“You’ll never get away with this.” Slyantom’s man said, but his tone was unconvincing.
“It's time for you to die.” Jacko said.
Realizing his fate, Slyantom’s man attacked Breen with a thrust. She easily parried his weapon away, while sidestepping and slicing his wrist with a draw cut. The wound severed his tendons, which resulted in him dropping his weapon. Jacko kicked him in the groin, and as he was doubling over, Sun executed a devastating axe-kick on the back of his head, which snapped his neck and killed him instantly.
“That’s that." Sun said.
“It’s almost time to deal with Slyantom.” Jacko added, and they walked back to their room.
Slyantom awoke from his deep sleep, drenched in sweat. His fur was matted and disheveled, and he felt terrible. It was dark outside so had no idea what time it was, or for how long he had been asleep. He began to ponder what had happened to him and came to a swift conclusion that someone put something into his ale. The list of suspects included the cook, the serving girl, and Elva. After all she could’ve slipped something into his drink when he wasn’t looking. His stomach abruptly tightened and churned. He reached over for a nearby bowl and vomited. Afterward, he tried to rise, found that he couldn’t and fell back down reeling in pain.
Silently, he promised that whoever did this to him would pay for this with their lives. With a shaky hand, he drank the last vial of greenish liquid. The brew burned his throat on its way down. A few seconds later, he felt drowsy and then fell asleep.
****
“What are you proposing?” Sun said to Jacko.
“I’m going to climb down onto the ledge from the second floor and move over to his room. If he’s asleep, I’ll climb in and kill him. If he isn’t, then I’ll signal down to Breen for her to come up to his room while I wait outside on the ledge.” Jacko said.
They looked at Breen.
“When Jacko signals me to come up, I’ll drink with him until he passes out, and then we’ll kill him." She said.
“How are you going to get past his guards?” Ask Jacko.
“Womanly charm.” She replied, smiling.
“I’ll make sure that she gets in and then return to the room above and wait for your signal after she enters.” Sun said.
“What if he doesn’t want to drink?” Jacko asked.
Sun looked at them in turn. “If he doesn’t want to then don’t do anything foolish, just talk to him. I’ll be there shortly, disguised as an old man who thinks that’s his room. I’ll jiggle the handle and bang on the door. When Slyantom opens it, I’ll continue to act like that’s my room. My distraction should give you enough time to enter the room and hopefully, Breen, will be able to snatch his weapons away from him.
He’ll grow tired of me and when he tries to force me out of the room, I’ll attack him. Breen I want you to stay out of our way.” He looked at her. “Jacko and I fought as a team before, and I’m afraid he might try to use as a shield.”
“I just thought of something. How are we going to use the room on the second floor if it’s already occupied?” Jacko asked.
“I have the answer to that.” Breen said and produced a long instrument that looked like a metal finger. “I picked this up in Mirkin. It’s called the Finger of Lock-picking, and it’s supposed to pick any lock known to man.”
“I’ll take care of whoever is inside.” Sun said and then went about dressing as an old man.
The inn was unusually crowded when Breen entered the establishment. People were scattered about the room making merry with their tankards raised high, and songs being sung. She looked for the fox, but he was nowhere in sight and motioned for Sun and Jacko to enter. Sun looked around for Tyla, but the serving wench wasn’t there either, which made him wonder what befell her. They blended in with the patrons for a while until Jacko motioned that he was going upstairs and left without drawing too much attention.
After he went up the stairs, Breen went outside and stood on the side of the inn where the fox’s room was. Jacko stopped when he reached the top landing, looked around to make sure no one saw him, and then disappeared down the corridor. When he rounded the corner, he saw two heavily armed men standing outside of a room at the far end. He was pretty sure that it was Slyantom’s room and proceeded up the stairs on the left.
He picked a random room, knocked a few times to make sure no one was inside and used the tool Breen gave him. He then unlocked the door and stepped inside. He was relieved to find the dark room empty of occupants and after his eyes adjusted, he navigated his way over to the window, looked outside until he spotted a way down to the first floor, climbed down and then positioned himself to the side of Slyantom’s window. Sun waited a few minutes after they were gone before going upstairs and taking up position near the room the two men guarded.
Outside on the ledge, Jacko looked through the window and saw Slyantom walking around. He signaled to Breen, who then walked back inside the inn and up the stairs. She stopped when she reached the old man.
“Ready?” Sun whispered.
“Wish me luck!” She replied.
“Be careful and wait for us once you’re inside.”
Breen took a deep breath and was gone before Sun could say anything further.
When the guards saw the cute girl with long blonde hair approaching them, they became a bit suspicious and the one on the right stepped forward. “What do you want?” He asked.
“I’m here to see Slyantom.” Breen replied.
“For what?” The other guard asked.
“He invited me to his room.”
The guard on the left smiled, running his gaze up and down her lithe form. “I’m sure he did.” He commented.
“Are you going to let me in or what?” She pressed.
“What's your name?"
“Elva.”
“Wait here.” He said, opening the door using a key and entered.
“If the boss doesn’t want you, how about you have a go with me?” The other said.
“Not on your life. You're just a hired hand.”
The guard was seething and about to do something, when the door opened.
“He agreed to see you only if you get searched first.”
“Don't bother.” Breen said and handed him a dagger.
“Not good enough. Well?”
She agreed, and the other guard ran his hands up and down her body. Lucky for her, he did not find the dagger hidden in her boot. Satisfied, he stepped away and the other guard moved aside, allowing her to enter.
After the door closed, Sun knew that he couldn't leave her in there for a long period of time. His first order of business was to take care of the guards. He needed to be careful, because if he made too much noise, Slyantom might overhear him, realize it was a trap and turn on Breen. He was afraid for her, but needed to push aside those thoughts and take care of business. He inspected his gloves, tightened any of the loose studs and then hunched over and walked down the corridor.
When the guards saw an old man in tattered clothes, hunched over and limping his way towards them, they looked at each other.
“Now what?" The guard on the right whispered.
“Get out of here old man.” The other guard sternly said.
Sun ignored him and continued walking.
When he was close enough, the guard on the right placed an arm out in front of him and blocked his passage. “We said to leave old man!”
“My room is over there.” Sun replied in an elderly voice and pointed down the hallway to the right.
“Come back later.”
Sun turned his head toward him and said in a weakened voice. “Please let me pass?”
“I SAID TO COME BACK LATER!” The guard said and shoved him backwards.
Sun did his best to appear to stumble away.
“Get out of here before we get angry.” The other guard warned.
Sun ignored him and walked toward them again. The same guard who shoved him approached with his arms exte
nded to push him once more. Sun quickly sidestepped to the right, wrapped his left arm around both of his arms, and punched him under the jaw, knocking him out.
The other guard's smile faded and he engaged the old man. Sun kicked him in the stomach and used the Eagle Claw technique to grab him by his throat and squeezed his fingers on his windpipe. The guard's eyes widened from both the excruciating pain and the fact that he couldn't he breathe.
“Know this before you die. Your boss is next.” Sun whispered and yanked his hand away, taking his throat with him.
After breaking the other guard's neck, he propped their bodies up against the wall in a way that they appeared to have passed out. He ran upstairs, entered the room, and waited by the window for Jacko’s signal. After Breen entered the room, she was asked to join her host at the round table in the center of the room. The chairs were positioned so that the window was on one side and the door on the other. After they were seated, Slyantom rolled up his sleeves and filled their goblets with wine. Breen glanced over his shoulder and saw his swords and armor near the bed.
“So you decided to come see me after all?” The fox said.
“Could you blame me for being attracted to you? You’re smart, strong, and look to be cunning. That’s everything that I look for in a person, regardless of their race.”
Slyantom smiled. He loved having his ego stroked. “Drink up my dear.”
She placed the goblet to her lips and took a small swig and found the wine to have a sweet delicate taste. The tasty swill beckoned her to drink more, and she couldn't pull her lips away until she emptied the goblet. The fox smiled.
“What is this?” She asked.
“A special wine that creates a magnificent experience for you, I call it ‘delight’. Do you like it?”
“I've never tasted anything like this before.”
Slyantom picked up his trick goblet and drank the imaginary wine. “You never told me why you're in Snowdrift?” He asked.
“Just traveling and seeing the world.”
“I'd be happy to show you around town before I leave." Slyantom refilled her goblet and Breen felt compelled to drink it, which she did in one gulp.
“This wine is so good. I can't get enough of it.”
“I know. That happened to me the first time I drank it as well.” He poured her another cup, and she hungrily downed that too despite knowing in the back of her mind that he was the one that was to get drunk.
She craved even more and the fox obliged her. By the time she finished it, her vision was blurred, and she was unable to think straight. Suddenly, her world closed in around her, and she fell over, unconscious.
Jacko watched things unfold and was shocked at how much Breen was drinking, knowing that if she got intoxicated things could go terribly wrong. He looked up, and motioned to Sun in a panic that he needed to get down there, and he disappeared from view in a hurry. When he turned his attention back, Slyantom was carrying Breen in his arms to the bed. It was then that Jacko noticed his swords near the nightstand. He was about to enter the room and make an attempt at getting them when the door opened, and an old man stepped in.
Slyantom stopped and said. “Now isn’t this interesting. Who are you and how did you get past my men?”
When Sun saw Breen in his arms, he dropped the old man act. “Did you train them? It wasn’t hard to get past them.” Sun stated.
“Let me guess you’re not an old man?” The fox cradled Breen in his arms. “Why would you go through all of this trouble of getting dressed up, kill my men, and enter my room, especially when I have business to attend to?” He glanced down at Breen and then back at Sun. “You must want to die.”
“Not today fox, it’s your turn. You killed one of my classmates and must atone for that.”
“Oh? Which one? I’ve killed so many men in my lifetime.”
“Does the name Ma sound familiar?”
“Hmm, a man named Ma let me think.”
His words sounded as if they were mocking the name instead of trying to recall it, Jacko thought, and then he saw Slyantom inching his way toward the side of the bed closest to the window.
“I remember the name. He was from the Order of the White Fist. He owed my boss some money or something like that.” Slyantom said.
“You have it wrong. His father owed it to him, and you murdered an innocent man.” Sun said.
“If I remember correctly it was a fair fight." Slyantom’s mocking tone struck a nerve with Sun.
“Put the girl down and let’s settle this.”
“Was she part of your ruse?” Slyantom said, cradling her closer.
“No, I don’t know who she is.
“Well I believe that she was, and it’s too bad because she would have been a nice mate for the evening.”
The reaction on Sun’s face told Slyantom that his assumption was correct and in the next instant, he released the lower half of her body to the floor and had a knife against her throat. Jacko entered through the window; and the fox turned his head toward, him causing Jacko to stop.
“And who are you?” Slyantom asked.
“I’m with him.” Jacko replied.
Slyantom studied Jacko for several long seconds and then pressed his blade tighter against Breen’s throat. He suddenly realized that the new intruder was closer to his blades then he was. “You look familiar to me, have we met before?" He paused. “Wait a minute. I do remember you. You were the one with Ma on that day he died. Now I understand everything. You got away from my men and told your Order, and that’s how you found me.”
“Not exactly, but close enough.” Jacko said.
“Let her go.” Sun demanded.
Slyantom turned his gaze back to him while keeping a wary eye on Jacko. “Well, it appears that we have a standoff, so I’ll make you a deal. Leave now and I’ll release your friend. Otherwise, she dies; your friend dies, and I'll get my weapons and kill you too.”
“What makes you think that you'll succeed?" Jacko asked.
“Boy I don’t know how escaped my men, but know this; I will kill you and anyone else I choose. There’s no need for you to die tonight. Your classmate’s death was all about business.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Sun, “you killed him unfairly and will pay with your life. Now put the girl down and let’s settle this like two warriors.”
Breen finally woke up and heard Sun's voice. She opened her eyes slightly, saw him by the door and a blade only inches away from her face. Despite her head spinning and her mind being clouded from the drug; she realized what was happening. If she didn't get away from the fox by the time Sun attacked him, then she would definitely get hurt. In one swift motion, she grabbed the knife hand, planted her feet firmly on the ground, and pushed herself backward, taking the fox with her to the ground. Breen’s full body weight landed hard on his chest and knocked the air from his lungs.
The unexpected move caught Jacko and Sun by surprise, and they weren't sure what to do because Breen was in the way. Breen squirmed around, while holding his wrist firmly, until she was out from underneath his arm and rolled off of his body while twisting his wrist in an unnatural way. The pressure on his wrist forced Slyantom to drop his weapon. The fox squirmed and as he was getting to his feet, he punched Breen in the face so that she couldn’t do anything else him.
Sun and Jacko moved in, with Jacko striking first. He stabbed at Slyantom’s face with his finger-knives, but the fox grabbed his arm, flipped him over his shoulder, and into Sun, sending them both to the ground.
Slyantom's path to his precious swords was unimpeded, so with determination he made his way over to them. As soon as he wrapped his hands around their hilts, he was rewarded with a sharp burning pain in his right shoulder. He gritted his teeth and turned around to see his attacker standing there with another knife in hand and her two friends rising to their feet. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the hilt of a small knife protruding from his shoulder blade and was pretty sure his arm was useless.
He let go of the sword in his right hand.
“Not as easy as you thought.” Jacko taunted Slyantom.
“The battle is far from over human. If it wasn’t for her lucky throw, I would have killed you all by now.” He said confidently.
“Let’s finish this.” Sun said to him, and they started spreading out to flank the fox.
Slyantom knew that if they managed to do so, he would be in trouble, but the room’s large size was his ally, so he waited until they were close enough and then charged after what he believed to be the strongest of the three, the fool in the old man costume.
Sun wasn't all that surprised that he made an attempt to kill him first, and since he was ready, he easily blocked and evaded several attacks. What he failed to realize was that Slyantom was setting him up for a real strike, and he sliced effortlessly across Sun’s stomach, ripping into clothes, stitches, flesh and sending him spiraling away. The fox had been in many fights and faced several opponents at once, so after he cut the old man, he quickly turned around and blocked Jacko’s attack with his right arm and butted him in the head with the sword's hilt, knocking him out.
The fox was about to finish him off, when a dagger whizzed by his head and got his attention. He turned and saw the female with her arm extended. His eyes quickly shifted from Jacko and Sun and after seeing them still on the ground, he smiled and began confidently walking towards her.
“You see my dear, even with one blade I am more than a match for the three of you.”
Sun tried to rise, but his wound was deep and he fell back down. Breen started backing away, and Slyantom took one last look at the two men on the ground and then turned his gaze on her again. What he didn’t see was the open flask, cupped in her right hand that was down by her side.
“Please let us go.” She pleaded.
“Go? It’s too late for them, but you, maybe if you do your womanly duties and service my needs, I’ll let you live.”
A Demon's Quest the Beginning of the End the Trilogy Box Set Page 84