The Way of Thieves

by K.N. Lee

  “Power?” Lanynor asked.

  It had been done before. Every decade or so, someone craved power. Though, it seemed they never read the history books. No matter how clever, no matter how cunning a person was, if they craved power above all else, and strove for it, they would fail every time. Lanynor had seen it time and time again. A noble or a sorcerer would try to usurp the balance of power, and they would fail.

  “Do you believe all of this is to elevate a single person into power?”

  Sorcerer shook his head. “A guild.”

  “A guild to replace the Nobles Guild …”

  Lanynor shrugged.

  “If they disrupt the balance of the Nobles Guild …”

  “Then they may be after us as well, or at least, will need to procure an alliance with us.”

  Master shook his head. It was like a game of Crossguards. The problem was … there were too many pieces on the board, and he couldn’t see them all.

  “There is something else, Nadar.”

  “What is it?”

  Sorcerer dropped an envelope on the desk. Master picked it up, recognized the seal and gently opened it. His hands trembled as he read the letter from the dead. After reading, he closed his eyes and dropped the letter on his desk.

  “Daimen noticed something peculiar in Utopolous before he was killed.”

  “What is it?”

  “The city is a small one, and it’s a good deal outside of most of the Nobles Guild, yet it’s still part of the nobles territory, even though it’s on the east side of the mountain. The land is dry, and it’s mostly desert lands. Yet, a baron resides there. Daimen thought it was very peculiar. He did some digging while he was there and realized the city has a sole purpose. They mine minerals from the mountain. The minerals are in high demand. They always have been, but now more than ever. It seems to be some of these minerals are what funds most of the Nobles Guild, and is what keeps them rich and in power. One of these minerals has an effect with magic if a blacksmith uses the mineral correctly.”

  “How so?” Lanynor asked.

  “It can hold magic, and regenerate, enabling those who are not sorcerers to be able to use magic … without the assistance of dragon scales, and without the negative effects of the dragon scales.”

  “That has the potential …”

  “To be deadly,” Nadar finished.

  “Who’s been ordering the mineral?”

  “It’s used for many other things as well, but the demand has increased in the last year especially … both from the Thieves Guild and the Assassins Guild.”

  “Do you think one of them is behind all these attacks?” Lanynor asked.

  “Or both,” Nadar said.

  Lanynor’s eyes widened.

  “Send a pigeon message to Shronan immediately. He must be warned.”

  “As you wish,” Laynor said.

  25

  Brenden slipped into Areshia in the cover of darkness.

  Areshia was a nice city, and one he liked to visit often. It was surrounded by two rivers and a large lake. It wasn’t too far from the Thieves Guild in Tyrekkeal and Forscythe. All he had to do was travel south along the river during the day to arrive near the city at night. He wanted answers from Mirabelle, but he doubted he would get any, no matter what she promised him. But she did promise him, and he planned to hold her to her promise.

  He wasn’t sure where his sister was, but he assumed she wouldn’t be gone long. She was just as efficient as he was when it came to theft. From the way Mirabelle made it sound, there was only one of these pendants remaining. Brenden began to wonder if that’s what Mirabelle had Keira doing.

  How many of these pendants were there? And more importantly, why was the Thieves Guild after them? There seemed to be no reason to collect pendants that can protect the wearer from magic unless they were planning to face the Sorcerers Guild head on. And that’s what Brenden was afraid of.

  Areshia was dark. Torches lit the alleyways, and besides Cappria, it was the richest city in the Nobles Guild. He hoped it would be a short trip. If he recalled correctly, Keira had recently come to Areshia, to the Earl’s room no less, to steal a chest of gems. He wondered why she hadn’t been ordered to steal his pendant as well. Or had Mirabelle not know the earl had the pendant at the time?

  The keep was magnificent as he approached. He kept to the shadows, but he looked on. People still entered and left the keep, but the traffic was low, and it would only decrease as everyone headed to bed. Brenden knew he needed to make his move swiftly. Mirabelle warned him a sorcerer might be protecting the earl, and so he needed to be careful. He stepped out of the shadows as a noble passed him by. Brenden knocked the noble on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword. The noble collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

  Brenden knelt next to the noble to remove his red jacket with gold linen and clean black slacks. If Brenden wanted to sneak into the keep, what better way than to play the part of an arrogant noble? He dragged the unconscious man deeper into the alley and hid him between piles of garbage that the pigs were eating. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the alley.

  When he approached the keep, he kept his chest out and his chin up. He needed to play the part. Arrogance was key. Nobles excreted arrogance everywhere they went, and Brenden needed to show that arrogance. He dared not even look at anyone passing him by in the eyes. Brenden acted like he was too good for that. He acted like he was supposed to be there.

  Once he slipped into the keep, even the guards quickly stepping aside as he approached, he slipped down the hall to an empty room. The problem with large manors or keeps was that they seldom used every room. He’d memorized this one. It was a study, or rather, a secondary study.

  Most of the nobles preferred the study with the fireplace. The one he stepped inside was covered with dust and cobwebs. He’d seen the earl and a sorcerer by his side lingering in the main room surrounded by a crowd of other nobles while they all conversed and smoked pipes. Brenden slipped into the hall while they were all too preoccupied to notice him. The sorcerer wore green robes, showing him to have part of the Green Sect. Though, Brenden was still unsure as to what that meant.

  Brenden opened the map from his pocket to glance at. Many of the rooms had hidden compartments and hallways between the rooms, as well as a ventilation system above the rooms which worked with mechanical fans and dry ice to keep it cool inside. Brenden glanced at the map for a minute before deciding where to go first. He slipped through a secret passage in the back corner of the room.

  The passage didn’t go far, but he noticed a small notation on the map marking another door. It was full of spiders and cobwebs, which didn’t please Brenden, but he used his sword to cut a path. He knelt on the ground and wiped a spot where he found a latch. Grinning, he opened it, then dropped inside.

  Underneath the keep was dark. Brenden had always been good at seeing in the dark, but under this keep was too dark for him.

  He unpacked a candle from his sash and licked a small pinch of dragon scale powder. He then lit the candle with his fingertips. There wasn’t a lot of room under the keep, and he had to crouch the entire time as he continued forward. He kept the map out, hoping to not get lost. It was a long way, and he had to cut cobwebs the entire while. His knees grew dirtier with each move he made.

  He became a little lost as he was continuing forward, but he had a feeling he was heading in the right direction. After nearly a half an hour of crawling, he came to a stop. His candle was half its size as he moved it up to look for another door. He found one. Closing his eyes and reaching out with his senses, he couldn’t sense anyone above him. He opened the door, which was harder than he thought, and he had to use his shoulder.

  Brenden peered into the dark room. His eyes wouldn’t adjust. He raised the candle up and saw himself in a closet full of extravagant clothes. Brenden lifted himself up and stepped into the adjoining room. He smiled. He was in the earl’s private chambers.

  After making sure
the underground hatch was secured, he tiptoed into the commode on the other side of the earl’s room. He climbed onto the counter and slipped into the ventilation system above the room. After moving around for a few minutes, he grew comfortable, and waited. He could see the commode from his position, but his face was in the shadows. Brenden was glad he wore extra clothes because the draft coming from behind him was chilling.

  He waited in the dark for several hours. Brenden was good at waiting. That was one advantage he had over his sister. He was patient. She was not. He’d told her over the years that she needed to learn patience, but it was one thing she didn’t care to learn.

  First, he saw the sorcerer use the loot. He studied the man as he entered. He was tall, with green robes, and long shoulder length blond hair. His ears were slightly pointed at the tip, and his eyes burned an unnatural green. Brenden hoped to remain hidden from the sorcerer. He wasn’t too sure about how their magic worked. Brenden was relieved when the sorcerer left, but not so relieved when the scent didn’t.

  Brenden wondered if the sorcerer was staying in the room with the earl. It seemed odd, after all, the earl had a wife. Where did she sleep? Did they sleep on the bed together with the sorcerer in a chair off to the side smoking a pipe? What if they planned to be intimate? Would the earl remain celibate until the danger of theft passed? Brenden was curious about all these things, but he dared not chance sneaking into the room to find out. Instead, he waited.

  After another hour the earl entered the room. He closed the door and sat on the latrine. Brenden scooted forward in the ventilation shaft and prayed he would remain silent. Grabbing a vial of silver dragon scale elixir, he gulped it swiftly. He dropped on top of the earl while his pants were pulled down. Brenden casted a spell of silence inside the room.

  The struggle would not be heard outside of the loot. Unless the sorcerer had additional magic to detect, which Brenden could not be sure. He’d only read one of the thousands of books inside of the Sorcerers Library.

  Brenden grabbed the pendant from the earl, ripping it off of his neck. The earl’s eyes widened as he tried to pull his pants up. Brenden kicked him in the groin, and the earl tumbled forward, hands covering his crotch. Brenden wrapped his left around around the earl’s neck, raising the man to his feet. He removed a needle from his sash and injected a sedative into the earl’s neck above his right shoulder.

  The earl struggled for another minute before collapsing limp into Brenden’s arms. He lowered the man to the ground to gently lay. Brenden thought about pulling the man’s pants up, but ultimately decided he didn’t want to get too close to a man without pants. Instead, he grabbed a hand cloth to toss over the man’s exposed groin, then climbed back up into the vent, the pendant in his hand.

  The sedative would last a few hours, but he worried the sorcerer may check on the earl soon, so Brenden wasted no time as he crawled through the duct. He knew another way to get underneath the keep. After several long minutes, he peered through the ventilation opening into an abandoned room. Smiling, he dropped out of the duct and into a library. He needed to be careful that no one saw him. He crept around one of the shelves and nearly crashed into a guard.

  “Who are you?” the guard asked.

  Brenden punched him in the jaw. The guard stumbled back several feet before unsheathing his sword. Brenden looked from left to right, realizing there wasn’t enough room between shelves of books for a sword fight. He moved his left foot behind him and unsheathed his short sword.

  The guard wasted no time as he rushed forward to attack. Brenden deflected the first three strikes, angling his sword to the left, then his right, using his short sword like a rapier. He worried the noise would bring more people to the situation.

  The guard was more skilled than Brenden, and after another series of rapid strikes, the guard slapped Brenden’s hand with the blade, causing him to drop his weapon. A sharp pain crawled up his hand. He stepped backward, tripping over his feet. The guard approached him, a grin splitting his face in two as he twirled the sword above Brenden.

  Fear gripped Brenden. He hadn’t come this far to die to a measly guard. His body shook as he raised his hands. He could feel energy surging through him, though he didn’t know how.

  The dragon vial he used was only enough to prevent sound. His hands glowed orange in front of him. He saw a complex pattern of strands in front of him. Brenden weaved them together with his mind and the orange glow on his hands increased. The guard began backing away, terror blazing in his eyes.

  Brenden stood. He shook his hands, willing whatever it was to fly toward the scared guard. Flames filled the dark room.

  They encompassed the guard as he screamed. Brenden watched with intrigued horror as the guard’s body disintegrated into ash before his eyes, collapsing to the ground in a soft power.

  Brenden stood motionless for a long moment before shaking his head to rid his shock and running out of the keep and into the darkness.

  26

  Keira strolled into Forscythe, twirling the dragon pendant necklace with her fingers.

  The scent of chimney smoke wafted into her nostrils, making her aware of the chill in the air. Ornery, and a bit tired of all of the missions, she sighed, and glanced to the gray sky.

  In the last few months she’d barely caught a break. And now she’d killed. She’d killed in the past, but never three in one night.

  Normally, it was just stealth, or a little bit of seduction.

  She frowned down at her hands, and the shiny ruby of the pendant.

  I’m a thief, not an assassin.

  No matter how many times she told herself that, the unpleasant taste of regret clung to her mouth.

  Forscythe was like a ghost town when she entered. As she glanced around, she had yet to see anyone. For the last few months it’d been packed full of people. She’d noticed less and less of the other thieves leaving the city, and more of more of her and her brother taking on missions. Perhaps things were settling down a bit and others were getting missions again.

  She could only hope so. She and Brendan could use a break.

  She enjoyed the thrill of the theft, but she also enjoyed having a break. The best part about being a thief was it paid well, which usually meant a well-deserved break between jobs. Nonetheless, the last few months hadn’t gone that way.

  However, the nightmares didn’t help. They came more frequently. She still hadn’t told anyone about them, but she was ready to. The only person she could trust was Brenden, and the past several weeks, they’d each been too busy to converse with each other at all. In fact, they’d seldom been in the city at the same time.

  Keira frowned. She wondered if that were by design. Was Mirabelle intentionally keeping Brenden and Keira apart so they couldn’t talk? Keira didn’t trust the woman. In fact, she didn’t trust anyone in Forscythe, not even Uriah. Brenden trusted him, in fact, Keira saw that he looked up to him as a father. Keira, on the other hand, had a bad feeling about him. She kept her caution on reserve, and never mistreated him, but she always felt there was something off about him.

  Nightmares about Uriah had occurred more frequently. Keira remembered being loved. A man and a woman loved her, and Brenden. She remembered hugs, and long walks together. Or at least, she dreamed about it. The last few dreams had ended with Uriah killing the man and woman.

  Had they been her parents? Or were they someone else. And was Uriah really behind it? If he was, that would mean all of Brenden and Keira’s lives in the Thieves Guild had been a lie. She remembered being young in Forscythe and scared.

  She’d felt as though no one liked her, and everyone watched her. It was one of her earliest memories. Was that because she wasn’t from Forscythe? Was Brenden and her not the son and daughter of a notorious thief who’d died while trying to infiltrate a Noble’s house like they’d been led to believe?

  Keira didn’t know what to think anymore. She shook her head, ridding herself of the memories, or nightmares. All she knew was she wanted to
talk to Brenden when she could find him. It was time to get it all off her chest. He was a few years younger than her, but she wondered if he had any nightmares as well, or if it were all her.

  The keep was silent as well. It was eerie. The sound of silence was deafening. Her ears rang with each step. She came to the stairs and took a deep breath. As she ascended, she could hear each patter of her footsteps. A chill ran up her spine and she hurried up the stairs and down the hall. She knocked.

  “Enter,” Mirabelle said through the door.

  Keira stepped inside swiftly to sit in front of Mirabelle’s desk.

  “Is everything all right?” Mirabelle asked.

  Keira shivered again. “Yes. It’s just quieter here than I’m used to.”

  “It’s been a busy week.” Mirabelle linked her fingers together. “Do you acquire the pendant?”

  “Yes,” Keira said, laying the pendant on the desk.

  Mirabelle smiled. “Excellent.”

  “Where is everyone?” Keira asked.

  “They’re preparing.”

  “Preparing for what?” Keira asked.

  “Thanks to you and Brenden, everything is falling into place, and we’ll be able to make our move soon.”

  “What is falling into place? Where is Brenden?”

  “He is away,” Mirabelle said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “He should be returning any day now.”

  “You didn’t answer me. What is falling into place?”

  Mirabelle smiled. “Our plan.”

  “What plan?”

  “Don’t you worry about that. That is for me to work out.”

  “No. Tell me what is going on.”

  Mirabelle shook her head. “All will be revealed to you soon. We have one last task for you. This time, it won’t be easy.”

  Keira rasied her brows. “Easy? Do you think the last mission I went on was easy? A dead servant, a dead baron, a dead mistress, and a dead sorcerer was not easy.”