Dragonvein Book Five

by Brian D. Anderson

  That would be a futile gesture though. It was Shinzan who had turned them into the monsters they were. He focused his mind instead on what was to come. Though he had not been able to fight at the side of Praxis, he knew Ethan had no choice but to accept his aid. With this thought as a salve for his ailing heart, he crawled into a bunk and closed his eyes.

  His father had taught him that vengeance would blind you. Perhaps that was true. But right now, it was all he had left.

  Chapter Five

  Markus crouched low behind a horse trough at the side of the livery stable to check out the scene across the street. The chill air was rancid with the combined stench of urine and dung. It was far stronger today – strong enough perhaps to mask the scent of an attacker. Maybe. But then again, he was confident that only a counted few people might possess the skills to ever take him by surprise.

  The Imperial soldiers guarding the entrance to the tavern opposite appeared bored as they fiddled with their equipment and chatted with one another. But they were not Markus’ target today. It was the person they were protecting that he had come after.

  The lighthearted minstrel’s tune drifting out from inside the building was a stark contrast to the dreary and dilapidated condition of the town. In reality, it was little more than a trading post, though even by those low standards it was still a filthy place. Its few residents were mostly either inside the tavern or had already turned in for the night. It was little wonder the soldiers were not greatly on their guard. Even in a time of war, this place held little interest for anyone, and the inhabitants were certainly no threat.

  Backing away, Markus ducked around the corner and pressed his back to the wall. By now, the light of the day was all but gone. Darkness had always been his ally. With blood racing through his veins, he allowed the sublime moment to wrap itself around him. The demon of Specter might have been banished, but the joy of the hunt remained. What’s more, his prey this particular evening was fully deserving of death. Not that this mattered especially. What was important was the role the man filled. His intended victim was the key coordinator of Imperial supply lines. To eliminate him would slow the enemy advance for some considerable time.

  After making his way to a narrow walkway at the rear of a nearby building, he quickly noted that a stack of wooden crates he had placed there earlier that day had not been moved. There were other ways for him to ascend the wall, but this was by far the easiest. He surveyed the area. No one was about. With two nimble hops, he was atop the crates and was able to reach to the edge of the flat roof. Emitting only a muffled grunt, he pulled himself up and immediately laid flat. After remaining motionless for a short time, he was sure that no one had witnessed him.

  Very little light reflected from the handful of street lamps onto the surrounding rooftops, and that which did reach this far caught only at the edges. So long as he stayed at the center part of each building, there was virtually no possibility of being spotted. Also, the soft leather shoes he wore ensured that should anyone be directly below inside, they would hear nothing louder than a gentle creak of old timbers – gone before they could even be sure they had actually heard it.

  Moving with the agility of an acrobat, he made his way from rooftop to rooftop until reaching the tavern. Here, with the loud drunken revels and music obliterating any other sound, he was in no danger whatsoever of being heard. Quickly, he located the small section of roof timbers he had dislodged two nights previously. Carefully lifting them, he squeezed down into the storage closet he knew to be immediately below, landing with a soft thud as his feet hit the planks.

  By now the General would have retreated to his usual room with his customary whore. Markus had considered waiting for him to fall asleep, as he usually did once his sexual appetite was sated, but research had told him that the man’s guards would often fetch him at unpredictable times to return to the garrison. If he could avoid a fight, he would. This was meant to look like death by natural causes, if at all possible. The prostitute had already been paid more than enough money to keep her from revealing the true cause of her client’s demise, though as an insurance policy Markus had also made a point of instilling sufficient fear in her as to the consequences of going back on this arrangement.

  Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a small wooden box. After donning a tight leather glove, he removed the tiny poison-tipped dart resting inside, holding it firmly between his thumb and forefinger. A short walk and a mere flick of the wrist...that’s all it would take. The dart was designed to dissolve the moment it touched flesh. Such a tool would have made his life so much easier in years past, he considered. But the craft that made this weapon was a secret known only to the Urazi. When Estella had first shown it to him, he’d grinned from ear to ear – thrilled at the prospect of using such a marvelous invention.

  Markus listened for a few seconds for any sound of movement beyond the closet door. There was none, and the hallway was clear when he stepped out. Moving rapidly, he made his way to the third door along. But as he drew closer, he froze. The door was ajar by a hand’s width. Not at all what he had been expecting to see. Drawing his dagger, he crept close. The faint creaking of a floorboard beyond the threshold sent him a warning. Someone was there….and trying hard not to make noise. A trap? Perhaps the whore had warned the General in spite of everything?

  “I know you’re there, Markus,” a voice said softly.

  He recognized it instantly. How could he not? Hastily stepping into the room and shutting the door, he glared furiously at Lylinora. She was standing beside the bed, a sardonic grin on her lips. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.

  “I’m happy to see you too,” she responded, clearly on the edge of laughter. “And don’t worry about him.” She glanced down at the motionless figure on the bed with only the top of its head showing from beneath the blanket. “He’s already dead.”

  Markus placed the dart back in its box. “Since when have you…?”

  Moving nimbly over to him, she cupped his face in her hands and placed a light yet teasing kiss on his lips. “I’ll explain later. After we are far away from here.”

  She began to ease back, but Markus quickly caught her by the wrist, pulling her close to him again. Before she could protest, he kissed her deeply in return. A wave of passion rushed through him as he felt her body yield to his strength. Not since their first time together had he wanted her more; somehow, the danger of the location was actually heightening his lust.

  He was almost to the point of total abandon when the sound of boots plodding down the hall outside snapped him abruptly and frustratingly back into the moment.

  Reacting calmly yet with speed, Lylinora pointed him toward the closet and then slid into bed beside the General’s body. Barely had she covered herself with the blanket when there was a light rap at the door. A few seconds later the knock was repeated, this time a touch louder.

  Slowly the door creaked open and the head of a young soldier peered into the room. “General,” he whispered. “It’s almost time.”

  Lylinora turned her head. “I’ll wake him in a minute.”

  The soldier scrutinized her closely, a frown on his face. “Where is Bolinia?”

  “I don’t know. I was just told to come and entertain the General.”

  The scratching of a blade being drawn said that he was doubting her story. He pushed the door fully open and took a step inside. “Wake him now.”

  Lylinora sighed. “He made me promise to let him sleep for at least half an hour. Anyway, he hasn’t paid me yet.”

  Her words had no effect. “Didn’t you hear me, whore?” the soldier snapped. He looked past Lylinora to the lump of blanket concealing his commander. “Sir! You must wake up!”

  Peering through a crack in the wooden closet door, Markus already had the dart in his hand once again. At least he would get to use it. That was something to be grateful for.

  He waited until the soldier was halfway toward the bed before bursting free from h
is hiding place. The soldier pulled up sharply, his mouth hanging open in shock. That was all he ever had time to do. Markus’ aim was deadly. The dart struck deeply into the exposed flesh of the man’s neck before he could utter a sound.

  Throwing back the blanket, Lylinora hurried over just as Markus caught the soldier’s paralyzed body and eased it down to the floor. He then removed the man’s dagger from his belt.

  “I could have handled him easily enough,” she said. Though her voice was scolding, her eyes said that she bore no anger.

  Markus winked. “Seeing as how you’d already done my job for me, I had to do something useful. If not, why come at all?”

  “Why indeed?” she retorted.

  The need to move fast was obvious. Crossing over to the bed, Markus rapidly examined the General’s body. Whatever magic Lylinora had used on him, it had left no mark. Using the soldier’s dagger, he then set about stabbing the General several times in the chest, aiming the last strike directly into the heart. This done, he rolled the body onto the floor and placed the dagger beside it.

  Satisfied with this arrangement, he turned back to the bed and lifted the man’s pillow. From beneath this he retrieved another dagger.

  Lylinora’s surprise was obvious. “I had no idea he had that hidden there,” she said.

  Markus smiled darkly. “That’s what marks out a true professional. Always get to know as much as you can about your target’s habits. Especially the dangerous ones.”

  He turned his attention to the soldier, who had already stopped breathing and was gazing up at the ceiling with the empty eyes of the dead. Using the General’s weapon, Markus once again inflicted a number of wounds to the upper body, only this time leaving the dagger protruding from the man’s chest.

  “Hopefully, it will look as if they fought and killed each other,” he mused.

  This suggestion drew a skeptical laugh from Lylinora. “That’s too much to hope for. No one would believe that.”

  Markus shrugged. “Maybe...maybe not. But in case you hadn’t noticed, the dagger sticking in the General has the soldier’s regimental number stamped on the handle. It clearly belongs to him, so what other explanation can they come up with? Just as long as it doesn’t look like an assassination by outsiders, there’s nothing to worry about.”

  He paused before asking: “Where is the woman he was with?”

  “I sent her away,” Lylinora replied.

  He looked at her quizzically. “Why?”

  “They would have likely killed her,” she told him. “Women have suffered enough under Shinzan’s rule.”

  “She’s just a whore.”

  Lylinora’s face turned red. “No, she is a human being,” she snapped back. “I don’t care how she made her living. And if you can’t see that, then perhaps I don’t know you as well as I thought.”

  Markus was visibly struck by her words. “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry.”

  His mind flashed back to the disgust he had felt all those years ago when first seeing the way women were treated in this world. But to his shame, over time he had become accustomed to it, eventually even accepting a woman’s lowly status as being a perfectly normal thing. Lylinora, on the other hand, was clearly intent on making it a priority of hers to eliminate such treatment once Shinzan was no more.

  He placed both his hands on her shoulders to emphasize his sincerity. “Believe me, I really am sorry. Please…”

  She pressed a finger to his lips. “You can make amends once we’re away from here.” Her features softened, allowing a tiny smile to appear. “And believe me, I won’t be making it easy for you.”

  Greatly relieved, Markus started to the door, but Lylinora caught his sleeve. “I have a better way out of here.”

  Positioning herself in front of the far wall – on the other side of which Markus knew to be the tavern’s rear yard – she whispered an incantation. He watched in astonishment as the stout timbers began to ease apart until there was space enough for them both to pass through. Once outside, the wall immediately returned to its normal state.

  “Now that’s a talent I could have really used,” he remarked.

  Lylinora took his hand. “Don’t worry. I intend on making full use of the talents that you do possess.”

  The traveling spell she created took them just a few miles north of town. Here, horses were waiting for them, along with a very displeased looking Estella. If she’d had the authority, Markus knew she would have prevented him from taking this mission upon himself. But he had been adamant, insisting that there was no one else suitable for the job close to the area, and that he was more than capable of dealing with it without risk.

  “Fool!” was the first word with which Estella greeted him. “That’s what you are. You know that, don’t you?”

  “He knows,” teased Lylinora. “I make a point of reminding him.”

  This drew a soft laugh from Estella. “I was skeptical at first. But allowing you to know the inner workings of the Urazi now seems more and more like a good idea. It’s a pity my husband can’t do likewise.”

  “How are you able to keep him ignorant?” Lylinora asked.

  Estella mounted her horse. “You would be amazed at what people refuse to see when they are in love with you.”

  The three-day ride back to the Urazi stronghold passed pleasantly enough. Conversation centered mostly on the society’s rich history, and how they had managed to weather the storm of passing time. Lylinora was particularly fascinated by the thought of such vast knowledge being stored in their archives. “Having access to all that must be so exciting for you,” she remarked on more than one occasion.

  “If scholarly pursuits are to your liking,” Estella told her, “We are in sore need of such skills. You would find no lack of material to study. That much I can promise.”

  “I’ve always enjoyed study,” she replied. “But a scholar I am most certainly not. I prefer the real-world applications of what I learn. For me, knowledge is useless unless you use it to achieve something productive.”

  Estella simply nodded and said no more on the subject.

  Once below ground, Markus could not help but notice that other Urazi he encountered along the passages were pausing and standing back until he had passed by. At first he took this for a sign of respect, but soon realized that their attention was focused almost entirely on Lylinora. Estella perceived this as well.

  “They are nervous about having a mage walk freely in our most sacred place,” she explained. “Mages have been known to desire power above all else. And the treasures here could make a cunning mage very powerful.”

  “True. But luckily I have never wanted power,” Lylinora responded.

  Estella smiled. “No. As I understand it, you are a healer. As mages go, they were by far the least ambitious.”

  This drew a sideways glance from Lylinora. “I wouldn’t go that far. Healers of great skill were once among the most influential people in all of Lumnia. In fact, it was my mother, and not my father, who increased our wealth and standing the most.”

  “That’s true. But your father was never counted among the most powerful of mages. Even his seat on the Council of Varna was once called into question.”

  Lylinora stopped short. “How did you know that?” she demanded.

  Estella’s bright demeanor never faded. “I have read all about you and your family in our archives.”

  “You shouldn’t rely too much on second-hand accounts.”

  “We don’t. But I will ask, do you recall a woman by the name of Malyndia?”

  Lylinora did not respond, but the recognition was clearly evident in her expression.

  “She was one of ours,” Estella continued.

  “That’s not possible,” Lylinora contended. “Malyndia was with my family from the time she was a small girl.”

  “Be that as it may, from the reports I read, she kept the order well informed.”

  “And should the Urazi have ever desired a member of my fami
ly to die?”

  “Then she would have carried out our wishes unquestioningly.”

  Seeing the shock on Lylinora’s face, Estella waved a dismissive hand. “But these things are of no consequence. The Urazi have rarely interceded in the affairs of mages. If you have fond memories of Malyndia, then you should not allow any of this to sully them. Though she had a clear duty to us, she was never once ordered to harm anyone. She died along with the rest of your household staff just before you fled.”

  Lylinora opened her mouth to speak, but no words came.

  Estella took her by the hand. “I’m sorry. It was not my intention to upset you. Particularly considering…well, you know.” Her eyes darted over to Markus for a second. “In any event, I’m sure you two have much to discuss. And I have pressing duties to attend.”

  Lylinora’s eyes followed Estella closely until she had vanished around a corner. Markus noted that her face was now flushed and her lips were trembling. “Estella really didn’t mean to offend you,” he said. “She’s actually quite nice.”

  “I’m not offended, just shocked,” Lylinora told him. “Only my most trusted friends know that my father slaughtered our servants. It’s not something I like to think about.” She turned to face Markus and forced a smile. “Now then, why don’t you show me your quarters?”

  “I think you mean our quarters,” he corrected.

  “I mean your quarters. I have no intention of raising a child here without first checking that it’s suitable.”

  All at once, the odd way in which Estella had looked at him a moment ago now made perfect sense to Markus. It also explained why she had cut her words short. “You mean you are...?”

  Lylinora grinned girlishly. “That’s right.”

  For several seconds, Markus was too surprised to say anything. Gradually, though, a wide smile formed. This quickly turned into outright laughter. Wrapping his arms around her, he began showering her with kisses.