The quarter moon provided limited light as the boy disappeared down an alley by the butcher’s shop and the candlestick maker. When Nathaniel reached the alley, it was empty. He ran alongside the stone buildings, adrenaline pumping in his veins. Did he truly wish to find the boy? Who knew what measures Brax would take to get the information he needed? But, Nathaniel couldn’t have gangs of raiders attacking every caravan departing from the castle. And poor Kent would be punished if the boy wasn’t found. He hadn’t done anything wrong. But this boy certainly had. Glass shattered, drawing Nathaniel to the dimly lit part of town in the north by the back gate. Nathaniel watched his footing as he ran over the broken cobblestone. A shadow disappeared into a building with a crumbling foundation. Nathaniel picked his way over the remnants of the roof sprawled over the floor. Footsteps creaked on the broken stairway. The boy climbed over a hole in the staircase and pulled himself to the upper floor.
