The Killing Grounds

by Simon Corn

  Lord Sirap was up quickly and stood in front of Alara as she climbed to her feet. “I can’t let you kill her Du Preeze,” he said as the two assassins began to circle each other looking for an opening. Alara’s body ached, her hands bled profusely from the damage done by the skylight and Lord Black's blood only made matters worse. The hilt of the blade felt slippery in her hand and she doubted she had enough power to take Lord Sirap down.

  “And why is that?” she asked, playing for time.

  “Everyone answers to someone,” he replied tossing his blade from hand to hand.

  She looked to where Lord Osari had been lying, but he was gone and she panicked. Lord Sirap saw the direction of her stare and made a move toward Lady Black, but Alara threw her body at him and knocked him to the floor. She pounced on the assassin’s chest, but he was too strong and used his feet to push her away and regain his footing. The room was now silent and Alara managed to hurl a blade in his direction, but it slipped from her grip and missed the target. Lord Sirap slipped on the blood from Lord Black's body and fell to one knee. Alara used the break in action to cast a healing spell in the hope that it would reinvigorate her enough to carry on fighting, but as she looked up she saw Lord Sirap standing still, holding both hands out with his palms facing Lady Black. Alara followed his stare and saw her Lord standing behind Lady Black with an arm around her body and a blade under her chin.

  The woman looked horrified and cried out, “Sirap help me!”

  Lord Sirap regained his composure, “Osari wait, we can work this out.”

  Lord Osari grunted a reply that Alara couldn’t hear, but she could sense he was becoming weaker by the second and sent a healing wave in his direction, but the cast was weak and failed before it reached its target. She watched as her Lord's eyes began to open and close and the grip on his blade weakened and it dropped from his hand as he stumbled backwards and collapsed.

  Lord Sirap charged toward his mistress and Alara launched herself after him. She leapt over an upturned chair and as her feet hit the ground on the far side she heard a blade rip through the air next to her left ear, she automatically tried to move out of the way, but the blade was never meant for her and found its real target.

  Lord Sirap dropped to the floor with the knife protruding from between his shoulder blades, “Lady Black run!” He managed to get back up onto one knee crawled toward his mistress.

  Alara looked back to see Gideon grimace and hold his stomach trying to stop the flow of blood, whether he did it for her or just to finish his job she’d never know, but as she turned back toward Lady Black time seemed to slow down. The Matriarch was rooted to the spot with a look of terror on her face. Alara pulled in a deep breath and wiped the sweat and grime from her eyes with her bandana and threw it to the floor. The dragon blade that was hidden in her boot was now in her hand and with all of the strength she had left she launched one last attack at the old woman. As she charged she let out an ear piercing scream and leapt into the air, her aim was true and she came down with one foot on the pommel of the blade in Lord Sirap’s back which severed the man’s spine, killing him instantly. She pushed off as hard as she could and flew at the terrified face of Lady Black. Both of her hands found the handle of the blade and as her body descended down onto Lady Black she slammed the knife into her skull. They both fell backwards, but Alara's motion allowed her to roll out and stand above the lifeless body of the leader of one of the most powerful houses in the city. “Die you bitch!” she screamed as the room fell silent.

  She looked around and found Lord Osari who was lying on the floor behind the corpse of the old woman and Alara rushed to his side, “Lord Osari?” She sent several extremely weak healing waves through his body and he managed to regain consciousness.

  “Is she dead?” he asked through cracked lips.

  “She is my Lord.”

  “Well done girl.” The old man nodded and smiled at her.

  She heard voices shouting in the hall as Bastian rushed over and crouched down beside the two assassins and said, “We need you Miss Du Preeze.”

  “Go,” was all that Lord Osari could manage before losing consciousness again.

  Alara was torn between her Lord and her newly-appointed employer. "If you need me to retire anyone I’m not sure how effective I could be Bastian.”

  “We just need your presence, the servants will send word to your Guild and Lord Osari will be in good hands, I assure you,” he put a hand of encouragement on her shoulder.

  She threw up a shield around Lord Osari and used a cushion to support his head before following Bastian back to his table. The servants were rushing around trying to tidy up, but were obviously still in shock at the death of their Master and Mistress and ran into one another making more mess.

  Gideon was now lying on the floor either unconscious or dead. She probed the boy’s body, but found no signs of life. She locked eyes with Black, I’m so sorry, she mind spoke but Black had shielded himself and the dark look on his face spoke more than words ever could. Sable had hung her white shawl over his back and fussed at his wounds. The Quartermaster hadn’t moved from her back and stood to attention.

  “Millhaven House claims the right to take House Black as its own,” Lord Millhaven shouted. He’d stayed neutral and silent throughout the fight, but now that the dust had settled he made his move. “The city must be protected!” He slammed a fist into the table to emphasise his point.

  Sable stopped attending to Black and stood. “Madam Isabelle claims the right to House Black,” she laid a hand on Black's head. “As sole survivor Alex Black is the rightful heir.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Lord Millhaven responded. “The bastard has no claim and even if he did, that doesn’t mean that his employer can take the house for her own.”

  “That bastard is my son!” she screamed.

  Millhaven was shocked but continued, “Even so, he has no right to the house name.”

  “He has his father’s name and is the sole survivor, he has every right!”

  “Perhaps, but how is an assassin fresh out of his apprenticeship going to be capable enough to run House Black? Don’t think for even a moment that we will let you just waltz in Sable. He is either a Black and lays claim on his own, or he belongs to you and can lay no such claim.”

  Alara looked at Sable sit back in defeat. Alex was in no condition to take over House Black any time soon. Sable would need to heal him and groom him in the ways of business and city governance if he were to claim his birthright.

  “Then Madam Isabelle lays claim in her own right.”

  “I may be able to offer another avenue to explore,” Bastian said standing up.

  Sable and Lord Millhaven turned to look at the boy. “And what would that be young man?” Sable said calmly. “Would you have the Junior Council take over House Black?”

  “No Madam I would not, but there is a greater prize on offering tonight,” he said sternly.

  “Oh and what’s that?” his father asked.

  “The Killing Grounds,” Bastian said firmly. Alara’s stomach sank. She had given her support to the Junior Council, was it them that wanted to take over the Killing Grounds? Bastian continued, “Whilst the Junior Council can legally hold no title deeds in the city we feel that we should have a say in how they are distributed.”

  “Then speak up boy!” his father shouted.

  Bastian held the old man’s gaze and didn’t back down. “I suggest a trade-off, the Assassin's Council are not of a mind to sell their most prized possession but they may be willing to trade it for House Black. That would leave the deed on the Killing Grounds open, as the law states there would be a time frame given for all to put forward their cases for ownership, but as always the title deed will eventually be given to the highest bidder.”

  Sable had a smile on her face, “Very clever young man, and what’s in it for the Junior Council?”

  “We only ask that we administer the process, and of course credit for brokering this agre
ement.”

  “Absolute nonsense,” his father blustered, but Lady Millhaven stood beside her husband and contradicted him.

  “Millhaven house agrees to the terms set out by the Junior Council,” she announced.

  “Why am I uncomfortable with Millhavens having seats on both Councils?” Sable asked rhetorically. “Why should I trust you young man?”

  Bastian paused before saying, “You make a very good point Madam, my reassurances of my allegiance may not be enough for you, so I offer a seat on the Junior Council to whomever you decide, as a way of showing our gratitude. Perhaps it would be a good starting point for Mr Black?”

  “I’m going to have to watch you Lord Millhaven,” she said in a surly tone and turned away from Bastian. “You have my support.”

  “I will have an agreement drawn up for the Assassin’s Guild to sign.”

  “No, you can leave the rest to us!” his father said and marched out of the hall with Lady Millhaven in tow.

  Alara felt Bastian’s body sag as he relaxed, she had to admit that the plan was a good one. For the Guild to move to the great hill and take owner custodianship of the fort was a huge step up for the Assassin’s Guild and should be enough to appease the Guild Council for losing Lord Sirap, Gideon and Alex Black. She looked at the bodies that covered the floor and shook her head at the wasted lives, all dead in the name of change. Had Bastian planned this all along or had he just been quicker on the draw than anyone else in the room? She was extremely impressed with the boy and more than a little afraid at the same time.

  Epilogue

  It was weeks before Lord Osari was healthy enough to take his place back on the Council, and another week before they agreed to move from the Killing Grounds and take up position in the Great Fort. Alara spent the time by Lord Osari’s bedside, fulfilling her duties with the Junior Council and working with the apprentice Artists. She’d tried to speak with Black, but he refused her approaches and had moved into Madam Isabelle’s grounds where she would be grooming him for his position on the Junior Council. Alara was pleased for him even though she missed her friend, but she couldn’t forget the look on Alex’s face when he saw his brother lying dead on the floor. Their eyes had met and she knew deep down that Alex Black blamed her for the death of Gideon.

  The local papers were filled with their opinions of what had occurred at House Black, fingers were pointed at the Assassin’s Guild, Millhaven House and Madam Isabelle’s Estate, but after one of the more influential editors had been retired, the stories subsided and life slowly went back to normal. Alara hadn’t been instructed to retire the editor, so she knew the Junior Council hadn’t been responsible otherwise the bounty would have found its way into her hands. She had a feeling that the Assassin’s Guild had ordered the retirement to protect themselves from further intrusion by the media, but she had no proof.

  The Junior Council had been quietly working on how to best administer their new duties behind closed doors and hadn’t needed her services, but Bastian had called her to several meetings where they discussed her new position at length over dinner and a ride through the city. She’d grown to like the boy, but her position didn’t allow for anything more than business meetings and she pushed the thoughts of any sort of personal relationship out of her mind.

  The Quartermaster had been distant and refused to speak with her until after the move to the Fort was approved by the Guild Council. After weeks of silence he invited her to his office to tell her of their agreement and asked her to contact Bastian. Once he finished he waved for her to leave, but she held her ground, “Sir, can I speak frankly?”

  He sighed and said, “Continue Miss Du Preeze.”

  “Why were you at House Black?” she asked.

  He looked annoyed at the question, but answered anyway, “Why is it I can work here and yet I do not take on any bounties?”

  She frowned at him, “You work on a retainer.”

  “Yes and don’t frown at me, you have the same burden. Much like you I was recruited in my early years and I was too weak of mind to decline their offer. It wasn’t my best day, only Lord Osari had the fortitude to refuse when we graduated.”

  Alara nodded and relaxed, “Thank you Quartermaster.”

  “For what Du Preeze, I did nothing.”

  “For exactly that sir, you had the power to change what happened that night and you chose not to influence the outcome.”

  “There are many evils in the world. For people in our line of business it is often better to choose the lesser of those evils.”

  “Are you saying that Lord and Lady Black were more evil than Madam Isabelle?”

  “No, they made the mistake of taking one of my friends prisoner and forced me to seek out Sable and gain her trust. That conversation cost me more than I care to mention. House Black will be missed, they had a big hand in rebuilding the city after the wars and their line shouldn’t have been snuffed out like that.”

  “It’s too late now Sir,” she said glumly.

  “Not necessarily.”

  “Sir?”

  -End-

  About the Author

  Simon Corn lives with his wife Jacqui and their two dogs in Port Alfred on the Sunshine Coast of South Africa.

  Please visit his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SimonCornAuthor and come and say hi, or drop him a mail at Simon.Corn.Author@gmail.com. You can follow his blog at www.simoncornblog.wordpress.com or view his website at http://simoncornauthor.wixsite.com/simoncorn. His twitter handle is @Si_Corn_Author.

  ***

  A short message from the author

  Hi all, I wrote this book not knowing what I was doing, and I have to say a big thank you to my wife and editor-in-chief (in more than the book), Jacqui Corn-Uys for the multitude of hours she spent going through my bad spelling and even worse punctuation. Please visit her book reviews blog http://finishingtouchesediting.blogspot.co.za/ or you can contact her at finishing.touches.editing@gmail.com and on twitter @culminationedit.

  The idea behind this, as well as writing this came so easily to me, and I’m excited to say that Alara's story isn't finished by a long way; but neither is Lucinda's or Alex Black's, and as for Bastian? I wouldn't be surprised if he and his dragons have a part to play in all the upcoming instalments. I intend to have parts 2-4 available within the upcoming year.

  And last, but not least, thank you, the reader, because without your support all of this is just words. If you enjoyed the book please feel free to leave a review at your favourite retailer.