“I see you’ve taken an odd fancy to that cap.” He shook his head. “Still, this is no place to be. How did you even make it in here?”
She shrugged her eyebrows. “You know I have my ways. Besides, the underlings aren’t worried about the likes of you or me.” She peeked over his shoulder. “What’s this?” Swallowing, she froze. “That’s ghastly.”
“Don’t look. Let’s just go before some other frenzy falls upon us. I swear, I’ve never felt my heart pounding in my throat until today.”
As they headed into the preparation room, Ashlyn grabbed a towel. She wiped his sweaty temples clean. “That’s better. I’m proud of you, Altan. You pulled off quite a feat. We’ll live another day, perhaps years, reveling in underling glory.”
“Yes, but it doesn’t feel like victory.” He twisted Melegal’s ring on his fingers. “Though, not only did I extend our lives, but I acquired a few precious baubles as well. There was an Orb of Negation,” he said with his mouth watering. “That would have been a real treasure.”
“What happened to it?”
“Master Sinway turned it into dust. The power! I swear it felt like he could have turned this castle inside out if he wanted to.” He made a beeline for the preparation room exit. “I think we should go to our room and wait, but a bottle of port would be nice. After all, we should revel somewhat in our victory.” He pinched her rump.
She squeaked. “Altan!” Just as he started to open the door, she stiffened. Eyes narrowed, she searched the room.
“What is it?” Altan said.
“An odd sensation has me tingling all over.” She pet her cap.
Altan Rey stepped away from the door. “What are you saying?”
“We are not alone. I swear we are being watched.” She pulled a dagger from the scabbard on her hips. “Do you smell manure?”
Altan sniffed. “A mild aroma, but this room is drenched in centuries of blood, grime, and sweat. Perhaps we should—ack!”
A sword tip burst out of Altan’s chest.
Ashlyn screamed. “Altan!”
Melegal appeared, sword in hands. He’d stabbed Altan in the back, running the sword clean through the spine and poking through the heart at an angle. Altan slid from the steel, dead as a stone.
Horrified, Ashlyn exclaimed, “Why did you kill him?”
Removing his dart launchers from Altan’s wrists, he said, “This backstabbing wretch? Don’t be a fool, woman. It’s called revenge.” He took his ring from Altan’s fingers and stood with his hand out. “I’ll take my cap back now, lying wench.”
“Uh-uh.”
“I should have killed you first.” He drew back the sword. “Last chance.”
Her eyes narrowed. “No.”
“Death it is then.” He advanced.
“Stop!”
Melegal’s entire body locked up.
Ashlyn smirked at him. “I like your cap. I think I’ll keep it.”
CHAPTER 17
“Taking a little nap, are we?” said a hungry-eyed guard with warts on his arms and nose. He smacked his lips. “It’s time to eat, darling woman. I’ve a spoonful of gruel for you. And water. But, you’ll have to do something for me first.”
Jarla catnapped in the dungeon on and off at all hours of the day. The guards had been unrelenting in their treatment of her. They pawed all over her while making the lewdest suggestions. Huddled back in the cell, she kept her mouth shut and eyes closed.
The guard pecked on the bars. “I know you hear me, mistress. Don’t worry, Pernsky will take care of you.” Pernsky slobbered when he talked. “I’ve never seen such a fine prisoner. Tell you what, I can ignore your scars. All you have to do is ignore my warts. Though, I’ve been with many women that think I’m still handsome.”
Jarla’s stomach made a loud rumble.
Pernsky sniggered. “I know you hunger, lady friend. Please, come to me. Your fate is better with me than the gallows with the underlings. I can let you out, you know. Help you escape. I know a way.”
It was a lie. There had been other women that were taken advantage of only to be dragged out of the dungeon kicking and screaming. The days had been long since Jarla was captured by the royal knights. They beat the snot out of her. She had a black eye and swollen cheek to show for it. Her ribs ached. She let out a light cough she couldn’t control.
“Ah, my delight awakens. Dear one, please, let me feed you.” Pernsky clacked the spoon on the bars. “Come, drink from my spoon. Let me see you sip with those soft maroon lips.”
Jarla turned her eyes toward him. He gasped. Since she’d been taken prisoner, Pernsky had latched onto her. She couldn’t stir without him being there. All he did was leer. It sickened her. “Listen to me, you teeth-sucking, wart-faced worm, you will feed me and I’ll grant you no favors.”
Pernsky turned aside, hiding the water bucket and bowl of gruel. “No, no, my lady. You must return the favor. Let me caress those silky locks with my fingers.”
Jarla hated groveling, but she was starving. Pernsky’s droopy eyes were filled with lust. Her touch would transform him into a lust-filled devil. She needed to take advantage of that, but his sloppy, uncomely appearance sickened her. His hair was matted and greasy. He wore the dark-green uniform of a guard, but it was stained and soiled. He was portly and greasy necked. In the brigand army, there were men lacking appeasing attributes, but none of them repulsed her like Pernsky did.
Orcs are worse than this man, but I can’t bear him. At least they are confident.
“They will hang you, fine one. Stretch your neck. I don’t want to see it. I glory in you, my precious cherub.” He smacked his lips. “Let me feed you. Give you strength. You will need it for escape. Our escape, together.”
“You don’t have the keys, Pernsky.” On her hands and knees, she crawled over to him, chest low and hips high.
Pernsky salivated. Clinging to her body, his eyes enlarged. “You know my name. You called me by my name. You are my queen.”
Suck it up, Jarla. Just do this.
She put a little honey in her voice. “Show me the keys, and I will let you feed me, Pernsky.”
He shook his head. “No, no. You will try to trick me. I don’t like tricks. Let me touch you, treasured lady. I must feel your fine skin on mine.”
If Pernsky had access to the keys, she was certain he would have crawled into the cell with her by now. She reached out and grabbed the bars. “Go ahead, Pernsky, touch me,” she said but not too willingly.
Feeling her hand with his, he said, “Ah-ah-ah, I am delighted. Your skin is hot as fire.”
She let him paw at her some more. He touched her hair and shoulders. Jarla let him get away with as much as she could stand then pulled away.
“No, no,” he moaned. “Please, let me feel you again!”
Tidying her hair, she said, “I want to eat, drink, and know where I am, Pernsky.” She undid the strings at the neck of her jerkin while she tossed her hair from one side to the other. “That would please me.”
He stretched his straining arms through the bars. “No, you must come back to me. You must come back to me!”
Jarla seized his wrists. With a hard tug, she pulled his face into the metal. “I asked nicely, Pernsky. Won’t you please tell me so that I don’t have to snap your arms?”
He gave a delighted giggle and said eerily, “Pain, I like pain. All my life is suffering, my queen.”
She tugged harder while turning his wrist in a painful position. “Then you won’t mind this.”
“Your firm hand is elation!”
Jarla released him.
“No, no, why did you stop?”
“You did not feed me. You did not tell me what I wanted to know. If you want to indulge yourself more in sickening pleasure then tell me what I want to know.”
“It does not matter. You will die either way,” he said, picking at the warts on his arms. “Please, pleasure me.”
“I want a name.”
“Castle Kling,”
he muttered.
“I thought the knights of Kord brought me in.”
Pernsky shook his head. “They captured you, but you were traded here. They want you for the games.”
“I thought they wanted me for the gallows.”
“No, you are too special, but I don’t want to see you die. Please,” he stuck his arm through the bars. “Hurt me!”
Clank.
Jarla turned an ear toward the back of the cell. There was a stitched-up sack nestled in the corner. It can’t be!
CHAPTER 18
Venir let out a gusty laugh. He’d laid it all on the line to win. It wasn’t working. If he couldn’t die with steel in his hands, he’d die laughing in the underlings’ grimacing faces. The outburst startled the underlings in the audience. Even Master Sinway perched a brow. His maniacal cajoling echoed in the room that had fallen silent.
Even Brak’s berserk ramblings ceased. His eyes were glassy. His struggles in the web had formed a frail cocoon around him. “Father, what happened?” he murmured.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” Venir said in his boisterous voice. “These black hearts are about to watch little spiders devour us. It’s a very whimsical strategy for them. Letting your enemies be devoured by bugs. It’s no wonder that the underlings continue to fail when they try to triumph over men. They are as stupid as their skin is gray.”
“Mind your insolent tongue!” Kuurn yelled.
The underlings chittered.
Sword in hand, Elypsa took a step toward him. “Let me skewer him, Master Sinway. Or at least slice his tongue out. No underling should have to listen to this.”
Master Sinway held up a hand. “Nay. Let this muscle-bound bag of flesh say what he wants. I look forward to his screaming. The wolf spiders do excellent work, especially when they crawl into every orifice and begin to nibble. Oh, how I delight in torture. Soon, all of my brethren will delight as well. I’m confident the City of Bone is mine now, as nothing on Bish can stop me.”
The wolf spiders inched down the webbing. Their tiny feet marched over the strands like an advancing army. Their minuscule teeth clicked. The uniform motion sent tremors through the webbing.
“This is ghastly,” Ebenezer said, his face taut with horror. “I think I’d rather be eaten by a giant spider than a thousand small ones.” His eyes fell on the smoking husk of the giant spider that lay twitching on the floor. “Yes, I prefer the big one.”
Venir glowered at Master Sinway. “Don’t you find it strange that I am still alive? After all, you’ve tried to kill me a dozen times, yet I still live. Did you ever stop to think that I can’t be killed?”
“Everything dies eventually,” Master Sinway said. “But to be certain I’m going to witness it for myself. Bit by bit, you will be turned into tiny little pieces that are devoured and scattered.” He stroked the sack. “I don’t think there is anything you can do about it at this point. The reign of man is over. Now the underlings will control the surface once again, as they did before.”
Venir wasn’t so sure about that. Even Kuurn and Elypsa were giving Sinway curious looks. “You are cave dwellers, nothing more. You are just an advanced form of the urchlings from whom you were all spawned.”
Many underlings gasped.
Sinway sniggered. “I must admit that in over a thousand years of facing enemy after enemy on the surface, I’ve never encountered one with a mouth like yours.” His eyes drifted onto the spiders. They were only a few feet from Venir’s toes and fingers. “Please, share your final thoughts. It’s the last chance you’ll get before you start screaming. Entertain me. Entertain us.”
A smile filled Venir’s face. In a valiant effort, the webbing bending as he moved, he pulled his thumbs to his ears and wriggled his fingers. He stuck his tongue out and made a “phlyllpt” sound.
“Am I to believe this buffoon is the one we called the Darkslayer?” Kuurn said.
“You’ve seen him fight,” Elypsa said. “But he’s not the same man without the armament. He’s just an oversized fool.”
“I might be an oversized fool, but I’m not the biggest fool, Elypsa. That honor goes to the black heart beside you.” He let out a mirthful chuckle.
“He’s lost his wits,” she said to Sinway.
“I’ve tortured many humans over the centuries, and when pushed to the point of death, they often act out erratically. Usually, it comes in pleas of mercy, but I wouldn’t expect that to be the case with a warrior like this.”
“No, that’s not why I’m laughing, you iron-eyed fool,” Venir said. “My wits are as sharp as my tongue. I assure you.”
Struggling to get a glance at the spiders crawling toward him, Ebenezer said, “Then why are you laughing.”
“I’m laughing because, even if I perish, another Darkslayer will rise. Check your shoulder, Sinway. The armament sack is gone.”
Sinway pawed at his shoulder. His feet dropped onto the seats. The mystic sack was gone. “No! Impossible!”
“You don’t possess it, Sinway, it possesses you! And now it’s gone, idiot!” Venir burst out laughing.
Master Sinway glided up from the bench, straight toward Venir. His eyes burned like molten iron. He clutched Venir’s face. “Where is it?”
Still chuckling, Venir said, “I have no idea, fiend.” He tried to headbutt Sinway, but the webbing held him back. “I hate these webs.” In the past, Brool’s keen edge would slice the webbing away with the ease of a hot knife through butter. Now, Venir was held fast, and he was curious what happened to the armament. Where are you? Come to me.
“I feel your thoughts,” Sinway said. “Give it to me!” His fiery eyes drilled into Venir’s head. “You will tell me all that you know!”
The thin layer of moisture on Venir’s eyes dried up. His face felt like it caught fire. Sinway was boring into his mind. He set his eyes on the underlings. “Go ahead! Try to pry out what you can get!”
Two iron wills locked together. A burning shoving match of minds began. Sinway attacked and pried. Venir’s psyche, hardened by a thousand battles, grew in resolve. He attacked and shoved Sinway back.
“I will turn you inside out!” Sinway shouted. He became a shadowy, suffocating blanket.
Venir’s memories flared up. He was back in the hole underlings buried him in when he was a boy. He gasped for breath and choked.
CHAPTER 19
I hate it when the tables turn, Melegal thought. His body was as stiff as a board. Ashlyn had a solid grip on him using his own weapon, the knit cap, against him. It was a scary thing. Her dagger’s blade was pressed against his throat. Her dreamy eyes locked with his. Be done with it then.
Blood dripped out of her nose onto her chin. Blinking, she stepped back. More blood came. “What’s happening?”
Melegal regained control of his body. In a cobra-quick swipe, he snatched the cap from her head. Ashlyn staggered into the wall and fell down holding her nose and head. Melegal placed his cap back on his head and smoothed it over the side of his face. There was tingling, illumination, and heightened awareness. Ah, that’s so much better. Now, where was I? Yes, I was about to kill this cap-stealing witch. He approached and put the sword to her neck. “Is your head hurting?”
Rubbing her temples, she said, “It feels like someone dropped an anvil on it. Please, put me out of my misery, Melegal.”
He cocked back, started into his swing, and stopped. “No, I can’t do that, even though you deserve it after aiding Altan Rey and his betrayal of us. I’m not one to kill women, and I find you pretty. It’s so hard to mistreat comely. It’s a flaw of mine.”
She reached out. “I’m grateful.”
“Don’t be grateful. I’m still leaving you in the hands of the underlings. As for me, I’ll be just fine.” He began to twist the Ring of Vanishing.
“No, wait! It was Altan that betrayed you, not me, and even he hoped that the plan would work.”
Melegal smacked her on top of the head with the flat of his blade. “Is that so? The
n why was I taken to the gallows, and why were my objects stolen?”
“Ow,” she said, rubbing her head. “He said you wouldn’t fit the profile of a fighter. You were a hard sell. In truth, you know you wouldn’t have lasted like the others. They would have slain you. You had a better chance in the gallows than in the pits.” She cast her eyes at Altan’s corpse. “He wasn’t so bad. He just wanted to take care of me and himself.”
“He served the underlings. There’s nothing redeeming about that, ever. As for you, you are baggage. Go away.”
Ashlyn threw herself at him. “Please, please, please, take me with you.”
“I can’t. And don’t get blood on my vest. This fabric is a difficult acquisition.”
“Really?”
“Just don’t get blood on it.” He cocked his head. “Oh dear.”
“What?”
“I hear Venir laughing. That can’t be good.”
“Laughing is a good thing, no?”
“Not when he’s dealing with underlings.”
A loud, painful wail carried into the preparation chamber from the arena. Melegal scuttled toward the bunker where the fighters waited. He crept inside the back end. Underlings were chittering orders as they hopped into the arena. The badoon underlings already in the arena backed into the dugout. Melegal shoved Ashlyn back. “Hide quick. They’re coming!”
***
Jarla’s fingers caressed the mystic sack like it was the soft skin of a baby. Her heart raced. She’d abandoned all hope that she would be in the presence of the armament again. But she had it, tight in her fingers, like so many long years ago when her royal colleagues violated her.
“What is it, princess?” Pernsky said with his warted face pressed against the bars.
“A reckoning.” She opened up the neck of the sack. A tingling sensation ran up her fingertips. She stuck her arm inside. The inside of the sack felt like an empty room filled with cold air. She fished around. Her fingertips touched metal and brushed against wood. She gripped the handle and pulled the object out. The pommel came out first, followed by a long, dark-stained shaft of wood. Next came the twin black blades. The war axe was huge. “Slat, this isn’t mine. It’s Venir’s.”
The Darkslayer: Series 2 Special Edition (Bish and Bone Bundle Books 6-10): Sword and Sorcery Adventures Page 45