"So I suppose that any moment now, a dozen men will come running in here and cut me into pieces." stated Adrian as he moved ever closer.
The man continued to stare, remaining in his casual posture on the seat. He raised his hands out to his sides. The corded muscles in his arms rippled with the gesture.
"No men will come. It is just you and I assassin. But fear not, my name is Solomon, and I am the one you have come to kill."
Adrian slowed a bit. This man can't be such a fool. He thought that any second, soldiers would come rushing in and cut him down. How else could he be so calm, so confident? "So you are the King?" He kept his eyes on the strange man as he stepped closer. The rest of his senses reaching out in all directions, searching for any other threat.
"We have no King,” answered Solomon, “But as I said, I am the one you seek."
Adrian was beginning to tire of this crazy fool. "So what are you? Or should I just call you, Solomon, the dead fool." He stepped closer, a few more paces and he would be within range for his dagger. He would not miss.
"I am a priest, the spiritual leader of our people. We have no ruler. We live to serve a higher power. We do his works," said Solomon as he began to smile.
Adrian was caught off guard by this last bit of information. How could they have no King? He had never heard of such a thing. He decided that this man was only trying to trick him. He was probably sent as a diversion while their true King tried to escape.
"If you think that I won't kill you because you’re a holy man, you are deadly mistaken." He was within range now. The priest still sat there, as if he had an invisible shield protecting him. Adrian wasn't fooled by his casual pose. He knew the man was poised, ready to attack. This was all meant to throw him off guard. It didn't matter. Even if he reacted quickly enough, and managed to move, so the dagger wouldn't hit him in a critical area, that reaction alone would be the only hesitation Adrian needed to move in close enough and finish the man with his blade.
"It is you who are mistaken, assassin."
As the priest finished those words, Adrian let loose his dagger, the motion was a blur. The dagger ripped through the air aimed at the heart. The priest brought up his gauntlet, as if he had been waiting for the dagger to come, and easily deflected it. It rang off the wall behind the throne.
The assassin was shocked at the seemingly effortless block but he didn't slow his attack. In three quick strides he was at the priest, just after his dagger rang of the gauntlet. His blackened steel blade came out, snapping up and thrusting in at the priest's chest. The thrust was meant to cause the priest to throw up a block, and then he would retract, and slap the block away, coming in with a second thrust under the arms to plunge his blade into the priest's heart. But he underestimated this man.
†††
Solomon was a blur of motion. Before the assassin could pull his hand back the priest brought both his in, slapping the outside of the assassin’s sword hand with one, and the inside of his forearm with the other. The killer blinked in surprise as his blade flew from his grip across the room. He didn't hesitate, and thrust in with his other hand like a knife, aiming for Solomon’s throat in an attempt to crush his windpipe.
Solomon easily caught his outstretched fingers. It was like he knew what the attacker was going to do before he did it. As he wrenched back the assassin’s fingers with a quick jerk, there was a snapping sound. The man screamed out until Solomon brought foot came up behind him, slamming into the back of the assassin’s head. His face smacked into the marble lion-head backrest with a loud crack.
Solomon was still sitting in the chair as the assassin toppled backward, falling down the steps, landing hard in front of the large center table. He clutched his forehead as blood rolled down his face.
Solomon stood from his chair and slowly started down the steps as the assassin recovered, trying to keep himself steady as he stood. His arm shook as he held his mangled fingers and he tried to make himself look defeated and hoped it would give him the opportunity that he needed, but Solomon had already seen this play out once before.
Solomon reached the bottom step and the assassin lunged into the air, snapping out a spinning back kick at his head. It was a desperate move. If landed, the kick would have surely snapped his neck, but if it missed he would be left vulnerable. Desperation led to disaster.
Solomon easily ducked the kick, coming in close to the assassin as he landed. He was off balance from the attempt at the deft maneuver and there was nothing he could do as Solomon came up with a left elbow under his chin, snapping his head back with the blow. Solomon heard the man’s jaw snap.
He stayed motion, spinning around backwards, connecting with a right elbow to the assassin’s head, whirling him around. As the man came back around to face him, Solomon landed a powerful sidekick into his chest, sending him flying through the air, to land on top of the table.
Solomon was shocked to see the assassin immediately roll backwards with the momentum, come up in a crouch, and then spring back into a flip, landing at a safe distance away. He gave the assassin a slight bow of his head. “Impressive.”
†††
Adrian knew then, that Solomon had just been toying with him. If he had used his spiked gauntlets instead of his elbows, Adrian would surely be dead now. His suspicions were confirmed when the priest snapped his finger and men poured into the room surrounding the table. They meant to capture him.
He sat down atop the table, crossing his legs. “So is this the part where you capture and torture me to find out who sent me? It will do you no good priest. You might as well just have me killed.”
“You have it all wrong, Assassin. I already know who sent you. We will send you back to Thaluzont with only your failure to confess.”
Adrian’s eyes went wide.
How could they have known who sent him? He knew what would happen to him if he returned to Thaluzont without accomplishing his mission.
The priest’s men moved in and he stuck his hands out to the side.
“Wait!” he yelled.
The warriors paused. It was all the time he needed. Adrian looked to the priest who was shaking his head slowly. It was as if he knew Adrian’s intentions. It did not matter now. He gave the priest a broad smile.
As quick as a fox he grabbed the top of his head, and his chin, and jerked violently in opposite directions. The sound of his neck snapping echoed through the chamber. The warriors exchanged shocked looks.
Solomon, unmoved by the action, signaled for his men to remove the body. “Let the Underworld claim him.” He called one of the warriors over to him. “Sound the call for the gathering. The time of the Great War has come. We must seek out the Chosen One.”
The soldier nodded and hurried off to his task. Solomon watched as his warriors carried the body of the assassin away. His voice was only a whisper.
“Great Father, help us all.”
In Search of Shadow
Lucian stepped out of the tent, stretching out his aching muscles. Eliath was walking toward him, coming from the farmer's house. The rest had cleared Lucian's head and he woke with a renewed sense of urgency in finding out what had happened at his home. Why his parents had been murdered. He began gathering their supplies as Eliath came up to the hut.
Lucian realized that Eliath was not going to volunteer the information right off so he wasted no time in the asking. "So who was the assassin Eli? You said you would tell me after I had rested. Well now I am rested. So come out with it."
Eliath looked into his friends golden eyes. Seeing Lucian's look of determination, he thought it better than to stall. "I will do better than that my brother. I will show you."
Eliath lifted up a burlap sack. He reached down into the sack and pulled out the head of the assassin. The smell of decay assailed Lucian. He was set back by what Eliath had done. It didn't seem like the type of behavior he was used to from his friend. He put the thought aside as he looked to the face of the man who had killed his parents.
Lucian had seen Ganthians at the market before and they always seemed very civilized. Ganth was a large fishing city. Some said they were the only people who dared to brave the deeper waters in search of rare fish to bring to the market where people would pay handsomely.
Lucian was truly puzzled. His tribe had never been at war with Ganth before. They were rarely seen other than at the market. It just did not seem plausible that they would send someone to do such a thing.
Lucian grabbed the head and stuffed it back into the sack. "We are going to Ganth."
Eliath was not surprised by this reaction but he did not think it to be their best course of action. “But Lucian, we must return to our village and tell your brother, and Orland, what has happened."
Lucian was already shaking his head before Eliath finished. "No. My brother has no doubt discovered our home already. He will be looking into what happened as well. Hopefully he will put the guard on high alert. I am going to Ganth. I must find out why this man was sent to kill me and my family."
Eliath knew why, but feigned ignorance. "What makes you think the man was after you or your parents? For all we know he could have been a robber that was caught in the act when we arrived, so he chose to fight, rather than be discovered."
Lucian spun to Eliath, throwing down his travel sac. Small flames of anger burned in his bright golden eyes. His voice came as a low growl. "He called me by my name, my name Eli! How and why would he know that, why would a Ganthian come all this way, to our small village, to rob a poor old farmer? He was there for one purpose and that was to kill me. Killing my parents was just something to pass the time until I returned. And don't act as if you know nothing my brother. I know well, that look in your eye. I have seen it many times. You know something that you’re not telling me. The fact that I have known you since I was young, and that I know you to be a loyal friend, is all that stops me from strangling the truth out of you right now, so spare me your distractions."
Lucian snatched up his sac and started walking in the direction of Ganth. "Besides, I have no other leads. If you wish to deter me from my path with feigned ignorance, you might as well let me be and go your own way."
Eliath smiled at his longtime friend. It was the warm smile that Lucian had come to know from him. "I will follow you Lucian. You are my charge and I must protect you." He lowered his voice to a mumble as he picked up his own travel sac and spoke to himself. "If I let you go on alone, you just might get yourself killed."
Lucian just kept walking. He heard Eliath’s last remark but couldn’t be angry at the snip. Eliath had saved him, not only from the assassin, but from a mortal wound. He wasn't sure how exactly. The assassin had plunged a knife deep into his side, he knew it had pierced his lung and yet he lived. There were many a strange thing about his unusual friend, but he loved and trusted the man without fail.
They started off toward Ganth together, sharing the silence and watching the churning clouds. Winter was fast approaching and there wouldn’t be many sunny days left.
Lucian spoke up after a while. "We have to travel through Culdoran lands to get to Ganth. If we are lucky we might be able to pass through without being noticed."
His hope faltered as soon as he said it. He knew better. The Culdorans where a proud, warrior race, and guarded their lands ferociously. He only hoped that they might let him and Eliath pass through without incident. The Yavasurans had never been at war with the Culdorans. There was no need for him to worry. He wondered why he was trying so hard to convince himself of that.
†††
They reached the border of Culdora at noon on the third day. It was a beautiful land. The forest here was larger in every aspect. The trees were massive, trunks so wide that it would take three men reaching around it to touch fingers. They rose to stunning heights with giant yellow leaves, although many of them were switching to a darker orange color now. It was the most beautiful forest Lucian had ever been in. He had not traveled into Culdora before. The warrior race was never seen outside their lands. They allowed very few merchants to enter just to bring in certain items that they could not harvest or make themselves. The merchants seemed afraid to ever mention any details of the Culdorans. Because of their secrecy, they were somewhat feared. People dreaded what they did not know.
Lucian hoped they were friendly to strangers and would let him and Eliath pass. They had not taken more than three steps beyond the first giant tree when an arrow thunked into the ground by their feet. As they jumped back from the surprise they felt the tips of spears in their backs. Lucian had known the warriors were there watching them. He made his living in the woods and could spot the slightest sign of creatures lurking about. But he didn't want to give these people reason to be angry by calling them out of hiding. Although the arrow had surprised him, the warriors that now stood behind them did not.
He decided that he should speak up since it was not in Eliath's nature to do so.
"We come in peace. We travel to Ganth and only wish to pass through your lands." He didn't know what surprised him more, the fact that the voice behind him came from a woman, or that it came out in such a venomous hiss.
"Come to kill more of our people and take our children have you?"
The woman spoke in heavily accented Yavasuran, but Lucian had no trouble knowing what she had said. It sent an icy tingle up his spine.
"We haven’t killed anyone. We only-" His words were cut short as the shaft of a spear slammed against the side of his head, sending him sprawling across the forest floor. Eliath landed hard next to him.
The First Capture
Lucian thought he was drowning. He woke up gasping for breath. Another bucket of water splashed into Eliath’s face causing the same reaction. They were both kneeling on the ground, hands bound to their ankles behind their backs. Lucian's jaw hung open as he stared at the group of warriors standing before them. The eight women stared back with eyes like steel. These were no normal women. They each stood, clad in thick leather armor that covered their shins, forearms, chest, and shoulders. Their muscular upper legs were bare except for the thick leather strips with pointed tips that hung down like a skirt from a belt. Similar shorter strips hung from shoulder pads over their muscular upper arms. They all wore helmets made to look like a wolves head except one.
The woman that stood closest to them was holding hers at her hip. Her armor was different from the others, a mixture of leather, plate and chain mail. Lucian looked up at her in amazement. She was absolutely beautiful. Her eyes were hazel daggers that he thought might bore a hole through his very soul. He couldn't tell kneeling on the ground, as he was, but she looked to be as tall as him. Her long muscular legs glistened with sweat. She was the only woman who wore no armor over her midsection. Her pronounced stomach muscles drew in and out with her breathing. Yet the most stunning aspect of her, what had Lucian's eyes trapped, was her thick mane of wavy, reddish-brown hair. Lucian had never seen anything like it. He had seen men with red hair before and a few women, but not like hers. It was long and beautiful, rolling down over her plated shoulder pads. It was different shades of red, with auburn and brown streaks. When she spoke, and he was forced to look into her steel gaze, he realized that she was not at all pleased with the way he had been staring at her. His face flushed in embarrassment.
"You come from Yavasura?" she asked, her voice still laced with the same poison that he had noted earlier.
It seemed a statement more than a question
to Lucian. "Yes. We come to-"
"Silence!" she screamed.
The woman guard next to him slammed the butt of her spear into his ribs. He quietly thanked the Father that it was not the same side that had been stabbed. Never the less, the blow still stung sharply.
Eliath jerked against his bonds. He was furious. His guard didn't like the attempt, and knocked him to his side with a crack to his head from her spear. She pulled him back upright and blood flowed out of the fresh gash. The redheaded woman, that was obviously the leader, gave Eliath an amused look and spoke again.
"Men from Yavasura have already come to Culdora. And with them came death. They killed our great leader and they took two of our children before they fled like cowards. Four of them came in to our village like the fog of death itself. They were unnoticed until our Queen and her daughter had already been murdered. We lost several warriors fighting these men. They were trained like nothing we had ever seen; assassins. Two of them were killed." She pointed over her shoulder. “Their heads are on pikes outside our village gates." She paused long enough to tighten her scowl and lean closer to Lucian and Eliath. "We know they were Yavasurans by their mark. These men wore all black, but under the black leather, they bore the sigil of Yavasura.”
She pulled a pendant from inside her gauntlet and dangled it in front of Lucian and Eliath. It was the ram head crest of Yavasura.
“We were on our way to scout out your village for an attack, and just look at the gift that the God Mother has sent to us." She kicked Lucian in his shoulder, knocking him to the dirt and then stepped on his neck. "You two were probably planning on coming back into our village and taking more of our children. Or were you scouting ahead for a full scale raid?"
Revelations of Doom Page 8