Blood Oath and Moonlight

y was b

s of blood pouring through the gutters - but in the slow, methodic

Black Dagger rackets burned to the ground. Nobody admit

own and his eyes ope

melled faintly of cigar smoke, though Veyra hadn't lit one yet. He sat behind his desk, one

y," Veyra said w

utral. "You sent me to

fted, sharp as broken glass. "But the truth I'm hearing is t

k. "I go where t

er, Kael. Smart. Careful. Loyal... so far. But if I start to think

n't for

"Good. Then this sh

ss the desk. Kael opened it. A name was

en V

htened. "He's

ake his place. A man named Darius Vael - Liora's brother. I want you to fin

ed in his ears. "T

ened, cold and ce

f he refused, Veyra would start asking questions he couldn't answer. If he obeyed, he'd put

ll tower that night, his mood

laced with a long black coat that made her loo

like hell,

me a job," K

nd

. "Your brother

not immediately. But he saw the

you do?" she

ng about it

Kael. If Veyra suspects y

ice. "And if I kill your brother,

The wind rattled through th

dealings. He's... different. But if he's a target

e find him fir

t much, but enough. "A

way through the old merchant district, where boarded-up windows and locked doors hid watchful eyes.

g chess with himself by candlelight. He looked nothing like Li

ling warmly. "And you

el," Liora said. "H

't miss t

n set down his chess piece. "Th

You're in danger. We need

his head.

ne," Ka

idn't

utters. Then Kael caught the glint of movement on the rooftops

e's men," Li

"Guess we're not tak

ld. Kael slashed upward, catching it across the chest, but it barely slowed.

roken plank from the street and swung it like a club

s lunging from every angle. Kael's muscles burned

to the open square, the a

ra. "That feel like

s grim. "No. That

of the neutral quarter - an old tavern whos

d to Kael. "You've just made yourse

my life,

d carried out Veyra's orde

rying your broth

ething unreadable in her eyes. Then she tu

war between the syndicates was no longer a shadow game - it was moving into the streets. And

o him first - Veyra, the Red Fan

t the silent war ha