Third Interlude: Opposing Sides

The message arrived at midnight, when the guild was quiet and everyone but Erin was asleep. There was no need to keep watch, but she did it anyway, standing in the open doorway and staring out into the night. Lion’s Arch seemed unusually subdued, but maybe it was only her mood that made it so. Marissa’s defection didn’t surprise her, nor Jean’s. The fact that Roan had followed them raised its own questions, but perhaps he was more comfortable with his former enemy than with a guild who were still strangers to him. Amber, though… There would be a reason for her departure ‒ there was a reason for everything Amber did ‒ but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.

Erin didn’t see where the note came from. One moment she was alone and the next a folded piece of paper was lying by her feet. She picked it up slowly, feeling as ancient as a crone. The scrawl inside was unmistakeably Amber’s handwriting.

The docks. One hour before dawn.

Erin sighed and scrunched the letter up, then tossed it into the hearth. It was reassuring that Amber hadn’t completely cut her off. It was far less reassuring to be caught in the asura’s schemes.

Erin went anyway; there was nothing else she could do. She stood beside the lapping waters in the pitch black, a single lantern by her feet. A biting wind tugged at her hair and found its way between every seam of her clothing. Amber’s arrival, as silent as a ghost, didn’t make Erin feel any less chilled.

“Was this really necessary?” Erin asked, as the asura melted out of the shadows and came to stand at the edge of the circle of lamplight.

“Did you want Marissa to know I was coming?” Amber shot back. “She’s watching my every move.”

“And you’re watching hers,” Erin said, feeling suddenly weary.

“Of course I am. Why do you think I went with her?”

Because I’m a terrible leader who doesn’t deserve to have a guild, let alone friends. Erin swallowed the words before they could make it past her lips. She didn’t really believe them and self-pity wouldn’t get her anywhere. “So now we’re spying on one another ‒ is that it?” she said instead, the words sounding more bitter than she’d intended.

Amber put her head on one side. “Marissa will guess I’m spying on her, if she hasn’t already ‒ but she’s not as good as she thinks she is.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means she got over those injuries of hers days ago.”

Erin felt a jolt of surprise. “She’s faking them?”

“Oh, they were perfectly real. She just healed a lot quicker than she let on.” Amber shrugged. “I don’t know what her game is, but I’ll work it out. Don’t worry about that.”

“I’m not worried,” Erin said, but even as she spoke, a yawning black hole of dread opened in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t worried about Marissa, it was true… “Are you sure that’s the only reason you left?”

Even in the darkness, the sharpness of Amber’s look was clear. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Erin swallowed dryly. “You wouldn’t rather… look for another guild?”

It took Amber a worryingly long time to reply. “My allegiance to Light’s Memory hasn’t changed,” she said finally.

“And your allegiance to me?”

There was another long pause before Amber sighed. “You’re better than this, Erin. Letting Artair defeat you, letting the twins slip away whenever they want, keeping Taria’s secrets for her… None of that sounds like you.”

“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.”

“Oh, I know you perfectly well.” Amber took a step forwards, until her eyes gleamed in the light. “Probably better than you think I do. I also know you wouldn’t have made any of those mistakes if you’d been thinking more clearly.”

“But I did make them,” Erin said, the bitterness returning, “and now we’ve lost Auri to Artair, and lost half the guild, too.”

“Not half,” Amber said, a little too brightly. “More like thirty-three percent, give or take a few decimal places.”

Erin managed a snort, but that was all the amusement she could muster. “If you really know me so well, what now? What should I do next?”

“I said I knew you, not how to lead a guild.” Amber folded her arms. “You’ll find a way out of this. You’ve always done what’s best for Light’s Memory, Erin. Just stay true to that big heart of yours and let the rest of us do the dirty work.”

“This is what I get for leading a guild full of thieves and spies?”

“Exactly.” Amber fell silent, staring off into the dark. “Thieves and spies and mesmers. That’s why we need you in charge.”

“Should I take that as a compliment?”

“Probably. Don’t tell anyone I was here. The longer Marissa thinks we’re on opposing sides, the better.”

“Opposing sides.” Even if it was all a ruse, the words felt like lead weights around Erin’s neck. “Right.”

Amber abruptly grinned, showing too many sharp teeth. “Keep your chin up, Erin. Oska might be a little brat, but he’s right about one thing.”

“Which thing is that?”

“He believes in you.” Amber’s smile faded; for a moment, she looked almost sad. “Now all we need is for you to do the same.”