Queen of the Night Guild Page 2

  “Here you are.”

  Ilanna looked around, surprised to find herself standing in front of the double doors of House Hawk. Idan pushed it open, and Ilanna’s feet carried her through the Aerie and down the tunnels leading to her room. The few Hawks she passed stared at her with wide eyes and gaping mouths. A few spoke to her. At one point, she thought she heard Master Hawk’s voice. But she couldn’t stop. She had to reach her room before she collapsed.

  She fumbled at her door lock, her bandaged fingers numb and thick. Someone took the key from her. She didn’t protest. The door swung open and she stepped inside. A voice droned in the distance, but she gave a dismissive wave. Whatever they wanted didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now.

  The door swung shut behind her, plunging the room into darkness. Cool, comforting darkness. The only place where she could truly feel safe now. She stumbled toward her bed, collapsed. The blankets scratched at her scorched skin, but she pulled them over her head. Her hand reached under her pillow and drew out the stuffed hawk.

  It still smells like him. She drew in a deep breath, then another. The scent of her son brought back the memory of his face, his smile, his laugh. Pressure built within her, pushed her ribs outward until she felt her chest would explode.

  Tears flowed down her cheeks and stained her pillows. For the first time in years, Ilanna wept.

  Chapter 2

  “Ilanna?” Someone hammered on her door. “What’s going on, Ilanna?”

  They’d pounded for over an hour now. Why can’t they just leave me alone? She burrowed deeper into her blanket and crushed the stuffed hawk to her chest.

  “Ilanna!” Allon’s voice carried through the wood. “If you don’t answer, I’m going to have Jarl here break down the door.”

  “G…” She swallowed, her mouth dry. “Go…away,” she croaked.

  “Ilanna, tell me what’s wrong.” Worry echoed in Allon’s words. “Are you hurt?”

  She wanted to laugh, to cry, to shriek at him. Of course, I’m hurt! I lost my son in a Watcher-damned fire.

  With superhuman effort, she pushed the blanket away and moved on leaden feet to open the door. “Go away.”

  Allon stood outside, his face lined and tense. Jarl, her fellow Hawk, hovered behind the Hound Journeyman. Allon flinched at the sight of her. “Keeper’s teeth, Ilanna! What in the fiery hell happened to you?”

  A lump rose to Ilanna’s throat. She turned away. He couldn’t see her tears. “Leave me alone.”

  Allon barreled into the room. “Not until you tell me what happened.” He fumbled to light the alchemical lamp and turned to her. “Ilanna! Your face and hands, they’re…burned.”

  The agony of her scorched flesh seemed a faint throbbing, barely registered through the hollowness in her chest.

  She swallowed again. “What…are you…doing here?” Her parched throat mangled the words.

  Allon whirled toward the door, where a crowd of Hawks had gathered. “Gorin, get her water.”

  The Pathfinder quirked an eyebrow, but Jarl’s grunt and a quick nod sent him charging off.

  “What are you doing here?” she demanded, finding her voice.

  “Jarl and Gorin have been pounding on your door for hours. Master Hawk sent for me. He thought I could get you to open up.” He gripped her arm. “Come, sit on the bed. Tell me what happened.”

  She ripped free of his grasp. “Don’t touch me!” she snarled.

  “Easy.” Allon held up his hands. “I won’t touch you, I promise. But can you tell me how you got burned? Do you know what happened?”

  Ilanna sneered. “I’m injured, Allon, not losing my mind. It was the fire…”

  “Old Town Market.” The Hound nodded.

  At that moment, Gorin returned bearing a pitcher of water. Ilanna sent an imploring glance at Jarl.

  The huge Hawk seemed to understand. “Everyone leave. Let her be.” He herded the Hawk Journeymen away. He didn’t hesitate to shove the slower-moving figures. He peered in the door and cocked an eyebrow.

  Ilanna gave a quick nod. “Thank you.”

  “Of course,” Jarl rumbled, loquacious as ever, and closed the door.

  She emptied the cup of water and Allon refilled it. “What were you doing at Old Town Market?” The Hound spoke with hesitation. “And why were you in the middle of the fire? Idan said they dragged you out of the ashes of a ruined house. Why didn’t you run?”

  Ilanna said nothing.

  “Was it the house?”

  Ilanna’s head snapped up. “What?” Fear spiked in her chest.

  “The house you grew up in. The one I helped you procure the deed for a couple of years ago.” Allon searched her eyes. “Is that why you were there?”

  Of course. Ilanna’s shoulders relaxed. With his perfect memory, of course he’d remember that.

  She nodded. “I…I had to see it.”

  “But why did you go in?” Allon leaned forward. “What were you doing in the house?”

  Her fists clenched. Trying to save my child, you fool! The burden of failure and loss stole the strength from her legs, and she slumped onto the bed. Failing to save my child.

  She clenched her jaw so hard she thought her teeth would shatter. Her knuckles turned white, yet her hands trembled. She squeezed her eyelids to prevent the flood of tears.

  “Let me speak to her.” Another voice, an older, softer one, echoed in the room.

  “Uncle.” Allon turned to the newcomer.

  “Nephew.” Master Hawk slipped through the door and came to stand before Ilanna. “Leave us,” he said without taking his eyes from her.

  “But—”

  “I know you mean well, Allon. As does she. But right now, her House Master must have words with her.” Master Hawk didn’t raise his voice, but it held a tone of command tinged with anger. His message to the Hound was clear: he didn’t want Allon to hear him dressing down Ilanna.

  “I understand.” Allon crouched before Ilanna. “I’ll see you later?”

  Ilanna met his gaze. She’d intended to end things with him but hadn’t had the chance before the Lord Auslan job. She didn’t have the strength to deal with it now. She nodded and forced a half-smile. “Sure.”

  Allon’s grin failed to conceal the concern in his eyes, but he obeyed Master Hawk. Ilanna caught a glimpse of Jarl and Gorin standing guard at her door. No one would get past them.

  Master Hawk sat on the bed beside her. “How bad are they?” He thrust a chin at her hands.

  She stared dumbly at the bandages. “Don’t know.”

  “Do they hurt?”

  “Some.” She shrugged. “Sister of Mercy put some ointment on them.” With effort, she raised her eyes to meet his. “But you’re not here to make small talk.”

  “No, I’m not.” Master Hawk cast a glance at the closed door. “I wanted you to know…” He swallowed and spoke in a low voice. “I’m sorry. About the boy.”

  Ilanna’s eyes flew wide open. Panic set her heart thundering, and she jerked back from Master Hawk. “What?”

  Master Hawk gave her a sad smile. “You’re a damned good thief, Ilanna. Hell of a liar, too. Now Denber, he was just a good thief.”

  Ilanna’s breath caught in her throat. “D-Denber?”

  Master Hawk nodded. “Came to me a few years back, telling me a half-assed story about a job in Voramis that only you could do. Said it would take you a few months.”

  “I remember.” Denber had insisted Master Hawk knew nothing.

  “Problem is, I know you better than that. The only way you’d do a job that lasted months was for something big. And I mean Black Spire or Lord Auslan big. Not the few hundred imperials he turned over when the ‘job’ was done.”

  “You knew?” she asked.

  Master Hawk inclined his head. “Never had children of my own, but I’ve seen my share of pregnant women. You hid it better than most.”

  Ilanna sat in stunned silence. He knew! All these years.

  “W-Why…” She trailed off. She had no words.

  “Why didn’t I say anything?” The House Master scratched at his stubbled chin. “You wanted to keep it a secret. Not just from your House, but from the whole Night Guild. Life hasn’t been kind to you. If it was me in your place, I’d want to keep my child from this life just the same.”

  He sighed. “Hurt a bit at first, you know. You not wanting to tell me.” He dropped his eyes. “But the more I thought about it, the more I realized you were doing right by the child. So I did what I could to help.”

  Ilanna’s jaw dropped. “How?”

  “Claimed the territory about Old Town Market as mine. Said I wanted someplace to play around, for old time’s sake. It kept the rest of the Hawks away. No one’s going to argue with their House Master.” Master Hawk’s lips quirked into a half-smile. “I kept an eye on the place, made sure none of the Foxes messed with it. And that they kept their hands out of that dark girl’s pockets.”

  “Ria?” The lump returned to Ilanna’s throat.

  “Ria, eh?” Master Hawk nodded. “Pretty name. Pretty girl, too. You could do worse, you know.”

  Ilanna glanced askance at him. How could he possibly know that I—?

  “To care for the boy,” he clarified. “I’ve seen few mothers who showed their own child half as much love as that girl did yours.”

  Tears burned in Ilanna’s eyes, and she turned away. She couldn’t bear to think of Ria or Kodyn. The pain was too much.

  Something Master Hawk said stuck in her mind. “You were watching Old Town Market? Does that mean you were watching me, too?” Does he know about my hidden cache? She’d broken no Guild laws by hiding Kodyn’s existence from the Guild. All the gold she’d stolen, that was a different matter.

  The House Master shrugged. “I spotted you a couple of times. You’re a damned good thief, I’ll give you that much.”

  Ilanna wrung her hands. What now? He knew her secret—part of it, at least. “Who else knows?”

  “No one.”

  “Master Gold?”

  “No one.” Sincerity burned in his eyes. “Not Jarl, not the twins, not even my own nephew.”

  Relief flooded her. The thought of Allon finding out about her secret twisted her stomach in knots.

  “Your secrets are safe with me.”

  She reached out and took his hand. “Thank you.”

  The House Master returned her grip. “It is my duty as House Master to care for my Journeymen.” He smiled. “The Night Guild doesn’t turn all men into monsters. Only those who yield to the darkness within.”

  Ilanna nodded. For a moment, they sat there, her hand in his. To her surprise, the contact didn’t bother her. Despite the roughness of his callused palms and fingers, his touch brought to mind her mother’s touch. Genuine warmth filled his eyes. He truly cared for her.

  Master Gold, the Guild Master, had tried to use her for his own ends. Her needs had aligned with his for years, so she’d allowed herself to be used. But all this time, Master Hawk had gone out of his way to help her.

  The House Master spoke in a quiet voice. “What was his name?”

  Ilanna looked up, startled.

  “Your son. What did you call him?”

  The tears stung Ilanna’s eyes again. “Kodyn.” A lump rose in her throat, and her voice cracked. She produced the scorched wooden figurine from her purse. “The Twelve Kingdoms word for ‘hawk’.”

  Master Hawk’s face brightened. “You…named him after the House?”

  Ilanna met his gaze. “After my mother’s death, my father made life a living torment. Then he sold me to the Night Guild. Master Velvet put me through hell. Sabat—Twelve, at the time—only made it worse. All I had was Three—Ethen—to keep me sane.” She smiled. “Then, on the day of the Choosing, I saw the banner of House Hawk. It wasn’t bright and colorful like all the others. It was simple, plain, and yet something about it called to me. I knew in that moment I wanted to be a Hawk more than anything in the world.”

  “I remember.” Master Hawk smiled. “I remember a frail, pale little girl with such determination to succeed that she shattered her fingers trying to prove she could do the impossible. I knew you were a Hawk before you stepped onto that balance beam.”

  Ilanna cleared her throat. “House Hawk gave me a home when I had none. Though disease took my mother and baby sister from me, your choosing me gave me brothers. Denber. Prynn, Bert, Jarl, and the twins. Even that pompous ass Conn. I’ve never felt happier than when I was flying across the rooftops of Praamis with the other Hawks.”

  “Then why leave?” The pained look returned to Master Hawk’s face. “Why not find a way to work within the Night Guild and still provide for your son? It’s been done before.”

  “I couldn’t. I had to put the Guild and this life behind me. After everything—Sabat, Ethen, Denber, the twins.” She shook her head. “I needed to get away from this as much as I needed to take Kodyn away.”

  “And now?” Master Hawk fixed her with a piercing gaze.

  Ilanna’s shoulders slumped. “I…don’t know.” Her voice cracked again. She’d devoted her time and energy to buying her freedom from the Night Guild, for Kodyn’s sake. For Ria’s sake. But now, with no Kodyn or Ria, what could she do? She’d wanted to build a new home, a new life, yet nothing remained to build it with. She had nothing but the Night Guild.

  Master Hawk arched an eyebrow. “I expected you’d be tearing the city apart to find out who did this.”

  The House Master’s words touched something her sorrow had been pushing to the back of her mind. The color of the flames. Green. Fire burned yellow, red, even blue and white. But never green.

  Old Town Market hadn’t simply burned to the ground. Someone had set fire to the marketplace and her house.

  Anger surged within her. Her sorrow over Kodyn and Ria’s deaths added fuel to the flames, until her rage blazed hotter than the inferno that burned her life to the ground.

  She leapt to her feet. “Damned right I will.” Her fists clenched until her knuckles turned white. “I will not rest until I get my hands on the person responsible. And when that happens, may the Watcher have mercy on them, for I will not.”

  Chapter 3

  Ilanna limped down the passageways that led to House Scorpion. The scorched flesh on her legs had stiffened, making each step agony. An incessant throbbing had settled into her burned hands. She almost wished for the painlessness of her mourning haze.

  But the time for grief had passed. Her sorrow wouldn’t bring Kodyn back. Or Ria. Their names were just two more on a list of those she had loved and lost. Her mother. Baby Rose. Ethen. Denber. Werrin and Willem. Prynn.

  Now, she had one focus: vengeance.

  Duke Elodon Phonnis, brother to King Ohilmos of Praamis, had hanged her friends and sent others to their deaths in the Field of Mercy. In retaliation, she had humiliated him by breaking into Lord Auslan’s vault—the most secure place in the city, or so he’d boasted. What she had done to him would pale in comparison to the hellfire she would rain down on whoever had set Old Town Market ablaze.

  She pounded on the double doors to House Scorpion, wincing at the pain that shot through her hands. A moment later, the face of a Scorpion apprentice peered out. “What?” His eyes widened at the sight of her.

  “Journeyman Darreth. Where is he?”

  The young Scorpion stammered.

  Ilanna pushed past. “Take me to him.”

  The gaping youth hesitated. He stared at Ilanna’s bandaged hands and head, her charred clothing, and the fire in her eyes.

  Ilanna lowered her voice. “Now.” The word held an unmistakable threat.

  “Th-This way.” The apprentice motioned for her to follow.

  Ilanna limped after the young man. She leaned into every step, wallowing in the pain of her hands and legs. She wanted to remember this torment; she would inflict it a thousandfold on the bastard who burned down her world.

  The young Scorpion stopped at a door. “Here.”

  Ilanna snarled and raised her bandaged hands. “Knock.”

  The apprentice did as instructed. Barely had the answering “Who is it?” echoed in the hallway before he took to his heels.

  “It’s Ilanna.”

  The door swung open. “Ilanna?” Darreth peered at her, his face wrinkled in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

  She held up her hands again. “Got anything for the pain and burns?”

  Darreth’s eyebrows shot up. “O-Of course!” He stepped aside. “Come in. Forgive the mess. I wasn’t…er…expecting anyone.”

  Darreth’s chambers were larger than hers, but the clutter covering the tables, chairs, shelves, and the small cot in one corner made it seem smaller. The Scorpion shoved a pile of clothing off a simple wooden chair and onto the floor. “Here, sit.”

  She obeyed.

  He sat on his simple bed and stared down at her hands. “How bad are they?”

  Ilanna grunted. “Bad.”

  Darreth unwrapped the bandages. His long, slim fingers moved with surprising gentleness. “So it’s true, what they’re saying?”

  Ilanna raised an eyebrow.

  “You were in the fire that consumed Old Town Market.”

  Ilanna nodded. “I was.” She searched his eyes. “Who told you about that?”

  “It’s the talk of the Night Guild. More than a few Foxes are missing, believed lost in the fire. A few Hounds as well.”

  Ilanna hissed as the bandages tugged free the crusted flesh. “Any talk about who started the fire?”

  Darreth’s brow wrinkled. “Arson, you think?”

  Ilanna’s hands closed around Darreth’s wrist. “Green fire, Darreth,” she hissed through clenched teeth, squeezing with such force he cried out. “Not a gods-damned chance it just happened.”

  He jerked his hands free. Ilanna winced again at the spike of pain in her scorched palms. Darreth stared at her, wide-eyed.

  She bared her teeth in a snarl. “That fire burned down something very dear to me. And I’m going to find out who set it. When I do…” She balled her hands into fists despite the pain.