A Thief in the Night
David Chandler
Enter a world of darkness and danger, honour, daring and destiny in David Chandler’s magnificent epic trilogy: The Ancient Blades.It takes a thief to destroy a demon…Circumstance made him a criminal.Destiny may make him a hero.As a thief, Malden is unparalleled in the Free City of Ness. But he has no desire to take up arms against the forces of horrific evil. By saving the life of the knight Croy, however, Malden has bound himself to an ancient, noble brotherhood…and he now possesses a magical weapon forged at the dawn of time – one of only seven swords capable of destroying demons.Malden fears accompanying Croy and the barbarian Mörget on their quest to dispatch a foul creature of nightmare…nor does he want to disturb the vengeful dead. But with an assassin on his heels, the young cutpurse is left with no choice but to follow. And there is the comely sorceress, Cythera, to consider – promised to Croy but in love with Malden – not to mention the fabulous treasure rumoured to be waiting in the inescapable depths of the demon’s lair…
A Thief in the Night
Book Two of The Ancient Blades Trilogy
David Chandler
Dedication
For G.G. and D.A., on the outer planes.
Contents
Cover (#ulink_97e2243a-a975-59fe-b5c6-22be88a7a0ef)
Title Page
Dedication
Map
Prologue
In a place of stone walls, attended by his acolytes
Part 1
Chapter One
A thin crescent of moon lit up the rooftops of…
Chapter Two
It was not more than an hour later when Malden…
Chapter Three
It was a long ride from the Golden Slope to…
Chapter Four
Malden grabbed a sack of coins from the wagon—Doral’s first…
Chapter Five
“Cythera should be here by now,” Sir Croy said, and…
Chapter Six
A flying tankard full of beer nearly struck Croy’s face…
Chapter Seven
“I think … they’re hugging each other,” Malden said. He…
Chapter Eight
Malden scampered up onto the roof of the tavern and…
Chapter Nine
There was no word Malden knew that could get Croy’s…
Chapter Ten
“I returned to the shaft many times, trying to plumb…
Chapter Eleven
“So of course, I told him to jump in the…
Chapter Twelve
Croy and Mörget set about at once outfitting themselves for…
Chapter Thirteen
If Malden wasn’t going on Croy’s grand adventure, he needed…
Chapter Fourteen
The hired paddock filled most of the space between two…
Chapter Fifteen
A drizzling rain rolled down Croy’s best loden cloak the…
Part 2
Interlude
Chapter Sixteen
The band of adventurers passed through King’s Gate without any…
Chapter Seventeen
