Chapter Fifty-Four
ILANNA’S FACE FLUSHED, heat spreading through her chest.
Master Gold raised his hands to silence the crowd. “Today begins a new era of prosperity, of plenty. Journeyman Ilanna has showed us what it truly means to belong to the Night Guild. Every one of us, from the newest tyro to the oldest Journeyman, should aspire to such achievements. No longer will we be content to subsist on scraps. Now is the time that we take our futures, our destinies into our own hands. Let us strive for greatness, aim for new heights of accomplishment. Let us go above and beyond the call of our responsibilities to the Guild and the Watcher. We must set our minds to new ways to bring the wealth of Praamis here, within these halls. For only then can we revel in the abundance promised to us by our Founders.”
The assembled Journeymen cheered again, though with less enthusiasm. More than a few faces scrunched up in confusion. Master Gold’s challenge rang out in the Menagerie. Clever, clever man. The Guild Master had promised riches, then placed the onus on the Journeymen. He played the role of magnanimous superior without doing any of the work.
“Go, my brothers, my sisters, my comrades, my friends. Return to your Houses, eat, drink, and celebrate the success of your own. Bask in our accomplishments this day, and challenge yourselves to greater achievements. Once the rewards for our efforts have been tallied, we will send word of our glorious victory.”
Bloody, twisted hell. Ilanna shook her head. Master Gold spun the fanciful tale to build up Ilanna in the eyes of the Night Guild, then subtly insinuated himself into her success. His use of the word “our” made it seem as if he had played an equal part in the venture. Just one word and he’d elevated himself to the same legendary heights as her. He’s good.
She met Allon’s gaze, saw the same understanding in his eyes. The smile that had widened his face as he cheered for her a moment ago faded. A line appeared in his forehead. Errik, too, seemed to comprehend the gravity of Master Gold’s words.
The Guild Master placed a hand on her shoulder. “Come, Ilanna. We have much to discuss in private before the Guild Council convenes.”
* * *
ILANNA TOYED WITH the rim of the silver goblet, not caring to drink the wine Master Gold had served her. The Guild Master sat across from her, his mouth pressed into a thin line, his expression pensive.
Ilanna broke the silence. “You said nothing about my crew. Why?”
Master Gold’s eyebrows rose, but he chuckled. “Have you ever heard of Journeyman Smolder?”
Ilanna shook her head.
“Smolder was the first full Journeyman in the Night Guild, the boon companion of Kainn, the Guild’s Founder. In fact, most of Kainn’s greatest achievements were actually carried out by Smolder. It was Smolder who proposed merging the various groups of thieves, assassins, poisoners, and trackers of Praamis into a proper Guild. He conceived of the Guild Houses and orchestrated the successful unification of the gangs. But do you know why Kainn’s name is remembered and Smolder’s is forgotten?”
Again, Ilanna shook her head.
“Because Kainn was the face.” Master Gold’s smile grew cold. “Smolder was the mind, but Kainn was the charismatic leader who put Smolder’s plans into action. He may have been dumber than a sack of very dense rocks, but he knew how to talk to people. He knew the value of building relationships, using them to get what he wanted. And all of Smolder’s hard work and vision added to the legend of Kainn.”
Ilanna quirked an eyebrow. “So that’s what you’re doing here? You’re using me to build your legend?”
Master Gold gave a dismissive wave. “I care nothing for legends or legacy. No, I plan to build your legend. The legend of Journeyman Ilanna, greatest of House Hawk, queen thief of Praamis.” He smiled. “Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”
Ilanna pursed her lips.
The Guild Master sighed. “Everyone knows you had a crew working with you. The fact that you kept your enterprise such a tightly guarded secret inflamed the curiosity of every House. You’ve no idea how many times I’ve been questioned about you. You’ve been the talk of the Night Guild for weeks.”
“But?”
“But the fact that you had help doesn’t take away from the fact that you were the one who conceived of this plan. On your own.” He toyed with the falcon brooch on his vest. “You came to the Guild Council with the idea and you assembled the crew to work for you. No matter the input from the others, it was you who made this happen. And you will find that it’s easier to build a legend for one person than for a group.”
“Easier to use one person as well.” She met Master Gold’s gaze. “You’re going to use this to keep Master Hound and the others in check. This will be your tool to keep the Bloody Hand at bay. You’ve turned this into your political victory.”
Master Gold inclined his head. “But is that such a bad thing? If it keeps the Voramians from ripping apart our city, is it not worth it?”
“You’ve failed to take one thing into account.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Me.”
Master Gold raised an eyebrow.
“You remember why I did this, do you not?”
The Guild Master’s face darkened. “Surely you can’t be s—”
“I will be free. The Night Guild has owned me for fifteen long, brutal years. I have sweated, cried, and bled for the Guild, lost friends and companions. I look around and see nothing but sorrow, misery, and suffering. All this started because Duke Phonnis executed the one true friend I had in this place. Yet throughout this venture, I’ve come to realize that he did me a favor. He severed any ties I had to the Night Guild.”
Anger darkened Master Gold’s face.
Ilanna didn’t give him time to protest. “You may tell yourself you are my friend, that you care for me. Perhaps you do, but what matters most is that you can use me to achieve your ends. Do you deny it?”
Master Gold opened his mouth, hesitated, then shook his head.
“It is no less than I expected from the Master of a Guild that values gold over human lives. You, Master Gold, wear a kinder face than most, but you hold the same dagger behind your back. I have no doubt that you will continue to find ways for me to be useful, to serve your purposes. You will not discard me like others, not now that I’ve proven my worth to you and the Guild.”
Her grip on the silver goblet tightened. “I do not hold it against you. The Night Guild has made you who you are. It has warped and twisted your mind until all that remains is desire, and you will do whatever you must to obtain it.”
She bared her teeth. “But the Guild has done the same to me. I will do whatever I must to obtain my desire, and there is nothing I hold more valuable than my freedom.” She thrust a finger toward the door. “That, Master Gold, is the proof of what I am willing to do. The laws of Praamis, the Duke and his men, the Bloody Hand, even the gods themselves—none of them will stop me from obtaining my desires. When the Guild Council convenes to hear the value of that golden casket, I will be free of this place.”
As she spoke, a series of emotions flashed across Master Gold’s face. Anger at the sting of her words faded to grudging acknowledgement, replaced a moment later by surprise at her intensity.
She hadn’t finished. “I have taken your orders for too long, but now I will decide my own actions.” For too long, she’d lived in fear of the notes appearing at her bedside table. No longer. “I am done stealing for you. You can coerce someone else to earn your gold.”
A new emotion appeared: desperation.
“But you cannot!” A hint of panic widened the Guild Master’s eyes. “You are all that has stopped the Bloody Hand’s advances into Praamis. Think of what will happen if you leave.”
Ilanna inclined her head. “Master Hound will continue to gain power in the Night Guild until the day comes when he calls for a vote to replace you.”
“He will welcome the Bloody Hand with open arms. You went to Voramis. You’ve seen what they’ve don
e to the city. Can you truly say you would wish that on Praamis?”
Master Gold’s question pierced to her core. She sat back, her fingers toying with the bowed wine glass while her mind whirled.
In her life, she’d known hardship and cruelty beyond what anyone should have to endure. Her father, blaming her for the deaths of her mother and baby sister, had sold her into slavery. The Guild had beaten, starved, and abused her in their efforts to mold her into a thief. She had suffered physical, emotional, psychological, and even sexual torments at the hand of Sabat. She had killed out of fear and a need to survive. She had lost friends and comrades to the King’s justice, rotten fate, and the vengeance of the Bloody Hand. The death of Ethen—sweet, gentle, kind, and friendly Ethen—and Denber had made one thing very clear: she wouldn’t die a thief.
The Night Guild had shaped her into a confident, capable, dangerous woman, but it had stolen her life. She would be free, and she would have the life she wanted. With Kodyn. With Ria. And without risking death every time she left her house.
With the money she’d earn from this job, she’d have enough to leave Praamis and start a new life somewhere else—anywhere else. A hundred thousand imperials—her share of the take—would suffice to set her up with a comfortable existence in any city on Einan. She’d never have to steal again. She could forget the Night Guild and Praamis entirely.
Yet could she condemn Praamis to the same suffering she’d endured? Her time in Voramis had shown her what happened when the Bloody Hand dug their claws into a city. They would do to Praamis what she had done to the silver goblet in her hand, leaving it just as mangled, twisted, and ugly.
She had suffered, but she had also found kindness among the people of Praamis: Master Umlai the butcher, who had given her and her mother extra bits of meat when they couldn’t afford it; Daria, the nobleman’s wife who took pity and fed her when she lay starving in the street; Ethen, Denber, Jarl, Werrin, Willem, Prynn, and Bert, the apprentices who had been like her family.
She could leave Praamis, but good people would suffer. It felt so ridiculous, so unfair for all of this to rest on her shoulders. She was just one thief among hundreds. Yet she couldn’t shake the burden of responsibility that Master Gold’s words had placed on her.
The Guild Master’s words came out in a whisper. “Praamis needs you.”
Ilanna slammed her fist onto the arm of her chair. “Damn you, Master Gold!” She stood and stalked around the room. Try as she might, she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.
“What if we could come to an arrangement?” Desperation tinged Master Gold’s words.
She turned to him, raising an eyebrow. “What sort of arrangement?”
Master Gold’s face grew pensive. “You want your freedom from the Night Guild? So be it. I believe I can convince the Guild Council to release you from any responsibilities to your House.”
“But?” There had to be a catch.
“But,” Master Gold spoke in a slow voice, “you operate as an independent in service to the Guild. Any jobs you want to pull, you run them by me or Master Hawk. You have total autonomy to do as you please, provided you follow the rules of the Night Guild. In return for access to Guild equipment and resources, you pay a percentage of your earnings—say seventy percent?”
Ilanna snorted. “Such generosity, Master Gold! How could I refuse?” Her lip curled into a sneer. “You’ll have to do better than that.”
The Guild Master held up his hands. “Fifty percent. Half your earnings. Surely that’s a reasonable—”
“I’ve no doubt the pencil-pushers will find all sorts of fees and expenses to tack on. By the time they’re done, I’ll walk away with next to nothing for all my hard work.” She crossed her arms. “For fifteen years, the Guild has given me one imperial for every ten I earn. Let’s see how you like it.”
“Ten percent?” Master Gold shook his head. “The Guild Council will never agree.” He stroked his chin. “What if I bring them down to one quarter? Twenty-five percent.”
Ilanna pondered the offer. It held appeal. If she accepted, she wouldn’t have to leave Praamis. She could lead a normal life, only stealing when she needed the gold. She’d have the freedom to do as she pleased and ply her skills however she wished.
But something stopped her from accepting on the spot. She couldn’t make the decision alone, not any more. She had to talk to Ria first.
“I make no promises,” she said in a slow voice, “but if you can convince the Guild Council for those terms, I will consider it.”
Relief washed across Master Gold’s face. He sat back in his chair, his shoulders relaxing, and reached for the goblet.
A knock sounded at the door. It opened to reveal Entar. “It’s time, Master Gold. The Guild Council has convened.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
A STRAINED SILENCE thickened the atmosphere in the Guild Council chamber. The eyes of twelve men and two women remained fixed on her as they waited for the results.
Ilanna didn’t turn her head as the door opened. Journeyman Bryden appeared beside her, his angular face more puckered than usual.
Bryden cleared his throat and shuffled the papers in his hands. “Masters of the Night Guild, I have here the assessment results of the bounty brought in by Ilanna of House Hawk.”
Ilanna couldn’t miss the tightness of his voice, or the fact that he left out the “Journeyman”. He’s definitely not happy. The thought put a smile on her lips.
“The Guild’s official gold and gemstone dealers have drafted up their valuation of what they believe the casket is worth.”
He shuffled the papers again, and nodded as he held one up.
“As you know, the sarcophagus of Lady Auslan is well known in all of Praamis. Indeed, stories of the priceless resting place of Lord Auslan’s wife has spread around the south of Einan. There is simply no way for the casket to be sold whole. With the damage inflicted upon it during transit”—he shot a sidelong glance of disapproval at Ilanna—“there is no other choice but to melt it down and sell the gold for its melt value.”
“However, such a vast quantity of gold will require months to move without attracting suspicion. The Guild’s dealers will have to transport a good deal of the metal to Voramis, Malandria, perhaps even farther north in order to sell it off in small batches. It would not surprise me if an entire year passed before all of the gold has been exchanged for goods, coinage, gemstones, and metals of equal value, to be added to the Night Guild’s coffers.”
Ilanna grimaced. It must be a lot if it’ll take a whole year.
“As for the matter of the gemstones, the dealers believe they will be able to dispose of the majority in Voramis. Most are unremarkable and indistinguishable from the stones currently held by our contacts. A handful will be distributed around Praamis, though only in a limited selection to once again reduce the chance of discovery.”
“Among the lot, there were a few gemstones—diamonds, rubies, garnets, and sapphires among them—with unique properties: cut, coloring, flaws, and clarity. These will be transported to Drash and Nysl.”
“Yes, yes.” Master Gold gave a dismissive wave. “We can dispense with all this.” He glanced around the table. “Unless any of you somehow managed to forget how we deal with our more recognizable prizes?”
A few of the House Masters chuckled, but most shook their heads.
“On to the good part, Journeyman Bryden.” Master Gold steepled his fingers and leaned forward. “What’s the sum total?” Greed glimmered in the Guild Master’s eyes, and in the eyes of every House Master and second-in-command around the table. Even Master Hound couldn’t mask the curiosity on his narrow face.
Bryden cleared his throat again and drew out another parchment. “Between the melt value of the gold and the estimated value of the assorted gemstones, the casket of Lady Auslan will earn a little over two million imperials for the Night Guild.” After a deliberate pause, he added as an afterthought, “And Journeyman Ilanna.”
“Sweet Mistress!” Master Serpent echoed the sentiment of all in the room. He stood and, flaring his cloak out to the side, swept a deep bow. “Journeyman Ilanna of House Hawk, I salute you.”
Master Grubber, Master Scorpion, and Master Hawk pounded their goblets on the table, and even Master Fox joined in. Master Hound gave her a nod. Though her actions had cost him politically, he could grant the grudging respect of one Guild member to another. Only Master Bloodbear and his dark-eyed second-in-command, a brute named Pialden, remained unmoving, a pair of matching scowls aimed her way.
Bryden’s nasal voice broke into the tumult. “There is, however, the small matter of debts.”
The room fell silent. Ilanna turned to Bryden, a snarl on her lips. “What debts?”
Despite the impassive expression on his face, Bryden’s eyes shimmered with glee. “Why the debts owed to your crew, and to the other Houses for the loan of their Journeymen.”
Ilanna’s eyes narrowed.
Bryden turned back to his papers, and his voice held a note of triumph. “First, there are the shares of the take promised to your crew.” He held up a parchment and read aloud. “To Jarl of House Hawk, ten percent. To Allon of House Hound, ten percent. To Darreth of House Scorpion, five percent. To Errik of House Serpent, five percent. To Veslund and Joost of House Fox, one percent each for a total of two percent.”
Master Hawk’s eyebrows rose, and Master Hound actually smiled. The Masters of House Scorpion and Serpent looked less pleased, and Master Fox’s face darkened.
“A total of six hundred and forty thousand imperials is to be spread around the Houses from which Journeyman Ilanna selected her crew.”
The House Masters, even Master Fox, grinned at this number. Master Bloodbear’s face drained of color. He wouldn’t see a single copper bit of Ilanna’s haul.
Thief of the Night Guild Page 40