Visions: Knights of Salucia - Book 1

by C. D. Espeseth

  RJ is alive. He waits for you. Thannis mouthed the words he knew Elise Syun was reading. He gave her credit, for Elise did not pop her head up right away to frantically scan the crowd for him. Instead, she folded the note carefully and placed it in the small handbag she carried. She composed herself and began walking towards another group before she began to search for him.

  Yet Thannis remained hidden in his chosen blind spot. It was not yet time for the second part of the trap. He needed the Princess’s mind to dwell on the message for a time yet. He needed her to work herself up into enough of a frenzy to do something stupid.

  She had been so close to him that his anticipation had nearly overwhelmed him. His heart was pounding, but things were going well. This was what he lived for.

  The next half hour was spent carefully navigating the crowd so Princess Elise did not catch even the remotest glimpse of him. He would turn his head at the right moment, or begin talking to someone in the right position to block the Princess’s view of him. His height made the task more difficult, but his actions would add to the mystery surrounding his cryptic message.

  Finally, the band began to play, and the nobility started to take their positions for part of the night’s entertainment and the first dance of the evening. It was time to begin stage two of his plan.

  * * *

  Thannis took a deep breath and filled his lungs with the intoxicating night air. Things were going very well so far.

  He had waited until after the first dance so as to surprise Princess Elise when he appeared next to the dance floor with an air of urgency she could not ignore. She had taken the bait and sought him out. Thannis had made sure to make gestures to indicate that they were being watched and it was possible their words were being overheard. For who could be certain how many people here were in the employ of her nefariously untrusting mother, Queen Marin Syun? He propositioned the Princess for a dance, indicating that it was the only way to talk more intimately. Captain Ole Sigurn had looked as if he wanted to snap Thannis in half right there, but he had truly hooked Princess Elise. She had seen the utmost seriousness in the look Thannis had given her.

  During the dance, Thannis had relayed details of how Princess Elise’s secret love, Robert Jameson, had gone missing. He told his prepared story about Robert going into hiding because suspicions were getting too close to the truth concerning their affair.

  “Robert told me to use the hand signal,” Thannis had whispered in her ear. “What does it mean?”

  “Nothing of consequence,” Princess Elise had said. Yet Thannis knew it was anything but inconsequential. He knew the little rhythm of finger tapping was a nervous habit of Robert’s, one which he only exhibited in the private company of Princess Elise. It seemed to indicate Robert’s excitement when the two talked about their forbidden future, for Elise Syun was publicly known to be promised to Maric Uuliath, Prince of Asgur. The scandal of falling in love with Robert, a minor noble from Kenz, would unravel the political marriage and aggravate tensions between Xin Ya and the Salucian Union.

  It was all very political, passionate, and best of all, secret. Thannis had exploited these facts, and it had led to Princess Elise coming to meet him tonight in the Forest Gardens, where he had assured her it was safe to relay the rest of the message from Robert.

  Of course, Thannis had to allow her to be accompanied by her fearsome bodyguards. Otherwise the Princess would have been too suspicious of a trap. But he was still confident he had sufficient information to separate her far enough from the two guards to make his plan work.

  Thannis forced himself to take another deep breath. He closed his eyes and calmed himself once more as a moment of doubt washed over him. She might not come. Was it enough? Does she still suspect a trap? Then he quieted the questions in his head. Princess Elise was not yet very late, and the hunter did not give away his position because the deer was being cautious.

  So he would wait. Things were not over yet, he had planted his bait well, and in his estimation Princess Elise had gobbled it up. It would still work. His nerves were on fire, jittery with excitement. The ending would be so sweet, so rich.

  To calm himself, he went over the important details he had tortured out of Robert Jameson. The man had been particularly sensitive about losing fingers, and Thannis had revelled in the sweet energy that fear had released. After the first two fingers, Robert had given him everything Thannis needed, such as key phrases and peculiar habits. Robert had talked about their plans for the future as well, and with that information Thannis had drawn Elise that much closer. Everything he used were things which only she and Robert would know.

  He growled inwardly thinking about how his father would actually approve of the removal of Robert Jameson, and even the death of Elise Syun. Anything to keep Kenz and Xin Ya at each other’s throats and churning out opportunities for exploitation. It galled him to further any agenda of his father’s, but this time he couldn’t avoid it.

  It was then Thannis heard the crunch of stones on the garden path. He listened – yes, three sets of feet. They were here.

  His hands shook with excitement as he re-checked his knives.

  This was it.

  The forest was thick with night mist. Moonlight trickled through the bows of the giant cedar trees above him in the small clearing. Now he stepped out of the shadows into that moonlight so they could see him.

  He said nothing and did not move as they approached, waiting for Princess Elise to set the scene. It would allow her to feel some control over the situation. Which must, of course, be screaming at her as suspicious. Best to keep her guessing.

  “How do you know Robert?” Princess Elise demanded; all pretence of propriety had disappeared. He could see her heartsick worry.

  Love is such weakness – disgusting really, Thannis thought with a grimace, and he focused instead on the imminent kill and found himself almost trembling, this close to the end. Yet his face portrayed nothing but the gravity of the situation.

  “Robert is a friend of mine. We met at court in Nothavre. As you know, Robert’s family has many ties to the canvas industry as well as several trade contracts within the Nothavran shipbuilding guild,” Thannis began. Every part of this story was true, in so far as the real Michael De Le Quan had known and dealt with Robert Jameson. “I owe Robert my life. I was on the Heraldry with him when it floundered off the coast of Tawa. Robert was the one who dragged me and several of my travelling companions from the water,” Thannis explained. All of it, amazingly, still true. “Robert knew he could trust me to get the message to you.”

  He stopped talking and allowed Princess Elise to digest this new twist and connect his story to those she knew of Robert. The next part was the crux, the fulcrum upon which his night balanced.

  “The message?” Princess Elise demanded with bated breath.

  Thannis was about to speak when he stopped, noticing Henriette shift her stance to lean slightly closer, just as he had hoped – indeed known – she would. He let his eyes dart back and forth so only Princess Elise could see, and then he whispered, “Princess … how well do you know and trust your bodyguards?” Then he let his eyes flick towards Henriette.

  Recognition blossomed a split second later. Princess Elise had just had her suspicions confirmed about her Hafaza bodyguard’s loyalty. Henriette Gelding was selling information about Princess Elise to many outside the House of Syun while also relaying every move to Queen Marin Syun to keep herself ingratiated with the Royal Family.

  Princess Elise turned quickly and caught Henriette’s heightened attention to their conversation. Ole was also now leaning in to hear what was happening. “You two will stay positioned there. Lord De Le Quan and I shall move to the bench over there.”

  Princess Elise pointed to the only furniture within the clearing. The guards would still see them, but the bench was definitely out of earshot, and it was that bench which was precisely the reason Thannis had chosen this part of the garden.

  Ole grunted again, and H
enriette looked slightly embarrassed and angry, but they both nodded curtly as they could easily see the bench.

  Together they walked over, and Thannis’s heart began to pound. This was it.

  He offered his hand to Princess Elise as he indicated her to sit first. She put her hand on his wrist and he guided her to the right side of the bench.

  “Ouch,” Princess Elise quipped as she jerked slightly, as if she had just sat on something sharp, for indeed she had. Her hand went down to the side and touched the grey painted thorn which had blended in with the bench. “Odd,” she said as she turned back to look at Thannis.

  “Not really so odd, as I placed the thorn there,” Thannis said with a quick smile. “No doubt your lips are beginning to feel numb. Most fascinating plant: it is a type of belladonna bramble which grows deep in the Vinda jungles. It has a very high level of atropine in the berries, but the interesting property of this particular strand is its ability to leave the unfortunate victim very conscious instead of incapacitating them.”

  Princess Elise tried to scream for help, judging by the look of desperation in her eyes and the way she tried to open her mouth. But the scream never came as her body inevitably started to go numb and rigid.

  “Don’t worry, it won’t last very long, but you’ll have an excellent seat for the show.” Thannis’s heart was pounding, and he couldn’t help gloating, though he knew he shouldn’t yet, as things were about to become chaotic.

  “Help!” Thannis cried stepping back from Princess Elise, waving his arms in frantic apprehension. “Something happened to her! Help!”

  Both bodyguards sprang forward, Captain Ole Sigurd pulled free his thick sword and grabbed hold of his huge shield at full tilt. Henriette Gelding followed him ten steps, stopped to plant her bladed spear in the ground and pulled the bow from her back with practised fluidity. She turned to cover Ole’s back as both, no doubt, suspected an ambush. She had an arrow notched and ready, looking for any sign of movement behind them as Ole barrelled into Thannis, slamming him aside to reach Princess Elise.

  “Princess! What has been done?!” Ole reached the Princess’s side and quickly surveyed the scene. Thannis counted ten heartbeats before Ole found the thorn beneath Elise’s bottom.

  “What have you –” Ole rounded but Thannis had recovered quickly from the bodyguard’s shove. He rolled out of the push and bounded to his feet after retrieving the throwing daggers he had hidden beneath the leaves. Ole was just in time to see Thannis finish the throw and watch the dagger whip through the air to embed itself up to the hilt in the side of Henriette’s neck.

  Ole bellowed like a giant bear and rose to his full height. Thannis had the fleeting thought that the man might actually be bigger than a bear. The thick sword carved the air with such force Thannis thought it could have cut right through a tree trunk.

  He fell backwards, bending fluidly at the hips as he felt the wind from the heavy blade. Ole continued to charge as Thannis knew he would, for he had studied the man’s practice sessions for weeks under another alias. Thannis would have but one chance at this. He somersaulted backwards forcing Ole to continue; then he let three of his throwing knives fly at Ole’s face, holding one back. The giant shield went up, already humming with electric shock energy from the glowing santsi on Ole’s pauldrons. Ole meant to deflect the blows and smash Thannis like a bug against the giant cedar behind him.

  But Thannis knew this particular cedar, had rolled to it for a reason.

  The shield lifted to protect Ole’s face as Thannis let the last knife fly. It was the move Thannis had needed.

  He stopped backtracking and shot forward onto his stomach and rolled to the side. His hands found the hilts of his long hunting knives beneath yet another hiding spot. He swiped out from his position as he rolled to his feet beside Ole. He felt the knife dig deep through leather and skin as he found the gap in the armour around Ole’s ankle. The great man’s leg buckled and, instead of crushing Thannis, the huge man’s helmeted skull crashed into the tree.

  A stroke of luck, and Thannis capitalised on it. He ran over and started plunging his knives into the tiny gaps in the huge man’s armour. Two, three times through the gaps near the shoulders. The joints were the key: anywhere that needed movement revealed small openings, and as Ole thrashed to get Thannis off of him, more gaps presented themselves.

  Eventually his strikes were enough to stop the huge man’s limbs from responding, and at last Ole Sigurd lay trapped in a metal case beneath him. Thannis kicked open the face guard of the helmet.

  “You’ll rot in –” Ole started, but Thannis didn’t let him finish as he drove his hunting knife down into the Syklan’s exposed face.

  It was then he heard whimpering from the bench. Ah – the atropine was wearing off. A bit early, but it would do.

  “I was worried about this one.” Thannis breathed a sigh of relief as he pointed his retrieved knife from Ole. “Big brutes just need to catch you once and it’s all over. Good thing I’ve killed a dozen like him before. Father always did want me to train with the best.”

  Princess Elise started making scared noises as he walked over to her.

  “You’re going to run for me,” Thannis said as he walked over and let his finger slide along her full lips. He could see the terror in her eyes and felt his body quiver. “The atropine will wear off shortly, but this will help.”

  He plunged another hollow thorn with a small bottle on its end into Elise Syun’s arm. It contained a lovely surprise for her. He watched as her eyes widened in shock. “Adrenalin,” he said with a smile, “should give you a bit of a head start.”

  He turned and threw thorn and empty bottle into the ferns and walked into the trees, finding shadows to cover his tracks.

  Now all he had to do was wait, like a wolf stalking a deer.

  * * *

  A quail squawked in anger as it flew from its resting place off to Thannis’s right. He had waited a full count of sixty before beginning his hunt, but the frightened bird was the sign he needed to set himself moving. He glided through the soft ferns and beneath the giant cedar trees like a wraith.

  The absolute terror Elise Syun must now be feeling would intensify his experience. This would be the pinnacle of all his kills. So far it had been a glorious night.

  He could hear Elise’s footsteps, whereas his steps were light, deliberate, and perfectly balanced as he ran. He avoided fallen twigs and dry leaves on instinct. The night air was rich and sweet, it pumped through him, and he thought he could run forever on a night like this. He was able to loosen his tight control and live in the moment.

  It was perfect.

  Yet it was time to finish this, as Elise was getting too close to finding a way out.

  Ferns parted, and he saw the red dress flash into the trees ahead of him. The moonlight shone off her long silky black hair; her pale skin glowed radiantly.

  Five strides, lightning quick and silent, before he was in the air. Elise sensed him and turned, opening her mouth to scream.

  Silver flashed in the moonlight.

  The scream died on her lips with the kiss of Thannis’s blade.

  The dark brown pools of her eyes were wide with shock.

  He felt her warm blood pumping through his fingers to the rhythm of his own pounding heart. Thannis wiped his blade on her dress and this time he did not try to calm himself. He stared into her eyes as he lowered her to the forest floor.

  Her lips moved, but he had severed her windpipe. He smiled and stopped them moving with his finger.

  “Don’t try to speak, you will understand soon, my dear,” he whispered into her ear.

  He knelt and placed his hands on the sides of her head so he could better feel the life slowly ebbing away beneath him. He closed his eyes and began to siphon, pulling at the energy trying to escape the dying shell.

  The enormous flow took shape and slammed into him. Elise’s eyes shot open in horror.

  Her energy surged through him and his skin was on fire,
but inside was a pure icy rapture. Ecstasy overcame him, and his back convulsed under the torrent.

  His world had become sweet euphoria, alive with the succulent blend of life and horror within the dying woman. Each time Thannis had done this, it was different; a revelation unmatched by anything else he had ever known.

  There was nothing more worth living for than moments like these. Everything else paled in comparison.

  Just as suddenly as it had begun, the energy began to ebb away, and his body shook with the effort of maintaining the siphoning link, but he wanted more. Not yet. Not yet.

  But it was no use, the energy was gone. She was dead.

  He looked down at the twisted features between his hands. It was as if Elise Syun now wore a grotesque mask of pain, revulsion and horror. It was not her. He had felt who she had truly been.

  Thannis stopped siphoning and pushed the empty shell away in disgust. That was not how she had felt. She had been beautiful, delicious, wild. Like a caged lioness.

  Each experience had its own flavour, just as each person lived a unique set of circumstances. Each act within their life altered the taste of the energy somehow, as if events were recorded uniquely upon the very soul.

  Thannis wiped the blood from his hands and fell to the mossy floor. His body twitched with the remembered ecstasy, the intoxicating blend of pain and bliss which merged into one experience at their extremes.

  The world now seemed to be less. The feel of a woman, the thrill of a proper duel, the delight of a plot coming to fruition were nothing to him now. Not compared to touching the very essence of what a person was, to have it course through him as an overwhelming rhapsody.

  Only the incubi and succubi of old legends had been able to do such things. They called this power evil, called it an abomination.

  They were all fools.

  Thannis knew that what he could do was glorious, that nothing so overwhelmingly beautiful could be wrong. But now it was over, and far too soon, to his mind. He had planned and executed the perfect murder, had got to someone considered untouchable. He’d bested a renowned Syklan and an impressive Hafaza guard. It was time to take this to the next level, to operate in a hunting ground large enough to experiment hundreds of times over. One in which he could find people from all walks of life. For Thannis now knew he could get to anyone, and there was only one place he knew of in the world that fit his new criteria.