Soldier Song (The Teralin Sword Book 6)

by D. K. Holmberg

  How were they able to use that?

  It had to be the same, but then, how was it that he recognized it?

  The Antrilii connection.

  Their willingness to train with the Assal made sense. The Antrilii must have known about their connection, and they must have known that there was something similar, something shared between their people and the Assal, and because of that, they had been willing to work with them.

  It made Endric want to return to the Antrilii and ask Nahrsin about it, but there was something of greater importance.

  “I can feel what you’re doing,” Endric said softly.

  Varian stared at him. “What was that?”

  He stared at Varian before flicking his gaze to the swordsmen. “The two of you at least have some connection. It’s that connection that is the reason the Antrilii work with you.”

  “How is it that you know this?”

  They were getting close to the dock and Endric suspected that Varian wouldn’t share much more if he didn’t speak honestly. “I already told you. I’m descended from the Antrilii.”

  Varian tipped his head to the side as he studied him. “Yes. Perhaps you truly are.”

  “How is it that your people have this connection?”

  “I believe that all peoples have this connection.”

  Endric shook his head. “Not all. Not even all of your men have it, do they?”

  Varian watched him before shaking his head. “Not all.”

  “You have some way of determining those who have it, though.”

  Varian nodded.

  Endric took a deep breath. “Is that why the guild hired you?”

  He watched Endric for a moment. “The guild has hired us for years. They know that we are trustworthy, and they know that we will complete the jobs and we will not steal from them.”

  “But something’s changed.”

  “What do you know of it?”

  “Only what I learned when I reached the city. The fracturing of the guild.”

  “If you are correct, it would explain much. It would explain why the jobs have changed.”

  “How have they changed?”

  “There are some of my people who have been tasked differently.”

  “Differently?”

  “The jobs have changed, and we have been asked to transport items to Coamdon that we normally would not.”

  “This isn’t the guild headquarters.”

  Varian shook his head. “No. This is not the guild headquarters.”

  “How long have you known?”

  “We have been aware of it for quite some time. We haven’t understood why Coamdon was involved, only that there has been something about Coamdon which has been the source of much difficulty. We have come here for answers.”

  “Answers, and not just for what you claim the historian took from you?”

  “The historian did take from us, but it’s the answers that we truly need. Our contract with the guild is quite profitable for us. If we lose that, then we lose much.”

  “That’s your only reason for coming here?”

  “If we have been betrayed, we want to know. That is why we are here,” Varian said.

  Endric understood that. If they had been betrayed, he could easily understand why they would want to get to the bottom of what had happened. And more than that, they would want to know who was responsible for it.

  “Did a job go awry?”

  Varian frowned. They pulled into the dock before he had a chance to answer, but Endric suspected that was the real reason.

  The fake guild had done it to them, and they had come to take care of it.

  Strangely, Endric wasn’t sure if they had enough men. Considering the resources the guild, whether real or not, had in the city, they were enough to identify the danger of the presence of the Assal.

  And they already knew that the Assal had reached the city. They had commented on that to Endric.

  Which meant that they knew that they had been discovered.

  It all began to make more sense. The guild might not even have known whether or not Endric was apprenticed to Novan as he claimed, but having seen him come on the Assal ship had been enough to make him a danger to them and their plans. If they had stolen from the Assal during a transport, then they would be concerned about what the Assal might do.

  Endric climbed out of the small boat and waited for the others to join him. He waited, and as he did, he saw movement on the dock.

  He pointed to it, motioning to Varian. “It seems they know we’re here.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  Endric nodded. “They were aware of me the moment I came off your ship, and one of them even commented about the fact that I had come in with the Assal.”

  “That is unfortunate.”

  “That they recognized you or that there are potentially so many people keeping tabs throughout the city?”

  “It would be a little bit of both,” Varian said.

  “The entire city can’t be involved, but there are probably enough involved that we need to be careful,” Endric said.

  “Yes. But what exactly do we have to be careful about?”

  “Tell me what you’re after.” Endric watched a handful of men making their way toward them along the docks. None of them looked particularly imposing, but the fact that they were heading straight toward them made Endric uncomfortable. They had to be working on behalf of the guild, but what did they intend to do?

  The guild weren’t soldiers, but they had people among them who were willing to poison, which meant that they were willing to use their knowledge.

  “I think it’s time for you to be truthful with me, Varian.”

  “I have been truthful with you,” he said.

  “What are you after?”

  “We lost a shipment,” Varian said. “Several shipments. And we have tracked them to Coamdon. We intend to reclaim those shipments and return them to their rightful owners.”

  “And their rightful owners are the rest of the guild?”

  “It took a while to realize that we had been betrayed by those who would have us believe that they serve the guild. They do not.”

  “And the man you saw me with in Boastin?”

  “He was one of them.”

  Endric chuckled. He had a hard time believing that Novan was responsible for betraying the guild. If nothing else, he might be too protective of the guild, and from what he had seen during his time in the fortress, he knew that Novan was not a part of this.

  “I know that you believe the person you saw me with was a part of what happened, but I assure you that he was not.”

  “We know what we saw.”

  “And if I can prove otherwise?”

  “You have already agreed to acquire something on behalf of us.”

  “And I will help you recover your shipment.”

  Varian watched Endric for a moment, and finally he nodded. “Then we can have an agreement.”

  “You don’t know what my terms are.”

  “I suspect what you will ask.”

  Endric smiled. “And what is that?”

  “You would like to understand the Assal.”

  Endric considered for a moment. That was what he wanted to know about, and he thought that there would be value in the Denraen knowing about the Assal.

  “If I help you with this, then you will send men to the Denraen,” Endric said.

  Varian studied him. “That is not an agreement that I can make.”

  “Then I’m not sure that I can help.” He motioned past the cluster of Assal soldiers, indicating the men heading in their direction. “I will warn you, the men coming our way are particularly nasty, and they have a predilection for poison, so I hope your men are prepared for that.”

  Varian looked along the dock. His jaw clenched as he seemed to be weighing his options. “If you help us with this, and you help us recover our cargo, we will consider.” When Endric started to argue, Varian raised his han
d, cutting him off. “That is the best that I can offer. It’s more than I should be willing to offer, but for this…”

  Endric would have to take it.

  “Let’s go, then.”

  He squeezed past the others and joined the swordsmen. “If we’re going to fight together, I would know your name,” he said to the man who led them.

  “My name is Akar.”

  “Well, Akar, seeing as how I know what a skilled fighter you are, I think that you will be given a particular challenge here.”

  “What challenge is that?”

  “The challenge is ensuring that we get past these men.”

  The nearest of the line of men approached, and Endric saw one of them holding up a dart. That must’ve been how they got him the last time.

  He rushed forward, raising his sword, and let out a deep, bellowing scream.

  It gave the men a moment of pause.

  Endric smiled to himself. They weren’t soldiers. They were historians, or perhaps they were something else, but they weren’t fighters, not like him.

  Akar joined him, racing alongside, and he also let out a scream, though his was a high-pitched sound that pierced Endric’s ears.

  He reached the first of the men and punched, driving his fist into the man’s stomach, forcing him to double over. He chopped at the arm holding the dart, batting it into the water. He spun from that man and moved on to the next, driving his foot up and connecting with him in the stomach. He moved through the line of men, punching and kicking, avoiding using his sword.

  When he was done, and all the men had fallen, he paused to take a survey.

  Akar wiped the blood off his blade. Three men were lying motionless on the ground around him.

  “You didn’t want to cut them down?” Akar asked.

  Endric shook his head. “They aren’t soldiers. I’m not entirely sure what they are, other than they serve this false guild in some way.”

  “If they serve this false guild, then they deserve to die.”

  “It’s been my experience that there aren’t too many people who deserve to die,” Endric said.

  “And it’s been my experience that those who betray their oaths do,” Akar said.

  Endric motioned for them to follow and they headed along the docks, reaching the shoreline. He paused to take stock of the people around them, curious as to whether or not they might face another attack, but there was none.

  That didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be another, only that he didn’t see anything now.

  Varian approached him, and as he did, he grabbed the back of his neck, his eyes going wide.

  “Down!” Endric shouted.

  The other Assal all dropped to the ground and Endric saw a dart sticking out of the back of Varian’s neck.

  Endric spun around, searching for where the attack had come from. It had been behind them, but where?

  There were two dock hands. That had to be who had been responsible.

  How many people did the false guild have working with them?

  It was hard to believe they could have so many people that they would be attacked everywhere along the dock, but that was what seemed to be happening.

  Endric grabbed Varian and pulled him along the dock. They stayed low, wanting to avoid another attack, but even if another one came, he didn’t know if they had enough capability to withstand it.

  He nodded to Akar. “We need to get to higher ground.”

  The other man looked down at Endric as he dragged Varian. “We need to remove them as a threat,” he said.

  Endric shook his head. “There are too many. Up. The fortress.”

  He nodded to the top of the hillside, where the fortress loomed large. He didn’t like the idea that he would be returning there so soon after having escaped, but what choice did he have? They needed to get away from the guild influence, and that seemed to be the only place that they could go.

  More than that, the fortress would have the books the false guild had stolen. That was what Varian and the others were after. If he could help the Assal, and if they could hunker down, they should be able to defend themselves against whatever it was that the false guild might intend.

  Then they would have to reach the shore again.

  Maybe Akar was right. Maybe they did need to remove those who worked for the false guild. But not all of them.

  “Have your men take him up to the fortress.”

  “Not you?” Akar asked.

  “Not us. The two of us are going to search for those who serve the false guild.”

  A hint of a smile spread on Akar’s face. “Good.”

  Endric grunted. “I’m not sure that you will think it’s that good when we work our way through the city, trying to avoid attack.”

  “They would not dare to attack us.”

  “You might be surprised,” Endric said.

  He waited for Akar to talk to his men. Once he finished speaking, they all gathered, working together as they dragged Varian away, moving him up the street. They kept low, and once they joined the crowd, they were able to maneuver more easily.

  “How many of your men are skilled swordsmen?”

  “They are all skilled swordsmen,” Akar said.

  Endric motioned to two men making their way along the dock, and he and Akar slipped down toward them. Endric swept his leg underneath one, driving his fist into his chin to knock him out, while Akar slammed his sword through the other man’s belly.

  He wasn’t going to tell Akar how to fight, but he did wish that he would exercise a little more restraint. He didn’t like the idea of cutting down all of these men, but maybe it would be necessary.

  They moved back down to the end of the dock. From there, Endric looked around. “We’re looking for any who might be watching us,” he said to Akar.

  “Such as those three?” Akar asked.

  He followed the direction that Akar pointed and saw two women and a slender man watching. When they realized that Endric and Akar had seen them, they turned and headed toward the street.

  Endric raced after them. There was movement behind him, and he cast a brief glance over his shoulder to see Akar fighting two others. Endric couldn’t pay any mind to them. He needed to get to the other three.

  He reached the man first, and with swift kick to his backside, he went staggering.

  Endric looked at the women and used the flat of his blade, knocking both of them unconscious.

  When he was done, Akar reached him.

  “There were three others,” Akar said.

  “Three? I only saw two.”

  “A third joined them after they followed me,” he said.

  Endric nodded to the three he had knocked out and began to bind them, tearing strips of cloth free to tie them up.

  “Are you sure that will be effective?” Akar asked.

  “It usually is,” Endric said.

  Akar frowned at him. “Usually?”

  “Well, you managed to get away.”

  Akar smiled tightly. “I did have a little help,” he said.

  “I’m aware of that,” Endric said.

  Akar joined him, and the two of them bound the two women along with the man, and they dragged them into an alley along the street.

  “What do you intend to do with them?” Akar asked.

  Endric closed his eyes for a moment, trying to think through what he would do with them. It had to be something more than simply leaving them here, but at the same time, they worked on behalf of the false guild, so he didn’t want to leave them behind.

  “We have to leave them for now,” he decided.

  “And then what?”

  “Once we finish this with the false guild, then we can decide what we will do.”

  “If they were responsible for stealing from the Assal, then they will pay for what they have done.”

  Endric stared at Akar for a moment. He wasn’t going to argue with him. He would leave it to Akar to deal with them, and he wouldn’t feel bad about it. The
y had done more than simply steal from the Assal. They had caused discord within the guild, and that discord had drawn him into it.

  “We’ll leave them here,” he said again.

  “What now?” Akar asked.

  “Now we wind our way through the city. Uncover how many are out here. And we remove them as a threat before we head to the fortress.”

  “What happens when we get there?”

  Endric glanced up, but the fortress wasn’t visible from where he was, not here.

  “I don’t know.”

  19

  Endric and Akar made their way through the city. As he wound his way along the street, this time with somebody watching alongside him, he was thankful that Akar was with him.

  When they turned a corner, reaching an intersection, Endric caught sight of two people at the far end of the street. They were seemingly moving casually along the street, but there was something not quite right about how casual they appeared, and Endric had the sense that there was something that they were trying to hide.

  He motioned to Akar.

  “I see them,” he said.

  “We should—”

  Endric didn’t get a chance to finish. A dart whistled through the air toward them, and Endric dropped, dragging Akar with him.

  The dart buried itself into the wall behind them.

  Endric spun around, grabbing the dart and flinging it back toward one of the men. He sent a surge through himself, drawing on that strange trembling of power that he had felt when he had freed himself from the chains, and the dart reached the man before he had a chance to react. It sunk into the center of his chest and he collapsed.

  The other person with him froze.

  Endric took that opportunity to race forward and grab the other person before they were able to turn. He wrapped his arms around them, holding them against him, and he clamped a hand over their mouth.

  “Scream and it’s the last sound you’ll make,” he said.

  The man nodded.

  “How many are there in the city?”

  Akar was making his way along the street, heading toward them. Endric motioned for him to wait, not sure if there were other surprises.

  He removed his hand over the man’s mouth, giving him a chance to answer.

  “More than you can track,” he said.