by Jackson Lear
I squinted back at Orin. “Take your clothes off.”
Now that I was dressed in Orin’s fine attire things started to look a little more hopeful. We left him naked in my former cell, moved an equally naked Kace into Zara’s cell, and put the unfortunate clerk who had been jotting down the details of everything in my pouch into the third. He got to keep his clothes, since he had yet to piss us off.
I reclaimed everything I owend. Zara did the same. We stuffed our clothes into sacks and held them at the ready.
“We have to kill Krassis,” said Zara.
“I agree. But not before he talks to someone.”
“No. We have Kace and Orin. They can testify against Caton and Krassis.”
“Krassis was the go-to guy and he killed Artavian. He was also up in the north stirring up a war between the northerners and the empire. And the shit he knows about Caton and Gustali could bring the entire family down.”
“The General doesn’t want Gustali brought down. It’ll throw the whole province into chaos.”
“The province is always in chaos. So’s the empire. Four emperors in a year, a snake on the throne, civil wars across the known world, vampires in the north, and governors who make their fortune on the black market …”
“Exactly,” said Zara. “We don’t need to add to that. Syuss is holding steady right now because of Gustali.”
“Only until the Arlo mercenaries cross the border.”
Krassis chuckled from behind the rag.
Zara closed the distance between us and whispered. “The General doesn’t know that I betrayed him.”
“That was ten years ago.”
“Even so, I was compromised, and the Kaseras aren’t known for forgiving something like that.”
“Even if Alysia argues on your behalf?”
“Once again, I don’t work for her. The General can hire anyone he wants to kill me. Or Kasera Senior can do it on anyone’s behalf. He still runs the family.”
“Even with the gift of information Krassis is about to present to them?”
“If we can get him to talk about any of that, which I doubt he would. I wouldn’t if I was caught by the Gustalis.”
“You’d be surprised what you’re willing to talk about given the right incentive.”
“Not everyone cracks.”
“Let’s get him to Alysia and Alysia alone. If Krassis reveals everything to her then she will at least judge you fairly.”
“I don’t want to be judged at all.”
I couldn’t argue with her. Only Zara could talk herself into agreeing with me. But since Krassis had made it this far without being killed, he had a reasonable chance of making it a little further.
I’m sure Zara came close to executing Krassis several times. I wouldn’t have interfered. But just at the last second she pulled back, furious with herself and still wrestling with the countless demons that resided in her soul.
At last, she spoke. “How do we get him out of here?”
I dumped my pouch onto the table, fished out some Childer’s Kiss. “We’re going to need a stretcher.”
Chapter Forty-Six
As much as he tried to fight it off, there was no way Krassis was able to last long against the smoky kiss of sleep, not when it was lit and shoved into a sack with his own head inside. Even so, he held out an impressively long amount of time before gasping his first breath of air. It wasn’t quite enough to knock him out straight away but the process had begun. He managed to hold his breath for at least five minutes at the start. Then three minutes before gasping again. Then one.
His limbs slackened. His breathing became regular. Even if he was faking it he was still woozy and not remotely capable of fighting back. Plus, we had his wrists and ankles manacled, his body was tied to a stretcher used to ferry dead prisoners out of the cells, and we had a ratty sheet covering his body. Even if he broke free we could still drop him and draw our swords before he had a chance of getting to his feet.
Zara unlocked the door next to the corridor, peered out, leaned back, pushed the door closed again. “This is going to take some finesse.”
“Chest out. Shoulders back. Walk like you own the place.”
“It’s just that commanders and lieutenants don’t carry dead bodies.”
“Does it look like we want to be fucked with?”
“No.”
“How far away from the university are we?”
“A quarter of a mile.”
“No problem. All we need is a ten minute stretch where nothing goes wrong.”
Zara gave me a doubtful look. In all honesty, I would’ve given her the same look if she had said something as dumb as that.
I readied my end of the stretcher. Zara did the same. One, two, three and we were up. Zara swung the door open with her toes and out we went, up the stairs and breezing into the main chamber of Torne’s city watch.
It wasn’t easy walking dead ahead with my eyes focused on the back of Zara, watching her breathing quickly while trying to keep track of every inhale Krassis was taking, while also trying to count everyone who was passing us in the grand entrance of one of the biggest buildings I had ever been in, and to do all of that without it being obvious that I was doing any of that.
We caught some odd looks. What the hell is a commander from the army doing here? I don’t recognize either of them. And who the hell died?
A clerk at the front desk rose. “Eh, excuse me ...”
Zara kept her head locked forward. Kept walking.
“Excuse me?” The clerk hurried around his desk. “Ma’am?”
“Do I look like a ma’am to you, or do I look like a commander?”
The clerk reeled back. “Sorry, Commander. But … I’m sorry, I was not made aware of any death among our prisoners.”
Zara practically spat at him. “Come with us.” We went straight for the exit.
“Eh, Commander?”
“You heard me. Get your ass over here now. If I drop this sack of shit because of you then Captain Marin will have to explain why you were so incompetent at your job that you let a prisoner die and force us to pick him up on your behalf. You’re not moving fast enough, Watchman!”
The clerk hurried after us, torn between following orders and leaving his post as we passed the great doorways, getting our first taste of air in hours.
“Commander, I’m sorry, I can’t … you didn’t sign ...” The clerk darted back and forth. “I just need you to ...”
“You know what? Fuck you. Go get Marin right now.”
The clerk’s eyes lit up with undignified fear. “Commander, that’s not necessary.”
“I didn’t say it was necessary, I said ‘fuck you.’ Go get Captain Marin. Now.”
“I … I can have someone come by later … to sign over the release ...”
“Fine. Bring the paperwork to the military police within the hour. Lieutenant? Remember this watchman’s face. You’ll be seeing him again very soon.”
I glared back at the clerk. He recoiled in terror, his twenty year old mind scrambling at the unusual experience of – unknowingly – having two professional killers stare him down and trying to make his life hell.
We moved on, leaving the clerk to hurry back to his desk.
A quarter of a mile left. All we needed to do now was avoid everyone who still wanted us dead.
“You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that,” I said.
Zara shuddered with an awkward step. “That was unpleasant.”
“Invoking some of your old memories from the army?”
“I was chanelling you, actually.”
That made me smile.
A quarter of mile down main roads was not easy. As little as Krassis was, he was not as light as a feather. My pulse was rocketing out of control and I was certain that more bounty hunters or some of Gustali’s soldiers were still out there, on their way to intercept us. I mean, they had ambushed me several times already, all within this area.
I kept an eye out
behind us. Couldn’t see anything worthwhile. Zara peered around every corner. Not exactly inconspicuous. The university was close. We had Krassis. We also had Kace and Orin locked up. Only Caton remained, and he was next on my list.
We could do this.
Zara glanced behind. ‘Ready?’
I nodded.
Out we went. Passed a councilor. A puzzled look on his face. A moment where he was about to step forward with an, “Excuse me …”
We kept on walking. He took too long to make a point of interfering. We reached the university steps. Almost sighed with relief, despite the weird looks we got as we carried what was presumably a dead body into a lawyer’s office. Knocked on Lucien’s door.
“Who is it?” he rasped.
“Zara and Raike.”
Lucien creaked the heavy door open, his eyes a frightened mess. Peered at us quickly in our change of outfits, as well as the body lying on the stretcher. “Oh my.”
The tone in Zara’s voice changed immediately. “Where’s Miss Kasera?”
Lucien looked mortified at being the one to tell us. “You just missed her.”
I stuck my head inside his office. His desk was still littered with a mountain of paperwork. His rug was still aligned and free from blood. No obvious sign of a fight. “Where did she go?”
“To the infirmary. A messenger came. Her husband fell from his horse and was mauled by a hell hound. He’s alive but … he might not make it through the night.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Zara dropped Krassis and bolted for the door.
“Wait!”
“No waiting, they’re going to kill her!”
“I know.” I turned back to Lucien. “Did she go alone?”
The old man shook his head. “Delen went with her.”
I dragged Krassis into the office, yanked the hood from his head and dropped the remaining sprig of Childer’s Kiss into a goblet of wine on Lucien’s desk, extinguishing it.
Zara dug into the sack containing her clothes. Grabbed her sash with the blade wrapped tightly within. “While you’re waiting for him to come to his senses, Miss Kasera, Delen, and the commander are fighting for their lives.”
“It’s a trap that we can’t risk falling into.”
Krassis started to stir, blinking slowly as he tried to work out why he was staring at the ceiling.
“We need to lock him to something.”
The office was far from ideal to lock anyone to anything. Nothing built into the floor or walls was strong enough to hold him. We settled on Lucien’s sturdy chair.
“Now, wait a moment ...” Lucien grumbled. “If this man is your prisoner ...”
“He’s the one who killed Artavian, on Caton’s orders. He came into the dungeons to kill us. Under no circumstance is he to leave this office without either Zara or me to give the okay. He has confessions he needs to make and he’ll have to do it in front of a judge within the hour.”
Lucien did what he could to stay out of our way. “You two were in the dungeons? Again?”
“We had a lead we needed to follow up,” I said. With Krassis secured tightly to Lucien’s chair I threw myself back into my clothes, jacket, boots, and fixed my pouch into place. Zara tried to do the same. “Not yet. You’re going to need to warn Lavarta.”
“He’s in the infirmary. Dying.”
“He might be in the infirmary.” Krassis seemed to be a lot more coherent. I squeezed his throat. “A messenger came to tell Alysia that her husband was attacked. Where is she actually going?”
He sneered back at me, almost grinning. “You won’t get to her in time.”
Zara snapped her sash into a spear and rammed the blade into Krassis’ shoulder, yanked it sideways, and waited for Krassis to stop screaming. “Where is she?”
Krassis hissed, gasping with an agonized breath as tears streamed down his face. “I – don’t – know.”
“Best guess. Right now. Where is she?”
“Dead in a field.”
Zara yanked the spear free from Krassis’ shoulder. The assassin slumped to the side, his arm limp and useless.
I crouched down, my blade ready for any wayward strike. “You arranged this?”
He hissed again. “I plan ahead.”
“Lavarta is supposed to be out in the fields today training his troops. The hell hounds are not supposed to leave the arena and the cavalry are supposed to head in there to fight them. So where was he supposedly attacked?”
Krassis glared back at us, shuddering with pain and seething with venomous anger. His attention darted to my blade.
I retracted it back. “Don’t even think about ending yourself. Not yet.”
“You can’t excommunicate me after I’ve already reached Lycyx. I know the scripture better than you.”
“Those rough looking types who have been keeping an eye on Alysia and the commander. Did you hire them?”
“Yeah. Which is why neither of the love birds have much time left to live.”
“Is a messenger on their way to Lavarta, telling him that Alysia has been attacked?”
Krassis smirked at me, though he was going pale, losing blood and consciousness.
“Where is she heading to?”
His voice started to slur. “The infirmary.”
“Which one?”
“High Court.”
I looked to Zara and Lucien. They both nodded, knowing the location. “We’ll have to split up.”
Zara said, “You go get the commander. Warn him that something is happening.”
“You’re the one wearing a commander’s uniform.”
“Miss Kasera is my charge. Not yours.”
“She trusts us both but the commander trusts you, not me. If he’s still in the fields you can get to him faster than I can. I’ll be arrested the moment they see me.”
“Not if you’re in uniform.” She kicked Orin’s uniform back to me. “Take it.”
I glared back at her. “You know how to blend in with the army. I don’t. If Delen is with her then she might be heading directly to wherever she thinks Lavarta is, not necessarily where the messenger told her to go.”
Krassis slipped to the side, smiling to himself.
I said, “We have to split up. You know the quickest way to the fields. I don’t. You know the quickest way to the arena. I don’t. I can get to the infirmary. I can get to the house. Go. Save her husband and keep him safe.”
Zara stared back at me, in nothing short of the most frighting moment of her career. “Promise me you’ll get to her in time.”
“You have my word. Lucien, you’re sure you know how to get to the infirmary?”
“Yes. It’s only a mile away.”
Zara yanked her spear back into a sash – “Be quick.” – and ran from Lucien’s office.
I pulled the old man out, got him to lock the door, and hoped like hell that he could keep up.
Chapter Forty-Eight
We ran. Down the steps of the university, through the streets, hauling ass while Lucien wrestled with his lawyer robes which weren’t exactly best for running in. Nor were his knees suited to the task.
“Which way?”
“Left!”
We darted down another, across a plaza, dodging the back end of a train of heavily burdened pack mules. All the while, Krassis’ taunts and Lucien’s warnings dug into me.
‘A messenger came. Her husband fell from his horse and was attacked by a hell hound. He’s alive but he might not make it through the night.’
“Now where?”
“Off to the right!”
He was a slow runner. Old man hips and old man knees were doing him no favors, even across the smooth road.
“Is this the closest infirmary to the camp in the south?”
“I don’t know,” gasped Lucien, already short on breath. “Maybe? There’s still a lot of works being done on the wall in the south. A lot of the usual gates are closed. But it’s the best infirmary in the city.”
We hustled, Lucien falling far behind and now needing to hobble.
“I’m sorry … I can’t ...”
I turned back to him. “Where do I go from here?”
“Down that way. Almost straight ahead. There are two five-way plazas. You want to go straight-ish through both, veering slightly to the right. It’ll be on that road. Big building. Lots of signs.”
“Will you catch up?”
He gasped, nodded. “I’ll meet you there.”
I sprinted, my chest nearly bursting as I dodged one gaggle of pedestrians after another, all oblivious to their surroundings, all weaving in and out as I narrowly avoided colliding into them.
The first plaza did indeed have a road which veered slightly to the right. Another plaza a hundred yards after that had the same.
Lucien’s ‘one mile’ wasn’t all that accurate. One sign on the road pointed me in the right direction, still with half a mile to go. I ran like the city watch were after me. I ran like the cavalry were chasing me down. Mostly, I ran like Alysia was seconds away from having a blade shoved into her chest.
Kids were playing on the street. Dogs barked. One gave chase. Kids cried at Kerek to come back. My lungs couldn’t take it anymore.
Another sign. A quarter of a mile to go. Sweat stinging my eyes. My breathing now a wheeze that drummed against my ears. The corners of my vision clouding over. Close to passing out.
There, at last, was a large complex of sandstone buildings. I slowed, needing to reserve at least some energy for whatever problem Alysia had walked into. Or one that I was about to walk into myself.
Nothing seemed out of place. No soldiers. No uniforms. No horses out the front. Just a couple of nurses standing outside on a break, chatting to each other.
I sucked as much air into my lungs as I could. Approached with my body drenched in sweat. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Commander Lavarta. I heard he was brought in as a patient after being attacked by a hell hound beyond the wall.”
The nurses stared back at me, blankly. “I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“What about his wife? Alysia Kasera Lavarta? And a soldier by her side from General Kasera’s army?”