Soldiers of the Crown

by Stephen L. Nowland

  Maggie screamed a moment later when a heavy club smashed into her from an assassin who emerged from a small hatch in the wall. The raelani druid’s arm was clearly broken from the strike, and she fell to the ground as Valennia kicked the assassin back through the door. The concealed opening slammed shut behind him, though his work was already done. The remaining opponents fled from the scene, disappearing into the shadows and leaving Aiden and his companions a few moments to take stock.

  “I’ll patch her up,” Nellise offered, moving forward to assist Maggie. Aiden looked around to check on the others, who watched the shadows warily.

  “They thought they had us, but we certainly proved them wrong,” Sir William rasped, leaning against the wall to catch his breath.

  “I hate blundering around like this,” Aiden remarked bitterly. “They could hit us again at any time.”

  “They’re in their element, and we’re not,” Ronan responded, receiving a nod of agreement from Aiden. “The only way we get safe is to finish what we started.”

  Maggie let out a whimper of pain as Nellise, crouched by her side, held her crystal in hand and began her healing the druid’s crushed and bloodied arm. It was a sight both gruesome and remarkable, to see even a former priestess of the Church of Aielund providing healing to what could be considered a member of a rival faith.

  Turning to Valennia, Aiden could see that she was favouring one leg, the other dripping with blood from numerous small cuts. Her thick hides almost to shreds and lines of blood appeared where her enemy’s blades had reached skin.

  “I can still fight,” she growled in response to his unasked question. “Leave your shaman to heal the tiny woman while we press ahead, Aiden. We cannot allow them to regroup.”

  “I concur,” Sir William added.

  “This will take more time than we have to heal properly,” Nellise murmured, her attention mostly focused on channelling healing energies to her patient. “But this will get Maggie back on her feet.”

  “Lucky me,” the druid said in little more than a whisper. “I can move. We shouldn’t stay here any longer.”

  “Alright, we head onward same as before,” Aiden said to everyone. “I doubt they would have put this much effort into defence if their headquarters wasn’t close. Keep your eyes peeled.” With Ronan and Pacian in the lead again, they slowly headed down the ancient passage until their progress was halted by a heavy stone door, covered in dirt and mould. A few moments of Pacian’s expertise persuaded it to open, revealing another corridor disappearing into the distant darkness.

  A short distance along this section Ronan whispered that he’d found an empty room just off to the right, he guided everyone through to give them a chance to rest and take stock of their situation.

  There was grime and mildew heavily encrusted upon walls lined with dirt from countless years of neglect. Heavy cobwebs hung in the corners, but no signs of spiders could be seen, and judging by the dry, dusty odour, nothing had moved down here for a very long time.

  “How are you faring?” Aiden asked Sayana, who was sitting against the wall next to him.

  “I’m hanging in there,” she answered firmly.

  “I have seen better days,” Sir William sighed, looking worse for wear as he leaned heavily on his sword next to her. Nellise put Maggie’s arm into a makeshift sling, and there was no telling how effective she was likely to be in a fight.

  “Can you and Ronan scout ahead some more while we catch our breath?” Aiden asked of Pacian, who nodded in response. “I’d like to turn the tables on these bastards and surprise them for a change.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Pacian asked warily.

  “Nothing subtle,” Aiden suggested with a wink. “Oh, take these so you can creep around without lighting yourselves up,” he added, taking his magical goggles that allowed their wearer to see in the dark out of his pack and handed them to Pacian. He fitted them over his eyes and along with the sailor, silently headed back through the door and disappeared. Valennia closed it and stood watch, while Nellise continued her work on Maggie’s injury.

  Aiden fidgeted incessantly while he awaited the return of his two scouts. Both Pacian and Ronan could see quite well in the dim conditions and Aiden could only hope it was enough of an advantage to allow them to remain undetected as they moved about the complex. When they finally returned to the antechamber, the news was better than he could have hoped for.

  “The only other way out of this section is through a door fifty yards further down the corridor,” Pacian told him. “I found a trap on that door and cut the wire, so we can get through it without setting off whatever surprise they had in store for us.

  “I saw a lot of tracks in the mud underfoot,” Ronan added. “I’d bet a gold sovereign that’s their base.”

  “Okay, then we hit it hard and fast,” Aiden suggested, speaking to the entire group. “Charge in at anything moving and don’t give them time to respond.”

  “It will be my honour to lead the charge,” Valennia said, “and I will permit you to stand beside me, old warrior,” she added for Sir William’s benefit.

  “With luck and providence, we will end this vile organisation once and for all,” the knight responded.

  “I need a few more minutes to stablise this,” Nellise advised, still working on Maggie’s injury. The flow of blood had been staunched and Nellise was attempting to heal over the terrible wound. Maggie was barely conscious, her face pale and glistened with sweat from the pain.

  “We’ll close the door behind us while you finish up,” Aiden suggested. “Pace, stay with them and keep watch, but join us as soon as you’re able. Okay Ronan, lead us to this door you found and we’ll finish this.” Ronan nodded and the group cautiously followed the sailor down the corridor, watching the walls for any sign of unwanted visitors. Aiden’s heart started beating faster as they approached the door in question, another ancient block of dirt-covered stone.

  Although it appeared to be clogged with grime, Ronan was easily able to open it and the door swung open on silent, well-oiled hinges. As soon as it was open far enough, Valennia let out an ear-splitting battle cry and charged through, with Sir William, who had been caught off guard by the noise, following behind in a struggle to keep up.

  Aiden rushed through next and saw a wide chamber of roughly thirty square feet in size. Arched openings revealed passageways off to the left and right, and straight ahead was a large table with vials of dark liquid and an assortment of weapons were scattered upon it. Seven dark figures who had been gathered around the table immediately fled, dashing though the left arch, with Valennia and Sir William close on their heels.

  Aiden moved to pursue but was struck by the possibility that this was another trick. He hesitated in the middle of the room and slowly turned to regard the other passage to the right. There was no indication anyone was there, but with these shadowy foes, that meant little.

  Ronan and Sayana dashed past, but slowly to a stop when they noticed Aiden torn between aiding his allies and following his hunch. Aiden held up a hand to indicate silence, then crept through the right arch and turned a corner, discovering a large room filled with simple beds, small tables with the remains of several meals piled upon them. Beyond this, on the far wall a hooded individual dressed in expensive leathers was helping a robed man through a narrow, concealed door.

  Sensing the leaders of the organisation making a break for it, Aiden, Ronan and Sayana immediately moved in with their weapons at the ready. The dark, leather-clad warrior heard them and turned to look, revealing a woman’s face visible beneath the hood. Her eyes were dark and a long scar ran down the right side of her face.

  “Go,” she instructed the robed man, “I will hold them.”

  Aiden spoke a command word and raised his right hand, feeling the ring upon it humming with power. He clenched his fist and the robed man, who had been about to slip away, found himself held by an invisible force. Aiden tried to pull him back inside the room but the man held f
ast to the door jamb.

  The female assassin drew a short blade with each hand and dashed towards Aiden, sliding across one of the tables and landing lightly on the ground before him. Fortunately, before she could move any closer, Ronan and Sayana stepped up and cut her off. The assassin rolled to Aiden’s left in an attempt to get around them but Ronan’s cat-like reflexes kept her at bay.

  The standoff came to an abrupt end a moment later when the robed man held in the doorway raised one of his hands and from it, blasted Aiden with a torrent of dark lighting. He screamed as the strength ebbed from his muscles and he staggered onto one knee, his energies drained by the crackling black energy. The ring’s hold vanished and within the span of a heartbeat, the robed man was gone.

  Struggling back to his feet, Aiden turned to the female assassin who faced off against Ronan and Sayana, unable to make a quick escape without getting through at least one of them.

  “Where is Holister?” Aiden asked, in no mood for games. “Answer truthfully and you may yet live.” The woman held each of her swords towards an opponent, and backed off a little more when Aiden moved forward, drawing his own weapon to corner her. She glanced briefly at the door and Aiden knew if they failed to stop her here she’d disappear into the night. In spite of this, she actually smiled.

  “Sarah Holister, at your service,” she answered in a husky voice. “And now that you know who I am, I can’t let you live to tell others.” To his surprise, the woman’s smile widened as if eager for the challenge and before Aiden could react, she was on the attack. She darted forward and went for Sayana who was unable to counter the assault. Her spectral armour flashed again and again as Holister repeatedly broke through her defences.

  Ronan rushed in to hit Holister from behind with his own pair of short blades but she sensed this coming and in a remarkable feat of athleticism, kicked one of Ronan’s legs out from under him and arched over backwards to flip over his prone form. Ronan rolled over so he was facing the ceiling and brought his blades up just in time to catch Holister’s.

  Aiden use the power of the ring once more to give Holister a shove that sent her tumbling backwards, but she ended up on her feet and rushed back in. It was barely enough time for Ronan to get back up and meet her in a flurry of swords.

  Despite Ronan’s obvious skill, he was outmatched by the master assassin before him and quickly found himself pushed back from the onslaught. She seemed to have a sixth-sense about what was going on around her, for she easily dodged Sayana’s shining axe when she brought it to bear.

  Aiden stepped forward to assist Ronan but received a swift kick in the stomach from Holister, who followed through on the move with an aeriel cartwheel. As soon as she landed, her blades whirled around to cut Ronan both times, forcing the sailor back as blood seeped from his wounds.

  Sayana knew she was completely outmatched by her opponent, so held her axe to one side and raised her other hand. Before she could invoke her sorcery, Holister swept her blades in a wide arc, cutting across Sayana’s extended arm. If not for the protection of her spectral armour, her limb would have been completely severed. The force of the blow was such that green sparks exploded around Sayana as the spell failed completely.

  Aiden had finally caught his breath and also determined it was pointless trying to outfight Holister with his meagre skills, so he sheathed his sword and picked up a nearby chair, which he smashed over her head while she was recovering from her attack on Sayana. Holister staggered backwards, trying to recover giving Sayana time to pull away without risk. Blood flowed freely along her arm where Holister’s blade had cut through her protection.

  Aiden finally had the advantage and raised his hand, using the power of his telekinetic ring to hold her in place. She struggled against the ring’s hold, attempting to simply break free but when it became clear she couldn’t, Holister flicked the wrist of one hand, sending one of her swords flying towards Aiden. It struck him on the right shoulder, releasing her from the magic as he clutched at his bloodied arm.

  Once free, Holister ran in and drove her knee into Aiden’s stomach, dropping him to the ground as he gasped for breath., fully aware he was exposed to an attack. Instead, she was forced to contend with Ronan, who pressed her hard from the other side, drawing her attention away. It was a costly move, as even with a single blade, Holister was more than a match.

  She rolled on the ground and came to a sliding halt behind him, cutting at the back of one of his legs which dropped him to one knee. She then followed through with the hilt of her weapon, smacking Ronan on the back of his head. He roared in pain and fell forward, dazed from the blow.

  “Enough of this,” came Nellise’s ringing voice from the door behind them. Everyone in the room turned to see the cleric standing in the doorway, her helmet gleaming in the dim light. A trail of dried blood on one side of her face served only to highlight her determined appearance. Holister turned and looked at her with detached calm, drawing a spare dagger and glancing around to make sure this wasn’t a trick as the cleric spoke an ultimatum — “I give you this one chance to surrender.”

  “Or?” the assassin asked, walking forward carefully to face her from across the room.

  “Or I will break you and force your capitulation anyway.”

  “Make me,” Holister grinned without mirth. Nellise didn’t say another word, instead raising her staff and moving in purposefully. The assassin awaited her approach and as soon as Nellise moved to strike, sprang into action.

  Holister tested her skills with cunning strikes, feints and sheer brute force. Nellise was hard-pressed right from the beginning and took several hits to her armour, with a couple of them drawing blood from between the gaps in the iron plate. What she was managing to do, was to keep Holister completely occupied, so much so that she failed to notice Pacian was creeping up on the master assassin from the shadows.

  Aiden was finally able to breath properly again and this time reached into his scroll case for an incantation of paralysis. He whispered the words and glared at Holister until the parchment crumbled to ash in his hands and a ripple in the air flew towards the assassin. The result was less than he’d hoped for. Holister seemed to hesitate for only a moment before continuing the fight, shrugging off the incantation with sheer force of will.

  Pacian sensed a moment of confusion in the assassin’s rhythm and took full advantage, leaping forward like a cat and stabbing her from behind. Holister cried out in pain but reflexively still managed to slam her elbow into Pacian’s face.

  He stumbled backwards with blood flowing freely from his nose, but his efforts had not gone unrewarded — the distraction allowed Nellise to crack her staff into Holister’s arm, shattering bone and forcing her to drop her weapon. The cleric didn’t give her time to recover however, and struck at the assassin on the head with her staff again and again until she finally dropped to the floor.

  Aiden was taken aback by the brutal display. Nellise breathed heavily from the exertion with blood dripping from her weapon. Her face was a mask of hatred, and it seemed as though she was about to continue the assault, yet something held her back. The battered assassin looked up at her with something akin to genuine fear, awaiting the final strike which did not come.

  “Finish it,” Pacian growled, moving to stand near Nellise. “She’s a piece of low-life filth, just like those monsters who made you watch their slaughter in that cave. She’s got nothing to say to us but lies.” The cleric held the end of the quarterstaff over Holister’s face, poised to strike.

  “We’ve won,” Aiden pointed out cautiously. “There’s no need to kill her.”

  “She’ll lie and try to weasel her way out of this,” Pacian retorted. It occurred to Aiden that Pacian could easily have done the deed himself, but he seemed to be more interested in convincing Nellise to do it.

  “She’s a wanted woman,” Aiden continued gently. “There’s no way she’s going to walk away from this. Let her live, and we’ll learn what we can before she gets thrown in priso
n.” Nellise continued to hesitate for a moment longer, and then let out a loud sob as her shoulders slumped. Turning away, she walked over to a wall and leaned back against it, sliding down to the floor, crying softly.

  “Fine, I’ll do it,” Pacian grunted, readying his dagger to finish off the assassin but caught at the last moment by Ronan, who held back the thrust.

  “Aiden says we talk to her, and that might be hard to do if she’s dead,” he said evenly to Pacian. The two men locked eyes for a tense moment, until Pacian relented and backed away.

  “Thank you for my life,” Holister croaked as Aiden hobbled over to stand before her. Looking around, Aiden saw a nearby chair that hadn’t been damaged in the fight, so he pulled it over and sat down.

  “Who hired you to kidnap the princess?” he asked bluntly, having no inclination to bandy his words.

  “I don’t know their names,” the assassin replied. “We don’t talk directly, just through papers left at a certain place at a pre-arranged time.”

  “Told you,” Pacian said with disgust, which Aiden chose to ignore.

  “Show me these papers,” Aiden ordered, and Holister directed his gaze to a table nearby. There were a few sheaves of paper near the lantern, which Ronan picked up and idly browsed.

  “There’s not a lot here,” he reported, “just a few brief sentences about times and places.” He took out the note they’d retrieved from the assassins in the alleyway where Criosa had been poisoned and compared the two. “The handwriting is identical. Number One strikes again.” Aiden nodded and considered this for a moment, just as Valennia, Sir William and Maggie entered the room.

  Each of them appeared bloodied, though it was probably more their enemies’ than their own. Maggie was in the middle of healing Sir William, who appeared to have taken a hit to the head, but otherwise the three of them seemed well enough. Aiden turned back to his captive and moved onto the next topic of interest.

  “It seems you and your lackeys were expecting us,” he stated. “How did you know we were coming?”