"This is the southern military training grounds," Nicolette said, finally pulling back her dark hood. "After Lord Marcus built the improved Northern training grounds, this one was almost never used."
"Well, it appears they have found a use for it now, and it just so happens to work perfectly for us," Zehava added, checking his bedroll to ensure his sword was still easily accessible. Not that he would dare draw blade inside the castle compound even if they were caught for that would ensure certain death, but it was just a soldier habit.
"Anyone else wondering where Dahak and Shania are?" Meath asked, the question had been playing on his mind since they arrived.
"Dahak will be busy with his training duties until late in the day," Ursa replied, still pacing. "But I myself was wondering just the same thing about Shania. I had hoped she would be here waiting for us, but as that was not the case, I am beginning to worry. From a distance and for short periods of time, she would have been fine and her heritage would most likely have gone unnoticed. But to the trained eye, after any extended length of time, she would run the risk of being discovered - even more so now that it is light out."
"You think they were found out?" Nicolette gasped.
"No, if they were found out we would not be here, we would have been fighting our way out of that tavern. No, Dahak must have set this up without Shania - or with her out of sight."
"But then where is she?" Zehava asked concerned.
"That answer we will only know when we can talk to Dahak. We will have to wait here until this evening when he has done his training and is allowed to visit us," Ursa said, sitting down on the stiff cot.
Meath walked over to the opening, wincing slightly with each step - the aches in his body were fading faster each day. He hoped by the next day they would be gone. "What are we to do in the meantime?"
"We wait," Ursa replied back, his eyes already closed as he lay on the cot.
"Lovely, my favorite," Meath muttered.
Zehava moved off to one of the cots, "As good a time as any to catch up on some sleep, since who knows what is going to happen and when we might get this opportunity again."
Meath walked over to the entranceway and peered out at the canvas city that surrounded them on all sides. People milled about here and there, in small groups of two or three talking among themselves, paying little heed to anyone else around them.
So much had changed so quickly, it seemed like only yesterday Meath had awoken in his room in Draco Castle to begin his normal, everyday planned events and training and now…
"You okay?" The Princess's soft voice said behind him and Meath turned to regard her, not even aware he was smiling now.
"I am fine, just thinking of everything that has happened that had led us to this point. Everything has changed so drastically, so quickly, it is hard to think of how we will put everything right again."
"I think the same thing." Nicolette replied. "Hopefully it will not be long before things begin to turn back to normal once we find a way to get into the castle and talk to my Aunt and Uncle."
They had wandered down a score of filthy alleyways, gone through a dozen dank abandoned buildings, and had to hide several times from passing guardsmen or other shady wonderers that had a vile cutthroat look to them. The dawn finally was cresting the horizon when they climbed through the rotting boards of a fence, entering a large cluttered, filthy courtyard. Several groups of people stood around, almost all of them looking haggard and seedy. In the middle of the courtyard stood a crumbling, rotting three-story mansion, the siding was rotted and hanging loosely, windows were all but boarded up. Yet the place radiated a certain level of dominance and power even in its decaying state.
"You stay with me, right at my side," Keisha told her sternly. "Do not speak, or touch anything until I tell you too, and keep your head up high - do not show fear. My people do not like outsiders, but it will be okay - we just need to see my brother."
Shania nodded in understanding, stepping closer to Keisha as she noted more eyes shifting their way to rest upon her.
"Come on, let us get this over with." Keisha straightened herself up and walked forward, Shania was quick to follow, doing her best to hold back her anxiety. They walked straight toward the entrance of the mansion covering the dusty ground as quickly as possible without looking like they were anxious.
"Hey there, Keisha," a scrawny, toothless rat of a man said, stepping in front of their path. His tattered, filthy clothes hung off his wiry frame and the smell of urine and feces drifted off him once he was close. "Where ya been? I've been looking for you," He grinned nastily, showing the handful of rotten teeth his mouth still held onto. "Who is your friend?"
"I do not have time for you right now, Malaki," Keisha growled, trying to push by him, but he grabbed her arm firmly and spun her around.
"Do not try to ignore me Keisha!" He hissed. "You know our deal - where is my money?"
Keisha swallowed hard, trying not to look into his filmy grey eyes. "I do not have it yet - last night did not go as planned. You'll get your money, just give me another night." She tried to pull her arm free, but his grip only tightened and she winced.
He grinned wider. "That was not part of the deal. A full silver coin by this morning to settle our debt, or…" His grin deepened, "a full day of your flesh at my disposal. I see no silver, so your body is mine!"
By now, several others had gathered closer to hear what was going on between the two thieves and the stranger.
"I know our deal, Malaki," Keisha replied, her voice thick with regret. "Let me take the newcomer to Burnaby, and I will come find you right after, for… payment."
Malaki burst out laughing, his grip still not relenting. "You think I am daft, Keisha? I let you go and I will never see you again! I know well of your disappearing acts."
"If you were as good as a thief and spy as you say you are, then you should know where I am and how to find me anytime you want," she snapped back, several in the crowd of thieves chuckled.
Malaki's lips quivered in rage. "Enough of this horse shit - we had a deal! You have a debt to pay, and I mean to take it if I have too! Though fighting me will not benefit you in the deed that will be done." He pulled her arm hard, dragging her with him several feet as she tried to pry her arm free of his grasp.
"Stop!" Shania yelled, her voice showing only a little fear in it.
Malaki turned to regard her. "What do you want outsider? You have no voice here! The fact that we have let you live this long is a wonder."
"I will pay her debt." Shania responded, tossing a silver coin in the air for Malaki to snatch with his free arm. Ursa had given her two silver coins and six copper several days before, in case they were separated for any length of time. He had told her it was enough to keep her fed for several days if need be or buy her way out of trouble if she was cornered.
Malaki examined the silver piece, and then looked up at her, a perplexed look on his face. "Why would you do that?"
"She is…friend."
That drew a hardy chuckle from Malaki and several others. "Your friend, do you truly believe that? We have no friends - do not fool yourself. She brought you here to be robbed and killed," a handful of the crowd around her chuckled maliciously agreeing with his testament.
"Her debt is paid, let her go!" Shania growled, doing her best to sound intimidating, ignoring his statement and the cold stares around her.
"Who are you anyway?" Malaki asked, clearly irritated.
"She helped me out there, saved me from falling to my death," Keisha stammered out. "She just came in with a group of refugees, got lost."
Malaki shook her hard, silencing her. "Shut up, I did not ask you!"
"Her debt is paid - let her go!" Shania hissed again, keeping her face shrouded mostly by her cloak, so her lineage was not noticed.
Grinning toothlessly, Malaki pocketed the silver. "You can toss all the coin you want, but her debt is her own! And I will get payment from flesh!" He turned and began pulling
Keisha with him again.
The sound of steel rang out as Shania pulled her curved blade free. "Let her go!"
Several others pulled blades at the challenge, muttering and growling at the newcomer's foolishness in drawing a weapon in their compound. Shania's heart thundered hard in her chest now, coming here was a mistake, she had been foolish to follow Keisha blindly, but she had not known what else to do, and now she was most likely going to die. She gritted her teeth - if she was going to die here, she would leave several bodies in her wake.
"You dare draw a blade on me?" Malaki laughed. "You are dumber than I thought. Look around you - there are forty of us, and one young, foolish you. What are you going to do?"
"What is the meaning of all this!" a stern voice said from behind the gathered crowd, and everyone stepped aside allowing the finely dressed man a clear view and path. Everyone was silent and still. "I asked what is going on here?" the man barked, his temper flaring slightly.
"Malaki was claiming a debt Keisha owes him. But Keisha brought this outsider into our compound and the outsider tried to pay Keisha's debt. Malaki took the outsiders silver, but claims Keisha is still in debt since the outsider has no rights here," a fat greasy man replied, quickly looking to gain favor.
The man stepped forward, getting a closer look at the situation. He eyed the outsider closely, though she was hidden mostly behind her cloak. His eyes flashed toward Malaki and Keisha. "Is this true, Malaki?"
Malaki licked his lips nervously, releasing Keisha from his grip. "Aye it is, Barnaby."
"So this outsider paid Keisha's debt?" Barnaby asked, pulling a slender dagger from his belt as he cleaned underneath his fingernails casually.
"The outsider gave me a silver coin in hopes I would release Keisha from her debt, yes. But an outsider has no right inside this compound - therefore, I feel no need to oblige her."
Barnaby nodded slightly. "Outsider, what is your name?"
Shania turned to the well-defined man, and knew he was the leader of this band of cutthroats. "My name, Shania," she answered nervously, her knuckles going white on her blade handle, her eyes trying to take in all the movement around her, expecting an attack at any moment.
Barnaby took several casual steps to the side, his eyes still on the task of cleaning some dirt from beneath his nails. "Well, Shania, why would you, an outsider to our," he paused for a few seconds while thinking of a word he wished to use, "let's say, ‘organization', try and pay Keisha's debt so freely?"
Shania shifted her footing to square up with Barnaby, not liking his tone or casual demeanor - she expected that dagger to snap her way at any moment. "She helped me, and saved my life."
Barnaby took several steps closer to the side, inspecting his job on his hand. "So, you owe Keisha a debt of life is it then." He mused a moment, his eyes looking up at the hooded outsider. "I see only one way to settle this, appropriately." He smiled mischievously, "Malaki your claim of debt over Keisha is true, so is your claim that the outsider has no rights here for paying off Keisha's coin debt." Malaki grinned widely as his grip found Keisha's wrist again. "But a debt of life has no rules, and listens to no rules, accept to be paid back." He turned to Shania. "Outsider, if you want to pay your debt back, you must fight Malaki for Keisha. You win, your debt of life will be fulfilled and her debt will be cleared, you lose and, everything stays the same, aside from you will be dead." He spread his hands out to the sides, emphasizing his conclusion.
Malaki grinned and released Keisha as he drew his chipped short sword and dagger. "This shall be quick, Keisha, so do not go anywhere. My lust for flesh is always heightened after I have taken a life." The crowd of bandits and thieves moved in closer, cutting off any openings for running. Their jeers and cheers were absolute - no single curse or hate-filled words could be discerned.
Shania squared up with Malaki, her fingers tightening harder on her one curved blade, her other hand feeling naked without its twin. She looked over to Keisha who was looking at her with dread, her eyes moistened with fear, be it for herself or Shania she did not know. Shania had to wonder, even if she won this fight, if they would let her live. Her eyes shifted to the man called Barnaby, his arms were crossed and his stance was relaxed still, almost as if bored by it all, yet his eyes twinkled with anticipation. Shania took a deep breath; chances are she was going to die anyway, if that was the case, this Malaki would die before her.
Malaki shifted quickly to the left, then to the right, altering his weight on the balls of his feet, working his body's momentum up with far more grace then Shania would have expected from the scrawny thief. His blades twitched in his hands and moved fluently. Shania could tell he was a skilled fighter despite his weak stature.
He jumped to the left, faked to the right, and exploded forward, his sword arm raised across his chest for a forward slice, his dagger posed below for a deadly thrust in case his sword did not find its mark. Shania folded her knees and dropped back into a roll, Malaki's sword blade cutting nothing but empty air. He adjusted his dagger downward and thrust, hoping to sink his blade into her chest when she rose. But she had anticipated the move and instead of coming up onto her feet she let the momentum take her back once more onto her hands, and kicked her foot up hard, catching Malaki's outstretched hand at the wrist and jarring the blade from his hand. His face betrayed his shock at the flawless counterattack and loss of one of his weapons. He retreated several steps - murmurs and curses sounded from the crowd of thieves around them.
Shania wasted no time and snapped to her feet, her free hand retrieving the fallen dagger in the same movement. She bolted forward, not wanting to give him any time to recover. She brought her blade down hard, meeting his blade as he snapped it up to block, with a quick twist of her wrist, her curved blade trapped his short sword, and she forced his arm out wide. She thrust the dagger for his chest but he shifted in time to avoid the killing blow and the blade bit deeply into the meat of his shoulder.
Malaki hissed in pain and kicked up - his thick leather boot punching hard into Shania's midsection, doubling her over.
Shania fell to her knees gasping for air, knowing her time was running out. She looked down at her hands, both were empty, she cursed to herself.
"Stupid bitch," Malaki barked, pulling his dagger from his shoulder. "Now let us get a look at that face before I cut it up!" He stepped forward and reached for the hood of her cloak.
Shania punched forward as hard as she could, throwing all the strength and momentum she could fathom into her last chance attack. She doubted he would be brash enough not to anticipate the desperate attack and was surprised when her knuckles connected between his legs. His groan and laughs from the crowd confirmed her mark had been hit. She looked up at Malaki as he slowly sank down to the muddy ground, both his weapons dropping to the earth beside him, as his hands clutched at his manhood. His face twisted in pain and anguish.
Shania threw another punch, landing it square in his jaw, dropping him backward to the ground. She retrieved her curved blade and stood above the fallen cutthroat - she raised the blade high in the air ready to plunge it down.
"Wait!" Barnaby's voice boomed loudly, stopping her a heartbeat before. The crowd hushed down and waited for Barnaby to speak.
Barnaby walked forward and stopped steps away from the fallen Malaki and the outsider. He looked down at the groaning pathetic form of Malaki, then up at Shania. He cocked his head slightly, trying to catch a glimpse of her face from under her hood. "Normally, I would have let you kill the fool, but living with this lesson and defeat, will serve as greater punishment than the easy death you would have provided him."
"What if I decide to end him anyway?" Shania hissed, not looking up at him, knowing if her bloodline was discovered, she would be killed.
Barnaby chuckled heartily. "Bold question, very bold. If you were to insist upon it and kill him, then I would be forced to have you killed. Not because you killed the halfwit, no never that - he would have brought that fate upon himself. No,
I would have to order your death for the denial of my simple request. After all, I could have ordered my men to kill you outright just for entering our compound, but I did not." He smiled arrogantly. "Not to say that I will not order that later. However, through my generosity, I allowed you to conclude your debt of life while also freeing Keisha from her debt to Malaki. So your denial of my request would wound me and your death I would demand." He finished, his voice taking on a very serious tone. "But at the moment, I am intrigued by all that this is, and for that I shall give no such order… yet. That is, of course, if you are willing to spare Malaki's sad little life." Humor found his voice again at the last.
Shania snapped her blade around and sheathed it with ease. As callous and arrogant as this man was, he also did not seem vicious and evil like many of the others around her. She found it even odder that she felt like she could trust him and his judgment, he did not seem to want ill to fall upon her. She took several steps away from the fallen cutthroat and stood next to Keisha.
"You did not have to do that," Keisha stuttered out, but her eyes never left Barnaby's.
Barnaby sheathed his dagger and eyed the crowd curiously, gauging their expressions and stances. "Anyone have anything to add to this?" When no one spoke up, he continued. "Good, then it is resolved and I will hear no more of it. Now stop standing about and get out into the city and do your jobs!" His voice rang with authority. "Keisha, I would like to see you and your friend inside, now!" Barnaby turned away from the slow dispersing crowd of cutthroats and walked back into the rotting mansion.
"Come on, let us get this over with." Keisha began toward the mansion, as she passed Malaki she spat down at him.
"This is not over, Keisha…" he groaned, slowly climbing to his hands and knees.
Shania followed Keisha quickly, ignoring the bitter grunts and curses as she passed several of the bystanders. Her heart thumped hard in her chest as she neared the house. She did not know what to expect; she truly was surprised even to still be alive. She knew once she was inside those doors that her fate would be sealed to whatever this man wished and yet she kept walking forward.
The False Prince (Fall Of A King Book 1) Page 27