by C. Greenwood
As we approached the temple, I had seen a soft glow of light emanating from within. Now I knew why. The interior of the space was lit by flaming torches that had been placed along the walls at intervals, creating pools of warm light in the otherwise cold and shadowed interior. The flames of the torches flickered in a draft that swept through the open doorways and windows, making fiery patterns dance across thick pillars and a ceiling that soared high overhead.
At least there were none of the grizzly decorations here that I remembered from the thieves’ former den. If they had cut off any arms or legs lately, they hadn’t taken the time to affix them to the walls of their new lair. However, they had brought the great throne-like chair I remembered from before. It stood in a place of prominence at the head of the room. Laid ready across its arms rested the dreaded Thief’s Blade, the black-bladed sword traditionally belonging to the leader of the band.
I took all this in at a glance, but my main focus was on the people surrounding me. The temple was far from deserted. Inside was gathered a waiting crowd of perhaps a hundred or so tough-looking strangers. Their faces were scarred and rough, their eyes hard. Armed with cudgels and blades, dressed in everything from beggar’s rags to laborer’s leather aprons and caps, they looked much like they had the last time I had been surrounded by this lot. Only there was none of the jovial atmosphere that prevailed on that other occasion when they had all congregated, happily cheering to see my limbs chopped off. This time they looked serious.
I calculated the odds of my getting a dozen steps from this place if I decided to make a run for it. I doubted I could find my way out of this twisted maze of ghostly ruins even if no one tried to stop me. I still didn’t understand where I was.
“You look confused, my unfortunate friend.” The familiar voice echoed across the room. “Might it be because you were not expecting to see us ever again?”
I grimaced as the thief king stepped out from behind a pillar and into the firelight. This man in particular was one I had hoped to avoid forever.
He continued, “We were hurt by your haste to flee our last meeting, after we had treated you so hospitably. We were just getting to know one another when you created some little distraction and dashed away.”
The little distraction had been Ada hiding in the shadows and using her magic to cut down a chandelier. But if he hadn’t figured out she was my accomplice, I wasn’t going to endanger her by enlightening him.
To move away from that perilous subject, I said, “As I remember, your idea of hospitality was to bash me on the head and carry me to your hideout against my will.”
My voice sounded bolder than I intended. Good. If I was going to die, I would rather they not have the satisfaction of seeing me afraid. I was my father’s son and wouldn’t beg for my life.
The thief king descended a short set of steps between us. The warm torchlight falling across his golden hair created the appearance of a halo around his head, an ironic contrast to his frightening face. One side of that face was unremarkable, maybe even pleasant. But the other side was horribly marred, the flesh from cheek to forehead melted. I had been told it was a torch in the hands of a friend turned enemy that had disfigured the thief leader. It had also put out his eye, now covered by a leather patch.
The thief king was summing me up, even as I studied him. “You are changed,” he said. “The last time you stood before us you quivered like a frightened child. Now it seems you have found your spine.”
He was wrong. I was as afraid as ever. But after the ordeals of these past few weeks, I was learning to hide my weaknesses.
He walked up and down in front of me. “You could be forgiven if you lost your courage, considering what lies before you. We’re very displeased about being chased from our old den. It was a comfortable spot, a safe place where the city guard never disturbed us—until they did. And we didn’t have to look far on that day to realize who was to blame for it.”
So Ada had been right. They didn’t suspect her as the informant. Instead, they suspected me.
He went on in an easy tone. “We escaped the raid of the city guard and found ourselves a new lair. But we didn’t forget who nearly brought disaster upon us. We remembered you well and kept an eye out for your return to the city. Now that you are here, we’re eager to take up unfinished business. Isn’t that right fellows?” He raised his voice for the benefit of the onlookers.
The gathering of thieves made sounds of noisy agreement.
“Now, let us think,” encouraged their leader. “Where did we leave things off the last time we had you as our guest?”
The crowd grew lively in anticipation and called out suggestions. “The Thief’s Blade,” shouted several voices in unison.
I looked across the sea of angry faces and saw something at the edge of the crowd that made all my hard-won courage ebb away. It was Ada slinking along the back of the throng. And she had been fool enough to bring Ferran with her. I was torn between my emotions, furious at her and terrified for him. She should have known better than to bring the boy to such a place. Alone, I could face whatever death awaited me. But I couldn’t die with Ferran watching. I had been scarred by witnessing the execution of my father in the tower, and I wouldn’t let a similar scene be branded into my brother’s memory forever.
Seeing the thief king was about to mount the steps toward his throne, I knew what he went to fetch. The Thief’s Blade, used for severing the limbs of wrongdoers.
I thought fast. “You’re right,” I said to the thief captain’s back. “It was me who betrayed you to the city guard. I saw an opportunity to gain the reward, and I took it, like any thief would.”
The thief king turned back, looking surprised at my bold confession.
I kept my eyes fixed on him, refusing to let them drift toward my friends. Ferran and Ada were doubtless under suspicion enough by mere association with me. One stray glance their way could yet give away my lie.
The leader of the thieves looked at me measuringly. What he saw I didn’t know, but his expression changed to one of grudging admiration.
“You are more ambitious than I first thought,” he said. “That’s good. I like a thief who isn’t afraid to take risks when the gain is great enough. And the truth is your gamble was nearly successful.”
He flashed his teeth, a startlingly normal expression in so grave a moment. “I could use a youngling with powerful motivation and an excess of courage—provided he can be trusted to use his abilities only where I direct.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise. “Are you suggesting we join forces?”
His smile disappeared. “I don’t join forces, boy. I lead them. But if you can remember your place, I might be generous enough to accept you into my guild. It’s either that or kill you. I haven’t decided which I should do.”
Some of the gathered thieves made sounds of disappointment at the possibility of my reprieve. There were suggestions of “Lop off the whelp’s head!”
The thief king laughed approvingly at their eagerness for violence.
He said, “To satisfy the bloodlust of my men, I’ll compromise. I’m going to give you a task that requires a high degree of skill. If you survive it, you’ll be branded a member. If you don’t, it’ll be no loss to us. And lest you think of repeating your old trick of turning over our location to the city guard, remember that we hold something precious to you.”
He gestured toward the back of the room. Like everyone else, I followed his gaze. My heart sank as I saw he was pointing to Ferran, who stood pale and frightened near the entrance. Now I realized why Ada had brought Ferran with her. They were under the escort of several thieves and must have had no choice but to come.
“I understand the little one is your brother,” the thief king said. “Perhaps you would like him to stay in one piece?”
At the casual threat, my anger flared, replacing fear. But I controlled it. One wrong word or move right now and all our lives would be over.
“Leave my brother alone
,” I gritted. Then I forced myself to add, “Please. He has done you no harm.”
I hadn’t been ready to beg for my own life before this miserable scum. But for Ferran’s, I would.
The thief captain looked amused. “Your loyalty to the boy is most touching,” he said. “See that you remember it if you fall into the hands of the authorities and find yourself under torture. If I see one sign of the city guard approaching this place, your brother’s entrails will be the first decorations to grace the walls of our new den.”
“What is it you want me to do,” I asked, trying to get the image he painted out of my head. I couldn’t look at Ferran now.
“That’s the spirit,” said the thief king. “No harm need come to the boy. Not if you deliver what I desire—the Azure Star.”
“The what?” I asked.
“The most valuable jewel in the province,” he said. “It’s typically pinned to the breast of a certain eccentric old noblewoman. But I’ve long thought it would be more attractively displayed in my treasure hoard. It’s a risky burglary, some would say impossible. The perfect opportunity for you to show what you’re made of and whether you’re worthy to where the X on your arm.”
I had no doubt that if I refused, Ferran and I would be killed on the spot. Possibly Ada as well since the thieves obviously knew of the connection between the three of us. I had no choice.
“It will be done,” I promised.
CHAPTER TEN
After that, things happened quickly. The first blush of dawn was streaking the sky as I left the ghostly ruins of the old part of town, escorted by guild thugs. I didn’t see what happened to Ferran and Ada. I was returned to my cage in the cellar beneath The Ravenous Wolf to await events. Exactly what I was waiting for I didn’t know. Apparently, my burglary was intended to take place at a later hour. Meanwhile, I was given food, drink, and a slop bucket, a surprising show of generosity on the part of my keepers. I thought the muscular thief with the shaved head, Thorben, seemed sympathetic to me. Maybe, like his captain, he respected my boldness. Or maybe he only pitied me because I was likely to die in a short time, either at the hands of the city guard or the thief king.
I sat alone in the dark all day, trying to ignore the hated feeling of being trapped, trying not to feel the closeness of the walls and ceiling. The magic amulet tucked inside my tunic might play with my memories at times, but it had done nothing to dim my horror of tight spaces. Two years imprisoned in the tower couldn’t be erased so quickly. I wondered if Ada would visit me again or perhaps bring Ferran to say goodbye, in case I didn’t survive the coming test. But neither appeared and I remained alone. That was probably for the best. I was holding on to my determination to survive the coming ordeal if possible. But I didn’t have the energy to pretend in front of Ferran that all would be well.
After many hours, they came for me. The thief king was nowhere to be seen. Only the shaven-headed thief and three or four others escorted me along the cellar stairs and into the upper room. The light of the roaring flames in the two fireplaces seemed extra bright after my hours spent in the inky blackness below. The Ravenous Wolf was as full and noisy as ever, but no one took any notice of my being led across the common room and out the front entrance.
Outside, the comparative quiet and fresh air was a relief. Evening had fallen. I must have spent an entire day in my prison. Now the sun was sinking low in the sky, and long shadows stretched across the streets. In another hour it would be dark again.
To my surprise, I was more or less turned loose at this point. I had thought several guild thugs would accompany me. Instead, the shaven-headed Thorben explained that on the thief king’s orders, I was assigned just one partner who would be with me the whole time. He was supposedly there to help with the theft, but I knew his real role was to report back to the thief king on my actions.
My companion was a dark-haired youth named Javen, who seemed to like talking. He kept up a one-sided conversation as he led me from the others and down a crooked alley away from the ragged quarter. The fact that we weren’t exactly friends and that I might yet lose my head to the Thief’s Blade didn’t appear to bother my companion. At least not enough to stem his flow of chatter while we walked along. His father had been a healer, I learned. Javen himself was a bit of an herbalist. I tried to draw him away from going on about himself and find out more details of the task that lay ahead. But our mission was the one thing he wouldn’t talk about.
As we followed the winding backstreets leading out of the common district, I thought longingly of escape, imagining running away from Selbius and all the way back to Dimmingwood. The forest and even the deranged wild man who wandered it now seemed like a safe haven compared to being at the mercy of the thieves’ guild. But I didn’t make a break for it, just as the thief king had known I wouldn’t. The knowledge that Ferran was still in the clutches of those people was a powerful motivator to follow orders until I could find a way to extricate us from this situation.
Although we took an unfamiliar route, I recognized the general area of the city we were headed toward. It was the wealthier part of town, where the houses were bigger and finer and surrounded by wide green lawns and walled gardens. I remembered what the thief king had said about the Azure Star. I supposed a noblewoman who possessed the finest gem in the province would naturally live in a very grand house.
All the same, I was surprised when we finally reached our destination. Javen stopped in front of the largest house on the street. The red-tiled roof towering above us was surrounded by a high wall and an elegant garden, the trees of which were just visible over the top. We didn’t enter from the street, but Javen led us through a small swinging gate where the wall butted up against an alley. I doubted it was usually kept unlocked and wondered how it had been arranged that it should be so tonight.
The last evening light was swiftly fading as Javen and I squeezed through the gate and, clinging to the shadows of a row of hedges, crept closer to the house. Screened by the greenery and draped in darkness, we had a clear view of the front and south side of the house, as well as the graveled drive leading to its magnificent front entrance.
Just as I was wondering how we could possibly break into a big house that was surely overflowing with servants, Javen shoved an oversized tunic streaked with dirt at me. Then he slapped a pair of grass-stained gauntlets into my hands.
“What are these for?” I asked.
“Your new occupation,” he said. “If anyone catches you nosing around the side of the house, you’re the gardener’s newly hired assistant, just doing some late-night pruning.”
“Will anyone believe that?” I asked even as I removed my cloak and dragged the dirty tunic on over my own. It fell over me like an enormous baggy sheet until I cinched it at the waist with my belt.
“Whether they believe it depends on how convincing a liar you are,” Javen said. “My best advice is not getting caught in the first place.”
I had no sooner shoved my hands into the loose gauntlets than he offered me a spade and a pair of small sheers. I tucked these into my belt to free my hands.
Only now did I receive full instructions on what was expected of me. I was surprised to find Javen had gathered information about the house in advance and put together some form of plan. Perhaps I had been lucky in having him as my assigned partner.
He told me that our mark, a wealthy old noblewoman, was a widow who lived alone. I had only her and the servants to watch out for. She slept in an upper room at the corner of the south side of the house, with a narrow balcony attached. It was to be assumed she kept her jewelry, including the precious Azure Star, in her bedchamber. This was why we had to wait until the dinner hour, when she was most likely to be downstairs and her room unoccupied. I had only to climb up the tree growing along the corner of the house, climb over the balcony rail, and enter her bedchamber through the window. There I should look for her jewelry box, procure the Azure Star, and escape by the same method I had entered. I must do all of this
without being spotted because, as Javen pointed out, my gardener’s disguise would do me no good once I was inside. An outdoor servant would have no excuse to be in the house.
“What about you?” I asked my partner. “What will you be doing while I’m lifting the gem?”
“Sorry,” he said. “I’m forbidden to help you past this point. You’ll have to pull it off on your own while I stay down here.”
I was unsurprised. The more I learned about this assignment the more obvious it became that the thief king wanted me to fail. Perhaps he derived some enjoyment out of giving me an impossible task. And yet, for my brother’s sake I had to find a way to succeed.
There was only one problem. As I gathered my courage and prepared to creep across the garden toward the corner of the house, I heard an unexpected noise. It came from the long graveled drive, where a black-and-gold carriage was pulling up to the front entrance.
“What’s this?” I whispered to Javen.
He didn’t answer.
We crouched low and watched an elegantly dressed man and woman climb out. A servant rushed to meet them and ushered them up the stairs. They had no sooner disappeared through the front doors than another carriage followed, carrying equally important-looking people. This time a set of armed men rode at the front and back of the conveyance, as if to guard the passengers within.
Javen let out a low whistle. “Your task is doomed,” he told me. “The old lady must be hosting a banquet. The whole house will be full. And unless I’m wrong, the coat of arms on this next carriage belongs to the praetor himself.”
For a moment my heart pumped faster and I heard my blood rushing in my ears. Then I realized Javen was talking about the praetor of Ellesus, who ruled from this city. Certainly, my father’s old enemy, the praetor of Camdon, was a province away.
Nevertheless, I didn’t breathe again until the carriage rolled to a stop and its doors opened. Javen’s words were confirmed when the silver-haired old man who climbed out bore no resemblance to that hated figure from my past. I watched the newcomer with interest, having never seen the ruler of Ellesus before. Under the light spilling from the front steps, I realized he wasn’t such an old man after all. He only seemed old because of prematurely silver hair and a certain stoop to his shoulders that suggested weakness or ill health.