Death and Honor: Book 2 of 2 (14 page)

“I promise I won’t disappoint you.”

“I know you won’t. Get some rest, we leave in the morning.”

Xander left Sorren’s room and returned to his own. On his new mattress was another scroll. Xander’s hands trembled as he unrolled it. The message was short. It said: Finish the mission then he’s yours. It was signed with a G.

At last, at last he had permission kill the pig. For the first time since Anika’s death he slept in peace.

T
he ship arrived
at the docks of the city of Isis around noon. They sailed south for a little over two weeks. Xander laid back in his hammock and put his arm over his eyes. Seventeen days trapped on a ship with a man he planned to kill. Worse, Sorren wanted to regale him with stories about the city. Sorren was born in Isis and worked in their thieves’ guild before the Shadow Hand recruited him. Tonight they planned to meet the guild master, who happened to be Sorren’s best friend. The two of them having join the guild together and work their way up the ranks. Tonight would be their first meeting in several years. Sorren was so excited you’d swear he was a little kid instead of a middle-aged killer.

There came a knock on his door and Sorren poked his head in. “It’s sunset. Ready to go?”

Xander rolled out of his hammock, belted on his sword, and slung a light pack over his shoulder. “Ready.”

He followed Sorren off the ship and down the docks. The guild master said to meet him in a particular alley a safe distance from the mark’s location. While they walked through the dark city Sorren inflicted more nostalgia on Xander. He robbed a street vendor here, committed his first murder there. Xander almost killed him to get a little quiet.

“We’re here.” Sorren stopped at the edge of an especially rundown neighborhood.

“Where?” Xander eyed the dilapidated buildings and heaps of garbage with distaste. This area looked like a cesspool by anyone’s standards.

“A little ways into the pit and we’ll reach the alley.”

“The pit?” Xander couldn’t believe he’d asked for more information.

“That’s what he called this part of the city. We brought anyone or anything we wanted to disappear here and threw them in just like a pit.”

“It’s a fitting name for the place.”

Sorren smiled. “There’s the alley.”

Something moved in the shadows and Xander loosened his sword in its sheath. If Sorren planed anything he’d be ready.

Sorren glanced at him. “Relax, that’s Dorrin, the guild master. This is where we’re supposed to meet him.”

Xander nodded, but didn’t removed his hand from the hilt of his sword. When they got closer a weasel of a man with thinning, greasy hair and long pointed nose stepped out of the alley. “Sorren?”

Sorren embraced the man like a long lost brother. “Dorrin, it’s been too long.”

The little man relaxed a fraction. “I almost didn’t recognize you. You’ve gained a few pounds.”

Sorren laughed and patted his spreading paunch. “I see you’ve lost more hair.”

Xander cleared his throat. He’d had enough of the friendly insults. “If we can get to the point you two can catch up while I’m gone.”

Sorren guided the guild master next to Xander. “Dorrin, this is my impatient protégé Xander. Xander this is my oldest friend, Dorrin.”

Dorrin looked up at Xander, about as comfortable as a rabbit in a cage with a lynx. Xander raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

“Right, the target is the youngest son of the local lord. The target is holed up in a building north of here. There are many guards on the ground floor, but only two guard the secret exit in the roof. That’s your best bet to sneak in. The target is a morbidly obese man with greasy, black hair. You can’t mistake him if you see him. He keeps an ornate sword on the wall of his bedchamber. Bring that back as proof the job is done. I should warn you the sword is rumored to be possessed by the soul of a demon.”

“Right, so what did this slob do to deserve a death mark?”

“What does it matter?” Dorrin asked.

“It doesn’t beyond satisfying my curiosity.”

“I’m curious as well,” Sorren said. “Your letter was rather vague.”

“Wil is the black sheep of the lord’s family and considering the family that’s saying something. He came to Isis a year and a half ago and contacted us about importing and selling a new drug he discovered up north. He offered us a nice cut and we agreed to help. In less than a year Bliss was the most popular drug in Isis and Wil decided he didn’t need us anymore. None of my enforcers can get past his security. Which brings us to you.”

Xander nodded, a little disappointed with the story. “This shouldn’t take long.”

He walked toward the mark’s hideout, studying the debris piled against leaning tenements. In some places he had trouble telling where the junk ended and the building began. Most of the buildings were three stories and separated by narrow alleys. Every building in sight had a flat roof which combined with the short distance between them would make it easy to jump from one to the next.

When he’d moved out of sight of Sorren and the guild master he took a thin silk rope tied to a grappling hook out of his pack. Xander sent the hook up onto one of the roofs, gave it a couple tugs, and climbed. He sighed. Anika usually handled this part of the job. Xander clenched his teeth and pushed the memory aside. He’d settle things soon enough.

From the roof top he surveyed the immediate area. The neighborhood looked every bit as squalid from above as it did below. The only way to improve this part of the city was fire, and plenty of it. He leapt from one roof to the next, making his way north. After ten jumps he spotted a roof with two guards standing on either side of a trap door. That had to be it.

The target building was on the opposite side of the street instead of across an alley, but Xander knew he could make the jump. He backed up the back edge then raced forward, jumping with only inches of roof to spare. When his feet hit Xander rolled forward to absorb the impact and drew his sword as he rolled to his feet. He charged the guards without breaking his momentum.

Unlike on some of his past missions these guards were professionals. They had their sword out and they separated so one could flank him the minute they spotted Xander. He grinned like a lunatic. Perhaps he’d have a worthwhile fight for a change.

Xander slashed high at the first guard then spun to parry the attack he felt coming. He spun and dodged, glorying in the fight. It didn’t take him long to figure out the guards were too slow to lay a blade on him. Xander took his time, working his opponent into the position he wanted. When he had the guard off balance Xander ducked behind, him reversed his grip on his sword, and stabbed the guard in the back, severing his spine. He ripped the sword free and whirled, ready to face the second guard. The man ran toward the edge of the roof. Xander hurled his sword like a javelin, piercing the second guard between the shoulder blades and dropping him to the roof.

Xander froze and held his breath. No sounds of alarm, good. He retrieved his sword and went to the trap door. It looked simple enough and he saw no traps. He found the latch and lifted the hatch. The door shrieked loud and long, setting Xander’s teeth on edge. He listened again, still no sign of alarm. Unless the mark hired deaf guards something was wrong. Xander applied a coating of night vision liquid to the lens of his mask and descended the ladder into the building.

The steps led down into a bedroom. A massive canopied bed dominated the room. In the center of the bed laid a huge mound under the covers. Xander frowned. It couldn’t be this easy. On the wall opposite the bed hung a gaudy, gem encrusted short sword. Maybe it could be this easy. He walked over to the bed, but the mark never stirred. Xander pulled his sword back and drove it into a sack filled with hay, a decoy, great.

One other door led out of the room. Xander assumed many men with weapons waited on the other side. He slipped over to the door and pressed his ear against it. Silence. Either the guards were better trained than most or no one was on the other side of the door. One way to find out.

Xander pushed open the door and went through, sword leading. No guards, just a fancy bed with a fat, snoring man in it unaware he was about to die. How no one had heard the trapdoor screeching he neither knew nor cared. An overhead chop half decapitated the mark. He thrashed a little while he bled out then went still. Satisfied that he’d completed his task Xander retreated back to the decoy room and collected the sword on the wall.

Up on the roof Xander took a deep breath of cool night air. Now to kill Sorren. He examined the ornate hilt of the sword. It was exotic, black wood and the pommel and cross guard was encrusted with all manner of gems. It was worth a fortune, but worthless as an actual weapon. As far as being possessed by a demon, Xander snorted and pulled the blade from its sheath.

The instant the blade cleared the sheath the world went black. He floated in oblivion. A voice said, “Xander Kane, thank you for rescuing me from that fool of a nobleman.”

“Who are you? What are you?”

“My true name in unpronounceable in any language you would recognize, but you may call me by the name my first mortal bearer gave me. I am the Devourer of Souls. I’m a demon and you’re holding my body in your hand.”

“My contact said a demon possessed the sword, but I didn’t believe it.”

“The sword isn’t possessed,” the demon said. “It’s my actual body. You clearly have little knowledge of demons. A little education is in order. All higher order demons have mutable bodies. We can become anything we want.”

“Why would you become a sword? Isn’t such a form too limited.”

“Limiting is an understatement and I assure you I didn’t choose this form. Millennia ago I was the most powerful demon lord in existence. I devoured the essence of anyone that dared challenge me. Unable to best me on their own, my enemies set aside their personal hatreds and joined together to defeat me. Even their combined power wasn’t enough to destroy me, so they bound me into the limited form. I’ve passed from one mortal to the next, dependent on mere humans for my sustenance. This last mortal was a particular disappointment. When I felt you approaching I knew my moment had arrived so I lent you what little help I was able.”

“You kept the guards from hearing the trapdoor and the mark form waking up. Why do you want me to take you away so bad?”

“I want to be used!” The devourer said. “I’m starving. With my powers at your command you can be the greatest assassin ever.”

“Very well. Return me to my body. There’s a soul just waiting for you to devour.”

Xander blinked and stood on the roof again. In his hand the once gaudy short sword now an exact replica of the sword hanging at his waist save for the blade, which was so black it seemed to absorb the star light. Xander drew his old sword and tossed it away, replacing it with the devourer.

He leapt across to the next roof and retraced his path to Sorren. When he was a couple roofs away the demon said,
Stop.
The word echoed in his mind.
There are two men hiding on the roof to your right.

“How do you know?”

I can feel their anima.

What would anyone be doing on the roof of a rat hole like this? They were too close to Sorren’s hiding place. Xander felt sick. That feeling had saved his life more than once.

Xander leapt to the roof and drew the devourer the instant his feet hit the boards. Two crossbowmen crouched, weapons loaded, watching the alley where Sorren waited. He closed to within a few feet his steps making no more noise than the night breeze. “You boys enjoying the view?”

The two men jumped and raised their weapons. Xander didn’t hesitate. He stepped toward the left hand man and cut him in half from left shoulder to right hip, spun and decapitated the second. Xander stood silent for a moment, awestruck by the sword’s power. He cut a man in half with no more resistance than if he’d cut paper. Nothing cut like that. We watched the demon absorb the blood on it like a sponge. The demon radiated pleasure.

They were waiting to kill you. They had orders to shoot when they received a signal
.

“Sorren. It’s time I introduced you to my former superior.”

Xander leapt two roofs east so Sorren wouldn’t realize he’d killed his men then climbed to the ground and walked back to the alley where Sorren and his friend waited. “It’s done.”

The two older men came out to meet him. “Where’s the sword?” Dorrin asked.

Xander drew the devourer and held it up. “Right here.”

“That’s the wrong sword. I told you it was ornate, not plain.”

At Xander’s silent request the demon shifted back to its former shape. The guild master’s eyes widened. “Incredible.”

“Indeed,” Sorren said. “Now for your reward.” He waved his hand.

They stood in expectant silence. Xander smiled at their confusion and had the demon change back. Sorren waved his hand again.

“I hope you’re not waiting for those two crossbowmen.”

The look of desperation on Sorren’s face brought a warm glow to Xander’s heart. Before his fellow assassin could make a move Xander had his blade at the man’s throat. With a flick of his wrist he sent the shadow cloak fluttering to the ground. He glared a Dorrin when the little man tried to sneak up behind him. “Go away.”

Dorrin scurried away like a kicked dog. Satisfied that they wouldn’t be disturbed Xander smiled. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

“Wait.” Sorren dropped to his knees. “Please don’t kill me. I’ll do anything you want.”

“Generous of you, but all I want you to do is stop breathing.”

“Stop!” Sorren screamed when Xander drew his sword back to strike. “I can tell you who killed you family. I’ll tell you everything just don’t kill me.”

“How long have you kept this little secret? It doesn’t matter. When I kill you the devourer will absorb all your knowledge. I don’t need you alive to get your secrets. This is for Anika!”

“No!” Sorren’s head fell to the ground with a wet plop. Xander had never seen a happier sight.

Xander retrieved the shadow cloak and swirled it around his shoulders. He sheathed his new sword and walked back toward the ship.