Dagger of the Assassins

by Cat Wilder

  We're not dead yet, I said. Steeling myself for the coming fight, I did a quick inventory of my weapons at hand, and checked my mana. My tribe has an old saying: the gods smile on fools and the insane.

  Are we the former or the latter?

  Both. Insanely foolish.

  Tahki beat a hard drive straight at the other two dragons, flying side-by-side. They split up before we reached them. I wanted to go after the one veering off to the left, but Tahki went after the other.

  Are they bigger than us?

  Yes, both are males, Tahki said. One is an older male, the other a young drake.

  It occurred to me that she knew the other dragons, and probably the riders, too. They'd all once been a team. It had to be hard to go against her friends. Tahki showed no sign of hesitation or regret.

  I'm older and more experienced than the young male, Zarth. The other is Pakkel, and half again my size, with a decade more experience.

  Tahki assured me there were no other dragons. So I concentrated on how best to fight them. I wanted to keep them engaged, so they couldn't help in the fight against Cormac and the others. Tahki wanted to get into the thick of it. Did she have something to prove to the two males?

  Maybe.

  "I completely understand, sister," I muttered, petting her neck. Then I realized something as we caught up to the other dragon. "Are you after the biggest one?"

  Yes, Pakkel is our greatest threat, so has to be defeated first.

  Oh my goddess! You truly are insanely foolish!

  Guilty.

  I pulled up my fire bow and an arrow. I nocked it, took aim, and let fly. The arrow seemed to move slowly towards them, since we were moving so fast in air already. The fire arrow didn't need to hit that hard, since it would explode in fire upon impact.

  I missed the dragonrider, but caught the dragon in the flank. He looked back at us, but otherwise showed no sign anything happened. Tahki shook her head.

  Dragons are immune to fire. Aim for the rider. I'll take care of Pakkel.

  I frowned at her. I wasn't aiming at the stupid dragon. Didn't matter. I took aim again, but a crossbow bolt struck Tahki's neck, flying inches above my shoulder. The bolt ricocheted off, unable to penetrate her hard scales. It freaked me out, so I turned around in the saddle and started pumping fire arrows at her.

  My arrows struck the dragon in the face several times, and he broke off the attack. I heard his rider's angry shouts and cursing, making me smile. So at least young dragons could be intimidated by attacking their faces.

  Pakkel executed a super fast, tight loop over. I barely had time to comprehend what happened. Then Tahki startled me even worse by flipping over on her back beneath him, wings flapping in the oddest manner to keep her up, as she extended her sharp talons. His impact forced a loud grunt out of my dragon.

  I screamed for Tahki to disengage, to break off the fight. She either ignored me or couldn't do it without being killed. I could only watch in horror as dragon scales, blood, and flesh flew in all directions. Then I spotted the other dragonrider lean over with a wicked, glowing javelin in hand, taking aim at Tahki.

  "No you don't, bitch!"

  I released my fire bow to vanish, and immediately called up my most powerful attack spell. A spell that could take all of my mana at once if not careful. Lightning. I threw it straight at the black-clad rider, but Pakkel shifted violently, and I hit him instead.

  Ka-Boom!

  Lightning hurt dragons. Good to know.

  Pakkel screamed in pain and shock, and then I realized what I'd done. Not intentionally, but did it really matter? My bolt severed the other dragon's right wing at the shoulder.

  Thanks, Tahki said, her voice sounding strained.

  She kicked off away from Pakkel, who'd stopped fighting. I watched as Tahki flew away and the other dragon plummeted straight down into the misty gorge below. His severed wing fluttered down after him.

  One down and one more to go, Tahki said. His belly is the most vulnerable to your lightning. I'll get you in close, where you can gut him with lightning.

  Tahki might be taking it in stride, but I found the act of killing a dragon rattling. I'd adored them for so long, and wanted to be a dragonrider. Now I realized what it meant. Dragonriders killed enemy dragons. My stomach rolled and boiled, bile threatened to force it ways up.

  Are you all right, Meike?

  Yes. I'm fine, I said. I just realized dragon riding isn't just thrilling flights among the clouds. It is deadly serious business.

  Here comes Zarth!

  Time to suck it up and act like a big girl. I called up my fire bow, and shot at Zarth's face as he plunged down at us from above. Tahki started evasive maneuvers, turning sharply in midair and throwing me all over the place. I struggled to get my shots out. Didn't matter. Zarth had manned up and ignored my fire arrows.

  Get ready, Tahki said. I've lured him in close, and I'm about to cut under him.

  I checked my mana. I used up a quarter of it on the last lightning bolt. The spell filled my head, and I prepared to cast it.

  "Uggh!" I cried when a crossbow bolt pierced my left shoulder, striking me from above and behind. I reached back, desperate to get it out. I could heal myself, but not as efficiently as Kahlan. It'd cost me ten times the mana that the healer would use. I might not have enough left for a lightning bolt, but I had to remove the short, thick bolt first. "Tahki, I can't…"

  The dragon suddenly turned, and passed just feet under Zarth. I heard the other dragonrider cry out evasive maneuvers. Before I could sort my spinning head out, he was gone and the opportunity lost.

  "I'm hit in the back," I gasped out. "Can barely breathe."

  I felt pressure in my chest. Pierced lung? I'd definitely need Kahlan for that.

  Zarth and Tanelle will kill us before we reach the abbey, Tahki said. You have to find a way to hit him with lightning, even if only to drive him away.

  I looked back. Zarth flew above and behind us, coming down on an intercept course. We only had seconds. I held my breath to dampen the pain, summoned up my lightning spell, and paused.

  "Tahki… STOP!"

  The dragon's wings tilted to vertical, and she flapped as hard as she could backwards. We came to a complete stop in midair. Zarth released a frustrated roar, while I pointed my fist at his belly and released hell.

  Ka-BOOM!

  I put more mana into that strike. Zarth's belly exploded in red ruin. I think I killed him instantly, because he didn't even flap his wings on the way down. Dragon and rider dead. I hurt too much to be proud of myself.

  "I'm not going to last much longer," I said. "I need…"

  Darkness sucked me down.

  Chapter 33

  Cormac

  I watched Meike and Tahki fly off toward dragon battle. I should be the one facing that danger. Then the alarm bell's tolling changed, reminding me exactly where I stood and the task at hand.

  "Follow me." I headed for the door leading down into the keep, careful to avoid the still glowing hot hinges. "I'll lead and want Elky defending our rear. Kahlan stay between us."

  "I should lead, since my shield is the best protection we have," the Amazon said.

  "Yes, it is," I said, and headed down the dark, narrow stairs. I grinned when she started cursing me under her breath. "Shhh."

  Yeah, shushing her just pissed the Amazon off even more, but she shut up. Thank God Tahki wasn't there and allowing us to cuss each other out via mindspeak. I didn't think mindspeak was such a good addition to our little group. I had a bad tendency of talking to myself, which broadcast to everyone else.

  The stairs emptied into a small chamber with a few bunks and lots of spare weapons. Guard room? I headed for the door out.

  "Map shows a larger room on this level," Elky said. "Labeled, Abbess's chambers."

  Map! I forgot about it, and opened it immediately. The floor plans for that level came up, showing two chambers and a stair hugging the inside of the outer wall. The room we occupied wasn'
t labeled, but Elky was right about the other room. Hell, it even showed a balcony overlooking the valley and gorges to the south.

  I took off running, hoping to catch the Abbess in the middle of dressing and arming. The bedchamber door stood open, and I charged through with a battle cry dying on my lips.

  Empty. The bed sheets were rumpled, with clothes on the floor.

  "Follow me," Elky cried, and headed out of the room.

  My turn to curse her opportunistic ass. She ran to the stairs so fast I didn't have time to stop her, so had to follow. But since she took the responsibility of the lead, I could study the map more in-depth. The tower keep had six levels, very high ceilings, so I guessed a hundred feet tall. That was a major engineering feat for that world. The tallest structure I'd ever seen in Battle for Glory was a hundred and ten feet, ten levels, and was a massive castle keep. That dungeon broke the Black Company four times before we got tired of getting slaughtered to the last man, and then moved on to easier ventures.

  "Watch out!" Elky cried.

  Crossbow bolts filled the air. Elky's enchanted shield gave off an explosion that sent half of them back the way they'd come, but too many got past her. I yanked Kahlan behind me, forcing her to duck while covering her. Thankfully, we were close enough behind the Amazon to avoid being hit.

  Looking past Elky, I saw four young women in brown leather. The script over their heads read: Human assassin trainees. They weren't even full nuns or assassins yet. Part of the fifty-six left behind, they were still learning their craft. I kind of felt sorry for them, because now they had to die.

  Elky charged them behind the Shield of Isis, and I saw one of the repelled bolts strike a young woman down. The Amazon slammed into them a second later, and I watched the looks of shock and awe on the trainees' faces. Seconds later, they all lay dead.

  "This is all so senseless," Kahlan said, sounding sick.

  "I know, but that's… the way of the world," I said. I almost said, That's how the game was designed. The healer wouldn't have appreciated that. "Remember, we're here to fight for our lives."

  "You could've put them to sleep," Kahlan snapped at Elky when we joined her.

  "Oh. Yeah, I guess," she said. "Never occurred to me. Sorry."

  I didn't say anything, because I'd already forgotten about the sleepy grenades, too. So I pulled one out and held it in my left hand. Might as well test it out with the next Sacred Death assassin we met.

  "We can't win by wearing ourselves out fighting every one of them," I said. "So these grenades better work."

  That level also had two chambers, both empty bunk rooms.

  I took the lead again, heading down the stairs with a sleepy grenade in one hand, the Sword of Kiantor in the other. The enchanted sword didn't really do anything special to mobs, besides killing them permanently. But the thought of sending one and all those evil Sacred Death players back to level 1 kind of gave me the warm fuzzies.

  "Stupid assassins," I grumbled. "What kind of anti-social troll plays an assassin?"

  "Don't you have an assassin alt-character?" Elky asked.

  "No," I said. "Not anymore. I'm more mature now."

  "Right."

  Actually, since being trapped in Battle for Glory, I couldn't toggle between characters. I was stuck in my Barbarian Warrior avatar. Elky lost her alt-character, too.

  "I bet your alt-character was a belly dancer," I said.

  "You wish."

  Actually, I kind of did. Not that it would do me any good.

  The next level proved empty, again with two bunkrooms. But those chambers showed signs of habitation, including some uneaten food and rumpled bunks. Did we wake the women sleeping there? Or were they the bunks of the women we just killed?

  Red dots suddenly appeared on my map of the tower, all on the bottom floor. I paused to watch them moving into hidden positions where the keep met the Great Hall. I looked at Elky, who looked grim.

  "There's an awful lot of them," she whispered. "I can't see a way around them, either."

  "Sleep grenades," Kahlan said. "Do you two ever think of anything but fighting?"

  "Beer?" Elky said.

  "Meat," I said. Kahlan rolled her eyes, starting to get angry. So I pulled her in close and kissed her. "And I constantly think about you."

  That made her smile.

  "Speaking of one track minds…" Elky said. "We don't have time for that."

  "I will always have time for that," I muttered under my breath. I released the Sword of Kiantor to return inside the ring. Another sleepy grenade appeared in my hand. "We throw as many grenades as we can, and then charge in with swords and shields. Kahlan, stay between us so we can protect you."

  "And don't try to heal any of the assassins," Elky said. "I mean it. Don't do it."

  Kahlan winced and groaned, but nodded reluctantly. "It's harder than you think."

  "Be strong," I said. I checked my map again. "Elky, I count thirty-six assassins."

  "So do I."

  "Okay, this is how we're going to hit them," I said. "Kahlan, throw your grenades straight down the corridor, just past the next door down. That should take out the closest assassins. Elky and I will hold ours back to throw at the next and larger contingent."

  "I'll take the girls on the right, if you take care of the ones on the left," Elky said.

  With our sketchy plan finalized, we hurried down to the ground floor. The map showed all rooms in the tower unoccupied, so we had no reason to search them. We could do that later, if we wanted. But really, after subjugating the Abbess, and maybe both Prioresses, we could just order them to hand over any treasure. Oh, and order them to stop hunting us.

  Easing up to the doorway into the Great Hall, I noticed the large double doors remained open. An invitation to an ambush? I double-checked the deployment of the red dots, wishing the game designated the bosses, the leaders, somehow. Veronica, Hakira, and Jamara looked exactly like a raw recruit on the map.

  "Remember, the objective is to capture the Abbess, and her two lieutenants if possible. They are players, so killing them doesn't do us any good," I whispered. "So hit them with grenades if you spot them."

  I urged Kahlan forward, and she started tossing grenades through the open door. I held my breath as the first one flew through the air. If Meike's sleepy grenades didn't work…

  Kraa-Poof!

  I small white cloud of gas erupted, spreading in all directions. Then another, and another, until Kahlan ran out of grenades. I tensed, ready to charge in. And then I saw a woman in tight brown leather collapse and lie unmoving. I prayed she wasn't the only one taken out.

  "Gas! Gas! Gas!" Veronica's voice echoed through the halls.

  "Fuck it," Elky snarled, and took off running toward the door. "Die, assassins!"

  I charged into the Great Hall behind the Amazon warrior. We started throwing sleepy grenades before we passed all the way through the obscuring gas cloud, using our map to locate the Sacred Death killer nuns.

  Ka-BOOM! Ka-BOOM!

  The percussive power of those lightning bolts knocked me back on my butt. One of them struck in the middle of me, Elky, and Kahlan. Elky got slammed against the wall, and the healer stumbled back into the gas cloud.

  Both Elky and I dropped the grenades in hand, so they released their gas around us instead of the assassins. I used it as cover to scramble away, and just in time. A lightning bolt struck the spot I'd fallen seconds earlier.

  Ka-BOOM!

  "Fuck me!" Elky cried.

  I glanced her way. The Amazon had dropped to one knee to shoot arrows at the assassins. I saw three already down with arrows in them. Then I spotted Veronica about to throw a lightning bolt at Elky.

  "Go beddy-bye, Abby," I shouted, and hurled a grenade at her.

  I stopped her from striking Elky down, but the evil cleric waved her hand and her magic batted the grenade off to the side, exploding uselessly against the far wall. But seeing both Hakira and Jamara standing guard to either side of her, I pulled up
more grenades and began throwing them with all of my strength. Elky also started throwing grenades.

  Every single grenade fell short, and it took me a second to realize Veronica had one of those damned bubble shields of energy around her. That's when I realized she'd pulled all remaining assassins around her and the two Prioresses.

  "I knew Meike flying away on that stupid flying lizard would bite us in the ass," Elky snarled.

  Veronica chanted something, and a stiff wind rose up to sweep the Great Hall of sleeping gas. I looked over at Elky, my hands open to indicate I was out of grenades. She did the same, as did Kahlan.

  "That sucks," I grumbled, the Sword of Kiantor appearing in my hand.

  The assassins suddenly spread out, and quickly surrounded us. They forced us back into a defensive triangle, back to back to back. Crossbows appeared in the hands of our foes, as cruel smiles spread across their faces.

  "Surrender or die," Abbess Veronica said, standing before me so smug and arrogant.

  "We're players," I said. "We'll be back."

  "Not the healer," Veronica said, eyes narrowing.

  I went cold. Elky groaned. We were so fucked.

  Chapter 34

  Cormac

  Elky and I moved to press Kahlan between us. My shield appeared on my left arm, allowing me to cover the healer even better. I watched as grim-faced killer nuns move closer and closer. Yeah, they'd turned from gloating to all business.

  I tightened my grip on the Sword of Kantor, knowing I'd drop it upon death. Elky would lose the Shield of Isis as well, and the Order would have them to use against us if we returned. I struggled to keep my spirits up, while my brain ran at a mile a minute trying to conjure up a solution to our problem.

  "I'm losing patience, boy," Veronica sneered. "Yield or die. Now."

  "I got your boy right here, Abby," I sneered right back at her, grabbing my crotch.

  That didn't go over well with the assassins. The Abbess's hands began to glow an eerie grayish-blue. The black-sheathed full assassins replaced their crossbows with swords, while the brown-leather trainees kept their crossbows aimed at us.