Blood of the Redd Guard - Part One (9 page)
Read Blood of the Redd Guard - Part One Online
Authors: Dan Decker
Did they know that Semal was here too?
She had to assume they knew about Semal and would go for him next if something hadn’t happened to him already. There hadn’t been any indication what Semal had done when Kyson had screamed, but she remembered how they’d been on top of him with a lantern and he still hadn’t noticed their approach. It was likely that he was still doing his research, oblivious to what was going on. She hoped the
old man had gone for cover, but wouldn’t have bet on it.
There was the sound of swishing fabric as the man moved back down the aisle towards her, his pant legs rubbing against each other. She lay prone against the side of the bookshelf and prayed that he wouldn’t notice her as he passed. When he continued by without even a glance in her direction, her breath caught in her chest. He did know about Semal and was headed towards him now.
Kyson moaned, the sound of it twisted her insides with terror and she took several steps back towards him before stopping. Moving out into the open now would be a mistake. The archer was still out there, waiting for her to show up. Going to Kyson would be as good as committing suicide.
Bloody Melyah!
she
thought, even though she knew it was the right decision, that didn’t keep her from feeling horrible. She wasn’t about to abandon Semal when there was a chance that she still might be able to save him.
Nelion noticed that her hands were sweaty again and wiped them on her dress before moving out into the aisle and following after the man. Afraid that Semal would be caught unaware, she increased her speed. She was less than ten feet away when her quarry turned into Semal’s row.
Cursing under her breath, she refrained from breaking into a full run because she wanted to keep her presence hid until the last possible moment. He couldn’t know she was coming or that would be the end.
Taking a deep breath, she locked her eyes on the bookshelf where he’d turned in. She was almost there.
When she got to the row the man was blocking the chair where Semal had been sitting.
She brought up her dagger and covered the last few steps in a blur of motion. When she stabbed the man in the back, he screamed out. By that time she had already grabbed his neck and wrenched her dagger free before using her weight to pull the man to the ground by stepping backward.
She went down on top of him, the full force of her fall positioning her dagger so that it tore into his chest. He grabbed for her blouse and she heard it rip. She twisted the dagger out and stabbed him, again eliciting a scream that froze her blood. The other intruder would come to see what had happened, she hadn’t thought of a plan to handle him. She needed to disappear into the shadows.
It was strange how things worked out. In all her time in Korew army, she’d never harmed a person. Now as a scribe, she was taking a life. She pulled her dagger out and was about to stand when somebody put a hand over her mouth.
She twisted and the dagger was halfway towards Semal before she recognized him.
“Melyah!” she hissed, stopping the dagger short. “Are you trying to get killed?”
Semal’s eyes took in the dagger. “Apparently so. By the gods, I’m out of practice. Come on, we have to get out of here.”
“Kyson is still alive.”
“We don’t know how many there are—” He was interrupted by shouting and footsteps spilling into the hall.
“Semal!” somebody called out. “Where are you? You know you’re not supposed to be in here.” There was a rush of feet
that sounded like men spreading out.
“Bloody marching Melyah,” Semal said. “As if we don’t already have enough problems.”
“You didn’t get permission?” Nelion asked, remembering how she’d asked the guards at the Inner Wall gate for directions earlier. That was what had tipped them off. She would have felt foolish for the error except for her mistake had saved their lives. Far better to be charged with trespassing than to get murdered.
Semal rolled his eyes. “We would have been turned away if I’d asked.”
“How’d you get a key?”
“That’s hardly the thing you should be worrying about just now.”
Nelion resisted the urge to hit him. How much trouble were they going to be in for sneaking into the archives? She searched her memory for what the punishment would be and could only come up with the five lashes caught for trespassing on a Radim army base.
“What have you gotten me into?” Stifling a yelp, she remembered that Kyson was bleeding to death on the floor while she was trying to figure out how much trouble she was in. “Kyson was shot—”
“Captain!” another voice cried, “I have a wounded man here.” A pause. “Strike that. He’s dead.”
When Nelion heard the words, she froze and found that she couldn’t breathe. She should’ve gone back to Kyson, instead of running away. Perhaps if she’d removed the arrow and stopped the flow of blood he would have survived.
She shook her head, her inexperienced hands would have killed him all the faster. She had done the right thing by hiding.
“By the gods!” Semal said, breaking into her thoughts. He bent forward and pushed back the cowl of the man she had killed. He was wearing a black mask with a row of small horns across the top. “This couldn’t get more complicated.” He took Nelion by the arm. “You have to go find General Adar Rahid. Bring him back. He must see this.”
What does Adar Rahid have to do with all this?
Nelion thought, trying to get a hold of her emotions. She had never met him but from what she’d heard, the man was arrogant, brash, and rude. Some of the stories she’d heard made her glad that Adar would be hard pressed to pass his trials to become Ghar. She hoped he wouldn’t even pass the trials to become Rahar. She didn’t want a man like that at the head of their government.
Kyson had liked Adar well enough and had said that her impression of him was wrong. “He’s not like they say,” Kyson had said. “He’s direct, sure, and determined, but you’d have a hard time believing rumors if you met him in person.”
According to Kyson, Adar visited Semal quite often but she hadn’t seen that happen. During the last several months since Nelion had taken this job, she’d never seen the two of them together.
Semal shook her. “You listening? Slip out past the guards, I’ll draw their attention.” He stepped out of the bookshelves and shouted. “I’m over here!” He looked back at Nelion and whispered. “Go, now!”
The complete novel will be published November 17, 2015.
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Blood of the Redd Guard - Part One
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Two
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Three
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Four
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Science Fiction & Fantasy
Blood of the Redd Guard
(Complete Novel)
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part One
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Two
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Three
Blood of the Redd Guard - Part Four
War of the Fathers
(Complete Novel)
War of the Fathers - Part Three
Thrillers
Black Brick
(Complete Novel)
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Dan Decker lives in Utah with his family. He has a law degree and spends as much time as he can outdoors. You can learn more about upcoming novels at
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