Thief (Brotherhood of the Throne Book 1)

by Jane Glatt

  “Stop!” Thorold shouted. “You will not lay a hand on this woman. She was my indentured servant and she and her mother plotted to kill me before she escaped. She is my property and I demand that you leave her in my custody.”

  “That’s a lie!” the girl shouted. “My mother was a healer - she didn’t plot to kill anyone. She couldn’t defend herself against you and you killed her.”

  Thorold stood, how dare she talk to him like that. “You think to accuse me? You are nothing. My bastard daughter by a mother who was both witch and whore.”

  “If my mother was a whore, it was you who made her one! She was a witch and a healer, with powers you never understood,” she said. “Powers enough to make sure she never bore your child, no matter what hold you had over her. My mother loved my father and he loved her until he died in a hunting accident. That’s right grandfather, your son fathered me, not you. And in all the years after he died, my mother never once let her secret out - not when you bedded her, not when you hit her, not even when you killed her.”

  “You lie!” Thorold’s rage took hold of him and he stood up. Alastair, his son, his fine firstborn son, would never have done that. He saw Fridrick shrink back in fear but Brenna, that witch, and Rowse, stood together against his fury. He’d teach them to fear him. “Guards, kill her, now!”

  The room filled with the hiss of swords clearing scabbards. Thorold looked around in dismay - all but two of the weapons were pointed at Fridrick. Thorold’s eyes narrowed. His two guards glared at each other over crossed swords. So, this was how he’d been betrayed.

  “I don’t think you really mean that, Duke Thorold.” Rowse’s voice was calm in the quiet room. He stood beside the girl, his ancient sword in his right hand “Even you would find this difficult to explain to the king.”

  “Well Captain,” Thorold said. He sat back down. With a calmness he didn’t feel he smoothed a hand down his vest. “It seems you have the advantage for now. And Tobias,” he looked at his guard whose sword was pointed at Barton, his one loyal guard, “It was you who betrayed me, was it?” When Tobias bowed in his direction, Thorold suppressed a surge of anger.

  “Tobias and I go way back,” Rowse said. “It must be what, eight or ten years?”

  “Yep. It was our first year in the Guard,” Tobias said.

  “As you’ll find with many guards in Kingsreach, my Lord Duke,” Rowse said. “There are ties with the Kingsguard. I think it’s time we took our prisoner back to the castle. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to her, would we?”

  “No we wouldn’t,” Thorold said. “Because Captain Rowse, as soon as you leave I will be petitioning the King for the return of my property. Don’t lose our young friend here.”

  Once Rowse had left with Brenna, Thorold sat in quiet rage. Fridrick and Barton stood silent in his salon. The girl lied, of course. She couldn’t possibly be the daughter of his son. She was a witch, like her mother. But the mother had real power, as she’d shown at the end. He’d often wondered why someone with true power had allowed him to control her so completely. She could have poisoned him or made him trip and fall down stairs – so many ways she could have caused his death. At the time he’d been unaware of the danger he’d been in but it had caused him more than a few sleepless nights since. Until today he’d wondered if she’d been the cause of Alastair’s death, but what if she’d used her power to seduce his son? Had the witch managed to turn his own son against him without him knowing?

  “Fridrick,” Thorold said. “You need to find out how the Brotherhood is tied to Kane Rowse and his uncle. Go, now.” Fridrick bowed and scurried from the room. “Barton, I need to know where in the house the thief was. And create a detailed list of items she was attempting to steal. A complete list, you understand.”

  “Yes my Lord,” Barton said. “I believe she was trying to steal your seal. I assume so she could send orders in your name.”

  “Yes, I believe she was. Good, I think we understand each other perfectly.” Thorold watched as the guard saluted and turned to go. “One more thing. Find out who else in my household has close ties to the Kingsguard. If you think they are spies, kill them. I will not have any more betrayals.”

  “Yes my Lord,” Barton replied.

  “Send in my steward. I must prepare to see the king.”

  Kane tried to control his anger but his horse sensed it and danced nervously. His men filed out through Thorold’s front gate, Brenna clutching Dasid tightly as she perched on his saddle behind him. Once they were all through the gate, Kane wheeled his horse and caught up to her.

  “Brenna,” Kane said. “I am furious but right now I need to know if you’re all right.” He kneed his horse and it sidestepped a wagon.

  “I’m fine,” Brenna said. “I’m sorry Kane. Thank you for coming for me.” She shuddered and gripped Dasid more tightly. “I don’t want to think about what he planned to do to me. I shouldn’t have provoked him, but I couldn’t help it. He killed my mother right in front of me.”

  Kane met Dasid’s glance – neither of them had known this.

  “We’ll talk,” Kane said. “You owe us the truth about that and the fact that Duke Thorold is your grandfather.” She nodded and hung her head. He had to be satisfied with that for now.

  Kane didn’t speak any more than he had to until they were at the castle. The horses were led away to the stable and the rest of the guards headed for the clerk to give their statements. Kane headed for his office, Dasid, Brenna and Tobias in tow. They had to be ready when Thorold petitioned the king.

  “Tobias,” Kane said. “Do you have somewhere outside of Kingsreach where you can go?” The man would now be in danger from Duke Thorold.

  “Yes, I’ve a plan. It’s not like this wasn’t expected. In fact,” Tobias grinned, “I was getting a little tired of the old duke. He pays well, but he’s not pleasant to work for.”

  “I can imagine,” Kane said. “Dasid will get you some crowns. You can buy what you need from the master at arms. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going. You can send word to Dasid later.” Kane sat down behind his desk. “I think your part in this is finished, if you wish it to be.”

  “Well, Captain,” Tobias said. “I’ll get myself clear, but I’ll be in touch. My family has been part of the Brotherhood for a long time. I doubt those old family ghosts would let me rest if I got out just when it’s getting interesting.” Tobias winked at Brenna. “Besides, seeing our lass here get the duke so heated up was more fun than I’ve had in some time. I wouldn’t want to miss any of that.”

  Kane sat silently, arms crossed over his chest as Brenna paced his small office. Tobias had left almost ten minutes ago and he and Dasid had been waiting patiently since then.

  “Brenna,” Kane said. “We need to know.” He’d hoped she’d finally volunteer, but they didn’t have any more time to wait. Duke Thorold would petition the king soon.

  Brenna sat in a chair before the desk and looked across at him.

  “I know,” she said. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to put anyone in danger and I certainly didn’t plan to cause major problems for you or the Brotherhood.”

  “Apology accepted,” Kane said. “I’m disappointed, though. You can trust me Brenna. I hope now you will because to be honest, this could go badly for you if you don’t.”

  She sighed and nodded. “I know. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”

  “Good,” Kane said. “Duke Thorold is probably on his way to see the king. If I thought we had until tomorrow, I’d get our horses ready to leave Kingsreach tonight.” Kane stopped talking and stared at her, hard. “You need to start helping us. Dasid will record this so let’s start with Thorold – you say he’s your grandfather yet he thought he was your father.” He looked over at Dasid, who had a blank sheet of paper and a quill set up on a corner of his desk

  Brenna leaned back in her chair and bit her lip. Kane sighed again and she sent him a worried look. The she took a deep breath.

  “My mother m
ay not have had any power over Thorold,” Brenna said. “But she still was able to get the better of him. I told you that she was an indentured servant. She was sent to him when she was young and he took her to his bed almost immediately. She was sixteen.”

  “And how did his duchess feel about this?” Dasid asked. He smoothed out a parchment and started to write.

  “The duchess was very ill,” Brenna said. “In fact Duke Thorold bought my mother because he needed a healer for his wife. My mother said she spent a lot of time tending the duchess. That’s where she and Alastair met. He was their eldest son and also sixteen.” Brenna paused and Kane saw a sad smile flit across her face.

  “My mother and Alastair fell in love,” Brenna continued. “Even though he knew what kind of attention the duke paid to her. Then my mother decided to have Alastair’s child.” Brenna twisted her hands together and leaned forward in her chair. “She knew herbs she could use to make sure it was Alastair’s child she bore. I have no idea why she wanted a child. Perhaps she had a touch of foresight and knew Alastair would die soon and she wanted to keep part of him, or maybe she simply wanted someone to love. She would never answer when I asked. My favorite reason,” Brenna smiled darkly, “is that my mother had me to spite Duke Thorold. We had a secret, one that made us feel powerful when he had absolute power over everything else in our lives.”

  “And Alastair’s mother was the duke’s first wife,” Dasid stated. “The aunt of Duke Ewart of Fallad.”

  Startled, Kane looked at Dasid. “Two of the four bloodlines of the heir to the throne of Wolde,” he said. Brenna did not look surprised. “How long have you known this?” he asked her.

  “Since I found the passage about the Brotherhood in the library,” she said. “That was just a few days after I was caught in the priests’ room.”

  “By the old gods,” Kane swore. “You’ve known all this time and never said anything? Do you know anything about your maternal grandmother or grandfather? They must be related to the Duchess of Aruntun and King Mattias,”

  “I don’t know much about them, truly.” Brenna had sunk even lower in her chair and Kane had to sit up straighter to see her face. “Just that my grandmother was a traveling healer. She was from Aruntun, but that doesn’t mean she was related to the Duchess.”

  “Do you know her name?” Kane asked. “We found records for a healer named Madelay.”

  “Yes, that was her name,” Brenna said quietly.

  “You said was, past tense,” Dasid interrupted. “Do you know for sure is she’s dead?”

  “My mother didn’t live long,” Brenna said and Kane heard the bitterness in her voice. “There’s no reason to think my grandmother fared any better. She’d be well past fifty, an almost impossible age for an indentured servant in Comack to reach.”

  Kane nodded. He was dismayed by just how twisted the laws of Soule were in Comack. Thorold’s father must have started it and when Thorold’s son Beldyn succeeded the king, the whole country could suffer the same fate. Brenna needed to accept her destiny, and soon.

  “We know how you came into the world,” Kane said. “How did you leave the duke’s estate?”

  Brenna sat up a bit and took a deep breath. “When I was fifteen,” she said. “My mother became obsessive about my studies and made me study poisons. I had to be able to recognize even the most obscure poisons by sight and smell, as well as by the symptoms of those who had ingested them.” Brenna splayed a hand on the desk in front of her. “And I had to know the cures and antidotes even more thoroughly. For six months of my life that’s all I learned. And she made me recite the Call and the prayer to hide my eyes constantly.” Brenna shook her head sadly. “Looking back I wonder if it was because she had resolved something in her own life and was already planning to make sure I would escape.”

  “So then you are about to turn sixteen,” Kane prompted and Brenna’s face darkened in anger.

  “Yes, then I was about to turn sixteen,” she said. “Most children, on the eve of their sixteenth nameday, have a celebration. For me it was a goodbye. Duke Thorold was sending me to one of his minor nobles, no doubt as some payment or other. My mother had known for some time. I think she knew that since I was headstrong and opinionated things would go hard on me.” Brenna smiled tightly. “She begged me to run away but I couldn’t. I knew Thorold would blame her and probably kill her. And then Duke Thorold came to fetch me. He threatened to hurt me and then he killed my mother. At that point, I ran.”

  “He killed her himself?” Kane asked.

  “Yes,” Brenna said. “He’ll claim it was self-defense but I was there, I saw. He slit her throat with her own knife.” Brenna leaned forward and tugged at something on her back. Suddenly, on the desk in front of him was a worn leather pack.

  “Where did that come from?” Kane asked. He hadn’t noticed it before she pulled it out.

  “Sorry,” Brenna said “I got so used to the feel of it that I forgot it was there.”

  “You were wearing that the whole time?” She hadn’t been searched thoroughly enough to catch this?

  “Yep. I should have thanked Tobias for that.” She looked up and grinned. “And magic – I think the prayer my mother taught is actually a spell.” She reached into the pack. “Ah, here it is.”

  The knife she pulled out was one of the simplest old steel knives Kane had seen. It had a short blade with straight steel guards and a black leather-wrapped handle. The sheath itself was old and worn but the plain black leather, though cracked, was newer than the knife itself. Kane reached a hand out and Brenna placed the knife into it. He gripped it, but his fingers overlapped the pommel. This was a knife for someone with smaller hands than him. When he passed it back to her their hands touched and he felt a shock run up his arm.

  “That knife seems to have quite a bit of power,” Kane said.

  “It’s old steel.” Brenna looked uneasy. “It was my mother’s knife.”

  “Your mother owned an old steel knife?” Dasid asked. He stared at Brenna and then jotted something down on the parchment. “Another link to the prophecy.”

  “It was her mother’s before her, that’s what she told me,” Brenna said. “I remember it from growing up.” She turned the knife in her hand and caressed the leather grip. “She used to oil the leather to keep it soft.”

  “And?” Kane prompted.

  “And when I felt this knife, my mother’s knife, I knew old steel was tied to the blood of the family it belonged to,” Brenna said. “Thorold had it hidden. I sensed it one night while I was exploring.”

  Kane raised his eyebrows. “You could sense it from a great distance?” he asked and when she refused to meet his gaze he felt his anger mount. “You sensed it while inside Duke Thorold’s estate.” He ran a hand through his hair. “So you only knew it was there after you were on Thorold’s property. How many times had you put yourself in such danger?”

  Brenna lifted her eyes and they glared at each other. “That’s none of your concern,” she said.

  “By the gods it is,” he said. He was angry, really angry now. “Dasid and I are trying to figure out how to keep the king from locking you up or handing you over to Thorold.” Brenna’s eyes dropped away and Kane settled in his chair. “Tell me, why did you go to Thorold’s estate in the first place?”

  “Ever since I ran away from him,” Brenna said. “I’ve been trying to make Thorold pay for what he did to my mother. That’s the reason I developed my network – to collect information on him. And anything that was headed his way, I would steal. My own small attempts to wound him,” she said bitterly. “Not that it could hurt as much as losing my mother, but in a small way it made her death have a little more meaning. I had some power over Duke Thorold by stealing things he wanted. Then I tried to steal the knife from the priest. You know what happened then.”

  “The prophesy,” Dasid said.

  “No,” Brenna said. “I got caught. Then the prophesy. Don’t you see? I finally had a good chance to really hur
t Thorold. With Feiren feeding and housing me and the both of you teaching me how to use weapons I was better prepared than ever before. So I tried to take advantage of it.”

  “So you used us,” Kane said softly. He was only a little disappointed, and not at all surprised. Besides, she’d been spending her time searching for ways to harm Duke Thorold, the Brotherhood’s enemy.

  “Yes, I used you. And I’m not sorry.” Her head came up and she met his eyes. “I only wish I’d been smarter.”

  “In what way?”

  “I spent days, weeks, pouring over the plans to Thorold’s estate trying to figure a way in, trying to figure out what to look for that I could use to hurt him. And then there were the hours roaming around in disguise in order to get his guards used to seeing a young student. All this time you had a spy on the inside. I could have asked you for help and you would have given it to me.” She laughed bitterly. “I can’t believe how hopeless it was for me to try to do this by myself.”

  So that was what all the midnight wanderings were about. “And that’s how you sensed the knife?” he prodded.

  “A few nights ago I went into Thorold’s house for the first time.” She glanced at him. “Once inside I checked for old steel.” The smile slid from her face. “That’s when I felt the knife. It was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Kane, it was a tortured scream. It took me some time to get control of it but I knew immediately it was my mother’s knife. I don’t know how else to explain it, but the knife knew what it had done. And it recognized my mother’s blood in me. After that I had to go and retrieve it. The knife is mine.”

  She looked at him almost defiantly. Kane simply nodded.

  “Will that be helpful?” he asked Dasid.

  “Aye,” Dasid said. “I see no reason to mention anything about how you got into the duke’s estate, Brenna. Ideally we won’t need to mention that at all, if we stick to the history.”