“The letter I just read is addressed to you,” he said, looking at Jason. “However, it is not signed by my brother. It is signed by a known member of the Thieves’ Guild, and it states that you have a narrow window of opportunity to confront your father when he is alone so you can kill him, at which point you’d inherit his fortune.”
“That’s not the letter I received,” Nicolas said with a serious look in his eyes. “I’m being set up. I’ve never seen the letter you hold in your hands and I didn’t kill him. You have to believe me.”
“I do,” Jason said with pain in his eyes. “But I cannot save you. The head of the guard will judge you when he has time. For now, you’ll stay in a cell in the dungeons.”
The knowledge that his uncle could not help him saddened Nicolas, but he simply nodded and walked down one of the staircases with the guards and was put in one of the first cells that they came across.
The cell was only four feet wide and eight foot long. The only piece of furniture was a bed that hung from the wall, but it had to be more comfortable to sleep on than the ground, so he could not complain.
“Johnny, guard the prisoner,” the leader of the guards said before he unlocked the cuffs and pushed Nicolas into the cell. He closed and locked the door before he left with the other guards.
The only guard that stayed, whose name was apparently Johnny, waited where he was until the others were out of sight. Then, he walked up to the cell door and smiled at Nicolas.
“I have a message for you, Nicolas Edge,” he said with a hint of malice in his voice. “Your former boss wanted me to tell you that you made a mistake by helping an enemy of an Abrams. By doing so, you put the entire guild in jeopardy, and that could not be allowed. Personally, I’m glad you did it though. I was paid well to arrange your imprisonment. That’s why I went to that inn of yours. I had to swap the real letter for one that would get you executed.”
Hearing that made Nicolas want to punch the guard through the bars, but he maintained his position. “Did my father even send the original letter?”
“Yes,” the guard said with a frown. “We planned on faking one, but coincidence had him send one himself instead. I can’t imagine why he wanted to speak with you.”
“He probably realized that I’m a better man than most,” Nicolas said with a flurry of emotion in his eyes. “I’m definitely better than a crooked guard who would accept coin to frame an innocent man.”
Johnny glared at Nicolas. “You’re not guilty of this crime, but you’re not an innocent man. You’ve stolen, you’ve maimed, and you’ve killed. I’ll gladly get paid for bringing you down.”
Nicolas frowned, but he nodded his head once. “Tell the captain of the guard and my uncle the truth. If you do, then I’ll personally prevent Alexander from striking back at you.”
“And if I don’t?” the guard asked, almost laughing.
“Then you will learn that every action has consequences,” Nicolas said as he walked over to the bed and laid down on it. He knew he would need sleep for what he had planned.
Alexander, you will die for what you’ve done. That’s a promise.
Chapter 13
Nicolas sat up and looked through the door of his prison cell. The guard that was supposed to be watching him was sitting against the wall opposite of it. As expected, he had fallen asleep.
Guards are far too predictable… and foolish.
He turned in the bed and stood up as quietly as possible. For his plan to work right, he could not have the guard hearing him and waking up.
I can’t believe they didn’t search me.
He moved his right arm behind him and slipped it underneath his tunic. He could not get far due to the belt cinching his tunic down, but he did not need to. The belt actually kept what he sought in place.
Nicolas pulled loose a small object from beneath his tunic and held it out in front of him. It was only about two inches wide and relatively small around. The object was tightly wrapped in cloth, which caused him to have to work to get the cloth off. As he finished removing the cloth from the object, it was revealed to be a lock pick.
It was somewhat of an open secret that Nicolas was a fence, despite the fact that no one had enough evidence of his actions to have him thrown in the dungeons. However, there was something about him that only a handful of people knew. Before Nicolas became a fence, he had been a thief.
If they had known, they might have had a couple guards watch me. They had no way of knowing that I can do this though.
He walked right up to the door, stuck his hand through the bars of the door, and picked the lock on his cell door within a matter of moments. As if he had done it a thousand times before, he caught the lock and eased it open before he removed it from the door.
With the lock in his hand, he carefully set it on the ground next to him and pushed the door of the cell open.
Stepping through the door, he looked at the guard and frowned. It was tempting to take the guard’s life right then and there. He had set Nicolas up, after all. However, he was determined to prove his point. He was a better man than the guard.
Still, you’ll suffer far worse if I let you live, so I’ll let you see what it’s like to lose everything. They won’t just give you a slap on the wrist for failing to watch me, after all.
With that, he moved down the hall and to the stair case as quietly as he could.
When he reached the top of the stair case, he smiled. There was no one on the ground floor. As long as he was quiet, the guards in the other three underground tunnels would never realize that he had escaped. However, he knew that he needed to make it harder for anyone to recognize him, so he snuck over to his uncle’s desk and carefully pulled open one of the bottom drawers. As expected, there was a black hooded cloak in it.
Uncle is predictable.
Putting the cloak on, he sneaked to the door, pushed it open a little ways, and slipped outside.
Once outside, Nicolas frowned. Escaping was a little too easy, and he had a gut feeling that it was not some sort of trap. It seemed as though they genuinely thought that no one would try to break out of the dungeons.
The only guards on the castle grounds that he could see were the guards at the gates to the castle itself. From his spot, he could tell that the entrance to the castle grounds was not actually guarded at all.
So I just have to sneak out without the guards at the castle seeing me, and then I’m free to do as I wish. This will be easy.
As expected, it was easy to get out of the castle grounds. He just kept low, and his cloak allowed him to blend in with everything else. He had gone to sleep for the simple fact that it would cause him to wake up when it was too dark for anyone to see him. The fact that the guard had been asleep was just a bonus to him.
Once he was out of the castle grounds, he took a deep breath and prepared himself.
He just had to make one more stop before he could accomplish the single goal that drove him at that moment: to kill Alexander Abrams and destroy the Thieves’ Guild of Caldreth.
No one could stop him.
* * * * *
Nicolas stood in front of the unmarked door that led to the Thieves’ Guild’s base. He was wrapped in his cloak with the hood up so that no one would recognize him immediately. In addition to that, he kept the front of it closed. He had a surprise for his old comrades.
He closed his eyes momentarily and simply listened. Everything was quiet in the city, which meant that his escape had not yet been discovered. If everything went according to plan, he would not be discovered until he was no longer inside the city.
His hand reached for the door and pushed it open. As he stepped into the tavern, all eyes turned to him. They were all suspicious of him. It was without a doubt a consequence of entering with the hooded cloak that hid his appearance.
It looks like there are fifteen men here… outside of Alexander. Only five of them will be a challenge. The rest are simple thieves. Looking at the man behind the bar, his thoug
hts changed slightly. Actually, that’s four enforcers, ten thieves, and an out of practice enforcer.
Nicolas stayed quiet as the door shut behind him. As it finished shutting, he spoke in a clear, loud voice.
“I’m here to kill Alexander. Anyone who gets in my way will die, so I’d recommend that you remain where you sit.”
Immediately, everyone in the room recognized his voice, rose to their feet, and drew their swords. The only one who was not armed was the bartender, who had long since stopped carrying a weapon.
“I’m not going to give any of you a second chance,” Nicolas said as he threw his hooded cloak off to the side, revealing that he had a cutlass at his left hip. His right hand immediately slipped under the basket guard of the sword and grasped the hilt.
In a single smooth motion, Nicolas stepped forward, drew the sword from its scabbard, and brought it in a swift arc. The bartender collapsed to the ground as blood came pouring out of the cut that Nicolas left across his neck.
Before anyone could react, Nicolas had stabbed and cut down the five men that had been standing at the bar. The entire time, his form was swift and smooth.
Looking at the remaining nine men, he smiled.
“No one told you the truth about me, did they?” Nicolas asked, actually sounding amused. “From the day I turned ten years old to the day my father learned I was a member of the Thieves’ Guild, I had daily lessons with a master swordsman. I was better than either one of my brothers, but I never really enjoyed fighting. I preferred to just sit back and relax.”
It was easy to see that many of the men before him were unnerved by the prospect that he had been trained by a master swordsman. It was not a big surprise, in all reality, however. After all, he had cut down six men in the space of three seconds.
He sighed, shaking his head. “To be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever wanted to fight. Someone in this guild had my father murdered and had the blame pinned on me. I could have understood it if someone had him killed. I’m a noble, so I understand that things like that happen. I would have still felt betrayed though. Framing me for the murder, however, is a far more complete act of betrayal. For it, the guild itself will bleed.”
Immediately, the remaining five thieves charged towards him with their short swords brandished.
Without a trace of emotion on his face, Nicolas picked up a bottle of mead from the bar and threw it at the charging men.
As expected, they tried to hit it… and they succeeded it.
Alcohol splashed out of the broken bottle, distracting the thieves just long enough for Nicolas to make his move.
Unlike most swordsmen, Nicolas was not too fond of slashing attacks. He preferred to stab his opponents. A single stab into the right part of the body could kill a man… or five.
Within moments, Nicolas was facing four of Alexander’s enforcers. They were little more than hired thugs, but they were what kept Alexander in power. Without their muscle, and that of the other fifteen enforcers in the city, he had very little real power.
Contrary to what they might have thought, Nicolas had no intention of seeking out the other enforcers of the guild after he dealt with them. He knew the guild better than anyone outside of Alexander. As such, he knew that no one would be able to keep the guild together. The remaining members of the Thieves’ Guild would likely die from a power struggle.
Acting on instinct, Nicolas batted the stab of an enforcer’s sword away and decapitated him with a smooth swing. In terms of raw skill with a blade, Alexander was the only person in the guild who could match Nicolas. He proved his skill by cutting down the other three enforcers with the same ease that he used to take down the first.
As the last one fell, the door to the backrooms of the tavern opened, and Alexander Abrams stepped through with a cutlass in his hand.
“I wish you had not betrayed the guild to an enemy of my brother,” Alexander said with a frown as he held his sword out in front of him. “If you had not done so, you could have stood at my side. You might have even inherited the guild.”
“If you were to let me stand at your side, it would only be so you could put a dagger in my back,” Nicolas said casually. “You’re a ruthless man, Alexander. I’ve never trusted you, even though Katie did.”
“I never wanted either of you dead, but the choice was taken out of my hands,” Alexander said with a sigh. “By now, Katie and your friend are both most likely dead. My brother was hired to kill them both, after all.”
“Good,” Nicolas said with a grin. “I was worried Caleb got in over his head when he went to deal with them alone. If they were after Katie too, then they’re probably together right now. I would not bet against them when they’re together, even if they were up against the King’s Army.”
“You’re a fool,” Alexander said as he shook his head. “There is no way that they could possibly stand a chance against my brother, let alone his subordinates.”
That earned a laugh from Nicolas. “So long as Caleb wields the Sword of Kirakath, he shall not fall in battle. I’ve seen him in action with it, and it’s a sight to behold.”
“The Sword of Kirakath… he has it?” Alexander asked, visibly paling.
“Yes,” Nicolas said, suddenly intrigued. “Do you know of it?”
“Of course I do, you impudent fool,” Alexander said, visibly angered. “The Sword of Kirakath was the sword wielded by the legendary Knight of Kirakath during the Arcadian Rebellion. With it, the link between prophecy and mankind was torn asunder. You have no idea how dangerous that sword is. Everyone who has wielded it before now has changed the face of the world… none more so than its first wielder, Archmage Kyran.”
“Archmage Kyran wielded the Sword of Kirakath?” Nicolas asked, surprised by that statement, along with everything else Alexander had said. Archmage Kyran was the single most powerful mage in history. It was he who united the known world into the Kyran Empire and invented more than half of the spells known to man.
“I must warn my brother,” Alexander said as he pointed his sword at Nicolas. “But first, I will kill you.”
“You may try,” Nicolas said as he dashed forward.
“Gladly,” Alexander said as he rushed forward as well.
Sparks flew as Nicolas and Alexander crossed swords. It appeared that the speed and strength behind their attacks had been equal, but it was almost immediately clear that Nicolas had an advantage.
Nicolas angled his blade and stepped to the right, causing Alexander to stumble forward. Immediately, he struck Alexander in the side of his face with the basket guard of his cutlass as though he was punching an enemy.
The sickening sound of bone crunching filled the room immediately. Not only did the hit break Alexander’s left cheek bone, but the metal of the basket guard cut into his face.
Alexander fell to the ground in pain as the left side of his face was covered in blood. It was easy to see that the strike to the head did a great deal of damage to him. His eyes seemed to actually glaze over momentarily.
In that single moment, Nicolas ran his cutlass through Alexander’s chest and stepped back.
“Alexander, I hope you suffer in the abyss for all that you’ve done,” Nicolas said as he walked away from the corpse of his former boss. The sword was still buried in Alexander’s chest. “With your death, the Thieves’ Guild is no more. The streets of Caldreth will be much safer.”
In retrospect, Nicolas would look upon the events of that night in a different light. It was not the day that he gained vengeance upon Alexander and destroyed the Thieves’ Guild. It was the day that he took his first step down the path to becoming the hero he was meant to be.
But he was not viewing it in retrospect at that moment.
Taking a deep breath, Nicolas walked over to the door, put his hooded cloak back on, and departed the tavern. He still had to get outside of the city walls before his escape was discovered.
He knew that he could not just walk outside of the main gates of the city,
but that did not mean he could not get out easily. There were plenty of other ways inside and outside of the city, especially for someone who knew about the tunnels underneath Caldreth.
Looking off to the distance, he said, “I’m sorry I failed you, Uncle.”
With that, he made his way down the street.
* * * * *
In the study of the Edge family’s manor, Jason Edge was standing before the window. His eyes were on Castle Caldreth in the distance.
It seems I’ve inherited the status of the patriarch of my family. I never wanted to have this position at all. Still, this does put me in an excellent position for the future.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Take care Nicolas. I hope you have the sense to go somewhere other than the Black Raven Inn, at least at first.”
Rise of the Champion (The Sword of Kirakath Omnibus #1) Page 28