The Exodus Sagas: Book II - Of Dragons And Crowns (57 page)

“Why would there be a door to here from a holy church?
Hello
? Show yourself and no harm or repercussion will befall you, hidden one.”

Nothing replied to father Garret, yet he waited to see if his patience and resolve would unnerve whoever had just taken flight from him. Minutes passed, and only the occasional squeak of a rat or flit of bat wings broke the silence and odor. He walked back up to meet with the merchant and have the building locked up until he could amass the funds from the eastern monastaries
of Shalokahn
to have this place rebuilt.
But first, b
reathing out a sigh at what was such a strange encounter, Garret sheathed his sword and knelt before the altar.

With the sun shining through the cracked wood and stone
, his mind as weary as the off center cross before him, the young priest of Alden prayed for guidance from God to lay to rest his worries
,
of the stranger here
,
and the four churches that needed reconstruction in Harlaheim.
He prayed for the fate of Harlaheim and its leaders. He prayed for Alden to guide him in what he must do every moment.

“Alden, Lord of Heaven, please guide my actions to be worthy of your needs. There is much trouble here in this kingdom and I fear I am wasting precious time with restoring churches in a land that may have needs beyond mere stone and wood buildings. The bishop here is dead, the politics are entrenched in deceit, and I feel the message I was to receive in my coming here never arrived. To stay and wait for the Cardinal as I heard from your voice in Shalokahn
,
I will do. Yet my heart tells me that there is something else, somewhere else, and it is not here
,
yet I know not where to go. A
lmighty God, I ask only---“ h
is words in prayer were cut short.
Something in his
was
mind showing him, telling him, guiding him from heaven.

“Yes, very well
, yes. To the city named for
Erin the Saint.
Yes, a journey, an exodus to begin, yes my lord.
” Garrett bowed as he stood, hearing the word of Alden loud and clear in his mind and conscience. “I will abandon the capital and travel north to Saint Erinsburg, trusting in you my Lord, without need for cause or query.”

Father Garret D’Ourmas, having just arrived a few days back to assist in bringing God back to the streets of Harlaheim, ran his fingers through his short dark hair and walked out of the abandoned temple to Alden to follow the holy guidance and travel north. He never questioned anything from God, and even though he was to meet with the ruling monarchs of the kingdom tomorrow, Alden held his devotion beyond anything else.

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Kendari breathed out a silent sigh as the priest left from his perch right above his head. Sliding himself out from the alcove behind the ladder that the man had been standing on, and sheathing his drawn blades, the cursed assassin looked with his nocturnal vision
into the dark sewer passages. He heard faint prayers
cease and leaving footsteps start
from up above, so he made himself more than faint in step.
His mind recalled from centuries past that the tunnel to the left would take him out of the city to the north side. Having used these sewer routes many times long ago, he knew that the salisans dwelled to the right and all he would have to contend with was perhaps the homeless or a few cutthroats
to the left
. Keeping to the walls and stepping quick and careful over the sludgepiles and scavenger vermin, Kendari traveled north through the ancient undercity.

His thoughts ate away at him as to why he felt tension from a pri
est and a merchant, but mostly the
young priest of Alden. He did not care for matters of faith nor respect them in the sligh
test; quite the opposite
. Stepping from safe dry spot to slimeless ledge down the sunless corridor, Kendari fumed at himself and
his
puzzli
ng reactions toward the holy ma
n he had not even seen.
Was it something in his voice, his ability to sense or see the corrupt unnatural spirit that he was, or the unseen itself which had him on edge for a few moments?
Kendari thought of how many times in his six centuries he had faced odds and enemies far vast and superior to that of a pious human male
,
and
had
survived with blood covered blades.

“I should go bac
k and kill him just to start this
day over proper!” he mused as he kicked a scurrying rat into the slop that drooled through the middle of the sewer.
His mind began to wander to Angeline and the battle of days past.
Why had she left him alive and even tended to him? Where had she gone?

The plop of a
rat was followed not by the
shrill animal voice of displeasure at its disgusting whereabouts, but a scream of terror that was human and feminine in nature. Curious, Kendari quickened his fleet steps, clung to the darkness of the shadows as he approached
lanternlight from around a turn in the sewers. Arguing between some men and a woman, the clash of steel, someone disarmed, and surprised tempers and frustrations all were obvious to the cursed swordsman from what little he heard through the commotion. Spying around the corner, walking as sure as death itself, the Nadderi elf spotted the source of the noise that disrupted his peaceful walk through the filth under Harlaheim.

“Impossible! That is her, I bet my brand on it! They did something to her, magic, enchantments, something, but
it is our domenarch I swear!” o
ne of the four men was staring at the woman held b
y his three allies.

Another picked up her rapier as he kept her wrist in his free hand. “They executed her, we saw it! This is some imposter sent to root us out. Kill her now and leave the body in the sewer, she is surely followed!”

“Florin, tell us what to do. My lady, please.
What have they done to you?” y
et another refused to accept that the woman that had re
cruited him years ago was any
other than this woman
,
who seemed to be c
rying in the low yellow glow of
the underground.

“I am not
Florin! Please! Just let me go! Please
!
” Rosana began sobbing, falling limp from exhaustion and duress.

“Then who are you, m’lady?” h
is steps were silent, hands on his blades, cloak pulled over his head to hide his face in yet more shadow. Kendari had heard enough to know that these men were agents of Johnas here in Harlaheim, and they looked more confused and
unstable than the normal guild
of assassins and criminals he was used to in other cities.

“Mind yer business or you will be finding what the bottom of the sewers has hidden in it, stranger. I
would suggest you move along.” t
wo of the men, this one with the scraggly hair and long beard and his uglier twin behind him, both drew daggers held in reverse and tightened their stance toward the silent cloaked image.

“I was talking to the lady, human.” Kendari removed his hood with a flick of his neck, his emerald green eyes never leaving sight of the four men or their breathing. He stepped closer into the light
and allowed a smile of vile cruelty to crease his marked face. Their breathing stopped for a moment, as he anticipated, then he slowly drew out his swords. Shiver first crept out of its scabbard, the heat rippling in front of Kendari. Then his left hand drew the pyramid pommeled longblade, held in reverse, and he moved it across his throat before turning his hand. The gesture froze the four men in place, as he expected it to.

“Ken-en-kendari…” t
he apparent leader of this group within the guild turned to the others. “You told me he was dead, dead in the alley. You said you killed him!?”

“
Ahhh lies
, are they not the meat and bread of life? No, he ran away actually. From a woman.” Kendari moved closer, knowing he had these men easily intimidated, two of them already shaking.

“Four on one
, not even
you
could—
“

“Yes he can, I saw him! Florin, help us kill this elf. He is wanted and Johnas is
paying a kings reward, here!” t
he third agent of the White Spider handed Rosana back her blade and let her arm go.

“I am not Florin!” Rosana fell to the soot and refuse covered walkway, blade in hand, sobbing in frustration.

“Then who are you!?” t
he leader turned toward the crying woman he knew was not his domenarch. He had known the whole time since she had no apparent will or skill with a blade.

“I am…Queen Rosana of Harlaheim! Your…bitch F
lorin sits on my damn throne!” h
er words trailed off in more tears as she threw the rapier into the muck and placed her head between her knees to hide her face and her shame.

“
Interesting
.” Kendari moved closer, a few feet away from the leader now.

“She’s worth a lot to ransome if it’s true, take her with and let
’
s head up topside. Florin, wherever s
he is, will know what to do.” j
ust as he went to grab the supposed queen, the heated edge of Shiver appeared inches from his neck.

“That would be
my
prisoner
,
thank you.”

“You don’t stand a chance against all four of us—“ his words stopped as the blade came closer and the heat made his eyes wince.

“He killed five last night Dillim, and I hear fifteen in
Chazzrynn a few months back. That’s why the Prince offered five thousand on his ugly head
. Let’s leave here and live!” t
he trembling words of the one that got away killed any hope for rallying the others to stand.

“He is
almost
correct, Dillam, it was twenty two in Chazzrynn and the price was ten thousand in gold. That was before I came to Harlaheim, I am sure it has gone up since then. I can make the count higher here, or you can leave me to my prisoner.
Your choice
.” Kendari whispered into his
opponent’s
ear, noting the white knuckle grip he held on his dagger.

“Fock the ugly elf, I say—“

Swoossshh,
t
hump, thump, sploosh, thud, clank.

His stance regained, Kendari watched the blood drip from his long
blade after taking Dllams head
clean off, watching it fall
to the floor, then
in the sewage, followed by his body and the dagger to the stone floor. “Ugly? That was rude, truly. Now, the same offer stands, unless you would like to join your friend in deep, permanent, meditation.”

Like crows from the sight of an
eagle beaming in on their kill, the three men
vanished into the side tunnels of the undercity. Waiting for a countermaneuver or a trick, the Nadderi swordsman held still amidst the frightened sobs of the woman professing to be queen Rosana of Harlaheim. Nothing stirred, nothing moved near, and only the sound of the heat from the lantern
and the longsword made any violation
in the faintest. Kendari sheathed his swords and pulled the woman to her feet by the armpit.

“Time to go,
your highness
.”

“And to where? Am I just a trade to be bartered from killer to corrupt criminal? Just kill me now, whoever you are!” Rosana went to fall to her feet, but was held up by the marked and deadly elf.

“I do not deal with the White Spider who wants you. I do not deal with the nobility who has hurt you and removed you from power. However, I am sure there are nobles somewhere that will pay something of great value to have you safe and secure. In reality, I just want to see another scheme of Prince Johnas Valhera fail, it amuses me. He will surely add money to the pile and keep my nights exciting from city to city with assassins and bounty hunters. Now,
my moneys are low so
where am I taking you,
your majesty
? Keep in mind though, if you run or sc
ream, I will kill you before your
words escape
or your second step is taken.” h
is eyes beamed into hers, leaving no doubt in their validity.

“Saint Erinsburg, take me to Lord Cristoff Bradswellen the Third, Lord of Saint Erinsburg
. He has plenty of gold and jewels, enough to satisfy a murderer like yourself.
” d
espite not falling into the hands of Florin’s followers, Rosana knew that this marked elf was just like them.

“We shall see.”
Kendari pushed the woman to walk ahead of him, and kept one hand on Shiver, just in case.

Cristoff II:II

Bradswellen Castle, Saint Erinsburg