The inside of House Calla pretty much embodied the overall personality of the family who lived there. A grand ceiling arched across grand curved banisters, which arched over a grand ornamented hallway, and all of it was so grand and arching that Zericho wanted to break something just to see what chaos would ensue.

"In here," Annavhe said stiffly, pushing a door open.

Zericho followed, with the guard captain still close behind her. The room beyond was just as lavish as everything else, but surprisingly small; most of the space was taken by a rectangular table and the six cushioned chairs around it. A cutout in one wall revealed the charred wooden logs of a fireplace. Zericho could just make out the panel above them that would slide out to reveal a crystal-laced magnifying glass, which would presumably set the logs on fire, although she'd never seen one of those contraptions in action. The only other source of light was an old-style lantern hanging above the table; Zericho assumed they were somewhere in the depths of the building where a sun or star roof wouldn't be as effective.

Annavhe clasped his hands, glancing between Zericho and the captain. "Zericho," he stated, like her name was some huge proclamation on its own. "This is Kaneia. Kaneia, Zericho."

Zericho glanced at the guard, not sure how to respond. She didn't really feel the need to be polite to someone who clearly had no respect for her personal space. Kaneia regarded her with equal hostility, muscular arms crossed and eyes narrowed. A long scar ran down one of her cheeks, and her brown hair was cut close to her head, signifying that either she wasn't of noble birth, or she'd moved past that tradition alongside the rest of society and hadn't bothered to tell her lord about it.

When neither woman said anything, Annavhe nodded once. "Zericho, your actions today have caused a lot of problems. A high-ranking noble within my family's Circle had a possession stolen. One of Kaneia's guards was tackled and heavily injured. Someone brought out an Aster in public and let it wreak havoc." He took a dramatic breath. "You should be put in the dungeon twice as long as those prisoners were sentenced for, but if you can do something for me, I'd be willing to overlook most of it."

Zericho gave him a flat look.

"There will also be significant monetary compensation, should the job be done to my satisfaction."

She nodded thoughtfully. Half the things he was crediting her for had come as just as much a surprise to her as to everyone else, but he didn't need to know that until she had a better idea where this was going. "What do you need me to do, how much am I getting paid, and what resources can you provide?"

He shook his head. "First tell me what resources you have. I know there are at least three people working for you, counting the royal executioner. And you need to tell me how and when you got him on your side."

Zericho frowned at that. "The royal executioner? What did he do?"

"He tackled one of our guards, and would have let the prisoners escape if Kaneia hadn't fought him. She won, by the way," he added with a slight smirk, "but unfortunately the traitor escaped with the help of your other lackey."

"What other lackey?"

He gave her a dubious look. "Black eyes and red hair. With the feral cat Aster that put several innocent people in the hospital."

Zericho shrugged. "Never met him."

There was a sharp ring, and Zericho's hair was pulled painfully, jerking her head back until her ear hit someone's shoulder. She was halfway into retaliating with an elbow when something glinted in the corner of her vision, and then a weird sensation lightly brushed her throat.

"Quit with the nonsense," Kaneia's rough, dry voice spat by her other ear.

Drawing in a shallow breath, Zericho glanced at Annavhe again, meeting his cobalt blue eyes. He's not going to let her kill me before we've worked through the deal, she told herself, trying to stop her heart from pounding. "Buddy, I don't know who that guy was or what he was doing there, but he almost screwed up my theft. I don't like him any more than you do."

When the guard didn't budge, and the lord continued to eye her suspiciously, she sighed, focusing on anything except the metal tickling the skin of her neck. "I was working with my two younger brothers, and that's it. Our plan was to steal a valuable necklace from Lord Silveress, and that's it. Anything else was beyond my knowledge or control."

Annavhe frowned. "So you're saying at least two entirely separate... shenanigans occurred there at the same time?"

"Yes. And they interfered with each other, too."

"I find that hard to believe," Kaneia growled, tightening her grip on Zericho's hair.

Eyes watering, Zericho tried to adjust her position, only to feel the knife brush her neck again. "What else am I supposed to tell you?" she asked, starting to get genuinely scared. "I can't tell you about the executioner because I don't know. I can't say who the guy with the Aster was because I seriously don't know."

Annavhe pursed his lips. "Let her go," he ordered his guard captain.

With a disgusted scoff, Kaneia pushed her palm into Zericho's shoulder, sending the thief stumbling across the floor before she caught herself. Zericho massaged her scalp where the guard's hand had pulled her hair, facing the other two again. "Now that we've established that, can you tell me what you want me to do?"

Annavhe gritted his teeth, looking frustrated. "You've just told me that you didn't accomplish half of what I thought you did today. Why should I not put you straight in the dungeon after all?"

"You want to put me in the dungeon because I caused less damage than you thought?" Zericho demanded, doing her best to make his argument sound stupid even though he had a point. She wasn't what he'd thought she was. Sure, she and her brothers made a pretty damn good team, and as far as she knew, their plan had worked while the other one had failed. But she hadn't corrupted the Queen's executioner, or created a multi-step diversion to free prisoners while simultaneously stealing a necklace, and she certainly didn't have anyone with an Aster under their command.

"I need someone who can cause damage," the lord insisted, a flicker of anxiety crossing his face. "I need someone so devastatingly effective that they can destroy a person's life for good without the person knowing it happened until it's too late."

Zericho blinked, wondering what exactly this lord was hoping to achieve. Was she getting caught up in some feud between noble houses that could result in things worse than imprisonment? Whether she was or not, it sounded like this was a job for someone far above her ability level.

She nodded dutifully and said, "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can do it."

"How about you do a test run first," Kaneia interrupted as her lord was about to respond. She unclasped a simple wooden barrette from her short hair. "You and these brothers of yours need to bring this to Annavhe by the end of the week, or you go in the dungeon."

Zericho crossed her arms. "For no pay? No offense, but if there's a chance of them ending up in the dungeon, why in Night's name do you think I would rope my brothers into this when they're completely safe right now?" At least, she hoped they were safe. But since Lief's ability only worked in a small range, she couldn't be sure until she left this building.

Kaneia shrugged. "If you don't think you need their help, by all means." She slipped the barrette into her uniform's breast pocket.

They don't seriously expect me to steal that from a guard's front pocket. Zericho glanced at Annavhe, who nodded like he'd been planning this all along.

She shrugged. If they weren't even going to tell her how much they were paying for the eventual job, she wasn't going to try. As soon as she left the building to start her trial theft, she would find her brothers and get out of Calla Circle. There were plenty of other Circles, and the three siblings weren't well-known enough to be spotted as thieves on entry.

"I'll give you almost anything if you succeed in the task I want to hire you for," Annavhe blurted, his composed mien cracking as he saw the disinterested look on her face. "Five thousand crystal. A consistent supply of good food and shelter. A portion of my inheritance for House Calla. If you so desired, I would marry you or one of your brothers so you all could take on the family name and share in its privileges."

Zericho held his gaze disbelievingly, and when he didn't blink, she whistled. He was probably going to retract most of the things he'd offered — there was no way he would actually marry a common criminal and brave the social stigma — but the message was still there. "You're desperate, aren't you?"

His face closed off again as he drew himself up. "Why do you think I'm reducing myself to hiring someone like you?" he asked a bit snappishly.

Kaneia raised a finger to butt in, looking uncomfortable at her lord's behavior, but Annavhe continued before she could speak.

"Zericho, you may go out and collect your brothers with Kaneia's supervision, then bring them back to stay the night here. Kaneia can sneak you in without issue as long as you're quiet, which you of all people should be able to achieve. Your trial run will start in the morning."

Zericho bit her lip, nodding along as she considered. "Why do you need to sneak us into your own house?"

"There are people here who should not see you," Kaneia answered. "Under any circumstances. So don't wander around, understood?"

Zericho nodded astutely, making a mental note to warn her brothers before instructing them to wander around. "Can you give me part of my payment now, so I know you're serious?" she asked.

Annavhe nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two hundred-crystal coins. The yellowish sun crystals sparkled where they were embedded throughout the metal.

Zericho watched with astonishment as the coins dropped into her palm. She'd rarely ever seen money like that, with real crystal pieces instead of the simple marks on lower-value coins. And this guy had just pulled them out of his pocket like they were nothing.

She rolled her neck, glancing at the lord again. "Alright," she said finally. "I'll do it."

Annavhe's shoulders relaxed visibly. "Thank you," he told her sincerely, before apparently remembering that he was supposed to be her superior. "Kaneia will escort you out to find your brothers now."

Zericho nodded, then stepped to the side as the guard tried to circle around and grab her shoulders. "I can walk on my own, thank you," she snapped. "I won't run for it with five thousand crystal on the line." Or my future in a dirty-ass dungeon.

Kaneia let out a huff, but started out of the room, jerking her head for Zericho to follow. They made quick time through the house, with Zericho paying more attention to the layout this time, now that she would be staying here for at least a week. Once her brothers were with her, she would tell them where they needed to explore, and where to stay away from.

Those plans evaporated the second she stepped outside and saw Lief, held in place from behind, with a red scimitar hovering at his throat.