The Vengekeep Prophecies by Brian Farrey Read Free Book Online

shoulder, making my way through the thick crowd until I reached the base of the water tower. I leaned against one of the tower’s three legs. It gave a shudder and a creak. I grimaced, hoping that my own clumsiness didn’t bring the whole thing down on top of me in the middle of the operation.
    From my vantage point, I could glance left and see Nanni and Aubrin, doling out their stew with smiles and humble thanks. Not far from them, I spotted Maloch and one of the stateguards, who’d no doubt been assigned to keep a discreet eye on Nanni and make sure she wasn’t bilking anyone. They were doing a lousy job of being discreet.
    Shaking my head, I turned to the right, where I had a perfect view of Lek’s butcher shop. Lek stood behind his counter, chopping away at a side of meat with an enormous knife. His workers scrambled, filling orders from the customers who choked the entry way.
    Moments later, I saw Da appear on the corner of Lek’s shop. He looked over a featherless gekbeak, as if trying to decide if it had enough meat for dinner. He sent only a scant glance my way, touching his temple to signal me that he was in place.
    Over at the singemeat stew table, sales had slowed. Nanni stoked the fire beneath her kettle as Aubrin added a tub full of vegetables to the bubbling stew. I waited until Nanni looked directly at me and I touched my temple. Nanni touched hers in return and I saw her say something to Aubrin. My sister casually reached over and threw the small satchel of winkroot I’d given her onto the fire.
    After a moment, I heard a low pop and suddenly great columns of thick, black smoke began to billow out from under the kettle. Nanni stepped back, her eyes widening.
    â€œWhoo!” she screamed, like a demented gekbeak. “Whoo!” She flailed her arms and ran in place, her panicked cries drawing curious stares. Soon, everyone was noticing. The smoke had grown so heavy that it consumed Nanni’s tiny stand.
    Heads turned. The din of conversation became alarmed shouts. One man came at Nanni from behind, either to calm her or get her away from the encroaching smoke. But Nanni stood her ground and became more frenzied.
    The merchants near Nanni came over with buckets of water, waving at the smoke to determine just where the fire was. It grew harder and harder to see Nanni or anyone on that side of the Promenade. As more people gathered, I caught a flash of red hair and knew Aubrin was weaving her way through the crowds, helping herself to whatever wasn’t firmly attached.
    The customers at the butcher shop had cleared out, turning their attention to the scene Nanni was making. Da feigned interest but he was really watching Lek, who’d stopped chopping meat to gawk at the fuss with an intense stare. As Lek stepped away from his shop to join the onlookers, Da made his move, disappearing behind Lek’s counter.
    Over the years, everyone in the family had taken turns spying on Lek. We could fill books about his every habit, every quirk. We knew he ate sanguibeast steak the first of every month. We knew his favorite color was yellow. And we knew he kept the key to his vault on a ring behind the meat counter.
    Honestly, if someone that wealthy was going to make it so easy for us, he was practically begging to be robbed.
    The smoke continued to envelop the crowd, and I knew that Nanni must have thrown the second satchel of winkroot onto the fire. The people closest to Nanni’s stand were gagging and backing away, their curiosity turning to fear that this was something more than a boiled-over kettle. Da was running out of time. I looked back at the butcher shop and saw his fist shoot up in the air, thumb raised and wiggling. The signal for “I need you now.”
    Head low, I moved against the gathering throngs toward the butcher shop. I ducked behind the counter, where I found Da on his knees. He’d snagged a big, roughly hewn key that could only be used on a vault