In the Open Cage

Chapter 21

Misa blew out a breath, holding her tongue before she swore into an elderly woman pushing past her to get into the shop. Another dead end. It had been a full day since she'd challenged the captain, and her hopes of gaining information from the locals were already beginning to flicker.

Bunching her skirt in a fist, Misa made her way to the Old Oak. It was rowdy and packed for lunch, but Misa managed to snag a seat at the counter where she'd met the barkeeper. To her delight, the same man greeted her from behind the wooden structure.

"A pleasure to see you again," Kairin said, sending her a wink.

Misa smiled easily. "Yes. I've been meaning to come back again, but I haven't had much time."

"Ah. Too busy taking care of that brother of yours?"

Misa's mood soured. She didn't hide her irritation. "Oh, yes. Quite. Honestly, he must think I'm still a child. Everything I do seems churlish and reckless and naïve in his eyes."

Kairin clicked his tongue in sympathy. "A rather overprotective brother, is he?"

Misa scowled. The captain was far from overprotective. The only reason he didn't want Misa to get caught was because it would rid him of an insider in the witch community. "I wouldn't say that. Not at all." She rolled her eyes. "No, I doubt he'd care if anything happened to me. He's more concerned I'll..." She caught herself before she spilled the truth. Already, she felt she'd said too much.

The barkeeper quirked a brow, and Misa desperately searched for an answer that would make sense. She noticed a harlot sitting atop a man's lap, grinning with an almost predatory gaze. Misa flushed, averting her eyes away in embarrassment.

"He's concerned I'll embarrass him," she said, posing it as a shameful confession. "Or defame my family name."

"Well, he's rather foolish if he thinks you're an embarrassment." Kairin grinned.

Misa shrugged. "I suppose." She had to change the subject. Ranting about the captain was not the reason she'd sought the barkeeper out.

"All brothers are that way. I should know—I have five. They're a pain to deal with, but at the end of the day, you still love them." Kairin's smile dropped, his eyes glazed.

A stab of guilt punctured through Misa. He was comforting a lie. "Do you miss them?"

He nodded. "Sometimes. It was my decision to leave. I never thought I'd ever miss that dump I called home. When I scrounge up enough, I plan to visit my family again."

Misa let the silence between them stretch for a minute. Laughter and loud conversations kept the bar lively and their moment unnoticed. It was time to change the subject.

"Say, have you ever heard of a door in the sky?" Misa asked, tucking her chin atop her palm. She decided looking into the second part of the riddle would be much more productive than looking for bells.

Kairin laughed. "What? I've never heard such nonsense before!"

Misa smiled, but she fought an irritated sigh. Was this going to be another dead end? "Right? I can't imagine what that would be like. Imagine a door hanging in the sky!"

"Well, then. Why'd you ask?"

Misa avoided his gaze but kept a blank face. She shrugged nonchalantly. "Just curious. I've read a riddle from somewhere, asking about a place you can reach through the door in the sky. The answer has never been revealed, and I was wondering what it could mean."

"Oh." Kairin's eyes gleamed. "If you're having trouble with riddles, you should seek out Bernt Riddler. He always has the most unusual riddles to tell. His father was a riddler, his grandpop was a riddler, his great grandpop was a riddler. It's in his blood. Maybe he can assist you in finding an answer to something as ridiculous as this."