The Queen's Blade IV - Sacred Knight of the Veil

by T C Southwell

  Blade dropped to elude the next man's charged, slammed his shoulder into the bandit's belly and threw him over his back. The last man drew a dagger and lunged at the assassin, forcing him to leap aside as the weapon slashed his chest. He grabbed the man's wrist and used his momentum to swing him around, twisting his arm until the tendons cracked. The bandit howled and dropped the dagger. Blade released him and scooped up the weapon.

  "Stop!" Asrah's command halted another two men, who headed for Blade, intent on joining the fray.

  Blade glanced around at his foes. The youngster sat rubbing his throat and coughing, the man with the lacerated cheek mopped the blood from his face, and the one with the twisted arm nursed it against his chest. The man Blade had thrown over his shoulder appeared unharmed, and glared at him.

  Asrah strode up to him and held out her hand for the dagger. With a sigh, he gave it to her, and she turned to face her men.

  "What sort of men are you, to attack an unarmed man?"

  They muttered, and one man shouted, "He was throttling Balt!"

  Asrah turned to Blade. "Were you?"

  "Yes. He attacked Kestra."

  Asrah glanced at the girl, who was trying to tidy her tangled hair. "Attacked? Do you mean he was flirting with her?"

  "No, I mean he grabbed her, and she was frightened."

  "And for that, you were going to kill him?"

  "No. I would have released him when he was subdued."

  Asrah looked down at the blood-smeared dagger he had given her, then walked over to the man with the bloody cheek.

  "How did this happen?"

  "He hit me with the damned chain," the bandit growled.

  Asrah glanced at the other three men who had attacked the assassin, and, finding them innocent of blood, strode back to Blade. Pulling open his jelabah, she exposed the gash on his chest, and her eyes snapped up to his face.

  "Who did this?"

  He shrugged. "The one who gave me the dagger."

  Asrah turned to glare at the man with the injured arm. "Jeran! You disgust me, all of you! Three of you against an unarmed man, and you not only fail, he takes your weapon. And he's wearing shackles!"

  The men mumbled and shuffled their feet, avoiding her eyes as she raked them with a scornful glance. Several onlookers had already slipped away, leaving the guilty ones to face their leader's ire alone.

  Asrah tossed the dagger to Jeran. "No one touches him in future, unless I say so. He's no good to me if he's injured, you morons." She swung to face Blade. "You, come with me. I'll clean that cut."

  Blade followed Asrah to her tent, and Minna led Kerra away. Inside, he sat on a cushion while she rummaged in a bag, producing a vial and a cloth. She sat before him and parted his jelabah to inspect the cut again, then poured a little brown fluid onto the cloth. He gazed out of the door, maintaining an air of icy indifference until she dabbed the medicine onto his wound, then he recoiled with a hiss.

  "What vile stuff is that?"

  "It's good for wounds." She studied his twisted face. "Surely you aren't afraid of a little pain?"

  "I have no liking for it."

  "So it seems." She smiled and dabbed more of the stinging fluid on the cut, and he raised his hands to ward her off.

  "Enough. It will heal without that."

  Asrah chuckled. "So, you do have a weakness. I was beginning to think you were made of ice. I didn't think you would be afraid of a little stinging ointment."

  "It hardly hurt until you put that stuff on it."

  She sat back, studying him. "It's a small cut, but Jeran's knife is dirty. He uses it to cut his meat and pick his teeth."

  Blade grimaced. "A man should keep his weapons clean."

  "You certainly do."

  "It was part of my training."

  "Why did you become an assassin?"

  He shrugged. "I needed to make a living, and I was good at killing."

  "Would you consider teaching my men your tricks?"

  "No. Assassins are forbidden to reveal their secrets to anyone except their apprentices."

  Asrah dabbed his wound with the cloth again, and he hissed, but bore it. "You were lying to me the other night, weren't you?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  "I didn't want to wear the chains."

  She wiped away the blood and sat back once more. "Yet you used them as a weapon."

  "I had to." He eyed her. "Why didn't you tell your men to leave Kestra alone?"

  "They won't hurt her."

  "She's a maiden."

  Asrah laughed. "She told you that? She's lying. No girl in a Cotti lord's harem would reach her age untouched."

  "She's not lying."

  "How would you know? Or perhaps it's you who are lying. After all, you share a tent with her."

  Blade shook his head. "She's perfectly safe with me."

  "And why is that? Don't tell me that you're happily married."

  "Not happily, but I am."

  Asrah stared at him, then put down the cloth and jumped up, walking across the tent to pick up a wine skin and uncork it. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

  "Because you don't want to."

  "No, it's because you don't strike me as the kind of man who could love a woman."

  "I didn't say I loved her."

  Asrah sipped from the wine skin. "You tried to seduce me the other night."

  "I wasn't trying to seduce you."

  "No? Well you did a damned good imitation of it."

  "Not good enough, since I failed to persuade you not to put the shackles on me."

  She glared at him. "And that was all you wanted?"

  "Yes."

  "I see." His answer appeared to mollify her, and she returned to sit before him again. "But if your marriage is one of convenience, why would you honour it?"

  "I didn't claim to honour it."

  She looked puzzled. "Then why do you say that the girl is safe with you?"

  Blade gazed at his hands, wondering if he should concoct a lie to explain it or tell the truth. A lie appealed to him, since he was not sure of her reaction to his shortcomings. Then again, she would find out soon enough if she tried to seduce him, which seemed likely, given her obvious attraction to him, and that might anger her more. If he told the truth, she would pity him, which could prove less hazardous to his health, and that of the queens. He had hoped that her desire for him would make her more amenable to his wishes, but perhaps her pity would work just as well, and without the complications of the lie. He did not care if she pitied him. He had used the emotions of others to his advantage many times. He looked up, finding her waiting for his reply.

  "I told you that I had more reason to hate the Cotti than you do, but I didn't tell you everything they did to me."

  She looked surprised. "There's more?"

  "Yes. They also castrated me."

  Asrah's gaze raked him, realisation dawning in her eyes, mixed with pity and a hint of disgust, whether for him, the Cotti or herself, he was not sure. She picked up the wine skin and drank from it, then offered it to him. He took a few gulps while she studied him, her expression one of deep disappointment.

  "What about your wife?"

  "She knew about it before she wed me."

  She took the wine skin when he held it out. "That's most unfortunate."

  "For you or me?"

  "Both of us, I think."

  "I suppose so."

  Asrah handed him the wine skin. "So, you really do have ice in your veins."

  He smiled. "Yes."

  "And the other night..."

  He shrugged. "I made no promises, or even suggestions."

  "No, you didn't." She reached for the wine skin. "Go back to your charges. I won't bother you again."

  Blade left her staring at the place where he had been sitting, and crossed the camp under the baleful gaze of several bandits, whose reason for hating him had just increased significantly. When he slipped inside the queens' tent, he found them huddled to
gether at the back, talking in low tones.

  They turned at his entry, and Kerra burst out, "We must get away from these people, Blade."

  He sank down on his bedroll. "And how do you suggest we do that?"

  "Take our horses and flee."

  He smiled. "If it was that easy, I would have done it already."

  "You could kill the guards in the night, and we could sneak out of the camp. By the time they found us gone, we would be far away."

  "I have no weapons -"

  "You do not need weapons," Minna pointed out.

  He inclined his head. "I could probably manage without them, but we also have no money, and no supplies, and we would leave a trail that they would follow in the morning. Since we would be forced to head for the nearest town, they would soon catch us, and then they would have a reason to kill me and sell you."

  Kerra glanced at her mother, who frowned and muttered, "This situation is intolerable. These men will harm us. You may be able to protect us while you are here, but what will happen when you leave to perform this assassination?"

  "I will ask Asrah to protect you."

  "She is a bandit," Kerra snapped.

  "She is also a woman. I do not think she will allow her men to do to you what was done to her, and she appears well able to control them."

  Kerra shook her head, her mouth a stubborn line. "What if something happens to you? What if she sells us while you are away? We cannot trust her."

  Blade sighed and lay down. "We have no choice. Nothing will happen to me, and if she sells you, I will find you."

  Kerra turned to her mother. "I could send Myasha to father with a message."

  The assassin chuckled. "Have you only thought of that now? I would have suggested it long ago, if it was possible."

  "Why is it not?"

  "Because Myasha has never been to Jadaya, and nor have you. How would he find it? You do not have the experience to give him the information he will need, even if I explained it to you. And even if he did, he does not know your father. What is more, you should not be so eager to put him in danger, there are many perils in the desert. Hunters and eagles, to name just two. Direfalcons do not live in the desert, they are not adapted for this climate, and snakes are few."

  Kerra frowned at the floor, and Minna put a hand on her arm. "Perhaps we should follow the course that Lord Conash has suggested, Kerra. I have great respect for his intelligence, and I do not believe that he would put us in danger."

  "What about when that woman finds out that he will never be her lover? I think it is only her desire for Blade that makes her treat us well. She will make us all pay."

  "She already knows," Blade murmured.

  "You told her? What did she say?"

  "That she would not bother me again."

  "She was not angry?"

  Blade shook his head. "I did not think she would be, actually. Considering her hatred for the Cotti, hearing more of their atrocities would make her hate them more, not us. She thinks we are all their victims."

  Kerra opened her mouth to reply, but a bandit pushed open the tent flap and dumped three bowls of stew and a chunk of bread on the floor, ending the conversation.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Kerrion looked up as Jadar entered his study, setting aside the papers he had been reading. Since returning to Jadaya, he had busied himself catching up with the work that had been left undone in his absence, while he waited for news of his wife. A niggling concern that Trelath may still have Minna ate at him. If that was the case, he should be out searching for her, but the possibility that Blade had freed her kept him in the palace. If he was not here when she returned, she may fall foul of his brothers again.

  Each day that she did not return increased his worry, and horrors filled his dreams. Until he knew she was safe, he could do nothing, so Chiana remained at Endor's mercy. He had received no news from the Regent, but that was undoubtedly due to the Prince's control of her. He longed to congratulate her for sending Blade to free Minna, but the danger of alerting Endor and putting her in more danger frustrated him. The less his brothers knew about what was going on, the better, and he did not think Trelath would inform Endor if Blade had stolen Minna. What puzzled him was how Chiana had persuaded the assassin to take on such a dangerous task.

  Jadar stopped before his desk and bowed. "My King."

  "What news?"

  "Nothing of great import, I am afraid. Prince Chaymin remains at Lord Rothgar's estate. No messengers have been there, nor has his familiar left him. Prince Trelath has travelled to several small towns, but as yet has not led us to his new hiding place."

  "If he has one," Kerrion muttered. "His movements seem to indicate that he has lost her. But why has she not returned yet, if that is the case?"

  "He probably knows that he is being followed, Sire. Even if he has not seen the spies, he would expect it."

  "Yes. So you think he still has her?"

  Jadar shrugged. "It is safer to assume the worst, Sire."

  "And hope for the best."

  "Indeed. Perhaps this rescuer is being cautious, and waiting for an opportune moment to return your wife. After all, if Prince Trelath finds him, he will be executed for slaying Prince Ronan."

  "Or he is in some sort of trouble. My dreams are filled with visions of my wife dying of thirst out there, Jadar. Or being captured by bandits and abused. I can hardly sleep anymore."

  Jadar nodded. "I understand. Yet you seem to respect this assassin. Surely he would be able to take care of her?"

  "I respect his ability to kill, in that regard he is without peer. But he is Jashimari. He does not know the desert."

  "Surely he would take no chances, knowing what would happen if he should allow your wife die, Sire."

  Kerrion sighed and rubbed his brow. "I wish that was so, but in truth, he would not care if the kingdoms were plunged back into war. All he cares about is earning the fee he has been offered, and I do not know what that is."

  "She was once his queen, Sire. He would not let her die, surely?"

  "Unfortunately that is not true. Although I do not believe he would kill her, I also do not think he would care if she died."

  "He must care about the reward he was offered," Jadar pointed out.

  "Yes, and it must be considerable, to bring him out of retirement."

  "Then we can only hope and pray."

  Kerrion nodded. "And worry."

  Blade gazed at the distant town through the spyglass that Asrah had given him, then handed it back to her. She tucked it away in her belt and cocked her head.

  "So, when will you go?"

  He glanced at the lowering sun. "Tonight, but it may take several days to accomplish."

  "We'll wait here for your return."

  "And you won't allow your men to molest my charges?"

  "You're in no position to make demands, assassin." Asrah smiled. "But no, they won't. And remember, I want him to die slowly, as my mother did."

  "I won't beat him to death, but he will suffer." He turned and started back towards the camp. "I'll have to renew my disguise, and I'll need my money back, so I can buy the things I don't have."

  She cast him a puzzled glance. "What things? You wait for him in a dark alley and stab him, it's simple."

  "If it was so simple, any idiot with a knife could do it. I would risk injury, and a fight would alert the Watch. My way has no risk of injury or discovery. That's what assassins do best."

  "Then how do you intend to do it?"

  "Clients don't have the right to know how an assassin will make his kill."

  She smiled. "Tricks of the trade, hmmmm?"

  "Exactly."

  "What assurance do I have that you won't run away?"

  "Only my word. But you can kill him yourself, if you like."

  Asrah kicked the sand. "I would, but his hound knows my scent."

  "Do you think you could?"

  "I've killed men before."

  "In combat."

&nbs
p; "Yes."

  Blade nodded. "It's different to kill a man in cold blood. More difficult."

  "How do you do it?"

  He shrugged. "I have no pity."

  "I wouldn't pity him."

  "I'm certain he does not deserve your pity, but beware that your bitterness does not sour your existence."

  "As it has yours."

  He stopped and turned to face her, squinting as the slanting rays of the sunset stabbed his eyes. "Had I been able to choose a different path, I wouldn't be what I am today."

  She gazed past him, her expression bitter. "My path is also set, and my father moulded me into what I am. You'll have everything you need, I'll see to it."

  Asrah turned and strode away towards the camp, and after a pause, Blade followed.

  Several time-glasses later, he rode through a bustling town to the address Asrah had given him, stabled his horse in a nearby livery and found an inn down the street. His Cotti disguise had been renewed, and he wore his jelabah over his leather clothes, since the night air was chill. As soon as he had locked his pack in his room, he found a suitable rooftop and settled down to watch the rather grand house in a quiet street. Affluent merchants usually dwelt in this sort of abode, though it was not as imposing as its Jashimari equivalent.

  Asrah had told him that her father had guards, but he could find none, which meant they were inside. He had decided that he would not kill Zendril at home, due to the number of dogs that shared it with him. On this night, Zendril remained at home, however, and when all the lights had been extinguished within the mansion, Blade left his perch and returned to the inn for a meal and some sleep.

  The following day, he found a merchant who sold cosmetics and bought the necessary items for his next disguise, then spent the remainder of the day resting in his room. Assassinations took a lot out of him, so he found it beneficial to rest and eat well beforehand. At dusk, he returned to his perch and watched the house once more. This time, his patience was rewarded when Zendril left on foot with two bodyguards and a vicious looking hound at his side.