Chapter 11, Della Villa:
The cooper’s guild compound gave little comfort or shelter from the elements. A huge pile of ash filled the center of the courtyard. Partially burned slats of barrels littered the edge of the fire pit. Della’s Black Knight didn’t need to explain the ramification of the pile. The first eyeless skull that peeked from the ash told Della all she needed to know. To her, it seemed the destruction of the coopers was complete.
She guessed every man, woman, and child that lived and worked for the coopers had been put to the sword. The only survivor, the young man nailed to the front gate. Left for dead, he defied the odds and survived, suffering until her Black Knight put him out of his misery.
Such destruction made little sense to Della. She could understand rage, reven
