Chapter 26 - "Don't lie to me."

Isla sat in the corner of the cafe across the street from Pascal's shop, waiting. She felt sore from the altercation the night before and her jump from the balcony. The constant ache in her muscles made her feel vulnerable. Added with this discomfort was the absence of Hawk beside her. It felt like she was missing a limb without him.

That morning both Hawk and Isla had argued with Raif - after Isla had accepted his help, and he had said only one of them could come with him. His point for it being Isla was she was a woman and would be easier to overlook, while Hawk was imposing even without attempting to be so. Pascal's mercenaries would have given their description of Hawk to Pascal and though Pascal had seen Isla, without coming face to face with him, she was less likely to be noticed.

It had been impossible to argue with Raif's logic and so Isla was alone, with her back to the door and only armed with two hidden daggers, a sword too visible to not draw attention. She stared out of the line of windows along the cafe's wall. The midday sun had burned away the clouds, leaving no shield against its intense glare. Its heat baked the streets and brick buildings, but somehow the interiors remained cool despite the sun's efforts.

The cafe hummed with conversations and the patter of feet as servers bustled about, delivering drinks and dishes that gave off savory aromas. Isla's own drink sat on the table before her, sweating away, untouched. As each minute passed, Isla's nerves grew more agitated as she wondered if it had been a mistake to trust Raif.

As she was debating on crossing the street and checking on whether Raif had taken the opportunity to slip out the back of Pascal's shop, the door to the shop opened and the Appraiser stepped out followed by Raif. Gone was the rugged sailor, in its place was a nobleman in a suit cut to his form and clean-shaven.

Isla wondered if his change in appearance would ever not give her a moment of surprise; even though she was aware that it came from seeing him comfortable in a worn shirt and pants, his jaw bearing a few days scruff. It was an image of him she needed to not dwell on, for it wasn't truly who he was. She knew that. Still...

Raif and Pascal entered the cafe and took the table directly behind Isla. Before leaving for the Appraiser's shop, Raif had passed money to a server and told them to keep the table clear. From the addition of a mirror nestled in the corner, Isla was able to view the pair without turning around.

Pascal had his back to her, his black hair curly just above the collar of his shirt. Opposite Pascal, Raif leaned in his chair. For half a breath, Raif locked eyes with Isla in the mirror's reflection before he focused on his companion.

"I am pleased you decided to join me for a drink," Raif said, his smile easy and his tone distinctly noble. "I have wanted to meet you for some time. When I am at court if someone speaks of The Appraiser, they are only ever talking about you."

Isla watched as Pascal preened under the flattery, his back straightening, his head tilting ever so slightly upward.

"I am sure you have had endless dealings with some of the wealthiest of noblemen," Raif said.

Pascal waved a dismissive hand, the glint of gold on his fingers contradiction the gesture.

"A bit," Pascal said. "Noblemen tend to be..."

Pascal stiffened as he trailed off, clearly remembering who he was talking to.

"Demanding and entitled?" Raif finished. He smiled. "You have nothing to worry about, you can not insult me, my friend. I find noblemen to be the reason I travel so often. Lavish dinners and balls crowded with self-indulgent men are not to my taste despite my title."

Pascal relaxed and chuckled softly. Isla sank back in her chair, struck by the skill Raif displayed. In a single statement, he had numbered Pascal among his acquaintances while in the next moment showing that they were truly the same, both preferring the freedom of their occupation to being among the stuck-up elite.

"Tell me," Raif said. "Have you ever encounter Earl Tressal?"

"I have. The man is-"

"A pompous tit. And that is when he is at his very best."

At this, Pascal gave a hearty laugh and sipped from his drink. "I will not argue on that account, my friend."

The title was attached at the end with the same ease in which Raif had spoken it. As it had been there for years. Isla stared at Raif, studying the slight curve to his posture that said he was at home in this cafe, with someone who he need not put on airs for. Even his smile was unrestrained, wide and open. He was a man with nothing to hide.

"What of Lord Aram, I hope for your sake you have not been abused by that man's judgment," Raif said.

Isla stared as Pascal lounged back in his chair, whatever decorum he had exhibited on entering the cafe melting away.

"I have. That man believed he knew my trade better than myself."

Raif laughed. "That man would have the gall to correct the sun on how it moves. I pray it has been years since your encounter."

Pascal shook his head solemnly. "I wish, but I was forced to bear his scrutiny only four months ago."

Raif made a sympathy grunt. "Still, he can not match Viscount Drollan. I crossed paths with that man only last fall and it would be too soon if I saw him again."

Pascal leaned forward. Isla was unable to see his face, but something about the motion spoke of a fierce agreement. "I know what you speak of. A year is too soon which makes a week torture. He is a man who knows nothing of patience."

Raif nodded and patted Pascal's shoulder. "You endure pains that most men would not survive, friend. Though there is one I hope you never face. Countess Celeste." Raif shuttered. "May she never darken your door."

"My door has been darkened, that I can assure you."

Isla listened as names she faintly knew were tossed between the two men, handled, abused, and thrown away only to be replaced with the next. On and on it went, some names returned to at times but most never repeated. Isla drained her drink, only out of the need to order another so she would not be subjected to pointed looks from the servers.

The conversation grew tiresome to Isla as she waited for some mention of the emerald or gems, or even artifacts newly retrieved. But there were never any talks of such things. It only revolved around noblemen and their tendency to be irritations. Though Isla shared similar feelings for the men of the court, she cared nothing for the constant berating of them.

When the sun had noticeably shifted, Pascal roused himself as if he had lost himself in another world.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's been too long since I've been away from my shop. I should return."

As he stood, Raif stood with him, holding out his hand.

"Of course, I apologize for keeping you so long," he said.

Isla curled her fists at the waste of a day. They had learned nothing and Pascal was about to walk off. She knew that she could do nothing in such a crowded place, though at that moment she felt the desire to knock the man unconscious and haul him into the back of the cafe where she would force the answers from him. But instead, she remained seated.

Once sure that Pascal had retreated to his shop, Isla tossed a few coins on the table and departed. She headed away from the square, Raif joining her when they were out of sight of the Appraiser's shop. As they cut into a shaded lane, Isla let loose her frustration.

"You said you could get us the information we needed. I trusted you to do so, instead you failed and wasted my time," she said.

Rather than shame she felt Raif should be displaying, he merely looked amused and self-assured.

"Did I fail?" he asked, dropping the polished nobleman voice.

"Yes. He gave you nothing. You didn't even ask or make mention of the emerald."

Raif tilted his chin up and carelessly slid his hands into his pockets. "True, and yet somehow I still know who has it and how we can get it."

Isla spun on him, scowling. "Don't lie to me."

"Viscount Drollan has the emerald and we will be able to take it in Loria, at the King's Festival to be precise."

Isla stared at him, her expression unchanging. At her obvious disbelief, Raif shook his head.

"To ask Pascal about the emerald would tip him off to what I wanted. He isn't the type of man to betray his clients no matter how much they may annoy him. Instead, I asked about noblemen I know to collect rare gems and directed conversation around the subject of when he had last encountered them.

"I know the allotted time in which the emerald was being appraised and Pascal had dealings with only one nobleman at that time. Drollan. I know Drollan to be boastful and careless. This means he will have taken the emerald with him to the King's festival to show it off rather than keeping it safe in a vault.

"I have gotten you the information you wanted without damaging what relationship I might continue to have with Pascal for future use. Now, have I convinced you I'm not completely worthless?"

Despite her annoyance from moments before, Isla couldn't help feeling impressed. But she kept herself from showing it. After a long pause, she nodded.

"You have," she said.

She continued walking, Raif right beside her. Silence lapsed between them as they navigated their way through narrow and less crowded lanes to keep the sun from finding them. From open windows strands of music spilled out, filling the streets conflicting melodies and winding through the patter of footsteps.

"I was wrong to doubt you, you have my apology," Isla said, breaking the quiet.

Raif dipped his head to her. "I do find it amusing that even though you know my reputation and kidnapped me because of it, you still thought me incapable of getting what you needed."

Isla reached for the handle of her sword to grip it and dispel some of her humiliation, but she clutched air, only then remembering her sword was not at her side. "I was never taught how to extract information in such a subtle way."

"And I was not born with a sword in my hand. I was born in Court where we are taught how to steal secrets."

"Is that why you avoid Court?"

Raif tucked his hands behind him, contemplating the surrounding buildings. Sunlight cut lines into the walls at the tops, painting the bricks different hues.

"Yes," Raif said. "It is an endless web of lies and deceit though it looks otherwise from the outside." The edge of his mouth twitched at a memory. "Though last summer I had the pleasure of meeting the new Princess before she earned her title."

Raif glanced at Isla sidelong.

"I believe if you two were to meet you would enjoy each other's companion. She was not born to Court but because of certain circumstances she was thrown into a position she would not otherwise have taken on. Like you have, taking command of your father's ship."

He looked at her with an intensity in his eye that Isla felt uncomfortable with, as it stirred a response inside her she didn't want.

"The crew has been sailing long before I was born," she said. "I would be ignorant and prideful to say I command them. I more guide them since I know the ocean's currents."

Raif turned on his heel and proceeded to walk backward, drawing strange glances from people who passed by them.

"Then you guide them," Raif said, "and I find it admirable that you have chosen to do so when clearly the burden of it has weighed on you."

Isla locked eyes with Raif then, hating how his words impacted her. What response she would have given was stolen from her when two sets of strong hands grabbed her arms.

The suddenness of it startled Isla, freezing her for half a second.

"Duke Sayers," a deep voice said. "We got your message."

Anger burned through Isla as she watched realization dawn on Raif's face.

"Isla-"

Isla stomped one of her capturer's feet and head-butted the other. Their surprise gave her the opening to rip herself free of their holds. As she spun to finish them, another man appeared, bearing the Sayers' crest on his chest.

She twisted around to the only other avenue of escape but found the opening to the lane blocked by two more men. Five in total. She was outnumbered and still wearing the previous night's wounds.

Growling in frustration, Isla took the offensive. She hurled both her knives at two of the men. Both went down with the daggers protruding from a shoulder and side. Weaponless, she charged at a third man before her, ducking under the swing of his sword and barreling into him. They crashed to the ground and she socked him in the jaw only to receive a blow to her already bruised side.

She cried out as pain exploded in her. As the man raised his sword hilt to smash it into her head, she rolled away, leaving him aiming at open air. Staggering up, she faced the man only to be slammed into the wall by another. Stars burst in front of her as her head collided with the hard brick.

Beyond the ringing in her ears, she heard the grunts of someone else fighting and vaguely thought of Hawk, somehow knowing she needed his aid. A fist to her jaw jolted the thoughts from her head. She faltered and shook her head, forcing herself to think passed the disorientation.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the flash of a blade and dove out of the way.

Searing pain sliced through her thigh and she gasped as she hit the ground. Rolling over, she gritted her teeth, preparing herself for another stab. But the man hovering above her didn't attack. His face slackened, his eyes dimmed and he crumpled to the ground. Standing over him was Raif.

Only then did Isla gaze around and find that the other two men were unconscious. She stared back at Raif, not understanding, the pounding in her head making thoughts difficult to tie together. She pushed herself up to a sitting position but had to close her eyes as a new shock of pain jolted up her leg. When she opened her eyes, she saw that her pant leg was already soaked with blood.

Isla stared at the wound, trying to find the solution that dangled just out of reach. The ripping of cloth drew her attention upwards to find Raif tearing the sleeves off the attacker's shirts. He knelt beside her but she shoved his shoulder.

"Leave," she said. "This is your doing."

Raif glared at Isla. "I didn't do this. You had to know when we visited Lord Sutherland he would alert my father."

He grabbed her injured leg, straightened it, and wrapped one sleeve around it, knotting tightly. Isla winced.

"I didn't send them a message beside my appearance with you." He took another sleeve and added it to the other bandage. "You can choose to believe that despite all I have proven to be I still planned to betray you but I would think you extremely foolish."

He knotted off another sleeve, scowling all the while. Isla sank back against the wall, staring at the hard line of his mouth.

"You didn't plan for this?" she asked, the edge in her voice gone.

Raif's tense motions eased. "No. I gave you my word to help you."

Fingers still lingering on her leg, he raised his head and she held his gaze.

"Then I will hold you to your word."

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It's bad luck to have a woman on board.

(Don't let Isla hear you saying that Mr. Gibbs or she'll have your head!)

Blasted barnacles I honestly can't tell if we've made progress on their ship or not! WILL THE BAD GUYS STOP ATTACKING SO ISLA CAN SOFTEN TO RAIF PLEASE!!! Thank you.

What do you think? Did we take one step forward or two steps back and now we've walked off the plank and are floundering in shark infested waters? 💬🗯💭🦈

At least Raif held his ground and didn't let her push him away! I say that is something. I was surprised by that because when I first imagined the scene I saw him scrambling instead of being mad.

But again it's clear I have no control over my characters WHATSOEVER! Jeez, I might as well jump overboard for all that my opinions matter.

അധ്യായത്തിന്റെ ചോദ്യം (Malayalam): If animals could talk, which do you think would be the rudest?

My answer: I have to say badger. They just seem like they would be super pushy. I don't know but maybe it's in their name, you know like you 'badger' someone. Hahaha I don't know if that's a terrible joke or I'm just really tired and think it is!

Also forgot! Vote for tumble weeds, comment on western winds, and follow the north horizon.

(Wow, I think I've lost my marbles. I wonder where they went. Hope no one trips and falls on them)