Legends of Dimmingwood 02:Betrayal of Thieves

Betrayal of Thieves

By C. Greenwood

Kindle Edition

Copyright © 2012 C. Greenwood

Edited by Eyes for Editing

Formatted by LK E-book Formatting Services

Cover art by Michael Gauss

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Excepting brief review quotes, this book may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written permission of the copyright holder. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, real events, locations, or organizations is purely coincidental.

A BEGINNING

Tossing in my hammock, I try to ignore the gentle swaying motion of the craft, the sickly shifting sensation of the waves I haven’t yet grown accustomed to. It’s a stormy night on the lake and the winds churn the usually placid waters.

Quietly, so as not to wake my companions, I slip out of my hammock and draw back the tarpaulin over the doorway of our shelter. Cold wind and wet spray hit my face, whipping my hair wildly around me. Lightning forks through the sky, briefly illuminating the roiling clouds and the foamy crests of the waves. In the darkness that follows, I can just make out the shadowy shape of the docks we have drawn up against and the more distant silhouette of the walls of Selbius.

I try not to think of what, or who, lies within those walls. I don’t want to remember where I’ve come from or what I’ve left behind. But, unbidden, a memory forms in my mind. The memory is of a brisk autumn day and a trek down a leaf-strewn forest path...

CHAPTER ONE

It wasn’t a long distance from the part of the forest where Rideon and the other outlaws were encamped to the old hideout of Red Rock.  I followed an overgrown deer trail part way and when that faded beneath grass and leaves, trusted my sense of direction to lead me on.

I arrived before midday. Nearing the abandoned spot, I slowed, remembering the Fists would surely have an eye on our old lair. I circled the clearing, cautiously, noting the ground was freshly churned by horse hooves and the marks of many feet. Our enemies had come and gone. Scattered possessions, abandoned by the outlaws, were strewn across the ground. The Fists had been thorough in their ransacking, even burning clothing and provisions, presumably so we couldn’t return later to reclaim them. I briefly sifted through the singed rubble, finding nothing salvageable.

Then I entered the cave. Feeling my way down its darkened passages was disorienting because nothing stood where I remembered it. A row of kegs and a lantern hooked to the rock wall had once marked the entrance to my space behind the falls, but they were gone now. I would have passed the spot by, if not for the roar of the water and the dim glow of daylight filtering through.

It was a relief to discover nothing here had been disturbed by the Fists. I went to my old hiding niche in the wall, dusted away the camouflaging bits of moss and pebbles, and retrieved the leather bundle containing my mother’s brooch. Stuffing the parcel into my jerkin, I also collected the fistful of copper coins I had stashed in the hiding place. These were my only valuable possessions in the world and I breathed a sigh of relief at having them safe in hand again.

I lingered another moment, taking a final look around the quarters that had been my shelter for so many years. Then, turning to leave, I staggered into the silent figure that had crept up behind me.

CHAPTER TWO

“Terrac!” I exclaimed, more shrilly than I intended. I quickly modified my tone to one of disgust. “Have you been standing here spying on me all this time?”

“I have,” he admitted, unabashed. “I looked for you last night but couldn’t find you and again this morning, but no one had any idea where you’d gone. I followed my suspicions and the trail you didn’t bother to cover and both led me here.”

He looked around. “The place is a mess, isn’t it?” he asked.

I frowned, still annoyed at my carelessness. “The Fists didn’t tidy up after themselves, no. If you don’t like it, feel free to leave.”

He didn’t take the hint. “Why are you here anyway?” he asked. “It had better be important. Rideon doesn’t want us creeping around Red Rock, and I don’t think he’ll continue this new habit of letting you slide past his rules. He says the Praetor’s men will be watching this place.”

“Rideon says a great many things,” I said. “But sometimes I need to follow my own promptings.”

Terrac looked closely at me. “That doesn’t sound like you. You’ve always been quick to jump at his every whim, the first to defend each word from his mouth. Don’t tell me you’re finally giving up your misguided loyalties?”

“My misguided loyalties are none of your business,” I said. “I’m just beginning to think a few things out for myself, that’s all. And you can wipe that smirk from your face, because I’m not about to concede you were ever right.”

“I’m not smiling.”

“Oh yes, I forgot you’re too good to gloat,” I said. “Well, never mind. You’ve found me and now you can leave me alone. I’ve decided to go away for a bit to stay with a…” I hesitated to call Hadrian a friend. “An
acquaintance
in Selbius. I’ll be gone a while, and I don’t want you trailing after me.”

“I’ve no intention of trailing after anybody.” He sounded affronted and slightly hurt. “Aren’t you even curious why I’ve been looking for you?”

“Not especially.”

“I’m leaving too,” he said. “I wanted to tell you farewell.”

I hid my surprise. “Yes, well, save your tender good-byes until you’ve spoken with Rideon. I’ve a hunch he’s not about to let you go anywhere. And we both know you’ll never set foot beyond Dimming without his permission.”

“Really?” Terrac folded his arms stubbornly. “Care to lay any wagers on that?”

“Since when does the pure-hearted priest boy take bets?” I teased, amused despite myself. “You know, you’re getting to be quite the rebel these days. One moment you’re wagering, the next you’re contemplating breaking your oath to Rideon. What would good old Honored Thilstain say about all this?”

He looked a little guilty but didn’t back down. “Never mind my oath,” he said. “Brig’s death has made me rethink a lot of things, including my situation here. I’ve decided to find my way to Whitestone Abbey and the priesthood intended for me. These past few years haven’t changed my destiny, merely delayed it.”

“Well,” I said shortly, “I hope you find peace at your Abbey, slaving over translations and prayers with your broken vow hanging over your head. For myself, I have my own plans, and it’s time I put them into action. Farewell, Terrac.”

He said, “You sound disappointed in me, Ilan. What makes you so concerned with whether I keep my word to Rideon? You yourself once told me honesty meant nothing to thieves and cutthroats.”

“Never mind. Forget it,” I said, unable to explain even to myself why I disapproved. Maybe it was merely his hypocrisy that irked me. Then, too, he was also holding up my progress. I moved to slip around him, but he intercepted me, grabbing my arm.

“I don’t break my oath lightly,” he said. “I’m running as far from Dimming as I can get, but not for the reasons you think. The truth is I’m afraid. Does that surprise you? Probably not. You’ve always thought me a coward anyway and have never been slow to say so.”

His tone turned bitter. “Well, maybe I’m not as brave as Rideon’s loyal hound, but it’s not my life I’m concerned about. Not this time. You want to know what I’m running from? Well, here it is and you can laugh at me if you like.”

Despite his defiant tone, he was suddenly looking everywhere but at me. “This life—this world you’ve brought me into—it’s changing me, and not for the better. I don’t know what I’ll become if I stay here. I’ve always valued truth and justice; you know that. I’m no Honored One, and maybe I’m not fit to be one, but I’ve still got to hold on to a bit of myself, don’t I? I don’t want to wake up one morning to find myself no different from the rest of you.”

I thought he flattered himself with such a concern and was about to say so when his fingers tightened around my arm, reminding me he wasn’t the weak boy he had been last spring. He seemed unaware his grip was cutting into me as he said, “What happened the other night at the woods holding… You remember how I found you?”

I nodded, reluctantly. It wasn’t a scene I cared to think about.

“I saw you kill that man Resid,” he continued. “I watched from the shadows, while the two of you struggled. It wasn’t fear that held me back from aiding you. I was unwilling to involve myself in the violence, you understand?”

I did. Terrac had always deplored fighting.

“So I hung back,” he resumed. “But suddenly, I saw that man nearly knock you over. I knew he was going to kill you right there, and I felt… Fear. A tide of fear and anger like I’d never known before. I was ready to join you then, although I had nothing to fight with but my bare hands. If I was too late to save you, well, at least I thought I’d find a way to avenge you.”

The only part of his story I found particularly shocking was that he cared enough to avenge me, but I kept the thought to myself. I could see he needed somebody to hear him out.

He went on. “I was about to rush in when, suddenly, you recovered, slashed his throat, and as quick as that, it was all done. The fight was over and I hadn’t even moved.”

His gaze lost its intensity, but he still appeared unable to look at me. “I cannot tell you how horrified I was when I realized what I had been prepared to do. I would have murdered that man or died trying.”

So that was it. I shifted uncomfortably, pointing out, “It wouldn’t technically have been murder. Resid was a traitor who deserved to die.”

“A traitor to you maybe and to your Red Hand, but so far as the law was concerned, he was assisting in apprehending dangerous criminals. So were those other men, the Fists I nearly burned alive in the hold house.”

I didn’t much care for this turn in the conversation. “You can hate yourself over those Fists if you want,” I said roughly. “I don’t know how to keep you from it. But I forbid you to pity Resid. The scum betrayed Brig to his death and tried to kill me. Your only thought was to protect a friend—or to avenge one, as the case may have been. Both were worthy intentions.”

“Worthy for mindless animals like Rideon and the rest of you, maybe,” he said. “But not for me.”

Now he was beginning to sound like himself. “Oh, dust off your grey robes, priest boy,” I said. “You didn’t kill Resid; I did. So feel free to go off to your abbey with a mostly light conscience, and spend the rest of your life brooding over the dark deeds you contemplated but never actually committed.”

His expression cleared. “Then you agree I’m right to go?”

I said dryly, “I agree that you’ll keep me here debating the question until I
do
agree, so let’s cut the discussion short. Go to your abbey. Go with the blessings of Rideon, the band, and all the province.”

He smiled a little. “Now you’re giving away more than you have the power to grant.”

“I’ll give you the king’s throne if you’ll take yourself out of my way,” I said, shrugging. “I’ve places to be.”

He looked glad to change the subject. “What exactly are your plans?” he asked. “Has it anything to do with this?”

Before I could stop him, he darted a hand into my leather jerkin to snatch the bundle containing the brooch.

“I saw you dig this out of your secret hiding place,” he said smugly.

“Give me that,” I snapped, roughly attempting to wrench it back from him, but he withheld it from my reach.

I said, “That parcel holds the brooch from my mother and it’s important to me. Return it or I’ll pound what little brains you have out your ears.”

Instead of complying, he tucked the parcel into his belt, as if he intended it to stay there permanently. “Tell me why it’s so important you get it back, important enough to risk returning to this place, and I’ll give it back to you.”