by Billy Wong
"If I can see him from behind the windows, unless he's distracted by something else, he can see us going out them."
"Why didn't you tell me if the vantage point was that disadvantageous?" he snapped.
"You're the stealthy assassin! When you told me to keep watch, I thought you had accounted for only being able to see so far down the street. He's almost here, what now?"
Edge's lips parted indecisively. "Uh..."
"Maybe we could just hide behind the door!" She pressed her back to the wall, and before he could decide to resist pulled him tight against her.
"Both of us?"
"We're not that big, hopefully he won't push it too far. Now shhh."
The door squeaked open. Hector stepped in and walked towards the cabinet. As he could have spotted them if he turned around, Edge eased the door a bit farther open to cover them. Celia heard objects shifting, but couldn't see what he did. She hoped Edge had replaced everything he moved accurately enough to evade notice. Hector paused in making noise, and she held her breath. If he saw something was amiss... His footsteps drew closer. Celia put a hand to the door, preparing to shove it in his face, then jump out and punch him out if need be. If he was stunned enough by the door, he might not have time to recognize them. But then, instead of looking behind the panel that separated them, he simply pulled it closed after him as he exited.
"Whew," Edge whispered while Hector's back receded into the distance, "I thought we were goners."
"Goners? We could have taken him."
"I was being overdramatic. Now, time to take some of the white stuff and see if it's a drug." He walked over to the shelf and started. "What the..! The vials, they're gone!"
Celia gazed towards the ceiling. "Well, that's some bad luck. If they are drugs, maybe he's taking them to his supplier to refill them?"
"That's possible. I only checked one, so it could be that the rest were empty and he needs to restock soon."
"Should we follow him or wait until tomorrow to get a sample of it? He likely won't come back this quickly again, but his neighbors might get suspicious seeing us around, and if we follow it might save us time confirming they are just drugs."
"What's the more daring option worthy of a fearless assassin?"
"Following him," she said with a shake of her head.
He flashed a reassuring smile. "It will also resolve everything faster for Lina's sake as you're so concerned about. Come on, let's hurry before he gets out of sight."
They hastened down the street until they could clearly identify his back again, then kept their distance as they tailed him through filthy streets and filthier alleys. Celia hoped they wouldn't have trouble finding their way back to the inn, but they'd faced greater danger than this—probably. Eventually, after turning into an alley, Hector disappeared. They could only conclude he had gone inside one of the doors on the sides of buildings they saw. "I'm not sure we should try checking those doors," Celia said, "at the risk of running into a whole gang of unfriendly criminals. Let's go back and resume this investigation tomorrow."
Edge sighed. "You're right." He headed back towards the alley mouth. "Let's-" A figure jumped out from behind a corner, and he cried out as it threw a cloud of—powder? Ironic—in his face. The figure with a black scarf around his face kicked the blindly reeling Edge out of the way and ran at her as his short blade flashed free of its scabbard. An assassin, now? Not a big man, but lithe and quick. She drew her sword with jaw clenched. Sheesh, Hector and his criminal friends would surely be alerted soon unless they could somehow avoid making a racket out here. At least the assassin didn't shout or anything stupid like that, baring his teeth in silence while he swiped at her with a small curved sword.
She dodged and parried the blows, but he was good, staying right in her face so she remained hard pressed to retaliate with her larger blade. He sliced the back of her hand, thrust at her ribs as she winced. She sidestepped, trapping his arm under her own, and headbutted him in the nose. His head snapped back and she butted him again, breaking teeth though they also cut her forehead. She twisted him around by the arm, slammed him facefirst into a wall. A loud crunch as blood poured from his nose, and his weapon clattered to the ground. He freed his arm and elbowed her temple hard, knocking her back with ears ringing. While she staggered, he lunged stabbing at her eye.
She ducked under it and drove her shoulder into his gut. His elbow crashed upon her spine. Pain lanced through her back, but she pushed forward through it and bore the assassin down. He landed under her, one arm pinned beneath her knee. She punched him once, twice. He hit her back, a weak tap from his unenviable position, then gouged her eye with the same hand. Hot pain making her fear for her sight, she flinched back. She lost her balance atop him, and he shoved her down. As the back of her skull bounced off the cobblestones, an explosion of light filled her vision. The next thing she knew he had her mounted, hammered a calloused fist down into her cheek. Her arms, raised frantically to defend, fell spread out to her sides, and he reached for a dagger to finish her.
The moment the point cleared the sheath, Celia sprang back to life. She caught his wrist and shoved, plunging his own knife into his stomach. "Grr... you..." he gasped. He raised a fist to punch her again, but she moved her head and his knuckles smacked with a painful sound against the paved earth. She ripped the blade upward until it grated against his sternum, and he rolled over choking on blood with his abdomen slit open.
"Sure takes you long enough to clear your eyes," Celia said to Edge—but when she looked she saw him standing over a similarly dressed man who stared sightlessly at the sky. Bloody cuts crisscrossed his chest, but they mustn't be too deep considering he stood straight. She had been so occupied with her own battle, she didn't even realize he fought his own. "Oh, so there were two of these bastards."
Edge rubbed at his eyes, still affected somewhat by the powder, then pulled down his adversary's scarf. Celia did likewise to hers and gaped to behold two identical slim faces with braided purple goatees. "Magical copies?" she suggested.
He laughed, sounding winded. "Nothing so fancy. I wager these are the Shanfor Brothers."
"Who?"
"Triplet assassins from the island of Shanfor, known for their planning and underhanded tricks as well as silly goatees like that. They seemed in a rush though, and the only trick they used was that powder."
"Wait, did you say triplets? Where's the third?"
"That is a mystery."
She spread her arms. "What do we do now? Hector might come out any second, and that's if he hasn't peeked and seen us already."
"Then we'd better hurry up and hide these bodies."
They dragged the corpses a few yards before tossing them in a dumpster. Celia found it a bit tough to haul her man's dead weight over the top, but didn't ask for help not wanting to make herself look bad. Hoping slum crime was common enough that Hector and friends wouldn't be over-curious about the trails of blood, they fled the scene of the slaughter.
When the tired and battered pair met Lina at the inn and told her what happened, she looked none too pleased. "So if Hector is innocent, you've come within a hair already of dragging him into the crossfire between you and the assassins? Besides, if his brother is the feared Necromancer, would those small time killers dare intrude on his territory?"
"The Shanfor Brothers aren't really small time," Edge said. "It's just that their specialty isn't considered to be head to head fighting, and me and Celia are pretty good at that. And even if Angelo was the Necromancer, they probably wouldn't know that. Dino and I didn't know the Necromancer's true identity either."
"Still, what you described sounds a lot more like drugs than a single ingredient for necromancy he keeps at home." She frowned. "Darn, I hope he didn't use the money I left him for that."
"Give us one more day to investigate," Celia said. "If we can retrieve the powder and confirm it's nothing related to dark magic, I'll be satisfied."
"It's not like I could stop you. Fine, cont
inue your investigation, but don't blame me for not warning you it's a waste of time."
#
After letting Lina heal their wounds as much as she could without using the magic stones, they returned once again to the slums the next morning. It was nerve-wracking going back to Hector's house after how less than smoothly their last visit went, but this time they managed to gather a sample of the powder and depart without incident. Celia thought they would have to take it to a chemist or something to identify it, but Lina said she might be able to do it, being a trained healer. After examining it, she concluded in a flustered tone, "This is medicine for treating hair loss. You rub it on your scalp and then wash it."
Edge blinked. "So you mean it is a drug, and not even a bad one at that?"
"Its effectiveness is quite disputed, so some would argue it isn't a good use of money. Other than that though..."
"Hair loss?" Celia grumbled. "He's that poor, living in such horrid conditions, and is still concerned about that?"
Edge said, "It's not all bad. That hint of vanity might show he still has a shred of saneness left, and might be able to come back from the brink... other than that though, this has been a huge waste of time."
"Don't blame me," Lina muttered. "You guys agreed to come, and I never promised this would be a definitive lead."
"Don't worry pretty girl, nobody said they fault you. At least we got to take down those Shanfor Brothers, when a confrontation in other circumstances might not have gone our way. I wonder if the third one will be attacking us soon, though."
Lina looked down. "Maybe the last triplet got sick, and the others were trying to make money to cure him. That could explain why they seemed sloppy as you said, if they weren't used to working without him."
"You're such a goody, always thinking the best of people. Not going to make me feel sorry for those cowardly cheaters."
Celia didn't feel bad about killing them either, but admitted she just might if she knew more. Everyone had their side of the story. "We did what we had to do, but that doesn't mean we have to assume all our enemies are pure evil without knowing anything about them. You used to be an assassin yourself, after all."
"Fair enough. But what now, if we've decided Hector isn't worth looking further into?"
"We might as well go back and see if my dad's made any progress, like Lina suggested before. He has better connections than us, so one would think he's more likely to have success too."
He reluctantly agreed, and they packed in preparation to leave. When Celia opened the door to exit their room, however, her heart quickened to spot the glinting metal of crossbow bolts aimed at her. She sidestepped, the shafts thudding into the back wall. Lucky one of her friends hadn't been directly behind her. Before she could counterattack, Edge stepped in her place and threw an axe. There was a wet sound of steel rending flesh and splitting bone. A body thumped against the floorboards.
"Was that the last triplet?" Celia asked. But then she considered that the cloaked figure had held two crossbows, and got a sinking feeling. They stepped out to see a man gurgle on his back, Edge's axe buried in his chest. His hood had fallen away, revealing the anguished face of Hector.
"Why would you try to kill us?" Lina asked.
He struggled to speak through the frothy pink liquid welling up his throat to pour down his cheeks. "Neighbors told me... your friends snooping around. Figured you had it in for me... so I strike first."
"But we spared you before, when we could have killed you."
"Figured... trick."
Lina looked close to tears, guilt over Sergio's actions probably contributing as much as sadness for his impending death. "Even so, why come after us? You couldn't have thought to get all of us alone."
"Can't beat... kids, I know. But if I could just kill... you..."
"Dammit, you hate me that much?" He couldn't answer, twitching now while he began his death throes. "No, I refuse to accept this as fate! I'll fight it to the end!" She retrieved the first piece of magic boosting stone, not having been used up completely healing Edge, from a pouch. Wrenching the axe from Hector's breast in a spray of blood, she pressed the stone into the gaping wound while her hand glowed over it. "Please work," she begged. "Gods, please let it work."
His convulsions slowed, and some color returned to his white face. The glow from her hands intensified as she strove to fix the damage. Celia glimpsed the edges of his wound growing together while it sealed itself. It impressed her so much that Lina would jump without hesitation to save this man who yearned to murder her. His arms too seemed to gain strength. Where they had lain limp shortly before, they now tensed. One of his hands clutched the hilt of a dagger at his belt and yanked it free. "Look out!" Celia warned as he stabbed up.
But he must have still been weak and slow, for Lina caught his wrist. "Do you truly want me dead so bad?"
Hector's eyelids fluttered, as if only now waking up. "Take you... with me..."
"Look," Celia said. "Look at your chest."
His orbs bulged in wonder. "H-healed? But how?" He met Lina's gaze. "You healed me? Why would you do that? My mortal enemy, the wife of the devil?"
Lina shook her head. "I'm no one's wife. Sergio is buried and dead, as is the old Lady Katalina. I don't ask you to forgive me, but I would implore you to spare this body's life for now, so that I may make amends for the past as much as I can."
"God has granted you the healer's touch... you must have redeemed yourself and are now a saint. If that's so, who am I to argue with the Lord? I'll just... fade into the darkness again." He stumbled upright and lurched for the stairs, stomping heavily down them out of sight.
"Wait, your wound isn't fully healed yet..." Lina looked down at her empty palms, the stone vanished into nothingness. "I suppose it's enough. He probably won't die of it now, anyway." She regarded her blood covered hands. "I'm no saint. But if believing so will bring peace between us, I'll take it."
"This is good," Celia said. "It's settled between the two of you, and nobody had to die." Yet she knew the healer must still feel bad about him being insane. "Maybe now that he's forgiven you in a sense, he'll take your request to heart and try to get help for himself."
"That's optimistic, given how few and unreliable treatments for illnesses of the mind are. I wouldn't even know where to begin helping him there myself. But alright, I'll wish him a turn for the better."
They finished packing and left the city of Dominque, Celia happy at least to see one burden on Lina's shoulders partly taken off them. She just hoped using up that first magic boosting stone wouldn't wind up biting them in the future.
#
Reginald knocked on the door polished to such a sheen it hurt the eyes, having been called by Eleanor. "Princess? Are you there?"
"Chancellor, is that you? Yes, come in."
He entered to find her standing before the large mirror over her dresser, looking downtrodden with a perpetual frown and bags under her eyes. Understandable considering her father worsened with each day. "What do you need of me?"
"Come, stand with me." He did as told with confusion. "Look in the mirror. What do you see?"
"A troubled yet strong princess, who will someday make a great queen of this nation." She spun, grabbed him by the throat. By the time his heart remembered to beat again, she had carried him across the room to slam him against the opposite wall. With those small yet iron hard fingers around his neck, he could hardly breathe. "Have I done something... to offend you, Your Highness?"
"Do you see a murderer?" she asked, her tone colder than ice.
He thought she might be having a delayed guilt reaction, perhaps over slaughtering two thousand men during the course of the civil war before ending it with Moloch's death. "You may have done frightful things long ago, but your motives were just."
"That's not what I was asking about. The chancellor carries out the will of the royal family, or at least that's how it's supposed to be. Have you been hiring assassins to kill merchants behind our backs?"
Oh, that. "I assure you, I have not personally hired any-" Her fingers tightened, cutting him off as he gagged.
"Enough elusive diplomat-speak! Are you the one behind the assassinations, or do you 'support' them? I won't ask again." She loosened her grip enough to let him speak.
"Princess Eleanor, it was to protect-"
She squeezed again, filling his neck with agony so he feared it would pop. "Was it their fault, and did they deserve it?"
"Please, don't kill me... when you are older, you will understand."
She let go. He sank down against the wall, massaging his neck in irrational terror it might be broken. Then again, it would be if she'd put in the slightest bit more effort. "Kill you? Not yet. The crown can always use one of your talents, especially if..." For a moment her voice seemed to crack, but then it was stone-firm again. "But for such a learned man, you should think—are we just barbarians dressed in prettier clothes?" Coming from her it was a tad ironic, but he didn't dare to laugh. "We should shun the murder of innocents, so we might continue to distinguish ourselves from those we would brand villains. Is that understood?"
By no means did Reginald think his value to the country would save him if he defied her outright. "Yes, of course. I will retract any bounties my associates may have placed on certain merchants. Is there anything else?"
"No. Begone before I'm tempted to do more than reprimand you."
He slunk away, aggravated that Eleanor couldn't see the forest for the trees. Yet as he passed through the door, a slight grin tugged at his lips. He would call off the assassins eventually, but nobody would be the wiser if his messages took somewhat longer than expected to reach them. In time, he was sure the princess too would come to see things his way.
#
Celia and the others headed back towards Throwal, hearing from travelers along the way that the king was heavily ill and rumored to be on his deathbed. "Poor Elly," Celia said after parting ways with the merchant couple who shared the news. "That girl sure didn't seem ready for the throne, even if she's more than she appears, not to mention losing your dad must be hard." She hadn't experienced the death of a parent yet, but had lost an aunt in a riding accident and figured no longer having a mom or dad would be that much more painful.
