Mighty Hammer Down (8 page)

"Well did they hurt you? I couldn’t
stand to see you injured, you know that."

"No I wasn’t hurt. I really don’t have
any answers for any of it. But I’m fine, don’t worry about me.
Let’s get something to eat. Are you hungry?"

She made a face and touched her
stomach as if the thought of food sickened her. "No, I don’t think
I could eat right now, I don’t feel very well today."

"Do you ever feel well, Mirra? You
can’t sleep all day and not eat."

She groaned in protest and threw
herself onto her pillows, again covering her head with her silky
sheets. He shook his head and rubbed her back while she lay there.
She seemed to melt under his touch, and he knew if he kept it up
she would fall asleep. It wasn’t good that she was sleeping her
days away, but he wanted to bring some joy to her gloom, so he
continued.

"Rommus, do you ever think about the
future?"

He sighed. "All the time."

"What if things don’t end up the way
you plan them to?"

"I don’t expect them to go a certain
way. I deal with things as they come."

She breathed in a breath of air in
such a way that made him believe she was going to say something
more. When she said nothing, he went back to rubbing her back. In a
matter of moments she was lost in the relaxation, and fell
peacefully to sleep. He got up carefully, so as not to wake her,
and went to the window. He looked out over the beautiful city,
shining in the sun, and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes for
a moment and drank in the feeling of the Medoran summer. After a
minute or two, he reached up and closed the curtains half way,
meeting her in the middle. He quietly left and closed her door
behind him, heading back to the street.

He made his way north toward the
Emperor’s Hall, seeing it above the rooftops of the buildings in
front of him. Weaving through the streets, he did his best to avoid
people and stay out of their way. Finally he came to the steps of
the Hall, and approached one of the guards.

"Well hello Rommus, haven’t seen you
in a while."

"Gerik! I thought you were out
guarding the southern wall. When did you get back?" he asked as he
shook the man’s hand.

"Just today. They sent troops from the
Sun Legion to replace us since none of us have been home for more
than a month. I am only here for the day, and then I have leave for
an entire week."

"Did you see any great and mysterious
beasts to the south?" Rommus said with a smirk.

Gerik laughed. "No, I didn’t see any
beasts. I think those are just stories to keep people from going
down there.

"Yeah I think so too. Well it’s great
that you’re back. You should come by so that we can catch
up."

Rommus liked the man but he was rather
boring. He never really talked about anything except the army, and
while there were some great stories, there was a lot more to life
than blood and victory. Rommus always thought the man was just
keeping to himself, hiding his secrets so that no one could ever
use anything against him. Gerik had served under Rommus while he
was a Captain in the Moon Legion, and he was one of the few people
left in Medora who actually showed him any respect.

"I heard about your father. I hope
he’s well. Is it true it was a woman who did it?"

"Apparently. Honestly I don’t know
much about it. I was hoping to see him. Is he here?"

He clicked his tongue. "No, he left
for the Star Legion barracks just after the sun rose. He looked
fine to me if you were just wondering if he was all right. I
doubted that he even had an injury when I saw him this
morning."

"Well that’s good. That barracks isn’t
far, so I’ll stop and see him. Did they catch the girl?"

"They caught several girls, but I
don’t know if any of them were the right one. You’ll have to ask
the Commander there or General Tirinius."

"I will do that, thank you Gerik. I
hope to see you again soon."

Gerik turned back to his position and
saluted, even though it wasn’t necessary to do so. Rommus smiled
and gave his armor a good whack before descending the
steps.

Before he even got to the last step,
something caught his eye. He couldn’t be positive at such a great
distance, so he quickened his pace, careful to stay out of sight.
Ahead of him, at the next row of houses was a woman walking; a
Vindyri woman. She was walking away from him, but he thought he
recognized the gentle, graceful sway of the woman he had met the
day before.

Both of them slipped between the
people in the streets. She didn’t seem like she was trying to hide,
which seemed odd to him if in fact she was responsible for the
attempt on his father’s life. He lost her around a corner and he
felt cold rush of panic at the thought of her escape. He hurried up
the street and turned the corner himself, caring less about being
seen and more about catching this woman. This was the city’s
busiest street on the west side, with shops and carts lining the
road as it gently curved around the Emperor’s Hall to connect with
other streets than eventually made a giant circle in the center of
the city. A wonderful wall of aromas from the foods in the
marketplace hit him and reminded him of his hunger. The woman was
nowhere in sight.

Suddenly he saw her, off to the side
behind a cart of fruit near an alleyway. He didn’t waste any more
time. He ran to her area, trying to avoid trampling the innocent
shoppers in the streets. When he finally reached her, he grabbed
her arm and pushed her into the alley.

"Hey!" she cried as she tried
unsuccessfully to pull away.

He pulled her farther into the shadows
and spun her abruptly to face him. He must have looked as shocked
as she did, since he wasn’t expecting to see dried blood and
bruises on her face. For a moment he forgot what he was going to
say or do, but he kept her arm firmly in his grip.

"You," she said, startled.

He got right to the point. "Are you
the Vindyri that stabbed my father?"

"Your father?"

She looked even more shocked, but then
her expression cooled as she paused for a second.

"Is that what’s going on? Those brutes
chained me and beat me all day. They had other Vindyri there too,
all of them as bruised as I am. They only just now let me go less
than an hour ago. Is this the kind of treatment I can expect
anywhere in Medora?" she said as she jerked her arm from his grasp
and ran her hand through her hair.

"Well, no, it’s just…"

"What right do you have to do this to
innocent people? And women no less!" she said as she crossed her
arms and stood tall.

"Well, see, someone tried to kill my
father, and he described her as an attractive woman with blonde
hair, so we assumed, since no one…"

"I can gather what your reasons are,"
she interrupted again.

He stood staring into this woman’s
eyes. Her beauty held him in some kind of spell, making it hard to
think straight. He was sure that they would not have let her go if
she was indeed the guilty Vindyri, so he decided to believe her.
Forgetting what he was going to say next, he sputtered out the only
thing that came to his mind.

"What was your name again?"

"Alana." She caught herself before she
said her last name. "And you are? You never told me your
name."

"I am Rommus Tirinius. I’m sorry that
they hurt you. That sort of thing never happens here, but the
General of the army doesn’t meet an assassin every day either. On
behalf of all Medorans, I apologize."

He felt silly phrasing it that way,
clumsily stumbling over the words, but it was too late to take
back. He stood there like a fool, desperately hoping she would say
something so that he wouldn’t have to.

Finally, a smile came to her face. "So
you’d call me an attractive woman with blonde hair,
huh?"

That wasn’t exactly the line he hoped
she would throw him. "Well, yes I’d say you were…"

"Do you think you could find me a
tall, handsome man to protect me until I can get out of Brinn?" she
asked as she stepped in closer to him.

He stammered a moment as he tried to
tell her that he would guide her, but before he could answer, she
looked over his shoulder and spoke softly.

"Why do your Mages here wear black and
not silver?"

"I didn’t know there were any other
colors that they wore. Why are you whispering?"

"Do your strange Black Mages always
carry swords?"

He turned around to see what she was
talking about. Five men in black robes were walking calmly towards
them in the alley, their wall of living darkness bristling with
shining swords. The fact that they didn’t run showed they had
confidence and were determined to finish the job this time. Since
he had only a knife, he decided to run. He grabbed Alana by the arm
and rushed her along with him. She went along without a
fight.

"What’s going on? Do you know them?"
she asked as she ran.

"I don’t know who they are. All I know
is that both times I have run into you, I have run into Mages that
want to kill me. So I think it’s you who has some explaining to do,
not me."

"Get him. Kill the girl," the Mage in
the center bellowed. The other four Mages rushed in to
attack.

Chapter 8

They ran down the alley as fast as
their feet would carry them. Rommus drew his knife so that he would
at least have a fighting chance if any of these men caught up to
them. He could hear the boots stomping on the cobblestone behind
him, and he knew that if he paused for a second to look at his
pursuers, he would encounter a blade before he could see the person
wielding it.

The alley curved around a corner
slightly, and when he saw what waited ahead of him, dread overtook
him. Two more armed Mages. There was no way that he could defeat
five, let alone seven men while protecting this woman, and now he
had no choice but to try. The Mages in the distance walked slowly
toward their prey. Rommus frantically searched the alley for a
hidden exit or something to use as a weapon, but he saw nothing but
cold stone walls.

As he ran, he considered the fact that
the men behind them were probably pumping their arms as they
struggled to keep up and their swords were most likely not leveled
at his back. He took a great risk that could have cost him his
life. He stopped and crouched to the ground. Two of the four
chasing him tumbled over him, their swords clattering to the
ground. The other two continued to chase Alana, but turned back
when they heard the swords fall.

"Not the girl!" the fifth man of the
group yelled as he brought up the rear. "Get him!"

He raised an arm and pointed at
Rommus, his sleeves hemmed with blue satin.

Rommus wasted no time and stabbed the
nearest Mage in the leg, leaving the knife buried hilt-deep in the
unfortunate man. He screamed as he reached to his leg, dropping his
sword and falling to the ground. That was the outcome Rommus
expected, and he dove for the blade. Alana saw her opportunity as
well, grabbing one of the other dropped swords before their owners
could make sense of the madness.

One of the weaponless assassins kicked
Rommus under his chin before he got a good grip of the sword, and
then stomped on his outstretched arm to foil his plans. The man
then screamed and fell to his knees as Alana pulled her sword free
from his middle. Without missing a step, she was off clashing
swords with another Mage. Rommus stood, sword in hand, and
deflected several thrusts from another attacker.

Seeing the mayhem, the distant Mages
were running in to assist. It was all happening too fast to see
what was going on, but Rommus managed to open the belly of one of
the Mages, sending blood and innards to cover the cobblestone
street. Alana had spilled the blood of two others, making little
red rivers between the stones. Rommus rushed to the attackers,
shouldering one away from Alana and slicing deeply into the arm of
another. Alana quickly stabbed the man in his gut when he fell,
twisting the blade sharply before removing it. The one who seemed
to be in charge was holding back and staying away from the clanging
swords. Rommus spun with all his might and attempted to sever the
head of the man with the wounded arm, but only managed to cut his
neck open and knock him to the ground.

With all the men bleeding into the
street, Rommus and Alana turned to the leader of the group. He was
already running down the alley and out into the street, tucking his
sword into his robes. It was all over before they realized
it.

Rommus turned to her, panting. "Are
you all…"

Alana screamed. The Mage Rommus had
stabbed in the leg had pulled the knife free while lying there on
the ground and stabbed Alana in hers. She screamed again before
Rommus could bring the sword down on the man’s arm, severing it at
the elbow. Another quick swing and the man’s neck was open and
bleeding out his life onto the street. He cursed himself for
killing the man in rage and not interrogating him before he did so.
He refocused on Alana, who had fallen to the ground, holding her
leg in agony.