Inquisitor Vance smiled sadly. “There are two answers to that question, Arbiter. First, you have heard of my gift, no doubt. Do you believe in it?”
Beck nodded. Everyone knew Hironous Vance had inherited the witch sight from his mother, the ability to see into the future.
“And did Captain Morrass ever speak to you of an oracle he visited?”
“Yes,” Beck said. “It was you?”
“It was me. Captain Morrass asked me to look into the future for him. He wanted my help in building an empire out of nothing but water and criminals. I told him half of the truth. He could bring the pirates together, unite them, and win the throne he desired. What I didn’t tell him was that if he ever sat upon that throne, it would all crumble around him. A good leader in times of war does not necessarily make a good leader in times of peace.”
“Why not tell him the whole truth?”
“Do you believe he would have heeded my advice had I told him he would have to step down at the very moment that he acquired the throne?” Inquisitor Vance shook his head.
He was right. Beck had known Drake well by the end, and she knew there was nothing anyone could have said that would have convinced him to abdicate the throne. That knowledge didn’t make her betrayal hurt any less though. Months drifting about the Pirate Isles after the battle had tempered her anger, but they’d done nothing for the guilt she felt over carrying out her orders.
“What’s the second answer?” she said bitterly.
Inquisitor Vance snapped his tome shut and fixed the clasp that held it before standing and hanging the heavy book from his belt. He shuffled around the edge of his desk and approached the window that looked out over the City of Sun.
“I have seen the future of our people, Arbiter Beck. Not just our people, but all people. There is a darkness rising that has not been seen since before the Inquisition existed, and we are not prepared to face it.
“But I believe I have also seen a way for us to survive it. I need the Pirate Isles to be united, and I need them willing to fight on our side when the time comes. I am playing a long game, and Drake was but a pawn to be sacrificed for the greater good.”
“What about me?” Beck wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer. “Was I a pawn too?”
Hironous Vance glanced over his shoulder and smiled. “Yes. But I knew you would survive and return to me, Arbiter Beck. Your part is not yet done.”
Books by Rob J. Hayes
The Ties that Bind
The Heresy Within
The Colour of Vengeance
The Price of Faith
Best Laid Plans
Where Loyalties Lie
The Fifth Empire of Man
It Takes a Thief...
It Takes a Thief to Catch a Sunrise
It Takes a Thief to Start a Fire
Table of Contents
Part 1 – Batten Down the Hatches
Chapter 1 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 2 - North Gale
Chapter 3 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 4 - North Gale
Chapter 5 - North Gale
Chapter 6 - North Gale
Chapter 7 - North Gale
Chapter 8 - The Phoenix
Chapter 9 - Fortune
Chapter 10 - The Phoenix
Chapter 11 - Fortune
Chapter 12 - The Phoenix
Chapter 13 - Fortune
Chapter 14 - The Phoenix
Chapter 15 - The Phoenix
Chapter 16 - Fortune
Chapter 17 - The Phoenix
Chapter 18 - Fortune
Chapter 19 - North Storm
Part 2 – All Hands on Deck
Chapter 20 – Land's End
Chapter 21 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 22 - Fortune
Chapter 23 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 24 - The Phoenix
Chapter 25 - The Phoenix
Chapter 26 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 27 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 28 - The Phoenix
Chapter 29 - Starry Dawn
Part 3 – X Marks the Spot
Chapter 30 - Fortune
Chapter 31 - The Phoenix
Chapter 32 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 33 - The Phoenix
Chapter 34 - King’s Justice
Chapter 35 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 36 - The Phoenix
Chapter 37 - The Phoenix
Chapter 38 - The Phoenix
Chapter 39 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 40 - The Phoenix
Chapter 41 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 42 - The Phoenix
Chapter 43 - The Phoenix
Chapter 44 - The Phoenix
Chapter 45 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 46 - The Phoenix
Chapter 47 - The Phoenix
Chapter 48 - The Phoenix
Chapter 49 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 50 - The Phoenix
Part 4 – Dead Men Tell No Tales
Chapter 51 – Fortune
Chapter 52 - Fortune
Chapter 53 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 54 - The Phoenix
Chapter 55 - King’s Justice
Chapter 56 - Fortune
Chapter 57 - The Phoenix
Chapter 58 - North Storm
Chapter 59 - King’s Justice
Chapter 60 - The Phoenix
Chapter 61 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 62 - North Storm
Chapter 63 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 64 - The Phoenix
Chapter 65 - North Storm
Chapter 66 - The Phoenix
Chapter 67 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 68 - King’s Justice
Chapter 69 - North Storm
Chapter 70 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 71 - The Phoenix
Chapter 72 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 73 - The Phoenix
Chapter 74 - New Sev’relain
Chapter 75 - North Squall
Chapter 76 - Starry Dawn
Chapter 77 - Starry Dawn
Epilogue