Crown Thief by David Tallerman - Sample Chapters

peared, and I really did scream. I tripped backwards, as the stink climbed into my throat.

My hands found something cold and hard. I spun round, too close to vomiting to feel relief. I reached up. Sure enough, there was another rung.

I flung myself up the ladder hammered into the wall, discovered the trapdoor at its top by crashing my head against it. For one horrible moment I was sure it wouldn’t budge. However, one firm shove, with my hand this time, was all it took. I hauled myself the last distance, slammed the hatch behind me and flopped to the ground, panting blissfully fresh air.

I’d come out in a closed courtyard, hemmed in by three low buildings and a shallow wall on the fourth side. One of those houses must belong to the poor wretch who maintained this stretch of sewer.

Though it felt as if ages had passed, I couldn’t be far from the river. Likely I was somewhere in the Lower Market District.

Once I had my breath back and the worst of the sewer’s aftertaste had passed, I scrambled to the top of the wall to get my bearings. Beyond was a narrow alley, opening onto a wider concourse to my right and another passageway to my left. If neither looked entirely familiar in the darkness, I still had a fair sense of where I must be.

Having satisfied myself no one was nearby, I dropped down the far side of the wall. One advantage of my revoltingly unusual route into the city was that nobody would be eager to ask me questions. Then again, they might just skip the