Thankfully Leezir wasn’t alone in his monitoring of Venir. The man-urchins also kept watch on the streets. The ambush was now set, with Venir and his companions as the bait. Leezir felt he had little choice other than to use Venir as a pawn again to draw out the Almens. The man had been doomed from the moment he returned, after all. At least Leezir was giving him a fighting chance. He knew that the Shadow Sentries had already been closing in on Venir, thanks to the man-urchins being forthcoming in their interrogation of some Sentries they’d captured. It was all part of Leezir’s plan, of course. Now his trap was ready to be sprung.
His man-urchins crouched deep in the nooks and windows, eager to strike. In the dimness below, Leezir could see his own men poised to lash out at the Shadow Sentries. He had the numbers, but the ragged man-urchins would be pressed to overtake the legendary soldiers below. He knew the darts of his man-urchins would be of little use against the ghost armor, so they would have to rely on their overwhelming numbers to take them. Cut their throats and run. It was all Leezir wanted, just to chip away at the Almen forces a piece at a time. Licking his lips as he rubbed his hands together, Leezir prepared the signal.
CHAPTER 42
Venir, Melegal, and Lefty had traveled on foot, crisscrossing streets and alleys the best they could to try and shake down any information about Georgio—and also to draw out the assailants that Leezir had told Venir about. Lefty, though, had been urging Venir to return to the Drunken Octopus. Venir had never heard of sweating halfing’s feet, but the boy seemed convincing enough. Melegal then reminded Venir that the Motley Girls might have returned to the tavern and have something of use to share as well. It felt like the entire city was against Venir, and he was uncertain where to go. He was itching to kill something, but he had to find the boy.
Melegal and Lefty stayed busy behind Venir, keeping tabs on their pursuers. Venir could feel man-urchin eyes everywhere, from all around and even above on the one- and two-story rooftops. The man-urchins posed little threat to Venir or his friends. The Shadow Sentries, though, were a different matter, as Melegal had reported when he caught up to Venir.
Venir pulled Melegal and the halfling out of sight.
“This is getting silly, you two!” Venir whispered through gritted teeth. “I am ready to get on with this. I need to get the drop on them. Did you get a count, Me?”
“Over a dozen man-urchins are posted on the roofs for certain, and the ground-pounders of Castle Almen account for at least three or more. I don’t think they can take us,” Melegal whispered.
Venir glared at him.
Melegal looked away from his gaze and said, “I think they’re trying to cut us off.”
“Georgio is near, I swear it!” Lefty cried.
Venir clamped a hand over Lefty’s mouth, then knelt down and gazed into Lefty’s watery blue eyes.
“Listen,” Venir whispered. “If the Royal dogs make their move before we get back to the tavern, you guys take Georgio’s charge from there. Don’t let them catch you, and don’t worry about me. I don’t have the stomach for killing men normally, but I’ve had my fill of these Royals screwing around. It’s time me and Brool taught them a lesson. Besides, I don’t need anyone else being caught up in their clutches.”
They both nodded at him.
Venir’s voice was strained as he said, “You guys find Georgio. Otherwise this madness may never come to an end.”
There was silence. The air was thick. A sense of dread filled the alley.
Venir didn’t know what the limitations of his friends were in this kind of situation, but they were about to be tested. So the farther away from him they could get, the better. This fight had to be his alone. Doubt, though, filled his belly, as he had no idea how many pursuers were coming. Battles abroad on Bish were one thing, but the fights in the City of Bone were an entirely different animal. You might live to fight another day, but the Royals would make you pay. Victory only led to temporary salvation.
Venir stood up.
“The plan is to check out the Drunken Octopus and then the stables if we get split up,” Venir said. “I will have to catch you at one or the other. Are we good?”
“I’m good,” Melegal said.
“I’m good too,” Lefty said.
“Okay, Me,” Venir said, “take us through.”
CHAPTER 43
Three Shadow Sentries crouched in the middle of the filth-ridden alley called Death Hall. It was just where Leezir wanted them. At the other end, he could see Venir and his two companions entering the alley. The three Shadow Sentries headed for Venir and his friends. Leezir put his fingers in his lips and blew. A loud whistle burst forth, echoing down the corridor.
The three Sentries were swarmed by figures that appeared from behind building corners, out of windows, and up out of sewer grates. The man-urchins closed in fast. A dozen of them surrounded the three Sentries, who now stood in a defensive triangle. Two Sentries wielded a sword and a dagger, while the other held two wicked hand axes.
Leezir felt glee, but as he looked toward the other end of the alley, he noticed that five more Shadow Sentries had appeared. Venir was now cut off at his end as well. The Shadow Sentries had them all boxed in.
As the screams began, Leezir felt a chill: he’d underestimated the Royal force. His gut feeling now told him that the Sentries not only hunted Venir, but him as well.
So be it! I’ll take as many as I can.
Leezir watched as the blood began to spill into the murky sewers below, then he summoned Hagerdon and Creighton forward to stand with him. He glanced toward Venir, just thirty yards away and now sporting a helmet and shield. He could see Venir stepping into the charge, wielding a giant axe, the likes of which he had never seen before. Venir’s friends disappeared into the alley’s shadows and did not reappear. Leezir was not concerned for them, but only curious whether or not Venir could handle the five men coming for him and barring his path. But Leezir’s attention was drawn away from Venir when he heard screams directly below him.
He looked down. His man-urchins were in the fight of their lives with the three Shadow Sentries. Leezir began barking commands at the man-urchins. Six of the ragged men overwhelmed one Sentry and began dragging him down to the ground, cutting at his limbs and throat with everything they had. But the Sentry did not go down easy. He poked holes in the bellies and skulls of the man-urchins before they finally ran his dark heart through. Leezir cheered along with Hagerdon and Creighton.
The other six man-urchins, meanwhile, were keeping the other two Sentries preoccupied with their numbers. They darted in and out, cutting at the Sentries from every direction. But the Sentries cut down the inferior urchins with critical blows. One man-urchin managed to jump onto the back of a Sentry—only to have a dagger driven into his skull by the other Sentry. Watching, Leezir grimaced. Even as the other six man-urchins joined the fray, the disfigured men looked reckless in their attempts as they charged forward in anger and desperation, their curved daggers and cheap iron swords no match for the finely forged weapons of the Sentries. One man-urchin fell before hammering hand-axe blows that chopped him from head to toe like a sapling that seeped blood. Leezir cringed at the sight.
“Oh!” Creighton said behind him.
The black Sentry grinned up at them, then screamed as a dagger was jammed into the back of his thigh. The Sentry chopped off the attacking man-urchin’s hand with one of his axes and then brained him with the other. Leezir didn’t like where this was going. The other Sentry was fairing quite well as his sword and dagger seemed to be steadily chopping Leezir’s men to bits one finger, hand, ear, or arm at a time. The gruesome scene was leaving men howling in pain at additional mutilation they did not need. The cobblestones were slick with blood and they were all covered head to toe in it as well. Leezir shook his head. They cut my urchins down like sheep.
Death Hall was filled with roars of rage, throes of death, cries for mercy, and delight in killing. Leezir and his men stood captivated, staring down a
t the gory display. In the world of Bish, dying in battle was usually the only thing you were ever remembered for and even the outmatched man-urchins would receive their posthumous accolades for this day, if anyone survived the fray. Leezir would see to that.
The two Sentries that had been whirling their blades and axes with devastating accuracy had almost finished their business, but not quickly enough, as the remaining man-urchins began dragging the merciless men down under sheer numbers and weight.
It was a valiant battle on both sides but the man-urchins managed to pin down the crafty men’s arms while their brethren eventually stabbed the Sentries to death. It was the victory that Leezir had been hoping for, but the price was high, as only a handful of busted and crippled man-urchins remained at his disposal. Meanwhile two Sentries coming forward from the district end were about to eliminate those few man-urchins and then fully ensnare Venir, who was in the fight of his life at the other end.
Leezir considered cutting and running but his thirst for Almen blood was too great. The twin brothers waited for his order, their eyes darting between him and the fight. He knew they wanted an Almen or two.
“Ready the bows!” Leezir shouted at them.
Each brother had been carrying a heavy crossbow that was loaded with a heavy bolt with a barbed end. A small line of a specially made silk rope was hanging by their sides, running all the way up to their barbed crossbow bolts, where the rope had been tied off on small eyelets at the butt end of the bolts. The special roped bolts had been designed for fishing for large game in the lakes that littered the land, but there was little purpose for them in the city. The twins were a creative pair and they had recommend another use for them. Leezir liked their plan. Steady as a rock, Creighton and Hagerdon zeroed in on the two Shadow Sentries below. The darkness made the shots tough from over fifty feet away, as their ropes were not much longer than that. Leezir waited until the last man-urchin had fallen or fled then he dropped his hand. They pulled their triggers.
Clack! Clack! Thwk! Thwk! Thunk! Thunk!
“Bone!” a man cried in pain.
“Bish!” a woman screamed in astonishment.
The bolts hit their marks with great accuracy, popping through the ghost armor and puncturing clear through the man’s and woman’s shoulder blades and sticking out the back.
“Nice shot, boys!” Leezir said.
The brothers grabbed the ropes and pulled them tight. The man and woman dropped to their knees screaming in sheer agony. They grabbed and chopped at the silken cords, but their swords and daggers did not work on the odd fabric of the ropes. The green-eyed twins tugged harder at the cords, causing the bolts to grind and tear the bones, nerves, and muscles within. The male and female Sentries leaned forward to ease the pain but the Slerg boys kept the pressure on.
“We have to act quickly,” Leezir said. “Give me those cords, boys!”
They did as they were told. Leezir wrapped the cords around his hands, pulling them taut, and began the tug of war with the warriors below. The Sentries tried to pull him from the rooftop, yelling in agony.
“Grab my waist, you two halfwits, and hold me on this roof!” Leezir yelled from beneath his black cowl.
They secured him while he braced his feet against the roof wall. Then he muttered a spell. Leezir felt the magic surge inside him as the words of power erupted from his lips, shaking the roof below them. The silk cords sparkled and burned in his grip. The cords then began burning away slowly from his hands and finally fell onto the ground, freeing the man and woman below. The Slergs watched as each end of the ropes crackled with fire slowly, but began to gradually pick up speed. The Sentries looked at each other, then at the strange fire. They scrambled to stamp the fire out. It didn’t work, and the ropes kept burning. Leezir laughed above them. They were spitting on it, even biting the cord, but the rope burned even faster, like a candle wick. One tried to rip the barb out from the other’s back, but time was running out.
“Watch this,” Leezir said, smiling.
The wick burned in a flash from one end to the other suddenly, and Leezir and the twins could see the tips of the protruding barbed bolts glowing red hot as the wick itself. The sentries screamed so loud it echoed throughout the alley.
Boom! Ka-boom!
Red chunks of flesh and bone filled the alleyway as the bodies of the Sentries exploded in an arc of mutilation and carnage.
“That was amazing, Leezir,” Creighton whispered.
“I know,” Leezir said.
Still, Leezir himself couldn’t believe they had been fortunate enough to wipe out five Shadow guards. Certainly Venir would take out a few more, and though it wouldn’t be enough to stop the Almens, it was still weakening them a piece at a time. Now Leezir had to decide whether or not it was worth it to aid Venir or watch him perish. No way could one man handle five Shadow guards, he figured. At worst, he would see to it that Venir was honored somehow. He also had to make sure more Shadow guards weren’t coming, so he decided that he better play it safe for now.
“Let’s go, boys,” Leezir said. “Our work is done here.”
“Don’t you want to see the fight?” Hagerdon asked. “I want to see them kill Venir. He’s a fool!”
“And risk being caught?” Leezir said. “Stay if you want, but those Shadows will be coming for us as soon as they are done with him.”
The brothers shrugged and followed Leezir over the roofs and out of sight.
CHAPTER 44
Melegal watched as Venir strapped on his shield, buckled his helmet, and grinned, Brool clutched tight in his grip. He knew Venir was ready, a stark contrast between the man that was there moments earlier. He was uneasy as he saw Venir’s countenance turn dark.
It was time to flush them out, however, and Melegal and Lefty walked into the alley just ahead of Venir. Three Shadow Sentries emerged from their rear and headed for them, but then a host of man-urchins slipped out of the alley’s darkness and waded into the Sentries.
Might make it out of here yet, Melegal thought.
But then five more Shadow Sentries appeared in the darkness ahead of them, and Melegal barely heard them move. Ghost armor. I need a set of that. He hadn’t expected so many. His heart sank. He glanced at the man-urchins as they fought three of the Sentries, then back at the five that glided toward them. Could Venir handle five Shadow Sentries? Alone? Melegal wanted to stick around, but Georgio needed help.
Three of the five Sentries brandished long barbed spears that would prevent anyone going over or around them. One stood in the middle and the other two held close to the alley’s walls. The other two stood inside of those three, stout and formidable, one wielding a finely forged battle-axe with a razor-sharp edge that gleamed in the night, while the other carried a pair of short swords of similar work. They were the close-range fighters who chopped men to bits while the spears pinned them down. Melegal shuddered and sank back into the alley.
“Hey, Vee, five armed to the teeth,” Melegal whispered. “Don’t hold back.”
Melegal took another hard look at Venir. His friend, though, was no longer there. It was someone else, someone far more dark and dangerous. Clutched in Venir’s grip, Brool hung by his side. Under the helmet, Venir’s blue eyes smoldered like fire in the night. Still, Melegal wondered if he might see his friend alive again.
“Yeah, Vee, go get him,” Lefty said and he rushed past.
Melegal slapped Venir on the shoulder. “Sorry I can’t stick around to see this, Vee … maybe next time.”
Venir didn’t respond as he stepped fully into Death Hall. Melegal smiled as he heard gasps: their enemies’ catching first sight of the Darkslayer.
Melegal moved through the darkness and Lefty floated nearby as his shadow. They crept up into an apartment window and slipped through the building on the feet of kittens, continuing on through one building after another, padding over surfaces without a sound. Even the rats remained undisturbed. The pair had played this game a few times before, as Melegal had fo
und that his tiny protégé seemed able to catch onto to all of his tricks. He led the little boy in and out of windows, stepping over slumbering faces. He was certain Lefty would rouse someone or something, but he never did. Through doorways, across balconies, and over rooftops, step for step, Lefty stayed close behind.
Lefty was light, and that made for great silent walking. Melegal envied that, and though ginger for a man, he himself had to be more cautious. Still, his experience allowed him to move unhindered and without slowing down.
Finally Melegal stopped to catch his breath. They had made it over a few city blocks. The wider streets opened up to where the tavern awaited them. On the main drag, merchants prepared for the sunset of the new day. Melegal stood on a rooftop balcony and watched the front door of the Drunken Octopus. He wasn’t sure what to do. He looked down at Lefty’s worried face and sweating feet.
Lefty tugged on Melegal’s cloak and whispered, “They’ve never been like this before! I swear Georgio is in danger close by.”
Melegal could feel something amiss in his own gut. He thought he heard something and scanned back toward the tavern door. Shouts and a crash came from the inside, and he hoped it was Georgio causing such a stir. A handful of patrons began to rush out of the door. Voices were shouting in anger and pain from inside, catching the wary attention of the early merchants who now began gathering to see what the commotion was.
The Darkslayer: Book 02 - Blades in the Night Page 20