The Way of Thieves

by K.N. Lee

  “Who do we know, Brenden? We’re thieves. We don’t have friends. Hell, we don’t have family either … except for each other. We can run away together and start a new life.”

  “Uriah will be with us. He’s family.”

  Keira shook her head. “I don’t trust him.”

  “He practically raised us,” Brenden said.

  “Yes, but he was not kind. And I’m beginning to wonder why he raised us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Was he ordered to?” Keira asked.

  Brenden scoffed. “Ordered? Keira …”

  “We haven’t always been thieves, Brenden. I know what they told us when we were children. Our parents were great thieves who never returned from a job, a job to steal something valuable from a noble family. They were said to be caught and hung, but I don’t believe it.”

  “Why?” Brenden asked with raised brows.

  “I’ve read a lot of books in the library, and talked to a lot of people. Here and elsewhere. There are no such stories of thieves around the time of our childhood who were caught by nobles. I don’t trust anywhere here, Brenden. We should leave.”

  Brenden shook his head. He grabbed a few extra daggers and placed them in his pack as well. “Where would we go? The Nobles Guild? We’re not nobles. We’d be little more than beggars there, and besides, it sounds like the Thieves Guild is about to start a war with them. The Sorcerers Guild? It sounds like they’re going to be knee deep in the war as well, and we’re not sorcerers. We don’t even have magic. They wouldn’t welcome us. The Assassins Guild? I don’t know about you, but I don’t care much for killing. I would make a poor assassin. Where does that leave us, Keira? Please tell me, because it sounds to me like we’re between a rock and a fat walrus.”

  Keira smiled at his comparison. “The Merchant Guild?”

  Brenden rolled his eyes. “Really? And what are we supposed to sell? Lock picks?”

  Keira chuckled. She was glad to be back with Brenden. He could always make her smile. It wasn’t something she did too often.

  “Brenden,” she started, a quiver in her voice.

  He stopped packing to look up at her.

  “This doesn’t feel right. Something feels off about this whole thing.”

  “I know—I feel it too.”

  “We’ve always had good intuition. It’s what makes us excellent thieves.”

  Brenden nodded.

  “I—” Keira gulped.

  Brenden’s forehead crinkled.

  “I’ve been having nightmares recently,” she admitted.

  “I’ve heard you screaming in the middle of the night.”

  She nodded. “I see a man and a woman. They love us very much. They tell us to hide in a closet. We’re scared. I’m holding you tight, tears streaming down my face, chill bumps across my whole body. You’re crying too, shivering into me. I can hear screams—“

  Tears began to stream along Keira’s face as she recalled the dream. Brenden stood, wrapping his arms around her, petting her hair to calm her. Keira sniffled as she hugged him back. Her tears fell uncontrollable now. She shivered and sobbed for several long minutes before she broke away from her brother’s embrace.

  “I don’t know if these are memories or nightmares. I don’t know.”

  “It’s all right,” Brenden whispered, his hands still on her shoulders.

  “After the screams,” Keira said, squeezing her eyes shut and facing the overwhelming anxiety that crept up and clutched her throat. She could barely breathe, but she knew she needed to continue. “The door opens. And I see Uriah.”

  Brenden flinched backward. He removed his hands from her shoulders and took a step away from her. His eyes glazed into a far away place as he digested her words.

  “I have other nightmares where I see him killing the man and woman in different ways, and they’re all horrific, but those nightmares don’t come as often as the first.”

  “It can’t be true,” Brenden whispered.

  “I don’t know what is true or not anymore, Brenden. But I’m scared. I can’t trust anyone … except you.”

  “Perhaps we can get to the bottom of it.”

  “You’re still going, aren’t you?” she asked.

  Brenden nodded. His eyes were solemn and he touched her cheek. “Perhaps if we get this last item for her, she will leave us alone for a time.”

  Keira shook her head. “She will never leave us alone. I believe she brought us to Forscythe for a reason when we were children, but I don’t know what that reason is yet.”

  “If that is true, then the only way we will find out what she truly wants from us, is to play along.”

  Keira took a deep breath. She grabbed her back to drop on the ground next to Brenden’s. “I’ll be by your side.”

  Brenden smiled at her and embraced her in another hug.

  30

  Mirabelle stepped into the room.

  Darkness covered the small, damp area. Concrete on the ground made her footsteps patter louder than she would have liked. Drops of water echoed in the chamber as she made her way to her seat. No torches lit the room, but rather, the entire space was filled with candles. It was a gloomy place to be meeting, for sure, but it needed to be secluded. No one needed to know.

  Xalvador grinned. He sat on the other side of the large stone table, his arms crossed over his chest. Next to him sat Cassius and Atheena, the two most valuable assassins in Tynaereal. She dared not cross the three of them, at least, not yet.

  “It’s about time you arrived,” Xalvador said.

  Mirabelle nodded. “It’s not as easy for me to go unnoticed in my own city.”

  “Ah, but you’re supposed to be the leader of the thieves. Thieves are supposed to be stealthy. Perhaps you’ve been out of the field for too long, my friend.”

  Mirabelle cringed at his word ‘friend’, but she shivered it off. She had called the meeting. Things were progressing smoothly, and it wouldn’t be long for her to need the full support of the Assassins Guild. “Perhaps so.”

  “So, tell me, is the time near?”

  “It is. We have one last item to steal. When it is brought back to us, we can begin the spell.”

  Xalvador nodded.

  “And you’re certain this spell will remove any protections from the nobles?” Atheena asked.

  Mirabelle turned to look at the assassin. Atheena was beautiful. Short curly black hair, brown eyes, and dark brown skin. With the black cloak and hood she wore, she could easily blend into the night. No one would ever see her coming.

  “If everything goes as planned, yes. This won’t even allow them to cast protection spells on them anymore. Making the Sorcerers Guild useless to them.”

  “You said this comes from a spell that was supposed to cast a blanket of protection on the nobles, correct?” Xalvador asked.

  “That is correct.”

  “I wonder if you’ll be able to alter the spell to cast an aura of protection over the thieves and assassins. That way when we begin this take over, we’d have absolute power.”

  Mirabelle tensed at the idea. She didn’t know if she liked the idea of an invulnerable assassin. She already didn’t like that she would have to share her power with the Assassins Guild. But it was what she needed to do in the beginning. She would find a way to part with the Assassins Guild so she could have ultimate power, but that would come later.

  She did like the idea of learning how to use the protection spell on her though, and make her immune to spells or attacks, but she did have her dragon pendant that protected her. She’d been sure to keep the assassins in the dark about the pendants. The last thing Mirabelle wanted was for some of them to come across a pendant of protection.

  “I’m unsure, but it is definitely something I can research. It would make taking over the Nobles Guild much easier.”

  “It would,” Xalvador said.

  “Almost too easy. I don’t think the Nobles will pose many problems. Some of them can fight, but if
we strike the right places, and eliminate the leaders, we can strike a blow so hard that they won’t be able to recover. They rely on their amulets and sorcerers for protection too much. Once that protection disappears, they should fall easily.”

  “About that … who are the targets?” Cassius asked.

  “The queen and king will be first. We’ll also need to eliminate the Duke and the Earl. The Baron has already been taken care of.”

  “Is that so?” Xalvador asked.

  Mirabelle grinned. “One of my thieves took care of him.”

  Xalvador’s fingertips tapped together. “Excellent.”

  “So how will we know it is time to strike?” Cassius asked. “Shouldn’t we strike as soon as the spell goes through? We want to catch them by surprise.”

  “Yes. I have found these communication crystals. Each of us will get one, and with these, I will be able to communicate directly with you.”

  Mirabelle placed three yellow crystals on the stone table. The three assassins reached to grab their own, taking them close to their face to look at them.

  “Interesting. How do they work?” Xalvador asked.

  Mirabelle held her own up in the air. “You concentrate on it, then use your thoughts to project a message. As long as the others are touching your skin, you’ll hear my voice inside of your head.”

  Xalvador raised his eyebrow. “Are there more of these? If someone else finds a yellow crystal, will they be able to hear our communications as well?”

  Mirabelle shook her head. “No. These four have been synced together. There are no more that will interfere with these crystals.”

  “Excellent,” Xalvador said.

  “Do you have a way of testing your spell to make sure it works before we attack?”

  Mirabelle beamed. “Yes. I have the Earl’s son, Benedict. He has an amulet of protection that protects him from being harmed. It seems to bend wind to make your strike miss every time. Quite an interesting concept if you ask me. However, it doesn’t protect him from being chained in our dungeon. I could remove the amulet to inflict him harm … but that’s not really the point is it?”

  Xalvador laughed. “So, what? You’re going to cut him after the spell is finished to make sure it works?”

  Her cheeks grew wide, showing her teeth, as she ran her hands through her hair. “Yes, right across the throat.”

  Xalvador rasied an eyebrow. “I thought we were the assassins.”

  Mirabelle’s forehead creased in return. “Well, we do have to make sure the spell words. A few cuts and scrapes aren’t going to be enough.”

  “You’re a dangerous woman,” he said.

  Mirabelle’s eyes lit up. “Yes I am. And don’t you forget it.”

  31

  Haedrael wasn’t an easy city to infiltrate.

  Brenden had observed the city for days before finding an opening to enter. It was the capital of the Sorcerers Guild, and very few people besides sorcerers or sorceresses entered the city. Brenden noticed a few nobles entering and leaving, which made since because of the alliance between the two guilds. But the nobles were carefully watched and monitored.

  Brenden imagined it would have been easier to enter the city if it were only him and Keira. But now there were four others with him. One, Uriah, whom Brenden considered a father.

  He pondered on the words Keira had admitted to him before they left Forscythe. Brenden had known she’d been having nightmares. She’d had them for years, but the last several months it’d grown worse. He’d often asked her about the nightmares, but until now, she’d kept them private. Brenden now knew why. He didn’t know if he’d of believed her acquisitions before.

  If she’d told him she didn’t trust Uriah months ago, would he have believed her? Would he have gone to Uriah to ask about it? Where would they be now? Brenden saw too many things in the last few months, including the greed of the Thieves Guild. They were already one of the richest guilds, besides the nobles, but they wanted more; they wanetd power. And they were going far to achieve it. How far had they already gone?

  Brenden didn’t know how he felt about it, but one thing he knew was to keep his mouth shut, and his eyes open. He trusted Keira. She was the only person he could trust.

  On the sixth day of watching the city, they found their opportunity. A caravan full of supplies took a break a few hours from the city. Brenden and Keira snuck up behind the two men leading it. One of the men had been urinating when Keira crept up behind him with a dagger to his throat, and the other sat in the front. Brenden sat next to him, a sword edging toward the man’s neck.

  They tied the two of them up and signaled to the rest of their party to approach. Uriah came first with the other three thieves behind him. They made room in the back of the caravan where all the supplies for the city were for the three thieves.

  Uriah, however, stepped over to Brenden. “You know we can’t leave them alive, right?”

  Brenden frowned.

  “They’re a liability.”

  “What harm do they possess?” Brenden asked, looking to the two merchants tied and gagged off to the side.

  “For one, they’ve seen our faces. Also, this is a high traffic road. They will either escape and warn the others, or they will be found by someone coming toward the town.”

  “Then we’ll need to be swift and get the scepter before they are found.”

  Uriah shook his head. “We cannot just stride into the city, grab the scepter and be on our merry way. It took us six days just to find a way into the city. Once we’re inside, we have to find a hideout that isn’t occupied, and plan an infiltration of the castle. That is why there are so many of us on this mission. We’re going to have to work together.”

  “And killing is a part of that?” Brenden scowled.

  “Yes. And there is going to be a lot more of it before this war is over. You’re going to have to get over yourself, Brenden. I know you have a passion for doing the right thing, but this is bigger. What the Thieves Guild is going to accomplish is the right thing. We’re going to save so many lives.”

  Brenden’s cheeks heated. His teeth clenched. And his fingernails dug into his palms. More and more, Brenden was beginning to lose trust in Uriah. The more he thought about it, he remembered Uriah was always this way.

  Getting the job done, no matter the cost to others. Brenden had always fought against that, and because of Brenden’s emotion, he’d always been a failure to Uriah’s eyes. He strove to be better, to prove to Uriah that people didn’t need to die to accomplish a grand theft, and for the most part, Brenden thought he’d proved that.

  But now he saw all of his past accomplishments meant nothing to Uriah. Keira had been right about his character, was she right about the rest of her reservations about him as well?

  “How many lives is it going to cost?” Brenden asked.

  Uriah unsheathed a dagger. “I will do it this time, but if you hope to survive this encounter inside of Haedrael, you’re going to have to before it’s over.”

  Brenden took a long inhalation, wanting to argue, wanting to find a reason to spare the merchants’ lives.

  Uriah nodded to him, then strode over to the two merchants. The two men saw the older thief approach and begged for their lives. Uriah didn’t look them in the eyes as he slit their throats. He dragged the bodies away from the road, checked their bodies for belongings, then hid them in bushes well away from the road.

  When he returned, Brenden frowned at him.

  “It needed to be done,” Uriah said.

  “I still don’t agree with it.”

  Uriah nodded as he climbed in the front of the carriage. He held the reigns in his hands. Brenden walked over to stand on the outside of the carriage.

  “What if they know only two merchants are coming?” Brenden asked.

  “Get in the back.”

  “What?”

  “Get in the back with the merchandise. Keira and I will ride up front.”

  “Why?”

 
; “Look, boy. You don’t have the stomach for what needs to be done. You couldn’t talk yourself out of trouble right now. Brenden, you’ve always been a great thief, but you’re good at stealth and finesse. This requires social interactions, and that is not your strong suit. Keira and I, however, excel at this. Just hide in the back, and once we’re in the city, we’ll be able to figure out our next step forward.”

  Brenden grumbled, but he knew Uriah was right. If he stumbled with his words at all as they entered the city, it could endanger them all. He clenched his teeth and got into the back of the carriage, under the blankets.

  “Hiya,” Uriah called from the front, whipping the reins.

  32

  Keira breathed evenly as they approached the city.

  She was nervous, but she needed to keep herself calm. This was the biggest heist she’d ever pulled off, if they even could pull it off. Haedrael was the most secure city in all of Tynaereal. She’d heard many tales of how good Uriah was at thieving, but she’d never gone on a mission with him.

  Keira would prefer to have Brenden by her side instead of hidden in the back of the caravan. Uriah made her nervous, especially with the reoccurring nightmares she’d been having about the old man lately.

  They arrived at the gate. Three guards stood outside. None of them wore the ceremonial robes of the sorcerers. Keira wrinkled her nose. She’d always figured everyone inside of Haedrael was a sorcerer, but the three guards at the gate looked normal.

  Uriah tightened the reins, causing the two wyverns pulling the caravan to slow. The guards stepped to over to inspect Uriah and Keira.

  “Good evening,” one of the guards said. “It’s awfully late to be entering the city with goods.”

  Uriah shrugged. “Had to stop for a break. The bloody wyverns traveled too rough when the caravan has a damaged wheel. My arse hurt from all the bouncing.”

  The guard chuckled. “No good wyverns. What do you have here?”

  Uriah lifted his left hand, palm up. “Grains and oats mostly. There are a few small boxes of dried bison, but I believe those are for the council. They always get the good stuff, ehy?”