Bone Diggers (Paperback out now!)

Bone Diggers - Chapter Fifteen

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"How did you manage to strike out at the brothel?"

Daniel glared at Lance before he glanced back towards the rest of the guild that was gathered for a meeting.

It didn't matter if Daniel didn't find amusement, Lance sure did. So much so that everyone's side conversations were lost. "You can either pay for company," Lance said, weighing the choices on his hands. "Or apparently, you can bring your own now."

"You know that silk pillow on your bed?" Daniel asked.

Lance tilted his head trying to figure out where that came from. "Uh...yeah?"

"Good," Daniel said. "Because if you go on, I'm going to smother you with it."

An offended gasp reshaped Lance's mouth without much force. He pulled his hand up to hold his heart. "I'm starting to see why you weren't so lucky now."

Gael moved to the center of the room, and cracked his fingers. It was more of a nervous tick than anything. "Don Ambrogio Spinola Doria has come into town. As part of the Order of Santiago, I can't emphasize enough how important this event is. Unlike the rest of us, leaders like this nearly seem to vanish into thin air when not out mixing with the people. It's our duty to find out why he is here. His tie to the knights is apparent, and if he is planning anything, we need to know beforehand." He paused, gauging the room for interest, worry, or any other reaction. "I can't promise there will be any good drops to have, but I'm requesting volunteers all the same."

Daniel leaned forward in his seat. Silently considering the offer before tilting his head to towards Lance. "Shall we?"

"I do love annoying the knights," Lance said.

The day turned from sunny to gray. Daniel watched the clouds as the handful of thieves gathered around. Not everyone could, or even wanted to group up. Despite being a big guild, they generally worked in small groups, but those who did volunteer gathered again that evening.

The thieves blended in with the staff or shadows whenever they could. Daniel, however, had a different idea. There was a balcony that everyone else seemed to ignore. Why hide below when you could get a top down view? One simply had to get up there. Easy enough. Daniel folded his hands together, holding them low so he could boost Lance high enough to reach the railing.

Lance pulled himself up to the balcony before spinning back around, and reaching a hand down. Daniel took a few steps back to have enough space to run up the wall, and grab Lance's hand.

After being pulled up, he bounced to stand on the solid ground of the second floor. "Go team."

Lance smiled. "Allons-y."

The advantage of being up here became instantly clear. This floor looked over the first part of theater seating. Servers were buzzing around like busy bees from one patron to another. The knights didn't have the most members, but they definitely had the most money. It showed in how free the wine was flowing. Some drank up, while others just used the shimmering glasses and decadent food as a show of class.

Daniel focused on finding Ambrogio Spinola. As he searched the crowd from above, he spotted a woman with a green corset with black flowing skirt. Hadn't he seen that outfit before? A man walked up to her offering his arm, dressed to match. Daniel felt like he'd seen him before, too.

Then it clicked.

"Amilia." He felt like the word had been ripped from his lungs.

Lance fell in line with Daniel, line of sight following his friend's. "And the Don."