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Chapters (122)
  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Map
  4. Prologue
  5. Part I - A Thief’s Ransom
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Chapter Thirteen
  19. Chapter Fourteen
  20. Chapter Fifteen
  21. Chapter Sixteen
  22. Chapter Seventeen
  23. Chapter Eighteen
  24. Chapter Nineteen
  25. Chapter Twenty
  26. Chapter Twenty-One
  27. Chapter Twenty-Two
  28. Chapter Twenty-Three
  29. Chapter Twenty-Four
  30. Chapter Twenty-Five
  31. Chapter Twenty-Six
  32. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  33. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  34. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  35. Chapter Thirty
  36. Part II - An Unquiet Crown
  37. Interlude
  38. Chapter Thirty-One
  39. Chapter Thirty-Two
  40. Chapter Thirty-Three
  41. Chapter Thirty-Four
  42. Chapter Thirty-Five
  43. Chapter Thirty-Six
  44. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  47. Chapter Forty
  48. Chapter Forty-One
  49. Chapter Forty-Two
  50. Chapter Forty-Three
  51. Chapter Forty-Four
  52. Chapter Forty-Five
  53. Chapter Forty-Six
  54. Chapter Forty-Seven
  55. Chapter Forty-Eight
  56. Chapter Forty-Nine
  57. Chapter Fifty
  58. Part III - The Crew
  59. Interlude
  60. Chapter Fifty-One
  61. Chapter Fifty-Two
  62. Chapter Fifty-Three
  63. Chapter Fifty-Four
  64. Chapter Fifty-Five
  65. Chapter Fifty-Six
  66. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  67. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  68. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  69. Chapter Sixty
  70. Chapter Sixty-One
  71. Chapter Sixty-Two
  72. Chapter Sixty-Three
  73. Chapter Sixty-Four
  74. Chapter Sixty-Five
  75. Chapter Sixty-Six
  76. Chapter Sixty-Seven
  77. Chapter Sixty-Eight
  78. Chapter Sixty-Nine
  79. Chapter Seventy
  80. Part IV - The Job
  81. Interlude
  82. Chapter Seventy-One
  83. Chapter Seventy-Two
  84. Chapter Seventy-Three
  85. Chapter Seventy-Four
  86. Chapter Seventy-Five
  87. Chapter Seventy-Six
  88. Chapter Seventy-Seven
  89. Chapter Seventy-Eight
  90. Chapter Seventy-Nine
  91. Chapter Eighty
  92. Chapter Eighty-One
  93. Chapter Eighty-Two
  94. Chapter Eighty-Three
  95. Chapter Eighty-Four
  96. Chapter Eighty-Five
  97. Chapter Eighty-Six
  98. Chapter Eighty-Seven
  99. Chapter Eighty-Eight
  100. Chapter Eighty-Nine
  101. Chapter Ninety
  102. Chapter Ninety-One
  103. Chapter Ninety-Two
  104. Chapter Ninety-Three
  105. Chapter Ninety-Four
  106. Chapter Ninety-Five
  107. Chapter Ninety-Six
  108. Chapter Ninety-Seven
  109. Chapter Ninety-Eight
  110. Chapter Ninety-Nine
  111. Chapter One Hundred
  112. Acknowledgments
  113. Excerpts from A Thief in the Night and Honor Among Thieves
  114. A Thief in the Night - Prologue
  115. A Thief in the Night - Chapter One
  116. Honor Among Thieves - Prologue
  117. Honor Among Thieves - Chapter One
  118. About the Author
  119. Books by David Chandler
  120. Copyright
  121. About the Publisher
  122. Cover

In a rarely used chapel on Castle Hill, a certain figure sat with a bottle of wine and a good book. He would not be sleeping that night—at least until he heard from his fellow cabal members, Bikker and Hazoth. When he was certain the ungrateful thief was dead and Ghostcutter was ready to be passed on to a new owner, then he might relax—but only for a moment, before the real work of the conspiracy began.

All across the city hymns were sung. They could be heard through every window and on every street corner.

Everywhere people made merry, or atoned for sins, or simply enjoyed the warm summer’s night.

And on Parkwall Common an ogre walked sedately across the grass and up unto the gates of Hazoth’s villa. The guards there challenged him and shouted for him to leave, but he ignored them, and all else. As if he’d found a pleasant place to spend the evening, the ogre sat down on the grass just beyond the gate, and watched the house with his massive, staring eyes. After a while he folded his hands in his lap. He made no attempt to enter, nor gave any sign of violence. Yet a lightning stroke touching the rose window would have elicited less surprise.

Chapter Seventy-Two

Chapter Seventy-Two

At the side of the house, Malden crouched with Kemper beneath a willow bush. He peered through the dark trying to see what was happening. There were torches guttering at the gate, and he could make out the ogre plain enough, but he needed to see how the guards reacted to Gurrh’s presence.

“Ye’ll know when it’s time, lad,” Kemper soothed.

“We need to be ready to move at a moment’s notice,” Malden insisted. “Are you prepared? You know what you must do?”

“Aye. Now quit yer jawin’. Look, there. Is yon bastard this Bikker ye’re so afeared of?”

“It is,” Malden said, grinding his teeth together. The big swordsman was leaning against the side of the villa, scratching at his beard. He did not look well pleased, which was comforting. He kept craning his head around the side of the house to see what the ogre was up to. Which was nothing.

Malden had foreseen this. It was quite possible that Bikker would see through this phase of the plan. The ogre couldn’t get through the barrier any more than Malden could. The guards were completely safe inside—and of course, they would be perfectly safe even if the barrier were lowered. Bikker might know the meaning of the runes on the ogre’s face and realize he had nothing to fear from the monster.