Jared laughed. “She’s never once taken mine.” He clasped his hands together and stepped around the bar. “Berip doesn’t know I smoke,” he said, plainly uninterested in speaking more about Rail. “But I’m headed out for a roll. Would you murder me if I offered you one?”

Anji groaned. “I’d murder you if you didn’t.”

They filed outside, letting the door close with a quiet thud at their backs. Jared leaned against the splintered wall of the inn and began rolling two cigars. Anji took the rolled-up wad of paper and cadroot he handed her, leaned forward into his lit match and inhaled the sweet tang of the plant. Nothing had tasted so good in weeks. She rolled it between her fingers as Jared lit his and waved the match out.

“You’ve got me in the same room as her,” said Anji, gesturing with the cigar to the floor above.

“And?”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll kill her?”

“As if she’d let you.”

Anji narrowed her eyes. “You know I killed Rolandrian, right? That’s why the Hawk has me.”

Jared ashed his smoke. “The Hawk,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“Did you know her?” Anji waved a vague hand. “Before?”

“I did. Back when she only went by Kit.”

“She’ll always be the Hawk to me.”

“You weren’t always a killer,” said Jared. “Neither was she.” He scratched at his unshaven whiskers. “We go back pretty far, me and Kit. Both of us ran with one of the Spurs in Linura. Roped real deep into that shit. She got caught up as far as you can go, stealing, getting everyone from royalty to the urchins in Mudtown addicted to Snip, Faze, Sundown, you name it. It’s a dangerous business, running drugs. Turf wars, internal disputes, power grabs. And that’s without the Senate on your ass. Or the Sun Wardens now, I suppose.” He cast a long glance at the filthy street, its sparse traffic beginning to thicken as the work day came to a close.

“Anyway,” he went on with a heavy sigh, “I got out. They trade in services sometimes, the Spurs. I had a deft hand and they put me through school for surgery, but as the years passed they wanted fresh blood and sold me off to a duke in Tideron. Had it pretty cozy there for some time, but the sight of blood and bone grates on you after a while. Still.I got off easy.”

He sucked at his cigar and went on. “Kit though. She stuck around, making her dead drops, paying tribute, torturing debtors. Then one day she’s told she has to kill her father.”

Anji stared, nearly crushing the cigar in her frigid fingers.