by T R Tells
One evening, when business was rather slow, a man from one of the Kingsland’s sister cities had traveled to Kingsland because of rumors of the new brothel. Thea had satisfied him, not to her liking. He had bestowed gifts upon her and told her erotic things that he had never slept with anyone of her stature and color. Thea felt disrespected as he cupped his hand on her cheek. She had to keep herself from wincing as she kept her eyes closed, she felt cold and heavyweight in her tiny hands.
She opened her eyes and looked down at two silver coins in her hand. The man was nowhere in sight. Thea gulped and clenched her shaky hands closed. She felt like something was crawling on her skin and she couldn’t help but rub her arms in hopes that the feeling would stop. When the sound of loud banging made Thea jump, she instinctively ran toward the closet to check on Kadda, but the one-year-old was sleeping soundly and wrapped in several blankets.
There was another slam on the wall and Thea jumped. She heard what sounded like yelling and went to press her ear against the wall, hearing an almost inaudible speech on the other side.
“… You’re starting to piss me off, bitch. I didn’t pay three pieces of gold up front for you to give me a half-ass blowjob!”
“I’m sorry, I-I can ask Flint to give you a refund.”
“Maggie,” Thea whispered. She could hear the fear in her shaky voice. Thea’s hands gripped the side of the wall as her fingers dug into the thin walls.
“No, you’ll give me what I paid for,” the man yelled. Thea heard Maggie scream and something fell with a resounding thud.
Thea’s eyes grew wide as she peeled her ear from the wall. She rushed to the side of her bed and reached under the mattress to pull out her jeweled dagger. Thea was quickly on her feet and out the door, shoving Maggie’s door open without knocking. A bubbly feeling in Thea’s stomach started to travel up the length of her arm, making her grip on the dagger tighten. Thea’s blood boiled with anger as she watched the man gripping Maggie’s hair and dragging her and kicking her in the ribs.
“Now you’re going to give me what I paid for.”
The side of Maggie’s forehead bled, her eyes closed as she gritted her teeth in pain, clutching her hair as the man’s grip tightened.
Do it, a voice, low and grave spoke. Thea felt pressure on her shoulder as if someone’s hand was there — a tingling sensation on the back of her neck, but she ignored it and held the dagger eye level. Maggie opened her eyes and Thea sprinted toward the man, and with enough momentum, she jumped on the man’s back.
He released his hold on Maggie’s hair but not before Thea plunged the dagger into the side of his neck, digging it deep into the man’s flesh. It had taken an effort to pierce the man’s skin. But once the dagger’s steel slid into his flesh, Thea’s eyes grew wide at the red blood coming out of the slit.
The man gurgled and clawed at his neck, trying to shake off Thea. But no matter how hard he struggled, Thea squeezed her arms around the man’s neck tighter. Briefly, a flicker of memory overlaid what Thea saw. The man was suddenly in armor, and Thea was in an alley, her arm bleeding freely. She didn’t know when that had happened, but the feeling of satisfaction that came with it made her think Hel had done that. The memory had gone within a few breaths. Thea was shaken for a moment, until she saw Maggie laying on the floor, watching Thea with huge eyes. Maggie stretched out her leg when the man was close and he tripped, making Thea jerk as he landed hard on his knees. The sound of a loud crunching resonated in Thea’s ears as the man began to gurgle and the blood began to pour out faster and then -
Nothing.
The man stopped struggling. Thea’s arms grew heavy from holding the man’s weight. She loosened her grip on his throat and the man’s body fell to the floor. Thea stood in between the man’s legs and stared at the pool of blood surrounding him, his eyes slightly opened, and his mouth parted. As she stared, another flicker of memory overlaid his body. A different man in armor, his face half-burned and blood pouring from several wounds. Thea’s hands painted in blood, knowing this was how she became that crimson monster.
Thea had sworn to Flint that she would never kill but he had only laughed and said one day she would. One day when she had to, she would at first be scared and even despise herself. But she soon loved the feel of sticky blood underneath her fingernails. She expected herself to scream or cry, but she did neither. She didn’t despise herself or even feel justified by the fact that she was saving Maggie’s life. She enjoyed the feeling as she dug the blade deeper into the man’s neck; she enjoyed his struggle as he started to claw at his neck. But it didn’t scare Thea that Flint had been right.
And to think you said you would never kill. Hel replied to her. Her presence stirred within Thea excitedly. I’m rather proud of you, Thea.
***
Thea knocked on the red chipped door, in an alleyway off the commons area that was empty, aside from a stray cat. She bounced Kadda up and down as she kissed the little girl’s cheek. Kadda smiled, placed her tiny arms around her mother’s neck, and pressed her small lips to Thea’s nose. Thea heard feet on the floor on the other side of the door and she turned just when the door opened, revealing a brunette woman wearing a white nightgown and a shawl over her shoulders. She ran her hand through her messy hair and leaned against the door.
The woman had slight dark circles under her eyes and a purple bruise just over her cheek.
“Thea, right?” The woman’s voice was hoarse. She paused to clear her throat. “Madelyn's told me a bit about you. How are you?”
Thea nodded and smiled. “I’m doing fine, ma’am. She’s mentioned you too. Laura, is it?”
The lady pulled her lips into a smile; she crossed her arms over her chest. “She should be coming in a minute; do you want to come in?”
“Oh, no thank you. I’ll only here for a minute. I just wanted to drop my daughter off . . . If that's alright with you?”
Laura looked over at Kadda and her smile widened when she saw the chubby-cheeked girl. “Why, she’s adorable! I don’t mind at all. I remember when my little Michel was that age. He was a bit of a picky eater.”
She wiggled her fingers at Kadda who hid in Thea’s neck, leaning her cheek down on her chest but grinned at Laura.
“Well, Kadence isn’t much of a picky eater. She’ll pretty much eat anything, she’s just, um, mute. I can’t get her to speak. She doesn’t even cry.”
Laura frowned. She stopped wiggling her fingers at Kadda and looked at Thea with a confused frown.
“Really? Do you know what may have caused it?”
Before Thea could answer her, she heard quiet feet from around the corner and saw Maggie coming from behind Laura. “Sorry for taking so long, Thea. I’ll be right back Laura,” Maggie told the woman. She was shorter than Laura and had to stand on her tippy toes to kiss her on the cheek.
“Well, I’ll be in the bedroom then. It was nice to meet you, Thea and Kadence,” Laura said. Thea nodded in agreement, as she watched Laura leave. Thea listened for Laura’s footsteps until she heard a door close.
“You two seem to be getting closer,” Thea said first. “But I hope you’ll be safe and won’t put yourself in harm's way.”
Maggie licked her lips and slowly nodded. She pushed her brown locks behind her ears and looked down at the floor. The muscles in Maggie’s throat twitched, telling Thea that something was wrong.
“Her husband still beats her from time to time. I tried to get her to leave and to even, maybe, send a message to the Sicarri.”
Thea frowned. “Maggie . . .”
“I know, I know. But you should see the things that he does to her. Even though he hits her, she doesn’t take any action. She lets him come back to the house with gifts and apologies.”
Thea could tell from the downcast look in her friend’s eyes that she cared about the woman. Thea was glad that Maggie found someone that was special to her, but if it was at the cost of her safety, Thea was on her guard.
“Yes, but you can’t force her to order a k
ill on her husband . . . Besides, being a woman is hard enough. What happens after he’s dead?”
Maggie shrugged and scuffed her foot on the ground.
“Hey, Mags. Look at me,” Thea said. She pulled Kadda closer to her chest, and when Maggie looked at her, they were glassy. She had to blink her eyes several times to keep tears from escaping. “Maggie . . .”
“I know we shouldn’t, Thea. I know that Flint will kill us if we do and especially since she’s a woman but . . . I can’t help it. I think I love her; you know what I mean?”
“Yeah. I know what you mean, but I want you to be safe. You can’t let anything trace back to us. Either she might tell, or someone might get the information out of her and I know you don’t want anything bad to happen to Laura.”
Maggie licked her lips and wiped away the single tear that escaped. “Yeah, I know . . . I wish she would decide to leave him and not be scared.”
Thea frowned and went to embrace Maggie, putting her arm around her neck to console her friend. She felt the sadness radiating off her. Even if Laura wanted to leave her husband, she couldn’t. There was no place in the world for a woman; everything was governed by men. Thea prayed that one day a woman would be something more than just a punching bag and a sex object.
“Please, be careful. Okay?”
Maggie nodded into the hug and the two separated. Maggie sniffed, wiped her cheeks, and gently pinched Kadda’s cheeks as the little girl grinned.
“So, what made you drop by? Is everything okay? Flint isn’t back, is he?” Maggie asked the worry evident on her face.
Thea quickly shook her head. “No, thankfully. Eddie is his usual annoying self, he wanted to start caring more about Kadda and me, after Leo showed up.”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “Of course, he did.” Recalling how Eddie had changed so much since they were children. “But what did Leo come to talk about? He’s been over there frequently lately.”
“He professed his love for me and wanted to be with me,” Thea told her. Maggie’s eye widened in surprise. “I told him no, of course, for many reasons. He doesn’t know anything about me; he can’t possibly deal with it and we can’t fall in love.”
“How did he take that news?”
Thea rolled her eyes. “Pretty well, I guess. He’s a Kingsland Guard, anyway. He was not only born with a silver spoon in his mouth, so he’ll be able to fall in love with esteemed women.”
Maggie sighed and took Thea by the shoulder. “Well, don’t miss out on a chance to meet someone new.”
“Right, well you, Freya - when she isn't rebellious and snarky at me - and Kadda are the only people I care enough about.”
“Mmm, maybe that’s the problem. You always want to protect someone, but don’t let anyone else in to do the same for you,” Maggie sighed. “I guess it can’t be helped, once you’ve made up your mind you stick to it. But, that’s the reason why I love you.”
“Well, when you find that someone, let me know. Tell him he’s a couple of years late, but I’m willing to shed some thorns if he’s willing to get pricked.”
Maggie snorted and smiled, shaking her head. “Yeah, noted.”
“Anyway,” Thea said, remembering why she had come, “I’ve got a message. An old lady slipped it in my hand, and I need you to watch Kadda if you don’t mind?”
“No, of course not. I’m sorry I held you up. Hi, Kadda,” Maggie cooed. She stretched her arms out for the girl. Kadda, realizing that she was being given attention again, reached out her arms for Maggie. “Do you know what the job is?”
“No. I haven’t looked yet, but thanks for watching her. I hope it won’t be a problem with Laura even she did have a son.”
“No, it’s not. I’ve told Laura about you plenty of times. She did want to meet you one day, so it was bound to happen. Anyway, I’ll make sure to feed Kadda and we’ll be back in your room later tonight . . . Good luck, not that you need it.”
Thea kissed Kadda on the cheek and turned away, gripping the S marked parchment tightly in her hand.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Middilgard, especially Kingsland, was filled with nothing but corrupt nobles who didn’t care about people. Taxes were always high, which allowed nobles to become lazier. The poor and common folk turned on one another to get large sums of money; it didn’t matter if they were blood-related or not. It made Thea remembered the days when King Godfrey persecuted the Magi. It infuriated her to think that anyone could be selfish enough to take another person’s life without cause.
We’re no better and neither are those who pay us to kill.
What does it matter anyway? Hel said. Mundanes have been killing and persecuting each other for centuries. It is merely a sport to them. There is no reason for these insolent thoughts. Do the deed and let's keep moving.
Thea pressed her lips together, ignoring Hel and going back to the Meretrix. It was packed, as per usual in the early to afternoon hours. The lights from the chandelier made the inside of the baronial building look dim except for the well-appointed red velvet couch cushions and its redwood arms, that were handmade in Wrenada. The sections were separated by red silk curtains with gold tassels that hung from arched ceilings, supported by ashen-white Corinthian pillars.
Thea walked past one of the couches, where a man with tasseled black hair was lying with his back against the sofa as a girl with bright, curly red hair bobbed her head up and down on the man’s lap. Another set of people on the next sofa: two men sat down as one blonde woman kissed one of them, stroking his chest. While the other brunette-haired woman whispered something in the man’s ears as she reached into his pants and slowly moved her hand up and down, the man’s mouth moved almost mechanically as he nodded to whatever the woman said. To the right was a large stage with two gold poles sticking out from the wood frame floor. Men sat on the seats as they watched three girls dancing sensually on the stage in scarce, colorful, and bejeweled clothing. There were other young women - and even young men - entertaining the men patrons sitting with them.
Thea ignored them and headed toward the stairs, walking past the three-arched red stainless windows. But before Thea could reach the first step, a girl with black hair and a bejeweled eyepatch stepped in front of her.
“Freya, what’s wrong?” Thea asked. She could see the girl’s veins showing on the side of her head, and her lips turned into a frown. “Did any of the men—”
Freya quickly shook her head. “No. Eddie needed to see you. He said that if I saw you to tell you that he needs you on stage tonight.”
Thea frowned and furrowed her brows, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t have the stage for another two days. Isn’t Marcy supposed to be on the stage tonight?”
“She was bought,” Freya replied matter-of-factly.
“What do you mean bought? Who made that decision?”
“Eddie signed the papers sometime after you left. ‘As long as a man has pockets filled with gold and silver it doesn’t matter’ he said. I’m pretty sure that’s what Flint trained him to say though.”
Thea snorted. “Of course, it doesn’t as long as Flint’s pockets are fat. Well, if you see, Eddie then tell him I have an S marked mission.”
Freya shrugged and started to walk past Thea. “I’ll see what I can do, but you know that people like you on stage, specifically.” She made sure not to look directly into her eyes. Over the years, Freya had felt as if Thea had gotten all of the attention and she barely got paid, except for her usual clients but no one wanted a blind whore.
Thea didn’t say anything as she continued going up the stairs. She didn’t want to think any more about what she did on stage than she had to. When she was on stage her mind instantly went blank. She remembered the hoots and the cheers, but any distinct faces were blacked out.
When Thea reached her room, she closed the door behind her and locked it. She went over to her bed and bent on her hands and knees to pull out a long, narrow, brown and gold case. Inside, the contents were reveale
d to be a set of her Sicarri clothing.
Thea dressed in her other work clothes: a tan cloaked hood to camouflage against houses easier, a cream-colored shirt underneath, her special elbow-length brown gloves, dark brown leggings, and knee-high dark brown boots. The last article to complete her look were her weapons: the distinct curved gray steel had intricate lines on each of the blades. It was designed to get around the side of an opponent and stab or slash them in the back. There was a special belt that attached to Thea’s waist that allowed quick and easy access to slide the weapons in and out of place. Once she was dressed and armed, she took the small parchment in her hand and opened it reading the contents inside. As her eyes scrolled through the paper, her lips slowly turned down into a frown. She balled the paper up afterward and slipped the hood over her head, heading out the window.
***
The sounds of drunk men laughing were loud as they resonated from inside of the tavern. Thea was pressed against the wall of the bar near its window as she whittled a stick with her dagger. Every so often she would peek inside the orange, dimly lit room. It was small able to fit about sixty people, but it looked like over eighty were currently in there. The men were squished together like bears in Bifrost. There was a fireplace to the far right, a buck’s head sat atop the mantelpiece, and there were pictures of men Thea didn’t know. On the far-left side was the bar, and a skinny elderly gentleman handed out drinks to the men sitting at the bar and the serving girls so they could deliver it to the men at the tables.
Thea watched the women, how when they placed the drinks before the men they were merely greeted by a slap on their behind, laughing to their drunk friends. All the while the women had to strain a smile and nod as they finished handing out the drinks. Thea felt disgusted by their piggish ways and wrinkled her nose as if she had smelled something rotten.
“Asshole pigs, I’ll give you something to laugh about.”
The sound of the door slamming against the wooden frame brought Thea’s attention to the door that was near the bar on the far-left side of the corner. Some men in the bar shouted, “Ian!” in greeting and they stretched out their hands as if they had won an award. Thea clicked her teeth as she watched the man walking through the bar, giving high-fives to the men sitting down. He had rather short hair, almost a bit unnatural, as there were three bald spots on his head. His large, pretty eyes had dark circles under them. He still looked alert, as if he was always observing his surroundings. He had a light shadow adorning his face that sculpted his thin frame and a lean build.