The Silent Heist: Shadowed Bonds, #1

By Brad Knight and Tom Cray

Previously published as Midnight Theft by Tom Cray. 

 

In the shadowed alleys of a realm ruled by intrigue and power, siblings Jorran and Aelis thrive in the art of deception. Jorran, the cunning elder, and Aelis, his audacious sister, are no strangers to the thrill of thievery. Their world of pickpocketing and night-time heists takes a perilous turn when a seemingly simple mark reveals itself as a princeling, leading to their capture and a sentence of death.

 

In a twist of fate, their execution is halted by the princeling, who recognizes their potential as tools in a grander scheme. The siblings are coerced into a perilous mission: to steal coveted jewels from a prince of Gavendia. Little do they know, their target and their captor share a bond deeper than rivalry, turning their quest into a mere plaything for royal amusement.

 

But Jorran and Aelis are not to be underestimated. In a daring gamble, they plan to outwit the princelings, seize the treasure for themselves, and escape into a future where their cunning could make them legends. Amidst a world of royal whims and dangerous liaisons, will the siblings emerge as master thieves or find themselves ensnared in a game far beyond their control? The Silent Heist is a tale of cunning, betrayal, and the unbreakable bond of blood, inviting you into a world where even a simple heist can unravel empires.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brad Knight
• Release date: Nov 24, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223878292

Book preview

The Silent Heist

Shadowed Bonds: Book One

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by Brad Knight and Tom Cray

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © First published 2016. This edition 2023.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in book reviews.

Table of Contents

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1

The sun rose that morning over the city of Rajas and lit up the sky. The river, where the older part of the town overlooked, was a bright red that day. It came from the clay and sand washed into it upstream. The river would flow to the sea, another five hundred miles away, but it was the source of life for the people who lived on its banks.

Rajas was one of the oldest cities on the continent. No one really knew how long it stood there. The eldest residents talked of the days of the last prince who ruled and compared him to his son unfavorably, but only in hushed tones. The prince has spies everywhere, who were paid to report disloyal words to him. From time to time, subjects were hauled in front of the court in his palace to answer for their remarks. Most of the time they were dumped back on the street with a sign around their necks, but sometimes they disappeared into the dungeons or work crews and were never seen again. It wasn’t a good idea to upset Prince Rammah.

That morning, Jorran and Aelis were on their way back from a successful night of opportunity and acquisitions. Their informants told them where they could acquire a whole selection of rare stones and silver from a careless member of the merchant class. It turned out to be more lucrative than they imagined and the two spent an entire evening cleaning out the stock he hid from the tax assessor. The informant was paid handsomely. They made certain no one saw the cart they chartered to take the goods away to the fence. Their fence almost fell over himself with joy when he saw the load they laid before him. They left with enough money to live off for the next year.

Jorran was twenty-eight years and his sister, Aelis, twenty-one. They lived in the back of a cave system just outside the protective walls of the old city. Since Rajas had not known a siege in two generations, the poor section of the populace saw no issue in living at the back of caves that spanned the hills near the river. So long as you dug out your space above the high flood line, there was no trouble in living there.

The inhabitants of the caves watched out for each other, as everyone inside Shehatta Cave was involved in the same profession. They took part in the acquisition of goods so they could resell them. That the goods might be acquired in the middle of the night when no one noticed was a small matter of no concern to their neighbors.

Jorran was tall and towered over most of the cave dwellers at his six foot height. His hair was long, unkempt and jet-black. Most of the time he wore the standard tunic and cotton pants favored by the men in the city. His sister, Aelis, was much shorter, barely five feet, as she favored their mother’s people who came up from the south. She had the same black hair and green eyes of her brother. The wrap she wore served to keep the sun off her head and her face from the sinful eyes of the men who leered. It also permitted Aelis to find easy marks for their acquisition business, which was very good as of late. Many merchants traveled to Rajas from the west and were careless about how they stored valuables.

This particular haul they’d scored was from a merchant who worked the trade between their nearest competitor city of Gavendia. The other city was located on the edge of a dense forest, but still on the same river. It was further upstream, at least ten days by land across the barren desert from one oasis to another. The trip from Rajas to Gavendia came to an end where the traveler would find a large savannah, which bordered the jungle. Once past the savannah, the jungle began and with it the walled city of Gavendia with its smaller towns on the outside.

One of the reasons there had been no wars between Rajas and Gavendia was the link between the two families that ruled them. They were related by distant bloodlines and the two dynasties respected each other. However, they were rivals in trade and influence over the other cities on the continent.

The merchant from Gavendia was wealthy from the jewel trade between the two cities. Gavendia created most of the fine jewelry used through the land. It was identifiable everywhere as the product of a superior craftwork. The prince of Gavendia made most of his income from taxing the trade, which the jewelers tolerated as he provided the guards and security that kept their fair city safe.

Rajas, on the other hand, was home to the traders who would bring in the rings and bangles from Gavendia. They would trade or sell them in the vast markets, which were protected between the city walls.

Gavendia was close to the sea and located on a deep port that allowed large ships to anchor at its docks. The prince of Gavendia made certain the transactions were counted and taxed as he had an army and government that depended on the trade. Tax fraud was a major offense and the public square had its whipping post to deal with malefactors.

The jewelry horde was vast and included polished and uncut stones. When they opened the secret room, Aelis almost fell over with excitement as she looked at the display before her. Jorran ran his long fingers over the various ruby and garnet stones before him. Her hand trembled as Aelis produced a small magnifying glass from under her robes and examined the fine stones before her piled on black velvet.

This isn’t supposed to be here, Aelis, commented. There is no reason to leave so much valuable merchandise around. It has to be the largest haul we’ve ever found.

Who’s complaining? her brother asked her. Do you see this pile? It’s uncut diamonds. I don’t even want to speculate how much money it represents. He lit a candle and placed it in a lantern while the light from it shone over the stones before him.

None of these are set, Aelis brought up as she looked at the display. Did you notice that? He’s found the smallest and most valuable things he can transport. Who would notice these stones if he placed them in a larger shipment? Most of what comes from Gavendia is set in rings or necklaces. He might be taking stones there and the prince doesn’t even know.

Be glad for surprises, Jorran told his sister. We haven’t had much luck these days. Remember that old safe we found in the back of the temple? It didn’t have a thing in it anyone wanted. Even the scrolls inside it were worthless. I’m not complaining this time.

2

Their fence was a small man who wore a knitted cap and received them behind his pawnshop near the main market square. He owned the small place. It did a decent amount of trade with people who wanted to pawn their few possessions for enough money to get them by until their finances improved.

Several times, he’d put money up for expeditions to the interior of the continent to trade with the strange nomads who traveled between the valleys and plains. Most of the time they came back with a profit for everyone, but on several occasions the expeditions were never heard from again. These days he was happy enough to make purchases from the thieves. They worked their trade near the merchant stalls and resold them outside the city. His business was small enough not to attract the attention of the city watch, but large enough for him to afford a nice house inside the city walls.

So what have you for me today? the pawnbroker, whose name was Worthy, asked the brother and sister as they met him in the backroom of his shop. He lived over it during the week as he sometimes met his clients in the middle of the night. He needed to greet them at any time.

He’d met the two when they knocked on his door with their own special code: three quick knocks, followed by four short ones. A servant answered the door and fetched his master when he saw it was the brother and sister team. They’d been there many times before.

Tell me if you think what we have here, Jorran told him as he brought out the bag he’d concealed under his robes, is worth your time. He sat the bag down on the table and emptied the contents on the table in front of Worthy.

Where did you find all this? the fence gasped. I don’t know if I have enough funds to cover it all. He picked up one stone at a time and began to examine them in the light of a candle.

We have our sources, Aelis said as she pulled the veil off her head. We can’t give them all away. Don’t worry, we didn’t clean the mark out. He has much more and won’t notice for a while. She pulled out a large cut diamond from her sleeve and placed it on the table in front of the fence.

Please tell me you didn’t rob the royal storehouse. I can’t know about this if you did and you’ll have to leave. They could tell the very thought of missing this deal caused him pain.

You needn’t worry about that, her brother cut in. We are not as foolish as to rob from the prince. This is from someone who has hid his treasures from the tax collector a long time.

I still am concerned, Worthy said as he picked up a cut ruby and admired it in the faint light. If it’s not supposed to exist, I have to worry someone very powerful owned these gemstones. Someone with enough resources to hunt you and me down.

Not powerful, but foolish, Jorran responded. Someone who thinks he’s above the prince’s law. Someone who is careful, but not careful enough.

None of us play by the prince’s rules, the fence pointed out to them. But we know how close to the line we may come until the swordsman comes for a visit. He referred to the popular term for the prince’s executioner.

This one obviously doesn’t, Aelis replied. She looked beautiful in the eyes of the fence, as Aelis sat in the chair to his right and untied her hair.

Most of the women covered their heads in public in the city of Rajas. There was no ordinance which commanded it, but the women who did so followed local customs. Some even hid their faces with a veil. There were even men who had no idea what their in-laws looked like under the veils. It was an old custom that appeared to be dying out from the number of women in public who no longer saw any reason to conceal their faces.

I don’t have enough money to cover it all, the fence told them before he left the room. I’ll have to get the rest from my banker tomorrow. This is what I value it at. He handed them a piece of paper with a number written on it.

A few minutes later, he returned with a bag.

And this is all I can give you now, the fence said as he handed the bag to the pair. You will see it is half of the sum I have written down. Return tomorrow at this same time and I will have the rest.

3

Their parents disappeared from the city when they were very young. Jorran was sixteen at the time and his sister was only nine. He tried to put the painful memory out of his mind as it caused him no end of grief. They were the only two children in the family and he still remembered the day they came home to find their uncle on the front steps of the small house where his parents lived. His aunt was there too and that was when they knew something was terribly wrong. Their parents didn’t have much to do with that side of the family and only saw them every year at the water festival on the river.

Jorran and Aelis’s parents were stonemasons who worked on the large temples and civic buildings. The prince would commission them when his coffers were full. Other times they did repairs on the existing edifices inside the city. Sometimes he and his sister would accompany their parents to the building site and find a place to play while his parents prepared another block for construction. His mother was a small woman who drew up most of the designs while her husband would spend the day chiseling out the raw blocks of stone brought to him. On occasion, Jorran’s father would show him how to make the right cut while his sister helped her mother by sharpening quills and emptying the inkpots.

The stonemasons were a powerful guild in the city and tended to marry into each other’s clans. They were known to travel all over the land to whatever city needed them for building projects. Their positions were hereditary and they had their own meeting halls and schools. Although not the wealthiest members of the city classes, they still held a lot of pride. Even the symbol of their profession, a gold chisel and hammer, reflected their self-esteem.

To this day, no one knew what happened to their parents, although Jorran would hear whispers from former friends and family members whenever he was around. They would point at him and Aelis, then talk in hushed tones. Robbery was one suspicion, but nothing of value was taken. The small safe his parents used to keep their funds in wasn’t even disturbed.

Jorran was sent with his sister across town, in a carriage his parents chartered, to spend the day with another stonemason family. When they returned, both of their parents were gone. Someone had called on their shop in the middle of the day and found it empty. The plans and designs, all carefully traced out on papyrus, were thrown across the storage room, but this was the only sign of violence. A few of the local neighbors ran to the nearest relative, which the local watch commander remembered from years ago. He was summoned, and it was the younger brother of Jorran’s father who greeted them at the door.

Aelis thought about it too as they talked to the fence. Life was very hard afterwards. Their parents were never located, even though the city watch claimed it did everything possible to find them.

Aelis didn’t like to think about that day. She remembered the excitement over the visit to the stonemason family on the other side of the city and how she enjoyed playing with the other kids. She made a new friend that day and expected to go back and see her again. But it never happened because she and her brother returned to an empty house. By the time they arrived at the house their parents owned, their aunt and uncle were shipping out everything as they needed to present it all before the city assessor. The next day he showed up and counted it all. Gone were her toys and dolls, never to be seen again. She asked her aunt about them once and was abruptly told they were lost in shipment. Years later, she realized they were sold to pay for her and Jorran’s upkeep.

She was moved into a small bed sitting room in the back of her aunt and uncle’s house. Both were expected to earn their bread by working in the family shop. Instead of the small but meaningful work they did with their parents, the two were forced to haul blocks of stone. They constantly ran odd jobs for their relatives. At the end of the day, the other members of the family were served food before it reached the foundlings. Their aunt and uncle never let them forget they were inherited.

Aelis remembered how her aunt took great displeasure in her very existence. One day she dropped a cup and broke it. Aelis remembered her aunt slapped her and yelled, Why didn’t they take the lot of you? She would’ve struck her again, but Jorran appeared at the doorframe and starred his aunt down. Aelis learned to be careful with cups afterwards.

It grew worse over the years. Their relatives treated them as if they were slaves by the time she was ten years old. Reduced to wearing rags, Aelis spent most of her time sweeping the floor and lived in fear of her aunt’s boot and uncle’s bark. She prayed for the day when she could leave the house of pain.

There wasn’t much else she could do but try to hope the future would turn out better. Once Jorran had