Thief

by Jane Glatt

library through the double oak doors. With her head down she made her way to the section that held the plans and drawings of many of the old houses. Randell was seated a few tables away and she quickly slid behind a shelf of books. Seeing her alive could put him in danger.

  After a few moments she peeked around the shelf. Randell had not moved so she edged to the end of the shelf farthest from him, then wove her way among shelves until she finally found the room she sought. A single lamp illuminated the room but it was empty except for the smell of musty books and furniture wax. She stopped beside one long shelf.

  She hoped to recognize a book she’d seen before – one that detailed Duke Thorold’s city estate. She’d glanced through it when she’d first come across it, of course, but with her new knowledge of Feiren’s house she thought she’d have a better chance of deciphering it now. Her eyes settled on a faintly familiar book and she grabbed it from the shelf.

  Brenna rubbed her eyes. She’d been at this for hours and had yet to find anything useful. She’d checked every book that had seemed even slightly familiar, with no luck. Frustrated, she’d starting choosing books at random but she still hadn’t found the book she was looking for and the library would be shutting its doors soon. She sighed and emptied a spot on one of the lower shelves and folded herself into it. She needed more time so she’d have to wait until the library was closed for the night. She grabbed a few books and hid herself as best she could. A short while later she heard steps and then the lamp in the room went dark. She peered out from behind a book and watched the glow of lamplight fade down the hallway.

  It was dark when Brenna set aside the books she’d hidden herself behind. Her eyes had adjusted to the level of light and she could dimly make out the shapes of the shelves. She concentrated for a moment and then flinched. Her head banged the shelf above her and she smothered an oath.

  Instead of just listening she must have reached for old steel, because she’d found something. She reached again. Yes, there was definitely something there. It didn’t feel the same as old steel weapons - similar, but not exactly the same. On her next search she found two more pieces of old steel, but these somehow felt purer than any old steel she’d felt before. They were close to the other object but not with it - and they pulled at her with an intensity that surprised her. Now that she knew they were there, she found it almost impossible to ignore them. When she finally managed to shut them out, she longed to open herself back up to them.

  Brenna unfolded herself from the book shelf and stood up. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms above her head. She should keep to her plan but the old steel called her. She had to retrieve these three items. She padded over to the door. No lights showed in the hallway, nor could she hear anything. The library was empty.

  Brenna reached for the old steel and followed it past stacks of books and tables to the very back of the library. It was the same section Randell had taken her to when he’d found the book with the passage about the Brotherhood. She’d disliked the layout of the room then and liked it even less now, in the dead of night. There was only one door into the room and no windows. She stopped. All her instincts told her not to do this, to leave and come back another night. But the pull from the old steel objects was so strong it was almost physical.

  She sighed and stepped into the room. The shelves loomed large and dark in the gloom and there was just enough light for her to keep clear of the table and chairs. One of the objects was close. She mentally nudged it so it would glow but it was so faint that it took a few seconds before she saw it. She took a step and let her hand drift up to the top shelf.

  It was a book, a very small book, and one likely to be overlooked by most any scholar. Splotches on the cover glowed dully before she clamped down on the light. Without a second thought she put the book in her pack. This was not what called her so insistently. On impulse, she whispered her mother’s concealment spell over her pack. If it could hide her eyes maybe it could hide this book.

  She checked for the other two objects and her breath caught at the strength of their pull. Her heart racing as though she’d run a few blocks, Brenna steadied herself and took a few calming breaths. She’d just grab these two items and go.

  As she inched forward, she tried to locate the two pieces of old steel. They were a few paces in front and to the left. She tried to make them glow so she could find them, but the room remained dark. They should be right here, on the bottom shelf. She moved some books aside. Nothing. She tapped the wall. There. Did that sound different? The old steel was behind this wall. She sat down on the library floor. There must be a way to get these items out.

  Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside of the room - someone was coming. Brenna clambered to the top shelf and wedged herself as far back against the wall as she could. She grabbed a few books to try to hide herself with, hoping no-one looked too closely at the top shelf.

  A light glowed from the corridor outside of the room and she heard the sounds of conversation. Brenna’s heart sank. Brothers, they were coming here, right into this room!

  “Master Fridrick, this is most unusual,” a voice said.

  That was Randell and he sounded flustered. He should be at home with his nose buried in a book.

  “Yes, but I’m on important business for Duke Thorold,” the stranger with Randell said.

  “And of course you understand that the duke’s business is confidential, don’t you?” Brenna recognized the threat in the man’s voice. She peered around a book and saw Randell nod.

  The other man was older than Randell. His bald head shone in the glare from the lamps. He was dressed in the long robes of a scholar and his face was hard and cold. Brenna shivered. She’d known men like him when she was a servant in Thorold’s household. Men made mean by the duke, his tight grip on them twisting them until they’d do anything to try to loosen it, including hurting others.

  Randell swallowed and looked towards the door. Brothers, there was a third man. From the size of him he must be the guard for this Master Fridrick. For the second time that night Brenna whispered her mother’s spell, hoping that somehow it would keep her from being discovered. And for the first time since she’d come under the Brotherhood’s protection she wondered if losing her trackers was always the best idea. Right now she’d welcome the presence of a few well-armed men who were sworn to protect her.

  Brenna reached for old steel to see if any from the Brotherhood were close and was surprised that the third man carried a piece, a sword. Was he Brotherhood? But something didn’t feel quite right, somehow and tentatively she probed the sword, like a sore tooth. She shuddered. The pairing of Thorold’s man and his old steel weapon was very discordant. The song was raw and out of tune. Brenna quickly clamped down on the old steel to make sure it didn’t react to her presence.

  “Well, get on with it,” Fridrick said impatiently. “You must have some idea of what’s here.”

  “Yes sir, there’s something in this book,” Randell said.

  She heard a book drop onto the table.

  “Here it is, sir,” Randell said. “This passage, right here.”

  “Move over.” Feet shuffled for a moment.

  “Ah, yes. ‘And as King Wolde came unto his dotage he became ever fearful that his line would weaken and so plunge Soule once again into the chaos of war and conflict he’d raised it from.’”

  This was the exact same passage Randell had found for her some weeks ago! What in the gods names was Duke Thorold doing looking for information on the Brotherhood?

  “Very good. This is most helpful,” the scholar said. “What else is there?”

  “Nothing else my Lord.” Randell sounded frightened. “I’ve not had a chance to fully sort through this section. These books only recently came from the king’s storage. And I’m sorry my lord, but you can’t take that book with you.”

  “Really? You’re telling me that I cannot take a book to my master? How do you think Duke Thorold would react if he heard that?
”

  Brenna shivered at the coldness in the voice. Let him have the book Randell, she prayed.

  “Oh, of course not, my Lord. Of course the duke can have the book. He can have it as long as he wishes, of course.”

  “That’s better. Now, I will be back late tomorrow. I expect you to have catalogued every single passage in every single book in this room by then, am I understood?”

  “Yes my Lord. Of course my Lord.”

  “Good. I suggest that you start now. Guard!”

  Footsteps retreated down the hall and light dimmed. The bastards had even left poor Randell in the dark! She could hear the sounds of his erratic breathing. After a few minutes there was the rustle of feet and a thud and a muffled grunt of pain as poor Randell bumped into something on his way out of the room.

  Brenna slowly moved her limbs. She’d spent more time wedged into book shelves than she’d spent searching them tonight. She quietly lowered herself to the floor and edged around the table to the door. She’d wager Randell would be back with a lamp as soon as he could. Cataloguing this section would take a long time. She hoped Randell could find enough about the Brotherhood to keep Thorold’s men happy.

  She’d have to come back for the old steel items later. They still called to her, but right now she had to get back to Feiren’s. She