"Up ahead," he whispered.
Sallis moved forward for a better look.
Rannet's home looked better than he expected. Built from wood, with a stable attached, a single shuttered window and a door faced them. The wood looked like it had been treated with something, possibly oil, and the thatch looked almost new. Sallis felt a man such as Rannet would live in something that looked abandoned.
He clearly made a good living from his trade.
The door and shutters looked secure and no smoke rose into the sky from the single chimney.
"We could approach from the stable side for a closer look," whispered Gamal.
"I'm not getting caught out that way again," replied Sallis. "The man knows what he's about."
"If we come from this side, he'll see us for sure, if he's in."
"Let's see what's around the other side," said Sallis.
They crept through the trees, until they could see the far side of the wooden home. Another set of shutters and another single door. The stable doors were shut, which suggested nobody was at home, but Rannet might have hidden his own horse. He might even have hidden it in the stable. Part of the stables had firewood stacked up to the eaves.
Still no sign of anyone at home.
Sallis waited, in case the man was a heavy sleeper and wanted a long sleep. Such as after a ride through the night.
Nothing. No sound of a restless horse. No clatter of pans. No hint of a fire.
The stable side of the building, where there were no windows or doors, and no way of being seen from the house, offered the best approach.
But what if the man lurked in the forest, waiting for them? No, he believed himself safe. He had touched Sallis and broken the link the Gift bestowed.
"Oston."
Sallis kept his voice quiet, but the stout guardsman joined him in a moment.
"Approach from the stable. See if anything is in there. Then risk the window. See if you can get in, but be careful!"
"Give me a minute." Oston left, moving with surprising silence, given his bulk.
"Is this wise?" asked Gamal, moving to join Sallis.
"We must find out whether he's in or out," replied Sallis. "He knows Oston least."
He waited for a correction from Gamal, but the man said nothing.
Oston moved quickly across the open ground, reaching the side of the stable in moments. He paused there, listening for anything out of place. Sallis watched as the man turned the corner and deftly undid the latch securing the upper stable door. Oston let that swing open and paused again, giving anyone inside a chance to react.
Nothing.
Cautiously, Oston poked his head into the gloomy interior before opening the lower door and entering the stable, reappearing moments later. The guardsman shook his head at Sallis.
"Nobody in there at least," Sallis remarked to Gamal.
"He might have hidden his horse in the forest," replied the other man.
"If he's expecting company, and if he's wise," added Sallis.
Oston glanced at the woodstore, checking for concealed hiding places, and was clearly satisfied there were none. At this side of the house, he reached the door before the window and he paused there again.
"Here comes the real test," murmured Sallis.
Oston straightened, stood before the door and rapped smartly on it with his knuckles.
"What's he doing?" demanded Gamal.
"Even Rannet might have visitors now and then," replied Sallis. "A man alone is hardly a threat."
Whether or not Rannet waited within, nobody answered the door.
"After knocking on someone's door," continued Sallis, "the natural thing to do when there's no reply is to check the window."
"Many places consider that rude behavior," muttered Gamal, as Oston crossed to the window and peered through the shutters.
Oston returned to the door and tried to open it, but it stood firm against his tentative efforts. Moments later, he rejoined them.
"Saw nobody inside, though I couldn't see everywhere," he reported. "The house has got more than one room and an upstairs. No horses or domestic animals here, either."
Sallis nodded. "Then we wait," he said. "But do we wait out here, or inside? What's the lock like?"
Oston pursed his lips and shook his head. "For a man who is often away and who appears to live alone, there's nothing complicated about his locks."
"Obviously a man who can sort out intruders his own way," remarked Gamal.
Sallis reached a decision.
"We wait inside," he announced.
***
Chapter 19 - Waiting
Oston pulled a loose knot from the wooden door and used the tip of his dagger to lift the latch on the inside. He muttered something about "fools who don't use proper locks" as the door swung open.
"Lucky for you that knot was loose," said Gamal.
"Lucky nothing," retorted Oston. "It's an old peasant trick; just a shame the strawheads haven't moved on from three thousand years ago."
"We don't even have that on Re Annan," said Sallis, drawing his sword. "But then, you can't run far on a small island."
Sallis stepped inside.
"Not a lot to steal," said Gamal. "So why bother with locks?"
Thanks to the wooden shutters, a comfortable gloom had settled inside. Gamal had not lied. A wooden chair sat in one corner, before an open fire range that took up most of one gable wall. A solitary cushion rested on the chair, though there was also a three-legged wooden stool. A blackened kettle and a couple of pots sat on one side of the range, a small stack of wood and kindling on the other.
Sallis's boots scraped on the stone-flagged floor as he opened the door leading through to the second room, which looked like somewhere to store food. He glanced at the rickety wooden stair before he climbed into the eaves. There, he found a pile of blankets and nothing else.
"Not even a bed," he said, returning downstairs and sheathing his sword.
"Looks like our man doesn't stay here for long at a time," said Oston. "We need to work out how we're going to play this."
"We do. Oston, I'd rather you stayed outside and kept an eye on the approach path and the horses. Gamal, you watch the back and I'll keep the front covered."
"Signals?" asked Oston. "I can hardly run ahead of him to give warning."
"Bird calls?" suggested Gamal.
"I can do a duck," replied Oston, "but I don't think this is a suitable place for ducks."
"Follow him to the house," said Sallis. "We'll be watching and waiting anyway."
"You want me out there all bloody night too? While you two stay snug in here?"
Sallis forced a smile. "Dawn till dusk. I doubt if Rannet can see in the dark any better than us; if he can, his horse can't. We'll keep watches through the night, if he doesn't return today."
Gamal eyed the chair and stool as Oston left the thatched cottage.
"I'll bow to your greater age and let you have the chair," said Sallis. "I prefer to stand."
Needing no further urging, Gamal dragged the chair across to his window and relaxed into it, making sure it remained far enough back to be invisible to the casual observer outside. The shutters helped of course.
"I'm glad Oston's outside," he remarked, as Sallis took position beside the opposite window. "I've been wanting a word with you."
"I know," replied Sallis. "That's why I sent him out there."
"Your revenge is at hand," said Gamal, keeping his voice quiet. He didn't whisper, as that sound had a habit of carrying further than a low voice. "A quick death, or a slow one?"
"No idea."
Gamal snorted a laugh, immediately cutting it short. "A refreshing answer."
"Why are you so interested?" Sallis kept his own voice quiet.
"Because revenge, like selfishness, is among the basest of emotions, even if instinctive and natural. Born from love, it has life and motion of its own." Gamal's hazel eyes glittered in the gloom.
"It is als
o born from duty," Sallis pointed out.
Gamal nodded. "It is. But then the person carrying out the revenge acts on behalf of a third party. Not the case today, though."
"True." Sallis's attention returned to the window.
"So are you here today because you love those Rannet murdered, or to salvage some self-respect because you weren't there to protect them?"
Sallis kept his attention on the window and outside, but he blinked.
"Born from love, or from a sense of failure?" Gamal kept his tone gentle. "You're certainly not here because of duty, are you?"
"Possibly all three," replied Sallis.
"I wonder if you will be savage when you kill, or cold and clinical."
Sallis gritted his teeth. "I'll do what must be done."
"One thing to win a fight in a practice yard," said Gamal, "quite another to literally kill someone. You've never killed before."
"There's a first time for everything."
Gamal chuckled. "Indeed there is. Though nobody knows whether or not you have the fire for it. Don't say anything! Nobody knows until the moment is upon them. Nobody. We all know what we'd like to believe, but the first kill is the hardest."
"Well, soon we'll find out," said Sallis.
His head shot around and he stared outside again. His heart began to pound in nervous anticipation and he shifted his grip on his sword.
He had heard the unmistakable sound of a horse's whinny. He soon heard hooves as someone led a horse up the narrow woodland path and towards the wooden cottage.
***
Chapter 20 - Vengeance
Sallis applauded Rannet's caution. He instantly recognized the shaggy mop of black hair and the squat body. The assassin moved out from Sallis's sight, though he left his horse to crop the fresh grass. Sallis knew the man would be moving around his house, looking for anything out of place.
The man thought he was good, but his first mistake had been approaching the house directly, instead of at an angle. Sallis leaned towards Gamal.
"Whichever of these doors opens, move to stand behind it, so you're out of sight when he comes in."
Gamal nodded to show he had understood.
Rannet returned to his horse and gathered the reins, leading it around to the stable. Sallis heard the stable door open, followed by silence as, he assumed, Rannet groomed his animal.
"Keep your eyes open!" Sallis cautioned Gamal. He kept watching the front, seeing no sign of Oston who, sensibly, kept his distance.
Gamal gestured towards his door, before moving away from the window, so he would stand behind it when it stood open. Sallis crossed the floor to join him.
But Rannet did not enter through that door. A moment's silence, then the front door opened and the assassin, framed by sunshine, stood where Sallis did not expect.
Rannet saw them both, and clearly recognized Sallis, but he concentrated first on the older man.
"Betrayer!" he yelled at Gamal, drawing his sword and striding across the room.
Sallis hoped the man was used to striking from the shadows, or unexpectedly, and rarely fought protracted battles. Whoever landed the first blow should win the fight. He brought his own sword to the ready and flowed to meet the assassin.
Rannet sneered and blocked Sallis's opening move, leaning forward as the blades locked.
"They want to turn you," he whispered.
"You murdered people I loved," hissed Sallis, "and that is the only reason I'm here."
"Kill him!" urged Gamal.
Sallis heard Gamal doing something with the door, but could not see what. He pushed away from Rannet and narrowly avoided falling over the stool. The swords flashed and locked again, the small room not allowing either fighter to move with full freedom.
Sallis had time to see Gamal cross the floor and bend the latch on the front door, effectively preventing anyone else from entering. Locking Oston outside, unless he managed to pry a way through the shutters.
"Kill him!" repeated Gamal, stepping clear of both men.
Sallis stepped forward, feinted one way, then spun his sword the other. Even caught in the confined space, Rannet kept both sides covered and Sallis was forced to try again.
The blades locked again as Rannet blocked another thrust and his sneer returned. Sallis increased the tempo, turning his sword best he could in the small room.
Rannet thought he spotted a weakness, leaned forward to exploit it, and exposed his right side. Sallis slid his sword into place, sheathing it in Rannet's torso.
The squat man's dark blue eyes blazed hatred and he lurched forward to reach Sallis, impaling himself further. But before he could do anything, the light left those eyes and Rannet fell backwards, Sallis's sword still jammed in place.
Sallis spun on his heel to face Gamal.
"Feel the release," whispered Gamal, hazel eyes glittering. "Isn't the vengeance so very, very sweet?"
"He called you 'betrayer'." Sallis's voice was quiet, emotionless.
Gamal smiled. "You have proved yourself. You can kill. Cold, detached... You've done it."
"You were working with him," continued Sallis. "You are with... them."
"Come and join us," invited Gamal. "The so-called benefic lot rejected you, pushed you aside. With us, you can be exactly what you were always meant to be."
"You planned all of this with him." Sallis jerked his head sideways, towards Rannet. "You are as responsible."
Gamal hefted his own sword which Sallis had not seen him draw.
"Join us," he said. "Join us, or die."
Sallis knew his sword was jammed in Rannet's body, probably caught on a bone, so he snatched up the quarterstaff. There had been little enough space to swing swords, and the staff would be even more difficult.
Gamal laughed. "Another stick," he sneered. "Always, you choose to crawl low instead of flying high."
"I fly high enough," replied Sallis, bringing his staff to the ready.
Gamal probed with his sword, turning the staff, meeting Sallis's thrusts, but maintaining a defensive posture, keeping his back to the wall. Staff and sword met, Sallis turning it away from any chopping blows, the way Gamal had destroyed his last quarterstaff.
He fought anger as well as the other man. Anger at Gamal, anger at the casual way in which his friends had been murdered, anger at himself for being taken in. Was he really so stupid?
Never again though. Never trust again. Never extend his emotions, never fall in love. Never grow close. Pain lay down that path.
Emotion led to danger.
Sallis turned aside Gamal's increasing thrusts and forced his emotions into a tiny ball in the back of his head. Sallis had fought Gamal before, on the practice field. Gamal was good. Gamal had defeated him.
But Sallis always learned from his mistakes.
He held his staff straight, knowing his opponent would seize the chance to cut through it again. Gamal raised his sword...
Sallis grasped the Gift, stepping forward, moving more quickly through time. The staff cracked against Gamal's left kneecap and, before the other man could react, Sallis raised his staff and jabbed him in the throat.
Time returned to normal for Sallis as he released the Gift. Gamal dropped his sword, hands going to his ruined throat, scrabbling at it, fighting for air. He tried to speak, but only a gurgling sound escaped.
"I will never turn," said Sallis. Temptation to stand back and watch Gamal die beckoned, but Sallis knew he could not leave the man to suffer. He leaned forward again, his hand touching Gamal's chin gently. "You thought I had the gift of healing," he whispered, "but this is what happens when I heal."
He opened himself to the Gift, wove it as if he intended to Heal, then touched Gamal with it. The man's eyes opened, then the light left them and he lay limp.
Sallis felt soiled. He had used the Gift to kill.
Now it was over, Sallis finally freed his sword from Rannet's corpse, and opened the front door to Oston's insistent banging.
"Well?" demanded
Oston.
"Vengeance is mine," said Sallis.
Then shock set in, sudden shudders running through Sallis's body.
"You'd better lie down for a bit," said Oston.
***
Chapter 21 - New Beginning
"You stay there and rest!" Oston called from where he worked inside Rannet's house.
Sallis wanted to say he felt much better, now that the shakes had passed and he'd recovered from his shock. Yet he felt quite comfortable on the springy turf, with the sun warming him, dappling through the oak leaves.
And watching Oston work was a sight better than working himself.
Oston had brought all the wood from the store into the cottage, building a pyre around the two bodies, stuffing kindling into every gap he could find. He piled everything in there: blankets, bedding, wood, lantern oil...
Four horses, tethered to keep them away from the building, grazed the grass surrounding them. Sallis didn't know Rannet's horse's name, but the chestnut gelding looked happy enough with the other three.
Finally satisfied, Oston crossed the ground to join Sallis.
"I'll use your firebow," said the solid guardsman. "It's quicker than mine."
"Whatever you like. Look, I'm fine now. Very all right."
Oston gave him a critical look. "How did you know Gamal worked with Rannet?"
"Apart from him trying to turn me every evening after you'd gone to sleep? He knew Rannet, knew where he lived, pretty much knew what he did for a living. Do you believe in coincidence?"
Oston shook his head. "Feel better now you've had your vengeance? Satisfied?"
"No," replied Sallis. "On that score I feel no different."
"Good. Long may that feeling continue."
Sallis changed the subject. "There's a third man involved."
Oston sighed. "I think you've caught up with all those you're going to. What makes you think there's someone else?"
"Gamal joined us from behind," said Sallis. "Yet someone had tidied the place where Rannet held us. I had nothing to follow from there. And though Rannet recognized Gamal, he was not the second man he waited for."
"You might be wrong," said Oston. "We have no proof Gamal followed us. For all we know he left Marka before we did."
"It's possible, but I don't think so." Sallis smiled, albeit weakly. "He followed because he was meant to make certain we found Rannet. Rather than run into him. They wanted to use my frustration at losing Rannet's trail to help them turn me."
Oston grunted.
Sallis shook his head. "Why don't I feel any different?" He gestured towards the cottage. "I feel nothing for them, but surely there should be some sort of closure now?"
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