Kelton was immobile, arms pinned against the sides of the metal lined box. He heard the table dragged over the hidden hole. He felt no one, not even the man who directed him in. The entire city and its confusing crowds couldn't be sensed. It was peaceful, and at the same time, frightening.

A chair was dragged toward the table, the vibrations echoing into the box. The floorboards creaked as weight was added to the chair. Kelton didn't know why the man had decided to shield him, completing the ruse by covering his hiding place with this own body. A man he had never met was risking his life for him. Maybe it was for Marnice's bracelet. Maybe because the man expected Kelton to be the Answer. Either way, it was an enormous risk. Or maybe, he had trapped Kelton, holding him for a reward. Trust had become so complicated, doubling and tripling the perceived peril with every soul Kelton met.

More sounds traveled through the wood. Many feet had achieved the second floor. It was odd not to know their general direction or some semblance of their count. The numbers in the city had already weakened the depth perception of Kelton's sense, and now it was gone completely. He concentrated on the sounds, trying to guess count and distance. Five to ten, moving down the hall. With each moment, the guesses shifted. Sometimes more, others less. The opening and closing of doors were a better indication of distance. They were searching.

Kelton tensed when the door to the room opened. A tightness rose in his throat as he considered how helpless he was. Kelton was at the man's mercy. He should have learned more from his games of trust with Rolic. The box became more confining as his confidence waned. The darkness blacker. He missed his second sense.

"Someone else in here?" the voice was high pitched. Not feminine, most likely a boy on the cusp of manhood.

"Aye," the man said. Kelton's gut knotted at the betrayal, and at his ignorance for climbing into the hole willingly. "I have hidden a woman in my underclothes." The man laughed. Kelton let out the breath he had been holding through pursed lips.

"You mock your betters?" this voice was deeper and had moved on silent feet. Kelton heard the chair slide backward with a swiftness that surprised him.

"It was wrong of me, your Eminence. I did not wish to offend the Goddess." the man's voice was pure contrition. Only one of the Brethren could illicit such compliance. Kelton stopped all movement and tried to will himself deeper into the hole.

"Yet you offend her agents?"

"It is a small room, your Eminence. I thought the question was..." there was a short pause. "I will stay my ill-humor, may the Goddess forgive me." Boards creaked as silent feet shifted weight around the room.

"I was told a boy brought a cloaked man upstairs. Are you that man?" the Brother's voice had moved to the opposite side of the room from the door.

"Nay, your Eminence. I have been here since midday."

"You saw nothing?"

"The door has been closed. I haven't left."

"Heard nothing?"

"I have heard walking, people coming and going. I don't know if they were cloaked."

"And you wish me to believe you have been alone all that time. Staring at the walls?"

"Your Eminence, I...I..." The man's words were failing him. Kelton imagined hands reaching for the board. It would be followed by a sword thrust into his chest, one from which he couldn't run.

"What are you not telling me? The Goddess frowns on those who deny her servants truth." The voice had drifted closer. The Brother had to be well within arms reach of the man. Kelton wondered if a blade had been drawn.

"I...I'm," the man was stuttering. Kelton could almost feel him shaking. It was a terrible idea to crawl into the coffin. Kelton's eyes began to tear. He was immobile and completely blind. At least a rat could scurry when trapped in a bag.

"Truth!" the Brother demanded. Kelton prepared himself for the inevitable. Life was never an option, death could only be delayed, and he had reached the end.

"I hide, your Eminence," the man said, his words swimming in shame. "I am indebted to another in the common room. I am waiting for him to leave so I can retreat unseen." Even to Kelton's ears, it sounded true. Gossamer couldn't have told it so artfully.

"Vile is the debtor in the eyes of the Goddess." The Brother's feet became heavy and moved toward the door. "Find her light or waste in the darkness."

"I am not worthy of the Goddess' blessing," the man said.

"None are worthy.Though all those that seek the blessing are welcome." The Brother's words trailed off, more interested in continuing the search then saving a soul. The door closed and Kelton heard weight dropping heavy on the chair. His shoulders lost tension, and his lungs relaxed. He took a deep breath of stale air.

Footsteps continued to move along the hallway, back and forth, doors opening and closing. The steps lacked the intensity of a knowing search. Kelton had entered the tavern without identity, and beyond the man who hid him, he remained so. It was the same random search being repeated throughout the city. Kelton smiled in the darkness. He had hidden directly under a Brother's feet.

When the final footsteps trailed off into the silence down the stairs, the chair moved again. The board lifted near his face, enough to let in light and fresh air. Kelton's sense surged back as the people in the city became known again.

"I can't believe it worked. Stay still and silent," the man whispered. "I need to make sure they moved on." The lid closed and the city disappeared again. The metal completely shielded Kelton's sense. Anyone inside would be Unseen, he was sure of it. As he lay there, listening to the man's footsteps moving out of the room, he decided there was no need to inform the man about being Unseen. Either way, the box had been tested, and it works. Kelton wondered how such a thing was figured out, and who it was built to hide.

It took a long time for the man to return. The air was weakening, and Kelton had started to sweat. His right arm had fallen asleep, wedged against the wall in the tight quarters of the box. He had almost tried to squirm his way out when he heard the telltale signs of feet returning. Two sets of feet. He remained still as fear returned. Being blind and immobile was wearing on his mind.

The door closed and the table moved. When the board lifted, fresh air cooled Kelton's face. He blinked his eyes as they adjusted to the dim candlelight of the room. The man who put him in the hole was smiling; his hand held out in an offer of help. Kelton twisted his body and reached out grasping the hand.

"It is him," a new man said. He was a stocky fellow wearing a stained leather apron. He reached down helped pull Kelton from the hole. Kelton's joints relished the movement, and his muscles complained. A deep grunt seemed to aid in the effort.

"They call me Fingers," the lanky man said as he released Kelton to stand on his own. Fingers had a good smile, one that spanned the room. It crinkled the edges of his blue eyes and dissolved a good portion of Kelton's wavering trust.

"I'm Kelton." Kelton took a breath of fresh air and stretched his neck.

"Gorthow," the stocky man said as an introduction. He held out his hand, and Kelton clasps wrists with him. As an afterthought, he did the same with Fingers.

"I thought we were done for when the Brother came in," Fingers said. "I didn't think the hide-hole would work. They said it would, but still, I imagined a sword in my belly."

"I'll admit, I thought you would give me up," Kelton said. "Wouldn't blame you - we are not known to each other."

"The Brother saw I was nervous. I had to make up that story of hiding from my debts."

"You are in debt," Gorthow interrupted. "You owe me a silver for many nights of drink."

"But I wasn't hiding," Fingers said with a chuckle. "The Brother had me going for a moment. He was walking around, looking at the nooks and crannies as if he needed to verify my word. I thought he was giving me time to confess before he threw open the cubby. The Goddess must have a special eye on you."

"Sometimes I wonder," Kelton said. "I never even knew what Kushiel's Answer was before the name was placed on me. It's been a curse ever since. They almost killed me a few days ago."

"The soldiers caught up with you?" Gorthow asked.

"Nay, two of the Brethren," Kelton replied without thinking. "They fight with skill I can't match. I barely got away." Both Gorthow and Fingers stared at him, their mouths gaping open. Kelton realized he had said too much. No one escapes the Brethren.

"Did you really kill one?" Gorthow whispered as if the world might be listening.

"It was a Choosing." Kelton sighed and nodded. "I wish it never happened, but it did. I snuck up on him." More slacked jaws. "The Brother was busy, there were others fighting him as well."

"No one can remember when the last one was bested," Gorthow said. "You are truly a blessing from the Goddess."

"Some think otherwise, and I have my doubts," Kelton said. "Though, I was blessed by Fingers being here. I don't think I would be breathing if not for your hiding place. How did you know how to construct such a thing?"

"The boards were brought in, lined in iron like you see them. We were told that the Brethren can't see through the metal. I didn't believe it until now," Fingers said.

"Who told you?"

"Not sure," Fingers replied, shrugging his shoulders. "The metal costs more than most could afford, much less find. Top of the food chain, mayhap the Seven themselves."

"You can ask them," Gorthow added. "It's where we are supposed to take you. Word of your arrival is already moving ahead. The Goddess led you straight to us."

"I'm not sure I should go?"

"Isn't that why you wear the mark?" Fingers said, pointing to the bracelet on Kelton's wrist.

"It was a gift from a friend." Kelton raised his arm and examined the knotted bracelet. It had been through a lot and had begun to fray. "I only recently heard of the Seven. Why would they want me? I am hunted and more of risk than value."

"We're not going to force you," Gorthow said.

"If it truly is a gift from a friend, I would trust it," Fingers added. He held up his arm, exposing the same bracelet Kelton wore. Gorthow showed his as well. "They are not given to the untrustworthy. Your friend knew it would protect you." His smile blossomed. "Anything or anyone who riles the Brethren has my gratitude. That scar matched to that hair is all I really needed."

"Riling Brethren seems to be my true calling," Kelton said, matching Finger's infectious smile. "Though I wish it would not be so. I sometimes miss not knowing what I now know." His words faded with his smile. Something shifted in his distorted city sense, separating from the confusing masses and moving closer. "Someone's coming." Kelton's hand moved to his waist blade.

"We would have been warned," Fingers said, his hand covering and stalling Kelton's. The door opened, and the boy that first took Kelton upstairs entered with a bag over his shoulder. "Those are some ears you have. Rarely does anyone know when Jutney moves about."

"I made no sound," Jutney said while closing the door. He set the bag down in front of Kelton and looked at him accusingly. He quietness was a prideful thing.

"I'm on edge," Kelton said, moving his hand away from his belt. "Too much running and hiding. I am the rabbit of the hunt, ears held tall and frightened of every twig snap." He smiled in an attempt to shift the conversation away. Meeting Rolic made conversation difficult. Trust or not to trust. How was he supposed to know?

"I made no sound," Jutney whispered to the floor as he bent down and pulled a large fur from the sack. It was sewn from a mix of animals. Made for warmth with no eye toward looks. He tossed it to Kelton. "Your cloak," he added, waving his hand to hasten the trade.

Kelton removed his cloak. Jutney looked upset, having been accused of creating noise. He waved his hand again as if Kelton wasn't moving swift enough. Kelton sighed as he tossed his cloak back. He remembered being left out of conversations, knowing only half of what was said and not trusted to understand. The boy had risked a lot, and now he thought it wasn't good enough.

"You made no sound," Kelton admitted with finality. The boy stopped loading the bag and looked up at Kelton. Kelton looked at Fingers. "Your hide hole works. They can not see into it. I know this because I can't see out of it." Gorthow covered his mouth with his hand.

"You are Unseen?" Fingers asked.

"I see as they do," Kelton said, nodding.

"Goddess!" Jutney said, his smile growing. It pleased Kelton to trust the boy. Confidence had power, and it felt good to feed some to Jutney.

"No wonder they hunt you with such vigor," Fingers said.

"That's how you snuck up on one," Gorthow whispered.

"At the time, I did not know. It was the first Choosing I witnessed, and the Brother had chosen a friend." Kelton chuckled at the memory, which was strange since pain had always traveled with it before. "Lost my stomach after it was done. Kushiel's Answer, I am not."

"It is not what you believe, it's what they believe," Fingers said. "They are scared. No wonder the Brother walked about the room. He was using his eyes, looking about the mattress." Finger's grin was about to break his face. "What I wouldn't give for your gift. I'd run into their temples and rob them blind."

"And yet I must hide in small holes," Kelton said. "Blessing, gift, curse. They are all the same depending on the eyes that examine it."

"The Goddess led you to me," Jutney said, his pride on full display.

"Aye," Kelton agreed, "You are my blessing and the Brethren's curse." Fingers laughed, and Gorthow tried to quiet him down.

"I will lead you to the Seven," Jutney said as he stood. All business now. "I'll move ahead. When my hands are closed," he made a fist at his sides, "you will stay put. When they are open," he relaxed his hands and let his fingers flare naturally, "you follow. I have done this many times and am the best at it."

"He is," Fingers agreed.

"I suppose one destination is as good as another," Kelton sighed. Maybe he would find his next steps with them instead of aimlessly traveling. Few would suspect the boy, and most would ignore him. At least he had the perfect city guide. "I am in your debt."

Jutney smiled and flipped the silver Kelton gave him into the air. "Actually, you have paid me well." He caught it deftly and bounced his eyebrows. Kelton realized he liked the boy.