by Sam Ferguson
“How dare you!” Daren roared.
“I don’t care, Kai,” the Ranger yelled back. Kai recognized the Ranger’s voice. It was Jimik.
“Jimik, listen to me!”
Daren jumped up and rushed Kai with his rapier. Kai sprang to his feet, sword at the ready. Kai could see Jimik readying a crossbow and taking aim, so he ducked behind a rack filled with shields to provide some cover as Daren charged him.
“You will pay for your betrayal!” Daren hissed. Daren was quick with his weapon and scored three minor cuts on Kai’s left shoulder. Kai came in hard with his sword and split the rapier in two as though it were made of wood. Daren stepped inward and attacked with a long dagger in his left hand, but Kai adeptly dodged the blow and made a slashing cut across Daren’s left thigh. Daren winced but did not slow his advance.
At that moment the back door burst open and Kai caught a glimpse of a hooded figure. He thought at first that it might be Horkin, but he quickly realized that it was in fact Gainer. Gainer took aim with his bow and let fly. Kai somersaulted forward, lashing out at Daren as he rolled past, but Daren jumped over the sword and countered by throwing his broken rapier at Kai. The sword struck Kai handle-first in the back, effectively doing little more than annoying Kai as he whipped around, putting his back to the shop’s corner so he could see all three enemies.
Kai knew he would have to end it quickly or his strength would be too sapped to tangle with the Rangers. Daren lunged in again with his long knife. Kai circled his sword left and swept away Daren’s weapon. Then he came in hard with a left cross that split Daren’s face just above the cheekbone. Kai then came back around with his sword and dealt the cold bite of death, sending his sword through the middle of Daren’s heart. Kai let go of his sword as Daren fell to the floor. With Daren dead, Kai lifted his hands high in the air and knelt on the ground. He wanted to appear harmless to the rangers.
“Jimik, Gainer, you have to listen to me!” he pleaded.
“You murdered Governor Gandle,” Jimik roared.
“And Captain Lador,” Gainer spat.
“No, I didn’t,” Kai shouted. He doubted they would listen to him. Even now Jimik had bolted the front door and was circling around to flank him while Gainer stepped closer and readied another arrow. They would be formidable opponents, but Kai was depending on his reputation, and the element of surprise to help him. He shifted his hip to the right a bit to feel the hilt of his secondary sword nestled in its sheath.
“Kai, you are hereby under arrest for the murders of Governor Gandle, Captain Lador, and the assault of several Rasselin city guardsmen,” Jimik said.
Gainer lifted his bow and aimed it at Kai.
“Wait, I didn’t kill them,” Kai yelled. “You have to believe me!”
Jimik pulled his sword with his left hand, while keeping the crossbow trained on Kai as he rounded the aisle of weapon racks. “Kai, we have witnesses placing you at both murder scenes,” Jimik said.
“And, we are here to sentence you to death for your crimes,” Gainer sneered.
“No trial?” Kai shot back. “How does that make you any better than me?”
“Shut up, Kai,” Jimik countered. “You betrayed us! We would have bled for you, but instead you stuck a knife in our backs!”
“This is for Lador,” Gainer added.
“What about him?” Kai asked motioning with his head to Daren’s body. Then, as the Rangers turned their heads to look at the body, Kai rolled forward, closing the distance between him and Gainer. Gainer fired his bow, catching Kai in the right forearm. Kai winced, but he forced himself to fight through the pain. Kai leapt to his feet and slashed Gainer’s throat with his secondary sword.
“Gainer!” Jimik yelled. He raised the crossbow up and fired, but Kai jumped down behind a set of shields. The bolt clanged off of a metal plate harmlessly. Kai popped up and tossed a shield at Jimik. Jimik ducked under the flying disc and charged for Kai, sword at the ready.
Kai’s arm started to go numb, so he tossed his sword to his left hand. Kai knew he had to finish the fight quickly. The numbness was spreading from the arrow throughout his arm now. The arrow had been tipped with some kind of poison. Kai stepped out from behind the other shields to meet Jimik’s assault.
Jimik attacked Kai with such force and speed that Kai’s arm shook each time their swords crashed together. Jimik was skilled, but Kai could tell that he was scared. Undoubtedly Gainer’s death had shaken his fortitude. The two battled for almost a minute trading swings, blocks, and counterattacks as their swords filled the shop with the metallic song of death. Both fighters executed masterful blows and parries as they circled each other in the shop. As the fight continued Kai began to feel tingling in his right shoulder. He could tell the poison was seeping deeper into his flesh. Kai blinked his eyes in an effort to mentally shake off the effects of the poison.
“Now you will die, even if you kill me,” Jimik smirked. “You should have expected the poison attack.”
“You are already dead,” Kai spat out. He deflected a clumsy thrust from Jimik and then kicked Jimik’s arm so it went out wide and then Kai ran forward and slammed his left shoulder into Jimik’s chest. Jimik stumbled backward to crash into a rack of Bo staffs. Kai kept charging in, head-butting and elbowing Jimik in the face and ribs. Jimik countered by bringing the pommel of his sword down to smash into Kai’s right shoulder and side. The staffs clacked and clicked around them as they tumbled through the rack and hit the floor. They both let go of their swords now and resorted to grappling with each other. They threw ferocious elbow and knee strikes but neither fighter’s resolve seemed to weaken. Ribs took massive blows and internal organs shook from the sheer force of each punch. The two opponents were desperate to destroy the other. Kai heard a loud crack as his fist broke through one of Jimik’s ribs. Kai punched again in the same place and drove his fist farther into his target.
Jimik wriggled away, but Kai was all over him. He tried to move his arms down to shield himself, but Kai snaked his arm around and over Jimik’s blocks and pounded every exposed area he could. Then, finally Jimik yelled and gurgled blood as Kai pounded the broken rib deeper into the young man’s lungs. Jimik momentarily lost the strength to fight. He looked up at Kai with hateful, fiery eyes and spat blood at him. Kai rained down a series of blows, pounding relentlessly on the young Ranger’s windpipe until it gave way and all life left the young Ranger.
Kai rolled off of his defeated opponent and grabbed at the shaft sticking out of his right arm. Once he had a good grasp on it he yanked with a quick jerk, removing it from his sinews. He then crawled to Gainer’s body and started searching for the rest of the poison so Kai could identify it. Within seconds he found a small vile inside Gainer’s pocket. Kai held it up in the light. The liquid was green. Kai sighed with relief as he recognized the color coding of the poison. The Rangers used a system for identifying their poisons. Red meant it was a deadly poison without remedy, blue meant that it was fatal if not treated with the proper antidote, and green was the color for poisons which would paralyze the victim for a few hours. Kai needed only to find a safe shelter and sleep it off.
He started to rise again, but fell back to his knees. Kai’s head started to go fuzzy. He was having a hard time concentrating and his vision was starting to blur at farther distances. He looked up to the back door, which was still open, and fell the rest of the way to the floor, staring at the opening. He could see his freedom, but there was no way for him to get to it. It was too late. The poison was already too far into his system. He was losing motor control in his upper body, and his mind was turning into a haze. This poison, although coded green, was more dangerous than Kai had thought. Just as his eyes started to close and darkness swept over him, he felt hands take hold of him and start to lift him. Kai figured it was probably the city guard. Who else could it be? They had come to take him to jail, and eventually, to his death.
*****
“You gave me quite a scare there, Brass,” said
a familiar voice.
Kai concentrated for a moment until he identified the voice. It was Boots. Kai struggled to open his eyes and focus. He could only make out a few fuzzy, dark figures in the bright room with him. He moved his mouth and tried to shift his head to see better.
“Do not try to get up,” Boots said. “We had a hoot of a time trying to get the right antidote for you. Lucky for you that one of my associates happens to deal in poisons, he was able to find the correct formula and administer it to you quickly enough that no real harm was done to you. He said your mobility should be back fully in just a few hours, but until then try not to move too much. That was some show you put on back there.”
Kai watched as the few figures merged until only two men stood before him. His eyes were clearing up now so he could recognize Boots’ face. The other man, he did not recognize. It was a large, brown-skinned man with jet-black hair and a menacing scowl on his face.
“Wha…” Kai tried to speak. “Wha…”
“Don’t try to speak just yet,” Boots said. He walked closer and bent down over Kai. Boots paused for a minute and looked closely at Kai. Then he drew his dagger and set it to the ex-Ranger’s throat. “Now, tell me exactly who you are,” Boots demanded. “It isn’t your everyday criminal that gets the special attention of a Ranger, let alone two of them at the same time. Furthermore I ain’t never heard of anyone killing a Ranger.”
“I…” Kai started. “I’m…” his words trailed off weakly.
“Give him another dose,” the other man instructed. Boots shrugged and put a small, cold vial to Kai’s lips and poured a sour, viscous concoction into his mouth. Kai choked it down and sucked in a few breaths as the liquid burned its way down his throat and into his stomach.
“Let’s try this again,” Boots said. “Who are you?” Boots put the dagger back against Kai’s throat. “Horkin said he pulled you out of the armory, but that both our client, his contact, and two Rasselin Rangers were dead inside when he found you. Answer me, who are you?!”
Kai forced the air out of his lungs with great effort to reply, “Did you save me just to have the pleasure of killing me for yourself?” he asked.
“Horkin brought you back so we could figure out who you are,” Boots replied. “Perhaps there is a nice reward being offered for your head,” Boots pointed out. “And if there isn’t one yet, there certainly will be after word gets around about what you did at the armory.”
Kai coughed profusely and jerked with pain. Then once he had settled down he started to speak again. “As you know, my name is Kai. What you don’t know is that I too was once a Ranger.”
Boots removed the dagger and stood back from Kai a bit.
“I was ranked second in the unit.”
“Now it makes sense. That is why they sent two.” Boots sheathed his dagger and shook his head. “And you are the one who killed Gildar,” Boots reasoned. He turned and walked to the other man in the room and whispered something.
The other man grimaced sourly and shook his head. “Cut his head off,” the man said. “Send his head to Rasselin, and dump the rest of his body in the sea.”
Kai squinted, trying to get a good glimpse of the other man. “You are Gurn, aren’t you,” Kai guessed.
The man snorted and motioned for Boots to get on with it. “I’m going to go and think through our next move,” Gurn said.
Boots nodded his head. “I’ll do it now.”
Gurn turned and exited the room, slamming the door behind him. Boots walked to the wall and took Kai’s sword out from its scabbard and turned the blade over in his hands. “You almost had me convinced,” Boots said. “It’s too bad, Brass, it really is. I could have used a man like you.”
Kai could see clearly now. He looked down and realized that he was still wearing his trousers and belt. His sword had obviously been taken, along with his dagger, but the stick-bow that Pinhead had given him still hung from its leather thong on his belt. He just had to get his fingers to it.
Boots slowly moved closer, giving the sword a good practice swing. “It’s a fine blade,” he commented. He gripped the handle in both hands and performed one more practice swing. “I’ll try to make this a clean death for you,” he offered.
Kai’s left hand quivered, but it didn’t move. It was only a few inches away from the stick-bow, but it may as well have been on the other side of the room for how quickly he was regaining control. A couple of fingers twitched.
Boots was three steps away.
Kai willed his hand to move, focused all of his strength, but nothing happened. He barely managed to flex his wrist, but his arm would not move. The stick-bow shivered slightly as Kai took in a breath.
Boots was one step away.
Kai tried a new tactic. He took in a deep breath, trying to pull air in with his stomach to shift his belt and, by extension, push the stick-bow. The top end swiveled to point over his waist, but it did not fall.
Boots stood beside him. He put the razor edge against Kai’s neck. “Goodbye, Brass,” Boots said. He raised the sword up over his head with both hands.
Kai sucked in a huge breath and fought with all of his strength to flip his body. He managed to move his hips up enough that the stick-bow fell into his waiting hand. He flexed his wrist upward and used his thumb to depress the button.
Ku-klack! The end of the stick-bow erupted as a steel bolt ejected through the bottom and blasted into Boots’ throat and disappeared into his skull. Boots barely made a sound before he fell back and slammed onto the floor, twitching furiously.
Kai sighed with relief and his hips fell back down. His body was exhausted, and it ached fiercely. There was no way for him to do any more than he already had. He panted heavily, fighting the burning in his lungs and the spasm in his spine. He knew he would have to regain his strength if he wanted to survive. He forced his head to turn and peer down at Boots. He scanned for any sign of that vial Boots had been giving him to drink from, but he couldn’t see anything.
The door burst open and in came Horkin, stooping low so as not to bash his head against the top of the doorjamb. “Boots!” he shouted. “We have to…” the giant’s mouth fell ajar. “What in the…” Horkin looked from Boots to Kai and his face flushed red. A hand drew a wickedly curved machete from its sheath and Horkin stepped menacingly toward Kai.
“I’m going to end you, maggot,” Horkin swore.
Kai saw something move behind Horkin and then Horkin’s face distorted in pain. A red, wet object protruded through Horkin’s abdomen for a moment, then it went back inside only to erupt through Horkin’s skin a moment later a little higher up. Horkin fell to a knee and the object disappeared again. A man whirled around Horkin’s massively wide shoulders and thrust a blade through Horkin’s heart. The mountainous thug gasped like a fish stranded on the beach before slumping to the floor.
“You’re early,” Kelden said with a grin. “I told you to come here at six.”
Kai sighed. “Is it over?” he asked.
Kelden nodded. “Gurn no longer walks among the living,” he replied. “It is finished. You can rest easy now, and once you have your strength back I’ll get you on a ship for Bluewater.” Redbeard and Pinhead bounded into the room, each excited to see Kai.
“We got ‘em all,” Redbeard said. Blood covered the dwarf’s beard and bits of red and pink streaked across his axe.
“And he broke his nose again,” Pinhead laughed, slapping Redbeard on the back.
Kai would have smiled but he didn’t have the strength. He barely heard Redbeard yell something about “sleeping on the job,” before his eyes rolled back in his head and fatigue overcame him.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“With respect,” Karmt began. “I believe a more tempered response is in order.”
“Bah,” General Tehrigg scoffed with a wave of his massive hand. “You can’t tip-toe around like some little girl,” he bellowed.
“That is quite enough, General Tehrigg,” Queen Dalynn said.
> The general bowed his head in deference, but shot Karmt a menacing glare of ice. “With respect, we must answer this with force. We cannot show any weakness or apathy.”
Queen Dalynn rose from her throne and clasped her hands behind her back. “What would you do, General?”
“I would march on Valiv with ten thousand men,” Tehrigg stated.
“That is over eighty percent of our regular army,” Karmt pointed out. “That would leave Kobhir vulnerable for a counter attack. It would leave all of our major cities vulnerable to attack!”
“King Sarito would be too busy shielding himself like a coward in his castle to plan a counter offensive,” Tehrigg rebutted.
Queen Dalynn held her hand up to silence them and then turned to Karmt. “What would you do?” she asked.
“I would let the acting governor handle it. Have him use the Rangers to ascertain the size of the force at Hart’s Bridge, or perhaps send an emissary to them.”
“We are beyond diplomacy,” Tehrigg spat. “And the Rangers are for enforcing the law, they are not equipped for warfare, nor are they trained for it.”
“But, they make excellent scouts and spies,” Karmt countered.
“No,” Queen Dalynn said calmly. “We are beyond diplomacy, about that Tehrigg is correct.” She shook her head and moved to a small table and poured over the map of the two kingdoms. “Sarito’s men sent a dismembered corpse to Rasselin. That is more than just a misunderstanding.”
“It is a declaration of war,” Tehrigg stated.
“Perhaps,” Dalynn allowed. “But, it is possible that it is simply soldiers behaving poorly. You and I have read the annals of wars past, general.” Queen Dalynn looked up from the map and made sure she had his attention. “Such deeds, while dishonorable and horrid, are not uncommon on the battlefield, and they reflect more upon the group of men who perform them than they do upon the ruler of their nation.”
“Perhaps this time is different,” Tehrigg argued.
Dalynn shrugged. “If I send ten thousand men to assault Valiv, we will have no chance of resolving this conflict in the near term. We would be talking about a long term struggle, fighting for every inch beyond Hart’s Bridge and then laying siege to Valiv. Meanwhile, Sarito would be free to send a counter offensive by sea to our ports here in Kobhir.”