Dragon-Ridden by T.A. White Read Free Book Online Page B

the
strangers. He subtly checked them out from the corner of his eye and signaled
his companion. The second boy, who she referred to as Dewdrop because of his
fresh baby face, walked past a good minute after he did.
    They reminded Tate of shark
circling their prey. Dimly, she was aware of Danny following her as she drifted
closer.
    She snorted when Bones pretended to
examine the wares at a stall next to the Kairi while Dewdrop bent to fuss with
his shoes. So obvious. No doubt their marks would guess what they were up to
any moment now.
    Bones flicked his fingers at
Dewdrop as the Kairi began to move. Dewdrop stood and stumbled into the path of
the woman whose guards snapped into action, jerking him off his feet and away
from the woman.
    Guess not. Tate didn’t bother
warning the Kairi. All she had to do was yell ‘thief.’ But that didn’t seem the
sporting thing to do, them being fellow criminals and all.
    Bones used their distraction to
slip behind the female. While the three’s attention were focused on Dewdrop’s
profuse apologies, Bones snagged one of the lady’s ornaments from her hair and
dropped it into one of his pockets.
    Tate ambled across the market
making sure to cross his path. She felt a bit of professional pride in his
work. It’d been a clean grab, even if the setup could be spotted from a mile
away.
    She kept her head down and let some
of her hair slide forward to cover her eyes. When Bones’ muddy boots came into
view, she stumbled against him and mumbled an apology.
    It was another three steps before
she looked down at the object in her hand. The ornament’s black wood was warm
against her hand, probably from the lady’s body heat. A single pearl bobbed
from a delicate chain attached at the top of the hair stick. Tate pulled it and
was only mildly surprised when it revealed a sharp little knife sheathed in the
black wood. Pretty, but deadly.
    Tate’s lips pursed in a silent
whistle. The little bauble in her hand could feed a family for a week or defend
them from unwary thieves. No wonder Bones and Dewdrop had wanted to risk their
appendages for such a lovely prize.
    The penalty for stealing in most
ports she’d stopped in was a three strikes you’re out sort of deal. For a first
offence you spent a night in jail and were branded with a line across your
wrist. Second offence meant a week in jail and three lashes from the whip and a
second line on your wrist. Third time you were caught, you lost the hand. Of
course if you stole from nobles, you could find yourself on the fast track to
loosing that hand. Point in fact, the three noble looking victims her pickpockets
had just robbed.
    If Bones’ hadn’t just lifted the
bag she’d filled with rocks from her belt, she probably would have let him keep
his spoils. She’d stored the money in various places on her body while her
purse served as bait. She’d only needed her coins stolen once to get wise and
do as Jost did.
    To be fair, she’d known the thief
couldn’t resist the temptation once she stumbled into him, but nor did she feel
guilty for giving him a taste of his own medicine.
    Her lips twisted into an ugly smile.
No, it didn’t bother her at all that she’d set him up. She made it a personal
policy not to stand in anybody’s way if they wanted to hang themselves with the
rope she’d given them. What was hers wasn’t to be touched by anybody. Perhaps
next time he’d do a better job of sizing up his opponent.
    Dewdrop hurried past her to rejoin
his fellow purse-snatcher. She turned to watch him, curious if Bones had
realized what she’d done. Pale gray eyes glared at her with rage. Her smile
became genuine, and she gave him a one-fingered salute before heading towards
the Kairi.
    They hadn’t yet discovered the loss
and Tate almost continued past them. Some impulse had her tossing the hair
ornament to the female conversing quietly with the larger of her two guards.
His deep rumble nearly overwhelmed her lighter tones. It spun