Rannok half-expected it to be Adelaide when his door creaked open that early morning, before the sun had even properly gotten through the windows yet. He let out a sleepy groan and turned his head. "I'm trying to sleep here," he said.

"I think you had better wake," a voice on the other end of the room said. Rannok bolted upright just in time for Mantu to switch on the gas lamp in the corner of his room. The light flooded his vision, and he held his hand over his eyes.

"What do you want?"

A second later two large men came into the room after Mantu and grabbed at Rannok's arms. Their grip was strong, even if it wasn't threatening, strong enough to leave pressure marks as they hauled him to his feet. Rannok yelped.

"Let go of me," he snapped. "I didn't do anything!"

Mantu laughed. "We're going to discuss your contract in private."

"I thought we already did that," Rannok said, shaking the men off his arms. They let go and backed up a pace, but not enough to keep from grabbing him if he decided to leave again. He glared at Mantu. "I owe you money, isn't that good enough?"

Mantu sighed and stroked his fat chin with his even fatter fingers. "I suppose it would be if it weren't for the fact that you can't be trusted. We need to have assurances of these things, you know." He pointed at Rannok and then jabbed his thumb at the door. "Follow me. We're going to the constable."

"What?" Rannok stood up and stared toward the doorway. "Why?"

"I told you," Mantu said, keeping his words simple. "I need to discuss your contract with you in private."

Rannok didn't have much choice. He pulled his shirt on, then followed Mantu out the door and down the hall. It was clear to see now that it was not, in fact, early morning, but sometime in the middle of the night. The house was deserted. Doubtless by now Rosa had gone home, and Sasha had gotten off to wherever she was staying when not at the house, because Rannok still didn't know.

Sasha is going to kill me if I vanish, he thought, glancing out toward the windows. She'd have no way to know where he'd gotten to if he disappeared for some other faraway land. No way to get her bearings again without the crow, and they hadn't heard from him in days.

Perhaps I was just quiet.

Rannok froze stock still for a moment, then glanced around at the windows. Of course now he'd decide was the proper time to come and bother them again. He sighed heavily, but didn't have time to think about it before one of Mantu's large friends grabbed his arm again and shoved him through the doorway.

You didn't need my help then, the crow responded.

Rannok didn't know whether to be happy or angry that nothing had changed, but the next thing he knew he was being frog-marched down the street toward the constable's house. Every once in a while someone would jab their pointed fingernail into his back to keep him moving.

They opened the door without a sound and ushered him inside the silent dwelling. No one here was awake, either, save for the burning of an oil lamp in a far room down the hall.

"Down there," Mantu said, giving Rannok a shove. They spilled out of the narrow space and into a large, well-appointed study, with a luxurious oak desk situated in the center. Behind it sat a man Rannok hadn't met before, but he had a badge on his breast shaped like a pheasant's quill.

"Sit," he said, not looking up at Rannok. He went over a stack of papers in front of him. A sinking feeling settled in Rannok's gut.

Keep an eye on the exits, a voice echoed in his head. The crow was still outside then, watching him. Rannok nodded. The constable looked up at him and arched an eyebrow.

"If I were you, I'd wipe the smug look off your face," the man said. His voice was high and squeaky, like something out of a book Rannok had read once, and he had combed what little was left of his hair across his head. "Constable Branda. We haven't met before."

"No," Rannok responded, carefully arranging his face so he wouldn't look like he was still concentrating on the disembodied voice only he could hear. Something rapped at the window. Rannok turned his head just the tiniest little bit. The crow peered in on him through the thick pane of translucent glass.

"Shame," Branda said. "Anyway, contract changes. normally I wouldn't be involved in this proceeding, but there's the matter of the child. Child endangerment is a serious crime in the East islands. Not sure if you were aware."

Rannok's eyes widened. "I didn't hurt her on purpose, I swear to you. I left the room for two minutes and she tried to get up on the counter to get a tin of cookies I left out. I wouldn't have done it if I had known."

"My daughter may never have full use of that arm again," Mantu snarled from behind him. His grip tightened on the chair Rannok was sitting in. He pointedly looked ahead. There was no need to turn and look at Mantu, he was already angry. Doing so might make him angrier. The pit of dread in Rannok's stomach grew.

"Calm yourself, Mantu," the constable said from behind his desk. The man's dark eyes slithered back to Rannok. Rannok couldn't help but notice they were dilated, and his lips were tight, as if he was frightened and trying not to show it. 

"What's going to happen to me?" Ranok pictured the long, scarred brand that decorated Rosa's arm. He imagined the sickening smell of her flesh burning, then peeling away where they had pressed the iron. He'd seen it done once, to a sheep when he was small, and the smell still imprinted itself on his brain.

"Normally we'd brand you and you'd be sentenced to another two years of reprisal," the constable answered. He sighed out his nose. "But considering this wasn't intentional, since Mantu's decided to transfer your contract we're going to leave it at two years of reprisal."

Rannok resisted the urge to stand up out of his chair. "What about Sasha?"

"I told you not to make trouble," Mantu responded. His voice was still a low growl. "She's a good enough kitchen worker. Maybe you should have thought about that before you left my child unattended to relax while you were supposed to be working."

The pit of dread exploded into a hole that consumed Rannok's entire head, until it swam. He looked frantically out the window. The crow was still there. He grabbed the sides of the chair for support. 

"No, you can't," he murmured. He couldn't lose her now, not when they'd just gotten things sorted. Rannok wanted to vomit.

"We can do whatever we like," Constable Branda answered. "Anyway. You'll be kept in the servant's quarters here until your boat departs tomorrow. We want to minimize any escape attempts, and we figured it was best if we separate you from your friend."

Rannok's whole body went ice cold. He turned around to look at Mantu. The man had a wicked gleam in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth tipped into an awful smile. Should have thought about that. Rannok blanched.

I will tell the girl.

He blinked and turned toward the window, but by the time he did the crow was gone, whisked away to somewhere Rannok couldn't see.

Please be back in time, he thought at it, without any way to know if it heard him or not.