Heirs of Destiny Box Set

by Andy Peloquin

  People had looked down on Aisha and the other rescued women as weak, just as people looked down on Issa and the other low-caste Shalandrans because they were somehow lesser because of an accident of birth.

  To Issa’s credit, she seemed to accept Briana’s words at face value rather than allowing her own prejudices about the Dhukari color her perception. “As you say.” Her voice was tight but lacked fire, and she inclined her head. “As to your question, I can think of a few places on the Cultivator’s Tier that might suit the Gatherers’ purposes. Many of the houses on the western side, close to the Keeper’s Crypts, are abandoned.” She gave a wry smile. “Most of the Earaqi are superstitious and prefer to remain well away from the dead.”

  Aisha’s brow furrowed. Didn’t the Secret Keepers say they found dust that could either be from the Serenii tunnels or the tombs?

  The question planted a seed of doubt in the back of her mind. She and Briana had wanted to find a connection between the Gatherers and the Necroseti, one they could potentially use in their war against the Keeper’s Priests. But what if we actually reached the wrong conclusion? What if there is no high-ranked Necroseti guiding them through the tunnels, but they’re really hiding in the Keeper’s Crypts?

  Issa’s words about Lady Callista’s suspicions lent weight to the theory about a Necroseti working with the Gatherers. Yet Aisha couldn’t shake the nagging doubt that maybe they’d made a mistake.

  Before she could voice the feeling, the door burst open and Kodyn rushed into the room. “I found the assassins, and you’ll never believe who they’re working with!”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Kodyn stopped short as his eyes fell on the black-armored Keeper’s Blade in the room with Aisha and Briana. “Oh.” He tensed, suddenly wary, as the realization hit him that he’d just said too much in front of Issa.

  “It’s okay.” Aisha thrust her chin at Issa. “She’s joined us.”

  Kodyn studied the three of them through narrowed eyes. “Seems I’ve missed a lot.” There was none of the wary tension he’d expect, but an almost casual, friendly atmosphere in the room.

  “Issa’s been sent by the Lady of Blades to help us in our fight against the Gatherers and the Necroseti,” Briana explained. “Lady Callista expects her to report back everything we learn that they can use against the Keeper’s Priests, the Council in particular.”

  “And we don’t have a problem with that?” Kodyn asked, arching an eyebrow. “I know the Pharus all but came out and said he’d help us, but from what I’ve seen, he and Lady Callista aren’t exactly bosom buddies.”

  Issa scowled. “Lady Callista acts in the best interests of Shalandra, even if she doesn’t always agree with the Pharus.”

  Kodyn stifled a snort. Of course she’d defend her commander. His eyes searched Briana and Aisha’s expressions for any hint of their feelings about Issa. He paid particularly close attention to Aisha. He’d spent enough time around the young Ghandian woman to trust her judgement.

  “She’s made it clear,” Aisha told him. “Her first loyalty is to Lady Callista and the Blades, but she’s sworn to help us any way she can. Including getting relevant information we find to people that actually have the power to do something with it.”

  “Ooh, then your Lady Callista’s going to love what I have to say.” Kodyn turned a triumphant grin on the three of them. “I have proof that the Keeper’s Council is in league with the Ybrazhe, and very likely the Gatherers as well!”

  Six eyebrows shot up and three pairs of eyes widened.

  “Proof?” Issa demanded.

  “Incontrovertible evidence that can actually be backed up?” Briana put in.

  “Yes, thank you, I know what proof means,” Kodyn snapped. His triumphant grin faded to an irritated scowl. “Keeper’s teeth, I’m a thief, not a bloody idi—”

  “What proof?” Aisha cut in.

  “I followed one of the assassins back to the Keeper’s Tier.” He gave them a self-satisfied smile. “Right to your father’s mansion.”

  Briana sucked in a breath. “Angrak!”

  “That’s the one.” Kodyn nodded. “I saw the assassin go into the mansion with my own eyes.”

  “Wait, what assassins?” Aisha’s brow furrowed. “I thought all of the Gatherers that attacked the palace and Suroth’s mansion were killed.”

  “Oh, yeah, that.” Kodyn flushed, embarrassed that he’d forgotten the most important part of the picture. “So, you know how Evren and I were going to check out the hideout where I saw the Gatherers before the attack?” He didn’t wait for the nods before plowing on. “Well, as we expected, it turned out to be useless. We didn’t find anything but a hint of black cloth that meant a Necroseti priest had likely been there at some point.”

  The three young women exchanged meaningful glances, as if he’d just confirmed some shared theory.

  “Well, we decided the best course of action was to deliver your father’s purse to the Black Widow, as I promised I would.”

  Suddenly, he remembered the purse tucked into his clothing. A burning curiosity to open it and find out what lay within gripped him, but he resisted the urge. It could be something they might not want Issa to tell Lady Callista about.

  “So, we’re in a meeting with the Black Widow when suddenly a group of thugs storm into the room. One puts a crossbow bolt right into the Black Widow’s chest. Or, at least, the woman pretending to be the Black Widow. Really, she’s just a decoy against things just like this.”

  He realized he was rambling and corralled his thoughts. “Anyway, Evren and I jump out the window and take off running, but I get the idea to tail the assassins back to their hideout on the off-chance that they’re Gatherers or, if not, Syndicate thugs working with the Gatherers. But as we’re following them, they split up. Evren followed the big group, the one that went down to the Cultivator’s Tier—”

  Aisha, Briana, and Issa exchanged meaningful looks, though Kodyn had no idea what it meant. He continued without slowing.

  “—while I broke off to follow the one that headed up Death Row, all the way to the Keeper’s Tier. That’s when I saw him slipping into Angrak’s mansion.”

  A stream of curses burst from Briana’s mouth, taking Kodyn by surprise. Even Issa seemed shocked by the invectives heaped on the Councilor’s head by the normally decorous Briana.

  “Damn Angrak!” Briana snarled when her curses finally ran out. “And damn the Keeper’s Council! That is definitely proof that the Necroseti are up to no good.” She fixed blazing eyes on Kodyn. “But you said you didn’t know if these assassins were Ybrazhe or Gatherer, right?”

  Kodyn nodded. “Yes, but Evren and I had a thought. What if the Syndicate is actually working with the Gatherers? Encouraging or even facilitating the attack on the Pharus in order to destabilize the city so they can expand into the Artisan’s Tier.”

  “With no heir, the Pharus’ death would plunge the Dhukari into a war for succession.” Briana’s expression darkened. “The Lady of Blades would oppose whoever the Keeper’s Council chose, and the Necroseti would obviously fight any of Lady Callista’s suggestions. The city would descend into chaos for the weeks or months it took to find the next Pharus.” She swore again. “Chaos that would give the Ybrazhe the perfect chance to solidify their grip on the three lower tiers.”

  “Keeper’s teeth!” Issa’s eyes blazed. “And you say this Councilor Angrak is working with the Ybrazhe?”

  Kodyn turned his palms up. “I can’t think of any other reason the thug would go straight from murdering the Black Widow to the Keeper’s Tier other than to report to his master.”

  “A master that just got elevated to the Keeper’s Council by the Necroseti,” Briana snarled. “Not even a day after my father’s death. They had to have planned that months or years in advance.”

  “I suppose it’s too much to hope that you saw Gatherers just hanging around?” Aisha asked, a wry tone to her words.

  Kodyn shook his head. “But damn, that
would have been nice and neat. We could have solved two problems at once.” He turned toward Issa. “And by we, I mean you and your fellow Blades, maybe with a few hundred Indomitables just to mop up the bastards.”

  Issa nodded. “I’m certain Lady Callista will not hesitate to act, provided she has enough evidence to back it up.” Her face fell. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure your eyewitness account will suffice.”

  “What?” Kodyn snapped.

  “She’s right,” Briana said. “You’re talking about a member of the Keeper’s Council. The moment the Necroseti get wind that Lady Callista is making a move against one of their own, they’re going to throw every shred of political might they have to protect him. Unless she literally finds Angrak standing over the Pharus’ corpse with the bloody knife in his hand and he confesses in front of a hundred witnesses, the Keeper’s Council is going to find a way to protect him.”

  Kodyn growled and clenched his fists. This would be a whole lot easier in Praamis! His mother would convince King Ohilmos to let them move against Angrak—or she would just send Errik and his Serpents to kill the bastard, proof be damned. But here they had to be much more cautious.

  As always, when he found himself confronted by a problem, he considered what his mother would do in his situation. She hadn’t become Master of the Night Guild by letting obstacles get in her way. She had defeated the Bloody Hand, defied Duke Phonnis, even saved the entire Night Guild from execution against impossible odds.

  He knew what his mother would do.

  His fingers balled into determined fists. “Then we’re going to break into his mansion and find the damned evidence we need to prove his guilty beyond any shadow of a doubt.”

  Issa stiffened, though she said nothing. Briana’s eyes narrowed, but it was Aisha that spoke.

  “When we were guarding Briana, you did a sweep of the mansion and said it was secure.” She fixed him with a piercing gaze.

  “I know what I said.” Kodyn shrugged. “And I stand by it. But that doesn’t mean I can’t figure out a way around it.” He hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.

  Aisha gave him the skeptical look she always did when he suggested something she considered foolhardy or dangerous. “You sure about that?”

  Kodyn nodded. “I’ve got hours until dark, more than enough time to come up with a plan.” His mother had broken into the most secure room in Praamis. He liked to think he’d inherited her cunning as well as her determination.

  He turned to Issa. “If I get you real, tangible proof, you’ll get it to the Lady of Blades?”

  “She is expecting to hear from me. I will make sure that your evidence is passed to her so she can take action.” The young Blade’s face hardened as she turned to Briana. “You will have vengeance for your father and the city will be cleansed, on this you have my word.”

  “Thank you.” Briana inclined her head, a little smile on her lips.

  “Well, then,” Kodyn said with a sigh, “I guess it’s time I sit down and figure out how to break into Suroth’s mansion.”

  A task, he knew, that would be far easier said than done.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Worry nagged in Evren’s mind as he approached Briana’s house from the back alleyway. After he and Hailen had snuck in the back way the previous night, he’d expected Lady Briana to post Rothin to guard the back while her Blade watched the front. Yet the back door was unguarded and unlocked. The sole sentry was Leya, who wielded a wooden spoon with a fierce hand and a furious scowl—the mortal enemy of servants looking to snitch a tasty morsel, but far less effective against assassins.

  Thankfully, Leya didn’t challenge him. Evidently, Nessa had passed on the news of his “promotion”—from attendant to partner-in-crime—to the servants. Leya actually slipped him a morsel of cold chicken rather than the tongue-lashing she’d given him on their last encounter.

  Through the window, Evren caught sight of Rothin standing guard outside the front door, but no sign of the black-armored Blade. Before he could wonder what happened, he glanced up the staircase and found Issa, the young woman warrior, had returned to replace the Archateros.

  He’d only met Issa once, but she hadn’t lost her air of menace. She loomed over Briana, a no-nonsense look on her face. The black, spiked plate mail and the huge sword on her back made her appear broader than even Kodyn and Aisha.

  The Keeper’s Blade saw him coming up the stairs and moved to intercept him. Evren balled his fists and met her eyes with a defiant stare. Briana emerged from the upper floor’s second room before either of them had time to speak or make a move.

  “He’s also a member of our little crew,” Briana told Issa. “As is his younger brother, Hailen.”

  Issa nodded, but the wary suspicion in her eyes never faded as she tracked Evren’s movements up the stairs.

  “Is Kodyn back?” He directed the question at Briana and Aisha, who had just emerged from the room as well.

  “He just returned a few minutes ago,” Briana said.

  “And wait until you hear what he found!” Aisha grinned.

  Evren’s eyes grew steadily wider as he heard the tale of Kodyn’s trek up to the Dhukari tier. “Angrak?” Hailen had told him of the Councilor’s eviction of Briana. “He’s working with the Ybrazhe?”

  “And maybe the Gatherers, too, if your and Kodyn’s theory was right.” Aisha fixed him with a triumphant smile. “Kodyn’s going to break into his mansion tonight and get proof that Issa can take to Lady Callista.”

  Briana and Aisha explained the newly-established partnership with the Keeper’s Blade. As they spoke, he turned a curious glance on Issa. She stood silently at the head of the staircase, a presence as solid as Alshuruq itself. Evren had to fight off the feelings of intimidation as she loomed fully half a hand taller than him.

  It felt strange to be working with someone in Issa’s position. He’d spent so many years dodging the Wardens of the Mount in Vothmot that he didn’t know if could truly trust anyone on the “proper” side of the law. Yet, by the look in Briana and Aisha’s eyes, he felt certain that they trusted her. For now, that was enough for him.

  As long as she helps us bring down the Ybrazhe and the Gatherers, I’m good with it.

  The discovery that the Ybrazhe were behind the attack on the Black Widow brought back memories of being attacked by Annat after his visit to Killian. The blacksmith was right to fear for his life. Annat had said the Syndicate knew about Killian and his Mumblers, which meant they had everything they needed to go after him, though they hadn’t yet. The “why” of that was Killian’s problem; Evren just had to be certain that he didn’t bring the threat of the Ybrazhe back here and put Hailen and the others in danger.

  That was why he’d taken so long to return to Briana’s house. He had chosen to go the busy way around—cutting up the Path of Sepulture to the Artisan’s Tier, then slipping through the thick crowds of the Temple District. Though he’d seen no sign of pursuit, that hadn’t stopped him from traveling eastward to Trader’s Way, then cutting back west through Commerce Square and the back alleys. Anyone following him would have a terrible case of vertigo from all the twists and turns he’d taken.

  “Until then,” Briana said, “I’m going to take advantage of my time to finally dig into…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Issa.

  Evren could see the indecision warring in Briana’s eyes. Accepting the Keeper’s Blade was one thing, but letting her in on the secret of her father’s hunt for knowledge on the Serenii, the work of his life as a Secret Keeper, was quite another.

  He recognized the gravity of the dual-edged choice. On the one hand, trust was only real when given freely. On the other, none of them knew Issa beyond what little she’d told them.

  Evidently, Briana decided to trust. “Before I show you this,” she told the Keeper’s Blade, “I will have a promise from you. Swear that you will say nothing to anyone, not even Lady Callista.”

  Issa’s face hardened. “As I told you,
my loyalties are to my commander. I am bound to tell her—”

  “Anything that can help her or the Pharus bring down the Necroseti.” Briana nodded. “But what I am about to show you has nothing to do with the safety or stability of Shalandra. My father always kept his life as a priest of the Mistress separate from his role on the Keeper’s Council. I have inherited his secrets and the burdens that come with the knowledge he accumulated. If you are to share in the secret, you must bear the burden as well.”

  Issa remained silent, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “Your unwavering loyalty to Lady Callista and the Blades does you credit,” Briana said. “I will offer a compromise. Swear to me that you will not reveal anything you learn here, and I will swear to you that I will tell Lady Callista everything that could help her cause. In due time, of course. For now, I have nothing to offer her but more questions. But when I have uncovered the full truth, you have my vow that I will pass on as much as I can to the Lady of Blades—and the Pharus, if it is in service of the people of Shalandra.”

  Issa’s expression grew pensive. Finally, she let out a long breath. “I swear that I will keep to myself everything that you show me unless it can somehow aid in the protection of the people and the fulfillment of my duties as a Keeper’s Blade.” She folded her arms across her armored chest. “That is the best I can offer you.”

  “So be it.” Briana nodded. “May the Long Keeper bind us to our words and judge us if we fail.” She hesitated only a moment before turning to the second door and pushing it open.

  Evren’s gut tightened as he caught sight of Hailen sitting on the room’s sole bed. The Serenii artifacts lay strewn around him, among them a naked dagger that bore a trickle of blood along the blade. Hailen was poring over Suroth’s journal.

  Hailen glanced up as they entered and eager excitement brightened his face. “Briana, wait until…” He trailed off as he caught sight of Issa.