The God Thief (The Master Thief Book 3)

by Ben Hale

  “What about the dark elf?” Inna asked.

  Beauty raised an eyebrow. “Dark elf?”

  “Aranis,” Jack said. “Do you remember when we met her in Elsurund?”

  Beauty’s features darkened. “The one with the cloak? She’s worse than Gallow.”

  “Only if she catches me,” Jack said.

  “They aren’t the only assassins seeking the bounty,” Urin said. “In the last week alone we’ve seen a score of attempts to locate you.”

  “We’ll leave in the morning,” Jack said. “And spread the word that I’m seeking refuge among the dwarves. Let the hunters badger them for me. They tend to deal harshly with unreasonable demands.”

  “As you order,” Urin said, grinning broadly.

  Inna yawned. “I should be awake after sleeping so long, but apparently I’m still tired.” She shot Jack a scathing look and then exited with Urin. When they were gone, Beauty threw Jack a curious look.

  “What was that about?”

  “Nothing,” Jack said, and rose to his feet. He strode to the hall but she followed him, causing him to raise an eyebrow. “Is there something else?”

  “I’m sorry,” Beauty said.

  He turned back to her. “For what?”

  “I shouldn’t have manipulated you into staying in the guildhall.”

  He regarded her and then shrugged. “Sometimes you lie to protect those you care about.”

  “What are you lying about?” she asked, folding her arms.

  He met her gaze but shook his head. “You either trust me or you don’t,” he said. “But I can’t tell you the truth.”

  He turned and left, leaving her to consider his challenge. Instead of ascending to one of the many temporary bedchambers at the top of the guildhall, he made his way to the Gate and portaled to the Evermist guildhall, making his way to his office. He methodically restocked his crossbow with bolts and replaced his spent gear. Then he reclined on his bed and slept.

  He rose early and departed, passing Forlana in the hall. Accustomed to his goings and comings, she merely inclined her head to him and yawned. He smiled and passed by her before using the Gate to get back to Woodhaven. He stepped out to find Inna, Gordon, and Ursana waiting for him.

  “You’re late,” Ursana said.

  “I’m the guildmaster,” Jack retorted. “I choose when it’s late.”

  “Jack,” Gordon began. “We shouldn’t have—”

  Jack cut him off with a wave of dismissal. “Not now,” he said, and turned to Inna. “Did you find a ship?”

  “I did,” Inna said. “But we received word of a dark elf in Woodhaven. We need to leave before Aranis finds you.”

  Jack considered the news and an idea came to mind. “Split up and meet me at the docks.”

  Inna wrinkled her nose. “I’ve had enough of sailing for now.”

  Jack laughed. “It will be harder for her to follow on a ship. I’ll meet you there.”

  “What do you plan on doing?” Gordon asked.

  Jack grinned. “Thinning the herd.”

  He exited the Gate room and stepped to the balcony. Then he levered himself over the railing and dropped toward the forest below. Casting his shadowhook, he swung himself onto a treeway balcony that connected to the upper streets of Woodhaven. Then he slowed his pace and advanced with more caution.

  The treeways of Woodhaven curved in graceful streets through the canopies of massive trees. Pathways of intertwining branches ascended and descended, connecting to the thousands of homes clinging to tree trunks. Jack spotted a tavern bustling with elves catching a morning meal before their daily labors. It was one known for a less savory crowd, so he made his way to it.

  Jack stepped onto a floating platform and the great limb that held it lowered him to the ground. Stepping off, he strode to the tavern and leapt onto a table. With a flick of his wrist he dropped his crossbow into his palm. Thumbing the explosive rune, he aimed at the ceiling. The detonation blasted a hole through the wood, eliciting cries of shock as the crowd stilled, instinctively turning to him. Jack smiled at the attention and gestured an invitation.

  “I am Jack Myst, guildmaster of the Thieves Guild,” he proclaimed, “And I have a message for those who want to collect the bounty on my head.” He paused and his smile widened. “Come and get me.”

  He stepped off the table and departed among an explosion of whispers. Several of those present slipped away, their faces gleaming with anticipation. Jack smirked and turned his attention to choosing a battlefield.

  Quickening his pace, Jack made his way through the city. He wasn’t surprised to see the rumors moving faster than he did, and spotted many glances cast in his direction. As he approached the waterfront the crowd parted, withdrawing to the treeways above.

  Jack glanced up to see a growing crowd following out of morbid curiosity. Then a patrol of elven guard appeared, racing for Jack. He smirked and accelerated into a sprint. Weaving between the trees, he outstripped the soldiers and reached the docks. Then he turned north, rushing through the crowds of sailors.

  Shouts filled the docks as soldiers and aspiring assassins pursued him. Others fled before the brewing conflict, escaping to the balconies that overlooked the waterfront. Ahead Jack spotted a small elven vessel with its sailors rushing to disembark, and Inna standing at the rail. Jack turned toward it but a voice called out to him.

  “Hello, pet.”

  Jack came to a halt at the edge of a dock and turned to face her. As if she were wreathed in smoke, Aranis’s eager smile was the only thing visible. Ring daggers appeared and swirled through the cloak, but it was impossible to discern if they were held by her cloak or her hands.

  “Aranis,” Jack said with a bow. “I hope you are enjoying the surface.”

  “It’s too bright for my taste,” she said.

  The dark elf’s smile was almost childlike, the innocence contrasting with the menace of her appearance. Another ring dagger appeared, and then another. The others spun in hands of darkness extending from her cloak. In seconds a dozen daggers were spinning around her.

  “Are you sure you can handle what you desire?” Jack asked.

  She smiled faintly and drifted forward, but a score of elven guards appeared from the south, coming to a halt and forming ranks. Their leader drew his sword and pointed it at Jack, his eyes on the dark elf.

  “This is not your concern,” he said. “This man has an execution order for crimes against the elven people.”

  Before the dark elf could respond, a motley collection of elves, humans, and dwarves appeared on the left. Their ragged clothes and dark eyes marked them as brutes, killers, and criminals. They bared their teeth and drew weapons, eyeing Aranis and the suddenly nervous elven soldiers.

  “His head is ours,” a bearded man snarled, pointing a sword at Jack.

  “Yinto,” the captain said, shifting his sword to point at the speaker. “You have your own execution order.”

  The man cursed and spit. “Do you see our numbers? You can’t stop us.”

  “Other patrols have been summoned,” the captain said, but his eyes flicked between the members of Yinto’s mob.

  “I’d sit this one out, Captain,” Jack said to the elf. “I promise you can shackle anyone left standing at the end.”

  The elven captain looked between Jack, the dark elf, and the bounty hunters. His wariness tightened his features and Jack could see the internal struggle in his eyes. Fight and die? Or wait and arrest the survivors? Then he glanced at the lieutenant at his side.

  “Stay your blades unless attacked,” he said, and then flashed Jack a grim smile. “We’ll take his body when they kill him.”

  A man smirked in triumph and turned to Aranis. Backed by fifty pirates and thugs, he swelled in his chest and brandished a saber at Aranis. “And you. Go back to the hole you crawled out—”

  He swallowed a ring dagger and went down, the killing so fast that none could react. There was an audible intake of breath and for an instan
t everyone froze. Then a pair of elves rushed Aranis, dying before they could swing a blade. The others stared between Jack and the dark elf assassin, fear and greed warring on their faces.

  “What a choice,” Jack drawled. “Come for me and she kills you from behind. Attack her and die with a view of beauty.”

  Aranis smiled and shook her head. “Flattery will not save your life, Jack.”

  A knot of bounty hunters turned on Aranis, rallying for a charge. Sensing their odds increasing, others joined them, swelling to surround Aranis. Unperturbed, she turned to face them and stood her ground.

  The street exploded into violence. Shouting and screaming, the bounty hunters struck from all sides, but Aranis punished the disorganized attack, cutting them down as quickly as they appeared.

  The hands of her cloak doubled in number, each grasping a ring dagger. Like threads of ink the arms streaked out, parrying weapons and plunging into throats and hearts. Aranis spun around a pirate with curved swords and drove a dagger into his back. She ducked and spun with shocking speed, parrying a saber and cutting its wielder across the gut. As the body hit the ground a ring dagger spun, plunging into a man attempting to sneak up behind her. Then a thread caught a man by the throat and lifted him off the ground, tossing him into the elven soldiers.

  Bounty hunters began to flee, bleeding away from the crowd as the overzealous leaders were cut asunder. Aranis decimated the stragglers until only a pile of dead surrounded her. When Yinto’s lifeless body slumped to the dock she turned to the elven soldiers.

  “I’ll take my prize now,” Aranis said.

  The elven captain swallowed and glanced about for support, but the other elves shifted in fear. More than thirty lay dead in the street and the elves were clearly reluctant to join them. Aranis smirked at their hesitation and turned to Jack.

  “Come, my pet,” she said, striding toward him. “You’re mine now.”

  She reached out to Jack—and her hand passed through his form. Her smile evaporated as his face flickered, and the mirage began to fade. His body turned translucent and then disappeared, leaving the dark elf empty handed.

  Chapter 15: Loyalty

  From the rail of the ship gliding out to sea, Jack watched the fury on Aranis’s face. He smiled and resisted the urge to taunt her. They were still close enough for a pursuit to be mounted, and he had no desire for a second sea chase. Inna, Gordon, and Ursana joined him to watch the assassin slip away, leaving the elven guard to clean up the mess. Inna shook her head and smiled wryly.

  “If I didn’t see it,” she said, “I wouldn’t have believed it.”

  Jack grinned. When the attention had turned on the conflict, Jack had casually removed a ring and dropped it on the ground, the contact casting a mirage charm upon his body. Then he’d slipped off the dock and landed on the water. As the battle intensified he strolled across the gap and scaled the ship to join his friends.

  “You get used to it,” Ursana said. “Jack has a way with escape.”

  Gordon grunted in disapproval. “You may not have wielded the blade, but you led many to their deaths.”

  Jack shook his head. “You heard the elven guards. The bounty hunters that came for me were more criminal as I am. If anything, I saved the guards the hassle of carrying out an execution order—and ensured the bounty hunters will be more cautious.”

  Inna nodded in agreement. “They may not fear you, but they will certainly fear Aranis.”

  “Don’t be arrogant,” Gordon said. “There is still an abundance of assassins and you have only one head.”

  “Then we stay on the move,” Jack said. “When we get to Keese we don’t waste time. We find Skorn’s transport and steal it.”

  Gordon’s eyes flicked over Jack’s shoulder, and out of the corner of his eye Jack spotted the captain motioning to them.

  “I suspect he’ll want a higher payment,” Gordon said sourly. “He wanted two gold each for the passage to Keese.”

  “That’s ten times a fair rate,” Jack protested.

  “You wanted a fast ship without questions,” Ursana said, stepping away from the rail. “I’ll go talk to him and teach him that greed has a price.”

  She strode away and began to speak to captain at the helm. A moment later the man cried out and Gordon sighed.

  “I’d better intervene before she breaks his arm.”

  “Since when does she do the negotiating?” Jack asked.

  Gordon smiled as he walked past. “Since we discovered she’s better at it.”

  When he was gone, Inna leaned against the rail and watched Woodhaven recede into the distance.

  “I didn’t expect it.”

  “Didn’t expect what?” Jack asked, his eyes on Gordon and Ursana.

  “I didn’t expect your thieves to be so loyal.”

  “Don’t sound so surprised,” Jack said indignantly.

  She met his gaze. “You have a king’s bounty on your head, but not one of your thieves has betrayed you. Why?”

  He wanted to make light of the query but found he couldn’t. He’d never considered the thought that the Thieves Guild would betray him. Now that she’d put the idea in his head he found he had no answer, but Inna seemed to understand anyway.

  “They would die for you,” Inna said quietly. “So don’t get them killed.”

  She turned and strode away, leaving Jack to his confusion. After all his plans and designs, he’d always assumed the thieves in the guild would support him. But were they loyal because they loved Jack? Or hated Skorn?

  The thought remained on his mind throughout the four-day journey. When the others slept in their bunks he used his pocket Gate to escape the ship and the stifling question. He knew Inna had made her comment for his benefit, but he realized he didn’t care for the additional pressure.

  As they sailed into Keese his eyes settled on Ursana. She’d grown into a young woman, and was nearly as tall as he was, her presently dark hair hanging free down her back. Confident and strong, she knew her abilities and displayed a fearlessness that was inspiring.

  But Aranis would kill her without thought or mercy. Like the bounty hunters in Woodhaven, Ursana would be left bleeding in a street for the guards to cart away. Unable to endure the image, Jack looked away.

  “Why so somber?” Gordon asked as the boat slid into the port at Keese.

  “Just thinking about the Talinorian mercenaries,” Jack lied. “They’re guarding the shipment we want to steal.”

  “I’ve never encountered them,” Ursana said, overhearing the exchange and approaching.

  “Then count yourself lucky,” Gordon said sourly. Jack raised an eyebrow, prompting him to add. “I had the displeasure of encountering them while I was in the Griffin army. They were always searching for the best soldiers, the most gifted with a sword—and they actively sought men without morals. I’ve even seen a rock troll among their ranks.”

  “They keep their numbers small,” Inna said, joining them, “and invite those skilled but dissatisfied. Then they sell their services to whoever has the coin. Their soldiers may be the best, but they only employ the worst.”

  “Encountered them before?” Jack asked.

  “My father frequently went against them when he was the Assassin Guildmaster, and more than one of his assassins were killed. When Gallow took over he allied himself with the Talinor Mercenary Guild, but it appears they have taken a more active role in Skorn’s plans.”

  “We don’t have much time,” Jack said as the ship was tied off. “Be discreet. If they know we are coming we’ll lose the advantage. Inna, you and Ursana search north. You’re close enough in age to pass as sisters. Gordon and I will see what we can learn on the southern side of the city.

  “You’re splitting us up?” Ursana asked, glancing at Gordon.

  “You’ve worked as partners for long enough they might recognize you,” Jack said.

  “As you order,” they said, but Jack noticed a trace of uncertainty in Ursana’s eyes.

 
They stepped away from the rail and descended the gangplank. He pointed to the nearest tavern, The Crusty Keel. “We’ll meet at midnight.”

  They separated and Jack headed south with Gordon. When they were out of earshot Gordon turned to him.

  “Is there a reason you sent Ursana and Inna away?”

  Jack did not respond. He’d wrestled with Inna’s comments but had been unable to explain them. Gordon was one of the few he trusted within the guild, but he still found it difficult to voice it.

  “Why do you risk your life for me?” he finally asked.

  He shrugged in confusion. “We have faith in you.”

  “Faith drove you to trick me?”

  “We shouldn’t have done that,” Gordon sighed. “But don’t blame us for our desire to keep you alive.”

  “Doing so put more risk on you,” Jack said. “So why risk your life for me?”

  He frowned. “You’ve kept us alive against Skorn—twice. We follow you because we believe you can do it again.”

  “I wasn’t asking about the others.”

  “Yes you were.”

  Jack looked away, irritated that Gordon had seen through his question. The man’s response had only reinforced Inna’s thought, making Jack regret voicing his concern. He’d led them successfully, but if they were killed because of him . . .

  He shied away from the topic. “How is your family?”

  “How did this get turned around on me?”

  Caught, Jack grinned. “Have you seen them?”

  “They don’t want to see me.”

  “How do you know?” he asked. “You’re not the same man they walked out on.”

  “I tried to find them after we fought Skorn at Margauth,” he said. “But I found no trace of them. Wherever they went, they don’t want to be found—or maybe they’re dead.”

  “What were they like?”

  Gordon had always avoided speaking about his family, and until now Jack had never asked. For several minutes there was only the sound of the gulls and shouts of sailors. Then Gordon released a sigh.

  “My wife was from north Griffin, and was visiting Terros with her father when we met. I was in officer training and she first saw me in my formal uniform.” He smiled. “She couldn’t resist, and we were married a few months later. Gwen came along a year after. She would be Ursana’s age now.”