The Fallen Kings

by P D Atkerson

  She cares for him, and he treats her that way? Aroron didn’t understand it, but he said nothing.

  “If that’s all you need, then I believe I’ll head to my own chamber.” Aroron said, rubbing his arms. “I don’t feel so well and would like to retire.”

  Telarian waved him off. “Yes, yes. Do whatever you wish, you’ve already done enough for me tonight.”

  Aroron thanked him and bowed out of the dining hall.

  He’d barely left it behind him, when Marlon appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Aroron, quickly shoving him against the wall. “I know what you are!” he spat. “You’re an Oddity.”

  Aroron grabbed the boy’s arm, twisted it around and quickly changed places with him, slamming him back against the wall. “Don’t even think for a second that you can threaten me!” he hissed in the boy’s face. “I could crush you without a second thought.”

  “So, it is true.” Marlon gasped out. Idiot! Aroron yelled at himself, lessening the pressure on the boy. “Is that how you beat me and the prince? You cheated?” he asked. “Is that how you did it?”

  “I didn’t use my gift!” Aroron hissed, fighting the urge to shove his arm against the boy’s neck again. “But even if I had, I wouldn’t have been cheating, any more than using a sword in the fight would have been. My gift is a part of me, and nothing you say will change that.”

  “You think we’re fools? You may have saved the prince’s life tonight, but believe me, it only takes one thing for them to turn on you. One wrong move, and you’ll find yourself in the dungeons, or worse.” Marlon said. “All it takes is one slip of the tongue.”

  “If you tell them…” Aroron started.

  “You’ll what? Use your gifts on me?” Marlon asked, tilting his head. “And you wonder why we hate your kind! Don’t cross me.” he whispered. “I may just decide to tell someone what you are. Now, let go of me!”

  Aroron clinched his fist, then reluctantly, let up. “I’ll find a way to repay you!” Aroron growled. “And I will end you!”

  Marlon fixed his shirt. “We’ll see about that.” He said, turning away. “See you tomorrow, Aroron.”

  He watched, until Marlon vanished from sight, then he stormed to his room and slammed the door closed behind him.

  Aroron leaned back against the door frame, and that’s when it hit him. Draven! He’d completely forgotten tonight was when he needed to meet with the rebel at Ingram’s. What was he going to do? He wondered, as he began to pace his chamber. After everything that had happened, there was a chance someone might come around and check to make sure everyone was in their chambers.

  If they found that he was missing, what would they do? He needed to warn the rebels that Munay was up to something in Shey, and he had a feeling it was big. There was a chance that information could help the rebels.

  He really didn’t have a choice about it.

  Checking his coat and sword, Aroron locked the door, then hurried over to the window. He opened it, and without letting himself rethink leaving, he pulled himself out through the window.

  * * *

  Chapter 18

  Night

  “Dong, dong, dong!” The Shenockien bells rang out, and a smile crept across Enrick’s face. It’s time to move. He scrambled to his feet and peeked out from behind the pillar.

  No one was around.

  Kant was taking care of the distraction, while Enrick took care of the real mission, or at least that’s what he told himself.

  Killing Dillaran had to mean more than killing Aroron. Didn’t it? He had to keep telling himself that it did. Stop it! Prince Enrick snapped at himself. He needed to focus, or he was going to get himself caught, and then most likely, killed.

  He moved around the pillar and hurried down the path. He hadn’t gone far when he heard the sound of rocks crunching under heavy boots met his ears. Enrick froze, then glanced around him, as the sound grew closer. He needed to find somewhere to hide, and fast!

  Quickly, he ducked behind a pillar and held himself still as a statue, as one of the Palace guards moved around the corner towards him. He pressed himself up against the pillar even harder and waited as he passed.

  The guard didn't even so much as glance Enrick’s way as he hurried past. He went around another corner and was gone.

  Enrick let out a long sigh, dropping his head back against the stone. Then he laughed softly to himself.

  Idiot guard! He thought, shaking his head.

  This was going to be almost too easy! If all the guards throughout the Palace were like this one, he could probably kill the whole royal court without anyone even noticing him there. Plus, Dasety's contact had been right about how the guards would respond if someone attacked the Palace. Hopefully the map the contact had sent was correct too.

  If it wasn’t, Enrick would probably find himself lost in the Palace all night.

  He waited behind the pillar a few seconds longer, to make sure the guard was out of ear shot, before he stepped out of the shadows and back onto the path. His footsteps as silent as those of a trained assassin, for which he was.

  Enrick hurried towards the nearest wall of the Palace's main structure and quickly checked his surroundings. Studying the landmarks to figure out where he was.

  He nodded his head. Good!

  This was the right spot to start his climb, and no one seemed to be around. He closed his eyes and thought about the layout of the Palace. He’d studied the map for hours and he was glad of it now.

  If he remembered right, the target's chambers would be up two levels and over three windows. Easy. If everything went right, which it never did. You can always hope. He thought to himself, as he stepped forwards.

  Enrick slid his sword around onto his back.

  He closed his eyes, there was no way he'd be able to see in the darkness anyway. Carefully, he felt around him, before grabbing hold of the wall and starting up the side of it. His boots scraped against the stone, as he hoisted himself up onto a small edge on the next level.

  It wasn't the easiest climb he'd ever done, but he’d also survived much worse.

  Foot and hand holds were hard to find on the smooth sand stone wall, and the ones he did find were small and few and far between. It took him nearly ten minutes before he reached the floor he was looking for. He opened his eyes, pulling himself up onto the small ledge.

  Enrick scrambled to his feet and slowly turned around to face outwards and away from the wall. The moonlight slipped out from behind the clouds and lit up the ground below him.

  A silhouette of the city lay stretched out before him, dwarfed by the height.

  In the distance, he could see little figures moving around. That wasn’t good, the guards were returning to the Palace. Enrick needed to hurry. Far off, the Palace clock chimed mid-night.

  He was running out of time.

  By now, Enrick’s eyes had grown used to the darkness. So, looking to the side, Enrick was able to make out the ‘path’ he would have to take to get to his target's chambers, without stepping foot inside the building itself.

  It wasn’t much of a path, though. Just a two-inch-thick ledge that curled around the wall and the whole building. Not the easiest path, one miss step and he was sure to die, but it would have to do. It wasn't like he could just storm into the Palace and walk right past the guards into his target’s chamber.

  This was the only way he could finish his mission.

  Steeling himself, Enrick inched his way towards the little ledge. His heart thudded in his chest, as he slowly moved the tip of his boot forwards and onto the ledge. He grabbed onto the wall above his head and scooted his other foot forwards. He swallowed. One wrong move and he would plummet to his death below.

  He could almost see his bleeding body lying down there, lifeless. Not the way he wanted to go.

  Enrick just had to take it carefully, and he would survive this.

  After another minute or two of inching across the wall, tediously slow, Prince Enrick passed three windows, rea
ching the chamber he was looking for.

  A window just above him would lead right into his target's chamber.

  In one swift movement, Enrick turned his body around. Then he grabbed onto the window ledge above his head and pulled himself up onto it.

  He knelt there for a second, catching his breath before he continued on.

  Enrick drew his knife out of his belt and shoved it into the bottom of the window. He forced it in and pried up.

  The window groaned, as he pushed it open with his weight. It slid open and Enrick pulled himself inside, silently landing on the wood floor below the window.

  He’d only taken one step into the chamber, when he heard the sound of the door opening. Time seemed to stop for Enrick, as he looked around him for a place to hide. He looked to his right and spotted a wardrobe just big enough for him to fit in, or at least he hoped so, as he bolted towards it.

  Carefully and quietly, he slipped into the wardrobe and closed the door most of the way behind him.

  Enrick watched through the crack in the wardrobe door as a servant stepped into the chamber and began to prepare the bed for King Dillaran. Not, good. That meant he didn’t have much time to do what he’d come to do.

  He’d hoped to have everything done and to be gone, by the time the king went to bed. But now he wasn’t sure he had enough time for all of it. As it turned out, he had less time than he’d thought.

  Just when he was expecting the servant to leave, the door opened again and King Dillaran entered, wearing a loose tunic and pants.

  “My king,” the servant said, as he bowed towards Dillaran. “Your bed is ready for you.” The king thanked the servant, then motioned him out of his chambers.

  Enrick wanted to hit his head against the wood. Why couldn’t things go as planned, just once? He wondered, as Dillaran slipped into bed. So much for doing it before he returned to his chamber!

  Now he had to wait until he was sure the king was sound asleep before making his move. Who knew how long that might take? As quietly as he could, Enrick scooted down the wall of the wardrobe and into a sitting position. He closed his eyes and laid back.

  While he waited, Enrick found himself slipping into sleep several times.

  Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer. If the king wasn’t asleep by then, he never would be. Grabbing the edge of the door, he slowly pushed it opened, slipped out and dropped to the ground.

  Crouching down, Enrick moved deeper into the chamber, following the sound of deep breathing he could clearly hear from the other side of the room. He’d been right to guess the king was asleep.

  The idiot sounds like a hog. Enrick thought, swallowing back a laugh.

  He could probably pound his feet against the ground and the guards outside wouldn't even hear a thing over the sound of this man’s snoring! Still, he knew he needed to be careful.

  There was a small chance the king might awaken.

  Enrick inched his way past Dillaran’s bed, and to the other side of the room where a basin of water and another bowl and towel lay on a small table, waiting for the king to wash with in the morning.

  After checking to make sure his gloves were on tight and that there were no holes in them, Enrick reached into his sleeve and withdrew a pouch sealed tightly. He took his knife and cut it open, then he slid the powder out and into the basin

  The white powder sizzled, as it mixed into the water and vanished.

  He folded the pouch back up and shoved it into his pocket. Enrick was just about to head back towards the window, when the king snorted, flopped over and for a moment, he stopped snoring.

  Practically holding his breath, Enrick stepped towards the window and pulled his hood up. Taking each step, as if the ground might break from beneath him.

  He was nearly to the window, when he heard the sound of the floor groaning behind him. Time seemed to freeze, as he realized, someone else had entered the room and he hadn’t even noticed!

  Mentally, he cursed himself for being so stupid and not noticing the sound of movement in the chamber, other than his own.

  Enrick wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword. Spinning around, he drew his sword out, just in time to block the guard's sword above his head. He twisted his sword around and pressed the guard back. The guard stepped back and hit against one of the end tables and a vase tumbled to the ground and shattered.

  The sound was deafening, after the long silence.

  "What's going on here?" King Dillaran asked, sitting up in bed, as he rubbed his eyes and looked around the chamber. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  “Stay back, my king!” the guard yelled.

  Enrick growled and gritted his teeth, as he quickly blocked another of the guards failing attempts to kill him. No one was to know he'd been there, until after he'd gone and the king was dead! This was all wrong, it wasn’t supposed to go this way.

  Two people had seen him and his time was being cut short, at least he’d been able to do what he’d come for before anyone had seen him. Though, he needed to get out of there before someone recognized him.

  Luckily, it had been a long time since he'd visited Shey and hopefully, no one remembered him from that time. But today, he was going to make sure people remembered him, as an assassin.

  The one who killed King Dillaran.

  They’d hopefully never know his name, but they weren’t soon to forget him.

  “What is going on? Tell me now!” the king yelled again. The goon was so slow. Had he really no clue?

  The guard turned to look at the king, when he did, Enrick grabbed up the basin of water and tossed it over the guard’s head and towards the king’s bed, splattering all over the sheets. He had to make sure the king died!

  In one swift movement, Enrick slammed against the guard, causing him to stumble back. Before the guard could attack again, Enrick drew another knife from his belt and threw it at the king.

  The king’s eyes were big, as he ducked down and the blade slammed into the headrest behind him. But it hadn't missed its mark. That was just where Enrick knew it would hit.

  The second blade hit the hard wood, it caught fire and the king yelped, jumping away from the flames and onto the wet part of the sheets. Enrick smiled, then he spun around and slammed the heel of his boot into the guard’s chest.

  The guard stumbled back, tripped, fell to the ground onto the earlier broken vase. He screamed out in pain, just as another two guards appeared in the doorway.

  There was no way Enrick could take them both on by himself.

  It was time for him to make his exit, the chamber was already ablaze anyways, thanks to Dasety's new coating for the blade. The room was quickly filling with smoke and it was growing harder to see.

  Enrick ducked below the guard's next wild cut towards his head, then he lunged away from him, rolling across the ground and back on his feet, far away from the guard. He was invisible now, thanks to the smoke.

  "You will die, Dillaran, by Zilladien hands!" Enrick spat, grinning behind his mask. This hadn’t been a part of his father’s plan, but it had been part of his all along. “Zilla will crush Shenock!”

  With luck, a war was coming to Shey and it wasn't from Karlay. Not yet. Enrick turned around and ran for the window.

  "Long live King Elmor!" he cried, before jumping out the window.

  The second he hit the ground, he rolled, just like he was taught to do by his many teachers (his father would kill them for one reason or another). Enrick's movement spread the impact of falling through his whole body and not just through his legs and ankles. By the time he stopped rolling, he was only bruised and scraped. But nothing was broken and there was no way the Palace guard would follow after him that way.

  Enrick shoved himself to his feet and hurried away from the royal chambers. He ducked down a path and vanished into the shadows, long before the guards even reached the ground.

  Doing his best to avoid the city’s guard patrols, Enrick made his way towards Shey’s walls, where Kant and th
e other Loyal Warriors were waiting. As Enrick turned the last corner, Kant and the warriors stepped out of the shadows.

  “What took you so long?” Kant asked. “We were starting to wonder if you were coming at all.”

  “There were some complications with my mission.” Enrick said. “But I worked through them and finished the job.”

  Kant nodded. “Good, then we’d better get out of the city.” He said, nodding to one of the other warriors. The warrior reached into a satchel they’d hidden beside the wall earlier that day and pulled out a grappling hook.

  “You might want to move back.” The warrior said, swinging the hook around. With one last swing, he let go. With a light ‘thud’ they heard the hook hit the top of the wall. The warrior yanked on the rope and it grew taut. “It’s ready when you are.” The warrior said, stepping back from it.

  “Children first.” Kant said, holding the rope out to Enrick.

  Rolling his eyes, Enrick took it and began his climb. The soles of his boots didn’t make a sound, as he hoisted himself over the top and onto the wall itself. He dropped to his knees and kept down, as he looked around him.

  That’s when he saw the tower guard, pacing up and down the length of the wall. He didn’t notice Enrick and never even came near to him. He had to be taken care of. They couldn’t have someone sound the alarm when they were so close to getting away clean.

  When the guard turned away from Enrick again, he quietly crept up behind him.

  Once there was only a short distance between them, Enrick leapt forwards and grabbed the guard. Quickly, he hooked his arm around the guard's neck and tightened it, until the guard moaned and let out a sigh, his body growing limp.

  Enrick let the guard's body drop to the ground, then he hurried back over to the rope and signaled to the Loyal Warriors that it was clear. In less than a minute, they found themselves on the other side of the wall, where they rested for a moment.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here before someone notices the dead guards.” Prince Enrick said, moving away from the wall, followed by the Loyal Warriors.