by Bruce Sentar
“I’m alright. I didn’t know you had such an esteemed guest with you.” The old spirit found his footing and looked at her around Dar. “You should really warn an old man before you bring the Black Knight into the man’s inn.”
“Black Knight. THE Black Knight?” Mika’s eyes were wide. “I fought the Black Knight? No way!”
Dar awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Not really. I’m not quite him, although I guess part of me is.” He paused. “It’s complicated.”
Mika looked confused, but Paps seemed to understand. “But you are alive now. What a miracle. Is Lilith nearby?”
Now it was Dar’s turn for his mood to sour. “No. She’s dead.”
Paps sagged on his cane heavy enough that Dar thought he’d need to catch him again.
“That’s terrible news, but it explains the devils.”
Mika was looking back and forth between the two of them. “Don’t leave me hanging. How does that explain the devils?”
Dar looked her in the eyes. “Lilith tried to hunt devils to extinction and found that there were places that they came from, one-way portals that spawned them. She set about sealing those portals, but now that she’s gone, the seals will degrade.”
“Then we have to do something! If this is only going to get worse, the city is done for.”
Scoffing, Dar spat on the ground. “After what they just did to you? You are going to worry about the city?”
“Hell yeah. They might be assholes, but I don’t want them all to die.”
Paps regained himself and tried to straighten his old back. “What were you planning on doing?”
Dar leaned against the workbench. Taking a deep breath, he began to tell his entire story to Paps, hoping the man would have some insight to add given all that he had seen. Dar could use all the help he could get. He wrapped up with the plot he had learned in the dungeon.
As he finished, he looked Paps in the eye. “I’m going to stop them from using Cherry, and then we are getting the hell out of this place. I want to bring the ancient races that are in the city with me, if I can. Keep them safe and build a city together.”
Paps nodded along with him. “Cherry was here yesterday trying to get some of our people to go. I think you already have some of us ready to go, but after what you’ve found out, I think you may get more. It might be time for us to leave Bellhaven.”
“Just let all of them die?” Mika asked, shocked.
“We can’t save those that don’t want to be saved, girl.”
Mika snorted, rolling her eyes at being called a girl. There probably weren’t many that were old enough to consider her young.
“Can you help me get the girls out of here?” Dar asked.
Paps nodded slowly. “If they really are planning to use Cherry like that, then it will be hard to sneak out of the city. Are you prepared to fight?”
Before Dar could speak, Mika nudged him and handed him the vial she’d downed. There was a small bit left at the bottom. “You really do look pretty messed up. Your back looks like it was used as a giant pincushion.”
“We have more for him,” Paps said, moving over to a cupboard and opening it to show half a dozen of the potions. “Never know when you are going to need to nurse a runaway back to health.” He grabbed one of them, about to close the cupboard before reaching back in and grabbing a second to hand to Dar.
“Take one now and keep one with you. Never know when you’ll need it. We’ll need you to fight your way out of the city, but given who you are, it shouldn’t even be a problem.”
Dar shook his head. “I’m not the Black Knight you knew. I’m not some unstoppable force. Lilith gave me some power through the enchantments, but I have a lot of work to do to get back to full strength.”
“Then we’ll grow it again, but we can’t do that if we don’t get you out of the city. And from the sound of it, you won’t leave without your two dao companions. So that charts our course for us,” Paps said.
Dar took a deep breath. “What are you thinking?”
“Let me handle getting the spirits on their way out of the city. Mika, why don’t you go with Darius to rescue his spirit and demon?”
“Cherry and Sasha,” Dar corrected.
“Help him get Cherry and Sasha out of the city. I’ll work on everyone else. I still have a few tricks in these old bones.”
There was a commotion upstairs. Dar could hear tables scoot on the hardwood and the crash of pottery. “What’s going on?”
“Don’t know. Only one way to find out.” Mika hopped off the bench and trudged upstairs.
She was already back on two legs that were broken only minutes ago. Dar shook his head at these potions; he needed to figure out how to make his own.
“Might want to go after her. She gets into trouble more often than I’d like to admit.” There was a tinge of attachment in his face before Paps shrugged and started trudging back upstairs.
Nodding, Dar raced up the steps into the inn. Soldiers were everywhere, flowing into the inn and smashing everything in their way. They seemed to be arresting anybody they could find.
“That’s her! See, I knew we’d find her here. All the rest of you are under arrest for aiding and abetting a fugitive,” the soldier yelled around the room, his gaze landing on Dar and his face shifting into a sneer.
“Oh shit! It’s him.”
Before he could speak, another guard was already pointing at Dar. More of them shifted, and there was recognition in all their eyes. Apparently, he’d become quite famous with his escape.
“Get him!”
Soldiers all around the room dropped the spirit or demon they’d been trying to arrest, charging at Dar.
Glancing around, he grabbed a chair and broke it on the first soldier’s chest, sending the man back into his friends. The guards caught him as a crowd and shoved the dazed guard back at Dar, who was already prepped with a right hook to knock the man out. Sure enough, he went down in a heap, and Dar grinned from ear to ear.
Bar fights were something he could handle. Grabbing a pitcher off the counter, he slammed it into another man’s head and went to work. His mana swelled with each movement as he fought off a dozen soldiers in a barfight slugfest for the ages.
It was so much more satisfying with his enhanced body. Soon, the entire squad of guards were lying on the floor, rolling around in pain.
Looking around, he realized that none of the ancient races had even lifted a hand to fight back. He gave Mika a questioning glance, trying to figure out why the hell they had done nothing.
“They gave their oaths when they entered the city. As soon as they claimed they were helping us escape, they couldn’t fight back.”
Dar cursed. “Their oaths are conditional on being inside the city?”
“Of course, they aren’t fools,” Mika said.
“Good. Then we just need to get them out. Issue solved.” Dar grinned at her, stepping over to help a serving girl to her feet.
“I recognize you,” the girl said, her eyes going wide as she stared at him. But before she could say more, a loud clap rang out from the stairs.
Paps had finally made it to the top, his cane thumping loudly in the sudden silence. “Everyone, pack your things. We are leaving the city.”
There were gasps, but for the most part, people seemed to process it quickly and accept it.
“We are following this man.” Paps pointed at Dar.
That statement, however, caused a number of them to frown.
Wishing he had more time to convince them and give them more motivation, Dar just nodded, turning back to the old man. “Paps, if something happens, we meet back up along the Bell River, two days inland.”
The old spirit nodded. “You heard him. Get packing. We leave now.”
Dar hit the street outside and looked both ways to gather his bearings. The street was oddly empty, sending an uneasy feeling through him.
A kid bumped into Dar. “Sorry, mister. Best move fast like me. We are going to be late.�
��
“Late for what?” Dar asked, not feeling great about what he was likely to hear.
“Sir, the duke is giving a proclamation to the city,” the kid said before he hurried down the street.
Dar felt a cold feeling settle in his gut as he moved in the direction the kid charged.
Chapter 30
“Why are we going towards the assembly? Shouldn’t we use this chance to sneak out of the city?” Mika said, working to catch her breath between words as she tried to keep up with Dar’s movements.
Dar understood her concern, but he had a feeling about the assembly. He needed to know if it was right. So he ignored her, charging forward.
It seemed almost too convenient, too fast. Then again, Mark had been planning this for a while and he’d do his best to time it right.
As they got close, the crowd thickened, and Dar had to slow down. “If their plan was to turn the city against the ancient races and to kill the duke, what would provide the perfect opportunity to ignite that sentiment?”
Mika’s eyes darted around in thought before he could see it click. “Oh shit, you think that they’re going to try and trigger your spirit here?”
“Not my spirit, at least, not in the way you are saying it. We are dao companions.”
“But you are human— Oh. Right. Sorry, I keep forgetting you aren’t really human.”
Dar shrugged it off, not offended. He was something new. It would probably take people a while to get used to the idea. The city had held the ancient races and humans apart for so long. It would take time to readjust.
“So, we check in to see if you’re right. But if she’s here, what do we do?” Mika asked.
“Get her out however we can. Now hush, you are causing a few stares.” Dar had noticed a few people had turned as they worked through the crowd to the plaza in front of the courthouse where everyone was gathering.
Pushing his way through the crowd, he got to the plaza and could see the large balcony over the courthouse was filled with faces he recognized from the duke’s court.
Looking through them rapidly, Dar found Sasha. She stood proud with her chin raised, but Dar could see the worry in her eyes from here.
Between Sasha and Lady Margret, there was another person, but they were too short to see based on the woman in front of them. Dar’s best guess was that it was Cherry.
His eyes scanned over every face, but Mark was missing. It seemed like the nobility were going for pomp and circumstance, so it fit that they wouldn’t want a drooling man sitting among them. But that would also play to his plan.
“I don’t see her tree,” Mika said, standing on her toes to peer above the heads in front of her.
Dar hadn’t thought to look. He glanced around, confirming that she was right. He couldn’t see it anywhere in the plaza.
Dar let out a heavy breath. “For once, I’m perfectly fine being wrong. Still, when this ends, it will be crowded and chaotic. We might be able to snag them for the escape.”
Mika nodded, settling back on her feet. “There are others though, right?”
Already ahead of her, he was scanning the crowd, hoping that Amber’s red hair would stick out like a sore thumb.
Bingo.
“Come, we need to head around this way.” Dar pulled Mika’s hand and started to circle the gathering to get over to Amber.
He noticed her father was at her side and the man turned to see Dar pushing through the crowd. Bart tapped his daughter, who turned to find Dar and became immediately wide-eyed, covering her mouth.
Were those tears? Dar couldn’t quite see from here, but when she wiped at her face, he was sure of it.
Amber squeezed through the crowd to close the distance to him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He patted the back of her head while the crowd around them turned and murdered useless gossip at Amber’s reaction.
Shifting her to his side, he pulled her along with him.
“Ho there.” Bart raised his hand and leaned in conspiratorially. “I thought you were… held up somewhere.”
Grimacing, Dar nodded his head, thinking of the prison. “Let’s just say I made up my own mind and didn’t want to miss this.”
Bart’s brows practically went into his hairline. “Shit. Ummm… what are you doing? How can I help?”
Amber pulled away and sniffled. “Yeah, how can we help? Everything was ready this morning and then Lady Margret said that you were taken away by the duke last night.”
“The Lady drugged me and put me in prison. Though it seems the duke was on board with the charge,” Dar sighed. “Anyway, we need to leave as soon as we can. I just need to get Sasha and Cherry.”
Amber spat on the ground, and in this close proximity, it almost landed on someone’s boot. “That bitch was consoling the mistress all morning. What a witch.”
“Amber,” her father chided.
“No father, she’s a right bitch based on what milord said. I trust him completely. So how do we get them down from there?”
That was the question of the hour, but Amber and her father weren’t actually going to be much help.
Amber's eyes lit up for a moment and she handed him something.
Dar grabbed hold of the haft of his ax feeling the head still wrapped in leather. “Thank you.”
“I’ve been keeping hold of it for you,” Amber said. “So, how do we get your women?”
A twinge of pride curled in his lips. His women.
“I think I’ll have to handle that. Can you two get people moving? I want to use the crowd from this assembly as cover to get out of the city.”
“There are going to be a number of wagons. It’ll be hard to move them out of the city while everyone is in the streets.” Bart scratched his chin.
“I’m not sure we have time for wagons, Bart. The nobility are going to kill the duke.”
The blacksmith’s eyes went wide in shock. “No… they… they can’t.”
Dar shook his head. “It’s all part of what’s been going on. So please, get everyone started, and let’s get out of the city.”
Bart nodded slowly a grave determination on his face, and Dar turned to Amber.
“You too, Amber. Go help Bart. If you see Marcie, get her moving too.”
“Un.” Amber nodded with a promise of determination. “You can count on me, milord. Come on, pa, we got work to do.”
Bart shook his head as his daughter started to drag him away. “What in the world did you do to my daughter. She’s so… focused.”
Dar grinned and shrugged. “She’s a good worker. I’d be remiss without her.”
The girl of the conversation shot him a blushing glare and managed to uproot her father and pull him along.
“If any of those carts have food, they are going to have a very hard time getting out of the gates,” Mika commented after they left.
He knew that was going to be a problem, but he also knew things were going to get messy here.
The crowd started cheering and applauding as the duke stepped out to the front of the balcony.
But that wasn’t what caught Dar’s attention. A servant ran up behind him, Cherry’s tree in their arms and posed it behind the duke like a backdrop.
Shit. Dar wanted to scream in frustration.
“Uh… is that the tree?” Mika asked like she was really hoping it wasn’t.
“Yes, it is.” Dar ground his palm into his face. “That’s Cherry’s tree, right behind the duke in front of the whole city.”
Dar cursed to himself. They could set her off at any time.
“Okay, we need to get closer to the balcony.” Dar grabbed Mika’s hand and started pulling her through the crowd.
People were jostled as Dar pushed through the crowd like a bulldozer. He had a singular focus on Cherry’s tree as he pushed through.
“Citizens!” The duke had some enchanted device in front of him, helping him project his voice. “I know after the recent events there are many worries about
the future.”
Dar tuned him out and focused on the situation in front of him. The stairs up to the balcony had soldiers in neat rows as a barrier between the nobility and the rabble. A quick count put it at twenty-two soldiers just on the set of stairs. All of them armed and armored.
The building behind it though…
Dar shifted his target. If he could get up to the roof of that building, then he could probably jump over.
“Boss, where are we going?” Mika asked as they changed directions.
“We can’t get up the stairs, but we could scale the building and come over top of it,” Dar explained his plan. Even as he said it, he realized it was going to create quite the stir. He’d be clearly visible even before he jumped down. It wouldn’t be a stealth mission, that was for sure.
“You’re in charge,” Mika said, seemingly not overly concerned about his plan.
It was the best he had right now, going through those guards wasn’t an option. So it would have to do.
He and Mika were practically shoved out once they got to the edge of the crowd and quickly circled around the building.
“You two, head back to the speech,” a soldier grunted as he waited on the other side of the building.
“Ah, I really have to use the bathroom.” Dar smiled.
The soldier’s eyes flicked over Dar and then widened with recognition. “Hey, you’re wanted—”
Dar’s right hook cracked against the man’s cheek, knocking him to the ground.
“Shit.” Another guard was pulling something from under his breast plate, but Mika was on him in a heartbeat, wrapping herself around the soldier and getting him into a choke hold.
Grabbing the man’s hands so he couldn’t claw at Mika, Dar pulled him behind an abandoned fruit stall.
The soldier slipped into unconsciousness and Mika hopped off him, rubbing her ass. “Ouch, you dragged me along the cobblestones.”
“I’ll make it up to you later.” Dar was looking up the stone building, already plotting out his course.
He bent his knees and swung his arms several times until he was at the peak of his momentum, then he leapt into the air and managed to grab onto the second-story windowsill.
