The Chosen

by Kaitlin Himmelstoss

  The man stood a moment looking the group over. He was not informed of guest arriving and was going to tell them to leave, but Dagny came out of the front of the house. The open court yard was a dozen or so feet from the gate but her voice carried over to them.

  “Adimus, what is the issue here?”

  The guard turned seeing Dagny approach.

  “My Lady, these undesirables are requesting an audience with you.”

  She approached the group looking them over with hesitation. “They are sell swords.” he muttered.

  She studied Leif. He was not the man she had spoken to last night. He was far from a towering giant, he was smaller, well build, well-groomed and devilishly handsome. Her face blushed.

  “You are not Norman Therell.” she stated.

  Leif raised his eyebrows.

  “No, my Lady, Norman was unable to fulfill your assignment and has asked The Argent Brotherhood to take it on, if of course, you are willing to accept our offer.”

  He gave a slight bow to her. “I am Leif Argent. Myself and my three companions have worked for many years for The Crown, as well as private citizens, such as yourself. We are experienced in a variety of missions.”

  “Kidnapping?” she asked suddenly

  Leif paused and glanced up as he stood back up straight from his bow.

  “We have completed rescue missions before.”

  She paused a moment and swallowed hard.

  “Forgive me, Mr. Argent, but if your skills are as good as your arithmetic, I don’t think I will be employing your services. There are only three of you, not four.”

  Leif smirked. She had spunk. He admired that.

  “My Lady, fear not. My fourth member is not currently with us today, but he will be joining us when are to embark on this mission.”

  She looked the group over once more. She was desperate but she didn’t show it. The Crown had denied her help. She was even threatened with jail if she continued to pester them about it. She knew her brother was taken but she had no proof, no evidence.

  She swallowed hard thinking about him.

  “Very well Mr. Argent. If your group is as good as you claim it to be, I will employ your services. There is only one condition.” she said staring at him.

  His face was trying hard not to express excitement. He needed this job. If they could establish a foothold within The Springs, their reputation would spread and they would gain a slew of wealthy clients.

  “Condition?” he asked tilting his head.

  “I am to go with your group to find my brother.”

  Leif felt a knot form in his throat. He could hear Revna let out a defeated sigh. There is no way she would agree to having a client come along for the ride. He could hear the gravel shifting under her feet, as if she was already turning to leave.

  “You wish to come with us? My Lady, this work is far too dangerous. We may be traveling in adverse weather, trenches filled with mud, fighting enemies and foes, all whom would eat you alive.”

  Leif tried to make the adventure sound as unappealing as possible, despite all of those things being very desirable to his group.

  “Those are my conditions.” she stated firmly.

  She could feel her heart racing. If they turned her down, she would be lost again. This was too important for her not to be involved. She wanted to track down who took her brother, she wanted to have their blood on her hands. She was fueled with anger.

  Leif stood a moment with his mouth slightly open, unable to find the words. He looked at Gorm who slowly shook his head. He didn’t need to look back at Revna to know her answer. Even if Isadore were with them, he knows he would have some negative undermining comment to make about it.

  “Agreed.” Leif said.

  Even as the words left his lips, he couldn’t believe he spoke them. She gave a slight smile and turned to walk back to the house.

  “Please, follow me. I will show you where it took place.”

  Leif looked back at the two. Both stood glaring at him. Revna had her arms crossed clenching her fists. He mouthed the words “sorry” and shrugged. Gorm punched him hard in the shoulder. He winced back and stumbled catching his footing as he muted his yelp between his clenched teeth.

  Chapter 5

  Dagny took them into the house. They made their way up to the second floor where she and Arman had their bedrooms. The group looked around inspecting things as they moved. They came to the first bed room. The door was open wide as the afternoon sun poured into the room.

  “This room is the size of my house.” Gorm muttered glancing in.

  “Arman’s room is further down.” Dagny said looking back at them. “Those are my quarters. Nothing happened in there.”

  Leif glanced back in as Dagny continued walking down the hall.

  “Well that’s a shame.” he whispered with a smirk.

  Gorm snorted and shoved him forward. They made it to the end of the long hall. It was filled with golden picture frames wrapped around oil painted views and people. A red carpet stitched with details lined the hall, magnifying the wealth that swelled around them.

  Leif approached the door.

  “He was in here, the last I saw him.” Dagny said softly. “No one has been in since.”

  Leif nodded and grasped the brass handle. It opened with ease. The room was not as bright as Dagny’s was. The velvet curtains that hung down the walls were partly open, some still closed. Only one on the far end of the room was pushed open wide enough for the sun’s rays cascaded into the corner, as if struggling to stay in the room of shadows.

  The bed was unmade, the covers and sheets tossed about from the last time Arman had laid upon them.

  Leif walked over to the window. The window was open wide.

  “Was this window open?” he asked looking down.

  Outside was a long drop to the grassy yard below. This part of the house faced the back woods surrounding the estate.

  “I don’t believe so. Arman had the fire going that night. He wouldn’t have left a window open if he was cold.”

  She gestured her hand to the fireplace, which was now cold and covered in black soot.

  Leif ran his hand across the sill and the back again, leaving the tips of his fingers under the lip on the outside of the window. He could feel abrasiveness to the wood, as if something had rubbed on the wood with great weight to it. He examined it closer.

  “What is it?” Gorm asked watching.

  “I believe someone used a rope.” he said glancing back into the room.

  He scanned around looking for something to anchor to. The bed post was made of solid heavy wood. He went over to it and got on his knees. Carefully he rubbed his hand around the leg closest to the window. He could feel the stain on the wood was worn off. After crouching down his eyes verified something had rubbed into the stain.

  “Look here.” Revna said glancing down at the carpet.

  The all came over and followed a faint line that ran from the bed post to the window. It looked like residue of soot or something that had burned. Gorm knelt down and swiped his hand across it. His fingers revealed a slight black tint to them. He sniffed it and then licked it.

  Dagny tried to keep her face from looking disgusted as she didn’t want to insult their tactics.

  “It’s soot, something burned across here.” he said nodding.

  “Burned? Would the house not have caught fire?” Dagny asked confused.

  The three exchanged glances. Leif swallowed hard.

  “We need Isadore.” he finally said.

  “I don’t understand.” Dagny said.

  Leif gave a half smile.

  “Lady Marfell…”

  “Dagny, please, just Dagny.” she interrupted.

  “Dagny, it would appear that there has been some magic used in this room.” Leif said regrettably.

  “Magic? I don’t understand.” Dagny said stunned.

  “Someone used a rope to climb out of this window. They anchored it to your brother
’s bed post. The reason it is not here for us to see is because an incinerating spell was used. It is why the room didn’t go up in a blaze. It only burned away the rope, leaving barely a trace of anything.”

  “But why? Why would someone do this? We have no dealings with casters.” Dagny said getting upset.

  The thought of magic being involved was an entire new fear for her. A ransom was one thing but casters, that meant something entirely different.

  “Someone went through a great deal to hide the fact that your brother was taken.” Leif said.

  “But why?” she said starting to sob. “Why would they take him? What purpose?”

  Leif drew a long breath and approached her. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

  “Dagny, that is what we intend to find out. That is what you hired us for.”

  She sniffed a bit trying to compose herself. “We will do whatever it takes to find him. You have my word.”

  The group retreated back to the downstairs. Dagny offered them food to eat. They sat in the parlor area trying to be well mannered.

  “My brother and I are the same age, twins actually. It is uncommon for twins to survive, so we always considered ourselves special.” Dagny said.

  “I have heard that twins often share a close bond, stronger than average siblings would.” Leif said as he eyed the tray of food before him.

  Gorm and Revna were sitting off to the side stuffing their faces with the delicious treats.

  “This is very good.” Gorm muttered through a mouthful of food.

  Leif silently sighed and shook his head disapprovingly and slightly embarrassed.

  “You will have to forgive us Dagny, we are from The Thumb. It is important to understand that, if you really want to come with us, you are going to have to get comfortable around individuals like us.” Leif said.

  “What do you mean?” Dagny asked surprised.

  “We are ill-mannered, we don’t follow the social norms of high society. The places we will travel too, you will be hard pressed to find anything as polished as The Springs. I feel you may find you would be more comfortable remaining here while we do our investigation.”

  It was a last-ditch effort to get Dagny to resign from coming along. She shook her head.

  “No, I am coming, that was our agreement.” she paused a moment. “And what you stated is not entirely true, you are quite refined Mr. Argent.”

  “Please, call me Leif.” he smiled.

  “Well, Leif, you are not like the undesirables I encountered in The Thumb.”

  Leif flashed a smile. He wasn’t sure how to take that, but knew that they were stuck with her for the journey, at least for now.

  “We should get moving.” Revna said standing up.

  The sun was setting and they still needed to return to The Thumb to find Isadore.

  “You are leaving? It is far too late to be venturing out into the city.” Dagny said concerned.

  “There is nothing in this city that frightens me.” Gorm said standing up.

  She looked at him a moment and slowly nodded.

  “Perhaps not, but please, allow me to offer my guest rooms to you. Stay the night and we can depart in the morning.”

  “We?” Revna asked looking at Leif.

  “Yes, you agreed I would come with you.” Dagny said defensively.

  “On the journey perhaps. We still have some research to do and inquiries to rule out.” Leif said.

  “And I plan to be with you during all of it.” she stated firmly.

  “Leif we can’t be babysitting her and do our investigation, this isn’t going to work.” Revna snapped angrily, looking at Leif.

  “I will not be in your way.” Dagny said staring at her.

  There was a tense moment of silence. Revna shook her head and left the room. “Leif, please, that was our agreement. I promise I will not be in your way. You will not have to babysit me; I am capable of managing myself. I have already been to The Thumb, alone, at night.” she stated proudly.

  Leif let out a slight laugh.

  “One night in The Thumb is hardly enough experience to consider for induction into the Brotherhood.” Leif said shaking his head.

  Dagny let out a desperate sign. Leif felt her frustration. “Look, lets discuss this in the morning. We can stay the night here. I will speak to Revna. She can be difficult to get along with. Do not take it personal, that is just how she is.”

  They were all given rooms for the night. Revna eventually calmed down. Despite her disapproval of allowing Dagny to trail along with them, Leif was their leader and he was in charge. His decision was all of theirs.

  Chapter 6

  Desmond Hargrave sat outside the small shop near the Royal Commons. He ate at this shop nearly every day. His routine was predictable and precise. He sat sipping his tea in his fancy detailed dress coat. Most of the patrons that passed by knew who he was and avoided eye contact.

  Out of all the members of The Crown, Desmond was the most feared, and he wasn’t even a seated member. He was of lesser ranking then that of a seat holder, but as Chairman, he ran the Royal Commons. Even some well-seasoned seated members were intimidated by him.

  He watched the carriages and horses roll by as the day was starting. Every so often his gaze would shift over to the shadowy descending lower city of The Thumb. It had been a hard journey coming from there. No one knew of his past. He was nothing more than a worthless street sleeper, finding refuge among the broken barrels and waste laying in the alleys.

  He was nothing but a terrified boy, trying to find a foothold to rise up from. And rise he did. His training and education came at a cost, but it was all worth it to him. He could now look down upon those who once snubbed him. It had been a while since his last visit to The Thumb. The journey was always with purpose.

  Desmond did not hide the fact that he went there to seek out pleasurable company. It was the only place that offered such services. The Springs were elegant and high class. Purchasing sex for the night was unheard of, despite the fact that every wealthy man was found down in the dredges of The Thumb at one point or another to do just that.

  Desmond’s taste in men was particular. While many of the brothels offered a variety of men and women workers, Desmond always found pleasure in Stanley’s House for Gentlemen. It was as refined as a brothel in The Thumb could be.

  Despite his lack of sexual desires this morning, he still pondered over a visit in the near future. It was at this moment that he was taking a bite out of his crumpet when he spied Lady Marfell. His initial reaction was one of contempt, but it was followed by concern when he saw she was in the company of The Argent Brotherhood.

  He abruptly got up wiping his face quickly as he stormed over to them, quite displeased. They were just as charmed to see him.

  “Lady Marfell, I thought I made it clear to you yesterday that I would have you arrested if you returned to the Royal Commons.” he stated as he looked down at the group.

  Her face was flustered as she cleared her throat.

  “Chairmen Hargrave, good to see you this morning. I am not heading to the Royal Commons.” she spoke softly with a gracious curtsy.

  Leif was surprised by her demeanor. She had proved to be stubborn yesterday when negotiating their employment contract. Now, she appeared to fall apart, unable to match Desmond’s wit. It was like he had some sort of spell over her.

  “And where might you be heading with such an undesirable group?” he asked accusingly.

  “I don’t think that is really any of your concern Mr. Chairmen.” Leif said stepping in-between Dagny and Desmond.

  Leif glared at him, unmoved by his intimidating appearance. Desmond tilted his head with a sideways smirk.

  “Mr. Argent, last we spoke I was dissolving your contract with The Crown. I am surprised you are still in business, although such a desperate case you have taken on. No evidence of any sort, Arman is probably down in the brothels of The Thumb, drunk and unconscious.”

  Leif smirked. />
  “It is not a desperate case; it is a difficult one. There is plenty of evidence, it just takes the right eye to know how to recognize magic.”

  Desmond kept his face expression blank. Inside his gut wrenched. They found evidence. This was not good. The Argent Brotherhood was better than he had anticipated.