The Traitor A. Lombardo (best thriller novels to read TXT) 📖

cloaks,” Rayna recommended. “I found a shop across the street, we may find something there that fits, but there are several patrons, and I am no thief.”

“I have an idea, but it will take both of us.” He suggested. “If you can provide a distraction, I might be able to get what we need. Touch as many things as possible and pick a few small items. The owner will be drawn to watch you, even if he is helping others.”

She agreed and together they entered a fashionable furnishing shop. Kai kept his hands in his pockets and one eye on the owner as he searched the aisles for patrons. The elderly owner polished his thick spectacles, ignoring him in favor of an attractive blonde woman inquiring about her order.

Deeper in the shop, Kai noticed two women, one slender and poised, her nose held high as if the air was better above the petite waif unfolding a bolt of pink flora silk for the woman to inspect. Beyond the wool racks, he spotted a black fabric drape concealing another room. He gleaned the back room and found it empty.

With one quick look he spotted Rayna, she gently refolded a delicate lace sample before dipping her hand in a large bowl of glass beads. Her eye sparkled with delight as she pulled a large coin-sized red bead to hold up to her eyes.

Satisfied the coast was clear, Kai gave one final glance around the shop before slipping behind the partition. The space was rather large, with wire bodices on posts, bolts of material stacked on the table, and scraps of fabric littering the floor. One wall of the workroom had spools of thread and a variety of colored ribbons. Beside the desk, there was a series of wooden slots filled with what appeared to be sheets of paper. Curious, he pulled one out; the image was a detailed sketch of a dress with measurements in the margins along with various notes about the design. Lady Crutchfield's name was scrolled across the top.

Worried that he had left Rayna alone too long, he returned the sheet and rifled through the coat rack near the back door. There were five cloaks. He took the black fur-trimmed one for himself and a smaller navy coat with white fur for Rayna. Hearing voices, he ducked out the back door into the alley. Before he reached the corner, Rayna stopped him.

She jutted her head back the way she’d come. “We cannot go back to the main street; Diu soldiers are there. There is a spice shop this way.” She motioned to the left. “You mentioned we still need oil and colored powder.”

Kai knew stealing from a spice house was extremely difficult. Most spices were kept in jars, barrels, or boxes, precisely measured upon purchasing. Shame was a most unpleasant emotion, and stealing the spices felt wrong, no matter how much he needed them. Spices were costly, and the two women he robbed had not gone a block from the shop before he lifted the items. As natural as breathing, he lifted brown and red spices from one woman’s bag and oil from another’s basket as he slipped through the crowd undetected.

Two alleyways later, in an empty loft overlooking the stables, he sat next to a bright six-panel window. The afternoon sun bathed Rayna in golden hues. He worked the flour strategically into Rayna’s hair and eyebrows, changing her dark brown waves into a naturally aged gray around her face.

Over a small metal pale, he crushed the coffee and tea with his hands and added a few drops of oil. He rubbed the mixture on their hands and faces, giving them both a dark brown hue. The other spices he had Rayna rub through his sandy-blond hair.

An essential trick Riome taught him involved tattoos, age marks, and scars. The details mattered more now than ever. He added age spots and two birthmarks to Rayna's face using charcoal bits from the stable’s wood burner and ground coffee. He went more drastic to his face, with a dark birthmark beside his eye and a reddish-purple scar along his cheekbone.

Suitably transformed, they strolled into an outlying tavern. Inside they lowered the cowls on their hoods. The patrons did not give them a second look as they took the last empty table in the corner. The establishment benefitted greatly from the bay of windows catching the midday sun and the crackling stone fireplace on the opposite wall.

When the barmaid approached, Rayna placed all the coins they had on the table. “Two meals and some ale, please.”

The barmaid took all her coins but one. “You’ve only enough for the meals and one ale.”

Rayna nodded in acceptance. Moments later, the woman returned with two steaming bowls of hearty beef stew and a hunk of bread, and one cup of ale.

Excessive hunger does strange things to the stomach. The smell of spices and beef drifted to Kai’s nose. He knew he was hungry, but he could not bring himself to eat the meat in his bow. He dipped the bread into the stew and nibbled on the vegetables. Meanwhile, he gathered information. Focusing from table to table, reading lips, and listening to those nearby, he learned a great deal.

Unable to eat another bite, Kai pushed back his bowl. “We should go if you are ready.”

Rayna nodded and started to rise but sat back down. “My goodness, it cannot be.” Rayna nudged Kai’s foot with her own. “I know that woman. She used to help in my parent’s bakery here in Port Anahita—her name is Gretta.”

Gretta was a round woman, as most good bakers should be. Her gray-streaked auburn hair, pinned in a loose bun, sat like a plump pillow atop her head. Kai decided her pale complexion meant she did not spend much time in the sun, and her thick glasses and callused finger meant she spent