In those early days, we all lost followers. It was painful, but they knew what they had gotten themselves into. There was fierce loyalty on all sides, in all followings. It took nearly a year, and many deaths and rampant fear in the slums, but the other Thief Lords finally reluctantly acknowledged me as a Thief Lord. But it was still an uphill battle. -writing on the cell wall Raven had never been in the holding cells of the Court House before. She had never been in the Court House before. She had never been anywhere near the Court House before. This was a new experience for her. She had…
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Raven, Chapter 19
The Thief Lords attacked in the middle of the day, when the underground is usually asleep. They almost made it to my bedchambers, but my followers stopped them. They threatened the Thief Lords’ lives, but I spared them. They should be thankful to me for that. I could have completely taken over the underground. But that only made them plot harder. -writing on the cell wall Deri was weaving in and out of carts and wandering people as he made his way through the Market District. It was just before dawn, but already the merchants and street vendors were coming out to prepare for the new day. He had streaked…
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Raven, Chapter 17
The other Thief Lords did not welcome the peace agreement. It threw the council for a loop, made it different. But they couldn’t avoid the fact that some of their followers were starting to join my following. You see, I paid my people. I gave them luxuries. I gave them a home. I gave them all they could want. They just had to follow me and be loyal to only me. That didn’t sit well with the Thief Lords, either. -writing on the cell wall She stood at her bedroom window, chewing on her lower lip. Her normally bright blue eyes were full of worry and her arms were…
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Raven, Chapter 16
The three remaining Thief Lords descended on me and my following one afternoon. Aven was smart enough to appoint guards and it’s a good thing he did that. We would all be dead if not for those guards. As it was, we barely managed to get the Thief Lords surrounded. Our peace agreement came out of that encounter. -writing on the cell wall It had been two days since Caidy had received the note from her friend. She hadn’t even seen Tyala since that morning when she’d left the note. She worried about her friend, but knew that, at least, Tyala hadn’t left without her. She still couldn’t believe…
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Raven, Chapter 15
My following continued to grow and grow while the other Thief Lords’ remained at status quo. I was pleased, but they were not. I didn’t know they were planning on killing me, but thankfully Aven is always thinking of these things and was smart enough to keep eyes and ears out to keep me safe. I owe my life to Aven. -writing on the cell wall Quin leaned against the desk as he gave his report to Corinn, his arms crossed over his chest. He spoke quietly and concisely, reporting what he had heard and seen hiding out near Raven’s cavern network. Corinn was leaning back in his seat,…
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Raven, Chapter 14
The Thief Lords couldn’t believe I would dare to kill two of their own. They were slow to accept me as one of them. I was only sixteen when I tried to establish myself. They only saw me as a girl trying to be one of them. But after I killed two of their number, they were a little more afraid. Still, it took two years to become a recognized Thief Lord. -writing on the cell wall It was starting to become easier to work with Onna as her adviser, but she missed Aven dearly. Her cat burglars had managed to steal his body from the city infirmary, where…
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Raven, Chapter 13
The Thief Lords opposed my claim. But the followers kept coming. I rewarded and paid my people. I treated them like people, not servants. Two of the Thief Lords came for my head. But they lost their lives. Their followers quickly became my own. -writing on the cell wall Lady Almi couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She couldn’t believe what she had been seeing. All she could do was stare into her daughter’s defiant gaze as the girl tried to explain what she was trying to do. Tyala hadn’t answered when she’d been called for supper. Lord Almi had asked his wife to see what was keeping their…
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Raven, Chapter 12
Aven and I worked hard to bring in loyal followers. They were shy of following a girl, but I proved myself to them. I was a good leader, kind, but firm, giving, yet demanding. My followers were steadfastly loyal. Finally, it was time to face the remaining Thief Lords to establish myself as one of them. It was Aven who gave me my new name. He put an “R” before his own name, to signify I came from him, and called me Raven.” -writing on the cell wall She couldn’t sleep. The sun had risen, but she couldn’t sleep. No matter what she did, she just couldn’t sleep. So,…
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Raven, Chapter 11
Aven took me away right away. He knew there would be trouble from the other Thief Lords. He wanted to protect me. So, he took me underground into secret tunnels only he and a few others knew about under the Sapphire District. There, we worked our magic and developed a following, a following Aven allowed me to lead. -the writing on the cell wall. Conducting her nightly business without Aven was strange. Everything seemed to be the same, operated the same. Aven had trained Onna well to be Raven’s next adviser. She had made the change as seamless as possible for Raven, but every time Raven turned to look…
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Raven, Chapter 10
Teryk trusted me. Perhaps a little too much. It was easy to get close to him. It was easy to slit his throat. I remember his eyes and his moving lips. They were accusing me, and all I could do was grin. I watched the light leave his eyes, and I had never felt more powerful. -writing on the cell wall Raven was inconsolable. She had barely made it back to the slums. She wasn’t even sure how she had done it or how she had gotten into her bed. She had lost her best friend, her lover, her adviser. Aven had meant everything to her and she had lost…