Bloodless

by Roberto Vecchi

  BLOODLESS

  THE DRAGON WITHIN SAGA

  BOOK TWO

  ROBERTO VECCHI

  Published by:

  Bloodless

  Book 2 of The Dragon Within Saga

  Copyright © 2019 Love n’ Light Productions LLC

  All Rights Reserved.

  1st Edition

  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of Love n’ Light Productions LLC except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Email: lovenlightproductions42@gmail.com

  Website: www.lovenlightproductions.com

  ISBN-13: 978-1072105374

  Valani

  (Ravens)

  "Drin, would you please tell me the name of our new friend here?" said the raspy and breathless voice of Kinarin as we both regained our footing.

  With a distinct aura of disbelief, I ignored his question and instead asked one of my own, "How did you? I mean, where did you? I mean, what just happened?" Though my flurry of questions was meant to probe deeper than the obvious, that was exactly how Vennesulte, in his typically simple and matter of fact manner, answered it.

  "Vennesulte just defeated the guards who were looking for you," he said calmly. "Now is the time for movement and not talking. We must go."

  Looking to Kinarin for direction as my mind was still having trouble contemplating not the fact that we were saved, but by whom we were saved, he looked back to me and repeated the words of our young rescuer, "Now is the time for movement, Drin. We must go."

  As we exited the cellar and inched our way carefully through the store front, I saw no less than fifteen guards, all dressed in the colors of The Stone Keep, laying completely motionless except for the shallow rise and fall of their chests. I remembered watching in amazement as Vennesulte fought Bractos in the tournament during the festival of the moons, but that was a singular endeavor. Successfully defeating multiple attackers was a feat containing a whole other set of skills beyond physical prowess and perfection of technique. One's mind had to be quick and one's awareness had to be wide. However, the fact that this boy monk, who had not completed his training and was left to develop himself, was still able to defeat this many military trained guards indicated his mind was not just quick, but absolutely exceptional. As if sensing my continued wonderment at his most recent accomplishment, Vennesulte looked at me and said, "It is good that Vennesulte found you. Both of you. Though I would have chosen a different way to exit the tower than to jump out of the window."

  Ignoring his statement, Kinarin asked, "You are of the Brotherhood are you not? I noticed the distinct pacing of your feet as you were fighting the guards."

  "Vennesulte is both a member and not a member of The Brotherhood," he said as we stopped just before we opened the door exiting the winery. "Vennesulte is offered residence and food, but that is all. Vennesulte is no longer allowed their other benefits."

  "Yes, I figured you must have a unique association with them. The Brotherhood does not intervene in concerns outside of its monasteries. When it is time for talking and not movement, you will have to share with us how that came to be. I do not think I have heard of anyone else who shares your status," Kinarin answered. "Now, what is happening outside this door? First, we heard two bells chime signaling a threat from within the walls. But then we heard the bells chime thrice signaling an attack from without."

  Looking at both Kinarin and I, Vennesulte answered the question directly, "Yes, two bells did chime when you were discovered. However, after the beacon was seen, the bells were rung again, but in a group of three. There is an army preparing to attack. So, it seems Vennesulte was assisted with your rescue."

  "An invading army?" I said just as I thought our situation could not become more desperate.

  "Yes," Vennesulte answered. "And Vennesulte does not think this army is entirely natural. It does not have the right,” he paused uncharacteristically, “feel."

  I continued voicing my growing desperation by stating more of the obvious, "Great, now we not only have to evade the guards looking for us, but the soldiers of a potentially unnatural army too."

  "It may work to our advantage," said Kinarin, "Drin, have you ever seen what happens in a battle between armies?"

  "No. Before I met you, I lived on a farm. The only battles I have experience with are those of drawing milk from a cow that does not want it to be drawn," I said as we both looked out of the window.

  "Both sides always start with movements directed by their respective attacking or defending strategies. These strategies have been thought out at length for possibly months prior to the actual battle. Both sides believe their plans will lead to victory and will progress in a predictable pattern once the battle begins. Most of those who think of these plans will stand at a distance, observing, in order to issue more planned commands. But the problem is this, Drin, once the battle begins and the soldiers of each army engage the other, no amount of planning or observing can override the chaos that occurs on the battle ground. And it is this chaos that will provide us with the opportunity we need to successfully escape," he said still observing the exterior.

  "What should we do?" I asked.

  "Well, unless we wish to become wine merchants ourselves, I suggest we first exit the door," he said with a faintly sarcastic tone.

  Although Kinarin's insight into the potential benefits of the army now poised to attack the very place we found ourselves in provided a modicum of confidence, we were still very apprehensive; and as such, opened the door very slowly. Just like my bedchamber door at home creaked when I was trying to sneak a late-night snack from my mother’s pantry stores, it creaked as it swung. And while it was drowned out by the sounds of the battle preparations outside, it nonetheless, gave us pause. In that instant, I was immediately taken back to the fear I felt during my hunger driven quest of sating my stomach in the mid hours of the night. But instead of the threat of waking my mother whose wrath of finding her strictly maintained pantry stores unwarrantingly depreciated looming ominously in the shadow of night, it was the steel of now two potential adversaries. However, as threatening of a prospect being found by either was, it still did not match my fear of my mother’s verbal onslaught. Though she rarely lost control, finding her pantry pilfered without permission reliably produced her wrath.

  Home, it seemed such a long distance away in every aspect it could. In our travels, I had lost any semblance of a directional reference to connect my present with my past. I had lost much of the innocence I possessed as a natural consequence of being raised on a farm and far removed for the civilities of the city. As such, I had intended to do what I would have never thought myself capable of. I intended to kill. And I did, but my target remained alive.

  For reasons I was quickly becoming aware of, Kinarin had always told me there was a reason we, as assassins, were never meant to question our orders from the Guild Master. Too much knowledge led to questions, and those questions, if left unanswered, albeit out of necessity, would lead to individual judgements. And those judgments, even if self-induced, lead to a corruption of our purpose. And the corrupting of our purpose as assassins, would lead to the declination of The Guild, something The Guild Master would never tolerate.

  However, as much as he drilled this blind obedience into me more deeply than any blade or arrow could ever burrow, I still had questions. And at the present, these questions centered around the unsuccessful completion of my mission. Yes, I had killed a man, but the wrong man. For reasons I could not explain, the ledge we were on shuddered slightly and my arrow went astray. No doubt this would reflect incredibly poorly upon not only The Guild, but my mentor as well. T
here would be a reckoning, that much was certain, but the severity of that reckoning was beyond my scope to consider. So, just as I tried to divert my attention from the consequences of being caught by either or both of my parents when I was still at home, I sought, with just as much vehemence, to maintain my focus on the circumstances of my current predicament and the preservation of mine and my companions’ lives.

  "Drin, are you still with us?" said Kinarin as he turned his attention from the street to me.

  "What?" I answered turning to face him too. I had apparently not responded when he said it was time to go.

  "Now is not the time to lose focus. We have been given a reprieve from the Stone Keep's attention for the moment. But even the most slow-witted ruler will think there is a link between the attempt on his life and the army now outside their gates. We must move and move now if we are to take advantage of our fortune, little though it may be. Are you fit to move?" he asked as he still faced me, singular in his attention.

  Whenever I would become distracted during my training, mostly with thoughts of my father, mother, and sisters, he would draw me in to his character with a steadfast and unshakeable focus of attending to the task at hand. Its effect on me was such that it allowed no more distractions to enter my unfocused mind. And this moment was no different. Quite readily I replied, "Yes, Master Kinarin, I am ready."

  He then looked to Vennesulte and then placed his hand on the doorknob of the merchant's winery for a second time. He opened is slowly while maintaining a position of cover behind the inner wall. The door still creaked, but this time, I had no thoughts of familiarity with home. My senses were focused exclusively on the buildings directly across from us. Seeing no movement suggesting there were no more immediate forces bent upon our capture, I nodded my head to Kinarin. He assumed a slightly readied stance and stepped outside as slowly as he opened the door. Nothing. That was what was waiting for us. No movement. No sounds and no sights associated with our capture were produced as all three of us exited. Though we were all readied for a fight, after a few moments of surveying our surroundings, it became apparent the assaulting army had driven more attention and resources away from our capture than what we had originally anticipated.

  "Quickly now," ordered Kinarin as he began walking swiftly away. Vennesulte and I followed without hesitation, still watching the windows and doors lining the street. There was an eerie silence blanketing our escape. Armies were loud. And attacking armies were even louder. That much I knew. But absent were the normal sounds of what I had anticipated battle, or its preparation, to present. That is not to say there were no sounds at all; rather, there were still noises, gauntleted hands grasping leather hilts, the faint tings of armor being fastened, horses bearing riders to their posts, orders being yelled, heavy boots hitting the ground in response to those orders. However, these were all from behind the walls and sounded close, but there were no distant, softer sounds suggesting an army was preparing in kind. What we heard sounded more like training exercise than an actual battle.

  As we turned the corner after pausing to check to see if there were any guards, I caught a flash of something metallic from one of the windows across from us. It was not a bright flash, nor was it prolonged, but it was out of place. Had it been from a weapon smith's storefront, I would not have been alarmed, but it came from the window of a homestead. Without thought, I acted. I did not know how, but I knew it was the tip of an arrow and I knew it was aimed at Kinarin. Right before I heard the thrum of the string released, I threw myself at his back. A shallow pain lanced through my shoulder as we both tumbled to the ground. Instantly he twisted our momentum to his advantage and ended up on top of me with his dagger pressed to my neck.

  His attention snapped to our surroundings again, as did all of ours when we heard the sounds of armored feet rapidly deploying around our location. As the guards continued surrounding us, Kinarin calmly stood up, grasped my hand, and assisted me to my feet again. He dusted himself off, straightened his clothing without any concern for the guards, now numbering more than forty. When he had finished, he turned to face them. Vennesulte and I responded in kind. From their ranks walked a more heavily armored guard, presumably their superior.

  "You have been charged with the attempted murder of Lord Myosk. We have been sent to detain you and present you to his prosecutor for formal charges. Remove your weapons, or we will take you by force," he said with all the authority of the Lord's lawful reach.

  Kinarin stepped to the front placing himself between the guards and the two of us. I looked to Vennesulte and found him leaning against his staff for support, apparently unconcerned with the force charged with our apprehension.

  "Thank you, sir for saving us! We were just accosted by two men running in the opposite direction. My son and I will be forever in your dept. It is good to see that The King's taxes are being put to good use here at the Stone Keep!" he said as he started to walk toward the line of guards.

  "This is your last warning! Stop right there and set down your weapons or we will set them down for you!" Said the head guard as he drew his sword from its scabbard.

  "Thank you so very much again! If you will follow my son and I, we would be more than happy to take you to our home within these very walls. I can assure you, we are no assassins," he said as he continued slowly walking closer to the head guard.

  "Take one more step and I will order my archers to shoot you!" he said as the archers readied their already knocked bows.

  "Very well, sir. I will stop. What can I do to clear up this unfortunate misunderstanding?" he said as he raised his hands in a gesture of subservience.

  "You can start by dropping your weapons!" said the guard.

  "Of course, of course. But we cannot remove from ourselves that which we do not have. We are not but humble citizens seeking refuge from the approaching army. Please, we will offer no trouble if you would just let us pass," he returned calmly.

  "Sir, stop this charade now! We know who you are! There is nothing you can do to stop your apprehension, incarceration, and execution. Surrender now, or it will be much more painful for you!" the head guard said as he raised his hand and looked to the row of archers.

  "Are you sure there is nothing we can say to dissuade your convictions?" Kinarin said as he dropped one of his feet behind the other. Though subtle and all but unnoticeable to any but the most trained eyes, I had seen him do this enough over our training that I knew what it meant. He was preparing for an inevitable fight. But with so many archers, I did not see how we would emerge victorious. Nevertheless, I too assumed the relaxed yet coiled posture and prepared.

  "No. There is nothing. We know who you are and it is time to answer for what you have done, or at least, tried to do."

  "Very well," my mentor said smoothly. It was a statement I had heard before on many occasions, and because of this, I knew what it meant. His mind was set and his actions determined. Because of being surrounded by guards, I knew he was going to attack, but I did not know how or when. But one thing for sure, if we were unable to quickly neutralize the multiple archers, our escape would end here and now.

  I saw Kinarin's arms draw in, but because I was still behind him, I was unable to see anything his hands were doing. "Disarm now or die!" said the guard as he raised his hand slightly more preparing it to drop.

  Right after the guard said his final statement, I saw, or thought I saw, or thought I might have seen, Kinarin flicker the way a candle does when blown by the faintest of breezes. And then I saw two of the archers drop to the ground in a red explosion of blood from their necks. The whole of us were amazed at what had happened in the time it takes a bird to flap its wings once. The hesitation from the lead guard provided the time Kinarin needed to dispatch with two more of the archers. Even the normal demeanor of Vennesulte was disrupted as he too hesitated to comprehend what he had just seen. Always shrouded in a veil of mystery even throughout our time together, Kinarin had just elevated himself beyond what I was willing to accept a
s mortal. However, regardless of whatever he had just done, Kinarin had not eliminated our peril completely. We still had the remaining guards to deal with, their numbers still formidable and their archers still deadly.

  Vennesulte was next to act. Taking a short step backward and coiling on his legs, he took a tremendous leap forward and swung his staff over his head as he landed only a few feet from the head guard who had lingered upon the fantastic nature of Kinarin for a moment too long. He would have regretted the length of his inaction had Vennesulte’s staff not connected squarely with the side of his head breaking bone and consciousness.

  The guards were not without their wherewithal, however. Afterall, they were men of the keep whose training was superb in every aspect. The line of archers fired at Kinarin, and the guards with swords and hand axes each split, half to engage the fantastic assassin, and the other to engage myself and Vennesulte. My twin daggers sprung to my hands and I felt my feet advancing me before I consciously knew what I was doing. I do not know how, but all of the archers had missed him. And with all finality of authentic intent, he made them pay. As I was dodging a particularly vicious strike to my leg by one of the guards, my blades instinctively fell into rhythm with my feet and resulted in the guard's end as they both easily and effortlessly penetrated his soft leather armor and bit deeply into his heart.

  But my part in our fight was far from over. By now, any of the mystical effect my mentor's initial attack provided had worn off and the guards were pressing us with all of their focus. Had they remained a disjointed and chaotic rabble, the three of us would have been met with much less of a trial, but their training had asserted itself causing us to take a defensive position in our individual fights.

  Facing ten armed men trained in complimenting combative techniques was an assassin's worst nightmare. They knew they had superior numbers. But more importantly, they knew they had another distinct advantage - time. All they had to do was pin us down until sufficient reinforcements arrived, which they had no doubt attempted to alert. The rhythm of the battle directed each of us to the center. When we were surrounded again, the guards backed away. We had eliminated all but approximately fifteen of them, yet in spite of our efforts, our situation had not improved because from the two intersecting streets came a column of at least twenty more men from each direction. Clearly, they had more resources dedicated to our capture than we had originally surmised.