The Gold Thief

“Guardian?”

“Soldier-class and supposedly banned; how she got her hands on one I’ll never know. As if there wasn’t enough going on already, with Gearnish going dark, and …”

The little minutian suddenly looked close to tears.

“I heard about your city,” said Ned. “I’m so sorry, Tinks.”

“You’ve nothing to be sorry about, Master Ned. What little family I have left is still there and, well, if anyone knows how I feel, it must be you, sir.”

For maybe the first time since he’d stepped through the mirror Ned realised that he wasn’t alone. That his old friends needed him just as much as he needed them.

“Then we’ll just have to get them back, Tinks,” he said. “Your family and mine.”

“That’s the spirit, sir,” offered the Tinker with a smile.