The Thief of Dunmire and the Tear of Astra (The League of Sinister Means Book 1)

by H. K. MacTavish

  “You could hear that, huh?” Bridget asks.

  “You can have whatever you want. Don’t you crave something…else?” I ask.

  “I was hoping for some dessert.”

  “You have a full menu open to you,” I say. Gah! Who says stuff like this? Me apparently. She’s still with me though.

  “So, what are you going to do with that ribbon?” she asks, backing away slowly.

  “I know what you want now,” I say stepping slowly up to her.

  “And what is that?”

  “You want a wicked time,” I say.

  I know just what she wants.

  “Just how wicked?” she asks playfully.

  “Just wicked enough for a prissy little princess like you,” I say.

  “Excuse me?” she asks, taken aback.

  Good Mary. Not only will you not get laid but you’ll be in the dungeons. Well done. You better not be wrong about this Mary.

  “You spend all day as a princess. Everyone bows to your little made up face. Yes highness. Yes my lady. Mountains move for you in the day. But, tonight, you get put in your place,” I say. Then I notice I still have the ribbon. “That’s what I can do with this ribbon,” I say, as playfully as I can, smiling at her.

  “I think…” Bridget begins to say as I take her hands in mine. I can see it in her eyes. She’s excited. And a little nervous about opening up like this. She wants to otherwise she wouldn’t have given me the ribbon in the first place. I just softly take her hands, and she gives them freely to me. She needs a little guidance. Don’t worry Bridget, I’ll be gentle. Well, gentle-ish.

  “You’re bored being the princess,” I say as I lean forward and gently force her onto the bed. I take her soft wrists and tie her hands to the bed frame behind her. She’s stretched out on the bed, still fully clothed except for where she undid the front laces of her dress.

  “How dare you,” she says, more of a whisper. If she wanted out she would have yelled. She’s hopped on board the sexy ship with me!

  “Someone should put you in your place,” I say. I am really good at tying knots. She struggles against her bindings and kicks her feet a little.

  “You can’t do this to me,” she whimpers softly. Again, not loud enough for anyone to hear.

  “Of course I can. I’m in charge. You’re not a princess tonight,” I say, smiling. I turn and start to walk away. I would love to leave this heroic little princess, trussed up, frustrated, humiliated.

  “You’re just going to leave me here?” she asks.

  The last thing I need is a jilted lover hunting me down while trying to steal the Tear of Astra.

  I turn around.

  “What if I did? Leave you trussed up there, tied to your own bed. Helpless,” I say, walking over as sexy as I can.

  “I don’t deserve this,” she says.

  “I bet you do,” I say as I finish undoing her laces. More of her gracious endowments are becoming uncovered…

  “Bridget!” a man calls from the other side of the door as he knocks.

  Fuck!

  “Go away!” Bridget yells.

  He tries to open the door. I think my heart just stopped!

  “The door is locked,” Blaise calls out. “The guards aren’t by your door. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine! Go away!” Bridget yells.

  “I can’t hear you. Don’t worry. I’ve got a key,” Blaise yells.

  Fuuuuck!

  We both look more scared than any of us has been in some time. Our eyes are wide, our mouths gaped open and time seems to stop.

  Now she is really pulling on her bindings.

  “Don’t pull on them. You’ll tie them tighter. I’ve got them.”

  “Oh my god, hurry!” She says.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got you,” I say.

  She’s easily as scared as I am.

  I am just as good at untying as I am at tying, for both our sakes. I deftly untie her wrists and she struggles to get under the sheets. I help her and we just barely get her under the sheets and blankets, still in her dress, when Blaise enters.

  “Bridget I…what are you doing in here?” Blaise asks as he looks at me.

  “I asked her here,” Bridget says. She looks pissed. But she can’t say why and I bet that is just adding to the ire I see on her face.

  “Your door was locked…”

  “I locked it,” Bridget says.

  “There’s no reason to keep it locked,” Blaise says.

  Bridget and I would beg to differ.

  “You,” Blaise says to me. “Please leave. I need to talk to my sister in private.”

  “No. She stays,” Bridget says. Clearly she is planning on salvaging something.

  “What’s wrong?” Blaise asks.

  We both pause and look at each other. We don’t have a story for this!

  “She was feeling ill and she asked me to attend her,” I say, thinking quickly.

  “Yes,” Bridget says, joining me in my story. “I’m feeling a little off and I didn’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Well, your brother is here now. I’ll take care of you,” Blaise says.

  “No, that’s okay. I’m not a little girl anymore. I have this servant here who will attend to my needs,” Bridget says.

  You know I will, I smile at her.

  “Nonsense. I am your brother and I will take care of you,” Blaise says. “You will always be my little sister.”

  Get out!

  “Please, you are busy…” Bridget says.

  “I’m never too busy for my little sister,” Blaise says.

  Great. Now we’re both going to be frustrated!

  “Blaise. I am sure you have other things to do,” Bridget says.

  Yes. Leave us alone. She is clearly sick and what she needs are a couple of hours with Mary to cure her. Go away! Asshole!

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Blaise says. “Besides, I need to talk to you about some things.”

  “But…I…” Bridget stammers, tossing a glance to me. Her face is for a moment part apologetic and partly asking for help. I’m just a servant to you both, Bridget. If you can’t kick your brother out, I certainly can’t. Well, not without losing the Tear of Astra or being tossed into the dungeons. “Fine! I’m sorry…”

  “Mary,” I say.

  “Mary. I’ll…ask for you again once I am feeling better,” Bridget says.

  “Yes. Thank you Mary, for looking after my sister,” Blaise says.

  And that is my notice to take my leave.

  “Your highnesses,” I say with a bow.

  This sucks. I am so frustrated right now! Damn you Blaise! Can’t you take a hint? Oh, I hope you get what’s coming to you.

  I walk out and close the door behind me.

  “Are you still dressed?” I hear Blaise ask as I close the door shut. Poor Bridget. She’s just a hero in training, Blaise’s brother. So, why do I feel sorry for her?

  Time to wander a bit. I’ll head up to the fourth floor and see if I can just walk there. Pretend I’m in a daze. That usually works. As I walk down the hall I pass some heroes who have no idea who I am.

  Oh! Here comes Veronica! I step aside and bow my head as she passes. But I turn my eye up to her, just to see if she even notices me.

  She doesn’t seem to. She’s busy talking with someone else. Heinrich Starkitter. She was sitting with him during dinner. Heinrich is tall and formidable, dark skinned with a thin layer of really curly hair on his head. He has a single scar on the side of his face and looks like a bad ass. Certainly a brave knight and noble hero, dressed in armor inside the keep. Always at the ready in case a villain is ready to leap out of the shadows!

  What are they talking about? They speak in a hushed voice, but I can tell she is upset about something. Veronica always seems upset in the few moments I’ve seen her. But Heinrich doesn’t look taken aback by her aggressive stance. A few servants seem to be trailing the pair of them. They look like hers judging from the purple they’
re wearing.

  I keep watching as long as I am able to. They do not turn around once. They are heading for her room I bet. To plan in private.

  I continue with my own plans. I walk up the stairs without a guard batting an eye. To them, I am still just a servant.

  On the fourth floor I step out into the hall and no one stops me.

  This feels like a trap.

  I am a helpful young woman, in case anyone does stop me. What are they going to do? Turn me away?

  I turn down the hall. Two guards are standing near a door, but it isn’t metal. Prince Blaise isn’t inside, so what are they guarding? I can’t be so paranoid. If that is his room he has personal affects that he no doubt wishes to not be stolen. I walk past and turn the corner.

  “Hey,” a guard calls out.

  So that is where the line is.

  I turn around and place a shocked look on my face.

  “I’m sorry,” I say

  “Stay over here,” the guard said. I turn and look down the hall and see four guards standing guard in front of a metal door.

  “I understand,” I say. I turn back and look further down the hall and see a window.

  “What are you looking for?” the guard asks.

  “What? Oh, I was…just curious what it looks like, to see the city so high up,” I say.

  “Never been in a castle before?”

  “No. Just manor houses,” I say. Which is true, just, you know, not as a servant.

  “Well, don’t wander too far,” the guard says.

  I’m about to thank him when I hear a crash from the other side of the door. Both guards hear it as well and draw their blades.

  What’s going on? It’s too early! Blaise still has the Tear of Astra on him!

  “Stand back,” the guard says. I nod and step back.

  “Be careful,” I say to him. He nods. Boy, am I convincing as someone who cares about these heroes.

  The door is opened; I can see that one of the guards has a key around his waist. It is a big and unique looking key. Just the kind for a thief proof lock. Bah! I can’t grab it now. I’ll have to try and get it some other way.

  The guard then pushes the door open quickly and both guards rush inside. I peer around the corner and see a large table with something on it, some papers maybe and certainly some books. There is a dresser to the right and a chest to the left. The chest is large and closed and is against something else. Not a bed. I can’t make out what it is. Maybe another table or shelves? It’s too dark to tell for certain.

  Some lanterns on tall metal stands adorn the room but are not lit. The only light is coming from two large windows and the doorway where some lantern light pours into the room.

  “Is it okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah,” the guard says. “Just an open window.”

  I look in and just see an open window. The corners are dark enough that someone could be hiding inside the room. If so, they won’t get the Tear since Blaise still has it on him.

  “Well, that’s good,” I say.

  “Yeah, just a false alarm,” a guard says.

  “Those locks aren’t real good then.”

  “What?” the guard asks.

  “On the window. To just blow open like that,” I say.

  “Oh, right,” the guard says.

  He comes back out and locks the door behind himself and the other guard. They both resume their stations.

  “You should head back downstairs. You should find a window on the second or third floor. The view is just as good there,” the other guard says.

  “Of course. Good luck tonight,” I say cheerfully.

  “Take care,” the guard says.

  I like heroes. They are so gullible.

  Crossing Paths

  So I’m back on the second floor. All of the servants are walking about the halls talking with one another, stepping aside for the heroes as they pass them by. It appears that Lady Winters has finally retired to her room. It is night and everyone is starting to drift to wherever their own beds are for the evening. I can see how tired the other servants are as I pass them.

  Not everyone is tired. Some of the heroes look like they still have a bit of energy. As I pass by Veronica Hornsbach’s room I hear her plainly through the door talking to someone but I can’t make out who it is. Maybe some servant misplaced her dress or didn’t bring the other barrels of makeup to plaster on her face.

  I head into the storage room and see my little bed is still there. No one else is there. I walk over to the window and look out, gazing down at my rope and contraption. Where is Blaise…

  The door outside is thrown open and I can hear the voices more plainly.

  “Don’t worry,” Kincaid says. “I’ll have everything set up just in case.”

  Kincaid thinks he’s going to catch a thief, does he? I creep over to the door and listen in.

  “We had all better be prepared. An opportunity like this won’t present itself again,” Veronica says.

  I hear the heavy boots of Kincaid walk off and the higher pitch clicking of Veronica’s heels slowly coming…closer!

  I deftly race to my bedding and pretend to get it ready.

  “So you’re the one bedding in here tonight,” Veronica says. I spin around, looking shocked.

  “My lady!” I say, clearly astonished to have her appear in the doorway.

  “You have permission to sleep in here?”

  “I was under the impression that it was all right,” I say.

  “Like to be close to the action,” Veronica says with a smile.

  What is she probing for?

  “It is more exciting than sleeping in the basement with…the others,” I say.

  “The other servants,” she offers.

  “Yes,” I say.

  “You are not like the others,” she states, coming closer.

  “My lady?”

  Shit! Have I been spotted?

  “You have a fire in you,” Veronica says. “You are not just some servant running about like the others.”

  Double shit! She knows I’m the thief! Wait. Don’t play into her game. What if she is just feeling about? I’m out of place and she just wants to know I I’m a threat. Well, feel all over me any way you want Veronica; you won’t find anything illegal on me!

  “I’m a light sleeper and usually half the others snore too loudly,” I say.

  “Ah,” Veronica says. “And the constant commotion up here is better?”

  “It is. It’s more muted. Besides, the view is better,” I say, looking out the window. Veronica follows my gaze and walks over to the window. I walk up beside her so when she looks to the right she sees me and in no way sees the bucket with my things in it.

  “It is a good view. The view on the fourth floor is better. If you ever manage to make it so high,” Veronica says.

  Bitch.

  “Perhaps one day I will,” I say.

  Say, tomorrow?

  “You seem smarter than the others that make their way through these halls. Most only have the intelligence to clean chamber pots and make beds, the poor dears. But you sought a better place and found it.”

  “Thank you,” I say.

  “I would not have expected such a mind from such a creature as you,” Veronica says.

  Bitch! Resist the urge to slap her Corvina. She’ll get hers one you get the Tear of Astra and she has to tell Blaise she’s a failure.

  “Why thank you,” I say, clearly flattered. She gives me an eye. Does she know I’m pretending to be nice? Surely such a creature as her has the intelligence to know that I have to be nice to her.

  “I may call on you early in the morning,” Veronica says as she turns and walks back to her room. “Someone like you shouldn’t be wasted doing the mundane tasks that befit the others.”

  “Thank you my lady,” I say. Once she leaves I turn back to the window.

  What do I make of my new found friend? On one hand being observed by a hero like Veronica will make obtaining my prize
all the more harder. On the other hand it could open up more opportunities. If I am by her side and she is close enough to Blaise, why, the Tear of Astra might just fall into my lap.

  I look over at the bucket and see my original plan. I still might have to break into the vault. But doing that now is worthless since the king isn’t here the crown jewels aren’t there and the Tear of Astra is in Blaise’s pocket. In fact, the servants won’t stop talking about what’s in Blaise’s pocket. As for the vault, well, there is more to steal in this storage room than in that vault.

  But if it’s empty, why are there four guards there? Are they guarding an empty room? Maybe that is just a trap, designed to catch the curious thief who decides to poke her head in. Perhaps this is all just a trap.

  No, think Corvina. Breaking into the vault should be easy. It’s the getting away that is always the trick.

  What if Veronica found my bucket? She may assume that the rope and contraption are mine! I look over and see the bucket sitting there, exactly as I put it, mostly out of sight.

  If she suspected me, why not arrest me now? Why wait until morning? And why am I so nervous?

  I look from the window and towards the hall where Veronica was just a few moments earlier. There are a lot of heroes here; Kincaid, Heinrich, Veronica, Blaise, the Grumblebars, and a few others. And Bridget. I can’t forget her. I hear she is learning some healing magic, which won’t…or shouldn’t…hurt me. But she is still a hero. So many heroes. I knew a treasure like the Tear of Astra wouldn’t be easy to snatch.

  Not that I have to take it. I can always just walk away. Pick up and move on after continuing to be a good little servant. I haven’t promised Bernice anything. Well, Bernice is another problem all together; unless he isn’t betraying thieves to the local heroes. But if he is, I need to get him more involved if he won’t insert himself. Maybe Veronica can help with that.

  I’m restless. And a little hungry. I’ll just head on downstairs and grab a bite to eat.

  Overall everything is moving along nicely. And I say that with only a tired back and empty pockets to show for the day. None of the guards are eyeing me. If this was a trap the guards are always a giveaway. The heroes need their help and they are always told about a thief amongst them when heroes have such information available to them. But the guards are so awful about skulking about in the shadows. If they were better they would have been heroes themselves. Their training involves being visible and it always overshadows any need to keep the thief, me, from knowing that they know about me.