Oooh, and I have edits for Burning Bonds to do too. IDK if that's a good or bad distraction, though. :3
Eneko stared out at the street, peering through the heavy fall of rain that dimmed the street lights. The streets were flooded, though the water was only a few inches deep here on the slope of the hill. The Heights hadn't fared so well; there was often a few feet of water on the streets and creeping into the houses there.
He was getting closer, but his amulet was too weak to be specific enough. There was no way to tell which of the young man standing under the alcove across the street was the one he was looking for. There were four of them, dressed poorly for the weather but well for their occupation. Thin, dark, tight-fitting breeches, light-colored shirts open at the collar and plastered to their skin from the rain. Uniformly, they all had dark hair, and the way they kept moving around made it impossible to tell them apart.
Eneko frowned, wondering again if he was mistaken. It didn't make sense; why would the candidate be whoring himself out on a street corner? Standing in the rain wasn't going to net him any answers, however, and Eneko forced himself to move, sloshing through the flooded streets towards the group under the alcove.
The group divided into separate entities as Eneko approached. The one on the far left wore a gold chain around his neck, which was brave for the area. He was standing a little too close to a young man who was a good few inches shorter than the others; he looked as though he should still be at home with his parents, not out in the streets. The next man had bright green eyes that stood out even in the gloom of early twilight the heavy rain clouds brought. The man on the far right had unfashionably short hair, plastered to his forehead and almost obscuring his eyes.
"Good evening," Eneko said politely, completely unaware of the etiquette of approaching a street whore. With any luck, he wouldn't screw this up and he could be headed back to the nice, dry temple shortly.
The one on the far left snorted, moving forward with a graceful, sinuous step. "Not with this rain." He gave Eneko a sultry look. "Want to go somewhere dryer?"
"Um," Eneko stalled, glancing over the other three. Which one? It was impossible to tell. The amulet was nearly burning against his skin. It was one of them, that was for sure.
"What do you like?" The whore stepped forward another step, putting himself squarely in Eneko's personal space. He reached up, trailing his fingers along Eneko's cheek. The amulet abruptly cooled. Eneko reached up and caught the whore's hand gently, shaking his head. He'd just have to touch each of them, then.
"Sorry," Eneko said, making the man laugh. He stepped back, freeing his hand from Eneko's and ducking under the alcove.
"Well?" The man with the short hair demanded, sounding irritable. "Make a choice or move along."
"Talmai," the young-looking one chided. He gave Eneko a sweet smile. "Ignore him, he's just grouchy because of the rain."
"I don't blame him," Eneko said, and then made a quick decision. It was one of the three, and while it could just be a throwaway comment about Talmai not liking the rain, it could be something more. Turning to Talmai, he said, "I'd like to engage your services, sir."
"Sir," Talmai repeated, snorting. He flicked his hair out of his face, giving Eneko a considering look. "All right, then."
Eneko held out a hand, hoping he was right and not making the wrong choice. Talmai rolled his eyes derisively, but stepped forward, setting his hand in Eneko's. The effect was instantaneous—the amulet surged to life, knocking Eneko backwards. Talmai jerked back, likely forced by the amulet. He stumbled a few splashing steps backwards even as Eneko fell and landed hard on the sidewalk.
Talmai didn't even hesitate, taking off into the night, sprinting through the water as though it wasn't there. Eneko cursed, struggling to stand even as the rain fell harder and the water surged against him.
"Saya, go after him!"
Eneko finally regained his feet and made to follow them both. The rain was pounding down harder than ever, but that was only more proof he had to catch Talmai before he did worse than flood the city. He didn't get to take one step; the green-eyed man stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
"What did you do to Talmai?" He demanded, grabbing the front of Eneko's sodden jacket.
"Nothing," Eneko snapped, shoving him. The man stumbled, but didn't let go, pulling Eneko back with him. "Let go."
"No."
Eneko jerked back, then furiously dug into his jacket pocket, pulling out the leather billfold he kept handy. Flipping it open, he displayed the badge to the man, repeating, "Let go."
"You really think I'm going to let you hunt him down? I know what your kind do to us—"
"Jerin, stop," the other man said, stepping forward and grabbing Eneko's badge. "He's not a guard."
"What?" Jerin asked. He still didn't let go of Eneko, and Eneko stifled a growl of frustration. Talmai was good and gone; there was no way he'd be able to track him, not in this weather.
"This is the badge of the Select Guard. The priests."
"That's not much better," Jerin muttered. He dropped his hand. "Let me see that, Lain." Lain passed the badge to Jerin, frowning. As Jerin studied the badge, Lain raised a hand to fidget with the small gold locket he wore around his neck. "I don't see much difference."
"That's because you're not looking," Eneko snapped. "Where would he go?"
"Why should we tell you?" Jerin asked, tossing the badge back at Eneko. He crossed his arms, glaring at Eneko defiantly. "He's safer away from your type."
"Why are you looking for him?" Lain asked, ignoring Jerin's dark look. "He's done nothing wrong."
Eneko hesitated. If the wrong people learned Talmai was the candidate before Eneko was able to get him safely to the temple, Talmai would be killed. It was one of the reasons he'd managed to hide for so long; the priests hadn't wanted to draw attention to the fact that the candidate hadn't been confirmed and was therefore vulnerable.
"We won't help if you don't tell us," Lain said. Eneko could assert his authority and drag Lain and Jerin to the temple for questioning, but he doubted that would be any more useful than following the amulet's pull.
"I don't know I can trust you," Eneko replied, ignoring Jerin's scoff of disbelief. "His life might be worth more to you in gold."
"You think we'd sell him out?" Jerin squawked, stepping forward and raising an arm like he meant to deck Eneko.
"He's the candidate?" Lain asked, making Jerin stop dead in his tracks.
"I'm not allowed to say," Eneko said, tucking his wallet back into his jacket. "The candidate hasn't been confirmed yet."
"I'm going to kill him," Lain muttered. He glanced at Jerin questioningly.
"I don't trust him," Jerin said promptly, giving Eneko another dark look. "He's a guard, even if he's special."
"What will you do with Talmai if you find him?" Lain asked.
"Take him to the temple." Eneko glanced behind him, at the towering building that dominated the city. It was larger than even the governor's estate. The four towers set around the main cathedral building were brightly lit, the magic light glowing solidly despite the heavy rain. "You're welcome to accompany him. It would probably be safer, since you all look somewhat alike and no one would be able to tell which of you is the candidate."
"Oh, so now we get to risk our lives for you, too?" Jerin asked, his eyes narrowing.
"If you don't tell anyone that Talmai is the candidate, there's no risk," Eneko pointed out. Out of patience, he rounded on Lain. "Will you help or not? I don't have time to waste on bickering with you."
"I'm not the one bickering," Lain said, a slow smile curving his lips. "Talmai knows, doesn't he? Why isn't he going to the temple on his own?"
"I don't know," Eneko said, throwing up his hands in frustration. "He was there, briefly, a few months ago. No one could tell me why he ran."
"More like, they didn't want to tell you," Jerin muttered, giving Eneko another dark look. "Fine. We'll help. But one wrong move and I'll have a knife in your ribs faster than you can blink. No one will look twice at another body in the gutter in this district."
Eneko looked to Lain, who definitely seemed to be the one in charge. He was certainly more level-headed than Jerin, at least.
"I won't stop him," Lain said, sounding almost cheerful at the prospect.
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