Free The Crimson League (The Herezoth Trilogy) by Victoria Grefer Page A

accomplished when frightened. Maybe, she thought, she was cut out for this work after all.
    The going was slow. Ranler led the group, but when they neared the house he let the brothers overtake him, and after what felt like hours the four Leaguesmen reached the broken window. Soundlessly, Lanokas and Menikas took stations on either side of it. Kora was far enough off that glancing up she could see two men in uniform, black uniform, sitting at a table with books, stray pieces of parchment, and two iron candlesticks. Lanokas looked at her and mouthed, “How many?” Kora held up two fingers.
    Menikas dared a glance inside; the guardsmen kept to their work, flipping pages, taking the occasional note. After a second he drew back and signaled Lanokas. At Kora’s nod, both nobles peered in as Menikas had done before and waved their hands. The candlesticks lifted off the table and collided, with a sickening thud, with the soldiers’ skulls, giving them no time to cry out. One slumped forward on the table, while the other toppled sideways. The candlesticks dropped with a clang.
    Lanokas jumped through the window. The others followed. Kora noticed, with mixed emotion, that the guardsmen’s chests were rising and falling evenly. Would the League finish them off? Would Menikas order Kora to? She couldn’t, she wouldn’t …. But what if the men…?
    “They might come to,” Ranler barked. “Tie them up.” Lanokas had ten feet of rope at his side and cut off some stretches for Kora, who tied the man still sitting in his chair. She bound his wrists, praying the task might be a sign no one would kill him. Why trouble with rope and knots if they meant to slit his throat?
    Kora moved on to his ankles; one was missing. An elite guardsman with a wooden leg? No wonder he was here and not part of the hunt. She tied his ankle to the false limb and then his upper body to the chair back. To look at him made her nauseated, but she could not pull her ey es away.
    She studied his face. H e had thick gray hair, matted with blood where the candlestick had struck him above the temple, and a silver goatee that looked dull against his uniform’s fresh black dye. He had seen some action in his day , as scars peppered his right cheek and ran down his arm.
    In the meantime, Menikas had helped Ranler hoist the other man back up, so Lanokas could bind him. They had only just finished when another guardsman entered, attracted by the noise.
    Kora could tell at once why he was one of the elite guard. He held his sword ready and reacted immediately when Ranler shot an arrow, dodging the projectile by flying straight up. He hovered for a second, taking in the scene.
    Kora aimed the crossbow she had lugged through the fields. The guardsman, who was twice her size, lunged at her from six feet up before the brothers’ magic hurled him back against a bookshelf, the only one present. The piece of furniture collapsed, sending planks of wood and piles of tomes crashing down on him. Menikas guarded the door while the others dug the soldier out. When they reached him, Ranler felt his neck for a pulse.
    “No need to tie up this one. We can use his sword, though,” and the thief pulled the blade from the pile.
    The head of the League said, “I’ll search the house, with Ranler, make sure there’s no one else. You two stay here and find out what Zalski’s after. We’ll knock along the wall when we head back.”
    Kora scanned the room she stood in, her companions’ footsteps ringing in her ears. The place was completely derelict. Rot had set into the floorboards, and two wooden posts that supported the ceiling had splits and grooves. The only furniture beside the table and chairs was the wreckage of what used to be the shelf.
    Lanokas went through the pile of books, while Kora set eyes on the table. She set down her crossbow and grabbed the parchment one of the guards had been writing on. It was a list of places in the area, most of which had substantial