The Thief Queen's Daughter (16 page)

The beautiful woman sat up straighter in her chair.

“It’s been quite a while, now, hasn’t it, Ida? Come give Mummy a kiss.”

“Kiss mine,” Ida retorted.

The black eyes narrowed into slits, though the woman’s smile remained bright.

“Now, now, there’s no need to be unpleasant, especially in front of your friends. Mummy is very displeased with you, dear.”

“I’m cryin’ about that,” said Ida.

The woman exhaled. “Impudent as always. I’m glad to see nothing’s changed.” She turned to the other children. “Since my daughter has not seen fit to introduce me, allow me to do so. I am Felonia. You may refer to me as Your Majesty. Your names don’t matter—you won’t be here very long. I suppose Ida has told you all about me.”

“Actually, no,” said Char. “Ida doesn’t say much about anythin’.”

The Queen of Thieves nodded. “Good. I guess some of her training stuck, then.”

She turned back to Ida. “So to what do I owe the exceeding displeasure of your company, Ida? Why did you come back? I assume it wasn’t because I ordered you to.”

“Heck no,” Ida said bluntly. “Someone stole my Gwadd and I want it back.”

The Queen leaned back in her throne.

“Really,” she said, her voice thick with interest. “A Gwadd? You don’t say. Those bring a high price. I’m surprised no one told me that one was available. Well, I suppose I can arrange to find out who has it, and have it brought here. As a wedding present, perhaps.”

The only sound in the room was the crackle of the flames on the hearth.

“Er—wedding present?” Ven asked finally, unable to resist.

The Thief Queen turned, as if surprised to hear him speak.

“Well, yes,” she said. “You didn’t know that Ida is engaged?”

“I hope you’re joking,” Clemency said.

“Not at all. I believe that’s why she ran away this last time—it’s not unusual for brides to get cold feet. She is betrothed to a very lovely man, a very important and powerful man, no more than sixty years old, I’m sure. He took a fancy to her years ago, and has wanted to marry her ever since.”

“Her?”
Char demanded in disbelief.

Felonia shrugged. “So he has questionable taste,” she said offhandedly. “I learned a long time ago that people desire strange things for strange reasons. I don’t question those desires; I just use them to my advantage. This gentleman wants her. His cooperation will expand my business a hundred times over. A small price to pay to keep such an important contact happy.” Her eyes looked over Ida from head to toe. “Fortunately, it will take six weeks to get word to him, and for him to travel back here for the wedding. We will have to bathe you every day until then just to get the top layers of dirt off.”

“Ida bathes once a week at least,” Clemency said indignantly. “I’m her steward, and I make certain of it.” She glanced over at Ida. “At least when she’s out of jail.”

The Queen of Thieves nodded. “Her husband-to-be is a very particular gentleman, and an important ally,” she said, running the blade of her knife under the edges of her long fingernails. “He is very picky about cleanliness. I may have to have her boiled to make her presentable. But her hygiene, or lack of it, is no longer your affair, steward.”

“Surely Ida is too young to get married,” Ven protested.

Felonia rolled her eyes. “Oh, come now, that’s nonsense,” she said in Ida’s general direction. “You’re how old now? Thirteen? Or at least twelve, aren’t you?”

Ida shrugged. “I dunno. You were there when I was born, supposedly, and I wasn’t payin’ attention at the time. If you don’t remember, how am I supposed to?”

The thin man with the thin hair coughed politely from the corner of the room.

“Ida is eleven, mistress.”

Felonia waved her hand dismissively. “More than old enough.”

“That’s
sick
!” Char shouted before Ven could stop him. “A
snake’s
a better mother than you.”

The Queen of Thieves sat up straight, as if she had been slapped across the face. Her black eyes opened wide in shock, then narrowed as they came to rest on the trembling cook’s mate.

“What did you say?” she asked softly. Her voice was as silky as the black satin Clemency had admired in the Market, but with a knife’s sharpness hidden in it.

Even Ida, who had been maintaining an expression of insolence since entering Felonia’s chambers, looked alarmed for a moment. Then her face settled back into its customary smirk.

“Never mind him,” she said to her mother. “I want the Gwadd, or I’m not gettin’ married. And that’s final. Make the arrangements. I want my wedding gown to be pink. With purple lace. An’ a big white bow on the butt—I’ve always wanted one of those.”

The Thief Queen stared at Char for a moment longer, then returned her gaze to Ida.

“You’re planning to run off again, aren’t you?” Her voice was deadly.

“Neh,” said Ida.

“Well, while I admire your ability to lie without hesitation, even to me, I will make certain that you are unable to get outside the gates again.” Felonia turned to the thin thief. “Climb the tower and set the Screaming Ravens free.”

The man inhaled deeply, then bowed and hurried from the room.

The Queen of Thieves smiled at the children.

“The release of those birds is a signal to the constable of Kingston and all of his guards that a particularly dangerous and violent criminal is loose in the Gated City, attempting to escape. Such a warning is an extreme measure, and it terrifies the citizens of Kingston. They will shut down every possible exit, and man the top of the wall with archers, shooting anyone who attempts to leave. It frightens those who live in the Market as well; all the secret exits will be closed, too. Let’s all just wait here until that alarm has been sounded, shall we?”

Ven, Char, and Clem stared at each other nervously. Only Ida met Felonia’s eye defiantly, even as the hideous screeching began in the tower above them, then spread quickly across the city.

In the distance they heard Kingston’s guardian bells ringing wildly in answer.

All across the Gated City, doors began slamming amid shouts of alarm and the sound of running feet as the people of the Market of Thieves scurried into whatever shelter they could find.

The Thief Queen listened until the shrieking sound had died away.

“All right, then, Ida, go and have your bath. I will send for your groom, as well as for the Gwadd. And if you have any notion of escaping the city, forget it. You’ve just cost this Market a great deal of business and worry. They will not appreciate it, believe me. No one is going to help you.” She eyed Ven, Char, and Clem. “If you are her friends, you will help convince her of this. And if you have any of your own thoughts of escaping, please reconsider, for Ida’s sake. It is always unfortunate when one’s wedding guests die before the ceremony. It means fewer gifts.”

She signaled for the door to be opened. Two guards stood there, waiting, armed to the teeth. One was muscle-bound and as wide as he was tall.

The other had brown hair—and a hooked nose.

Felonia signaled impatiently. The guards bowed, then opened the door wider.

The children followed the guards out of her chamber.

Once in the hallway, the thief with the hooked nose took Ida by the arm. He nodded to the other guard, pointing in the other direction.

“I can’t believe you agreed to this, Ida,” Clem said as the second guard motioned for her and the boys to follow him. Ida just shrugged and walked away with the hook-nosed thief.

“You understand why she did, don’t you?” Ven asked when she was out of sight.

“She’s tryin’ to save Saeli,” said Char glumly.

“Yes,” Ven said as they fell in line behind the second guard. “And
you
—if she hadn’t spoken when she did, you would have been nothing more than a stain on the floor and a memory at this moment. Try to avoid insulting the Queen of Thieves again, Char, if you please—at least while I’m standing next to you. Just in case she misses with her knife.”

“She never misses,” said Clemency. “I’m sure of it.”

The guard jangled his keys in their direction.

“Just out of curiosity, Ven,” said Clemency, “Does everyone who spends time with you end up under lock and key?”

“It does seem that way, doesn’t it?” Ven replied. “Sorry about that.”

The guard gestured impatiently, and led them off down a dark passageway into the belly of the guildhall.

T
HE MUSCLE-BOUND THIEF LED THEM DOWN A VERY DARK HALL-
way to a small curved door with a grated window that was bound in steel. He took a long, thin tool from his pocket and jiggled it expertly inside the door’s lock. Ven heard a
click;
then the guard swung the door opened and gestured for them to go inside.

“Er, I need to use the head,” said Char to the thief.

The big man seized him by the shoulder and pushed him through the door. “There’s one in there,” he called after Char. Then he turned to Ven and Clem.

“Right,” Ven said, putting his hands up. “Thanks.” He went over to the door.

“Watch yer step,” the guard said.

The warning came a moment too late. Ven stepped into the blackness, tripped, and fell about two feet down to a dirt floor where Char was already sitting, dazed. He landed with a solid
whump.

In the dim light of the hallway they saw Clem’s shadow come into the doorway; then she was on the floor beside them, too. The door slammed shut, leaving them in total darkness.

“Well, this is just lovely,” Char said. Ven could feel his friend beside him, but the room was so dark that he could not even make out his shape. “Where do you suppose the privy is?”

“I hope it’s separate from the rest of the floor,” Clemency said from the other side of Ven, “but the way this place smells, I’m kinda doubting it.”

“Ugh,” said Char. “I guess I’ll hold it. How long ya think she’ll keep us in here?”

“I hope you can hold it for six weeks,” Ven said. “I doubt she’s going to release us before Ida’s wedding.”

“That’s
so
disgusting,” Char said. “It makes me sick to even think about it.”

“Poor Ida,” Clemency said. “I guess this all explains why she’s the way she is.”

“Well, it certainly explains why she’s so talented,” Char agreed. “She’s the bloody Thief Queen’s
daughter
. No wonder she can work impossible puzzle boxes an’ clean your pockets out from across the room an’ all the other things she can do.”

“And how she could be telling the truth when she said she has been in the Market a bajillion times,” Ven said pointedly. “You called her a liar, Char. You owe her an apology.”

“Guess so,” Char muttered. “I’ll work on that after I find a privy.”

Ven reached into his pocket and took out the king’s stone. The glow filled the dank little room, shining to all the corners, making the three of them wince until their eyes became accustomed to the light.

“Look around,” he said. “Maybe there’s a chamber pot or something like it. That’s what I had in the dungeon of the castle. That was a
much
nicer place than this, by the way.”

“Glad we have an experienced prisoner with us, anyway,” said Char darkly. He rose, sore from his fall, and walked gingerly around the small dirty room, until he came to the farthest corner. “Eeeuuuuw,” he said. “It’s just a Johnny-hole an’ a ditch. Never mind. I’ll wait awhile.”

“Now what do we do, Ven?” Clemency asked.

Ven set the light down on his lap.

“I guess we just wait Char’s ‘while,’ however long that is,” he said.

Finally they heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

Ven rose wearily to his feet. Weak from hunger, he snatched the king’s stone from the dirt floor and tucked it back into his pocket, dousing the light.

They heard the sound of the lock being picked. Then the door swung open.

The children flinched as the dim light stabbed their eyes.

A long hooked stick was lowered into the room. The dark shadow on the other end swung it toward Char, who took a few steps back. He tried to dodge, but was so weak and blind that he stepped into the path of the big hook. Caught around the waist, he barely struggled as he was lifted like a fish out of the room.

“Just lower the pole down, and we’ll grab on,” Ven called up as the shadow moved back into the doorway. “Believe me, we
want
to get out of here.”

“No funny stuff, now,” a gruff voice called back. The pole came straight down to where Ven and Clem were standing.

“You want next, or last?” Ven asked Clemency.

Clem just exhaled and took hold of the pole. With a lurch, she was pulled from the room and out of sight.

The door swung shut, taking the light with it.

“Hold on!” Ven shouted desperately. “Don’t leave me down here!”

He could hear the muffled protests of his friends beyond the door. It swung open again.

“Aw, quit yer yapping,” the guard called down to him. “The Queen just said ta bring the kids. She won’t miss one less beggar.”

“Drag ’im up,” another voice ordered. “Ya never know.”

“Awright,” the first voice said grudgingly. The pole was lowered again, and Ven took hold quickly, before the thieves changed their minds.

“Oh, man,” groaned one of them as they lifted him out of the hole. “This one’s a monster. Get movin’, ya fat thing.” He poked Ven in the back with the pole.

The three friends started down the hallway.

They were herded through many twists and turns, just like before, until they finally came to the deadly garden outside the throne room of the Raven’s Nest.

“Get in there,” the guard growled behind them.

In the center of the room were two enormous cages with metal bars, each as thick as the pole they had been pulled out of the hole with. In the middle of one of them sat Ida, her legs crossed, her elbows on her knees, her chin resting on her hands.

In the other cage, looking terrified, was a tiny Gwadd girl.

“Saeli!” the three shouted, running to the cage and looking in.

“Saeli, are you all right?” Clemency asked, her voice breaking. Ven and Char’s words fell over hers as they all greeted their tiny friend at the same time.

Saeli nodded, still looking terrified.

Ven glanced over his shoulder while Char and Clem talked in excitement to Saeli. Ida had not moved, and her expression had not changed, but he thought he saw a look in her eye that made his heart sick.

“Ida—you all right?” he called across the room. “Are they—uummph!”

A pole hit him squarely in the back.

One of the guards opened Saeli’s cage. “Get in ’ere,” he ordered.

Clemency scurried inside, followed by Char, who ducked to keep out of reach of the pole. Ven waited until last, watching Ida, but she didn’t respond.

The guard raised the pole again, and Ven stepped into the cage, still looking over to Ida as the door slammed shut.

“Well, good afternoon, my sweet little girl,” came a familiar silky voice from the garden. Felonia entered the brightly lit room, a bowl of purple grapes in her hand. “I’ve brought you a lovely snack.”

Ida leaned back and rolled her eyes. “Spare me.”

The Thief Queen looked at her disdainfully.

“I wasn’t talking to
you
,” she said. “You’ve caused nothing but trouble ever since you’ve been back. Escaping three times,
really
now. I hope you like your new cage, Ida.” She came over to the cage where the others hovered near the door, and bent down in front of Saeli. The little Gwadd girl shrank away.

“Here you go, sweetie,” Felonia coaxed. “Have some grapes—I hear they are a favorite among the Gwadd.”

Saeli looked to her left, and saw the hollow looks of hunger on Char’s and Clem’s faces. She looked to the right, and saw a similar one on Ven’s. Reluctantly she reached through the bars and took the bunch of grapes that the Thief Queen was offering. She pulled several loose, then reached out to Char with them.

Like a snake striking, the Thief Queen’s hand shot into the cage and blocked Saeli’s reach. “Ah, ah, not him,” she said sweetly, but there was a hard edge under her tone. “Just you. No need to waste food on guests who, hmmm, who won’t be staying long. Eat, dear.”

Saeli’s eyes narrowed. She handed the bunch of grapes back and shook her head resolutely.

Felonia crouched down until she was closer to Saeli’s height.

“Are you sure?” she asked. Her tone was deadly.

Saeli nodded.

The Thief Queen exhaled. “All right, then,” she said, taking the grapes back. She stood and walked back to her throne where the lush array of plants stood. “Deebuld, shoot the skinny one.”

Char’s eyebrows shot up, and his face went pale, as did each of the other children’s faces.

Quickly Saeli reached through the bars of the cage again.

The Thief Queen smiled broadly. She came back to the cage, crouched down again, and handed the grapes to the little Gwadd girl. Then she glared at the other three, who shrank quickly back against the far wall of the cage.

“Eat them now,” she said seriously, “so I can watch.”

Tears rolled down Saeli’s cheeks. She took one grape, put it slowly in her mouth and tried to chew, gagging slightly as she tried to swallow.

Felonia smiled brightly. “That’s it,” she said, pleased. “Keep at it, now.”

From the cage across the room there came a deep, disgusted sigh.

“It’s all right, Saeli,” Char said encouragingly. “We had tons to eat before we got in here.”

“He’s a liar,” said Felonia. Her expression turned smug. “But you knew that, didn’t you? You must eat to keep your strength up, little one. You alone have value to me in this room—you can be of great assistance with my darling plants.”