LADY HENTERMAN’S WARDROBE (Erescan 18th–24th—early summer)
Asti and Verci’s investigation of the fire led them to Lord Henterman, and inadvertently to Liora Rand, the spy who betrayed Asti to the Poasians. Their final confrontation left Liora severely injured, but she was able to control Asti’s broken mind, and escaped with a statue similar to the one they stole before. Major Grieson—Asti’s old handler—confides in Asti that Liora is part of a corruption in Intelligence. Liora has been working with Major Altarn, and is also connected to the Brotherhood, Lord Sirath, and someone called Crenaxin, the Dragon.
SHIELD OF THE PEOPLE (Erescan 26th–31st—early summer)
Dayne and Jerinne, with the help of Amaya Tyrell, prevented the corruption of the Parliament election by rescuing the Scallic ballots from the Deep Roots. The largest surprise was the election of Ret Issendel, of the separatist movement the Open Hand, which troubled Dayne due to Ret possessing a terrifying mystical power. Altarn was promoted to colonel, and prepared to begin the “Altarn Initiatives,” which included working with the Brotherhood, Crenaxin, and Ithaniel Senek.
THE IMPOSTERS OF AVENTIL (Soran 11th–19th—late summer)
At the Grand Collegiate Tournament, Veranix struggled to keep drugs off the U of M campus, but two imposter Thorns created trouble for him, including attacking the local Constabulary. Minox and Satrine came to Aventil to investigate, and became intertwined with the Thorn. Veranix discovered he can control Minox’s altered hand, and Minox can use it to control the Thorn’s rope. Minox learned Veranix’s identity as the Thorn, but decided to help him by providing files about Fenmere’s operation. Fenmere’s Poasian smuggling connections brought him a new drug, the more potent efhân. Satrine learned of the Altarn Initiatives, somehow tied to changes in the magic curriculum at the U of M.
A PARLIAMENT OF BODIES (Oscan 3rd–5th—early autumn)
Minox and Satrine investigated the Gearbox Killer, who left a monstrous device in the Parliament, which brought them to Dayne and Jerinne. Minox and Dayne were able to rescue most of the victims, and with the help of Verci Rynax, dismantled the device. Dayne knew the Gearbox Killer was Sholiar, but Sholiar outmaneuvered them all, escaping after torturing Minox’s Uncircled mage friend Joshea Brondar. Sholiar told Satrine the Brotherhood commissioned him to compose “a symphony of fear.” Minox faced an inquest regarding his untrained magic, especially his powerful altered hand, and was restricted from active duty. When Minox’s cousin Nyla was threatened by Sholiar, Satrine found Verci with odd help from Sister Myriem. Satrine stopped the abduction of children bound for someone named Senek, but Minox’s sister Sergeant Corrie Welling was taken and put on a slave ship bound for somewhere far from Maradaine. The slavers and the abductors had connections with Vice Commandant Undenway, who was behind much of the corruption in the Constabulary, including having Inspector Kellman under her control. Grieson told Satrine he had lost standing and resources in Intelligence, and to seek Verci’s brother if something happened to him, but Satrine had her own crisis with the release of her mother from prison. Jerinne learned the secret of Rian’s parentage, and Dayne, Minox, and Satrine agreed to work together to investigate the deeper corruption in the Constabulary and Maradaine.
THE FENMERE JOB (Oscan 13th–17th—early autumn)
Asti and Verci tried to keep Fenmere’s Poasian smugglers from using their neighborhood as an entry point, which connected to the Firewing mage house that had been built in the wake of the Holver Alley fire. Veranix came to their neighborhood to cut off Fenmere, and after an initial misunderstanding with the Rynaxes, worked with them to stop Fenmere and the Firewings. Asti’s mental state continued to deteriorate, drawing the attention of Poasian spies who believed he knew of a mysterious list. Verci built a special new bow and arrows for Veranix as thanks. The brothers learned that a project behind the fire involved building underground machine carriages, and began a plan to infiltrate and sabotage the project. Tarvis and Telly, street boys in the neighborhood, were grabbed by a monstrous beast calling itself Gurond, who brought them into the underground tunnels for the Brotherhood. . . .
PRELUDE
THEY HAD SHACKLED TARVIS TO the wall, in a dark stone cell, deep underground. Tarvis had no idea how deep. The giant bastard had taken him and Telly down, down through tunnels and steps, through places darker than any night Tarvis had ever known in the six years of his life.
That giant bastard. Gurond. Taller than anything Tarvis had ever seen. Skin that his knives just slid off of. Tarvis tried to kill him. Couldn’t. Couldn’t kill him, couldn’t save Telly.
There were voices in the dark, in the distances. The beast, with a voice like scraping a knee on the street. Other voices, old men. Couldn’t make out what they were saying.
And the other kids. Crying whiners, the lot of them. Tarvis could hear them, couldn’t see them.
The shackles were hard and cold. Small. Made to hold children. But they wouldn’t hold Tarvis. He was smaller than most, small even for a kid his age. He liked that. The bastards always underestimated him. Never expected someone like him to fight back. Never expected a kid as young and small as him to win.
He pulled in his thumb as hard as he could, twisted his wrist. Scraped the skin, hurt like blazes, but Tarvis didn’t give a rutting hole. Pain was nothing. After what the bastards had done to Jede, he didn’t give a rutting hole about anything, especially not getting hurt.
But he wasn’t going to let these rutting
