Queen of the Night Guild by Andy Peloquin

Author:Andy Peloquin [Peloquin, Andy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2018-01-30T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

With the Duke’s words, everything suddenly fell into place. Ilanna had the Duke all wrong. She’d perceived him as a petty man, seeking vengeance for the damage she’d done to his reputation. She thought he’d come after her because her actions harmed his business.

But Duke Phonnis, Chief Justiciar of Praamis, held honor above all. Not only his own personal honor, but that of his family. He perceived the House of Keadanis’ role in the formation of the Night Guild as a stain. He would do whatever he could to erase that stain. His vendetta against her had been personal, just not in the way she’d suspected.

For decades, the Duke had used the lure of the Black Spire to goad thieves into greater excesses. He’d built a reputation as a thief-catcher, creating new and clever ways to trap the Night Guild. He had made a spectacle of each Guild death. Each was intended as a taunt. To maintain their reputation, the Guild would be forced to respond to his actions with greater and more visible excesses. Eventually, they would cross a line. The wrong person would be injured or the wrong house would be burgled, and an irate nobleman would complain to the King. Eventually, with enough complaints, King Ohilmos would be forced to act. Duke Phonnis would have the power of the Crown to eradicate the Night Guild.

King Ohilmos had shown his pragmatic side. He tolerated the Night Guild’s existence because he truly believed it served the city. He didn’t know, or simply didn’t care, how much it pained his brother to know his family had created the Guild. The more the King took advantage of the Guild—a valuable tool against his noblemen—the more the Duke suffered.

The relief in the Duke’s eyes spoke more eloquently than any sermon. Years spent planning and patiently waiting would come to fruition in two days when he sentenced every captured member of the Night Guild to death. He had a glimpse of what a life of freedom from the stain on his family’s honor would be like. And he’d be damned if he let her mess it up.

It didn’t take a genius to make the connection between Grand Reckoner Edmynd’s ledger and the Duke’s private documents. The Duke had to know she had the documents in her possession. Which was why he had imprisoned her here in the Black Spire instead of placing her on trial. He wouldn’t risk that the item she’d stolen from the Coin Counter’s Temple could be used against the King.

The nobility of Praamis would riot if they knew the King not only permitted the Night Guild to operate, but used their services. They would overthrow the House of Keadanis for its treachery. The document Ilanna had stolen from the Coin Counter’s Temple—a document that was meant to be impossible for anyone but the Duke to access—gave her the power to turn Praamis upside down.

“Then let us bargain,” she said. “Give me my freedom, and the document will never see the light of day.

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