Maniodes showed mock surprise. “How did that feel? Seeing your wife off with another man.”
“It was for work, nothing more.”
“Are you sure? The woman can lure men easily.”
“Yes.”
The surprise melted as Maniodes took him more seriously. “And you only killed two?”
“You would know that. Nyx is the one who brings the souls.”
Pitch held the jug of wine closer to his chest, as if it would protect him. Maniodes’s eyes darkened.
“Where is she now, Dagger?” he demanded.
“I don’t know, my lord,” he admitted. “We parted after the wedding.”
“Already a falling-out in married life? You’re supposed to be watching her, and she you.”
Dagger spun the knife faster and didn’t reply.
“Find her.”
Maniodes began writing a new document.
Dagger turned sharply, paranoid now about Scythe. He stopped short lest he barrel over the new arrival behind him, which would not have ended well.
Nyx, the goddess of death, stood behind him, watching him with her black irises and white pupils. Her childlike form was barely taller than Pitch, but her stance conveyed power. Dagger had no way of knowing how long she had been there patiently waiting, the thigh bone she held like a scepter before her.
Dagger corrected himself and knelt before the Goddess of Death. “Your Grace.”
Maniodes and Pitch were behind Dagger now. He heard the desk chair scrape backward and Pitch set the jug down. Both knelt to the goddess. Dagger actually felt a little better knowing they had just noticed her too.
Given Nyx’s childlike appearance, Maniodes still towered above her even while on his knees.
“Greetings, Mother,” Maniodes said.
“We need to talk,” Nyx said, disregarding Dagger.
In this case he didn’t mind being overlooked.
“Of course. Pitch, Dagger, give us the room.”
Dagger had to clench his teeth to stop from snickering. Maniodes was perfectly chaste and civil when his mother was around. Dagger stood and caught sight of Pitch picking up the jug. Pitch hurried over to Dagger’s side, and Dagger held the door open for him.
“Dagger.”
He stopped and looked back to Maniodes.
“You find Scythe, and you control her.”
Dagger’s anger bubbled up again. He gave a small bow in acknowledgement and left.
“Dagger?”
“What?!”
It was Pitch who stopped him this time, on the landing outside the office. He hadn’t intended to snap, but he just wanted to get home.
Pitch took a step back as Dagger rounded on him. He saw the little madman in the kid’s eyes.
“I hope things do work out between you and Scythe.” Pitch’s voice was more stern than comforting.
Dagger’s anger deflated instantly, replaced by a bit of guilt. “I do too,” he answered honestly.
Pitch nodded a farewell, then disappeared down a hidden passage by the sentry. The servant’s passageways were another perk for the kid. Dagger would probably get lost in them.
Dagger only made it down about twenty steps before Pitch came bounding down behind him. He grabbed Dagger’s hand, pulling him back up the stairs.
“Dagger, wait! You have to come,” he said, wide-eyed and scared.
“What, why?”
“Just come!”
Pitch dragged him up the stairs again, past the sentry, and into the servant’s passage. The skeleton did nothing to stop them.
Pitch pulled Dagger along a few strides then stopped at a random section of corridor. The wine jug sat on the ground, marking the spot.
“Pitch, what—”
“Quiet! Listen.”
He pointed to a spot on the stone wall and Dagger noticed a small crack.
He stooped and set his ear to the crack. The words were muffled, but he could hear Nyx and Maniodes talking.
“—difficult to control,” Nyx’s mature voice made it easy to forget her childlike form.
“I know, but normal people don’t usually take kindly to killing,” Maniodes said.
“There are other options. A pack of dogs, or a larger enforcement of sentries.”
“Good ideas, but mindless dogs could become harder to control.”
“Not if they’re trained well.”
Maniodes didn’t reply.
Again, Dagger had to stop himself from laughing. The mighty god of Skiachora was being scolded by his mother.
“I like the Incruentus Ferrum operation,” Nyx admitted. “They get the job done, dealing out caution. It reminds the humans there is a higher power. The acts of violence, however, give the Ferrum a sense of power over the living. That leads to burned villages and hundreds of innocents dead, and it’s getting worse. Their bloodlust is growing.”
“Those two have been dealt with,” Maniodes said, trying to defend himself.
“By marrying them to each other.” Nyx was not amused by the idea.
“It’s given results so far. Regular punishments haven’t worked on either of them.”
“Either way, the rest of them might become just as dangerous. I want you to disband them all.”
Dagger’s dead heart hit the floor. The shock and fear was clear on Pitch’s face too. The goddess wanted them all officially dead.
“Give me some time,” Maniodes asked. “Let me prove to the other Ferrum that I can control Dagger and Scythe. That should calm the rest down, show them who’s in power.”
“It should?”
“It will.”
Silence.
Pitch trembled beside him.
“Alright,” Nyx said. “I know you’re fond of them. You have one turn of the moon. If either of those two step out of line, they are all disbanded.”
“Yes, Mother.”
The silence was more final this time. Dagger prayed neither of the deities would appear and catch them.
“Pitch,” Dagger kept his voice low. He knelt before the boy to look him in the eye. “Can you keep this secret?”
The madman was gone now. Pitch was just a scared kid, trembling under Dagger’s hands. He didn’t reply right away.
“You can’t let Maniodes know we heard this,” Dagger said, trying to control his own panic for Pitch’s sake.
“I can stay quiet,” Pitch whispered.
“Can you stay calm?”
“I think so.”
“You have to, Pitch. I’m glad you brought me here, but Maniodes can’t know.”
“I can keep it secret,” Pitch said, stronger now and a little annoyed at being pressed.
It was the best Dagger would get. He would have to trust the boy.
Dagger stood, letting go of Pitch.
“What are you going to do?” Pitch asked.
“I have no idea. Play along with Maniodes’s demands, I suppose.”
He hated how those words sounded, but he had the fate of the entire Incruentus Ferrum to consider now.
He left Pitch in the narrow corridor. Just as he was about to leave the fold in the wall and sneak down the stairs, the office door opened.
Dagger’s heart jumped to his throat as Maniodes peered around the door to the sentry standing outside. Dagger managed to stay silent and sneak behind the fold, where Maniodes wouldn’t be able to see him.
“Dagger should still be in the castle. Run down to the front courtyard and cut him off before he leaves,” Maniodes said to the sentry. “Bring him back here. I need to talk to him.”
Dagger heard the door close. Confusion matched the sudden fear in his heart. He’d thought Maniodes wouldn’t want to tell them about Nyx’s demand. He’d only been an Incruentus Ferrum for a decade—maybe he didn’t know the god as well as he thought.
Dagger peeked around the corner slowly. The sentry was still there, looking right at him. He and Pitch had run right past the guard on the way into the hidden corridor, so of course it knew where
he had gone. The sentry hadn’t given Dagger away to Maniodes immediately. It stood there waiting and watching Dagger.
“I’ll go in ten minutes,” Dagger whispered to it. That way the timing made it look like the sentry did its job.
He waited uncomfortably for several long moments behind the fold in the wall. He had no way of knowing the exact time, but at one point the sentry nodded to him. Dagger hoped that meant enough time had passed to make Maniodes believe the sentry really had gone. Dagger cleared his throat, stepped out from the hidden corridor, and knocked on the tall door.
“Come,” Maniodes’s voice called.
Dagger opened the door and entered the office again. He buried his fear of being caught and kept his expression neutral. Maniodes was back at his desk writing.
“You called for me again?” Dagger asked.
Maniodes put down the quill and rubbed his temple. Dagger wondered if the gods could get headaches. He had never heard of one falling ill. At the moment, though, it looked like he had a throbbing migraine.
“Yes, there has been a new turn of events. Nyx and I talked,” Maniodes started.
“Yes,” was all Dagger could say to fill the silence that followed.
Maniodes sighed, then said, “I didn’t want things to get this far. I know there’s only about thirty of you, but you’re the only intelligent creatures I have any connection with. Phaos created his living beings to fill Ichorisis. I get the leftovers down here with the dead.”
Dagger remained quiet this time, watching in wonder as the god admitted something oddly personal. Perhaps he had been wrong about him.
“Nyx has demanded that if you and Scythe step out of line, all of the Incruentus Ferrum will be killed,” Maniodes finished.
Dagger stammered for a moment, allowing the knowledge to surprise him for the ‘first time.’
“If that is her will, then Scythe and I will be extra cautious,” Dagger said, regaining his composure. “Thank you for telling me, my lord. I should go and find Scythe.”
“Yes,” Maniodes said, turning back to his letter. “Find her and inform her of the situation.”
Dagger bowed and left the room. He had to look for Scythe. If she had killed anyone, they were all dead.
Chapter 10
Scythe straightened her dress while leaving the cellar. She considered going to her chambers to change and wait for Dagger to return home when he practically ran in through the crooked main door.
“Perfect timing,” she said, hardly able to contain her excitement.
“Scythe, we have to talk.”
“Later. Come with me, I got you a present.” She took his hand and led him back to the cellar.
“Wait, what?” he asked, caught off guard.
He had assumed she was mad at him. She led him down the stairs to the first cell door on the left. Unlocking it, she brought him inside the small space to his gift. The man and woman from the cabin were chained to the wall opposite the door. Scythe let go of Dagger’s hand and gestured toward their guests like she was displaying a new fine wine.
Dagger took in the scene, wide-eyed. She could see the ideas surfacing in his mind on what they could do.
“I thought we could torment them together,” Scythe explained, hardly able to contain her excitement.
“Scythe, this is great,” he said, grinning. His demeanor changed as he remembered something. “But they can’t die.”
“Well, obviously. Maniodes would kill us.”
“Not just us anymore. Everyone.” His dark, wide eyes weren’t eager anymore.
“What are you talking about?” Scythe asked.
“I overheard Maniodes and Nyx talking. She wants all of the Incruentus Ferrum dead.”
“How did you hear that?!”
“Pitch found a crack in the wall of Maniodes’s office. I had gone to give the report of the wedding. Then Maniodes kicked Pitch and me out when Nyx got there,” Dagger explained.
“Fuck, I always forget the reports.”
“I know, but then Maniodes summoned me again, and told me about the new penalty of everyone’s deaths if we fuck up.”
“So all of the Ferrum could end up grey because of us?” The idea did not fit well in her mind.
“Yes.”
“Fuck!”
After a moment of hesitation, Dagger said, “I think we could be okay.”
“Really, how?” Scythe couldn’t control the sarcasm. The news had broken her good mood.
“It will be another challenge. As long as these two don’t die, Nyx and Maniodes won’t find out.”
“So, we have to let them go?”
“You make it sound like I’m denying you ice cream.” He was smiling again.
“I was looking forward to doing this with you,” Scythe said. “I’ve never tortured anyone with another Ferrum before. None of the others enjoy it the way we do.”
Dagger took a step closer to Scythe. In the small cell, they were already fairly close. He was looking at her hungrily again. Usually he tried to hide it, and she tried to ignore it. Scythe had never noticed him look at other women this way. Not even with the blond girl at the wedding. This look in his eyes was meant for her alone. She could feel the lack of space between them, but for once she didn’t step away.
“I won’t deny you anything,” he said.
He plucked a knife from his belt. Keeping his dark eyes on Scythe he laid the edge of the blade against the man’s sternum. The man had fallen from the horse into the mud, so she’d removed his tunic. The first half-inch of steel sunk into his flesh. Thick blood welled up from the wound and dripped down to his stomach.
The man only grunted against the pain, probably trying to not give them the satisfaction. His wife, on the other hand, screamed into her gag. Dagger would get his satisfaction, Scythe knew. The knife followed the line of blood and he took his time cutting down to the man’s midsection. The man was screaming with his wife by the end.
“That wasn’t fatal,” Dagger stated.
Scythe kept her red eyes on Dagger’s and plucked a knife from his belt. Her hand lingered a second longer than necessary. Dagger’s smirk turned more carnal.
Scythe rested the blade against the man’s right pectoral and dragged it down as Dagger had. She angled her cut, so it crossed Dagger’s and ended at the man’s left hip.
The man screamed again, woman kept crying.
Scythe could feel a heat growing inside her. It was different from the usual excitement of blood. Dagger was making this happen.
“Let’s get some chairs,” Dagger said through heavy breath.
After some maneuvering, Dagger and Scythe had their two guests tied up in the experiments chamber. They tied their guests facing each other and the real fun began. After a full week of playing nice, Scythe was ready to bend the rules. The wedding had been a disaster, but this would make up for it.
The same hunter’s look was in Dagger’s eyes as back in the burning village. There was something different this time when his eyes landed on Scythe. Every time they did, the warmth inside Scythe grew. She still couldn’t decide if she liked it, but she wanted to experiment.
“Where do you want to start?” Dagger asked, coming up beside her.
“We’ll have to keep things shallow and avoid main arteries.” Scythe leaned into him. “I have an idea.”
Scythe untied the woman’s right wrist. The woman started babbling, but Scythe tuned it out.
“Hold this.” Scythe held the woman’s hand out at full length.
Dagger took the hand, keeping the arm outstretched. The woman pleaded louder. The man was yammering as well.
She leaned closer than necessary to Dagger and removed another knife, purposefully choosing one at his back. He stood a little taller as she did.
Knife in hand, Scythe started below the woman’s elbow. Cutting smoothly, she spiraled a single line from the elbow halfway down her forearm, stopping at her wrist. The scream was fantastic. Crimson covered the woman’s arm and dripped
to the stone below.
Scythe made one more incision from where she started. She connected the beginning of the bloody spiral to the line beneath it. Using that end, Scythe lifted the skin. Sinews and veins stretched between the skin and meat, a deep, reddish-purple.
She felt Dagger’s hand touch her waist. He kept his grip on the woman’s wrist but wrapped his other arm around Scythe as if they were dancing.
She listened to his breath at her ear as she unwound the woman’s flesh. The screams were loud enough to crack the air. Scythe peeled the flesh away in one long strip, painting her hands crimson. When she reached the end at the wrist she gave a quick tug, breaking the strip free.
Scythe twirled the flesh between her fingers as Dagger tied the woman’s arm down again. As Dagger straightened, Scythe caught his head with the strip, wrapping it around the back of his neck. Given his height, it was easier to pull him closer. She wanted the challenge.
Dagger obliged, hardly letting the flesh stretch. Their lips met. Dagger’s arms wound around Scythe, locking her to him. Scythe let go of the strip and buried one hand in his hair, the other wrapped around his shoulders.
She knew this was right. She wasn’t afraid as Dagger pressed her back against the wall and kissed deeper. She felt heat radiating off him. The warmth inside her grew so intense it felt as if she was burning. She loved it.
Eventually, Dagger pulled away to breathe. Scythe was glad to be against the wall, supported by him, given how lightheaded she was. Judging by his glassy gaze, she could see he the same.
The strip of flesh still hung around his neck, getting blood on his vest. Scythe noticed the streak of crimson under his ear. In the spur of the moment, she’d forgotten her hands were covered in it. He didn’t seem to mind or even notice.
“I guess I don’t frighten you anymore?” His voice was husky, almost low enough to be a growl. He kissed her again, running his hands down her waist.
Suddenly and without welcome, her father flooded her thoughts. Her father, along with the brute he’d brought home. That man had stared at her in the same hungry and lustful manner. This was different. Dagger was different. While that man had looked at her like he was studying a slab of beef, Dagger appeared to be admiring fine art.
Dagger and Scythe Page 6
