Blood Of The Righteous

by J. E. Sandoval

  Reflecting back on his prayers, he realized that most of the time he had been pleading with God on behalf of Eleenia. He asked that the Holy Spirit would protect her always, and that she would still marry into a noble or royal family.

  Rubbing his stinging eyes, Gabriel returned to his prayers.

  * * * * * *

  David marveled at the spectacular colors of the sky as the sun set behind the city. He quickly made his way along the boardwalk as fast as his bruised legs would take him. He tried to read the signs, looking for the Salt Spray Inn, but as the light waned, it became more difficult. Most of the signs were old and faded, having been exposed to the sea breeze for years. Having his right eye swollen shut didn’t help much either. He had to stop and rest often, as when he ran out of breath, pain would shoot through his ribs. He spent his time resting on the wooden benches built into the boardwalk, staring out at the sea. Its magnificence still awed him, as did the array of ships that lined the harbor docks.

  The boardwalk was fairly empty now. Most of the ships’ crews had spent their money in the local taverns and brothels and were now either back on their ships or at one of the many inns that sat along the boardwalk. Anytime he heard someone coming, he would duck under a bench or conceal himself in some shadows until they passed. Most of the men were drunk, and with their senses dulled they didn’t even notice him. The only time he was noticed was when he was overtaken by a coughing bout. One of the drunken sailors got down on all fours and peered under the bench. Fortunately, David had never seen him before in his life. The man said that rum would be good for his cough and offered him a swig from his jug, but David had thanked him and declined. He had asked him where the Salt Spray Inn was, but the sailor had no idea.

  Doubt started crossing his mind. He was almost at the end of the boardwalk with only about ten or so buildings to go. Could he have passed it? It was a real possibility.

  His thoughts were interrupted as four men came out of a brothel. A loud, chortling laugh sounded through the dusk… a laugh that David recognized as belonging to one of his attackers. His blood boiled with anger at thoughts of revenge, but if he were to attack them on the boardwalk, they would surely overpower him, and most likely kill him this time.

  David scooted quickly through the horizontal boards that were strung between the posts that lined the ocean side of the boardwalk. His feet silently hit the sand and he quickly darted under the boardwalk and peered up through a small knot in the wood.

  He sat quietly, praying he wouldn’t cough and give himself away.

  The four men walked over him, talking about their sexual escapades and the different women that had entertained them in the brothel. David could hear them as clear as day, but only understood about half of the vulgarity they were saying. As soon as they passed, David crawled out from under the boardwalk. It was completely dark now, and any moon there had been was obstructed by the clouds that had rolled in.

  He quickly darted along the beach and watched as the men walked into a well-lit tavern. Even from where he was standing, David could make out the brightly painted sign hanging over the open door… The Salt Spray Inn.

  David hoisted himself back up onto the boardwalk and quickly limped to the front door of the tavern. The double doors were propped open. David reached the doors and stood to the side with his back against the wall, making sure he was hidden in the shadows from the glow emanating from inside. After listening a second to make sure no one was approaching, he cautiously peered around the door.

  For the size of the place, it was fairly empty. The bartender was busy tapping a keg that sat on a rack behind the bar. Seated at one of the many tables was a man with a black silk shirt, leather pants, and thigh boots. His feet were resting on the table next to a green-lined, black, tricornered hat with a large green plume. Each of his arms were around a plump woman, both dressed as barmaids. Nine empty ale tankards were upturned on the table as the three laughed raucously. Seated at the bar was a man wearing a maroon velvet jacket. He was hunched over a few pages of parchment and scratching his head through long black hair.

  The four men who had earlier attacked David were strolling nonchalantly towards the bar. Kyle, the man with the large mustache, reached behind him and pulled a curved dagger from his belt.

  David stepped into the room. The table against the wall next to him had a single empty metal mug upon it. He quickly grabbed it and screamed at the top of his lungs. “Captain Karinga! Watch out!”

  All eyes suddenly went to David. The man at the bar glanced at the four men and jumped from his barstool. The four men scattered, trying to reach Karinga from different angles. In one fluid motion, the red-coated man grabbed a chair from a nearby table and smashed it in the face of Pem, the one with brown teeth.

  The other three moved to surround him, all drawing their swords. Karinga unsheathed his rapier and began to parry the three men’s thrusts, his back to the wall. David hurled the metal mug with all his might. His aim was true and it struck the mustached man in the back of his head. A sream filled the room and was cut short as a throwing knife seemed to sprout from another one’s back, hurled by the man at the table with the two women. The mustache man, whom David had struck with the mug, turned.

  “You little hell-spawn!” he yelled as he charged in David’s direction, sword poised to kill. He thrust his sword with all his might at head level.

  David dodged to the side at the last second as Kirby’s sword struck the wall, sticking in the wood. Quickly, David darted under the table to his left. He expected the table to be upturned by his assailant, so he crawled under the next table, making his way to the bar. He could hear clangs of metal, women cheering the man in black on, and the cursing of Kirby, who had placed his foot against the wall in an attempt to dislodge his sword. David quickly crawled on all fours across the aisle and ended up under a table to Kirby’s left.

  The mustache man gave a hard yank and his sword was freed. Fear turned to anger and hatred as David watched him upturn the table he had previously been hiding under. He realized that his hand was gripping his new dagger, which David didn’t remember pulling from his boot.

  Silently, he climbed out from under the table. Kirby’s back was to him as he turned over another table in his futile search. David took two steps and pounced on Kirby’s back. The man thrashed to the right and David quickly dragged his blade across his throat.

  A hand grabbed hold of David’s arm and the room spun as his small frame was flipped through the air. He landed hard on a table, which gave way beneath him. The impact knocked the wind out of him and he heard his knife clatter across the floor. Expecting to be skewered, David rolled to his side and tried to come up on his feet. A pair of gloved hands grabbed his arms and steadied him.

  “Easy there, boy. It’s over.”

  David pulled free of the grasp. The man wearing black put his hands up. “Don’t be afraid. Me and Jaxom won’t hurt you.”

  David slowly looked around the room. Kirby, the mustache man, lay gurgling on the floor in his own blood. He was gripping his throat as blood continued to pump from the wound, letting out sputtering noises as he expired. The other three men were also on the floor, one with a knife in his back, the one who had been hit in the face, and a third who was crumpled up in a ball on the floor, gripping his chest. The man with the red jacket was wiping the blood from his rapier on the man’s shirt.

  The bartender had ducked behind the bar, and was just now peeking out to see what had happened. The two women rushed over to the man in black’s side, telling him how magnificent he was.

  The man with the maroon jacket stepped over the corpse with the dagger and bowed deeply in an exaggerated manner to David. “Lad, I thank you. I owe you my life.”

  For the first time since before the attack on his family, David smiled.

  “Since we have not been formally introduced, I’m Ca
ptain Jaxom Karinga,” the man said as he extended his gloved hand. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, and had a short black beard and mustache. He was well muscled, as David could see through the sweat-soaked shirt he wore.

  David took his hand and shook. “David,” he said. The man was still looking at him expectantly. “David….” His eyes went to the leather glove on Karinga’s hand. “Tanner! I’m David Tanner.”

  “Well, David Tanner, I…”

  David heard Pem moan and saw him climb to his hands and knees. He let Karinga’s hand drop from his grasp, ran over, and kicked Pem as hard as he could in the groin from behind. “Where’s my pack?” he screamed as he set upon the man, who had rolled on his back, hands between his legs.

  All Pem could say was “Me jewels! Me jewels!”

  David landed punch after punch on the injured man’s already-bloodied face. His vision turned red as he straddled the man, hitting him continuously on his broken bulbous nose.

  Karinga pulled David off and spun him around to face him. “Easy there, lad! What pack?”

  David pointed at Pem. “They stole my pack! I had all my money and clothes in it and they beat me up and stole it!”

  Karinga let David go and knelt beside Pem. He grabbed him by his beard and lifted his head off the ground. “Is that true, shit for brains?” He shook Pem’s beard back and forth, causing him to moan loudly. “Well, is it? What did you do with it?”

  “We gave it to Captain Ferndock!” he screamed in a frightened voice. “Please don’t kill me!” Pem began to cry.

  Karinga drew closer to Pem’s face, staring him right in the eyes. David wondered how he could stand the stench of the man’s breath.

  “You tell Gaceric and Ferndock,” Karinga said, placing his dagger between the frightened man’s knees. “You tell them the next time their piss boys come near me, whoever we don’t kill, we shall send back to him as women!” He let go of Pem’s beard and punched him right beside his eye. The large man’s head fell back to the floor has he dropped unconscious.

  Karinga ripped the money pouch off of the unconscious man’s belt. He dug out two gold coins and flipped them to the bartender. “That should more than cover the damages and the cleanup. Go get the town watch. Tell them that these sons of bitches attacked us.”

  “Of course, Captain,” the bartender said as he came out from behind the bar.

  Karinga threw the pouch to David. “Here you go, Tanner. Check the rest of them. I know it’s not all that was in your pack, but it should help.”

  “Thank you, Captain.” David quickly darted to the other three bodies and collected their purses. He sat at a table and emptied the coins into a pile. He quickly separated the coins into their denominations, gold, silver, and copper, and counted them. “Hm. Almost fifteen gold. That’s less than a fiftieth of what I had.”

  The man in black looked up from his ladies. “You know your sums, Tanner?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “How many coppers in a gold?” Karinga asked.

  David sighed. “100 coppers in a gold, 10 coppers in a silver, 10 silvers in a gold, 1000 coppers in a platinum, 100 silver in a platinum, 10 gold in a platinum. Please, Captain, that is elementary.”

  Karinga smiled and sat at the table with David. “That’s Corwyn Fyke. He’s my first mate.”

  Corwyn tipped his black hat and grinned, then went back to the women.

  “Can you read and write, David?” Karinga asked.

  “Yes sir. Quite well, sir.”

  Karinga walked over to the bar and fetched the parchments he had been reading prior to the attack. He set them down in front of David.

  “This is the ledger of our trip here from Caledonia. What does it say?”

  David put his coins back into one of the pouches and placed it in his tunic pocket. He picked up the paper and held it so the light from the lamps on the wall shined on it. “‘Captain Jaxom Karinga is hereby charged with delivering forty-two crates of silk from Decia…” David glanced up at Karinga, who was grinning, his attempt to trick David having failed. David continued. “…to the household of Lord Eddington of New Portsmouth in the land of Elgannan to arrive on or about the seventh day of the month of the Resurrection. Payment of three gold per crate, plus a bonus of one silver per crate for every day before the due date the silk is delivered shall be paid in full at the docks of New Portsmouth by a representative of the Eddington household.’ May I see the ledger please?”

  Karinga handed the ledger to David, who began to scan the document. “Sir, I hate to tell you this, but it looks like they short-changed you by eight gold and four silver.”

  David jumped as Karinga slammed his fist down on the table. “I knew it! I knew it!” He turned to face Corwyn, who wasn’t paying the least bit of attention. “Didn’t I tell you they hornswaggled us?” He turned back to David, who had drawn his hands back and was looking apprehensively at the Captain. “I’m sorry, Tanner. I’m not angry with you. Quite the contrary, actually.

  “I’m guessing you heard that the Aragil army is on its way?”

  David nodded.

  “I also take it you don’t want to be here when they get here.”

  David again nodded.

  “Seeing as how you can handle yourself in a fight, you know your letters and sums, and that you saved my life, I hereby offer you the position of Yeoman aboard my ship, the Waverunner.” He removed his glove and extended his hand to David.

  “What’s it pay?” David asked.

  Laughter came from Corwyn and the two women. “You gotta love ‘im, Jax!”

  Karinga chuckled a bit. “Three shares of the profit. Plus a bonus from the operating expenses whenever you catch anyone trying to cheat us.”

  “Deal,” David said as he shook the Captain’s hand.

  “You could have found a lot worse, Cap!” Corwyn said from across the room.

  Karinga smiled and nodded. “Aye, Cor, but I don’t think we could have done much better.”

  David smiled as Karinga mussed his hair.

  “Come on, men,” the Captain said. “Let’s get out of here before the watch arrives.”

  * * * * * *

  Eleenia headed quickly towards the Cathedral, clutching her shawl tightly as she walked through the crisp late morning air. Worry was evident on her usually calm and collected face. No one would meet her eye, and quite a few people had stopped talking to each other as she walked past them. It was almost enough to take her mind off of the parchment she had found nailed to her bedroom door. She had assumed she was in trouble for spending the night at Janelle's home, but it couldn't be helped. Janelle’s friend Holle had arrived, and as they all talked and laughed, they had lost track of time. By the time she had thought about leaving, night had fallen and it was no longer safe to travel the streets. When she had arrived at her room in the morning, a notice for her to see His Grace, Bishop Sentius, two hours after the evening meal. The rumors had abounded about the Bishop and his complete disregard for his oath of celibacy, and upon reading the note El had become sick to her stomach.

  "Surely the Bishop wouldn't attempt anything with Gabriel around," she said under her breath as she past a gardener. She smiled at him as she passed, but the man's eyes dropped to the ground.

  Her mind quickly worked to produce a plan. Gabriel was sure to be angry with her for staying at Janelle's, but if she could bring up the letter, perhaps it would divert his anger elsewhere. She wasn't sure how well it would work. The only person that had talked to her was one of the martial instructors, Brother Na'Hastas. He had stated that Gabriel had spent the entire night in prayer at the Cathedral and was probably still there.

  Eleenia sighed. For Gabriel to stay up all night and pray because she had not come back last night was the height of self-righteousness. She decided she would berate him for his self-imposed martyrdom. She smiled confidently as
she arrived at the Cathedral doors.

  The overwhelming smell of incense hit her like a wave as she entered and caused her to become slightly light-headed. Incense and an empty stomach in the morning had never sat well with her.

  There were several people mulling about, and several standing in line outside the confessional, but she quickly found Gabriel kneeling by himself in one of the middle pews. Removing the parchment from her dress pocket, she walked over sat down next to him with a huff.

  “I know what you are going to say,” she said.

  Gabriel didn’t move. He just kneeled, hands folded and head bowed in prayer.

  “Gabriel! This is getting ridiculous. I know you don’t approve…” Eleenia gasped as her brother looked up at her.

  His eyes were swollen and bloodshot from a night spent crying. Salt streaks from the tears ran down his cheek leaving gray splotches on his white tunic.

  Eleenia put her hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  Gabriel reached for her and buried his face on her shoulder, letting out deep, tormented sobs of grief. Eleenia wrapped her arms around his neck and let him cry. He would tell her what was wrong in his own time.

  After a few minutes, Gabriel pulled back. Eleenia removed a kerchief from her pocket and handed it to him. He blew his nose loudly into it, drawing attention from the people standing in line at the door of the confessional. Eleenia looked at him expectantly.

  “El, they’re gone.” Gabriel started to become choked up again.

  “Who?”

  “Father, Mother, everyone! They’re all dead! The castle was attacked during the wedding! Everyone…”

  Eleenia staggered back stunned, half trying to get her mind around the words, half pushing back the growing feeling of panic. Her breathing quickened as she grabbed onto the pew in front of her to steady herself. The images of her family flashed through her mind as her throat began to tighten and close. She could picture them being slaughtered, screaming as they died in the most horrific manners her mind could create. Clutching her head, she let out a blood-curdling scream as she tried to force the images from her, but they didn’t stop. Fortunately, Gabriel was there to catch her when she fell unconscious.