Crimson Guard

by Rebecca Challoner

  They both scrambled to obey, disappearing within a blink of an eye but I couldn't tear my gaze away from Simond.

  Volorn squeezed my shoulders, demanding my attention. "Fawn, look at me. I need you to tell me what happened. Leave no detail out."

  I snapped my gaze back to his, his calm authority giving me a sense of comfort and direction. "Axel and I were at the festival and we heard a commotion. We turned to see Simond stumble into the street with a dagger in his back and a wound in his side."

  "Did you see anyone else with him?"

  "No, he was alone."

  "Did he say anything to you?"

  "No, he passed out before we could even get to him. He has lost a lot of blood and I think his wounded side could have hit something fatal."

  Healers ran out of the Tower towards the men, carrying a stretcher and bandages. Thorlan and Axel gently placed Simond on the stretcher on his good side, careful to avoid the dagger in his back. Once he was safely on the stretcher he was rushed into the building. Rema made a move as if to follow him but Volorn's voice rang out, "Rema."

  She snapped to attention and made her way over.

  "Volorn, there is something else." I uttered we walked towards Rema, meeting her halfway, "On my way to warn the healers I was attacked. It was by Simond's assailant."

  He stopped and looked as me as Rema's eyes nearly shot daggers, "And you're only telling us now?"

  I flushed, feeling a little stupid. "I kind of forgot, Simond..." I trailed off as her cheek twitched in irritation. She opened her mouth but Volorn interrupted, "Tell me what happened. Every detail."

  I swallow my suddenly dry throat as I remembered the assault, the sensation of him draining the life from me and his lifeless gaze after I killed him.

  "I was running back towards the towers when he yanked me from the alleyway. He held his dagger up against my neck..." I lifted the dagger from my hand and shown him, "...and said that he couldn't let me save Simond after he went out of his way to kill him. He tried to kill me but... I...I killed him first."

  He took the dagger from my hand, studying it intensely as his jaw tightened even further and his head snapped up, a fire within his eyes as he asked, "Where was this?"

  I tried to recall which alleyway it was, my brow furrowing as I remembered, "The fifth alleyway directly away from the Tower on the left. His body should still be there."

  "Let's go." He commanded, withdrawing his greatsword from its scabbard.

  Rema and Volorn turned and strode away in purposeful strides as I scurried to keep up, "Where are we going?"

  "To retrieve this body." Volorn replied, "It seems the Capital has been infiltrated."

  Chapter 20

  We left the tower training grounds as though hounds were chasing us, rushing through alleyways, weaving in between figures who were clueless to the danger and violence that had occurred moments ago. As I led the way I tried to calm my inner turmoil and block out nausea that had plagued me since the attack. But everywhere I looked, all I could see was my attackers face staring blankly into the sky and the pool of blood that had surrounded him like a red halo.

  A hand grasped me on my shoulder, "Fawn, concentrate. Where to now?" Volorn quietly commanded.

  I snapped back to attention and took in my surroundings. We were in a long narrow street that was filled with bodies, all shuffling their way towards the cheerful music of the festival. The small queues of people gave us funny looks, no doubt because we had stopped in the middle of the pathway whilst everyone was trying to pass. I casually started walking again, trying to fit in with the crowd whilst my gaze darted to each alleyway skirting off of the narrow street. It wasn't much further until I saw the dim backstreet where I was ambushed, recognising the large rotten wooden crates stacked at the end of the street where my assailant had hidden.

  "Here," I muttered, giving Volorn and Rema a quick glance to the dingy path before leading them into it. As I walked towards the passageway my heart began to race and I felt a cold sweat start to bead on my forehead.

  You did nothing wrong. He was about to kill you. Breathe. Just breathe.

  I took a deep breath and clenched my hands into fists to stop them from shaking before purposefully striding forward, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention to us. Satisfied the public were focused on themselves, I darted into the dark alley and moved behind the wooden crates, Rema and Volorn stealthily followed.

  I closed my eyes, internally preparing myself to see the corpse I left behind.

  Get a grip Fawn! You're a part of the war now, you're going to kill more people than this one man.

  Gritting my teeth, I opened my eyes and looked at the floor where I left the body. But as I moved my gaze around the cold cobbled floor, I found...nothing. No body, no blood...nothing. My head snapped back in shock and my breath catching in my throat.

  "Fawn, what it is going on?" Volorn queried, his brow furrowed in confusion.

  I spun around in a circle, frantically searching to find the body, the pool of blood, anything. But there was nothing to see, not a hair.

  "Was this supposed to be funny?" Rema's voice whipped out, contempt dripping from every word. Anger contorted her face and she took a menacing step towards me.

  "Rema," Volorn warned, lifting a hand in a silent command for her to stop. "Fawn, are you sure this is the right alleyway?"

  Panic and confusion flooded my system, "No no no, he was here. Right here."

  I dropped to my knees and hunted for any trace of the assassin, searching around the crates, the cracks of the cobblestones, anything to give me a hint to what had happened.

  "Nice theatrics little girl, but clearly you have been caught in a lie." Rema's scornful voice rung out in the alleyway.

  I ignored her as I scrambled around, looking for any evidence. He was dead, I saw him die. "I saw the awareness and light drain from his eyes. There was no surviving a slit throat like that." I muttered back to her, trying to process what I was seeing. I reached out a hand and placed it over where the body was but only finding the wet cobbled stone.

  Wet?

  I frowned and pulled my hand back up, and turned it over to see my palm...

  "There are no marks on the buildings or signs of battle." Rema argued back, "There is no body, no blood. Nothing. Only a stupid little girl with a dangerous dagger from the enemy."

  My palm was covered in a watery rusty red, as though the blood had been washed away. But how? There wasn't enough time to remove a body and clean up the area...

  Tawney's necklace suddenly gave a violent burst of heat, causing me to look up just as Rema's dagger slid under my throat.

  "I wonder how you came about the dagger. Or it is as I expected it. You are a traitor."

  "Rema, stop!" Volorn ordered, but Rema ignored him as she continued to rant into my ear in a dangerous tone that cautioned me not to move an inch.

  "What a smart plan you had, you dirty little spy. Befriend the Crimson guard, make them trust you and then lure the head of them all..."

  I lifted my eyes to look at Volorn, searching his blue depths for any sign he believed me but his gaze was indecipherable.

  "...the bastard Prince into a secluded alleyway..."

  I felt my eyes widen in shock as Rema let slip Volorn's true identity, just as a glint above him caught my attention and the necklace burned even hotter.

  A silhouette moved from the roof of the building above, silent and deadly. As I watched the figure quietly pulled out a weapon and crouching down as though he was about too...

  "Volorn, dodge left!" I screamed as the assassin dropped from the rooftop, sword pointing down in perfect alignment with Volorn's back.

  Volorn dropped and rolled left, grabbing his sword and blocked the blow that was coming towards this head. With a lift of his other hand, he pushed forward with his shield power, blowing the assailant back into the brick wall and trapping him within his shield.

  Volorn strode toward the cloaked figure, clenching
his hand to shrink the shield around the man, slamming him up against the wall.

  "Who are you?" He demanded to the assassin's face which was hidden within his deep black hood.

  The man let out a low rumbling laugh and softly replied, "Your death."

  The earth seemed to rumble beneath our feet, the rocks from the cobblestone pavement vibrated as they slowly began to move and lift into the air around us. Then with a quick flick of the assassin's wrist, the rocks flew towards Volorn in a flash of speed.

  Volorn quickly dropped the shield around the man and form a tight shield around himself, but not before a handful of rocks pummelled him. Volorn dropped to one knee, winded from the assault.

  "An Earther." Rema cursed, "Time to prove your worth little girl. Distract him" Rema uttered before she released me and seemed to disappear from view.

  I stumbled onto my feet, assessing the situation we were in. The assassin approached Volorn, creating a vortex of stones around him, flinging sharp jagged shards of rock in his direction. It seemed he had a mission, and that was to eliminate Volorn. The bastard prince... I shook my head.

  Not now.

  I slid out the dagger into my hand and flung myself in the enemy's direction. With my dagger in a tight grip, I approached him in an offensive strike, hoping his guard was down whilst he concentrated on attacking Volorn. He dodged my blow and returned a hard slap across my cheekbone with the back of his hand, flinging me against the wall. I lifted my hand to my face, the blow throbbing as he turned with his sword raised in attack. The stones continued whizzing in the air around Volorn, hitting his shield on all fronts until it nearly blocked him from view.

  Not the way I wanted this to play out.

  With a casualness that almost spoke of arrogance, he slashed his sword down and I leaped to the side to avoid the blow. Pushing away from the wall I darted under his arm as he rose it for another attack, narrowly missing the hit that lit sparks from where the blade met the brick. Recalling my training, I studied his body language. Trying to anticipate his moves I began to whirl and dodge away from him, earning nicks and scrapes from the near misses from his blade.

  I kept the dance up for as long as I could, hoping that it would distract him away from Volorn. But he was calm, collected and seemingly patient as he lashed out with his blade. Not once did he let up with his assault on both me and Volorn.

  I need another plan. Something else to distract him.

  As I bobbed and weaved away from his attacks, I racked my brains for some kind of plan. Something unexpected to move past his defenses.

  An idea started to form even as my fighting form began to flag and I was almost hit by a deathly blow. It was now or never.

  I reach within me to my powers, letting the rush of magic flow through me with an image in my mind and letting instinct move me.

  Just as the assassin pulled back his blade in time for a strike, I flushed my body with my power, accelerating my body to change. In an instant my hands and feet doubled in size, my fingers and toes shortening and my nail sharpening until they became paws. My nose and lips stretched and changed until they become a whiskered muzzle. My ears elongated and perked into tips and a rush of sound I wasn't capable of hearing before filled my senses. My blunt human teeth began to lengthen until large fangs almost protruded from my lips. I shifted from an average size human to a sleek and silent killer.

  Most of all, I distracted my opponent. His eyes widened in shock, the sword that no doubt would have sliced through my human body sailed over my head, harmlessly catching only thin air. The man's mouth dropped in surprise and I took advantage of the momentary shock.

  Bunching my hind legs in a powerful pounce, I unleashed my sharp claws and sprang into the assassin's body. Hooking my new deadly nails straight into his chest, I shredded downwards, ripping clothes and flesh from his body.

  The attacker howled a blood curdling scream, falling back in his pain.

  Taking advantage of his stumble, Rema appeared from behind him and raised a heavy foot and hammered it into his chest where I had injured him. He slammed into the floor, head snapping back with the blow.

  Pouncing on top of his body, I let my claws sink into his skin, anchoring him down whilst opening my mouth to bite down on my prey's vulnerable throat.

  "Stop!" Rema's voice rang out, "We need him alive for information."

  I let out a rumbling growl of annoyance closed my mouth but dug my claws in even more. He let out another cry of agony but I found in this animal form I had no sympathy for my prey.

  With gritted teeth the assailant raised his hand, summoning his power to pelt us with jagged stones. I felt the multiple stings as the sharp edges danced across my fur, slicing into my skin as I let out a roar of pain and animal instinct had me retreating off the body. Rema let out a shriek of outrage beside me and I turned to see her covered in thin cuts, blood seeping from each wound.

  As the assassin struggled to pull himself up, Volorn suddenly appeared into view behind him. Silently he lunged, slamming the butt of his sword over the assassin's head and rendered him unconscious. The rocks that were pelting us all clattered to the floor and silence descended upon us that was only filled with our panting breaths.

  Volorn looked us both over, "Are you both okay?"

  Rema let out a grunt, "Superficial wounds. Nothing to worry about."

  I nodded my head, unable to answer him in the animal form.

  "Good. Good work. Both of you." He replied and turned to look at me head-on, "You may want to change back. You'll need to be human for this."

  I gave him another nod before gathering the clothes that had ripped and scattered in my transformation, in my mouth. Within a quick flick of a tail, I was behind the wooden crates, shifting out of the jaguar form I had taken and tucking myself into my human clothes.

  With a quick pat down to make sure my clothes covered all the essential parts, I returned to see Volorn and Rema studying the now exposed face of our would-be killer.

  "I don't recognise him. But then as an Earther, he would be from Etha, not Orbain." Rema supplied as I strode up between them.

  "I don't recognise him either," I supplied, taking in the light blonde hair, the lightly wrinkled face, and thick square jaw.

  "No," Volorn replied grimly. "But how did he get here? Unnoticed as well."

  We stood in silence as the question seemed to echo around us. How had one of our enemies made it all the way to the capital, undetected?

  "Fawn, the man who attacked you earlier. Do you remember what he looked like?" Volorn asked.

  I gave him a nod. I was pretty sure I would always remember his face now. It seemed permanently etch behind my eyes.

  "Can you show us?" Volorn requested.

  I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes as I released my power. My hair changed to a dull mousy brown that looked just a little too long, my nose lumped out and hooked at the tip and fuzz of facial hair covered my now pointed jawline. The brows thickened and my eye changed shape until crow's feet crinkled the corners. I opened my eyes to show them a deep blue-green hue and was greeted with shocked and horrified expressions on Rema and Volorn's faces.

  I studied their expressions before stating, "I take it you recognised him."

  Volorn composed himself before letting out a deep sigh, "Rema, call on the Capital Council and request the king's attendance." He gave us both a meaningful gaze, "It seems we have a spy in our midst."

  Chapter 21

  After Volorn's dreaded announcement we moved fast. Rema left but quickly returned with the news that she had obtained a meeting from the council and the king within the hour. We dragged our unconscious assassin back to the Crimson Tower where we were met by Wymar and Axel. Both looked like they had aged ten years, their haggard and tired expressions caused a deep well of worry within me, until they saw us and our prisoner. A cold rage eclipsed their expressions and my worry swelled until it felt like lead within my stomach.

  "Simond..." I asked, dreading the
answer.

  Axel closed his eyes in anguish and shook his head whilst Wymar's filled with tears, "He didn't make it. They said -" Axel broke off with a choked breath before continuing, "- They said that the wound was too fatal and he lost too much blood."

  The air seemed to freeze in my lungs and all I could do was stare at Axel, the words resounding in my head. Rema strode forwards and locked Wymar in a tight embrace, their bodies quacking in anguish. The man who protected them and helped raised them in Orbain, a solid member of the Crimson Guard and a man so kind couldn't be dead.

  Beside me the unconscious body of the assassin slammed to the floor, his head thudding on the ground before Volorn knelt down to deliver a solid blow to his face. At first, the shock of it kept me rooted in place. Volorn, a man who I knew as so strong, so calm and collected just...broke.