"Thank you, Ellara," Duke Phonnis said. "Have Captain Rodar escort you to the palace."
"My lord." With a bow to the Duke and a curious glance for Ilanna, the Royal Scribe bustled from the room.
"Well, Duke Phonnis?" Ilanna asked. "Now you have what I promised you. The choice of what to do with it is yours."
The Duke gave her a meaningful look. "Do you know what it is you have delivered?"
Ilanna nodded. "I do. Proof the Grand Reckoner has been storing funds for the Bloody Hand."
"And because of him, the Voramians are able to operate in Praamis."
She thrust a chin at the ledger in his hands. "That is enough to convict him of treason, send him to the gallows. Or, if you're so inclined, I have no doubt you can find suitable use for such evidence."
The Duke stared at her. "And why would I, the Chief Justiciar of Praamis, want such a thing? Blackmail is as much a crime as theft and violence. You would make me a criminal, just like you?"
Ilanna shrugged. "I don't care if you use it or not. Burn the damned thing for all I care. But I have delivered my end of the bargain. Now it is time for you to uphold yours."
The Duke sighed. "I am a man of my word."
"Remember that, Duke Phonnis." Ilanna's words held a menacing edge. "You swore you would accept surrender."
"So I did," the Duke growled. "And you'd better pray to whichever gods you worship I don't forget it."
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ilanna strode through the streets near Old Town Market, hood thrown back, face bare for all to see. Her fingers ached to seize her daggers, but she kept her hands by her side. No sense drawing the wrong sort of attention.
The thought made her chuckle. The insignia of House Hawk was emblazoned in gilded thread across her back, and she wore her bracer. Any Foxes, Grubbers, or Hounds would know her immediately. Even the most thick-headed thug in the Bloody Hand should recognize her.
As if on cue, four men moved toward her. She didn't need to see their narrowed eyes, bared teeth, or rough clothing to identify them as Voramians. When she spotted a second group moving to cut off her retreat, she knew she had them.
She broke into a jog, darting through the crowded streets without hurry. The thugs picked up their paces as well. By the time she turned into a side alley, ten Voramians pursued her, a pair of Hound Journeymen and a Fox apprentice in tow. Ilanna grinned.
Time to make this interesting.
She poured on the speed now. Her feet flew through the debris of the alleyway, and she laughed. How wonderful it felt to run free once more.
An angry shout echoed behind her. "Get her!"
She cast a glance backward. More thugs had joined in the chase. She kept her pace slow enough to stay within their line of sight yet ever out of reach. Through the twisting, winding alleys of Praamis she led her pursuers. By the time she reached the Warehouse District, nearly twenty Voramians and a handful of Foxes and Hounds pursued her.
The open door of a warehouse beckoned to her. She grimaced as the reek of fish slapped her face, but she hurtled into the unlit building. The thud, thud of heavy boots echoed in the building behind her. She slowed to a halt before the crumbled remains of a staircase. Wooden walls and piles of crates blocked her exit.
She whirled on her pursuers, now drawing her dagger.
"Got you now, girlie!" The foremost thug, a fellow with the heavy jowls and dull eyes of a bulldog waved his club at her. "No escaping us." At his command, the twenty-odd men spread out to hem her in.
Ilanna gave him a sweet smile. "Funny, I was thinking precisely the same thing. You might want to consider throwing down your weapons and surrendering."
"What?" He stared down at her, confusion twisting his face. "You expect us to surrender to you? Not bloody likely!"
"You sure?" Ilanna leaned against a nearby stack of crates. "Seems like the smart choice."
With a growl, the bulldog-faced man advanced on her.
Ilanna shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
A platoon of blue-robed Arbitors rushed from their hiding places. One squad darted toward the door, cutting off the Bloody Hand's escape. The rest engaged the enemy.
The big man charged Ilanna, hurling curses at her. She stood her ground, as Errik had taught her. The Voramian's vicious sweep of the club should have crushed her skull. Solid wood met empty air as Ilanna flowed to her left, ducking the blow. She slammed her dagger between his ribs and leapt out of reach of his follow-up attack. The thug gasped, coughed blood, and stumbled. His legs gave way and he crashed into a pile of crates. He didn't get back up.
Pulling her dagger free, Ilanna turned her attention to the skirmish. The Voramians fought with the vicious brutality expected of street toughs. More than a few Arbitors fell beneath the powerful blows of oaken clubs. Yet the Bloody Hand proved no match for the Arbitors' breastplates, conical helmets, and steel swords. Within a matter of minutes, the last of the thugs threw down his dagger and surrendered to the Arbitors.
She strode over to Captain Rodar, the Arbitor commanding the platoon. "How many does this make?"
Captain Rodar's jaw clenched. "We've got at least forty either incapacitated or incarcerated."
Ilanna nodded. Her shoulders tightened as she caught sight of two bodies near the door. "Damn it, Captain!" She knelt over the bodies. Blood stained the white-trimmed robes of a Hound Journeyman. The gaunt corpse clad in Fox orange couldn't have been older than ten or twelve.
Her throat constricted, and she closed her eyes. I'm sorry. They'd died because of her.
Standing, she whirled on Captain Rodar. "The Duke gave his word!"
"To allow any who threw down their weapons to surrender." Captain Rodar thrust his chin toward the daggers still gripped in the lifeless hands. "Looks like these two were more inclined to fight than face the King's justice."
Ilanna sighed. I'd do the same, were I in their place. The Guild had no reason to trust the Duke. They knew him as the man who had pursued, captured, and executed their comrades. Given a choice, she would fight rather than face death by the hangman's noose or the Field of Mercy.
But she had no choice, and neither did they. If the Guild was to survive the Bloody Hand, they would have to surrender to the Duke. Better alive and awaiting a trial—one with little to no evidence of their crimes—than dead.
"It's not like we can tell them apart, anyway," one of the Arbitors muttered. "Gutter scum all look alike."
Ilanna spun toward the man, eyes blazing. Her grip on her dagger tightened until leather creaked. The Arbitor met her with his gaze, cold, cruel amusement on his face. Only the forty Arbitors beside him prevented Ilanna from hurling herself at him.
"Look at their clothing," she snarled through gritted teeth. She slashed a strip of cloth from the edge of the Hound's robes and hurled it at him. The bloodstained fabric splashed wetly against his face. "See there? The colors. That's how you tell a fellow Praamian from a gods-damned Voramian."
Disdain flashed across the Arbitor's face. Before he could retort, Captain Rodar snapped a command. "Wardell, Havan, check the door. The rest of you, hide the bodies."
With a sneer for Ilanna, the Arbitor saluted the Arbitor Captain and strode toward the door.
Captain Rodar spoke in a low, firm voice. "The Duke has given his word of honor that your comrades be allowed to surrender, but I will not put the lives of my men in jeopardy."
Ilanna drew in a deep breath. "Understood." Every syllable required conscious self-restraint. The Arbitors tolerated her presence because of her arrangement with the Duke. She had no doubt every one of them wanted to clap her in irons and see her swing, and not only because she belonged to the Night Guild. Word had spread through their ranks that she was the one who had broken into Lord Auslan's mansion. Her actions had humiliated them all. They would let the Bloody Hand murder her without a second thought. Only the Duke's terse instructions to keep her alive held them back.
That, and the fact that she knew the way into the Gu
ild tunnels. They needed her alive and conscious. For now.
"Get your men ready," she told Captain Rodar. "I'll be back in a few minutes with another batch to deal with."
* * *
"This is taking too Keeper-damned long!" Captain Rodar wiped his sword clean on the robes of a fallen thug. "We've been at this all day."
"And we've taken a score of prisoners, with at least thrice that number slain. With no more than a handful of injuries among your men." Ilanna crossed her arms. "Seems like the sort of odds you'd favor." She left the insult unspoken. No sense antagonizing the Arbitors. They could, and probably would, turn on her at any moment.
"But this last group was far too small." He motioned to the handful of corpses and the two Journeymen Foxes that sat bound and gagged against the wall. "They know something's amiss. They have to. There's no way this many of them go missing without someone noticing."
Ilanna wanted to believe the Bloody Hand would prove stupid enough to fall into their trap over and over, but that would be too easy. No, sadly, Rhynd was no fool. If he caught even the slightest hint of what they were doing…
"Once more." She met Captain Rodar's gaze. "One more try to lure as many of the bastards away from the Night Guild. The more we can capture here, the fewer we'll have to deal with when we invade the Guild."
Captain Rodar glared at her. "Quit stalling for time, girl." His hand rested on his sword. "You're not going to weasel your way out of this."
Anger flared in Ilanna's gut. He was right in one thing: she had no desire to reveal the location of the Guild tunnels to the Duke's men. If she had any other way, she would take it. But she had made peace with her decision the moment she spoke the words. The Guild's future depended on her driving out the Bloody Hand. She could deal with the Duke and his pet guards; Rhynd and his ilk would never listen to reason. Or yield to blackmail. The only way she and her friends would survive was by getting rid of the Bloody Hand completely.
Unfortunately, that meant bringing swarms of Arbitors and Praamian Guards into her home. Once she showed them the entrances to the tunnels, the Night Guild would never be safe. There was no turning back.
"Tell me, Captain Rodar, where would you rather fight this battle: on the streets you know, or on ground known only to the Guild and the Bloody Hand?" Her lip curled upward. "You seem like an intelligent man and a half-competent commander. Wouldn't it be worth the effort to lure them into our trap than lead your men into theirs?"
Captain Rodar scowled, fire burning in his eyes. Ilanna knew she shouldn't provoke him, but she couldn't help it. The fate of her friends and comrades was out of her hands—angering Captain Rodar gave her at least a shred of control.
She held up a finger. "One more. After that, I will lead you to the Night Guild."
The Captain's anger didn't fade, but he gave a curt nod. "Last chance. We get as many as we get, then you keep your end of the bargain."
* * *
The Arbitors snapped to attention as Duke Phonnis strode into the warehouse. "What's the delay, Captain?"
Captain Rodar straightened. "Girl insists on going in, sir."
"Did you tell her—?"
The Arbitor Captain nodded. "Not an icicle's chance in a fiery hell, sir, but she insists."
Duke Phonnis turned to Ilanna, who sat on a stack of crates. "There's no way I'm letting you accompany my men. Your part in all this ends when you show my Arbitors where to find the Guild."
Ilanna shook her head. "I'm not asking, Duke Phonnis. And once you hear what I have to say, you'll give the order."
Duke Phonnis' face hardened, his upper lip twitching. "Unless you're Agarre the Giantslayer herself, you'll be nothing but a liability."
"You think because I'm a thief I'll get in the way of your fancy soldiers." Ilanna sneered. "Well, your shiny breastplates may look wonderful when you're on parade, but they're next to useless when attacking the Night Guild. Worse, the clattering armor will alert the Guild you're coming. All element of surprise will be lost." She hopped to her feet and pointed to the map sitting on the table before the Duke. "You and your men may know the streets of Praamis, but you know nothing of the tunnels beneath the city."
The Duke's eyes widened at the mention of tunnels. Ilanna could read his thoughts: No wonder we couldn't find the bastards.
She tapped on the map. "The tunnels of the Night Guild are a maze, spreading out beneath the entire city. How long did your men spend wandering through the sewer system searching for me? How much easier do you think it will be to invade a tunnel guarded by men armed and willing to fight for their homes?"
The Duke narrowed his eyes. "What…do you…suggest?" he snarled, teeth gritted.
"I go with your men and show them the safest routes. I keep them away from any traps and surprises the Bloody Hand or Night Guild have set." She had no idea if any such preparations had been made, but the Duke didn't need to know that. "I keep your men alive long enough to get rid of the Bloody Hand. There are easily over one hundred Voramians in the tunnels, plus a few hundred Guild members who will be less than pleased to see your faces. Your men go in alone, they'll get lost. The Bloody Hand will pick them off squad by squad."
After a moment of tense silence, the Duke nodded. "Captain. She goes with you."
Captain Rodar stiffened, but held his tongue.
"You have your wish, thief." The Duke leaned over the map. "Now tell me where I can find the entrances to the Night Guild tunnels." He glared at her. "All of them."
Chapter Twenty-Three
A thick, tense silence filled the tunnels of the Night Guild. Anxiety radiated in tangible waves from the olive-clad Praamian Guard and the blue-robed Arbitors surrounding her. The pitiful light of the oil lanterns struggled to push back the thick blackness. A quiet drip, drip echoed somewhere in the darkness, lending an eerie atmosphere to the silence of the underground corridors. More than once, the Arbitors and Praamian Guards jumped at sounds only they could hear.
Dread gripped the back of Ilanna's neck in a vise, fear twisted her stomach. She'd walked the lightless passages a thousand times before, but never like this. Though she told herself it was only a trick of her mind, she imagined monsters leaping out from all around—monsters bearing the faces of the Bloody Hand and her fellow Guild members.
Captain Rodar's heavy breathing sounded oddly loud beside her. "Steady on, men. Hold your line."
Two ranks of five Praamian Guards led the invading force. Their rectangular shields, the width of a man and tall enough to reach Ilanna's chin, could stop a rioting crowd. Behind them came a line of Praamian Guard spearmen, followed by two rows of Arbitors bearing crossbows. All carried short, vicious swords, perfect for close-quarter combat. With Captain Rodar and Ilanna at the rear, their platoon numbered close to thirty. Ten more groups of similar size and structure had entered the other entrances to the Night Guild.
The Duke had laid out his plan: scour every tunnel and root out every Keeper-accursed thug and thief. He'll find it's easier said than done, Ilanna thought. During her years as an apprentice, she'd spent hours wandering the labyrinthine passages of the Night Guild. Even now, she knew there were sections yet to explore.
The soldiers moved with far less noise than Ilanna had expected. The Duke had accepted Ilanna's suggestion and ordered his Arbitors to remove their silver breastplates. They intended to move through the passages as swiftly as possible. Their only hope lay in surprising the Bloody Hand. If the Voramians and the Night Guild organized a proper resistance, both sides could suffer heavy casualties. Ilanna didn't care if the Duke's men fell, but she was determined to keep as many Guild members alive as possible.
She tightened her grip on her daggers. Captain Rodar had refused to give her a sword. "I'd sooner trust a serpent in my britches than let you carry a blade." Even now, she felt his eyes tracking her every move.
The Duke believed he could cleanse the tunnels with three hundred Arbitors and Praamian Guards. Even with all the thugs they'd captured and killed earli
er that day, the Bloody Hand numbered well over a hundred strong. Add to that House Hound, House Fox, and the Bloodbears, and the Duke's forces faced unfavorable odds. The Duke's insistence that his men's superior training would carry the day left her uneasy.
Captain Rodar glanced at her. "Which way?" The two spearmen carrying oil lanterns turned the pathetic beams on the intersection ahead.
Ilanna pointed straight. "There." The blackness seemed impenetrable, thick enough to cut with a knife. The sound of dripping water had fallen silent, leaving only the whining wind shrieking through the passageways.
"Where do the other two lead?" Captain Rodar demanded.
"Outside." She pointed to the left-hand passage. "That way leads to the Ward of Refuge. The other heads south, toward the Praamian Wall."
Captain Rodar thought for a moment. "Wardell, Tarlen, guard the rear. No surprises."
Two of the crossbowmen slipped behind Ilanna. One, the man named Wardell, shot a suspicious glare at her daggers. She twirled the blades between her fingers and grinned at the Arbitor's flinch.
"Eyes sharp, lads," Captain Rodar said, passing Tarlen a lantern.
"Aye, Captain." Tarlen, a grizzled man with thin lips, narrow eyes, and a hooked nose, checked the bolt seated in his crossbow's stirrup.
Captain Rodar carved an arrow into the tunnel's hard-packed earth wall. He'd done so at every intersection they'd passed. Ilanna held her tongue. The Captain no doubt had instructions to learn as much of the tunnels as he could. Duke Phonnis would need the information to carry out his plan to eradicate the Night Guild.
One problem at a time, she told herself. First we cleanse the Bloody Hand, then I deal with the Duke.
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