The Thief King

45 | The Cage

A foul place. A place of sin, for sin. He sought the stench of rotting morals and corrupted souls. Kole needed to surround himself with filth to avoid feeling like it himself. He needed to fight, collide his fist with another's flesh, to feel like he was in control. And the only place he knew could satisfy both needs festered in the bowels of the city.

The only problem? He had left a bad impression nights prior.

"Let me in Sil," he growled at the woman barring his way. Her pierced nose flared, and her the studs in her lips sat uncomfortably from her pout. "I bring no trouble. Just need to fight."

"And that be the problem, Moody."

"Why? Ghoal changed his business of late?"

"No business be changing, just the types we let in, and ye aint on the list."

"Didn't realize there was one. Look, I don't need to be in a fancy, high-staked fight. Put me in with the masses, one of the potlucks, if you will."

"Ye desperate enough to want in on a potluck?" Sil snorted. "Only fools ask to be let in on the potlucks."

"Then I'm a fool."

Sil flicked her tongue over one of the rings in her upper lip. "Look mate, I got me orders. Ghoal said never to let ye in again. No matter what. I be out of a job if I let ye in."

"Ghoal doesn't watch the potlucks."

"Nah, but people got wagging tongues, ye ken? Somebody's bound to lark on ye. They remember ye well back there, and being on yer own and all, ye stand no chance in there. Ye'll die in there."

"Then I'll die," Kole growled. "What's it to you how I fare? Your job description is check folk at the door. You can cover and say you never saw me."

"Ye think that highly of yerself?"

"I don't need to. People can believe what they want. A story is a tale told wrong. A myth is what you want, and those are told with just enough lies to make it seem true."

"Those be some pretty words, Moody, but I got no time to make sense o' them. I aint letting you in."

Kole's patience was running dry, and if he wasn't careful, he'd fight his way into The Pits. Enough ale broiled in his system to make him reckless, but not enough to follow through on the thought.

"Sil?" Another voice entered the corridor, inquisitive and arrogant in its question. "What's going on here? Trouble?"

Sil nodded.

"I remember you. Kole was it?" Haze stood with his shoulder against the wall, arms folded, one foot hooked around the other. "Some might call you foolish for showing your face down here again."

Kole gave Sil a final look. "I didn't come here to cause a scene."

"Yeah, well Ghoal aint bloody likely to let you set foot in his pool again. He lost too much money the last night you were here."

"I don't need to set foot in the arena. Set me in the cages and I'll do the rest."

"The cages?" Haze scoffed. "You seeking a beating? Nobody sets foot in the cages unless they got no choice or they desperate."

Kole squared off his feet, folding his arms before him. "I don't need to explain my reasons to you, mate. My reasons are my own. I just want in. Don't even need a high staked match. Set me in with the lousiest lot you got and I won't complain."

Haze's gaze narrowed; he did not move. Silent, he stood frozen as if waiting for more information. "You might not want to tell me your reasons, but your avoidance is screaming your reasons nonetheless." He sighed, stepping past Kole and resting a hand on Sil's shoulder. "I got this."