The Darkslayer: Book 02 - Blades in the Night (25 page)

“
No … uhn … no surprise that you hit like a man,” he said, still groaning.

Sis nodded and Frigdah ramped up the pressure. Soon his head became purple. Sis pounded his belly over and over. The bigger sister finally let him loose. He fell, gasping for breath and clutching his stomach. Sis knelt down and put a knife to his throat, then whispered in a hiss: “Okay, you’ve made it pretty clear you know something, or you wouldn’t be acting up like this, boy. Now I’ve no time for games. Tell me what you know or Frigdah here is gonna put a hole in that hungry belly of yours.”

His eyes widened as Frigdah pushed the tip of her blade into his gut. He sobbed.

“
I-I-I … know the men,” he said. “They killed some of us just for watching. I don’t want to die.” The man balled up on the ground. “They’ve been back and forth between here, the south gate, and the odd district. I’ve only seen them go back there once or more. I didn’t follow though. Usually the one with the black hat just hangs around, watching the streets, then moving on. Those guys scare me, so I’ve hid from them the last few days.”

“
How long’s this been going on?” Sis asked.

“
Weeks at least.”

“
Anything else that might help?”

He shook his head. Sis lifted his chin with her own blade. He flailed his hands.

“
Okay! Okay!” he cried. “They ain’t the only ones. There are others. Royals and the like. Men like I’ve never seen before armed to the teeth. Please just let me go. I swear if you do, I’ll disappear and never let my curiosity get the better of me again.”

Sis and Frigdah both looked around.

“
They here now?” Sis asked.

“
Probably.”

“
Okay, boy, one more thing. Those two fellas, where do you think they headed last?”

“
Towards the south gate. Don’t know where. ”

“
Off with you then. Not a word—and here,” she said, handing him two coppers.

He looked at the coins, then tossed them to the ground and ran away.

Sis crouched along the wall, not sure what they had committed themselves to. She and her sisters were survivors, almost as fearless as they were rugged. Still, she didn’t want to get caught up in the Royal games again, either. She heard Frigdah’s belly growl beside her and realized she was hungry too. Her meaty sister pulled out a stick of salami and half a loaf of bread from underneath her baggy clothes. Frigdah broke apart the food and handed some to Sis.

“
Gee, thanks,” Sis said, looking down at the bread and meat but not taking it. “Just what I wanted: sweaty food.”

Frigdah shrugged and ate. Sis turned away. The minutes grew long as she waited for Haze to return. She hoped Haze hadn’t run into trouble. But what if she had? Feeling that something was wrong, Sis needed to find out.

“
Come on,” Sis said. “Let’s go.”

They moved through the darkness toward where Haze had been headed. Sis kept up a brisk pace, her nerves on edge. Something was definitely wrong. In the back of her mind, she felt that someone or something was watching them. She stopped, listened. All she heard was her sister’s heavy breathing. She turned, facing Frigdah, and put her fingers to her lips. She watched Frigdah draw in her breath and hold it.
Why is she so dumb?
She saw Frigdah’s eyes widen in alarm then something hit Sis in the back.

Smack!

She whirled, dagger raised, and saw Haze’s grinning face.

“
Bone!” Sis yelled. “You skinny tramp! Don’t do that anymore. You know I don’t like it!”

Sis grasped at her chest, ignoring Haze’s chuckles.

“
I found Octopus,” Haze finally said.

“
No surprise, cat lady,” Sis said. “You probably sniffed him out. Now on with it.”

In this friendless world, her gangly sister often spent time looking for strange cats of a unique pedigree. When Haze came across some of the unique litters, she made decent coin. At the same time, Haze could protect those litters from other, less noble and caring cat hunters.

“
C’mon,” Haze said, waving them to follow her.

Haze ran through the alley’s twists and turns into a place that even Sis didn’t know. She stood alongside Haze, staring at an ancient archway long forgotten. Deep inside the archway stood a heavy door. Haze pulled Sis and Frigdah inside.

“
Listen,” Haze whispered.

A deep rumbling came from the other side of the door. Sis recognized it as the purr of Octopus. Sis climbed onto Frigdah’s big shoulders and peered through a tiny opening at the top of the entryway. She saw the big eight-clawed cat deep inside a dim corridor that ended at another door. Sis jumped down and tested the door.
Locked, of course.

Sis studied the keyhole then, from the corner of her eye, caught Haze motioning at her. But now Sis also heard faint footsteps approaching. Someone was coming.

Sis pulled out a corkscrew-shaped tool and shoved it inside the lock. She gave it a twist. Nothing. The footsteps grew louder. She wrenched the tool again. Still nothing. The footsteps were now way too close for comfort. Grabbing Frigdah and Haze by the arms, Sis pressed herself along the wall, deep into the shadows.

A few seconds later, two men passed by the doorway without pause and continued on. Sis exhaled, then stepped forward and wrenched the lock one more time. It broke free. The cat now sat in front of the door at the end of the corridor. Even from where she stood in the dim hall, Sis could see that the door was solid steel, with not a single crack around the edges.

Tonio watched as Detective McKnight spit and cursed when he discovered that Chongo was gone. Tonio looked all over the stable, tossing hay and trying to help the detective locate the dog. He didn’t understand, though, why McKnight kept hitting him with his hat and yelling at him. Tonio knew that the dog might help them in their plan, but he just wanted to kill Venir. He didn’t understand why he had to wait—and why they needed the dog so bad, and why McKnight was so mad at him and raving about “ransom.”

Revenge Tonio understood, but not ransom.

“
Someone had to have seen something,” McKnight said. “Melegal could not have done this. Impossible!”

“
Should have killed dog,” Tonio said. “Dead dog can’t run.”

“
Shut up, you imbecile! I’ll do the thinking,” McKnight shouted in his face.

Tonio grasped for McKnight’s neck, but the detective ducked away.

“
Don’t yell at me!” Tonio said.

The swarthy man backed away, nodding.

“
Fine,” McKnight said. “Tonio, go and check on the boy. Put your cloak back on and don’t be followed. I am going to try to figure out what happened to the dog. I will catch up with you there. I won’t be far behind. And don’t screw it up!”

Still feeling anger at how the detective treated him, Tonio stepped toward McKnight again.

McKnight put his hands up and shook his head.

“
It’s no time to get emotional, Tonio. We have revenge to enact. Venir … remember? Just go!”

McKnight waved him off.

“
Venir … yes,” Tonio said.

Tonio turned and walked away. He knew, deep down, that he was not a dolt. He was a Royal, after all. He remembered that … but his mind just didn’t seem as sharp as before.

Venir’s fault.

He had to concentrate on everything now, and it wasn’t easy. He just wanted to kill Venir and go home. Even as he left the stables, Tonio had trouble remembering home—but his mother … she was someone he remembered the most. He felt something warm—and good—when he thought of her, but he didn’t know what that was exactly.

Lumbering down a dark alley, Tonio’s mood turned dark when he reminded himself where he was headed and why.

It was all because of Venir.

And when he thought of Venir, something inside him burned.

*****

McKnight remained in the stables, checking the floor over and over, but he couldn’t make out much of anything because of all the hay. The impressions seemed to suggest a child had been in the room. Maybe a small dog, too. Outside of the stable, though, he’d found no tracks from any size dog at all, just a child’s. It was a mystery. It occurred to the detective that the halfling boy could have been behind it. But how would he have known where to find the dog? It was not possible, other than chance.

Donning his cloak again, McKnight decided to head back to the stable from where they’d taken Georgio—and Chongo. But first he’d give this barn’s courtyard another quick study. He looked and he listened—and finally discovered something of interest. Earlier in the day, a girl claimed to have seen a boy carrying a two-headed puppy.

Puppy?

It didn’t make any sense to McKnight, but it was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

So he shook down those he could, but no one could confirm the story. Frustrated even more, McKnight stormed back to the stable from where they’d taken Georgio. He stepped inside the stall, looking for a sign. But it was as if nothing had ever been there. Someone had covered their tracks well.

“
Blast it all to Bish!” he shouted.

McKnight threw his hat to the ground and screamed, causing several roosting pigeons above to burst from the rafters.

The savvy man from Bone stood there, unsure what to do.
Stay or move?
He could not decide.

Venir waded through the streets paying no mind to those he jostled. Others steered clear of his hot glare. Curses and daggers were poised for his back, but when he turned, they found silence and sheaths again. A drunken group of revelers stumbled into his path and reveled no more. He knocked them to the side and tossed one through a window.

Leezir the Slerg had warned Venir they were coming for him, but he was only worried about the boy and Chongo. His thoughts were haunted by Tonio’s arrogant face, and regret sunk in. What had he done?

As for the rest, though, let them come. He could still feel gazes on him. Whether they were friend or foe, or just someone of interest, he didn’t know. But he was ready regardless. Underlings or Royals … he’d kill them all. He kicked a crate and slipped deeper into the city.

Venir knew the City of Bone as well as any natural-born citizen. Over the years, Melegal managed to talk him into going in and out of places that only the uncommon kept. The thief had spots that he liked for them to hide in as well. They’d hidden supplies here and there for when they were on the lamb time and again.

One place the thief regarded with esteem was now Venir’s destination: an old castle in the city of the Royals that had all but been vanquished long ago. Melegal swore it was his place of birth, but that castle was long gone before he came to be. It was easier than dealing with the reality that he didn’t know. Venir never disagreed.

Venir arrived in an area that was little more than rocks and rubble. It lay just outside of the edges of the Royal districts. The secrets and history were now long buried beneath it, and its riches lost to time. Partial walls of some rooms still stood and stairways started here and there. Many vagrant families appeared to reside within the grounds. The once grand castle was now nothing more than ruins and refuse. It made good for hiding, Melegal had said. Their spot was a spire, almost three stories tall, still standing amidst the grounds.

A narrow spiraling stairway of an odd grayish marble made its way into an abandoned tower. Venir headed to the tower’s top like an alley cat. Inside was a small room under collapsed gabled roofs. Birds and rats scattered at his sound, but some remained. He looked out from a window opening, the stonework of which still held. Venir remembered the rogue telling him this was where his father looked on the grounds and people below. It was still a great view of the city.

Castle Almen looked magnificent not so far away. Its night lights shone in the hundreds among its common grounds and rooms. The rest of the districts and castles were illuminated the same. Some were lit by fire and gas, and others by magic provided by the wizards of Bone. Most wizards were among the Royal families and there were not many. A few managed to protect their prospective investments and homes with reasonable degree.

Venir stood watching the activity below. His eyes were sharp at night, but he had something else that would make them even more acute. He removed his backpack and unrolled the large leather sack within. His hand paused, then reached inside. He pulled out Brool, his cherished hand-and-a-half axe. He kissed its blade and murmured, “Soon, brother … soon.” The shield was next. Then he pulled out the helmet, its spike glimmering in the moon’s red light. He put it on.

Greater awareness swept through him, his senses sharpened like razors. The details were clearer in the night and he could see farther and with greater clarity. The images were still dark but he could detect more movements deep in the shadows that easily would be missed by the naked eye. Sounds were amplified, almost annoying. In the Outlands, there weren’t as many distractions, but in the city, sounds of the usual discourse were overwhelming. He tuned it out, focusing on a single source.

The magic in the helmet was powerful. Not as much compared to what it did to track the underlings, but there were no underlings in the City of Bone. His overall sense of awareness was improved and he needed that edge to find Georgio. He focused on the boy’s voice and image minute after minute. The troubled warrior hoped his plan might bear some evidence of the boy’s whereabouts. After long minutes, though, it did not. He thought of Tonio, the arrogant fool whose folly had gotten him into this, but there was nothing there, either.