Guild of Thieves (Book 1) ✓

Ch.24 ~ 𝓐𝓷 𝓤𝓷𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻

Another four years passed and Jezamine was becoming an excellent thief, but so was the other Prodigy, Kaleb.

Ever since the day he made them do combat training, Jezamine never let herself show weakness again nor ever let herself come second to Kaleb. Any chance of friendship ended between the pair after that day and they both lived to be the best and make Caine proud.

But if Caine had to choose between his own daughter and the orphan boy, he would say he favoured Kaleb over Jezamine. Kaleb was much like Caine himself when he was ten years old. Jezamine reminded him too much of her mother. There were times when Caine could not tolerate looking at her because all he saw was her resemblance to Arianna. A reminder of the woman he sentenced to death for the Jewels of Arondale.

The Leader of Thieves couldn't deny that Jezamine was better than any thief in the Guild and she continued to surprise him by never failing a single mission. Kaleb was second to her but could out do Jezamine if the boy kept pushing himself to be better than her.

It was all a part of Caine's plan to make Jezamine the best of the best. If Jezamine ever failed he always had Kaleb as a spare heir to the Guild. It was harsh but the boy showed more potential for leadership than Jezamine ever has.

Either way Caine would have two thieves motivated to be the best by their rivalry between one another. It was perfect really, having the pair be enemies over being the ultimate duo. If they worked together they would outnumber him and he couldn't have that. As the years passed he did everything in his power to make sure the two Prodigies never became close to friends.

The Leader of Thieves lost his mind more and more each day with the ghost of Arianna haunting him. He was on edge all the time and on the lookout for the woman who never left him in peace. She was always standing in front of him, behind him, across the room staring at him or in his dreams. She was everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Caine sat in the small room staring out the porthole window, a storm cloud hung above his head. He could feel his temper flowing through his veins, waiting for the moment to be released. None of the thieves ever dared to interrupt him when he was in a mood, or push his buttons. Instead they worked hard to get each job done, including Kaleb and Jezamine. Both ten years old and better than all the thieves in the Guild put together.

Before starting his day, Caine grabbed a bottle of whiskey and unscrewed the lid, taking a huge swig of the dark liquor. It was the only thing that tamed his demons. After drinking half the bottle, he left the Meeting Room feeling the buzz from the alcohol hit his blood stream. He planned to trade with Sally and add more gold to his secret treasure room in the empty silo, now almost full. He would need to expand his treasure room for more space. Adding it to his list of things to do for the day.

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Jezamine sat on the roof of the Guild, observing the world around her as she soaked up the sun's rays. She saw her father leave the mill factory, slightly staggering into town on foot. She knew instantly the man has been drinking, and didn't approve of the foul liquor most of the thieves, including her father, liked to consume on a daily basis.

The Leader of Thieves was growing more unstable by the minute, and the only one to have the guts to speak out to the man was herself. No one else stood behind her even though she spoke out on all their behalves. Jez always seemed to stand alone against her father.

If the others spoke up and voiced their concerns for their leader, then maybe her father would see that she was against him. Each arguement always ended up the same way, being put on clean up duty. Jezamine learnt the hard way to keep her mouth shut and just let Caine be Caine like the others did.