She stared at the Journeymen and apprentices assembled before her. The guilty party stood somewhere in that crowd. Even if Bryden had set her up, he couldn't have acted alone. Her fists clenched. The bastard was probably watching her right now, relishing his—or her—impending victory. Ilanna was trapped.
Bryden continued in a solemn voice. "As you all know, the Night Guild has very strict laws governing our actions. House Hawk maintains a close record of all the nobles paying the Crown for protection. These nobles are meant to be off-limits, yet Journeyman Ilanna flouts the laws of the Guild. Not only has she been proven guilty of larceny and hiding her profits, but she has endangered our fragile peace with King Ohilmos."
He thrust a finger at her. "She would bring the Praamian Guard and the Duke's justice down on us. She would see you hauled away in chains to be hung or forced to cross the Field of Mercy. All because of her greed."
The assembled Journeymen growled and shouted angry threats. Krew and Layne added their voices to the tumult. Journeyman Septin scratched the angry scar running across his right eye. Errik's face had gone pale, and a deep line furrowed Allon's brow. Journeyman Eden's grey eyes had gone cold.
"Guilty!" someone cried out. More voices echoed the chant. "Guilty! Guilty!" The word echoed off the walls of the Menagerie, swelling to a roar.
Bryden raised his hands, but the shouts continued for a full minute longer. When they finally quieted, he spoke again. "Journeymen of the Night Guild, esteemed members of the Council, I have one more piece of evidence to present."
Septin inclined his head. "If you deem it necessary."
"We've heard enough!" Krew shouted.
"Perhaps," Bryden acknowledged, "but perhaps my next piece of evidence will lend insight into her actions." He produced a handful of small, folded parchments. "These papers bear the Guild Master's handwriting, and their contents are the final proof that Journeyman Ilanna is truly guilty of these crimes." He handed the papers to Allon. "If you would, Master Hound, read these out for all to hear."
Allon shot her a worried look, but cleared his throat and read. "Graves Manor. Chatham Villa, tonight. Lord Ulimar. Pay Lord Drusus a visit." He gave Bryden a puzzled look. "What do they mean?"
Bryden's face twisted into a masterful parody of sorrow. "Alas, Master Hound, it can only be one thing: Master Gold's instructions for Journeyman Ilanna to steal from these various targets." He held up the small notebook. "Master Gold instructed Ilanna on which houses to visit, no doubt for a share of the profits, as noted here."
Ilanna stared at the notes in Allon's hand. There was no way Bryden could have them. They were false, all but the one sending her to Lord Ulimar's. She had burned every note after receiving them. But if she claimed that she'd burned the notes, it would be an admittance of guilt. Again, whoever set her up had nearly trapped her in her own deception.
"I have here the copy of the list maintained by House Hawk. As you can see, every one of the houses mentioned…" He trailed off, his brow furrowing. For a moment, he stared at the parchment. Confusion flitted across his face. Then, he shook his head and addressed the crowd once more. "Every one of the houses mentioned in Master Gold's notes to the Journeyman is on this list. It is clear proof that they broke Guild law and conspired to breach the peace between the Guild and the Crown. All to enrich themselves by cutting out the Guild." He turned a glare on Ilanna. "It would not surprise me if she was the one to lead the Bloody Hand to our homes!"
Ilanna threw herself at him. "Lies!" The Bloodbears caught her before she took two steps. "You Keeper-accursed liar! You were the--" She swallowed her words. She couldn't accuse Bryden of the exact crime of which he'd just accused her. The Guild would see it as the desperate act of the guilty. They wouldn't be willing to listen to her proof, tenuous as it was, given the mountain of evidence he had presented against her.
"Control yourself, Journeyman." Bryden's voice held a nauseating smugness. He turned back to the crowd. "The Night Guild does not mete out punishment without proof, yet does not hesitate when confronted with true evidence. We must give our accused a chance to defend herself. What say you, Ilanna of House Hawk? Have you any proof of your innocence?"
Ilanna's mind raced. She was trapped. Bryden—she had no doubt he was behind everything—had blended truth and lies to perfection. He had trapped her in her own deceit, proven her complicity in these crimes beyond any doubt. Anything she said now would only add to her guilt.
She held her tongue, but lifted her head. She would meet her fate as she always had: without flinching or hesitation.
Krew slammed a fist onto the arm of his chair. "Her silence speaks for itself!" The Bloodbear stood and thrust a finger at her. "Her guilt is plain. What say you, Council?"
Layne shouted, "Guilty!" Journeyman Eden and Damean nodded. Septin added his vote of "Guilty" in a quieter voice.
With sorrow-filled eyes, Allon whispered, "Guilty."
Errik turned away. "House Serpent…abstains."
Ilanna gave him a nod. He could do no more for her now.
"House Hawk finds her guilty as well." Bryden lifted his eyes. "What say you, esteemed Journeymen of the Night Guild?"
Dozens of voices roared out, "Guilty!"
"Then Ilanna, Journeyman of House Hawk, you are sentenced to the Sanction. Your execution will take place two days from now. May the Watcher have mercy on you."
Ilanna's gut bottomed out. The Sanction, the Guild's ultimate punishment. She would be strapped to a wagon wheel, and tortured to death. Her hands and feet chopped off, her bones shattered, her tongue cut out. Adarus, a Fox, had screamed for a full hour before he bled out. A cruel fate, even by Guild standards.
"Take her away!" sneered Layne. "The sight of this traitorous bitch is making me sick." Cruel laughter echoed from the Bloodbears in the Menagerie.
The two thugs gripping her arms dragged her away. She didn't resist. Not now. She had to bide her time. When an opening presented itself, she would be ready.
She cast one last glance at the Guild Council. Errik sat with a pale face and glum expression. Allon's eyes followed her out of the room. The Hound gave her a sorrowful shake of his head and shrugged his shoulders. Septin, Damean, and Eden had turned back to Bryden, but Krew and Layne gave her malicious grins. House Bloodbear would have its vengeance for Sabat.
Bryden cast a glance over his shoulders. The odd expression had returned to his face, a hint of furrow appearing in his brow. Yet when he turned away from her, he spoke in a loud voice.
"Let us discuss how we will respond to the Bloody Hand. We must consider accepting their offer now. After all, the damage they have done to the Guild is…"
The boom of the double doors shutting behind her cut off his voice as the Bloodbears dragged her to her fate.
Chapter Eleven
The stale, still air of the enclosed room stifled Ilanna. An overpowering stench of urine and feces rose from the bucket in the corner, and a metallic tang of dried blood hung thick around her. Before the Bloodbears had taken their alchemical lamps away, plunging her into oppressive darkness, she'd seen rust-colored stains darkened the walls in splotches and the dents on the heavy wooden door. She shuddered as images of torture and brutality washed through her mind. No one would care what happened to her in here. The Bloodbears would do whatever they wanted to her.
The Guild rarely used this chamber—they had few reasons to imprison their own—but when they did, they wanted to make its captives' fate crystal clear. They had brought her here to suffer through the last two days before they executed her.
And suffer, she would. She bit down on her lip to suppress a cry. Even the slightest movement sent spikes of agony radiating from her shoulder. Watt and Ayris hadn't been gentle. Two more Bloodbears had joined her escort to the cell where she now hung, smoothing any nascent hope of escape. They'd taken her weapons, stripped her to her underclothes. One Bloodbear had poked and prodded in the wrong place—he wouldn't hold a dagger anytime soon, not until his shattered finger
s healed. Her violence had brought quick retaliation from the other three.
At least my hands don't hurt, she thought with a wry grin. With her split lip, aching head, and dislocated shoulder, the tenderness of her palms faded into the background.
She tugged on the manacles in vain. The thick bands of iron squeezed her wrists, the length of the chain holding her arms at a painful angle. She forced herself to take slow, deep breaths. The stifling darkness brought back flashes of the weeks she'd spent locked in the tyros' room. She couldn't let fear take hold of her.
Voices echoed outside the cell door. A few moments later, a key rattled in the lock and the door swung open. Lamplight, blinding after hours spent in total blackness, spilled over her, brightening the room.
Allon's voice echoed from the doorway. "Give us a moment," he told the Bloodbear.
The huge thug snarled and held up a sausage finger. "One minute." He turned and left, swinging the door shut behind Allon.
The Hound—Master Hound now, I guess—turned to her. "I-I'm sorry about this, Ilanna."
Ilanna's eyes had adjusted to the dim lamplight, and she met his gaze. "You believe them?"
"No." Allon's grim expression belied his words. Only a fool would fail to believe the evidence against her. After a moment of silence, his gaze returned to her. "I tried, you know. I tried to talk them out of the Sanction."
Ilanna shook her head. "You'd have more luck teaching a Bloodbear to count."
Allon chuckled. "How do you do that?"
Ilanna raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"
"Stay strong." His smile held a deep sadness. "Horrible death or not, there's no fear in your eyes."
Because I've nothing left to live for, Ilanna wanted to say. Without Kodyn and Ria, she had no life outside the Guild. With Master Hawk and most of her friends dead, nothing remained for her within the Guild. She had no desire to die, but she wouldn't mind death all that much either. If the stories her mother had told her were true, she would be reunited with her son, Ria, Denber, Ethen, and all her friends in the Long Keeper's arms. She had that much to look forward to.
She shrugged. "No sense crying about it."
"It's one of the things I…" He swallowed.
Her gut clenched. Don't say it!
Allon's eyes met hers. "It's one of the things I…love about you, Ilanna."
She stifled a groan. Poor, clueless fool. She'd strung him along so long, used him to her own ends. Of course he'd fallen for her.
"I've wanted to tell you for a long time," he rushed on before she could speak, "but with everything that happened—with your friends, then Old Town Market, now this." He sighed. "I've known I felt this way about you since the first time I kissed you."
The memory of his hands on her body, his lips on hers, twisted her stomach. She'd tolerated him, barely. He would never know what she truly thought of him. It would shatter him. Better she keep him in ignorance. Her last gift to him, in gratitude for all he'd done.
Allon opened his mouth to continue, but the Bloodbear pulled open the cell door. "Time's up."
Allon nodded. He turned back to Ilanna with a sorrowful expression. "Goodbye, Ilanna. You were the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm sorry it's come to this."
"We'll see each other again, Allon." She gave him a weak grin and a wink that set her head aching. "I'll be the one strapped to the wagon wheel."
Allon swallowed hard. "I'll keep a look out for you." With a nod, he was gone. The door swung shut and Ilanna, once more, hung in darkness.
She had done everything in her power to find a way out of her predicament. She had tried to talk her way out, fight her way out. To no avail. She'd known the risks when she first began to steal from the Guild. She knew what they'd do to her if they found out. The choice had been easy: she'd do whatever was necessary to feed her son and buy her freedom from the Guild. She'd succeeded, only to have him ripped from her arms by Toll and Melinn. On Bryden's orders.
Hatred flared in her chest. Bryden had done this to her—she had no doubt about it. She didn't know how he'd pulled it off—where had he gotten the notes, and how had he convinced Filch to falsify those payment stubs? But no doubt remained in her mind: Bryden had set her up.
The door swung open again. A chill ran through her as she recognized the figure highlighted by the alchemical lamp.
"Well, well, well." Bryden, acting Master of House Hawk, strode through the door. "I must say I've hoped for this day for a long time." He nodded to the Bloodbear. "I'll let you know when I'm done."
The Bloodbear opened his mouth to protest, but Bryden shut the door in his face. With precise, almost fussy movements, he hung the alchemical beamer lamp from a hook in the wall and shuffled to stand in front of her. Just out of reach of her shackled hands, of course.
Ice flooded Ilanna's veins. "Come to gloat?" Her words came out in a dangerous, quiet tone. Fury curled like a serpent in her gut.
"Perhaps." Bryden inclined his head. "I would have given all the gold in the world to see Ilanna, the mighty queen of the Night Guild, humbled thus."
Ilanna ground her teeth. "You did this, you bastard!"
Bryden shrugged. "I simply presented the evidence I had." He crossed his arms. "I always suspected you were stealing behind the House's back. Imagine my surprise when I found all those wonderfully damning pieces of paper sitting in that binder on Master Hawk's desk. Almost as if the Master himself had been building a case against you." He shook his head. "Had he not been killed—"
"A crime for which you are guilty!"
Bryden's eyebrows shot up. "You blame me for Master Hawk's death? This I have to hear." His face grew smug. "Tell me how I hacked his body to bits with a Bloody Hand sword."
"You wouldn't get your hands dirty," Ilanna snarled. "You had to keep your clothes spotless. Not a trace of your brothers' blood on you. Yet you are the reason they died."
Genuine puzzlement crossed Bryden's face. "What are you talking about?"
"You are the traitor, Bryden!" Ilanna's voice went cold, flat. "You were the one who hired Toll and Melinn."
"Who?"
"The arsonists who burned down Old Town Market. Who burned down my house and—" She caught herself before she blurted out "my son".
Bryden actually flinched. "What in the Watcher's name are you talking about?"
"I talked to Moody. He told me you left the Night Guild a week ago. The same night a man wearing a hood and walking with a limp hired Toll to burn down Old Town Market. And gave him directions to my house!"
Bryden's face went pale. "A…week ago?" His eyes dropped.
"You don't even deny it, you traitor!" Heat flared in Ilanna's gut. "How many men with a limp do you know, who just so happened to be out of the Night Guild on the very night?"
"I don't know!" Bryden shouted. He swallowed. "B-But it wasn't me."
Ilanna sneered. "Of course you'd say that. Even now, you can't admit that you were—"
"I'll admit that I was out of the tunnels that night." He looked away. "But I had nothing to do with hiring those arsonists. I've never met this Toll before."
Ilanna's eyes narrowed. "Then where were you? Where did you go? You never leave the Night Guild. Can you expect me to believe it's just a coincidence?"
Bryden nodded. "Either that, or someone knew I was going to…" He trailed off, his brow furrowing. "Implausible, but not impossible." The same pensive expression she'd seen at her trial returned.
"You'd say anything to avoid suspicion," she snapped, "but I know you were the one behind it."
"Do you, now?" Bryden's eyes snapped up to hers. "Just like I knew you were guilty of larceny. Just like I found you lying atop Master Gold's body. A bit too convenient, isn't it?"
Ilanna had opened her mouth to hurl a curse at Bryden, but it snapped shut. Her mind whirled.
"Think about it, Ilanna." Bryden frowned. "You and I both know Master Hawk had a soft spot for you. If he found you were guilty of stealing, he would have approached you without invo
lving the House or the Guild Master. He wouldn't keep a record of it." He sneered. "Master Hawk was a great man, but he had one enormous flaw: his affection for you."
Ilanna swallowed. She hadn't had time to cope with Master Hawk's death. Too many had died in the last few days for her to truly process the grief.
His expression grew incredulous. "And isn't it a bit too convenient that the man who hires these arsonists covers his face and fails to hide a limp? The one thing that can distinguish him from everyone else in the Guild?"
Ilanna narrowed her eyes. "Where were you that night?"
Bryden gave a dismissive wave. "It doesn't matter."
"Where?" she shouted.
Bryden looked away. "A man has needs." He swallowed. "Needs that may not be fulfilled by the women of the Night Guild."
Ilanna understood. Certain secret establishments in Praamis catered to men desirous of the company of other men.
"Someone went to great lengths to make it appear like I hired the arsonists to burn down Old Town Market. Which means that same someone could have undergone the same effort to frame you as well."
Ilanna's jaw dropped. "What?" Those were the last words she'd expected from Bryden.
"It's why I'm here." The Hawk met her gaze. "It's a lie. At least some of Master Hawk's 'evidence' is fabricated, if not all."
Ilanna could find no words.
"I've known few Journeymen as clever as you, Ilanna." Bryden's expression grew sour. "Gods know I hate to admit it, but if you actually were stealing, you wouldn't be foolish enough to leave a trail broad enough for a marching army."
"What are you saying?" Ilanna couldn't believe her ears.
"That evidence against you was good. Too good." Bryden shook his head. "And I was foolish enough to believe it."
Ilanna's mind whirled. If Bryden had been the one to set her up, this conversation would have gone very differently.
"How did you know?" she demanded.
Bryden scratched his chin. "Lord Ulimar."
Ilanna quirked an eyebrow, confused.
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