by Todd, E. L.
Pons spoke to the guards, but kept his eyes glued to Aleco’s. “Gather reinforcements—NOW!”
Aleco chuckled. “You’re such a coward, Pons. Send as many guildsmen as you wish—I’ll still prevail over you in this battle. At least now I’ll win their respect when they watch me kill you.” Aleco closed the gap between them. “It isn’t too late, Pons.”
Pons gripped his blade then lunged at Aleco, but his sword was stopped by Aleco’s block. The strength of Aleco’s muscles stopped the sword immediately. Then, Aleco kicked him back and attacked Pons with his own offense. He whirled his blade around in a flash, striking him in the knee, then the arm, and finally the chest. Pons blocked every attack, but by a mere second. Aleco knew he would tire out eventually. Aleco was not strong just in battle, but his endurance surpassed the capability of any soldier. With the power of the Lorunien Tree coursing through him, he knew he wouldn’t grow fatigued.
After Aleco slashed his sword at Pons’s neck, missing by a mere inch, Pons aimed his blade at Aleco’s chest. He was about to strike him in a killing blow, when a snake leapt from Aleco’s body and bit into Pons’s hand. Pons screamed as he shook the snake from his bloody knuckles.
“Don’t worry,” Aleco said. “That one wasn’t poisonous.” He punched Pons directly in the face, and Pons staggered backwards, his nose dripping with blood. He wiped it away on his sleeve. “It isn’t too late, Pons,” he said. Pons ignored him and slammed his blade down into Aleco’s shoulder, but Aleco’s danced out of the way with grace. “I have to be honest with you, Pons,” he said as he cut Pons along the forearm, severing the skin with a burning cut. “I was hoping it would come to this.” Aleco pushed him back and Pons stumbled backwards. Pons aimed his sword at Aleco’s calf and sliced a cut into the flesh. Aleco could feel the blood ooze from his body, but he ignored the discomfort. “You punched my girl in the face—and I’ve wanted to kill you ever since.” Aleco blocked Pons’s next attack and returned with his own blow. Aleco’s sword hit the side of his ribs, but it did not pierce the skin. He knew it was still painful.
Pons stepped back and raised his sword, trying not to cringe from the pain in his torso. One of his ribs was broken. “So you were bogging her?” He sliced his sword across Aleco’s abdomen, and Aleco felt the tiny slit of his skin. He wasn’t worried about it. He was more concerned about the cut in his calf.
“Of course I was.” Aleco aimed his sword at Pons’s shoulder then changed the course of his blade and hit him on the opposite arm, opening the flesh. Now Pons was wounded on both forearms. “You would have to be an idiot to pass up the opportunity.”
Pons glanced over Aleco’s shoulder, and Aleco knew his aid had come to the Chamber. Pons smiled at Aleco. “Your time is up, Aleco.”
The guards move toward Aleco, but he didn’t move. He continued to look at Pons. “I disagree.” The Nature Priest outstretched his open palm and whispered words under his breath. Pons felt the wind ruffle the hair from his eyes. They began to water as the air swirled around them in a tornado directly inside the chamber, twisting around them with the strength of a hurricane. Pons looked out across the way and saw the dozens of guards pushed against the wall, unable to move against the powerful wind. The circling air died down and stopped blowing through his hair. The two men stood in the eye of the storm. The rotating air formed a clear barrier, separating Pons and Aleco from the rest of the guild. The men watched in amazement as Aleco lowered his hand. The wind continued to spin around them, fueled solely by Aleco’s will alone. Pons looked around him and felt his body shake. He had no idea Aleco possessed the power of the wind. He seemed to have complete control over the elements. Pons realized his inevitable fate. He was going to die. Aleco watched the fear cloud Pons’s eyes. They glazed over with a look of acceptance. He knew his death was near. “I apologize for not mentioning it sooner,” The Nature Priest said with a smile. “And yes—it is too late.”
Aleco aimed his blade at Pons’s neck, but Pons rolled out of the way, jumping to his feet with an agility borne through the years of training with the guild. Pons attacked Aleco with all the strength he could muster, but Aleco blocked every attempt he made. “Pons, surely you can do better than this. You aren’t just fighting for your life—but the afterlife. Your soul will never reach the heavens after the crimes you have committed. We are both damned.” Aleco parried Pons’s sword and pushed him back then kneed him in the abdomen. Aleco remembered how Pons slugged him in the stomach so hard that he couldn’t breathe. The memory of his beating invigorated him with more hatred. Pons stumbled back then felt the air deflate from his body. He sucked air into his lungs, trying to recover from the blow. “Hurts, doesn’t it?” Aleco kneed him again and Pons flew backwards. “I didn’t enjoy it much either.”
The Nature Priest felt the presence of the tree within his soul and felt a rush of emotion—revenge, anger, betrayal, pain—and then it left his body just as quickly. He knew what the Lorunien Tree was telling him—his vengeance had gone on long enough. It was time to end it quickly. Aleco watched Pons return to his feet and lift his sword in the air. Aleco knew he was broken. His nose still dripped with blood from where Aleco had crushed it, both of his arms were covered in the blood from the cuts along his forearms, and his ribs extended out of his skin at odd angles. Aleco knew the tree wanted to grant him mercy, but Aleco felt no pity for the man. The Lorunien Tree wouldn’t feel any either if it knew what the guildsman had done to Accacia. Aleco lowered his sword to his side. The snakes hissed at Pons, wanting to kill him as much as Aleco did. “Hold him,” he whispered to his serpent allies. The snakes slithered from his body and moved toward Pons. Pons stepped back as they came for him. He struck his blade against the tile, decapitating the heads of some, but his speed wasn’t enough. There were too many.
Aleco watched as the snakes crawled up his body, circling his extremities and forming ropes that pinned his arms behind his back. They constricted his legs and buckled his knees to the floor. Aleco approached him then turned his back to the audience on the other side of the tornado. He pulled back his hood and revealed his face. Pons stared at him with a look of shock. “I just thought you deserved to see the face of your executioner.”
Pons appraised his features and couldn’t believe the sight. He was identical to the king.
“Any famous last words?” Aleco asked.
Pons stared at him with a look of hatred. “I’ll see you in the void.”
Aleco nodded. He raised his sword and sliced through his neck, cleanly removing his head from his shoulders. Pons’s head fell to the marble floor, his eyes were still open. The snakes released their hold and crawled across his body. Aleco looked at them. “Feast on his flesh.”
The Hideaway
44
Aleco ended the swirling windstorm with a wave of his hand. The air died down and returned to its previous state of calm. The guildsmen stared at him with looks that were mixed with respect and fear. They knew he was powerful.
The Nature Priest walked across the marble floor and approached the guildsmen before him. They looked at him with new eyes. Some of the men bowed involuntarily. Others inched away from him, wanting to be as far away as possible. Aleco raised his hand. “Do not fear me,” he said. “No harm will befall you as long as you don’t challenge me.” The guildsmen sighed in relief. Aleco recognized some of them, but not all. He turned to Yubien, a man who had served the guild longer than Aleco had. “I need to speak with the Chief. Do you know where he is?”
Yubien cleared his throat. “Yes, Pons sent him to Vast Prison,” he said. “He has been held there for months.”
Aleco nodded. “Thank you, Yubien.” He turned away from the guildsmen then headed down the hall.
Yubien shouted down the walkway. “Aleco?”
He turned around and faced him. “Yes?”
“What are your plans for us?”
Aleco surveyed the expressions on their faces. They feared they would be punished for aiding Pons in Aleco’s
capture. “Nothing at the moment,” he said. Yubien nodded. Aleco walked down the stone steps of the Chamber and reached the road to the Vast. He advanced down the cobbled street and glanced at the lit torches around him. The Vast was unusually bright on this fall day, and Aleco looked at the roof and saw the sunlight protruding through the holes in the ceiling. The light shined brighter than the stars.
He walked through the city and headed for Vast Prison, watching the other guildsmen scurry away from him and hide behind buildings or closed doors. Word of Aleco had traveled fast. Not a single person sought to oppose him. Aleco reached the doorway of the prison and stepped into the parlor. Robinson sat at his desk, smoking his pipe just like he always did. He looked up from his parchment and his eyes widened in fear.
Aleco held up his hand. “I mean you no harm,” he said gently. “I am just here to see the Chief.” The jailer stared at him with a look of shock as the Nature Priest walked passed his desk. Aleco rounded the corner and disappeared from his sight. Aleco returned a moment later. “I apologize about before.” Aleco was referring to his escape. When he and Accacia were fleeing, he smashed his knuckles into the jailer’s skull. “It wasn’t personal.” Robinson didn’t blink once. He stared at Aleco with bewilderment in his eyes. Whether it was because he was traumatized by the previous event, or because he thought Aleco was an idiot for returning, Aleco didn’t know. “Well, I tried to make amends.”
Aleco walked down the hallway and looked through the bars of the cell. He finally stumbled upon the Chief, who appeared thin and sickly. He looked like he hadn’t been fed in months. Nolan didn’t look up when Aleco approached the bars. He leaned his head against the wall and stared at the opposite side of the cell, looking at nothing in particular.
“Nolan, is that you?”
The Chief turned toward him. His eyes squinted as he appraised the features of his fallen apprentice, trying to focus his sight on his face within the cloak. The glaze in his eyes disappeared, and his body stiffened in recognition. “Aleco?” he asked. His voice was thick and raspy, like the sound of sand rubbing against rock. “What are you doing here?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing.” Aleco cut the bars of the cage with the edge of his sword, sawing off the hinges. After a moment, he realized the cell was the same one he and Accacia had shared. His heart ached when he remembered the moment. Aleco concentrated on the task before him and ripped the door from the cage.
“Why are you doing this?”
Aleco rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome.”
Nolan rose to his feet slowly, grabbing the bars for assistance as he pulled himself up. Aleco stared at his physique. He had lost most of his weight. The muscles of his chest and abdomen were gone, and his arms were the size of Sadie’s. Clearly, the man had been starved. Aleco watched his old mentor with a saddened expression. He never expected his former idol to become so weak.
“Well, are you just going to stare, Aleco? Or are you going to help me?” The Chief looked at him with sunken eyes. “Or are you here to kill me?”
Aleco walked into the cell and wrapped the Chief’s arm over his shoulder. He walked the Chief out of the prison without looking at Robinson as he passed, and escorted him back to the Chamber where he belonged. The guildsmen stared at them as they passed, watching the skeleton version of the Chief stumble back to his throne. Aleco deposited him into the seat behind his desk then looked at Yubien. “Bring food and water—a lot of it.” Yubien nodded and departed.
The Chief stared at Aleco for a moment. “Why are you doing this?”
“Do I need a reason?”
“It would be stupid if you didn’t.” The Chief looked around the room and appraised the study that had been taken from him. The scrolls and parchment sheets on the desk were unfamiliar to him. Even the smell was different. “What of Pons?”
Aleco nodded to the area across the room. Pons’s body was still being consumed by the snakes. Only pieces of muscle and bone remained of the carcass. The guildsmen were too frightened of the serpents to dispose the body in the chasm. Aleco didn’t mind. It would serve as a reminder. The Chief looked at the corpse but didn’t react. His face remained stoic. “You killed him.”
Aleco wasn’t sure if it was a question, but he nodded anyway. “The man deserved to vanish into the void. It’s been a long time coming.”
The Chief nodded. “Then I suppose I deserve the same fate.” He stared at Aleco’s countenance, hidden in the darkness of his hood. “As do you,” he said.
“You’ll hear no argument from me.”
Yubien returned with a tray of food. A large piece of chicken sat in the middle of the plate and was surrounded by three potatoes. They also brought him a glass of water and a bottle of brandy. The Chief reached for the brandy first. Aleco smiled at the sight. He probably would have done the same thing. Nolan ate the contents of his plate without speaking. Aleco looked into the fire and waited in silence. He could only imagine how famished the Chief was. The man had been starved to the verge of death for months. Aleco was surprised he survived the event.
The Chief pushed his empty plate away. “You never answered my question. After everything I have done to you, how could possibly grant me mercy? And I’m not asking for it.” He stared at him with his signature black eyes. Even though he had lost half of his weight, he was still formidable. His gaze was intimidating.
“Because you gave me another chance, Nolan.” Aleco was surprised by his own actions. He was disregarding the hate he had for the Chief, the man who had betrayed him. When Aleco had stolen the Kadnit Knife from the Steward for Morkarh, Nolan gave the knife to Drake, something he never told Aleco. It was when Aleco broke into the palace and was stabbed by his brother that he realized what had happened. Aleco delivered the knife to his very own brother. He had fallen on his own blade, stabbing himself through the back. And then the Chief did something even worse. He wouldn’t release Accacia even when Aleco asked him to.
“Do not insult me, Aleco. After our last conversation, I couldn’t imagine anything further from the truth.”
“Well, it is true—partially.” He grabbed the brandy from the desk and poured himself a glass. Aleco leaned back in his chair. “There is another reason—I need you.”
“You have taken complete control of this guild,” he observed. “The men respect you and fear you—what do you need from me?”
“I need you to lead them. I cannot possibly harness the responsibility in addition to the other ones I already have.”
“So you want me to follow your command—you would be the silent leader.”
Aleco nodded. Even though this man had been starved to death and forced into isolation, his mind was still clever and astute. “Yes,” he said. “I require you to lead the guild against the King of the Continent—he must be destroyed. I need the men of the guild as well as the forges to build weapons. They are essential to fight in the greatest war of our world.”
“Is this all to fulfill your vengeance?”
“No, not entirely,” he said. “The king is destroying the Continent, forcing peasants into slavery and destroying the political balance of the world—he must be stopped.”
“How is this any different than before?”
Aleco met his gaze. “It’s different because of the Soul Binders. His possession of these gems makes him immortal. They are fueled by the power of deceased souls and they must be destroyed. The only way to accomplish that is by killing him.”
“Why would you want to destroy the key to immortality? A possession of a single stone can insure you will never die. What could be more important than this?”
“The immortality of your body feeds on the immortal souls of others. Every time one is used, it is subjugated to the void—lost forever.”
“And what does that matter?”
“It’s wrong, Chief,” he said. “We can’t sabotage a person’s promise to the afterlife so we can continue our pathetic existence of killing and stealing—I won’t allow it
.
“I have a feeling there’s more to this story.”
Aleco laughed. “Nothing escapes your notice, does it?”
“Tell me.”
Aleco looked away. “The Soul Binders were an accidental creation by the ancient Asquithian people—the very people we are said to be descended from. They created Soul Catchers, but some of the stones inadvertently became Soul Binders.” An image of Accacia flooded his mind and a lump formed in his throat. He couldn’t even think of the possibility of Accacia losing her place in the afterlife. “Asquithians who are murdered are trapped inside the stone until someone uses it to heal their body. Use of the Soul Binder destroys the souls stored within it during the process. The immortal souls vanish.”
The Chief nodded. “Your history lesson doesn’t explain your personal interest in the matter.”
Aleco sighed and looked away. He didn’t want to discuss her. “Accacia is Asquithian.”
The Chief stared at Aleco, who continued to look into the fire, avoiding his gaze. “And her soul is trapped inside one of these Soul Binders? It is your wish to save her?”
“No, at least I hope not,” he said. “Only if she is murdered will she be transferred to the Soul Binders—I’m certain she’s still alive, but I don’t know that for a fact. I need to destroy the gems so it will never be a possibility—her soul needs to be protected.”
“Why are you risking your life for a woman who doesn’t love you?”
“I never said she didn’t—I know she does.”
“Then why don’t you know if she is alive?”
Aleco shook his head. “She is in hiding—Drake must never know of her whereabouts. It was the only way to keep her safe.”