Of Thieves and Shadows (The Heart of Quinaria Book 1) by B. S. H. Garcia

Author:B. S. H. Garcia [Garcia, B. S. H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lost Relic Publishing
Published: 2023-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

Lumira’s zeal wilted with each flight they climbed. The situation was nearly identical on each floor: slaves hammered away at armor, sewed garments, and labored on other trade-driven tasks such as glass blowing and basket weaving. No giant contraptions. No new weapons.

When they reached the tenth and final floor, they ducked behind a row of supply barrels just as an overseer snatched a pot from an elderly slave and hurled it against the wall. The shards clattered around Lumira’s feet. The overseer struck the slave’s face, and she collapsed, cradling her head. Lumira gripped her hilt. The overseer would go down easily. There weren’t too many on duty. If she snuck up on them all—

Grokhion lowered her blade. “I want to help, too,” he whispered, “but now’s not the time. We have a task at hand.”

Lumira slumped against a barrel. “This is pointless. There’s nothing out of the ordinary happening here. Not for Az Zar.”

“Are you so certain?” Grokhion stroked his whiskers, emerald eyes sparkling with some secret he didn’t want to divulge. “Look again. Displace your venom for a moment.”

Just say it, old man. Lumira dug her claws into the barrel and returned her gaze to the room. This time, she forced herself to see beyond the people. Though it had appeared busy upon a first glance, there weren’t more than a dozen slaves present, and few fabricated items filled the workbenches. The other floors had been similar; the slaves too sickly or old for skilled labor, and only one to two soldiers on guard.

She faced Grokhion. “No output. At least not enough to warrant a structure this size. And the slaves are too weak for the tasks assigned.”

“Good, and what does that tell us?”

“It’s a decoy.”

Grokhion patted her on the back. “I knew your mind was as sharp as your claws.”

Despite herself, Lumira prickled with pride at the older beridian’s praise. They snuck out of the room and back down the stairs to the main floor, but not before she shredded the overseer’s satchel and swallowed his rations.

Xaren waited for them outside, leaning against the building in the shadows. “What did you find?”

“This workshop is a decoy,” Lumira said. “You two keep watch. I’m going to search the guardhouses for information. It shouldn’t take long.”

She stole across the clearing and tried the keys on the smaller guardhouse. None fit. The door was too solid to kick in. A window, perhaps? The sound of a door bar raising stopped her mid-search for a rock. The door swung open, and a man stumbled into the night, clad in an undertunic with a sword. She pounced, driving her blade into his chest before he could utter a cry. Someone inside gasped. Lumira wrenched her blade free and raced into the room. A human girl fresh to womanhood trembled atop a floor bed covered in nothing but a sheet. Zarith lettering was burned into her wrist. She cried out and buried her face in the sheet as Lumira approached.

“It’s alright,” Lumira said in her best gentle voice.

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