Page 58 of The Thief's Mark

Cal licked his lips, avoiding Griff’s eyes. “He, uh, wanted to team up again. To do a job together.”

Griff stared at him through the sheen of rain, incredulous. “Isthatwhere you’ve been for the past few hours?” When Cal hung his head, Griff couldn’t hold back his disappointment any longer. “Seriously, Cal? We’re in the middle of a critical investigation that might implicate a member of the Pentarchy, and you left to gorobsome innocent person?” He shook his head. “I thought you were better than that.”

Cal whirled, and Griff almost stumbled on the slick rooftop at the intent fury contorting his expression. “Am I? What makes you so sure of that? You barely know me!”

“Your aura—”

“Void take my aura!” Cal strode forward so he was right in Griff’s face. His aura swirled with regret and anger as he jabbeda finger into Griff’s chest. “I’m not the person you want me to be, Griff. Like it or not, I’m a thief. That’s what I’ve always been…and maybe that’s what I’ll always be.”

Staring down at Cal practically pressed against him while the rain misted down around them, Griff felt some of his own anger cool. He reached up and rested his hand on Cal’s accusing finger. Cal’s eyes widened as he spoke.

“You’re right, Cal—thatiswhat you were. You were Blackjack, and Lord Heneford, and who knows how many other people before that. But you don’t need to let them define who you’ll be tomorrow.”

Cal jerked back as if struck. Tearing his hand free of Griff’s grip, he stared at him. His aura lashed and curled in a tumultuous storm echoing the storm darkening the sky overhead.

“I…I’m sorry for losing the void relic,” he said softly, hanging his head. “Good luck with the rest of your investigation.”

The thief spun and darted toward the edge of the rooftop.

A flare of panic raced through Griff. He had the sudden, abrupt premonition that if he let Cal leave this time, he’d never see him again. “Cal, wait!”

He tried to move to stop him, but his foot slipped on the wet stone, and Cal was too quick. By the time Griff had recovered his balance, Cal was gone, vanishing into the night.

Griff stared at the edge of the rooftop amid the pattering rain. Merciful Light, how had everything fallen apart so quickly?

Just last night, they had seemed so close to cracking the case: to unraveling this conspiracy and unmasking the mastermind behind it. Now, the void orb was gone, along with his erstwhile partner, and he felt no closer to figuring out which member of the Pentarchy was behind this than he’d been before the gala.

His thoughts strayed back to Cal, his vision refocusing on the edge of the roof where he’d vanished. It would be so easy tolet Cal walk away like he had Amelie. To go back to his regular life focused solely on the investigation at hand, free of any distractions or complications.

But the thought left him hollow. He wasn’t ready to let Cal go—not yet. Maybe not ever.

And by the Light, he wasn’t ready to give up on this case either.

Determination straightening his back, Griff strode to the edge of the roof and peered down at the street below. Squinting his eyes, he strained his aura-sight.

Most people’s auras didn’t leave enough of an impression for him to read once they were out of sight. But Griff had felt oddly attuned to Cal’s aura from the first moment he’d seen it. That connection had only grown this past week as they spent more time investigating together.

He puffed out a relieved breath when he spied a faint streak of kaleidoscopic colors lingering in the air. Following it like a thread, he descended from the roof and allowed it to guide him through Derimay’s back streets, his hand hovering near his revolver in case he encountered any trouble.

The light drizzle of rain soon turned into a torrent. Griff ignored it, undeterred. An entire gang of Brotherhood enforcers could’ve been sneaking up on him right then, and he probably wouldn’t have noticed. All he had eyes for was that thin streak of bright color.

Eventually, he found himself climbing onto another narrow rooftop. Cal sat huddled beside a short wall that extended around the edge of the roof. Rain cascaded over him as he stared out over the city. Though from the distant look in his eyes, Griff doubted he was really seeing it.

Griff settled in beside him, careful to leave some distance between them so that Cal didn’t get spooked. They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound the heavy patter of rain.

“Go away,” Cal said.

Griff ignored him. He followed Cal’s gaze to stare out over the city. Even well past midnight, a cavalcade of lights spread out through the city. Banners whipped and lashed in the wind, making the empty streets appear alive and moving. In the distance, dark waves rumbled against the docks, the many ships moored there bobbing in the stormy seas.

He heard Cal shift beside him, though he didn’t look over. His experience with interrogations had left him plenty comfortable with awkward silences. Sometimes, it was best to wait for the other person to break them.

“I came up here because I didn’t want to be found,” Cal said at last. “Leave me alone.”

“If you didn’t want to be found, then you shouldn’t have spent so much time around an investigator who can track auras,” Griff replied. “I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me.”

More silence. More pattering rain.

Griff let his thoughts wander as a low rumble of thunder washed over them. His mind worked through the details of the case, trying to piece it all together. The Brotherhood. The void orb. The Pentarchy’s private bank account. The precarious situation with Nalax. It all fit together. The only question was how.