Epilogue

The following afternoon, Entreri sat in Basadoni's office, having just concluded a discussion with the other lieutenants about a meeting with the Raker's Guild. Although the others had left, Entreri remained. At first he was silent, considering how he would go about thanking Basadoni for his assistance through this strange growing up ritual.

Basadoni smiled at him kindly and waited. When Artemis composed himself, he would talk.

"I seem to have arrived at the end point to my journey," Entreri finally said. "Thank you for your assistance." Perhaps it wasn't so difficult to simply be direct - not that he was particularly used to thanking others.

Basadoni inclined his head. "I view you as I would a son – someone to be guided along his path in life. It is my honor to be a part of your coming of age. There are great things ahead of you, Artemis." He rose and placed his hand on his young lieutenant's shoulder.

For a long moment, Entreri gazed up at Basadoni, speechless. I am like a son to you? He understood little about family - only that his family had been wrong. Even that he wouldn't have known – he would have in fact assumed all families were the same – had he not watched the families in his shantytown for five years and seen the difference. The concept that anyone would take a fatherly interest in how he grew was so shocking he couldn't really comprehend it.

And yet was Basadoni with his hand resting on his shoulder.

Entreri's answer was not verbal. It wasn't even a smile, for smiles were rare for the young man. Instead it was a softening of his eyes, a relaxing of his expression. The sharp bitterness slipped aside in that moment, and they could have been ordinary people.

Basadoni squeezed Artemis' shoulder and smiled.

And somehow, in that moment, Entreri was able to accept that he had become a man.