It was rather nice to be traveling in a carriage instead of depending on the shadows. If she ever had to actually break into the castle instead of under the cover of a whore, she really had no idea how she would pull it off.
The castle was like an armed fortress and the guards had been trained to tune their ears off to cries of help, as seen during the Iron Fairy attack. Even Dak had not been able to promise a safe arrival for Ryanon.
As the carriage got closer to the castle, Ryanon found herself pulling her so called dress closer around herself. She had heard the horror stories about how the Xandrian armed forces treated women and what they forced the women to do. She had seen the whores in the slums covered in bruises after a night at the castle. There was no one to protect them and no one would ever dare say a negative thing in the direction of the legions. What really floored Ryanon was the fact that the female armed forces members never stood up for these women. Maybe these women did the same thing to their male whores.
“This is where I am to let you out,” the driver called.
Ryanon slowly opened her door and stepped out. She batted her eyes at the driver, feeling sick to her stomach. What made it even worse was the fact that the driver winked at her.
“If you have some extra time, I’d be happy to buy your services!” the driver called down to her as he looked her body over. “It’s such a shame for a pretty thing like you to have work.”
Ryanon laughed. “Well, the legion paid me good money not to give myself to anyone but him tonight.”
“Well, he is a lucky man indeed.” The driver laughed. “A pretty thing like you must have cost the poor fella a lot of gold.”
“I don’t come cheap, if that’s what you are implying.” Ryanon smiled. “I really must be on my way. I can’t keep a paying customer waiting.” She turned and walked away before the driver could even say anything.
The driver nodded his head. “Maybe I’ll be able to get your services one night.”
Ryanon gritted her teeth. Men were just such pigs, but she managed to keep her mouth shut.
The driver turned away as she started her march into the castle. Dak had said he would meet her in the first side chamber off the servants’ entrance. She was going to give him some grief for not being able to come through the main entrance. Sure, it was better coming in the side way, but still.
This part of the castle was not as grand as the part that the ball had been in. The richness of the other parts of the castle had clearly not reached this part. Ryanon wondered if it was because the castle didn’t have enough wealth to go around or if it was just because it was the servants’ area. If she were the ruler of this country, she would want everyone to know about all the wealth she had.
Her footsteps echoed off the empty halls. There was a certain chill in the air-one that had not been there earlier. It was far different than what she had felt outside. This chill went down her very soul, taking every bit of life out of her body.
She rested her hand on a wall, gasping for air. She had never had any trouble breathing and this was like breathing through a clogged straw. She stared down the hall, watching as it become nothing more than a spinning whirl of colours. Add in the ringing in her ears and this was sure to be a fun ride.
She closed her eyes for a brief second, not daring to allow herself more than that. She had seen far too many people act like this, only to fall to the ground dead for giving only themselves more than a simple break.
The chamber’s doors were just in sight. She stumbled forward, praying to whatever gods were listening that it would only be Dak inside.
Clawing at the door, she managed to get it open after what felt like an hour.
“Ryanon?”
Strong arms caught her as she fell through the doorway. “There’s something in the air out there.” Her words sounded funny, almost muffled like.
Dak pulled her through the doorway. “What do you mean?”
Ryanon gasped as her senses slowly started to return to normal. “I don’t know. There was something strange going on out there. I felt like I was going to die or something.” Dak’s features slowly came back into focus. “I don’t know. It’s kind of hard to explain. It just did not feel normal, not right.”
Dak put his arm around her shoulders. “But you feel fine now, don’t you?”
Ryanon slowly nodded. “I think so.” She could feel her hearty beat slowly returning to normal, something that she hadn’t even noticed felt off. “I feel fine now.”
Dak nodded. “Are you sure?”
Ryanon stared out into the poorly lit room. She actually felt better than fine. She felt like she had just had the best night’s sleep that she had ever had. “It’s passed.”
Dak narrowed his eyes as he looked her over. She pulled her thin clothes closer to her. “Okay, then.”
Letting out the breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, she followed him across the room to a small table covered with parchment. Peering down at them, it became clear just how much more complicated this mission actually was. Plus, she was just amazed at how much detail Dak had put into the plans. There were arrows between buildings. The possible march and escape routes were drawn in different inks as were the different units. It also looked like he had thought of every possible thing that could go wrong and had developed some kind of a plan to get out of that mess.
Dak peered over her shoulder. “This is going to be the main route.” He pointed to the main road that ran through Xandria. “We’ll have to go through some villages were we wouldn’t be welcome, but it is the safest way. I’d rather not be the forest any longer than necessary.”
Ryanon nodded. There was just something about the Xandrian forest that gave her the chills. There had been rumours that the curse had changed the animals and magical creatures that surrounded the Trelian borders, rumours that they were deformed and that the plants would kill you on contact. However, since not too many people ventured into the forest, it was hard to tell just what was reality and what was fantasy.
“If we follow this path, we shouldn’t have any trouble until we reach the forest and the border. I’m bringing along every magical battlement possible and praying to the gods that it will be enough,” Dak went on. “We’ll come in on the south side of the palace. Then, we will be blind. We’ve sent another round of drones and cameras through, but they have all come up empty.”
“So, they’ve come back in pieces?” Ryanon asked with a smile.
Dak slowly nodded. “We still haven’t been able to develop anything to get through the borders. This last round was supposed to be the best out there and it didn’t work. So, we’re back at the drawing board.”
Ryanon smirked. There was some beauty in seeing the wealthy fail. “Did you get the council off your back?”
“Yes, they believed every word of it and are relieved to have a crime lord off the streets. Of course, the king really couldn’t express his true feelings on the matter.”
“Good.” She looked back at the charts. “Okay, we probably should get back on track. I’m not sure how long I have until the act wears off.”
Dak smirked. “We could always say that I paid for your services all night.”
“And that I gutted you.”
“You really are a charmer, aren’t you?”
Ryanon looked at the plans. “So, that’s it? We’re just going to follow the road and hope that everything goes right?”
Dak nodded. “That is the goal.”
“And do you have a plan if and when things fail?”
“Are you really doubting my planning?”
Ryanon looked again at the plans. “I’m not doubting your plans. I’m just really unsure about how all of this is going to play out.”
Dak smiled. “You don’t need to worry, everything has been taken care of.”
Ryanon rolled her eyes. “Of course, it has. Now, will you let me leave?” She turned to leave.
"And one more thing," Dak called.
R
yanon paused and looked at him. "What?"
"The vials did contain the illness and it was from the king," Dak said. "I managed to slip into my father's chambers and found the documents in his safe."
"Oh," was all Ryanon could say. She couldn't make herself gloat for some reason.
"It's the Exhausting Plague."
It was early morning before she finally drifted off to sleep.
Ryanon ducked into a tavern that was well known for its bar fights between the humans and the nonhumans. She sat in the back, concealed from view as she watched the drunken stumble around. Right now, everyone seemed to be getting along, but it was only a matter of time. Living beings were hardwired to fight.
A bar maiden approached Ryanon. "What can I get you?"
"Ale," Ryanon said, her voice cold. "It's about time I get some attention. I've been here forever."
The bar maiden nodded. "I'm sorry, milady. The vampires have been eyeing me all night and they give me the creeps."
Ryanon waved her hand at the other girl. "I don't want to hear your excuses."
The bar maiden stared darkly at Ryanon before disappearing through the thick crowd.
Ryanon stared out at the crowd. Now, death was a funny thing. No one really knew what it was like to death, so for the vampires, but she wasn't about to get that close to something that foul. The undead simply should not be allowed to roam the earth. Others shared those feelings and had offered her employment to take out these creatures.
She really didn't think that it would a vampire to take her out. They tended to go after the very weak.
"Do you mind if I join you?" a male voice asked.
Ryanon jerked her dark head up and found herself staring into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. "Knock yourself out."
The male sat down next to her. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He wasn't a man, he still hadn't lost all of his baby fat. Tall, medium built, hands calloused in the right places to hold a sword...Yeah, he was someone to keep an eye on. "Dak."
Ryanon nodded. She watched as a werewolf approached another werewolf as they started to scream at each other. Right on cue, the first werewolf slammed his glass down on top of the second wolf's head. The second wolf pulled a knife out of his cloak and slashed at the first wolf.
"Take it outside!" the bartender screamed at the fighting wolves, who paid no attention to him.
Dak eyed Ryanon. "Do you like this?"
Ryanon glared at him. "I like it well enough."
Dak just grunted.
The bar maiden returned with Ryanon's ale. "And for you?" she asked Dak, her eyes scanning his beautiful body.
"I'll have whatever she's having."
Ryanon sniffed the ale before taking a long drink.
Dak watched her. "You're not from here, are you?"
"What makes you say that?" His throat was wide open for her to stab. One flick of her dagger and his life would bleed out onto the floor or better yet, cut him, leave, and let the vampires finish him. There was enough in here that they could take him without any difficulty.
"Your accent," he said as the bar maiden quickly returned with his ale. He didn't bother to sniff it as he took a drink. Fool-the pint could have been laced with poison for all he knew.
Ryanon scowled at Dak. "What about you?"
"I'm here for work and I decided that I needed to get out." He smirked at her. "It's a good thing I did too or else I wouldn't have gotten to see your beautiful face."
She deepened her scowl.
"You can tell me your name. It wouldn't kill you."
If only he knew that death really wasn't all that far away. The rules of murder were very simple. You had to lower your victim away from the crowd if necessary, if it wasn't, you needed to make sure that the blame could plausibly be placed on either someone or something else. You needed a murder weapon, one that could easily be hidden or ditched. You couldn't have any ties to your victim and you mustn't kill in your homeland. The most important thing was not to make contact with anyone and this was proving to be rather difficult tonight.
Dak smiled at her. "What are you thinking about?"
"Murder," Ryanon said. Hey, she might as well be honest since she was going to kill him.
Dak snorted. "That is something too dark for a lady to be thinking about."
"I'm not a lady."
"Well, no one should think those things."
Ryanon watched the two wolves threw each other across the tavern, bumping into other people, which only gave them more edge to jump into the fight.
Dak stared at her. "You really shouldn't be thinking those kinds of things."
"Tell me, Dak, are you afraid of death?" Ryanon asked, frowning as one of the vampires landed awful close to her new boots.
"That's a deep question. I don't think that you should be afraid of something that you don't understand. I think it is kind of like how things were before we were born. We didn't know life before birth and I think that death is like that." Dark took a long drink of ale.
"Do you believe in the afterlife?" Ryanon watched as the vampire got to his feet, hissing, and charged back into the fight.
"I don't know. I think that stuff was just made up to offer comfort to the living."
Ryanon smiled at him. "That is pretty deep stuff there."
Dak shrugged. "You are the one who brought it up."
Ryanon smiled a sweet smile at him. "Shall we take our conversation somewhere else?"
Dak got to his feet, throwing a couple of coins of the table. "I thought you would never ask."
Ryanon smiled as she followed Dak out of the tavern, maybe things were actually going to go easier than she first thought. It really was a shame that he had to die, but he knew too much about her. Plus, the roughness of his hands indicated that he probably would kill her if he got the chance. She always judged people for the worst.
Dak smiled and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the darkened shop walls. "So, what about you?"
"What about me?" Ryanon asked, batting her eyelashes at him. It seemed to work for other girls, so why shouldn't it work for her?
"What is your theory on death?"
"Well, I feel like I'm going to die soon, but it won't be of illness or anything like that." She put her hand on her dagger. "I've always believed that I am going to die young and that I should just seize the moment."
Dak nodded. "That's not a bad mind set." He paused. "Expect you have one flaw in that theory."
Ryanon moved her head to the side. "And what is that?"
"That people can bite back too." His leg darted out so quickly that she was on her back before she could anything. He stared down at her, his blue eyes dark. "Don't you know better than to go into the street with a stranger?"
Ryanon spat in his face, swinging blindly at him.
He knelt down on top of her, his white teeth shining in the moonlight. "You said that death was coming for you and you were right, my little assassin. My master is fully aware of you and thinks that you should be slaughtered." Dak pulled a knife out of his cloak. Ryanon mentally cursed herself for not seeing it earlier. "Now, I will make this as quick as I can."
Ryanon spat at him again, which only made him laugh.
"Now, with all of the fighting in there, everywhere will think that you were just a sad victim of that, a little girl in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Now, he had done it. If there was anything that could set Ryanon off, it was being called a little girl. She spat in his eye, causing him to let a little up on his grip, but it was all she needed. Jerking as hard as she could, she pulled her arm out of his, quickly bringing it upwards, and colliding with his nose. She didn't stop until she heard the sounds of bone crunching.
Swearing as blood started gushing thickly out of his nose, Dak brought his fist down onto Ryanon's face. Tears formed in her eyes as they hit each other. She had to get him completely off of her.
He brought his blade down closer to her, just as she ra
ised his head and head butted him, her head colliding with his chin in a deafening crunch. The force of the blow set Dak backwards, just enough for Ryanon to get free of him.
She got to her feet and turned to face the other assassin, pulling her dagger out of her cloak. Even though he was bleeding in several, he was still very beautiful. Even the most beautiful of living things, there was a great darkness.
Dak glared at her, banishing his own blade at her. "Do you really think this is going to stop me? I always complete my missions, no matter what the cost."
The two assassins circled each other, staring the other down, blades gripped tightly in their hands. Ryanon did have to admit that there were fairly equally matched.
"That's always good to know," Ryanon said, making sure that he didn't try to lunge forward. "You really are fool of yourself."
Dak smirked at her. "You are the one who said that you were going to die at a young age and I am more than happy to fulfill that wish."
Ryanon snorted. "It's not a wish. It's the truth." She had to keep him circling and if talking was the only way she could achieve this, then talking it was. "At least, I know how to get away with murder."
"Are you implying that I don't?" Dak pointed his rather extra sharp and extra pointy blade at her. "I think that my plan is pretty well thought out."
"I beg to differ." She shifted her grip on her own dagger. "You have many flaws in this plan."
Growling, Dak lunged forward, striking at her with the advanced skill. Ryanon kicked at his shins. He was stronger than her, but he was also bigger. His weight would slow him down, giving her an upper hand. She just had to make sure that she actually got that upper hand.
"For one." She grunted as he punched her in the jaw. "You didn't sniff your drink and that, my friend, was your biggest mistake, besides sitting down next tom me." She punched him hard enough in the stomach to make him cry out.
Dak returned the blow by slapping her ears, hard. Eyes watering and blinking quickly, Ryanon stabbed sloppily at him, missing him completely. Just a few more blows and she could have him.
He brought his knee up, sending it into her stomach. Groaning, she kicked at him between the legs, hoping to drop him. She did manage to make contact, but her blow wasn't as powerful as she thought it had been nor as quick.
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