SHORT STORY: PERF part 3

The cobbled stones of the High Square each bore warding symbols, meant to prevent anyone from passing over them who wasn't permitted. The Royals, their attendants, and their guards were the only ones who could pass freely over the wards. The only merchants and performers who ever got this far into the city were there on special invitation and had to carry with them Writ of Passage. Those without a Writ quickly found themselves immobilized by the wards.

Perf had no Writ, they were person specific and so stealing one would be useless. And besides, the Writ of Passage had a dual purpose. Anyone carrying a Writ was automatically known to every Palace Auger, preventing them from sneaking into places they shouldn't be. It was because of this that Perf had to make his way much more slowly than he was comfortable with. Climbing along the sides of the walls was difficult, doing so without being able to climb up onto rooftops for fear of being spotted by the Palace Guards was next to impossible.

Percy, Perf thought, directing his thoughts toward a specific part of his mind, a part that was other than himself.

Perf waited, clinging to the side of a wall where he could brace his feet on a window sill. If ever he slipped, come within a foot of the warded ground, he'd be caught. A minute passed but Perf did not grow impatient. Another minute: Perf's legs began to shake with the strain of holding himself in such an awkward position. At last, the sound of skittering, tiny feet reached his ears and Perf allowed himself a sigh of relief. A rat rounded the corner, walking freely over the warded ground; it had no effect on animals, and Percy was, technically, an animal.

Check the rooftops, and quickly, Perf instructed and the rodent turned obediently, scurrying up the side of a nearby building and onto the roof.

Perf closed his eyes and concentrated, his mind sensing what the rat, Percy, was seeing. The roofs to the South were clear, as well as the ones to the East but the North and West were heavily watched and that was exactly where he needed to get to.

They know, Percy thought.

They suspect, Perf countered, If they knew, we would never have made it this far and the princess would have been taken out of the city.

Perf thought for a moment, his grip on the wall slipping. At last, he decided to risk it and pulled himself up onto the rooftop, laying flat in the small gutter that ran around the top of the building to direct rain water.

Return to me, Perf thought and before long Percy had scampered up onto Perf's chest, tiny nails pressing uncomfortably deep into his chest.

Perf wasted no time as he instructed the rat in extracting specific items from his pockets. He didn't dare move himself since his hiding spot was feeble enough without him rummaging around on a rooftop, silhouetted against the city watch fires. Percy, however, they would ignore as being just another rat digging through some refuse.

Once Percy had gathered the needed items, a pinch of soot, a vial of falling water, and a sprig of creeping vine, Perf placed them all in his hands, quietly chanting while he mixed the components.

Bite me, Perf instructed at the apex of his chant and the rat sank its sharp teeth into Perf's thumb.

The blood mixed instantly with the rest of the components and energy flowed out of Perf and into the components. Before they could activate, though, Perf rubbed them into Percy's fur and his body absorbed it all.

Now go, Perf told the familiar, The Augers shouldn't have noticed it yet.

Percy took off at a run.

Wait until you're between me and the guards before releasing it, Perf thought, and then find somewhere safe in the Main Square to hide. I'll collect you on my way out.

The Augers would sense the magic, there was no way around it, but they would be searching for the caster, which in this case would be Percy. It would be too late once they realized their mistake and Perf, hopefully, would already be through a Passwall and out of their reach.

Perf steadied his breathing, waiting calmly for the moment when Percy would release the spell. It was a difficult thing for Percy to do, getting from rooftop to rooftop without getting skewered onto the end of a bored guards spear. But Percy was an agile rat and he'd been with Perf through situations like this before.

All at once, blackness exploded from the North-East and Perf leaped to his feet. His eyes pierced the blackness, as per the spell, and would blind everyone else. Perf ran as fast as he could, jumping rooftops and zipping past stumbling guards. The Palace windows were in reach and Perf made one final leap, crossing the void and grabbing hold of the masonry before pulling himself up and into the Palace.

Perf steadied his breathing, smiling. Few wizards were capable of such physical feats, relying on their magic to sustain them, rather than their bodies. That was why Perf was special, why he could do what he did, why he was so expensive. Few wizards could have gotten more than a few steps into the city without needing their powers. True, he'd needed to make a few Passwalls, but those were necessary and minor. The chances of those being noticed by an Auger, with all the other random bits of magic going on in a city this size, were next to nothing.

The darkness wouldn't penetrate the castle walls. They were old, and powerful in their own right. Perf doubted he would even be able to cast torchlight on these walls. But he didn't need to and so he didn't worry about it. He knew where he needed to go and he made his way along the corridor as quietly as he could.

The section he'd landed in was the servants quarters, and that was the only reason the floors weren't warded. Early on the Royals grew tired of having to call the Palace Guards to go and release some servant's child who'd forgotten its Writ. The floors had been replaced and it was this weakness that Perf now exploited. He crept along until he reached the fifth chamber, the one belonging to the Princess' nurse maid. The only servant allowed into the Princess' quarters at all times.

Perf pushed the door open and slipped inside, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. The woman lay on her bed, snoring slightly as she slept and Perf moved to her bedside. He reached into the secret pouch of his guard uniform and withdrew a thin silk cloth, tied in a loop. Without waking the nurse maid, Perf slipped the silk loop around the maids head. The magic in the cloth was weak, too faint for an Auger to sense, and would never work against a conscious host. But the maid was sleeping, her mind helpless against his intrusion.

The maid sat up, eyes open but unseeing.

“Go fetch me the Princess,” Perf instructed her in a soft whisper, “Say whatever you must to make her believe you and to follow you here.”

The nurse maid got out of bed, put on her night robe and left the room. Perf closed his eyes and gripped another silk cloth in his hand. He saw through the maids eyes as she wandered through the halls, out into the Palace halls and, eventually, to the Princess' bedroom.

“Sweety,” The maid called pleasantly, “Sweety, are you sleeping?”

A small figure rose from the bed beyond.

“No,” came the faint response, “What is it?”

“I'm sorry to bear this bad news to you, but there's been an intruder.”

Perf frowned.

“You're to come with me and stay in my room while the guards search.”

The Princess didn't move. “Sleep in your room?” She asked, barely hiding her indignation at the thought of sleeping with servants.

“Not sleep, my Sweety,” The nurse maid cajoled, “Only wait while the castle is searched. The Captain said it would be the last place anyone would think to look, and you'll be under his personal care the whole time.”

The Princess wavered, but eventually she got out of bed and threw on her night robe. Together they made their way back to the servant's quarters and Perf sat in the corner, pleased with how smartly the nurse maid had lied, how brilliant, and how much easier it would all be now. In the dark, he could pass for the Captain of the Palace Guard quite easily. For a while, at least.

The door opened and Perf bowed the Princess into the room, followed by the nurse maid. The Princess only glanced at Perf before turning her young and inquisitive eyes on the servant's room. Certainly, this was the first time she had ever seen anything that was less than royal. With her attention distracted, Perf pounced. In a flash the sack was over the Princess and Perf cinched it closed around her feet. She kicked and struggled but no sound came from the sack. Perf hefted the young girl up and righted the sack, turning the girl onto her head and her feet slipped the rest of the way into the sack. At once the bag went limp as though nothing were in it and Perf slung it over his shoulder easily.

“Go back to bed and return to your sleep,” Perf told the nurse maid and she complied.

Perf removed the silk loop and stowed it back inside his shirt.

The window he'd come in by was far too high up for him to safely jump out of, and there wasn't enough room for him to get a running start. Perf set down his sack and reached inside. In a few moments he extracted a rope with a grappling hook tied onto one end of it. Perf quickly secured the hook into the window's masonry and tossed down the rope. It kept uncoiling until it reached the bottom. Another bit of unavoidable magic, but still slight enough that he hoped it would go unnoticed.

Perf slung the sack back over his shoulder and he began the long descent to the courtyard below. The rope was knotted every few feet so it helped with the grip but the climb was still not without its dangers. The darkness he'd given Percy to cast earlier had either worn off or had been dispelled and so anyone who knew where to look would spot him. Still, it was dark and he wasn't wearing anything reflective and he made it down to the ground without any incident.

They've found me, Percy's voice intoned inside of Perf's.

Have they caught you? Perf asked.

What do you think? The rat returned and Perf had to fight down a chuckle.

Finding a rat was one thing, catching was an entirely different ordeal.

Get to the river, Perf suggested, They'll have a time of it trying to follow you once you get into the aqueduct.

Percy didn't respond but in the part of Perf's mind that connected him to the rat, he knew the rat would obey.

I'll pick you up down river. Perf told the rat and and he continued to pick his way through the Palace lawns.

At last came the difficult part: getting back out of the Inner Court. Certainly by now the Augers were on high alert.

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So it's looking like I'll need at least one more installment to finish off this short story. Are you enjoying it? What do you think of Perf? Is he likeable/interesting enough, even though he's kidnapping a little girl? Is he a good guy or a bad guy?