Zaxe's Rule (Assassins of Gravas Book 4)

by N. J. Walters

  “How could you think I wouldn’t, especially when I didn’t know where you were gone?”

  Her brother’s eyes widened. “I left a letter on my bed.” He glanced at Helldrick, who was standing with his massive arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.

  “Help me up.” She needed to be on her feet, not on her behind on the ground. Ignoring the aches and bruises, she took her brother’s hand letting him pull her upright. “There was no note.” She addressed that comment not to Esau, but Helldrick.

  “I took it. No need for anyone to know my business. Only a fool leaves a trail to be followed.”

  “Yet here I am.” Taunting him was stupid, but she wasn’t about to cower or back down, no matter what he did. She had more spine than that.

  “I’m sorry, Jamaeh. Father said he wanted to spend the day with me. I left a note saying I’d be back later. Next thing I knew, I was here.”

  “You drugged your son?” If she had a blaster, she’d shoot him between the eyes.

  “Nothing to harm him. And he’s my son, my property. You’ve had too much influence over him. Made him weak.”

  “He’s a better man at his age than you’ll ever be.” She braced, waiting for the next blow, but he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

  “There’s the spirit I’m looking for. Pity you weren’t born a boy.”

  “Count your lucky stars, old man. If I had, you’d already be dead.”

  He shook his head, more amused than frightened.

  “Now that we’ve had this lovely family reunion, we’ll be going.” It was brazen but worth a try.

  He shook his head. “You’re not going anywhere. Not until I get answers.”

  “Reman isn’t happy with you,” she tossed out. “Seems you owe him money, left him high and dry.”

  He waved away that concern. “I’ll make it right with him. I always do. No, I’m more interested in the man looking for me.”

  Shit, how did he know about that? She pressed her lips together.

  “You think I didn’t know about that? I have people everywhere. Back in Badwa and with the outcasts. They tell me things.” He stalked forward, wrapped his hand around her throat, and lifted her right off her feet.

  Choking, she clawed at his hand, gouging deep and drawing blood. He didn’t even flinch. He might be old, but the man had the strength of three men. Esau charged forward to help but was caught by two men and held back.

  “Jamaeh! Let her go! Let her go!” Esau’s pleas fell on deaf ears.

  She kicked out her feet. Black spots filled her vision. He was going to kill her. The strength bled from her limbs, leaving her limp.

  Esau still had a chance. Helldrick would try to turn her brother into a younger version of himself. An image of Zaxe filled her heart and mind, along with a deep regret for what might have been if things had been different.

  But fate and life had other ideas.

  Then a deep voice pierced the black veil closing around her. “I believe you’re looking for me.”

  Her back hit the ground. Throat constricted, she painfully sucked air into her lungs through her nose. Even though her eyes watered, there was no mistaking him.

  Zaxe had arrived.

  ****

  Every muscle in Zaxe’s body urged him to go to her, but he stood his ground and faced his prey. The timing had to be perfect if they were going to make it out of here alive. His mission had been to kill Helldrick for the king of Gravas. That mission had changed. Helldrick would die because he’d put hands on Jamaeh, tried to kill her, his own daughter. The man didn’t deserve to live.

  Zaxe was outnumbered, but that was a minor detail. It wasn’t the first time. He’d planned on doing more reconnaissance, but time had run out. The younger male helping Jamaeh up was Esau. The likeness was unmistakable. With his light-brown skin, red and black hair, and green eyes, he was a male version of Jamaeh. And from what he’d heard of the conversation while skulking around the camp, it seemed the boy hadn’t gone willingly. Helldrick had taken the note and the boy’s clothes, assuming his sister would write him off and be done with him.

  Helldrick didn’t know his daughter at all. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to protect those she loved.

  She protected me, a voice in his head reminded him.

  “Who the hell are you?” Helldrick demanded. His men surrounded Zaxe, their weapons drawn. “You look local, but I don’t know you.”

  “You’ve made powerful enemies.” He kept his voice level, well aware every man here was listening. “The bounty on your head is huge with death to all who help you.” That had several men taking a step back.

  Helldrick laughed, but Zaxe heard the forced quality of it. “I’ve always had enemies. People have been trying to kill me for decades.” He held his arms out at his side. “Yet, I’m still here.” Many of his men nodded and some voiced their agreement.

  “You’ve never had an enemy like the king of Gravas.”

  Everyone went silent. They were all aware the Gravasians were the most powerful and lethal military force in existence. They could conquer the universe but preferred to keep to themselves. If someone stepped over the line and thought to take them on, it always ended badly for the attacker. “The king’s personal assassin killed your older son Balthazar.”

  “Then why didn’t he send his assassin for me? I say you’re lying.”

  “Call it a personal favor.”

  “And just who are you?” Helldrick demanded, his face turning red with rage.

  “Zaxe.”

  “That’s a weapon, not a name.”

  The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile. “It’s the name Artemis gave me.” He dropped the name, wondering if the older man would recognize it. Artemis had run the top assassins in the known universe before her untimely death.

  “You’re one of her people? I can bargain with her. She knows me.”

  “She doesn’t send her regards. The Gravasians killed her for her involvement in your little plot. The body count is huge and still growing. You should never have tried to take tech from them.”

  Now many of the men were backing away. One broke and ran. Helldrick drew his blaster and fired. The man toppled forward, dead before he hit the ground. “I’ll kill any deserters,” he bellowed. His remaining men shuffled in place, their gaze darting from their leader back to Zaxe.

  “What you failed to realize,” Zaxe went on, continuing to encourage dissension in the ranks, “was that the man you took the tech from, the one your son held captive, was the king’s son.” He had to keep his target talking a little bit longer.

  “Oh, shit.” Jamaeh’s soft whisper calmed him. She was alive. It was his job to keep her that way.

  “That is an automatic death sentence. The Gravasians don’t mess around with things like that. There’s no trial, no jury, just the executioner.” Zaxe drew his blaster and fired in one quick, practiced motion. The beam hit Helldrick in the center of his forehead. His eyes widened before he toppled back. He was dead before he hit the ground.

  Zaxe threw himself to the ground and rolled, firing in quick succession. An explosion ripped through the camp. Right on time. One after another, the tents exploded. Men raced for the sand sleds, but some fought back.

  Tamping down his emotions, he fired again and again. The best way to keep Jamaeh alive was to keep the men focused on him. She’d dropped to the dirt as soon as he’d fired, taking her brother with her. A man to Zaxe’s right went down. He didn’t dare glance over his shoulder, but there was little doubt that she’d armed herself.

  The battle was short but vicious. He showed no mercy, left none alive. Two managed to make it to the sleds. He knelt on one knee, took a deep breath, aimed, and fired. His shot was true. He took out one and then the other. The sleds continued on a few feet before crashing to a stop.

  Silence descended, but for the crackling of the burning tents. As the smoke cleared, Zaxe stalked toward where he’d last seen Jamaeh.

 
“Stop right there.” Esau stepped in front of his sister, a blaster in his shaking hands.

  “Esau, no.” Jamaeh pushed to her feet, her weapon held down by her side.

  “I have no argument with you,” he assured the younger man.

  Ignoring his sister, Esau pushed her behind when she tried to get around him. “I heard you. No mercy to anyone involved. Helldrick is our father.” His face turned pasty as he glanced at the body. “Was our father.”

  “You didn’t volunteer to come here.”

  “You heard that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Esau, put down the weapon.” Jamaeh reached for his hand, but he shook his head, his chin going up.

  “No, I didn’t protect you before. I have to now.” He swallowed heavily, his throat rippling. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

  “Listen to your sister.” Her brother wasn’t a killer by nature. It wasn’t in his eyes, but accidents happened. “Just lower the blaster and we’ll talk. You don’t want to kill anyone. It leaves a stain on your soul.” He knew that better than anyone. The teen seemed conflicted but determined.

  It would be easy enough to take him down, but Zaxe didn’t want to dent his confidence. He liked that Esau was man enough to stand up for his sister, even though he was only eighteen.

  “I had no choice.” He was watching Jamaeh as he spoke. She had one hand wrapped around her throat. There would be bruises there, just like the one on her face where the bastard had struck her. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” She licked her lips, which were chapped from the heat and wind. Dust clung to her clothes and there was a rip in her tunic, but she was alive. Everything else could be healed or mended.

  “Jamaeh.” He started toward her, needing to hold her in his arms, to reassure himself she really was safe.

  Esau took a step forward, the toe of his boot catching in a discarded flask. When he lurched forward, the blaster discharged, hitting Zaxe dead in the chest. The exact same place he’d taken the hit from the explosive. He fell back several steps and righted himself. “Boy, either kill me or put the damn weapon down. You shoot me again and I’m not going to be happy.”

  What little remaining color he had drained from his face. “I didn’t mean to do that.” He stared from Zaxe to the blaster and back again. “How are you upright? Did I miss?”

  “No.” Not taking any chances, he strode forward to take the weapon. Jamaeh moved in front of her brother.

  “It was an accident,” she insisted. Did she think he’d shoot him?

  “This isn’t an accident.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, dragged her against his chest, and kissed her. Mindful of her injuries, he eased his hold, but she threw her arms around him and held on tight. The taste of her settled him. She really was alive.

  “I left so you’d have a chance,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.

  “Once I got over wanting to throttle you, I realized that. You knew I’d follow you.”

  She shrugged. “I knew you’d finish your mission.”

  She had no idea the power she held over him. He was only being to understand it himself. He tucked several skinny braids behind her ear. “The mission changed the moment Helldrick hurt you. I couldn’t let him live after that.”

  “No, I suppose you couldn’t.” Her slow smile filled his world with sunshine. He bent his head to kiss her again when a throat cleared beside them.

  “Ah, I take it you know each other.” Eyes wide and a slight smile on his face, Esau watched them.

  How would she answer? How much would she want her brother to know? His heart pounded, not from the adrenaline from the battle but in anticipation. He wanted her to claim him as her own. He wanted a place to belong, to call home.

  Only she could give him that.

  “Yes, we know each other.” Keeping one arm around his waist, she faced her brother. “I’d like you to meet Zaxe. And Zaxe, this is my brother, Esau.”

  Not exactly the endorsement he’d hoped for, but she wasn’t disavowing him. He could work with that. Esau held out his hand. “Sorry I shot you.”

  “I’ll forgive you. Once,” he added as they shook.

  When Jamaeh slumped against him, he caught her. “You need to sit. You need water and food.” Leaving them, he scavenged through what hadn’t been destroyed, finding enough to do them several days.

  Both siblings watched him with varying degrees of concern. He sat beside Jamaeh and handed her a water flask. “Once you’re rested, we’ll head back to Badwa.”

  She stiffened. “Of course.”

  What had he said wrong? “Don’t worry about Reman. I’ll make sure he’s not a problem.”

  “Great. Good. When that’s done, I guess you’ll be on your way back to wherever you came from.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jamaeh cursed her tongue for the hundredth time as they threaded their way through the marketplace. Even though she’d been away from home for less than a week, it seemed different, almost foreign. It hadn’t changed, but she had.

  The men flanked her, both of them keeping a watchful eye. Good thing, as she was distracted by the man on the right side of her. What was Zaxe thinking? No way to tell from his expression, which was as stoic as ever.

  They’d bypassed the outcast settlement on their journey, unsure of their welcome, and camped in the canyon last night. The darkness, the silence, which she usually found peaceful, had been spooky. How many men had died there? A few pieces of sand sleds sticking out of the ground were the only remnants of the battle.

  She shivered, in spite of the late afternoon sun beating down on them, and pulled her cloak tighter around her.

  Zaxe had kept to himself, allowing her and Esau to talk. She’d told her brother everything. Well, not quite everything. She’d left out sleeping with Zaxe, although if the glances he was giving both of them were any indication, he likely suspected. Why wouldn’t he, considering the kiss he’d witnessed?

  She hadn’t slept well last night. She’d missed Zaxe’s presence beside her. Gods, she was a fool. How naïve she’d been to think she could share her body with Zaxe and walk away emotionally unharmed and unchanged. When he left, his absence would leave a huge hole in her life. He was right next to her, but she already missed him.

  As though sensing her thoughts, he asked, “Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine.” What else could she say? “When will you be leaving?”

  A muscle in his jaw worked and his lips thinned. “Eager to get rid of me?”

  “No, but—”

  “Halt.” The authoritative voice had her coming to a complete stop. Everyone in the market went quiet. Anticipation hummed in the air. What was happening? A troop of soldiers stood before them, their captain at the front, his blaster at the ready.

  When she saw who was beside him, her stomach clenched. Samar, the weasel, had obviously gone running to his father. She straightened and assumed a bland expression. “What seems to be the problem, Captain?”

  A sneer marred Samar’s handsome features. “That’s the man.” He pointed at Zaxe. “He’s the troublemaker.”

  A murmur rippled through the crowd. Several women tittered, no doubt waiting for her to get arrested. She’d done nothing to them, but many of them resented her, while others loathed her for her mixed birth.

  Shit, she had to get Zaxe out of here. He might be an assassin, but they were surrounded by an entire squadron. Not to mention locals who might turn hostile if provoked. And Samar was a master at stirring up discontent.

  “What troublemaker?” she shot back. “You’re the one who tried to shake down my client. We’re just back from a desert expedition,” she addressed the last to the captain. She eased closer to Zaxe and nudged him, hoping he’d take the hint and keep his mouth shut. There was a lane to her right, a potential escape route.

  The captain frowned before his expression returned to neutral. “We have orders to bring this man to Lord Zaxurus.” He turned to Zaxe. “What is your name? No one
seems to know.”

  “My name is Zaxe.” His deep voice carried and was easily heard by all around them.

  The captain frowned. “No lies. What is your real name?”

  “That is the name I’ve answered to since I was six.” Zaxe removed his sunshades and tucked them in his pocket before slowly lowering his hood. What was he doing? He took such pains to hide his identity. What was he doing giving the authorities a good look at him?

  “He’s a stranger,” she interjected. “Just here in business. He’ll be leaving now. Right now,” she added with emphasis. The soldiers might not want him to go, but she had little doubt that Zaxe could make a break for his ship and get out of here before they could catch him.

  Beside her, he sighed as though perturbed by a slight inconvenience. Was he serious? Did he have any idea what deep shit he was in? What deep shit they were all in?

  “No one is going anywhere.” The captain motioned to his men to move in.

  Zaxe paid them no mind. “Before the age of six,” he continued as though he was sitting in a coffee shop shooting the breeze with friends, “I had another name.” He tossed his cloak to the ground, exposing the mean weapons strapped to his body, and went to work on his shirt.

  “Stop that,” she muttered.

  He winked at her, actually winked before pulling off his shirt.

  “That’s a battlesuit.” The captain seemed impressed and then worried. “Stop.” He raised his blaster. “You’re heavily armed for a man here on business.”

  “You can’t be too careful.” He held his hands out by his sides as several soldiers came forward and removed his blaster and several knives. “Do you want to know my real name?”

  Samar pushed forward, fury snapping in his eyes. “This is ridiculous. Take him into custody. My father has demanded it.”

  Esau was pale, his hands clenched, ready to jump into the fray. She shook her head to warn him off. Whatever happened, he needed to stay out of it. She hadn’t just rescued him at great risk to allow him to throw his life away. He frowned but gave a slight nod.