“Why do I let you talk me into taking these jobs?” Darina asked. “You like the thrill. Give me your hand.” Slippurse reached out the window. Darina took her friend's hand and let her help pull her through the window. “I like my friends alive. You need to stop taking Merrada's jobs.” Darina insisted. “It's good money. I've looked for legitimate work.” “Maybe you should think about looking in Veslin.” Darina suggested. It was possible Slippurse's reputation was getting around. The shop owners’ wives didn't trust her around their husbands. Or, they suspected she was a thief and didn't trust that. “I left everyone I knew once, when I followed Ceebo here. I'm not doing that again. This isn't the time for this conversation. Come on.” She led the way to the next room. She slipped on a ring to allow her to see magic and a silk glove with copper threads. Darina put her on her own silk gloves. Hers didn't have the copper. Silk blocked magic. Copper destroyed it. It also burned mages. The special glove was also too expensive for an occasional thief like her. She followed Slippurse to the house. It was a huge place. The magistrate would have a huge house. The floor squeaked and she jumped. “Relax, they're not even home. They went to Sen-gan.” “What about the servants?” Slippurse frowned. “Servants? I think about them.” Then she rolled her eyes. “The servants are taking care of. How long have I been doing this?” “Four years.” “Four years in Thager.” Slippurse corrected her. “Why were you stealing in Sen-gan? You had someone taking care of you there.” “If you call that being taking care of, living in a kiddie warehouse. Come on.” “Ty, I hear something.” Darina stopped to listen. “Ty? You call me Slippurse all the time. Now you call me Ty? On a job?” “I hear someone.” “Slippurse. Call me that.” Slippurse insisted. “Would you shut up and listen. I heard someone.” Darina insisted. “There's not supposed to be anyone here.” “I'm not hearing wind.” “Come on. It'll be fine. Just be quiet.” Slippurse continued on. “We're still going to do it?” “Do you want to tell Merrada we backed out?” “Why do you work for him?” Darina asked again. “Shh.” They continued through to the house. Darina thought about casting a silent spell but then they wouldn't hear anyone coming. Plus, it was at the top of her list of difficult spells and would use up too much of her energy. She wouldn't be able to cast the spells Slippurse had brought her here for. Finally, they found the room. “That's what we're here for.” Slippurse pointed. It was a statue. It was small enough either could carry it, if they could get to it. It was surrounded by several magical shields. “How long is that glove?” Darina asked. “Just to my wrist. Can't you negate the shields?” “I can, but at least one looks like it will either alert someone or sounded alarm. What I'm going to need to do is open a hole in all the shields and then shield the statue when it's out. You'll need to switch to regular silk gloves.” Slippurse nodded and changed. She couldn’t hold the statue one-handed, anyhow. “The gloves dampen the ring’s magic. I need you to guide me.” Slippurse told her. Darina opened the holes and guided Slippurse through. Once back out with the statue, she shielded it and closed the holes. They didn't hear any alarms but she knew one had gone off. Someone somewhere was alerted to their presence. Quickly, they made their way back to where they'd entered and hurried off. **** Thailyn was waiting when Darina got home. “Where have you been?” He asked. “With the client.” Darina shrugged. “At this time of the night?” “This is when I was needed.” She told him. “You were terrified. Who is your client?” “Tylan.” “Slippurse? The thief? You were robbing someone?” He frowned. “She was. I was just helping her get to it.” “You told me you weren’t a thief.” “I'm not. I'm a mage for hire. It's just not all my clients want my magic for legal activities.” “Why? You still don't trust that I'm staying?” Thailyn looked hurt. Darina shook her head. “It's not that. Before we met, I couldn't afford a healer for my mom, not on a regular basis, so I started taking on jobs that weren't legal. “I've never mention them because I'd stopped once we met. The only reason I took this job was because it was Slippurse. She accepted a job from Merrada without getting the details. She didn't dare back down and any other mage that would work with her on a job like that would likely double-cross her.” Thailyn nodded and sighed. “What did you take?” “A statue from a magistrate.” “This was for Merrada or was he acting as an intermediary?” “An intermediary, why?” “I know a guard or two.” Thailyn shrugged. “You won’t be able to get him arrested. He's too careful and dangerous. Most of the guards are afraid of him.” “It doesn't matter.” Thailyn shook his head. “If this was for someone else, he wouldn’t keep it long enough to matter.” “You're not mad at me?” “Mad because you helped a friend? Do I feel mad?” Darina shook her head. “No.” “Just promise me you'll be careful.” She nodded. “I will.”