Redemption of Thieves (Book 4) Read Online Free

a handful of men deep in enemy territory with an overwhelming number of enemies and no possible means of return?”
    He rubbed his chin. “I wouldn’t suggest a handful. Make it a large enough party to do some damage. Let us show them we’re capable of striking back. Maybe it’ll put a little fear into them if we prove we aren’t going to remain helpless victims. I can’t swear this would put a stop to their raids, but if we show an ounce of their own cunning, they might learn to respect us as a force to be reckoned with.”
    I frowned. “There may be something to the idea. At any rate, I’ll certainly bring it up to the Praetor. All decisions are up to him. But I wouldn’t count on anything coming of it, if I were you. It’s a suicide mission. It might make a statement to the enemy, but the fact remains no one entering that portal is likely ever to set eyes on home again. Even if our people miraculously won their battle with the Skeltai on the other side of the portal—and that’s assuming the savages don’t have superior numbers on hand to replace their warriors as they fall—there’s still days or weeks of travel ahead of any survivors. We have no way of knowing the distance between wherever the portal lets out and the borders of the province. It’d be rough to cover enemy territory on foot, even for someone who knows his way through the Dark Forest. And I’m not sure such a guide is to be found. Certainly not in the little time we have.”
    “Ada could do it,” he suggested. “And of course I’d go too.”
    “No,” I said sharply. “I’ve lost too many friends lately. I can count the number of loved ones remaining to me on the fingers of one hand and have digits left over. No one is going through that portal unless it’s the Praetor’s Fists. He can throw away as many of his soldiers as he wishes, but I won’t let him waste my people on this. Anyway, Ada hasn’t been on the other side of the border since she was a child. I think she overestimates her ability to lead a band of men, many of them likely injured, back home again.”
    He frowned. “I think you’re under estimating Ada. She’s not one to accept failure and I’d be there to prop her up. She’d get us home one way or another.”
    “Enough. I’ve already said no and I don’t mean to change my mind.” I rose and snatched up my bow from its place on the wall. “Now I’ve got a message to deliver up at the keep. Our time grows short.”
    He walked me to the door. “Will you be accompanying the Fists?”
    “Not likely. You know Rideon doesn’t permit my presence in Dimmingwood.” I couldn’t hide the trace of bitterness in my voice.
    He nodded but there was a distant look in his eyes. I wondered what he was planning.
     
    * * *
     
    At the keep I was shown into a dark-paneled room I had never seen before and instructed to await the Praetor’s convenience. Fully aware a guard was posted outside the door, it never occurred to me to do anything else, although the idea of passing interminable minutes in this stuffy little room while I carried such vital information was frustrating.
    I controlled my impatience by studying my surroundings. It was a crowded but carefully organized room, dominated by a large elderwood desk at the center and a high-backed chair. Floor-to-ceiling shelves lined the walls, most of them filled with leather-bound books or stacks of scrolls. I was surprised to recognize one object displayed on the shelves. My knife. It was the very one I had so recently used in my attack on the Praetor, although the blade was now polished to a sheen and bore no remaining trace of blood or poison.
    I scowled. It was in keeping with the arrogant nature of my enemy to keep and display like a prize the weapon of his would-be assassin.
    I continued to scan the shelves. There were a few foreign instruments I didn’t recognize arranged among the books, such as a large, revolving ball on a stand with multi-colored patches and