I wait until I hear all seven of them-signaling that each crossing street and guarded rooftop has been cleared. There is nothing for me to do now except to hold perfectly still.įinally, an owl hoot comes. Though I could use the heat, I don’t dare risk the sound of my hands rubbing together. Here, I wait, watching my breath fog out in front of me in the slim moonlight. I give him a wink before crossing the gap to the next home. I put my finger to my lips, then toss a coin at the boy, who catches it without taking his eyes off me. I’ve been as silent as the dead, but I suppose to survive on the streets, one must sense when a threat may be nearby. I’m surprised when he turns his head in my direction. But there is only a street urchin-a young boy perhaps eight or nine years of age-searching through a pile of glass bottles. I hold my breath as I peer around the next corner, into the gap between this home and the next. I haven’t spotted a soul moving about, save Vordan’s men on watch.Ī tinkling sound stops me dead in my tracks. I slide down the street, keeping close to the roughly constructed townhome on my right. His questioning and inevitable torture will happen once we’re back on my ship. All I need is to get in and then get Vordan and his map piece out without alerting the rest of his men. The men in his employ number near one hundred, and there isn’t a united force stationed on this island large enough to dispose of them.īut I don’t need to dispose of them. It would seem he has no fear of living in plain sight. He bought the inn and pays the wages of all the staff, keeping it as his own personal stronghold. Vordan’s crew of pirates have transformed themselves into a gang of land thieves, preying on the inhabitants of Charden, the largest of the Seventeen Isles. The main entrance is composed of an impressive archway, a large sign depicting a sleeping bear jutting out from its top. I can see it now up ahead, a four-story structure with a near-flat roof and painted green walls. Vordan and his crew are living in the Old Bear Inn. My source inside gave me all the details I needed. We’re miles from the nearest port, and though I don’t have a way to replenish my abilities, I came fully stocked. Vordan thought to make himself safe from me by traveling inland. It’s taken me two months to track down the pirate lord and gather enough intel to infiltrate his holding.

I cannot see them, but I trust all of them to do their parts tonight. My own crew is spread out across the cobblestone streets, dispatching Vordan’s men one by one.

He is only the first of Theris’s-no, Vordan’s, I remind myself-crew who will die tonight. I catch the pirate before his corpse hits the ground and gently lower him the rest of the way. THE SOUND OF MY knife slitting across a throat feels much too loud in the darkness.

Daughter of a pirate king series