The Hunt for the Three Roses

by Jason Hubbard

  He took a deep breath and slowly headed away from the gory scene, scanning the rooftops and alleyways. To steady his nerves, he tried thinking of happier times, but those memories seemed to belong to another person. He turned to cursing people instead, such as Don for not bringing any armed guards, King Paulson for forcing him into this situation, and his father for not doing more to keep Sean safe at his old home. Strangely, he couldn’t curse Rainer, for he seemed more like a force of nature than a man, and no amount of anger and arguing could dissuade a storm or earthquake from happening.

  But why? How in the world could Rainer survive being swept up in a blanket of flames, and how in the seven hells could he tear through a magic barrier like it was mere fabric? A negating crystal was the obvious answer, but as Brad had noted, a crystal can’t block wind or fire, which were natural elements. Johnny also said that he didn’t feel a crystal’s presence—a feeling that Sean understood. So how could Rainer prove to be so unstoppable?

  He must be immune to magic, he thought. Magical flames and enchantments have no effect on him for some reason I don’t know of. Perhaps he’s a mage himself who has strong defenses in place, or perhaps he happened upon some secret that makes him invulnerable. Whatever the reason, I’m sure it’s why King Paulson wants him alive: The King wants to uncover his secrets.

  For several minutes, he slowly made his way down the street, his teeth tightly clenched as his wand hand shook. He kept an eye out for any movement, even if it was merely the wind blowing leaves across the cobblestones. So great was his concentration that he wasn’t bothered by the high-pitched whine. It was simply background noise that couldn’t hurt him—not like how a remorseless murderer could.

  Before long, a beam of light emitted from a front pocket. It was the distress stone, which he nearly forgot he had. He pulled it out and noted how the light pointed in the direction of the house Don was in.

  Rainer found him. Shit. Why didn’t he activate the bombs? Wasn’t that the plan?

  He put the stone away and headed for the house, going in a jog so he wouldn’t make too much noise. When he reached his destination, he stood and listened for a while, trying to catch any telltale sounds of combat. He was only met with dead silence, so he cautiously entered the house, peering into every corner before crossing the doorway.

  He heard something from upstairs. It was hard to make out what it was, but it sounded like … thumping? Was there a fistfight going on? He made his way up the stairs, wincing at every creaking floorboard, and found a hallway where the sound came from an open door. With his wand at the ready, he swallowed hard and sneaked towards the scene. He couldn’t wait until this was all over with, whether Rainer was caught or not. He had some choice words for Don Orlov, and he wouldn’t let the man off easy when they reported back to the guard station.

  As he drew closer, the thumping noise became more mysterious. It was accompanied by someone grunting from exertion, and he expected to see Don working on some project designed to trap Rainer. Instead when he peered into the room, he beheld a sight that would burn itself into his mind for a lifetime. Don lied on the floor as Rainer straddled him, his upper body soaked in blood as his limbs twitched. Rainer raised a shiv above his head and plunged it deep into Don’s chest, then slipped it out and repeated the motion. The man was clearly enjoying himself, his lips peeled back in a look of wicked ecstasy.

  Sean couldn’t help but gasp in horror, and he froze when Rainer snapped out of his murderous trance and looked at him. Sean knew he had to do something, but as those crazy eyes locked onto his, his mind drew a blank. Don was beyond saving, and now Sean was all alone with no backup to help him.

  It wasn’t until Rainer grinned when Sean finally got moving. He ran down the hall, hearing Rainer give chase. He turned and issued a fireball from his wand, hitting Rainer squarely in the chest. Rainer grunted as cracking fire enveloped him, but he brushed it off as if it was nothing more than a minor nuisance.

  Sean rushed down the stairwell and through the front door, then sprinted down the street as if … well, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that the Devil was on his heels. Rainer remained in hot pursuit, and as much as Sean wanted to lose him, he knew that wasn’t an option. He had to make a stand, so he halted and quickly drew a rune in the air with his wand, which then sent forth a strong wind down the street. He didn’t care whether or not Rainer would get gravely injured, didn’t care that he might not get the reward for the killer’s capture. The man had to be stopped.

  But incredibly, like with the fire, the wind had no effect on Rainer. His clothing rippled in the breeze, but the man himself simply did not slow, and once Rainer drew his shortsword, that was when Sean truly despaired. It seemed that an element of nature could not affect Rainer as long as it was born of magic, which meant that no spell great or small could help Sean.

  His only hope was to outrun the killer, and as meager as that hope was, he did it anyway, sprinting so hard that his lungs burned. For a moment, he thought he might make it, that Rainer would let him go so Sean could serve a warning to other bounty hunters. But that dream came to a crashing end when a constrictor wrapped around his legs and he fell hard to the ground.

  Please God, please God, please God …

  Sean made the prayer in desperate hope that Rainer wouldn’t plunge his sword into his chest. Rainer never did, but it was anyone’s guess as to whether Sean’s prayer was heard or not when Rainer kicked him savagely in the back of his head, causing him to lose consciousness.

  Twenty

  Once Callie woke up and took a bath, she reported to the kitchen to help with food preparation. It was getting to be her daily morning routine in the house, and she suspected either the count or his wife wanted her to take up cooking. She didn’t mind since she felt it was in her best interest. She’ll be married someday and will need to provide for her family …

  Whoa there, Callie, you’re getting ahead of yourself. It’s a little too early to think about marriage, isn’t it?

  As she busied herself cutting carrots and celery for a stew, she hummed a tune she had heard last night. One of the other retainers said she seemed awfully cheerful today, to which Callie shrugged and said it must have been the weather.

  Of course, she didn’t need to explain the real reason, for everyone knew she had went out with Sir Barnes last night. He had come to the house with a spring in his step, cordially greeted Callie, and then unabashedly asked the count for permission to court her. Callie was stunned and shook her head when she felt faint. Sir Barnes was granted the count’s permission, and then the count asked Callie if she wanted to be courted. Callie’s response was less than graceful since she had trouble finding her voice, but she eventually blurted out “yes.”

  After she quickly threw on the green dress Lady Amber had loaned her, Sir Barnes took her to a fancy restaurant with a romantic atmosphere, complete with a violinist who played one lovely melody after another. The young knight expressed concern over her name being found at murder scenes, and he showed a confidence that Callie couldn’t share that the killer would soon be caught. He then excitedly informed her that His Majesty had agreed to have Lady Millerton be buried at the palace, where she now lied in a crypt deep underground. He had also received the honor of being the personal guard of Count Joseph Lars of Finns Province, who had been without a bronze sentinel for months. Callie congratulated him and took him up on his offer of a dance, although she did so cautiously. Dancing was fine, but she didn’t want to get any more intimate than that—not on the first date. Fortunately, Sir Barnes proved to be the gentleman he appeared to be and didn’t push his luck.

  And so throughout Monday, she kept thinking back to that wonderful night when she dined and danced with a wonderful man. It made her a little flaky at archery practice, and more than one person suggested she take her head out of the clouds, but she couldn’t help it. It was possible that Sir Barnes was Mr. Right, and her thoughts
dwelled on where the two of them could go from here.

  She hadn’t noticed that Sean was missing until that night on guard duty, when another guard said he should have been back by then. Callie asked for the details and was shocked to learn that her friend had been ordered to go after Rainer.

  “If he didn’t come back, then where could he be?” she asked. Her fellow guard suggested the Red Borough, which he explained was a place where criminals often hid for a day or two at a time due to its residual magic. It sure sounded like a place Rainer would stay in, but even if people went looking for him there, he’d probably stay out of sight and might leave the area entirely.

  Yeah, there’s probably nothing to worry about. Sean will come home with a boring story to tell, and things will go back to normal. Hell, maybe I should talk to him again, let bygones be bygones. I’ll tell him about Sir Barnes and get him so jealous, he’ll pop. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do …

  Johnny covering his face, blood running from his fingers.

  Brad’s rock-solid barrier being effortlessly torn down.

  Don’s dead body trembling on the floor as a shiv sank into his chest.

  When Sean awoke, he assumed these terrible images were remnants of a dream he had. But no, they were memories. He had come to the Red Borough with three other men, only to end up as the sole survivor of the group.

  He had a splitting headache, making him squint in the dim light, and his neck ached from him resting in a wooden chair. Upon trying to rise, he discovered rope binding him to the chair’s arms and legs, plus a thick coil wrapped around his torso. He had been stripped of his leather armor and now only wore his trousers and underclothes. His teeth chattered in the nearly-freezing cold.

  The soft light was coming from two white crystals propped up on storage shelves. He tried doing a simple spell and found it blocked, indicating that they were negating crystals. Johnny was right, negating crystals had a certain feel to them, and Sean hadn’t sensed any when he was near Rainer.

  Rainer … he’ll be back soon. I have to get the hell out of here! He tested the strength of his bonds but couldn’t get them to loosen. Once his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw that the knots were intricate and tightly wound, partially cutting off circulation to his hands.

  He suddenly heard motion from a corner to his right, followed by echoing footsteps. He gasped and held his breath, anticipating whatever may come. Rainer came into view from behind a wine rack, his face impassive as he looked his captive over. He sat at a table and lit a lantern, so close to Sean that the young man couldn’t help but lean away from him in terror. The killer took an apple from a sack, then produced a knife from his person and began to cut through it. He cupped the fruit in one hand, so the sharp knife drew disturbingly close to his palm before he turned the apple over and cut the rest of the way through. He then held one of the halves and cut that down the center, too, the blade coming close to a thumb before he turned it over.

  Rainer then glanced at Sean from the corner of his eye and muttered, “Not very talkative, are you?”

  Sean blinked in disbelief. Rainer wanted him to talk first? Didn’t seem like an assumption an abductor would ordinarily make. Sean cleared his throat and said, “W-what … what do you want with me?”

  Rainer sneered and nodded as if he’d heard a joke. “I could ask you the same damn thing. You come to my place and start attacking me, so what the hell do you want with me?”

  Sean swallowed hard, indignation welling up within. “You murdered three people, one of them a single mother.”

  “So? They were useless, just extra mouths to feed that the city didn’t need. Don’t tell me you’ll miss them.”

  “I hear you’re also an assassin. You kill for money.”

  “A man’s gotta eat,” Rainer said before biting into an apple slice.

  “Where are we?” Sean asked, then realized he could distantly hear the high-pitched whine from earlier. “We’re still in the Red Borough, in a cellar?”

  Rainer made no reply as he continued to eat. Sean held off on further questions, feeling miserable and helpless. Whatever Rainer had in store for him, the man wanted to take his time before getting to it.

  But what was it? What was Rainer going to do to him? Numerous possibilities ran through his mind, making his heart race. God knew he had been in similar situations before, but this time was different. His captor was a proven killer, and his agenda was still a mystery. Why slay the others but not him?

  Eventually, Rainer finished eating and turned his chair to face his captive with mirth in his eyes. “Don’t I know you? Yeeees, I do, don’t I?”

  Sean rose his brow and shook his head.

  “I saw you that night with Callie,” Rainer said, pointing his knife at Sean. “I heard her in one of the rooms of that inn. She had an argument then left, and she came down to the tavern with you. You wore that white cloak, but I could still see your face.”

  Sean didn’t know if he should be impressed by Rainer’s vivid memory or horrified that the man had been watching them that night so closely. “You … you killed Dan while we were down there.”

  Rainer shrugged. “Well, I had to do something to let her know I meant business. She cost me a lot of coin, you know. Some village creampuffs wanted me to bump off Hugo before he could start the war. I could have been a hero if I pulled it off.”

  “But you couldn’t pull it off. Callie said you handed the job off to her clan instead.”

  “Yeah. I once did a job for Giacomo over a year ago. I respected him; he was a son of a bitch who ran a tight ship. Thought one of his could off Hugo for me. Didn’t want to go after a big fish like that myself; I didn’t live this long by taking big risks, you know.”

  “But you could have gone into the tower yourself; it wasn’t as secure as the castle if you had the right negating crystal.” When Rainer gave Sean a funny look, Sean pressed him: “How did you know the King was coming to the tower that night?”

  After a thoughtful pause, Rainer laughed and tapped Sean’s nose. “So you were there! Now it makes sense. I wondered what Callie ever saw in you.”

  “I, uh … I was her captive.”

  “Yes, well, to answer your question, I have my ways of getting information. Some involve bribery and some involve infiltration. Never you mind how I knew about Hugo; you just worry about what use you can be for me.”

  Sean let out a harsh, frosty breath through his nostrils. “You can send a message to the city guard to demand ransom. The house I serve will gladly pay a decent number.”

  Rainer put on a wide grin and rubbed his hands together. “You know why I killed those people?”

  “Because … you want Callie?”

  “She bested me once, I’m not too proud to say, so I’m trying a different approach. I want her to turn herself over to me, and the longer she doesn’t, the more innocent people will die. I want to see how much of a fuck she gives about others, what her tipping point will be. And now, I have you.” He rose from his seat and crossed the room. “Will you be her tipping point?”

  “P-please, sir, she just wants to live in peace. No amount of killing is worth such revenge.”

  Rainer reached another table and picked up a large dagger with a curved edge. Just the sight of it in the dim light made Sean’s breath grow heavy. “I’ll decide what revenge is worth,” the killer said, his cruel eyes looking over Sean like a viper overlooking a skittish mouse.

  Before her morning bath, Callie asked around the house if Sean had come home or not. No one had seen him, so she prepared breakfast and cleaned her equipment with a heavy heart. Later that afternoon, she asked Master Brown in his spellchamber if he knew anything.

  “I talked with the count about him,” Master Brown said. “He said he sent a letter to the city guard demanding a search. They should report back to us by tomorrow morning. Until then, dear, we’ll just have to wa
it.”

  She thanked him pleasantly enough, but she gnashed her teeth once she left the room. She spent her nightly guard shift alternating between anger and sorrow, fretting over Sean’s whereabouts and cursing those responsible for his disappearance. Why in the hell did Paulson choose him to look for Rainer? Aren’t the guards good enough to get just one man? And why did the count just let him go with no argument? Doesn’t he give a shit about Sean?

  She mentally blamed many more people, including her old clan leader, Giacomo. But in the end, the person she laid the most blame to was herself. It was her name that monster had written in blood three times, and it was she who hadn’t done more to ensure Rainer was dead after she defeated him.

  If Sean had been killed at Rainer’s hand as she feared, then his wouldn’t be the only death she was ultimately responsible for. Rainer was simply a man who couldn’t be reasoned with, a sickness without a cure—and it was her fault she hadn’t expunged the malignancy when she had the chance.

  Sean’s lips were peeled back in a frozen grimace as tears streamed down his face. His breathing was hitched and he repeatedly swallowed back mucus. The pain was a constant burn that tormented him without end; it felt as if he was suspended over a strong fire that greedily licked his tender skin.

  “Oh, quit your crying! Be a man!” Rainer bellowed. He then hunkered down to meet Sean eye-to-eye and softly said, “I mean, it’s only your little toes. You don’t need them, do you? What have they ever done for you … besides fill up space in your boots?”

  He began to laugh hysterically, prompting Sean to scowl and yell at him with bloodshot eyes. He opened a glass bottle and poured what smelled like whiskey onto Sean’s bare feet. Sean threw back his head and howled from the enormous pain. Anticipating this, Rainer shoved a wad of soiled cloth deep into Sean’s open mouth, causing him to shake in protest.