“Wait, you can’t be serious!” Maly gawked. All around her and her companions, sweaty City Watch members with padded, wooden spears and swords ran at them. The huge Kaleen man with the shaved head directed them, shouting encouragement and tactics.

Above the mayhem, Inspector Calenta’s voice rang out merrily. “Testing a theory, dears!”

And then there was no choice but to react and fight.

A Kaizukan man with a spear broke from the mob directly at her. Maly ducked the wooden tip of the spear wrapped in cloth and kicked him in the chest. He flew sideways, rolling, as more Watch members rushed in.

What is happening? Are you fighting again? a deep, rough male voice growled, like something was sitting atop her shoulder and speaking directly into her ear. She yelped.

“Yes, I’m fighting!” Maly gasped. She sidestepped a clumsy swing from another Watch member.

You are in the stone house. Wait and I will tear my way to you.

“No! Stay outside!”

“Who are you talking to?” Emah barked nearby. She punched a short, older man in the face. He dropped his practice sword, which clattered to the floor, and then the man slumped unconscious. “Go! Help Kami!” Emah snarled, reaching for the sword. “I’ve got these!”

Are you fighting East Bay Dragons? Is your vengeance at hand? the voice rumbled approvingly. I should be there, ripping them.

“It’s not the Dragons,” Maly panted, trying to keep her voice from attracting Emah’s attention. “Just let me focus! And stay outside!”

Maly spun as a padded blade whistled past her cheek. Where was Kami?

The enormous, broad-shouldered leader, who Inspector Calenta had called Pannu, roared commands as he stepped towards Kami. The masked woman waited, grim-mouthed and small. As Maly slid past two spearmen, she saw Kami lunge forward unexpectedly, surprising Pannu. In a blink, the woman had her arms wrapped around him. Maly thought perhaps her limbs had elongated, allowing her to fully pin his tree-trunk arms to his boulder-sized torso, but she wasn’t sure. It seemed that their employer was not eager to demonstrate whatever unnatural powers she possessed in front of this crowd. Even still, Pannu struggled and roared in Kami’s grasp, unable to break free, something that looked so impossible that it appeared the huge man was playacting. Kami turned with Pannu in her grasp, keeping the man’s bulk between her and other Watch members.

Then another sword was cutting the air above her ducked head and Maly momentarily ignored everything but the threats right next to her.

She thrust the palm of one hand up and into the chin of an onrushing attacker. Teeth clacked together and Maly punched the exposed throat in a quick and brutal blow. The Watch member, a man with short hair and thick beard, gagged and clutched his neck as he fell. Maly was already turning, kicking another guard on the side of the knee.

Is it over? the male voice rumbled. Have you bathed in their blood?

“By the flames! Shut up!” Maly gasped, exasperated.

The sounds of clacking weapons briefly drew her attention, and she saw that Emah had indeed retrieved a practice sword from the floor. Maly grinned. Even with a poorly crafted wooden blade wrapped in thick cloth, Emah was the best swordfighter that Maly had ever seen. In the space of two heartbeats, her friend had felled two Watchmen with blows to the sides of their heads, blocking spear thrusts almost absently.

The big man screamed in fury and frustration to her right, still trapped in Kami’s hug. Maly fought her way towards the small group of guards harassing her with their spears, and as she came closer, she heard the distinct sounds of bones cracking. The gargantuan Pannu cried out with pain more than anger, then his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped in Kami’s arms. She dropped him to the side like a sack of grain, stepping back and away from wooden spears. Maly thought she saw Kami’s arms shorten to their normal lengths, but there was too much happening to be sure.

“Maly! Emah! Help!” Kami called out, which Maly found less than genuine. Not only did the brothel owner look unharmed amidst a gang of trained, armed soldiers, but the guards gave her a respectful distance, stepping warily around the inert mountain of muscle that had been their leader. Kami, for her part, moved backwards lightly on her feet, eyes darting back and forth across the oncoming assailants.

With a defiant scream, a young man in green and yellow launched himself at Maly. Apparently, the fellow had decided that she was the weakest of the three opponents, which Maly couldn’t deny given everything she’d seen from Kami. If Maly Wywich was anything, however, it was difficult to hit. The man’s yell alerted her with more than enough time to duck and roll out of the way. He flew past her and grunted as he hit the floor, his breath knocked from him.

Maly blew a lock of hair out of her eyes and crouched, looking for another threat. But it was only the lad on the ground, struggling to his hands and knees. The rest of the City Watch members lay sprawled across the room, groaning in pain or unconscious. Emah’s mahogany skin shone with her effort, but she was grinning and spinning a practice sword in her hand, still in her fighting stance. Kami merely stood, fists clenched, glaring through her half-mask.

The sound of a lone person clapping echoed, drawing all three of their attention. At the doorway across the room, Inspector Calenta had both a bemused and annoyed look on her face, like a parent whose child had done something spectacularly embarrassing. She continued the slow clap with her meaty hands.

“Well, that’s done then,” she sighed.

“What in the Five Hells was that?” Emah demanded, taking a threatening step towards the inspector. If Calenta was cowed, it didn’t show. In fact, her face smiled warmly.

“I had to see if Sargeant Mewa’s claims were true, didn’t I? He believed you had slain all those rats on your own, and I thought, no, impossible. But it seems you’re more than you appear, ah? You do indeed hire good help, dearie,” she winked at Kami. “But perhaps you are the biggest secret, no?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Kami answered coldly.

Inspector Calenta tsked and shook her head. “Alright, alright. You don’t trust me. I understand, dear, I do. Please know this test was necessary, though. I needed to see for myself before making my offer.”

“Offer?” Emah asked, still clutching her wooden sword threateningly.

“Of course, dears!” Calenta beamed. “To join the City Watch!”

“Wait… what?” Maly blurted.

---

Less than a bell later, the three found themselves in a different room within the Keep, larger than Inspector Calenta’s and closer to the training room. It seemed to be a private dining room of some kind, with a heavy, round wooden table that could have seated twice their number. Calenta sat on one side, her hands folded upon the scarred surface of the table. Maly, Emah, and Kami sat across from her. Their weapons had been returned by one of the City Watch members Emah had battered in the training room melee. He glared at them, one eye swollen shut, but said nothing as he handed the Kalee woman her sword. Emah had accepted it like a swaddled child and caressed it with affection before strapping the scabbard across her hip.

Plates of food—roasted chicken, boiled potatoes, and grapes—had been offered them. Kami’s plate sat untouched in front of her. The masked woman had scarcely moved since they’d sat down, studying Inspector Calenta with an unreadable expression. Maly would never have turned down a free meal, though, especially after the day they’d had. She’d devoured the food voraciously, and Emah had joined her. Only chicken bones remained on both of their plates.

The inspector, for her part, did not eat, but waited patiently while they finished, that oddly motherly, doting look on her face the entire time. Whenever she looked at Kami’s cold stare, she smiled and shook her head.

As Emah pushed her plate away and wiped her mouth clean with the back of her hand, she asked, “You can’t be serious about joining the Watch.”

“Oh, I’m serious,” Inspector Calenta beamed. “The Watch often works with the Adventurer’s Guild. Think of it as an extended contract with the city of Oakton, ah? We pay you weekly until this rat problem is solved. It’s steady work, which is nice for you, and paid at your guild rate.”

“I… did not know the guild did that,” Maly admitted.

“Usually, it’s for work the Watch can’t cover, like guarding caravans or dealing with issues outside the walls,” Calenta shrugged. “But we’ve had special cases before. And this is quite the special case, no?”

“I am not a member of the Adventurer’s Guild,” Kami said stiffly. “I am the employer here, and a business proprietor. I simply wish to return to the Golden Heron. Once my contract with these two is settled, they’re yours.”

“Yes, yes, dear. Of course,” Inspector Calenta tapped a finger on the table, which Maly noticed was something she did a lot with tables. “But you’re not the proprietor of the Heron. It’s Miss Brehill who runs the place, no?”

“I’m her assistant,” Kami sniffed.

“Yes, yes, and no doubt valuable to her. I admit we’ve never hired someone from the Rose Guild on official business, dearie, but these are… unusual times.”

“The answer is no. I’ve been away too long already. I should go,” Kami pushed herself away from the table and stood. “Miss Elmhill, Miss Wywich. Please escort me back and then you can return and sign your new contracts.”

Maly and Emah looked uncertain, glancing between their potential future employer and current one.

Inspector Calenta held up a hand placatingly. “Please, dear. That’s all fine and you can get back in a moment. I only thought to offer since so you might get to the bottom of who killed your client in the jail, ah? What was his name again?”

Kami stared furiously.

“Raffin Hothorp, I think?” Calenta offered, raising an eyebrow. As Maly watched, Kami’s lips pursed and her eye twitched. The woman was trying very hard not to be baited, Maly thought. And failing.

“But if not, that’s fine,” the inspector tapped on the table. “But I will have to ask Miss Brehill at the Heron about what sort of fees he owed you and why you hired these guards to enter the jail in pursuit of him.” She sighed, and said almost absently, “Also, of course, I’ll have to ask about your rather remarkable abilities.”

“What?!” Kami sputtered. It was the first time Maly had seen her rattled. The Kaizukan woman gaped, looking incredulous.

“Did you know,” the inspector turned to Maly and Emah casually, like they were long friends. “That ever since the first of the year, when the Great Oak blossomed with those beautiful flowers for the first time in anyone’s memory, we’ve been dealing with all sorts of wild claims across the city? Most we can’t verify, of course, but these ratfolk are a good example of the sorts of things we’ve been hearing. Wild things! Rat-people. Magical axes. Also, stories of people with strange powers like, I don’t know, young women with extraordinary strength, whose arms get longer like snakes. I think maybe even women who don’t breathe or eat at all. Wild stories, right? Can you believe it, dears?”

Now it was Maly’s turn to gape. Her mouth fell open as she looked at Kami. Their employer had quickly regained her composure and stood stock still, her eyes fixed on Calenta.

The inspector continued. Her voice had lost much of its maternal warmth. “Now, we don’t have the resources to run down every wild rumor, you understand. Our forces are taxed, and the poor castellan and his advisors don’t know what to believe. I’m doing the best I can, my very, very best. So if I get a good lead, I’ll pursue it to discover what’s going on in this city I’ve vowed to protect. To keep it safe. It’s just,” she waved a hand, “a matter of what I investigate first with my limited resources.”

“You’re bribing me, you bitch,” Kami said softly.

“What’s that, dear?” the motherly brightness had returned as she turned her attention back to Kami. “You talked too quietly to hear. Like I said, I’m just trying to get rid of these rats, and need help. I’m offering to pay you for that help, ah? What do you say?”

Kami growled low in her throat and sank slowly back to her chair.

“Okay!” Inspector Calenta clapped her hands together. “I so appreciate the help, my dears! Welcome to the Watch!”

Next: Let’s Find Some Rats!