Before he finished his sentence a sword pierced his chest. Vincent stood in the center of them all with his sword thrusted deeply into the man’s heart. No one saw him move. One minute he wasn’t there and the next minute he was. He kicked the man off his blade a turned to the remaining floor.
“You know, I’ve spent ten years locked away in a cell for crimes my father committed. I’ll be damned if I’m going to be put on the chopping block for someone framing me.” Vincent grabbed the dead soldier’s sword off the ground. “Now then, who’s next?”
They all surrounded him. Quickly attacking him from all sides. Even four against one, Vincent managed to somehow have the upper hand. He’d parry their sword attacks, slightly cutting the wrist when he pulled back, causing them to drop the sword if only for a moment.
At the moment the soldiers leaned over to pick up his sword, Vincent rolled over on his back to dodge the attacks coming at him. Although they missed Vincent, they did, however, decapitate one of their own. Now it was three on one.
One of the soldiers rushed him. Vincent dropped the sword he held in his left hand but noticed another one of the soldiers running to kill Piña. The guard that was rushing him lifted his sword high preparing to bring it down on Vincent. He punched him as hard as he could in the throat stunning him and making it hard to breathe. Then with the sword he held in his right hand, he threw it at the soldier going for the kill on Piña piercing him threw the stomach.
He picked the sword he dropped and killed the guard who was trying to catch his breath with a clean swing. Only one left. It was the one who’s jaw was completely destroyed by Vincent the previous day. He dropped his sword and mumbled something.
“Sorry, what was that? I can’t hear you over the sound of the blood pooling in your lungs.”
The solider looked down and saw the hilt of a sword sticking out of his stomach. He looked at Vincent and noticed he didn’t have a sword in his hand. How in the world did he kill someone without them noticing it?
With all the soldiers dealt with, Vincent turned his attention towards Piña. She was covered in blood. Known of it was her own thankfully. Vincent proceeded to cut her binds.
“You alright?” he asked as he helped her to her feet.
“Yes…thank you…”
Piña was shacking. She was trying to hide it but Vincent could feel it. He took off his jacket and placed it on her. “What are you doing!?” she barked.
“You seemed cold.”
“I’m not cold!”
“Then you're afraid?”
“I’m…” she wrapped the jacket around her and began to pout. “I’m not afraid.” She muttered.
“Don’t let it get you down. Anyone would be afraid in such a situation.”
Piña quickly sprang to her feet. The jacket fell off her. “I said I’m not afraid!”
Vincent hadn’t realized it while he was fighting, but Piña was in a rather revealing silk nightgown. He could see her navel as well as other parts. Piña, seeing the incredibly flushed looked on Vincent’s face, ducked down and let out a mild shriek.
“So that’s what that looks like…smoother then I was led to believe…” Vincent quietly muttered to himself.
“Did you see!?” Piña demanded.
“What? Um…I should check these bodies…” he said in order to avoid the question.
Piña grabbed the jacket and threw it back on herself. As Vincent was searching the bodies he turned to Piña. “Any reason these guys wanted you dead? And a better question, why would they wanna lay blame at my feet?”
“I have no idea,” she replied, “All I know is that they are doing this for the good of Avia. Made no sense. I have a question for you, why are you still here?”
“Would you have preferred it I run off? Leave you to your fate?”
“I…no. I just thought at the first chance you would run, but you stayed. I just wanna know why.”
“I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind, but I doubt I’d be able to make it to the border without being recaptured.”
“You took out five well-trained soldiers single handily. I think you’d be fine.”
Vincent smirked. “I suppose you’re right. Then I suppose I just find it impossible to leave such lovely company.”
Piña face became flushed. Why would he say something like that? She wondered.
Vincent found something on one of the soldiers. It was a note. “Found something. You’d best read this.”
“Your orders are simple. Kill the princess. The fallen prince does not matter. Blame will be placed upon his feet. Once she is dead returned to Avia and report back to me. The traitors who would Vincent Valentine retake the throne shall be punished…what the fuck…”
“A false flag operation.” He said.
“A what operation?”
“A false flag operation. I saw my father do it a lot when I was younger. He would send a duke or someone of greater status into a rival nation. He would then have the duke’s own men assassinate him while under the care of the representative. The soldiers would report back and then full blown war would ensue. In this case, you were the intended target. The soldiers didn’t count on me sticking around. In fact, they had hoped I fled. Would’ve made my guilt unquestionable. Though that doesn’t leave much to who would be the victims.”
“The letter said those would see you back on the throne.”
“That could be anyone. Mainly those who became very wealthy selling slaves. I’m thinking Blackfire. That country’s economy primarily runs on slaves. Though it seems like such a hassle for your father to do this.”
Piña stood up and gave Vincent an angry glare. “This was not my father’s orders!” she yelled.
“Okay, if not him then who? The stationary it’s written on came from inside the castle. Your brother, perhaps?”
“No, no, no! My family is not yours! They would not try and have me killed! Just because your father was a cold and heartless tyrant doesn’t mean mine is!”
Piña, having realized the hurtful words she had spoken to Vincent, tried to apologize, but he just walked away. He placed himself inside the tent the soldiers were using and went to sleep.
Chapter 5
The next morning, Piña awoke to the light of the sun kissing her face and the smell of beef. She looked outside her tent and saw Vincent cooking a rack of ribs. On the floor beside him was a horse which had it’s stomach cut open. She wanted to speak up and say something right then and there with Vincent’s back turned, but she decided against it and found herself befuddled. Why does she care so much what he thinks about her?
She threw off her nightgown and put her armor back on. She stepped out of the tent. “Morning.” She muttered.
“Morning. How did you sleep?” Vincent asked, still cooking the ribs.
“Good, I suppose. What did you do with the bodies?”
“Buried them in the woods before finally passing out. The scent of blood would’ve attracted wolves or some sort of other beasts in these woods. Better safe than sorry, I say.”
Piña sat beside him. Vincent didn't pay her any mind. He just continued to smoke the ribs. “Sorry…” she weakly muttered.
“What was that?”
“I said I’m sorry. After my own men tried to kill me and then finding out my father or brother had ordered me killed…I just lost it and I took it out on you. I’m sorry…”
Vincent looked at her and could see that she had genuine remorse written on her face. He laughed. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He said. “My family were a bunch of fuck ups. You don’t have to apologize for something that’s true.”
“Even so, I could still see how uncomfortable it made you.”
“You would think after ten years it wouldn’t bother me so much. The fact is, it still does cut deep. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I thought everything they did they did for a reason. Maybe I still think that now even knowing everything. Or maybe no matter how fucked up they
were they were still my family and the only ones I had. I don’t know why it bothers me still, but it does.
Anyway, enough on that. I say we eat and get a fresh start back to Avia before midday.”
“We aren’t going back to Avia.” She informed him.
“Then where are we going? You still want to head to the mountains, don’t you?”
“That was our main objective. Nothing has changed.”
“I’m sorry was that another woman who was tied up in ropes last night that I mistook for you? No? Then that was you, okay. That means you were watching as I killed five soldiers. Things have changed. There is only two of us now.”
“Like I said, nothing has changed.” She repeated.
“Can you at least tell me what it is we are going there for? Or is that still need to know?”
“Very well. I suppose you’ve earned that much. There are ruins in that mountain. Ruins of the Old Religion.”
“The Old Religion?!” Vincent yelled. “Turn back turn back now.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong!? Oh, where do I begin? Ah, how about here? It’s suicidal! My father, before he became the mad king, would send scores upon scores of men into these ruins to retrieve information and artifacts. You wanna know how many actually returned? Three. One of them jumped off the battlements, the other one committed suicided and the third remained catatonic to the point where he just stopped breathing.
Hundreds of lives lost, and for what? Some dusty old trinket from a bygone age from a civilization that mysteriously vanished? It isn’t worth it, Piña.”
“Fascinating…by the way, your ribs are burning.”
Vincent turned back to his ribs and saw that they were completely charred. “Oh for fuck sakes!” he barked. “I spent the last four hours slow cooking these things. All for nothing.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll share some of my jerky with you while we travel to the mountains.” She said.
“Did you not hear me, Piña? It’s suicide.”
“I heard you, Vincent. There are thing you need to know about women. Once we set our minds on something you can’t change it.”
“Yes. I’m well aware of that. The problem is it’s that same thinking that tends to get people killed!”
“Stop bitching and get your things together. We ride off in an hour.”
Vincent continued to protest, but sadly his words fell on deaf ear. Piña’s mind was made up and there was no changing it. She did, however, give him an option. He could return to Avia alone and be thrown back into his cell a day early or he could continue to go with her. Vincent chose the latter.
They mounted up and continued to ride west. They set the other horses go as they would not need them.
They road for hours until finally reaching the mountains. The western mountain ranged looked like a small piece of Hothcar’s desert that broke off and drifted to Avia. The entire terrain was rocky, massive chasms decorated the landscape. One misstep and you would fall to your death, or worst, you live and starve to death wandering through the endless maze.
After navigating through the hazardous terrain, they arrived at the entrance to the ruins. Vincent felt a chill in the air. His right arm once again began to pain him greatly. Piña took noticed. “Are you alright?” she asked.
“Fine. Just a little sore is all. I suppose faking an illness right now wouldn’t detour you from entering that cave, right?”
“You could be vomiting all your major organs right now and I’d still go inside. This is what I set out to do and I intend to see this through.”
Vincent sighed. “Why are women so difficult?” he whispered to himself.
They entered the cave and immediately stopped not two feet away from the entrance. They heard some sort of hollowing coming from deep inside the cavern. Piña took a step back and stilled herself. He palms sweat, her heart raced, she found herself paralyzed with fear. What could make such a horrible sound? She wondered.
Vincent placed his hand on her shoulder. “You alright?” he asked.
She shrugged him off. “I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”
The cavern opened up into what appeared to be an altar of some sort. There were six torches and four brazier lit. There was also a heavy smell of sulfur in the room.
Vincent looked at the wall closest to him. He saw pictographs. Pictographs tell a story without ever needing to us a single word. However, there was only one picture carved into the wall. A picture of a burning build.
“Piña, I have a bad feeling about this place…Piña?”
She didn’t hear him. She was being drawn to the altar like moths to a flame. Glimmering on the altar appeared to be a necklace of sorts. A thick gold chain with a gigantic cut ruby as the centerpiece. Piña didn’t even notice the scattered pile of bones surrounding the altar.
Vincent ran over and grabbed her hand just as she was about to pick up the necklace. It seemed to knock her out of her trance. “Unhand me!” she yelled.
“Don’t pick that up! You have no idea what will happen if you do.”
“Yes, I do. It’ll no longer be on this altar and instead, will be in my hands. Now let go!”
She pulled her hand free from his grip and grabbed the necklace. A massive gust of wind came shooting out of the back of the alter extinguishing the torches and braziers. The wall behind the alter opened and they could hear something clawing its way out of the tunnel.
“Piña…put the necklace down…and back away very slowly…” he whispered.
“Calm yourself, Vincent. It was just the wind.”
“How stupid…” That when he saw the look on her face. It was the same look her father had every single time he saw him. That of greed. As if the item in her hand would see that she would conquer the world.
Vincent quickly snatched it from her hand. “Give it back!” she yelled, scratching and clawing at his face. He pushed her to the ground and tossed it into the cavern that just opened up.
“No!” she shrieked, as she tries to run in after it.
Vincent used both hands to hold her back. “It isn’t worth it!” he said.
“I need it! I need it back! Let me go! Let me go!”
At that moment, a massive roar echoed off the walls of the cavern. Fire then shot forth, just managing to narrowly miss them. From within that cavern step out a beast long to be extinct. It towered over them, snarling. Its skin was as black as the night sky. It’s orange reptile eyes looked as if they were peering into their very souls. Whatever trance Piña was in was soon broken, as fear gripped her heart staring at this colossal dragon.
Vincent took Piña by the hand. “Run you fool!” he yelled, as they bolted to the door. Oh, but they were not going to escape that easily. The dragon let out another massive roar. The power of its voice was magnified within this hollow cavern, stunning them and nearly rupturing their inner ear.
It crept ever closer to them as they were trying to find their barrings. Vincent was dizzy still and on one knee. Piña had collapsed entirely and was crawling on her belly to the exit. He could run. Leave her to the dragon and save himself, but that just wasn’t the type of man Vincent was, despite the rumors.
He picked her up. She was lighter than he thought given that she’s wearing full iron armor, and began to run to the door. Not as fast, but enough to put some distance between him and the dragon.
For the dragon’s size, it was having a hard time moving around. So, using its powerful tail, it smacked the ceiling causing a cave in. Rocks crashing all around them. Vincent just narrowly dodging having his head caved in.
The exit was being sealed. More and more rocks piled around it. He looked up and saw a giant boulder about to land right at the exit. He tossed Piña threw. Vincent was sealed in.
Piña rose to her feet hardly knowing how she got outside. The last thing she remembered was the dragon. She saw the exit sealed and Vincent threw one of the smaller holes.
“Vincent? Vincent! Can you hear me?”
“Yeah. I’m here…”
“Why…? Why’d you save me?”
He smirked. “Maybe because, despite all the rumors, I just can’t stand to see a pretty girl about to get eaten by a dragon.”
She blushed.
“Also, I think I would be dead anyway if I returned to Avia without you. I suggest you go before that dragon finds another way out.”
“No! I am not leaving you.” She yelled.
“You have no choice. It would take weeks to clear out all this rubble.” The dragon roared again. “And I don’t think I have that much time. Go. Now.”
As much as Piña didn’t, she knew he was right. She couldn’t move an inch of those rocks without the proper tools and equipment. “I’ll come back for you!” she yelled. “So don’t you dare die.”
Piña mounted her horse and rode off back to Avia.
Vincent smirked. He actually believes her. He found that strange. He sat down and leaned against the rocky wall. Two option were before him. One: He can be eaten alive and hope to give this dragon a horrible case of indigestion. Two: Being burned alive and dying in agonizing pain. He didn’t like any of those options.
So when you don’t like any of the options presented to you, you have to flip the table and give yourself a better one. He looked at his right arm. “Looks like I’m using it again.”
He rose to his feet and went back inside to confront the dragon. “Hey!” he yelled out. The dragon turned to him and snarled. “That’s right I’m talking to you, you overgrown salamander! Your about to make me do something that I swore I’d never do again.”
Vincent unbandaged his arm revealing underneath that almost the entirety of his right arm is black with red tribal markings. The arm was almost demonic in its appearance. His fingers were as sharp as talons. It began to crackle with black electricity as a storm cloud formed overhead. Vincent’s hair rose as the air around him began to crackle. Then…boom!
The Blackest Knight Page 3