The night hadn't dipped below freezing, which made it a good one. Kendall sat on a rooftop in the West End, tucked in a corner between some elaborate architecture and a chimney. She'd slept that way, leaning up against the rough red brick. Despite the often-applied term "street rat" Kendall slept on the roofs at least as often as on the streets themselves. Often by the time she was ready to sleep, all the good corners, the places with some bit of warmth or shelter, were taken. Not as many people thought to sleep on the roofs, and she could usually find a chimney with some warmth from a fire in the house below.
There'd been a couple of weeks staying with Ixora while they were working for Kuro, and occasionally she had enough glim in her pockets to spring for a room in a hostel. Four nights staying in the Red Dragon Inn, results of trading Tara's maps for the room and board. When she'd been younger and Parker not in jail, they'd , had a room sometimes. Apart from that, Kendall slept wherever she could. Last night she'd even dreamed a little bit.
And this morning there was the promise of breakfast - maybe even pancakes - and then lessons. Reading and writing and maybe even math. She liked math; it made sense, followed rules. The numbers couldn't change or just vanish the way almost everything else did. Reading and writing she'd endure to get to the math. Kendall stood, stretched. Swung down from the roof-top - only two stories, it wasn't hard - and started deeper into the West End.
Of course she knew where the Eye was. It was huge and gaudy, stood out even in the rest of the graffiti. She'd lurked outside the building before, watched the fancy ladies entering and leaving with their servants carrying bundles that probably cost more than Kendall had ever seen. There was a fountain just up the street. It had been elegant once, now the statue in the center was broken and covered with more graffiti, the water little more than a trickle.
And damn cold, too. Her teeth were chattering after she finished washing her face, her hands and arms in the small stream of near-ice water. The long, stitched cut on her arm earned a frown and extra scrubbing along with a stream of violent cursing in street cant. Finally, a little cleaner, she shoved her sleeves back down, her hands in her pockets. Perp Miz had just finished ringing the hour when she slunk up to the door to Ali and Fio's building. She gave a sideways kick at the door instead of a proper knock. Waited.
There'd been a couple of weeks staying with Ixora while they were working for Kuro, and occasionally she had enough glim in her pockets to spring for a room in a hostel. Four nights staying in the Red Dragon Inn, results of trading Tara's maps for the room and board. When she'd been younger and Parker not in jail, they'd , had a room sometimes. Apart from that, Kendall slept wherever she could. Last night she'd even dreamed a little bit.
And this morning there was the promise of breakfast - maybe even pancakes - and then lessons. Reading and writing and maybe even math. She liked math; it made sense, followed rules. The numbers couldn't change or just vanish the way almost everything else did. Reading and writing she'd endure to get to the math. Kendall stood, stretched. Swung down from the roof-top - only two stories, it wasn't hard - and started deeper into the West End.
Of course she knew where the Eye was. It was huge and gaudy, stood out even in the rest of the graffiti. She'd lurked outside the building before, watched the fancy ladies entering and leaving with their servants carrying bundles that probably cost more than Kendall had ever seen. There was a fountain just up the street. It had been elegant once, now the statue in the center was broken and covered with more graffiti, the water little more than a trickle.
And damn cold, too. Her teeth were chattering after she finished washing her face, her hands and arms in the small stream of near-ice water. The long, stitched cut on her arm earned a frown and extra scrubbing along with a stream of violent cursing in street cant. Finally, a little cleaner, she shoved her sleeves back down, her hands in her pockets. Perp Miz had just finished ringing the hour when she slunk up to the door to Ali and Fio's building. She gave a sideways kick at the door instead of a proper knock. Waited.