Sicarius (7 page)

“You do not have to tell me.” Aida jumps off the fence as her legs were becoming numb. 

“I think this must be a sign from above. I must try to gather all of the metal, take it to this island you spoke of, and destroy it all. Dropping it all into this volcano should destroy the metal. This is what I shall do to redeem myself from my past. Helping this world from the wicked people that live here and what they are capable of doing with this sharpened metal. Do you know where this island is?” 

“No, he never told me.” 

“That is okay. I will figure it out somehow. Do you know anyone else who knows your husband’s story, or parts of it?” 

“Before I tell you, do you plan on gathering the metal from all the rest of the Sicarius?” 

“Yes, I do. None will be a match if I take one at a time, and the sword is in my possession.” 

“Be safe, and yes, I do know a man who knows as much or even more of Michael’s travels. His name is Bruce. He lives in the village we once lived. He was my husband’s old friend. He is an elder. If he were not so old, I’m sure he would have helped us more.” 

“I’m sure. This shall be the next place I go. I will return soon to check that the couple keeps their word.” 

Aida looks back to the house. “I am sure they will. They seem like wonderful people. They also show a lot of love toward my daughter. This must be because they do not have children of their own and are too old to have any of their own.” 

“Yes, they do admire your daughter, and who would not. She is and will grow to be a beautiful young woman. Still, I will come back soon. To converse, I suppose. Well, I must be going now.” Ambrose looks in the direction of the dock’s location. 

“We have to work on the way you use your words when you come back. Ha-ha!” 

Ambrose looks back at Aida. “Why is this?” 

Aida smiles at Ambrose. “You speak emotionless.” 

“Of course, this shall be my goal when I return, to have you two help me in the way I talk. Who knows, maybe this change might help with future conversations to gather information easily and not spook the ones I ask.” 

Aida points to the barn. “Before you go walking away, do you want one of the horses?” 

“No, keep it. I am sure the owners would not mind having another. I’ll find another one. I will walk from here. But remember, those horses are still yours. Oh, another thing. When I return, I will have already questioned Michael’s friend, and it would be best if I gathered your belongings from your old house to bring.” 

“That’s too much, and the men there want your head.” 

“There shall not be worries. I will think of something as I always do. I will see you soon!” Ambrose walks away. 

She smiles and waves to Ambrose while he walks away. “Please be safe and return to us,” Aida says under her breath, showing concern. 

She watches Ambrose walk deeper into the darkness of the night until he is out of sight. Ambrose knows he can take his time to arrive at the ship. The ship will not leave until sunrise. He has a few hours to do as he pleases. 

Chapter IX 

When he finally arrives at the ship, he looks back, showing that he will miss the girls dearly. After his feeling of regret, he boards the ship. When he finally gets to the deck, Ambrose notices that there are no men on board. Ambrose seems confused and looks around. There are men on other ships and people walking among each other at the dock, but none on this ship. As he walks farther onto the ship, Fraudule soldiers come out of nowhere, aiming arrows at him. 

Before any of the soldiers could say anything, Ambrose assumes the girls are in trouble. Ambrose reacts without hesitation, trying to dive in the water. When Ambrose reaches the edge of the ship, a Sicarius climbs over the edge Ambrose was heading toward. Ambrose stops, and two more drop from the top of the ship, landing behind him. Before Ambrose could take out his sword, the three attack him, keeping him from drawing his sword. 

While fighting, Ambrose realizes that the three are trying to prevent him from drawing his sword. Ambrose assumes they must know one of two things: either they know about the sword’s power or know that once he holds any sword, he will be far too dangerous. 

As their minds are set only on preventing him from drawing his sword, they forget that Ambrose can catch their swords. Ambrose knows he cannot use the glove to its full potential. The slit in the glove prevents this. Ambrose can only use his fingertips. This is no challenge to Ambrose due to mastering his glove’s defense. Ambrose catches one of the Sicarius’s swords with his glove, ripping it from the Sicarius’s grasp and thrusting the same sword into another Sicarius’s gut. The surprise of his catch gives Ambrose a moment to plot his next move. 

The brief second he had gives the perfect opportunity for Ambrose’s escape. Ambrose still uses his original plan to flee; he dives into the water. While in the air during the dive, arrows are being shot at him. He feels one connect. 

Ambrose swims down the dock out of sight. He pulls out an arrow from his armor, unharmed as he crawls out of the water with no time for relief. He starts to run back to the farm as fast as possible. On horseback, this takes hours. Ambrose knows this but has no horse around. He must surpass a horse. His speed and endurance will come into effect. 

The speed with which he ran made him arrive in less than an hour. When Ambrose returns to the farm, he sees that the house is burning, and there is no one in sight. Without thinking, he panics and runs into the house with no plan. He does this because of his feelings for the girls. These feelings blind Ambrose to his surroundings. 

Ambrose screams the girls’ names as he searches the house. “Gytha! Aida!” 

Ambrose only finds the owners of the land, dead from sword wounds to the neck and head. Ambrose is too concerned for the girls; he does not show much sympathy for the owners. Ambrose turns to run out the house. As Ambrose heads out to look for the girls, a Sicarius appears out of a corner behind him. Before Ambrose steps out the door, this Sicarius hits Ambrose with the hilt of his sword. This is done hard enough to knock Ambrose unconscious. 

When Ambrose wakes, he finds that he is stripped from his armor, naked, and weapons taken from him. He is locked in a cage, chained, and shackled with soldiers pointing spears at him. He soon realizes that the girls are locked up as well. They are in front of him. They are not as secured. 

“Everything will be okay.” Ambrose’s eyes fill with tears while looking at the girls. “I promise. This is my entire fault. I should have never let down my guard when we arrived. They must have followed this whole time. Do not worry. I will set you both free soon.” 

Aida looks at the soldiers, repulsed, and clings tightly to Gytha. “It is okay. I know you will. These people do not stand a chance.” 

Gytha tries to stay positive. She closes her eyes tightly and looks away from Ambrose. “Why are you not fully clothed? What is wrong with these men?” 

“Ha-ha!” Deep laughter is let out. 

The three look to see who let that laughter out. They soon see it is King Oswald walking out of the smoke wearing his cape that covers his whole body as usual. He is wielding the black sword. 

Gytha shakes the rusty bars that imprison them. “Ambrose will get us free, just wait and see. And put down my father’s sword. You are not worthy of holding it, you fat pig!” 

The king looks at the girls with an insulted look on his face. “So you two must be the family of the man who wields the black sword. This must be his sword. I’m a little curious on how Ambrose had it, not so much though.” 

Aida hits against the bars. “His name was Michael.” 

“Michael was his name, huh? You two must be the reason Ambrose left me.” The king walks next to the girl’s cage. 

Gytha has a smirk on her face. “No! If you knew anything about your people, you would have known he stopped doing your bidding before us.” 

The king grins at Gytha. “Shut your mouth, whore child.” 

Aida looks deep into King Oswald’s eyes full of hate. “Do not talk to my daughter like that!” 

The king looks at Ambrose then back at the girls with curiosity, ignoring what Aida has to say. “Do you two think Ambrose is your friend?” The two girls nod their head without doubt. The king bends over to come closer to the girls’ faces. “Ambrose is an emotionless killer that cannot have friends. He would kill you if I asked him to do so.” 

“You are wrong. We are his friends, and he loves us. You just fail as a king.” 

The king then shows anger. He reaches in the cage the two girls are in, takes Gytha by the neck, and slams her face against the bars. Gytha loses consciousness and falls onto her back. Aida looks at her daughter from the damage the king did to her daughter. Aida fills with anger and spits on King Oswald’s face. After she spits, she falls to the bottom of the cage to hold Gytha. 

“You will regret that.” Ambrose jumps at the king, and the spears that point at him are thrusted toward his neck to push him back. 

The king wipes off the spit from his face in disgust. “Bring the tar!” He looks at Ambrose with his teeth clenched together. 

“No!” Ambrose yells. A soldier walks over to the cage where Ambrose is located and places the bucket next to him. Ambrose shakes and tries to escape out of fear. 

“Is that fear? Oh, Ambrose, you have caused a lot of damage, even to yourself. You will need to be retrained, or killed, depending on how I feel when we return. This all depends on how much damage you have cost me.” 

Ambrose calms himself and begins to looks around trying to find a weak spot in the cage. “So I take it you made this cage especially for Sicarius? So many more men before me were smart and disobeyed your orders. We cannot even move an inch. And these men who point spears, they must be more of a precaution. You really are scared of me?” 

The king realizes that Ambrose is stalling time to make it easier to escape. He knows it is pointless, and Ambrose will not be able to escape. “That is right.” The king walks up to the cage Ambrose is in and leans against it. “These cages are made for Sicarius, the one you are in anyways.” He points to the cage the girls are in. “The one that the two girls are in is just a big cage to transfer animals in. It fits. And scared of you? Ha, I won’t even bother with that comment.” King Oswald walks away from Ambrose’s cage to head toward a group of soldiers. 

Ambrose spits on the ground in frustration. He knows it will be a miracle if he is to escape this time. Ambrose has nothing more to say and is too focused with his escape. 

“When your brother Reginald arrived, he did not have much to say before he died. The only thing he said was something about a sword. I took it, him being in the shape he was in, your answer was no.” 

“I had no choice but to kill. They were disobeying your request to bring me back alive. They all are starting to do this.” 

“You telling me that you had no choice but to kill them is like an apology. It makes me sick.” The king looks away from Ambrose. “And them disobeying me? No. I don’t think so. It just does not add up. I guess I will have one of my other trusted Sicarius to find this out when we get back.” 

Ambrose smirks at the king. “One of your trusted? You will see how that turns out.” 

“You have been one of my most valuable possessions and obedient until now. I still just do not know why.” The king folds his arms. “Maybe I will find out soon, once I start to question you.” 

Ambrose knows the questions he will ask will not be pleasant and will be done by other Sicarius. After all, they are the only ones that know how other Sicarius think. Even if Ambrose does not speak, they will get enough information out of the painful facial expressions he will let out while under interrogation. 

“I take it this must be the sword he was talking about, your brother Reginald. It must have a secret behind it because to me, there is nothing to it and just looks black. Well, whatever the case may be, it should explain how—what was his name again, Michael? Yes, Michael—how Michael could kill so many of my men. I assume you will not willingly tell me what that secret was? I assumed it was just the spirit of the sword.” King Oswald looks at Ambrose, holding the sword up to the sky while walking back to Ambrose. “I guess I just have to study it.” The king places the sword away under his robe. “I just cannot believe you did not take this small island over when I sent you. Oh well, I have now.” 

Ambrose, taking solace in the king’s ignorance of the sword, has nothing more to say. Ambrose still looks around trying to find a way out of his captivity. Silence happens as the king ponders. After a few minutes, the king walks over to the soldier that brought the tar. The king whispers in his ear, letting none hear. The king walks over to the cage Ambrose is in. The king kneels next to Ambrose facing the girls. “Watch.” 

The soldier he just whispered to runs to another soldier who is standing guard. They both talk under their breath. They both look at the king, notifying the king they are ready. These soldiers show uncertainty. 

The king points and nods. “Do it.” 

The soldier who brought the tar runs to a crate the king brought. The soldier takes out a torch. He then brings it next to the tar, lit from the flames of the burning farm. Ambrose has no idea what the king is planning. By this time, both of the soldiers are in position where the king wants them. One holds the tar, and the other is holding the torch next to Ambrose. 

Ambrose assumes the king will not interrogate him. He will be sentenced to death here. Ambrose thinks they are going to dump the tar on him then set him on fire, burning Ambrose to death. After all, this is why the king told him to watch so Ambrose can see death come, the worst kind of death. The soldier who holds the tar positions the bucket over Ambrose’s head. Ambrose closes his eyes, bracing for death. Aida holds her unconscious daughter tight and sits in shock. 

Ambrose opens his eyes in horror from the noise of the girls screaming in pain. Ambrose realizes that this must have been the king’s plan. It was to mess with Ambrose’s mind, making him think he was the one who would die. The pain from the tar wakes Gytha. As the girls scream in agonizing pain, Ambrose has no choice but to watch them both cry in pain next to the king. He has to sit and watch, unable to do anything. Their skin bubbles and pops similar to children’s soap bubbles. 

The king laughs out loud. “Who is the pig now?” 

“You are a coward! Let me out and fight me!” 

The king looks at Ambrose in disgust over what Ambrose has become. Ambrose was once the most feared, even in the Sicarius. To be feared in a group that has no emotion is something only the devil will applaud. Ambrose was known to do even worse. 

The king is watching the girls crawl over one another trying to stay alive in a panicked state. “A man full of emotions. I can’t believe this. When we get back, you will have to tell me what happened. Years ago, you would have done this yourself. Now finish it, men.” 

The king turns his head back to watch with amusement. The soldier who holds the torch drops it on the girls and looks away. This is too much for an ordinary person to bear. The tar ignites. As the girls burn and squirm, Ambrose stops struggling and gives in to captivity. Their skin no longer bubbles but cooks to a dry black color. Ambrose watches, soulless once again. The screams stop, and everything becomes silent. Ambrose’s eyes are filled with the reflection of flames from the girls’ dead bodies. 

“That is more like it. No emotion. I knew killing the things that brought you emotion would work.” The king hits Ambrose’s cage and points in the direction of the dock. “Now it is time to move out. Order the people not to touch the bodies. Let this be an example to all these people. I dare them to defy me.” 

Ambrose sits and watches the flames continue on the girls’ bodies. Ambrose does not say or do anything when they start to head out. The shock of his friends getting killed so brutally sparked his old self back. He will have to become this once more to succeed in killing the king.