The Darkslayer: Book 02 - Blades in the Night (20 page)

The cleric stepped back and smiled. “Easy now, Venir. I know you had a horrible past here, like most children, but you survived. And in a strange roundabout way, it seems you’ve remained in our service, however unwittingly.”

Wary of the mind games the Royals liked to play, Venir said nothing. It was times like these he needed to be strong and silent. It increased his chances of escape.

“
You might recall the Royal braggart Tonio you thrashed in the Chimera months back?” Leezir asked. “We set that up, you know. We rather hoped you would kill him. It’s been months since he was last seen, but he just may be in the safety of Castle Almen. I suspect this is what they want other
interested parties to think. Are you with me so far?” Leezir said as he twirled his grubby fingers through the sand below Venir’s nose.

“
I would be if you let me out of this manbox. Otherwise I have nothing to say.”

Venir didn’t remember the Royals’ demeanor as softened as it seemed now with Leezir. It was hard to believe Leezir was still with the Slerg House. Venir had never had a full conversation with a Royal as a teenager, but they were always condescending.

Despite his past and his contempt for most Royal families and their methods, Venir knew they weren’t all bad. He even had friends among them as a soldier from the Outlands. But the Royals in the City of Bone were something else.

“
You’d only escape and kill my sentries, if not me,” Leezir said. “But I didn’t bring you here to punish you, Venir. If I had, you’d be dead already. I brought you here to help us.”

“
Not interested,” Venir said. “Let me out.”

Leezir’s nostrils flared. Common people did not make demands on Royals. The man scooped up a handful of sand and let it pour to the floor.

“
You’re good-natured, Venir,” Leezir said, pacing around the manbox. “A man of your word. Dutiful. Loyal. You were unlike the other children in the castle. You were raised right. So if you just give me your word, I know I can trust you.”

Venir said nothing.

“
There was a reason you escaped the first time, you and some others,” Leezir said, fingering his dark cowl. “The Royal Almen House was below us back then, you see, and we had a growing alliance. But then they deceived our family and almost destroyed us. Many children died during that battle, but you few escaped. We were very lucky to escape with our lives ourselves.”

“
I’m all teary-eyed, Leezir. Let me out and I’ll give you a big hug,” Venir said, his voice echoing throughout the dungeon chambers.

Leezir chuckled. “You’re one of a kind, Venir, and we want your help. The day has come for the Slergs to take revenge on the Almens. I will pay you well.”

Venir raised an eyebrow, surprised at the rare offer. And though he had no intentions of accepting it, he needed time so he decided to play along.

“
You’ll pay me how well?” Venir asked.

“
First, your freedom. Second, ten bags of gold and a bag of rubies. All you have to do is complete a simple task,” Leezir said.

“
What?”

“
First, tell me what happened to Tonio.”

“
I don’t know,” he said, picturing the moment months earlier in the Great Forest when he had cleaved the man twain.

“
Come now,” Leezir said. “Certainly you can give more assurance than that.”

“
It’s safe to assume he’s dead. Now what do you want of me?”

“
To kill more Almens,” Leezir said.

Venir watched as Leezir slapped his palm with a white cudgel—no doubt the infamous
“Spine-Breaker” that Venir had heard of at one time or another.

“
I’m not an assassin,” Venir said, all the while wanting to grab the cudgel and bash the man’s brains in.

“
But you are a mercenary.”

“
I don’t kill for money,” he said, but the thought of killing Royals for money was tempting.

The man lit another torch. “But you’ll kill for survival. So you may like to know that they’re coming for you. They assume you’ve killed Tonio. They won’t let that go.”

Regret sank into Venir’s heart. He should not have returned to Bone. He knew better.

“
I got word and pulled you off the streets just as they closed in,” Leezir said. “They were so close that you’re lucky to be alive. I mean, really, did you think they’d just let you off the hook?’

“
I didn’t figure they knew who I was. There are lots of people in this city.”

“
But few who cross an upper house of the Royals.” Leezir rapped his cudgel against the wall. “When they want to find someone, they do—trust me. I don’t want you to kill them if you don’t have to, but you’ll have to be the bait. I’ll keep it simple.”

“
What do you have in mind?”

“
Go about your business. They’ll come for you. I’ll have my eyes ready. When they close in on you, you close in on them. It’s only a small strike, but it will weaken them. If we survive, you get paid. Do we have a deal?”

The clang of the dungeon’s door resounded through the surrounding empty cells, interrupting Venir’s thoughts. Two men appeared, dressed in brown and red Royal garments, with sheathed swords at their waists. Leezir’s tattered clothes and dark cowl seemed out of place beside them as he raised his hands.

“
Stop right there, Creighton, Hagerdon!” Leezir said. “You have no business here. This is my prisoner. Go!”

Venir watched as the two identical men looked at each other and laughed. The twins stood over Leezir, both tall and wiry with brown hair pulled back into ponytails. Their green eyes were arrogant but jittery as they surveyed Leezir and Venir with sneers. Venir’s blood rose as he still recognized Creighton and Hagerdon after all these years. There was a moment of silence.

“
Ah!” Venir finally said, shattering the awkward quietude. “Your acne’s finally cleared, Creighton. And you’ve worked off your baby fat, Hagerdon. Seems you two ladies finally hit puberty.”

“
Urchin!” Hagerdon shouted. “You dare speak to me like that!”

“
Out of the way, Leezir!” Creighton had pulled a dagger from his boot. “I’ll carve out his mangy eyes and snip off his tongue!”

Leezir raised Spine-Breaker and they stopped before him.

“
One step from either of you jerks and I’ll bust your chests in. Got it?” Leezir said.

They backed off.

“
Got that, girls?” Venir said.

“
Why is this vagrant here, Leezir?” Hagerdon said. “We don’t need him! Let him go so we can give him a good thrashing.”

Venir’s laughter echoed so loud that it sent the rats scurrying. His past with the Slerg brothers sparked bitter memories. Young Royals training as soldiers had always used enslaved urchins— such as Venir when he was a child—as practice dummies. The brattiest Royals would thrash their weakened and starving opponents over and over again, without mercy.

It was all for show, and a great joke among the older Royals and soldiers. As Venir had always been taller and bigger boned than Creighton and Hagerdon, the twin teenagers had enjoyed proving their prowess by beating him with their wooden swords.

Then, at their formal coming-of-age ceremony, with the whole Slerg family and their honored guests in attendance, Venir had faced the twin Royals in his rags with just a small club to fend off their large mahogany bludgeons.

The goal of the battle for the twins was simple: to disarm and then humiliate Venir into submission. Venir had even been ordered to cry out and beg for mercy. He’d also been told to make the battle interesting or else he’d be whipped. He was neither defiant nor defeated, but wanted it over with. The twins, adorned in leather chest plates, arm braces, and helmets, had something different in mind. They’d tried to kill him.

When the whistle had blown, they came at him with routine jabs and taunts. Venir made a game of it for a bit then gave some ground. As he lowered his guard, expecting a simple shot to the body, the brothers leaped on top of him and began beating him like he was some rabid dog.

The other urchins watched the scene in horror. But the brutal assault turned as quick as it had started. Young as Venir was, he was fearless. He had survived much already and was not about to let the twins snatch away a life so hard won.

Desperate for survival, the young warrior tore into them like an enraged ape. Hagerdon was swinging his club when Venir’s fist struck his belly. An audible
whoosh
followed, and Hagerdon’s club clattered to the ground. The urchins screamed in joy, to the horror of the Royals, and the sentries began cracking whips at them.

Creighton caught the side of Venir’s face with his club. But Venir stood unfazed, spitting a bloody tooth into the Slerg’s face. Creighton charged. Venir ducked and delivered an uppercut so hard that the boy’s teeth rattled as he dropped with a yelp.

Venir spun toward Hagerdon, who was regaining his feet. He grabbed Hagerdon by his hair and punched him several times in the belly. The boy’s eyes rolled into his head as he swooned, and Venir let him flop to the ground. Then Venir snatched up the long mahogany club, poised to attack Creighton if he rose again. It was a fatal mistake. The Royal sentries descended from all directions, ordering Venir to drop the club. Blinded by fear, he began swinging at them.

Chaos broke out as he whirled among the surprised sentries, like a bludgeoning tornado. But a senior sentry soon stunned him with a blow from his spear shaft across the back of his head.

None of the slave children ate for a week after that. But for some reason, Venir was allowed to live. He always sensed that Leezir had something to do with it, assuming it was because Leezir also enjoyed the twins’ humiliation. It wasn’t long after that episode that Venir escaped.

“
Do we have a deal?” Leezir was gazing into his eyes.

Venir nodded, then looked over into the eager green eyes of the twins.

“
Thrashing, eh?” Venir said. “Well, drop those little swords on the floor, then. Come, you two warriors don’t need those to take me on, now do you?”

They dropped their belts and blades without hesitation.

“
Shut up, Venir,” Hagerdon said. “You know we don’t need these. We’ve been preparing for this for over a decade.”

He watched as the twins began removing their shirts. They were in fine shape for city warriors. The lesson he had taught the two young miscreants long ago had apparently benefitted them. They were fit, as a soldier should be.

Now they turned their backs to him, a gesture of insult. He was amused as they warmed up, stretching and shadow boxing in the corner of the dungeon.

Leezir opened the end of the manbox and the sand cascaded onto the floor. Then Leezir loosened the cords binding Venir to the plank.

After rolling his shoulders a couple times and flexing his chest muscles, Venir stepped out and strode up behind the twins.

“
Ready to dance, girls?” he asked.

They continued their routine without turning at first, then whirled in perfect unison, trying to catch him off guard.

“
Sweet mother of Bish!” Creighton cried.

Both of them leaped backward at the sight of his hulking frame, eyes wide with alarm.

“
Get him back in the box!” Creighton yelled.

Venir took a menacing step toward them, and they shuffled behind Leezir.

“
Stop him, Leezir!” Hagerdon said, cowering behind the cleric.

Venir heard the cleric chuckle. The two grown men looked like cubs in a lion’s den, hiding behind their mother. They avoided Venir’s burning gaze and looked down at the floor. Having rarely seen his entire body in a looking glass, Venir could only imagine what the twins saw. His bronzed body was no doubt a solid mass of brawn emblazoned with battle scars—compared to their somewhat calloused hands and overly primped fingernails. He was far more now than a mere man: he had endured countless battles with foes in places they’d never dreamed of—and he’d survived. They backed away from his presence.

“
Leezir, get him out of here,” Creighton said in a quavering voice. “We don’t need him. Get him out or we’ll have to kill him.”

Venir closed in. “You are the ones to die.”

“
Hold on, Venir! Deal’s off if you kill them,” Leezir said, cudgel at the ready.

“
Fine, I’ll just beat them till all they can do is breath.”

“
Guards!” they hollered. “Guards! GUARDS!”

“
Shut up!” Leezir said, seething. “Idiots! Stop interfering with the plan!”

The twins tried to back away. He pursued them, determined to tear them apart. Once again, the cleric cut him off and guided him away. Venir wanted to crush them all, but he kept his cool, not wanting to be trapped in this castle any longer. He backed off as the twins eyed him with looks of relief.

“
The exit’s this way, Venir,” Leezir said. “Let’s get you out of here before I lose my patience with them as well.”

Leezir guided him through a dimly lit corridor beneath Slerg Castle.

“
Look, Venir,” Leezir said along the way. “Like it or not, they’re coming after you. Be on your guard. We’ll be watching. You can either kill them or be captured. But if you leave Bone, don’t plan to return … ever! They’ll protect their reputation. It’s you or them, Venir.”