Frederick hurried back into the quiet comfort of the Whisper Palace, and Raymond noted a bit of concern. The King seemed lonely, perhaps even unhappy, as if tired of living in front of so many eyes all his life. In a way, Raymond could sympathize with the monarch, though he himself spent every day completely invisible to the world at large.

He wandered among the stalls and souvenir vendors. On the facades of the Whisper Palace, broad friezes showed historical events: the launching of the eleven massive generation ships; the first contact with the Ildirans, who offered their stardrive and their galactic civilization. At specific times every hour, the holographic friezes moved, dramatizing the scenes like a glockenspiel. Statues around the fountain parks became animated: Stone angels flapped their wings, historical generals rode horses that reared up on cue.

A flow of pedestrians streamed across the bridge, entering the Palace grounds. Raymond stared at it all, eyes sparkling. He felt the threat half a second too late.

Someone grabbed him by the back of his neck, viselike fingers squeezing. “So, he’s here to steal things when the crowd’s not watching, but he runs out on us when we have a more sophisticated job to do.”

Raymond squirmed enough to be able to see the speaker: An older boy with the unfortunate name of Malph scowled, while his stronger friend Burl clamped the grip even tighter on Raymond’s neck. The fourteen-year-old twisted himself free of Burl’s hold, but he didn’t run. Not yet. “Sorry, but I didn’t put stealing on my list of things to do.”

“Stealing’s beneath his delicate sensibilities!” Burl said with a snort.

“Nah, it’s too easy,” Raymond retorted. “Working hard for a living—now that’s a challenge. You should try it sometime.”

Around them, the oblivious spectators danced, some kissed, many queued up in front of food stands. Malph kept his voice low, but he could have screamed and few people would have paid attention. “Raymond, Raymond, why don’t you just become a deacon if you’ve got such morality problems? And why couldn’t you have just said no, rather than turning us in?”

“Crimson rain, I did say no, Malph. Sixteen times, if I remember right. But you wouldn’t listen. Breaking into a man’s business and stealing his cash stash is not my idea of a career. You do it once, then it becomes easier to do it again.”

“I’m all for making it easier,” Burl said with a bitter laugh. “It took quite some running to get away from the enforcers after you triggered that alarm.”

“And if you two were as good as you say, the enforcers would never have gotten close.” Raymond wagged his finger at them. “See, I counted on your skill, Malph, and now you’re telling me it was all an exaggeration.” He drew a deep breath, all of his muscles tensed, ready to sprint off or stay and fight. “I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I said it was an accident?”