by L J Andrews
Roark narrowed his eyes as she sprinted at the head, donned in a flowing gown and green cloak. On the back of the emerald velvet was the symbol of the new army: a serpent tangled around the neck of the dragon. The symbol of Baz, but in the talons of the dragon was the mark of a sword. The air burned in his nose when Roark dragged in a harsh breath. The woman was wearing the symbol of Kawal, his emerald colors, his mark, and now was fleeing. Anger boiled in the pit of Roark’s stomach as he curled his shoulders forward. He didn’t know what had happened, but if someone had murdered Kawal, Roark knew how to make a pampered woman talk. If she was running, the Lady and her maid knew something, and he would make sure they told him every detail.
Turning on his heel, Roark spun the dagger in his palm once, and darted in the opposite direction as his crewmates and followed the desperate escape of the runaway noblewoman.
Chapter 25
Rivals
The blood moon was at the highest point, and if the streets weren’t filled with dark celebrations and criminals, the sight would be beautiful.
Angelet shrieked when a woman with stringy black hair slashed for Angelet’s hair with fingernails so long they were beginning to curl. Isa wheeled around, her knife in hand, and cut at the hag’s skin. The woman gnashed her brown teeth but slithered back into the night.
“Get down,” Isa snapped and shoved Angelet behind a merchant’s cart. The poor shop owner had gone to great lengths to ensure his livelihood would be untouched in the morning. Iron chains and locks tethered the wooden cart to the stones. Half the shade overtop was shredded, but the cart still stood. In the center of the square Isa watched groups of men and women drinking until their bodies couldn’t stay upright.
Angelet breathed heavily at Isa’s shoulder. Although, the woman could shape fire, Isa tried to remember her youth and inexperience in the darkness of the Bloodlands. True, she’d been kidnapped and forced to marry a man she despised, but that was only Angelet’s beginning. Isa understood the wretchedness long before this night.
“You knew that man,” Angelet whispered.
“What man?”
“The man…in the dark. The one who spoke the orders. He was in the manse.”
Isa spun around and stared at Angelet. Kish had been hidden in the shadows, both in Kawal’s manor and in the alley and she’d thought Angelet had buried her face the entire attack. “You saw him?”
Angelet nodded, swallowing as she tried to catch her breath. “I keep thinking…I keep trying to trust you, but if…if he commands Blood Knights, why…why are you taking me to them. I will be drained, or…taken to Sha’run.”
Isa closed her eyes. Kish knew of Angelet and had made a compelling story that he was working with Hadeon. If it was true, then her master could be aligned with the Blood Emperor when the guilds vowed loyalty to no empire. But Isa opted to believe that Kish was lying about everything. It was better to believe the Ladroa had learned of Angelet the same as Hadeon and had used Isa for his own gain and not for a guild alliance. The idea kept her senses alive, for if the latter were the truth, the Ladroa guild would be waiting for her to escape Jershon the same as the Tyv.
“That man isn’t my master,” Isa said. “He is wicked and a murderer. But he is not who I take you to, and my master will ensure you are safe from him.”
Angelet pinched her brows and glanced at the ground.
“Angelet,” Isa whispered. “You cannot stay here alone, not tonight. It was your fire that attacked Kawal, now he is dead. There is no life for you in Jershon. Come with me, and live free in the Wastes.”
“I will belong to no one, Isa. I would rather die.”
Isa turned away, peering over the cart as she waited for an opening to run. Angelet declared her freedom, and Isa could hope the woman would be free, but in the back of her mind she didn’t know what the thieves had planned.
“Now,” Isa said in a huff when the streets cleared enough, they could escape without too many eyes noticing.
Angelet remained close to Isa as she led them toward the outer gate. The stretch toward the border of the empire was open and long, which meant sparse cover. But it would also make it easier for Isa to catch sight of any Ladroa ambush before it happened. The air in her lungs burned as she ran. No matter how she adjusted the heavy velvet cloak, the cape weighed heavy along her shoulders as she ran.
The road toward the empire border was eerily quiet. Only the swish of the tall grass around their legs was heard for a long mile or two until the outer gate glowed beneath the moon. “We mustn’t go through the gates,” Isa said as she crouched behind a grassy knoll and glanced at the heavily guarded west gate. “The entrances are the only places guards protect on a blood moon. There is a crack in one side, I noticed on my way inside Jershon, but it will take us into the forest.”
Isa adjusted the bracelet Joshua had given her as she oriented herself to the dark trees. Despite the shadows of the leaves the forest was where they’d be safe. With a harsh slap at Angelet’s knee, Isa nodded toward the wall. Abandoning the cloak, she waded through the grass careful not to make a sound as the units of guards focused on the people trying to leave the empire and certainly guarding against those coming in. No one left or entered during the blood moon, it was dangerous and if they were caught, Isa knew the punishment was death.
“It is so dark, I can’t see. It’s as though the light keeps fading,” Angelet said with a touch of panic once Isa’s hand found the back wall. The stone was warm from baking in the sun and brought a sense of relief to have made it so far.
The moon provided plenty of light, even if it shone red. Isa couldn’t understand Angelet’s panic, but she allowed the woman to grip tight to her arm. “Hurry, there is the opening.”
The crack was likely a weakness given during the siege that had been overlooked during repairs. Glancing once over her shoulder, Isa ducked down and slithered on her stomach beneath the thick wall.
“Isa, I can’t see,” Angelet cried again.
“Then hold onto me,” she snapped. “Have you always had such poor eyesight?”
“It’s as dark as death. It happened so quickly.”
“You aren’t making sense.”
Angelet didn’t respond, but whimpered like a child with a scraped knee. Damp soil and the scent of sweet dew on the leaves enrobed Isa in peace as she dragged her petite figure from the crack in the wall. The gown was stained and torn on one shoulder. Angelet gasped for air when she pulled out of the opening. Dirt and sweat streaked her pale cheeks, but her rapid breaths seemed to calm when she met Isa’s eye.
“It’s brighter here. How strange,” Angelet said.
“Perhaps, you have a dysfunction with your eyes.”
“There is no problem with my eyes, something strange is happening this night.” Angelet wrung her hands as she glanced around the trees. “Where do we go from here?”
Slipping the long sleeve of her gown off the silver bracelet she tried to find the pull of where Joshua had buried her weapons. Nothing. Isa released a long breath and used the dark sky to find the proper direction. With the blood moon the stars were absent. Isa scanned the dark trees, ignoring the distant sounds of Jershon and noises of the forest that sent chills down her spine.
“This way,” she said.
Angelet didn’t argue and followed close as Isa led them deep into the trees. If anything, they could take refuge in the forest until morning before finding Thieves Waste.
There was an odd sort of peace in the forest, one she’d found over the years away from cities and empires. Isa breathed in the fresh blossoms and the aroma of clean creeks carving through the trees as they pressed on.
“Why do you keep checking the bracelet? Where do we go, Isa? Shouldn’t we head toward the roads, the forests are filled with terrible beasts. That’s what my father told me. Oh, we should go to port. We could sail away. Isa, where are—”
“Angelet,” Isa snapped. “Quiet. We are safer in the trees than on the roads.”
; The magnetic bracelet tugged gently, and relief flooded Isa’s heart. Sending praises to the red night for Joshua’s innovation, she swatted thick branches and leaves out of the way as Angelet followed close behind.
“Where are we going?” Angelet whispered.
“I have a supply of weapons buried beyond the trees. I only have a knife after getting ambushed in the manse.”
“You said your sister betrayed you?”
Isa bit the inside of her cheek and ducked beneath a fallen log. “Yes. She took my small fortune to pay off a house debt and sold me out to Kawal.”
“I’m sorry. Betrayal is hard to shoulder,” Angelet said the words softly, and for a moment the haze of Isa’s deliberate steps slowed. She prepared to ask her if she’d experienced her own betrayal when the bracelet tightened and pulled with fierce pressure.
Isa grinned and shoved into a narrow clearing, but her joy was short-lived. “How…how could someone find it?”
The opened box had one broken hinge and the metal rings that attracted the bracelet were cracked. Isa tore the bracelet from her arm when the pressure threatened to break the skin and knelt next to the empty box. Bumps raised across her arms with the feeling that someone was near. With a quick scan of the trees, Isa saw no one and slipped the knife back into her grip. Darkness surrounded the clearing and Isa was forced to squint for any sign of an ambush.
“Angelet, hurry. We shouldn’t stay out in the open.”
“It’s that other man isn’t it? He’s found your weapons.”
“If I had to guess, and I don’t like to guess, I would say the Ladroa found my supplies. That means they aren’t far, now stay close.”
“The Ladroa didn’t find your weapons.”
Isa’s heart skipped at least two beats and her veins frosted like bitter winter. Angelet scurried behind Isa’s slender body and stared across the clearing as Isa turned on her heel.
“Joshua,” Isa said cautiously. She yearned to be pleased to see a fellow Tyv, but something in Joshua’s sullen gaze sent her pulse thudding in her ears. “I expected to celebrate success with you back in Thieves Waste.”
Joshua rolled a dagger in his palm, one of her daggers, and took a cautious step into the clearing. “We won’t be going to Thieves Waste tonight, Isabelle.”
Why did it sound as though Joshua had swallowed a thistle bush? Sweat soaked the hilt of her knife and she was forced to grip the weapon tighter as Joshua stepped closer. “Why did you retrieve my weapons?”
“Isa…” Angelet whispered. It would seem Isa wasn’t alone in her concerns.
The black paint that had coated Joshua’s eyes when they’d parted was gone, so Isa could see his hollow gaze clearly. His beard was trimmer, so she noticed the way his mouth curved down in a tight frown. Something had Joshua unnerved and it sent Isa’s instincts spiraling with dread.
Joshua glanced at the dagger in his palm before he tossed it away. “I took your weapons, so you would not have them.”
Naturally, Isa began to circle Joshua. His foot crossed to the left, she crossed to the right. “What are you doing, Joshua?”
Isa hated how desperate her voice sounded; he wouldn’t miss the tremble, but how could this be? Was she so blind she’d missed the utter hatred her fellow thief had for her life?
He winced as if he were in pain and met her eye. “My duty, Isabelle.”
Angelet screamed and dropped out of the way when Joshua lunged. A sword had slid from beneath his cloak. Isa hadn’t even noticed the weapon from the distraction of yet another betrayal. Isa crumbled to one knee and blocked the strike with her knife.
“Josh…stop this,” she said through her teeth.
The steel sliced and the sound echoed in forest as their blades uncoupled. Joshua bellowed into the night an agonizing sound of pain mingled with fury. “I must.”
“Don’t do this,” she begged, rushing out of range of his blade. Joshua was swifter. “Please, Joshua, stop.”
Isa checked his second strike. Joshua was an expert swordsman, she’d often envied his skill, but tonight he attacked with apprehension and weakness. The muscles along the back of her neck and tops of her shoulders ached as Joshua pressed her back against the fallen log. Crimson light gleamed across the cutting edge of his sword as he nudged his face closer. Joshua’s brow furrowed, his eyes never blinked, and he had her completely trapped beneath his larger form. He wasn’t that much older than Isa, but tonight the most trusted thief of Tyv was haggard and weary like a dying man.
“Hadeon…Hadeon will…he’ll kill you for this.” Isa tried to growl, but her throat was too tight with suffocating emotion. What a fool she was. First, Lilian, now Tyv. She’d almost believed Joshua valued her despite his sharp tongue; the burden crushed against her heart.
Joshua’s lips curled into an angry sneer. “Hadeon.” The blades slid across the other again, and Isa gasped when the edge of Joshua’s sword cut her wrist, but he backed away. Wiping sweat from his brow, Joshua dragged in sharp breaths and pointed the tip of his sword at her chest. “Who do you suppose placed this…burden on my shoulders?”
Standing at Joshua’s mercy was harsh enough, but realizing what he meant was as though the blade had already slit her throat. Isa’s grip slipped from the hilt of her knife and the blade fell. She couldn’t find the energy to retrieve it.
“No,” she whispered. “No, he…wouldn’t. I am Tyv!”
Angelet whimpered behind a log, and Joshua’s eyes flicked toward the woman before he tossed his sword at Isa’s feet. Isa stumbled back one step before both legs failed her and she landed hard on her hip. The blade Joshua released was one she’d admired for years, Hadeon’s prized sword. Tears burned in the corner of her eyes. She didn’t look up when Joshua stomped to her side.
“Why, Isabelle? What haven’t you told me? Why would our master ask this of me? Tell me what you were to find in Jershon.”
Clutching her middle, Isa lifted her wet eyes to her rival, but one she’d still always considered a brother of the guild. “I don’t understand, I’ve done everything Hadeon has asked of me.”
Joshua gripped the back of her neck and forced her forehead against his own. “What were you to steal in Jershon that would require your life?”
“Power,” Isa said with realization. “Hadeon has joined with Kish and Kish has joined with Blood Knights. I was to steal power, and now they wish me dead so I cannot speak of it, I suppose.”
Joshua released a harsh breath and gathered the sword again. He paced angrily, but didn’t lift the weapon. “You’re a thorn in my side, Isabelle. Always trying to be the best, the fiercest; you make foolish decisions.” Joshua slammed a fist against a nearby tree trunk and kept his furious step. “There have been times I’ve wanted to wring your neck—”
“Your opportunity has come.”
Joshua grumbled and dragged his fingers through his thick hair. “Why are you a threat, Isa? Tell me.”
“I am no threat, Joshua.” Isa hung her head so her long hair draped over her face. Her life was ending, and it seemed silly to worry about tears in the moment. “I love the Creed of Tyv. The guild is my…family. You are my family, no matter our differences. I…don’t understand.”
Joshua dropped to his knee directly in front of Isa and gripped her beneath her chin. His eyes were blazing when she met his stare through the blur of tears. “Hadeon believes you will kill us all. What are you that the most powerful thief in all the Bloodlands fears you enough to end your life?”
Isa shirked him away and shook her head. “Kill me, Joshua. You were ordered, and if you don’t you will lose your life. I have no answers for you, so it must be that I am not worthy to live. Perhaps, you shall be doing me a service for I have no place any longer.”
“No!” Angelet cried out and a rush of heat blazed against the back of Isa’s neck. In her palm a weak flame had ignited, but fizzled at the moment she stepped to Isa’s side. Angelet stared at her empty palm with confusion, but bravely took her place on the
ground by Isa. “If you kill her you must kill me too, you beast.”
Joshua’s mouth parted as his eyes glanced between Angelet and Isa. “A Lightborn? She was the prize?”
Shame filled Isa’s cheeks as Angelet looked at her, but Isa nodded. Deafening silence surrounded the clearing. Isa stared at nothing but the dirt and twigs surrounding her knees. Angelet trembled and continually tried to light a spark, but none would come.
“You cannot return to Thieves Waste,” Joshua said softly after a painful length of time.
“What are you doing?” Isa asked when Joshua handed her Hadeon’s blade.
Joshua’s mouth tightened and he took to his knees. “I believe in our creed. As you say, they are my family. I am not in the business of murdering my family.”
Isa’s heart jumped to her throat when she met his eye. “Joshua, you must come with us. If you betray Hadeon…I won’t allow you to die in my place.”
He scoffed. “Always the hero, Isabelle. I do not plan to die, and you shall see to it. Strike me, hard enough to leave a mark. Make my defeat convincing then go, for if we meet again, I don’t know if I can betray Hadeon a second time.”
“No, Josh—”
“Isabelle, don’t make me change my mind.” He dropped his head, so the back of his neck was exposed. “Now, do it.”
Angelet was already on her feet, standing over Joshua. Isa swallowed the lump in her throat and rolled the hilt of Hadeon’s sword in one palm. “I will not forget you, Joshua Rayhab.”
She thought a small smile tugged in the corner of his mouth. “I shall try every day to forget your aggravating qualities, Isabelle.”
“I cannot burn him,” Angelet said. “My ability seems lost.”
A tear dripped down her cheek as Isa lifted the pommel of the sword. “Because the debt of life is between me and Joshua.”
