13
The next morning, Kate came to my room to help me get ready for the day, but when I told her I would be wearing my advisor’s uniform, she turned around and looked at me with sadness in her eyes, almost like I had insulted her. I allowed her to help me with my hair, so she tied it neatly in a braid and finished it with small flowers in the folds. It wasn’t normal to add things into my braid, but she looked happy doing it so I didn’t say a word. She followed me out of the room as I rushed to meet King Jarrett and Malik in the main foyer. I gave Kate a small thank you before running down the halls.
The main foyer was empty when I arrived. I stayed close to the stairs and waited. After an hour, I grew tired of waiting. I wandered around the castle, looking for Malik and the kings. After climbing up and down stairs, I found my way into the west wing of the castle. I noticed the staff were scarce around the halls. Everything became a lot more intricately detailed, the tapestries on the walls more elaborate and beautiful. I wondered where I was.
“Miss Callie?” a voice startled me from behind.
I turned to find Queen Penelope giving me a questioning look. Now that she was standing, I could see that she was shorter than me. Her long, black hair was down and curled to perfection, not a strand out of place. However, she looked like she was in a daze. Her eyes were glassy as she stared directly at me. Her body was rigid, and she stood straight up with her hands beside her.
“Queen Penelope, I am sorry if I disturbed you. I got lost while looking for King Jarrett and Malik.”
She lifted her right arm and pointed down the hallway I had come through before. “They are down in the dungeon. King Rathgar is taking him on a tour.”
I couldn’t linger there with the queen any longer; I was already late to my duties of being near the king.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I gave a small bow and ran off towards the way she pointed. I dashed around anyone that came in my way back down to the main floor and found the stairs that lead to the dungeon. The stairs spiralled down until I could no longer see any sunlight coming from the top. Whatever or whoever they had down there were surely there to be forgotten. When I finally made it to the end, I could faintly hear voices coming down one of the corridors. I followed the voice until it became louder. It was Malik. I quietly followed along, taking in my surroundings. All of the doors down the hallway were solid metal and had multiple bolts to lock the person in. In the centre of the doors was a ledge with a sliding window, and on this side, I could see a latch with lock on it. This was obviously how they gave the prisoners their food.
The hallway was only lit by a few gas lamps which cast a yellow glow over the walls and floor, making it hard for me to see in front of me. As I made it closer to the voices, I could start to pick up a few little things they were saying.
“This set up is magnificent, Rathgar. You will need to tell me how you did it for after the trade is complete,” King Jarrett said.
“Of course. Now, let’s take a look at the product so you can see what you will be in for,” King Rathgar replied.
They started walking away, and as I stepped closer to follow them, I tripped and fell to the ground hard. The noise echoed throughout the hallway, and the king’s footsteps stopped for a moment before returning back the way they came and towards me. I scrambled to get off the dirty floor and move away so they wouldn’t think I was spying on them, but it was too late. The three of them came into view, and I stared into the disappointed eyes of King Jarrett and Malik. They stood there with their arms crossed and waited for me to speak. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. Had my cover been blown?
“I’m so glad I finally found you. I waited in the foyer and nobody showed, so I got worried. I looked all over the castle for you until Queen Penelope told me you would be down here. I heard muffled voices so I followed them and got lost in the dark and tripped over this chair.”
“Callie, I will not be needing your services today so you may have the day off to do whatever you’d like. You can go into the town and go shopping or just look around. We will meet again in the dining room for dinner,” King Jarrett said with no emotion on his face.
They all stood there until I turned and walked away. Something strange was going on. What product could the kings have been talking around in a dungeon? Did it have anything to do with the trade? Whatever it was, I knew I needed answers, and I knew I’d only find out the truth from the king or Malik. I needed to find a way for them to trust me and let me in.
After my run in with the kings in the dungeon, I returned to my room and got changed. I didn’t want to walk around town in my advisor’s uniform. I didn’t know anything about this town or how they felt about their king or any other kings. I didn’t want to bother Kate with helping me dress again, so I dressed in my simplest clothes: a plain black top with black pants and boots. I grabbed my plain black cloak I had kept and left my hair in the braid Kate had done.
I picked up my pack and made sure I had some money in case I came across anything I needed to buy, and I stuck my daggers into the holsters and covered them with my cloak. When I was ready, I made my way to the front of the castle. The guards watched me and wished me a safe trip into the town. Their tone surprised me, almost like they were genuinely worried about me going. Since the castle was down the road from the outskirts of town and the main road was only for horses, I had to follow the small dirt road through the edge of the forest. The closer I got to town, I started to smell something putrid lingering in the air. When I made it to the edge of Hanra, I found out why. Although when we rode into the castle city we rode straight through the city centre, the outskirts showed something completely different. The cottages and houses were crumbling, and some didn’t even have roofs on them. The streets were lined with sick people with either nowhere to live or their houses were too destroyed to hold them anymore.
The sight of the city outskirts was horrifying. I had heard about things like this in my travels, but I had never seen it before. Did King Rathgar know his city was in shambles or did he not even care?
I quickly walked down the street that lead into the centre of the city, passing people that stared at me with hunger and pain in their eyes. Up ahead, I saw a group of kids sitting on the stoop of an almost flattened building. Their eyes lit up as soon as they saw me walking towards them, and when I got within range of them, they jumped up and ran over to me.
“Please, miss, can you spare some golds or even silvers? We have been starving for days,” one kid spoke up while the others gave me their saddest looks.
They looked desperate, but their leader had a cunning look in his eye. I knew instantly that if I took out my money bag, they would jump me, take the money and run off. Luckily, I always kept a few golds and silvers in my pants pocket. I pulled out two golds and five silvers and handed them to the leader of the kids. Their eyes lit up, and he hugged me tight. I shifted my body so that he couldn’t reach into my pack while I hugged him back.
“Thank you, miss.”
As they turned to walk away I remembered some rumours about the town of Hanra. I called the kids’ leader back over, but they all followed.
“I was wondering if you could give me some information about this town,” I asked.
“What do you mean? What information are you looking for?”
My question made the boy inquisitive. Years back, I heard that an old friend of mine from the assassin guild made his way to Hanra, but where he took up residence was almost impossible to find. That was when the rumours began. Word got around that there was someone in Hanra taking on hopeless cases that no other assassin would take. It was said that there was only one way to contact or find this person but those never popped up in the rumours.
“Have you heard of a man named Emil? I’m an old friend of his, and I wanted to know if I could find him here in Hanra.”
The kid shook his head. “I’ve never heard of someone of that name.”
“Are you sure? He is known
for helping people around Hanra. I thought he would be a famous name around here. I’m sure I’ll find him. Thank you for your help, kids.”
I turned and began walking towards town when I felt a small tug on my tunic. I looked down to find the kid latched onto the back of me. He motioned for me to get closer to him. I knelt down on the ground and leaned in.
“Follow the blue runes.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want to find your friend? Follow the blue runes,” the kid repeated. I still had no idea what he meant, but I took it as him telling me where to find Emil.
“Thank you for your help.”
I pulled out another gold from my pocket and handed it to the kid as a thank you for the help, even though the message wasn’t really direct, I took off down the road, and ten minutes later, I found myself in the centre of Hanra. The streets were bustling around me, and everywhere I looked were people with carts selling everything I could think of and kids playing in and out of streets and alleyways. Flowers lined the front of every house and cottage I could see. It was a beautiful city, but nothing distracted me from how bad the outskirts were in comparison. Did the king really not care how the poor lived? Did he really only care that the main city looked good to reflect on him?
I strolled around the main streets and looked at all the carts and shops I came across but always keeping my eyes out for blue runes. After a while, I wondered if the kid only gave me that information to get more money from me and that the information was fake.
I turned out of a small connecting alley, and someone bumped right into me, knocking me to the ground. I apologised for not looking where I was going, and the person ran off in the other direction. As I moved my pack closer to me and placed my hand on the ground to lift myself up, I spotted something intriguing. On the stone paving the street, something was etched into it. A blue arrow in the form of a rune pointing down the next alley. Was this what the kid meant by blue runes? I picked myself up off the floor and followed it, and sure enough, it lead to another and another when finally the last rune pointed down some stairs in a dark alley.
Either this was a sick joke and someone lead me there to kill me, or it was true and I would find Emil inside.
I lightly knocked on the door and waited, but no one answered. Above the door was a small window, just big enough for me to climb in through. I climbed up the edge of the stairs and pried the window open enough to shove my pack through. I lifted myself up and hooked my legs through the other side and slid myself through. When I dropped down, I found myself in a dark room. I picked up my pack, but before I could take a look around, I heard the cocking of a gun in the darkness.
“Mal, you always were resourceful.”
Being assassins, we were trained to be able to see better in the darkness, but after coming into a dark room from outside in a bright day, my eyes still needed time to adjust. Although hearing the familiar voice of my old friend comforted me, I didn’t hear the sound of the gun being uncocked. After what felt like a lifetime, a golden glow filled the room and revealed Emil standing before me. He was a tall, slender yet muscular man. His hair was cut shorter than I remembered, and it was now loose and ragged, clinging to parts of his face. His grey eyes always left me lost; it was a trait that I had only ever seen in him. I stood there just staring at him like I had when I had first met him over ten years ago when I first joined the assassin guild.
His expressionless face stared right back, and he still pointed the gun at me. After another moment, he uncocked the gun and lowered it.
“What are you doing here, Mal?”
A frown appeared on my face. “That wasn’t the hello I was expecting.”
“Did you think you could come here and we would just pick up where we left off five years ago? Remember, you left without any word and then sent me a letter that still didn’t explain why you left.”
I sighed. “I know, and I don’t expect things to go back to how they were. I’m not really here for personal reasons, although it is nice to see you after so long, Emil. Do I at least get a better hello?”
A smile took over his face, his eyes lit up and he held his arms wide. I couldn’t help but smile back. I ran towards him, and he enveloped me in a big hug. Emil and I dated for two years while we were in the guild. Just after I turned twenty, I left without any word. My training was done, and I couldn’t stay there and hold myself back. I didn’t want to hold Emil back either. He was my first love, and although I broke his heart, he would always be my greatest friend.
“What do you mean you’re not here for personal reasons?” Emil asked.
“I came through the outskirts of town, and I noticed how bad it was there. Does King Rathgar know about it?”
He sighed and took a seat in one of the armchairs behind him. “Not only does he know about it, he caused it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t be certain with it, but that’s my theory. Something strange is happening in this town, Mal, and I haven’t been able to find out what it is. I can’t get close enough to the king to find out anything, and no one in the main city knows anything, or if they do, they won’t speak a word out of line against King Rathgar.”
I paused for a moment. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. No wonder I had an awful feeling about King Rathgar and not only because he was a creep.
“Do you think this has anything to do with the trade he has going on with King Jarrett?”
He thought about it for a second. “The problems did start around that time. So there is a possibility it could be tied to that.”
I didn’t want to say anything, but I needed to, though I hated breaking my cover. “I’m here on a mission. Well, actually, I’m here in Hanra with King Jarrett. I can’t give you the specifics, but I’ve been tasked to watch the king. If I find out that this trade has anything to do with what is happening here in the outskirts, I will contact you. For any reason you need to contact me first, send me a letter in King Jarrett’s castle. I am posing as his advisor under the name Callie.”
Emil shook his head. “I sure hope you are being paid well for this job. Getting on the bad side of the king could get you killed for treason.”
“I know, but if he is hiding something, I will find out what it is.”
I looked over at the clock hanging on Emil’s wall. It was getting late, and I still needed to get back to the castle and get ready for the dinner. I said a quick goodbye to Emil and told him I would be in touch. I quickly left the building and retraced my steps to find my way back out of Hanra. I raced along every path I travelled until I made it back to the outskirts of town.
When I finally made it back to the castle, Kate was already in my room waiting for me. On the armoire was another dress, one I guessed King Rathgar wanted me to wear. I gave Kate the same look I did the night before, and she responded with a sympathetic one. I sighed and allowed her to help me. The dress was worse than the other one; it had no back and just stopped where the small of my back ended. The front was extremely low cut and just covered the top of my breasts. Kate tightened the straps which held the dress on my body, which made it hard to move, but she ensured me it would be okay. She fixed my braid and made it look neat again before ushering me out the door before I was late.
Kate helped me down the stairs and towards the dining hall but left me as I reached the doors. The wait staff opened the doors and announced my entrance. As soon as I stepped foot in the room, King Rathgar’s eyes were straight on me. King Jarrett and Malik were already seated by the time I arrived.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” I said as I noticed the seat next to King Rathgar was empty again.
I sighed and bit back my urge to run and took my place next to him. He placed his hand on my back again and helped me sit. My body shuddered at his creepy touch. His skin was cold and rough against the small of my back.
“My dear Callie, that dress looks divine on you,” he whispered.
Silence came over the table as we wait
ed for our food. The wait staff filled our glasses with wine, and as they did, King Jarrett stood from his chair.
“Malik, Callie. Our business here is done for now. I must return back home to start the preparations for our side of the trade. Tomorrow, we begin our return home.”
14
I was shocked. I didn’t expect King Jarrett to announce our leave so soon. No one spoke anymore about the subject through dinner. The silence was eerie, almost fake, and as soon as everyone finished eating, we took our leave. I had to walk slowly back to my room as my dress didn’t allow me to make any fast movements. As I glided through the halls, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end; the feeling of someone following me quickly flicked through my body. I looked around and saw no one there, but the feeling wouldn’t leave. I tried walking a bit quicker and almost tripped over my skirts.
When I finally made it back to my room, I stopped in front of the door and placed my hand on the doorknob. A hand grabbed my bare shoulder and startled me. I jumped and turned to see who had snuck up on me and found the face of King Rathgar.
“Your Highness, you scared me.”
He removed his hand from my shoulder and looked me up and down. I could almost feel his mind imagining my body underneath my dress. I stepped closer to my door, and my back pressed against the cold wood. My heart was racing, I needed to get away and fast.
“Miss Callie, I am sorry for starling you. I wanted to ask if you would like the pleasure of my company tonight before you leave tomorrow.”
My heart sank into the pit of my stomach and left me nauseous at his words. I couldn’t even imagine how he came to the conclusion that I had wanted his company at all. I knew I had been with men before, but that didn’t mean I wanted to jump into bed with just anyone, even a creepy king.
Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection Page 66