brown at the bottom, fresh green at the top.

“Three copper’s worth of red dust,” I tell Keenan as I reach into my cloth again, pulling out a small pouch. I toss him three coppers as he tosses me a small round ice-ball. Keenan shaking his head.

Turning it in my hand I can’t help admiring it. Marbles Keenan had called them. It’s a better method of preservation he’d learned of from his travels. Caused a small buzz in the Four Waters Federation he’d said proudly. Water-wares like this that don’t melt for half a day probably cost Keenan a whole night’s meditation.

Dusting the ground in front of me, I cross my legs and place the aged leaf down. I crack the marble in the centre of the leaf, spilling its contents out as the empty marble shell evaporates into thin air.

I line the red dust, lift the fresh green side of the leaf and roll it closed, one side thinner than the other. Bringing the roll to my lips, I lick the brown side of the leaf quickly while pinching the thicker end. The entire leaf shrinks with a small audible hiss, adhering to itself where moist and sealing the roll.

Holding it between my lips, Keenan hands me two small rocks before I even start searching the ground. Nodding my head in thanks, I strike the rocks together quickly, igniting a spark that catches the thicker head of the roll. Inhaling slowly, I smile. At least I can afford to calm my nerves now. I swear, sometimes I have more anxiety than Ave.

I pull out another perfectly aged leaf and flash it in front of Keenan, tempting him. He hesitates briefly before snatching the leaf and handing me my coppers back. Sparking his own, Keenan and I enjoy our rolls in silence.

Keenan still looks hesitant though. Don’t know what that’s about. As I’m about to ask him what’s what, my ears prick to a familiar sound of feet. Sighing, I stand, dusting myself down as Peeg walks by, heading for the restaurant. Peeg smiles with his head tilted in my direction like he wants to eat me, Myq and Criss following, heads straight and un-tilted. The problem with Peeg the Cannibal is that he very very much likes all the killing around here.

The Boys returning means that someone else isn’t too far behind. Walking back too, I reflect on the seriousness of the situation – even Peeg’s here. Shit. Good news seems to be that I’m not in trouble, bad news being I might die today. Wonder if Mook’s going to be surprised to see me so soon.

Back in the restaurant I pull a stool down from a table and sit.

Keenan’s good at what he does. Glad I asked Ave to pinch in last night. Three carriage hits back to back. Triple the take for the price of two, old bastard charges too much. Merchants won’t be back for months after this. But the winds are getting colder, they wouldn’t be back for months anyways.

The Madam walks back in with her underlings and sits at her table in the centre, a silence ensuing. Just as Myq steps forward to speak nine large men walk in, each carrying a huge crate. They put them down next to each other and leave.

Her dock workers. Must be good.

“Open them,” she commands Myq as she’s served tea.

Myq unsheathes a dagger from his lower-back and gets to work. Finishing, everyone in the room stares in amazement at what’s in front of us. Giant marbles, packed tight with seeds.

“These new seeds have to be specially preserved. They spoil quickly, they’re… special.”

We all move closer to the marbles. The seeds crammed inside are the usual sun-red colour but it looks deeper, blood-red almost, and they’re all badly burnt on one side.

“These are the seeds of a new strain of sausana, they were discovered last decade in the forests of Lerral.” She briefly looks at Ash before looking away. “As you can realize, they’re expensive. I’ll personally wring the life out of any of you if any part of what I’m about to say is ignored.” She looks at all of us.

“Ash, same grounding motions, same patterns, same storage procedures. Go slow, slower even, the fire magic in these is more volatile.” Ash nods her head.

“Kane, We need this around the slums in a couple of hours.”

“Can’t do something impossible ‘Mam.”

“I’m not an idiot,” she quips angrily, “You’re about to meet your first demon.”

“What?!?!” Everyone gasps.

The Madam smiles, “Even better, it’s not a stone demon. It’s of wind.”

“Those exist?” Peeg says, licking his lips.

“Of course they do. Only two kinds of mermaids, wind and stone, so only two kinds of demons, wind and stone, not that hard to remember. And it’s daemon ‘Mam, ladies of the high court know of the true origin of the word so they don’t use ‘demon’ casually like ladies of lesser stature. However, when they do use it their disrespect is even more apparent. Sorry to correct you ‘Mam.”

“No need for apologies, it was a good lesson and a show of why I spent so much gold on you. Daemons, hmmm, I’ll have to say it a few times to get it right.”

Fuming, Peeg looks at me like he wants to both memorize my face and stomp it in a couple of times.

Ave chuckles to himself, probably because what he’d said yesterday, “You do know people blame my big mouth on you right?” Little brat.

“The wind daemon will help you travel around Ilonthoroyon, it’ll take no more than three hours. You’ll start once Ave and Ash are done here and then you and Ave can go around.”

Reflecting on why she chose now to use my real name, A power move – why? I hear Ave, “So I’m working with both Ash and Ave tonight?” He grins.

“Yes. Tell your little friends the new thing’s called burnt dust. It’ll bring the same smile to your face as red dust, but it’ll also have you seeing the lost love of your life, literally.”

Everyone looks even closer at the blood red sausana seeds. Visual sensations? This changes things. Better dust meant more gold, more gold meant more deaths, and more deaths meant more deaths. Sigh.

“The seeds turn black over time, and once they’re completely black the dust will have you seeing the lost love of your life with your worst enemy instead. It’s a double-edged sword. I’m giving you all seven days each to sell what I give you. Qaet, mark it down.”

“Peeg, Myq, and Criss, four. Ash, Ave, and Ohr… six.”

Shit! There are only nine crates.

Ave frowns, Peeg smiles right after.

She found out about the hits! Shit. An extra crate’s worth of gold is her letting us know how much her cut is. What’s the point of tripling the hits then if we’re only going to get paid for one?! And if we don’t go through with them now we’ll still owe her her cut. Shit!

“That’s all.” Finishing her tea she leaves, Qaet by her side as usual, entourage behind them. The Boys leave as well, a big smile on Peeg’s face as he departs last.

“Sorry,” Ave says, looking down.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ash replies while ruffling his white hair. “You’ll learn to still your face soon enough, you’re already much more than anyone your age has any right to be.”

“But now Peeg knows of the hits too!” Ave continues.

“He doesn’t know how many or when,” Ash interrupts, “Besides…”

“I’ll just have to kill him.”

They both quieten.

“You okay with that?” Ash asks, turning to me.

“The Peeg part? I’m been practicing.”

“Dummy, the killing part. Outside of the Madam’s biddings, you haven’t killed anyone since you’ve come back from the Wind Republic,” Ash says as she motions to Ave to start working. Ave heading towards the kitchens to grab the mortars and pestles.

“I’ll be fine. Winter’s here, the grass is already starting to hide, we need this. Thanks to the Madam’s interference we can’t make it through winter if we don’t take these hits. Now, just to break even. Why do you think she said seven days to us? Why do you think I said seven days to Keenan? Because that’s all the time we have before the frost winds are here. Cut-up Nancy says the winds feel exactly the same as the time elemental beasts showed up.”

“Babe, you’re not helping yourself, that old kook says that every other winter.”

“But you can’t say it’s not the coldest winter ever? And we need a full gold’s worth of food between the three of us if we don’t want to starve. Never-mind the cost that the Madam charges to live in her huts.”

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’m staying with her and Ave’s mom and them this winter. Everyone thinks I’ll be a fire witch like her, and since I’m also an alchemist, she wants to make sure I’m prepared if I ever find fire crystals. Increase my worth, you know?”

“She’s doing to you what she did to me?” I ask back, frowning. “Aren’t you too old for her little games of playing at being a mother? Ave doesn’t need any more step-siblings.”

Ash shrugs her shoulders, her eyes saying sorry.

Ave walks back in with the mortars and pestles and sets the ground up for Ash and himself. “Hey, don’t bring my name up in your little fights, not my fault she’s my mom’s miss. Mads ain’t my mom, my mom’s an alcoholic and there’s only one of her. I want no part in this. Huh, now Bean’s dead you’re the only step-sibling I have left by the way. Kane, the last of Mads’ little book-slaves.”

“Why do the boys around me talk so much?” Ash says again, rubbing her temples to calm herself down as she and Ave break a giant marble each with the daggers they carry hidden on their lower-backs.

They get to work while I relax. “What I was getting at is that we need these hits and I’ll kill anyone that gets in the way.”

“Fine, fine, let us finish big bad swordsman. Help us with the leaves, you love smoking them so much,” Ash says as she and Ave work.

“What’d Ave say? We all have our vices.” I say grinning. “Give me a moment, I’ll be up in a second.”

“What’d I say about bringing my name up?” Ave says.

“How many seeds are there Ave?” Ash replies.

“11, 893.”

“Weight?”

“All of them? Uhmm, 522 stones. Woah, that’s a lot of product! 4,000 leaves exactly if we mix it right.”

“Should be able to get it done in time,” She turns to me, “If Kane actually helps with the leaves.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going. ‘Sides, I’m going to need a drink. To the ale!”

“You could do so much better for yourself Ash,” Ave says as I leave the room. Little brat.

Finding the bundles of leaves I bring them into the room before heading back deeper to look for ale. I come back drinking it from a bowl I’d poured it into. Some of it running down my mouth, falling and mixing with the mud. Now, I’m ready to work. But where.

“Just go on stage and cut them all at once sweetheart,” Ash says.

“Good idea.”

I put the ale down for a bit and carry the bundles over the teeth and onto the stage I was standing on not too long ago. I suppose there’s a lesson here, I’ve only been on this stage for two reasons – death and drugs. Pretty much the slums grinded down to two words. Don’t have time for lessons though.

Putting the bundles down I grab my sword from where it landed when I threw it at Ave and get into stance, This’ll be easy. I told them I was practicing.

No one else here, no need to slow myself down. I inhale slowly and hold my breath. Exhaling, my right arm moves with my breath, with me, my katana cutting right horizontally, swinging just over the leave bundles and back down. Circularly, I move my sword to my left-hand, continuing the swing, using the momentum to bring the sword up then down, viciously.

BOOM!

Leaves fly everywhere, all of them perfectly cut on one side.

Crack!

Shit! Went too far. The beast’s tongue’s now scarred.

“So, we desperately need money, and you decide to increase our debt?” Ash says, right eyebrow raised.

“Sorry. Sorry.” Shit!

“As I said Ash, so much better for yourself. He only does that because the sword’s too heavy for him.”

“Haha, you carry it.”

“I’m not an idiot, it’s too heavy for all of us. But only a special kind of idiot would find a rusted katana that weighs eight stone and make it his sword. Your wrists must hate you almost as much as you hate yourself.”

“Too far Ave,” Ash says.

“Hey, I’m not the one hurling swords at ten-year-olds.”

“Whatever, you think you can turn 2,400 leaves to 2,800 later? Make up for what we’re losing, the balancing’s beyond me.” Ash says.

“Yeah, we’ll just have to skim off of the rest and pack ours tighter. I’ll cut it up later,” Ave replies, “I’ll start by the time Kane’s done with the actual leaves.”

I gather up the leaves and cut the rest of the sides, less dramatic this time. Done. Finally, I can re…

“I was wondering what all the commotion was about,” The Madam says, standing by the entrance. She walks in and sits at her table again, Qaet leaving her side to study the scar on the stage. She walks back with one then three fingers up.

“Another third then Kane.” The Madam says, tea being served to her by her travelling entourage.

“Yes ‘Mam.” Shit! 130 more leaves, and Ave can’t pack things unevenly with her watching. Shit! She’s back early on purpose, not because of me.

“Hurry up now children, the demon’s here now. I’d very much like to go other places with him before I have to return him to his master.” She motions to her underlings to help with the packaging, Ave measuring and weighing everything by sight. His talent.

With the help of her minions, we’re able to package everything in time. 4,000 leaves exactly. It says a lot about the slums that our un-official currency is a package of dust, twenty beautiful trips per leaf. More leaves than coppers or silvers ‘round here, let alone gold.

1,600 leaves for Peeg, Myq, and Criss. All back here briefly to grab their fourth of the product and some food and ale.

2,400 leaves for Ave, Ash, and I. And we somehow have to sell another 400’s worth out of our own pouches, plus an extra 130 now for my stupidity. Plus three silvers each for three months living in the Madam’s standardized huts for the winter, and another two silvers for food. Gold and a half total? I’ll ask Ave what that’s in leaves exactly later, but it should be…

Shit! I’m broke like the next bastard over. How do you turn 2,400 leaves to 5,000 in one week? Dealing drugs doesn’t pay enough.