Varg searched frantically for an idea. Oliva was in certain danger now, but now that she was separated from the other assassins, Varg knew they were open targets. His mind worked quick and spun up a plan, then he shot a glance to Milea, who nodded in return.
The half-elf quickly armed herself with her bow and nocked an arrow. She carefully took aim, then looked back to Varg and awaited his signal. With Frost Fang ready before him and Erril brandishing her daggers, Varg nodded to Milea again. She loosed her arrow and before it pierced the throat of her target, the three dived out of their hiding places and charged into battle.
CHAPTER 12
THE CULTISTS WERE IMMEDIATELY caught off guard by the ambush, so Varg seized the moment by madly slashing Frost Fang through the cultists. The hooded thugs had no time to bleed as their wounds froze where the great axe's blade contacted their skin. The frostbitten wounds spread and poisoned the blood of the cultists, given them a quick, but agonizing death.
“I want your weapon,” Erril called to Varg from above. She and Milea then dropped from the balcony onto the ground below without missing a beat.
“Now that the cultists are taken care of, we need to figure out how to rescue Oliva,” Milea said.
“Let's go,” Varg said.
The trio ventured into the archway, which led to another darkened corridor. Ahead of them, Varg could hear the Serpent speaking, so he held Frost Fang in front of him to prepare to block and carefully inched forward as he began to see light around a corner.
Before long, Varg could make out Jin's words.
“It's not here either,” Jin said with a hint of disdain in his voice.
Varg held a hand out to halt Milea and Erril before he peeked around the corner. The Serpent stood near the back of the wall where a strange gem sat on a pedestal on another raised platform. Tain stood near the foot of the platform with Oliva still in his grasp.
“So what now?” Tain asked.
“The Lerington family apparently guarded yet another forgery, so the girl is no longer of any use to me,” the Serpent responded. He then nodded in Oliva's direction and said, “Therefore, she must be disposed of.”
“You want me to kill her?” Tain asked, though it sounded more like in protest.
“Is there a problem?” the Serpent replied.
“I was only supposed to kidnap her. Killing her was not part of the deal,” Tain said.
The Serpent walked up to Oliva, released her from Tain's grasp, and pulled her towards the platform. Once on the top step, he looked at Tain and said, “Then you will take care of our guests while I dispose of this one.” Varg's heart skipped a beat, at which point the Serpent added, “You may come out of hiding now, Wolf.”
Varg didn't see the point in hiding anymore, so with his battleaxe in hand, he marched into the chamber within Jin's sight against the protests from Milea.
The Serpent smiled again. “That's better. Now how about the rest of you?”
Milea and Erril grudgingly stepped out of the shadows to face the Serpent.
“Why you must be the half-elf who has been traveling with the Wolf, and I assume you are the girl that escaped my fortress in Wild Valley,” Jin said to them.
“Release the girl, Jin,” Varg commanded.
Jin blinked, apparently taken aback that someone would dare call him by his name. “I do not believe we have met, so it wouldn't be proper for you to speak to me so casually.”
“Release the girl,” Varg repeated, brazenly ignoring Jin's irritation.
“I cannot do that,” Jin replied. “She has seen too much and could prove to be a thorn in my side like you. I know you all right, the famed White Wolf of the Tundra. You have been interfering far too much in my affairs and I feel I must make an example of you.”
Jin looked at Tain again. “Kill them.”
“Not until we renegotiate our deal,” Tain replied.
“Why must you make this difficult, Tain?” Jin sighed.
“I am taking no further action until we have an arrangement,” Tain snapped.
“There is no room for negotiations. You do the job as I tell you or you get nothing,” Jin shrugged.
“You owe me for all the work I've done thus far,” Tain growled.
“You really believe that you have a right to tell the Serpent what he must do?” Jin asked.
“I am not below you as you might think,” Tain argued.
“Oh but you are,” Jin taunted. “You followed all of my orders so willingly until now. You were willing to kill so many others for me and all I had to do was wave a bag of gold in your face, like a master tempting his hound with a chop of meat.”
Then Tain muttered something in a foreign language that Varg had never heard, though by the tone in the water elf's voice, he knew it was nothing pleasant.
“Calm your language, Tain. Your words are empty to me. All that matters is the Dawn and those worthy enough to live for it,” Jin said.
“What does it mean?” Varg interrupted. “'The Serpent shall lead the worthy to the Dawn.' What does that mean?”
Jin glanced at Varg and replied, “Only a chosen people are worthy enough to see the Dawn. I have yet to determine whether or not you are worthy, Wolf.”
“My name is Varg. You could at least get that correct,” Varg corrected.
“Very well, Varg,” Jin replied. “Seeing that my once loyal servant will not obey my command to kill you, I have no choice.”
Jin held Oliva closer to him with her back against his chest, drew his hidden blade again, and held it to her neck.
“Drop your weapons,” Jin ordered.
Varg growled, but complied. Frost Fang fell from his hands onto the stone floor with a loud clank! Milea also removed her quiver, bow, and sword and followed suit. Erril stared blankly, but a warning shot from Milea prompted her to drop her blades as well.
“Very good,” Jin said with a pleased smile.
Then he addressed Erril. “You will come with me in her place.”
The girl took several steps back, then spat, “I will not.”
“What do you want with her?” Milea asked.
“My reasons are my own, but I can assure you she will be a guest of honor in my hall,” Jin said, with little comfort.
“I won't move until you tell me why you want me,” Erril countered. Then she added, “Is it because of my powers?”
Jin laughed. “All will be explained in time, child. I can promise you, though, that you will have a far better life without those wretched fools holding you back.”
“If you want me to join you, forget it,” Erril spat.
“If you want Oliva here to live, I suggest you comply,” Jin warned.
“And what if I don't care?” Erril said.
“Erril!” Milea shouted.
The girl looked at Milea and replied, “Oh stop it, Milea! What use is there to care about others when others don't care about you?”
“I care.” Everyone quickly looked to Oliva, who stunned even Jin by her sudden comment. The noble girl cleared her throat and spoke again. “I care about you, Erril. Which is why I can't let you go with the Serpent in my place.”
Before Jin could react, Oliva began to emit a strange aura from her body. The energy from her body released, which broke the Serpent's hold on her and gave her the opportunity to run. Oliva darted out of danger before Jin could grabbed her again and Milea stepped in front of her with her blade drawn to prevent him from coming near her.
Jin straightened his demeanor and smiled again. “It would seem you caught me off guard. I'll allow that to go unpunished, as I'm short on time and really must be going.”
“You aren't escaping, coward,” Varg spat.
Jin laughed. “I wanted to spare you a horrible fate, but if you insist, then I would be more than happy to lend you my blade.”
Varg brandished his battleaxe and charged forward. Before he could land an attack, Jin pulled a long, strange sword from the sash on his robe to block. Frost Fang collided wi
th the curved blade, but did no damage. Varg figured the sword must have magical qualities to stand up to his own weapon. He swung the axe again, but Jin easily blocked every attack. Varg tried swinging harder in an attempt to hinder Jin's hold against him, but all it did was slow Varg down.
“How entertaining,” Jin hissed.
With a quick swipe of his sword, Jin slashed the skin on Varg's upper arm when he tried to block. Varg took several steps back in shock, for not many could draw blood on him so easily. Though he was startled by this, Varg charged again, ready for whatever else the Serpent would throw his way. He was met by a strange force that came from the palm of Jin's hand. The dark force halted the half-blood in his tracks and held him in place. Then with a wave of the Serpent's hand, Varg was flung backwards carelessly and landed on his back.
The air was knocked out of Varg's lungs and his vision momentarily darkened. It wasn't until he heard the metal of Frost Fang scrape against the stone floor of the temple that he recomposed himself. He looked around and spotted the blade several yards away against the wall. With no time to reclaim it, Varg hopped of and faced his attacker with bare fists. He dodged another set of Jin's shadows that slithered along the ground towards him and countered by lunging forward again. Desperate to gain the offensive position, Varg loosed a large icicle towards Jin. The swift fiend dodged it and every other one that Varg sent his way, and it soon became apparent that Milea, Oliva, and Erril were faring no better.
Jin finally stopped in the middle of the room and lowered his blade. Then he sighed and said, “I grow bored of this little game. It's time to end this.”
Jin sheathed his sword and began to wave his hands in a circular motion and chant in a mysterious tongue. A ball of pure shadow formed between his hands and grew rapidly with every passing second. The energy from this corrupt orb thinned the air and left Varg and his companions gasping for air.
Jin stopped chanting and the ball stopped growing. With one quick motion, Jin released the built up energy unto his foes.
Varg instantly felt the life drain from his body. He fell to the ground expecting death, but only found himself weakened to the point of being unable to move. He managed to turn his head enough to see that his comrades suffered the same fate. He tried desperately to get up and rush to their aid, but it was no use.
Jin walked around the room and observed what he'd done. He no longer took an offensive stance, which made Varg wonder whether or not he would kill them. The answer came when Jin chuckled and said, “I believe I've delivered the message properly. No need to stain my best robes by killing you.”
Varg was relieved, but it didn't last. Jin soon pulled another crystal from his pocket and tossed it to form another portal against the nearby wall. Jin approached the portal, but before he walked through, a familiar voice sounded.
“We aren't done yet, Jin,” Tain said. The water elf walked forward from his resting spot against the wall. “You still owe me for my services.”
“Your services included obeying my every command, which you did not,” Jin countered.
“If you don't pay me, I will not hesitate to exact revenge,” Tain said.
“If you would truly raise your blade to me after witnessing the lesson I taught these wretches, then you are a fool,” Jin said. “You are no more than a mercenary for hire who bloodies your blade for coin. You are simply a means to an end, and you know you could never stand a chance against me.”
Tain stared daggers deep into Jin's flesh. A storm brewed behind his sea colored eyes and threatened to drown the Serpent. Tain, however, stood his ground firmly and vowed, “This is not over.”
“Yes it is, Tain,” Jin said with a smile.
With that, the Serpent then walked through the portal and disappeared from sight.
After a hazy recovery, Varg was finally able to rise to his feet. He looked over to his companions and said, “Is everyone all right?”
While still on her back, Erril moaned, “Could be better.”
Milea sat up and held her head in the palm of her hand. “I never want to experience that again.”
“At least everyone is safe,” Oliva said groggily. “Why didn't he kill us?”
“To send a message,” Varg said as he held a hand to Erril to help her stand. “He wants us to go out and tell everyone about his immense power.”
“If he's really that strong, then we don't stand a chance. No one does,” Erril commented. “I say we quit now while we still have the chance.
“I refuse to quit after coming this far,” Varg said.
“You're actually going to keep fighting Jin after he nearly killed you?” Erril countered.
“I never give up on a job,” Varg said with pride. “Conley hired me to stop the Shadow Hand, and that's exactly what I intend to do.”
Varg paused briefly to observe the somber expressions of his comrades, then continued, “If any of you want to quit now, I won't pass judgement.”
“What exactly do you hope to accomplish by undertaking this suicidal quest, Varg?”
Varg exchanged a glance with his elf companion, then he sighed and answered. “Perhaps I could simply go back to being a bounty hunter, wandering for the rest of my life. As much as I could get by for as long as I did, I can no longer accept having nothing to show for my life besides a few beat up criminals and beast heads adorning a noble's wall. I want to fight Jin and the Shadow Hand, and I know it's much to ask, but I want all of you to join me.”
There was a brief pause, then Milea said, “You really think you can find purpose by risking your life like this, Varg?”
“I know it doesn't make sense,” Varg said.
“Actually, I understand your reasoning perfectly,” Milea replied.
“You will join me, then?” Varg asked with a hopeful heart.
Milea nodded. “Strange as it is, I feel compelled to follow you. You and I are at our best when we stick together. I am with you until the end, my friend.”
Varg smiled. “Thank you, Milea.” He then turned to Oliva and Erril and said, “I promise to see you both safely to Ironbarrow. After that, you may do as you wish.”
Oliva looked to the ground timidly, then answered, “It would be a disgrace to my grandfather's name if I withdrew from this misson. Therefore, I wish to join you in your quest to defeat the Shadow Hand.”
“Glad to have you with us, Oliva,” Varg said. Then he turned to Erril and added, “What say you?”
The girl studied Varg, then answered, “I think it's a bad idea, but I need to know what I am and what Jin wanted with me. It's not like I have anything left to lose.”
Varg nodded. “Then it's settled, we will return to Ironbarrow, tell C0nley what we've learned, and figure out what to do from there.”
Suddenly a familiar voice said, “You're all fools.”
Tain's sudden statement startled everyone, as they'd forgotten he was there. He leaned his back against the wall with his arms crossed and observed the scene until that moment when he decided to speak up.
“No one asked your opinion,” Erril remarked.
“Watch that tongue of yours, child. I've been known to cut them off,” Tain countered.
“Please, let's not fight,” Oliva said.
“Look around Princess,” Erril remarked, “there isn't much else to do.”
“Settle down,” Milea said. “We need to make haste to Ironbarrow. Standing around arguing won't get us there.”
“Do you really think you stand a chance against Jin, especially after what he did to you?” Tain remarked.
“I plan to go down fighting, if that's the case,” Varg replied.
“Do you plan to drag your 'friends' along with you?” Tain rebuked.
“Please, stop,” Oliva cried.
Tain eyed her curiously, then said, “What is it with you?”
Oliva stepped towards him timidly, then looked him in the eyes and said, “You have a reason to fight Jin now too, correct?”
Tain scoffed. “I do, but I
know better than to fight him directly. I'll get my pay from him one way or another, whether it's in coin or if one of his shipments just so happens to go missing.”
“Would you be willing to join up with a group of people who were trying to bring an end to his organization and find justice for those who he's harmed?” Oliva said.
Tain rolled his eyes. “If you think I'll join you and your merry bunch of warriors to fight the good fight and save the day, you're wrong. I only fight for coin and I fight alone.”
Oliva paused and entered her thoughts, then she said with a confident grin, “If it's coin you want, then I can provide that.”
Tain exchanged a glance with her, then muttered, “I'm listening.”
“Before my grandfather died, he assured me that he left me a sum of money in his will. If you will lend your services to me and my team mates, then that money is yours. All of it,” Oliva explained.
“Do you really expect me to just take your word that the money even exists? Before I even set foot out of this temple with you, I expect some sort of payment,” Tain countered.
Oliva stepped back, apparently offended that he would even suggest she was lying. She then sighed and removed a jeweled amulet from her neck. “This the necklace my grandfather gave me when I left home to study magic in Balik. It's yours if you come with us.”
“Oliva, are you really willing to give up such a precious gift just to hire a mercenary?” Milea said. “Especially one who kidnapped you?”
“I want to bring justice to my grandfather, and I feel that with Tain on our side we stand more of a chance,” Oliva reasoned.
Tain approached Oliva and took the amulet from her hands. He examined it, then when he determined it was valuable, stuffed it in his pocket and said, “You have a deal.”
“Very well,” Oliva said ruefully. “Follow us to Ironbarrow and I will see to it that my grandfather's affairs are dealt with, then you will receive my inheritance.”
“Also, if there's anything you know about the Shadow Hand, feel free to tell us,” Varg added. “But first, I think Oliva deserves to know something.” Tain raised an eyebrow, and so Varg turned to Oliva and added, “It's about how Tain here was able to gain access to your school.”
The White Wolf (Half-Breed Book 1) Page 14