I dropped and shoulder-rolled past the guards. Lashing out with my foot, I drove it into the knee of one of the guards. I heard a very satisfying crack as I did it and the guard dropped to his knees, screaming in pain and clutching his wounded leg.
Moving quickly, I grabbed and arrow out of my quiver and drove it into his back. His screams were silenced and a moment later, he fell to his side, completely paralyzed and out of the fight.
“You're human,” said one of the guards. “I recognize your stink.”
“What are you doing in Chondelai?” growled the other.
I held my swords at the ready, the two remaining guards looking at me with contempt in their eyes. They looked to their fallen comrade then turned their faces to me – and they were faces filled with rage.
“Taking out some trash,” I said.
The first guard roared as he rushed straight at me. I nimbly spun to the right, blocking his thrust with one blade and slashing him across the midsection with the other. He howled in pain and clutched at the wound. I knew it wasn't mortal and that he'd be back in the fight soon enough.
His partner came next, thrusting his blade at my face. I knocked his sword away with one of my own blades and drove the other straight into his midsection. He grunted in pain as my sword passed through his stomach, coming out the other side. Warm, sticky blood poured out of the wound, spilling all over my hands.
The growl of the other guard sounded behind me and I let go of my sword, letting the guard who was currently impaled by it to fall to the ground. I spun to the side, throwing up my second sword, barely deflecting the guard's blade. I redirected it, but he had such force behind his stroke that it gashed my thigh.
I cried out in pain as the wound opened and my blood began to spill out. I scrambled out of the way, rolling until I had put a little distance between the guard and me. Hopping to my feet, I tried to block out the pain of the wound, focusing on the task at hand. The guard rushed me again and swung his blade as hard as he could at my neck. Dancing backward, I avoided the blow – but it was close. I felt the wind of his sword as it passed me by.
The guard and I circled each other, our swords held up and at the ready. I was limping badly and felt the sock in my shoe filling with blood from the ragged wound on my thigh. The guard I'd impaled moaned miserably. He was wounded, but alive. The silver blade sticking out of his midsection was preventing him from shifting – and from healing right away. As I passed by the man on the ground, I quickly grabbed an arrow from my quiver and drove it straight into the wounded man's shoulder.
The point of the arrow buried itself into his flesh and a couple of moments later, he was still and silent – as unconscious and paralyzed as the others. The guard and I continued to circle each other, looking for a weakness or an opening that could be exploited.
“Looks like it's just you and me now, big boy,” I grinned at the man.
His face tight with anger, he rushed at me, his blade coming at me in a murderous arc that would have disemboweled me if he'd made contact. I spun to the side and slashed with my blade. The sword opened a wound on his lower leg, causing him to stumble. As he passed by me, I lashed out with my foot, kicking him square in the ass.
The guard stumbled forward and fell flat onto his face. His sword spun away from him, sliding across the stone floor with a metallic whining sound. I was on him in an instant, looking to end this fight.
The guard rolled over onto his back and started to fumble with a dagger on his belt. But before he'd even gotten his blade clear of it sheath, I drove the point of an arrow into his shoulder. I felt the flesh give way beneath the arrowhead and a moment later, the man was completely still. His eyes were open and staring at the ceiling above us.
My breathing was labored and ragged, and the wound in my thigh was burning. But, there was still a job to do. I heard voices and the sound of running feet coming my way – the reinforcements were arriving. As quickly as I could, I yanked my sword from the midsection of the guard I'd impaled and limped my way up the stairs. Once I reached the landing, I looked to the right and to the left – and had no idea which way Deyro had gone.
Voices on the floor below told me that the guards had arrived and would be looking for me in short order. I had to make a decision. Turning to the right, I took off, moving as quickly as I could.
I had a fifty-fifty chance of being right and as I hobbled along, all I could hope was that I'd picked the right way.
Chapter Nineteen
Deyro
Shango hadn't been able to provide us with exact details of the castle's layout. But he'd been able to tell us enough that I was able to find my way to the royal bedchamber. And when I arrived in the corridor with the King's door at the end, I ran into two guards standing post outside that door.
I fired one arrow and dropped the first guard before they even realized what was happening. I dropped my bow and rushed straight at the second, drawing my sword as I closed the distance.
The guard, obviously not expecting anything out of the ordinary, was slow to react. By the time he had his sword clear, the tip of my blade was already pressed to this throat.
“This is how it's going to work,” I said quietly. “The first thing you're going to do is drop your sword.”
The steel hit the stone floor with a clatter. His eyes were wide and he looked at me with absolute terror etched upon his face. The guard was young. Very young. Which worked to my advantage.
“Please,” he begged. “Please don't kill me.”
“Is the door to the bedchamber locked?” I asked.
He hesitated for a moment, so I leaned forward, pressing my sword against his throat a little harder to make my point.
“I asked you if the door to Nepar's bedchamber was locked,” I said
He nodded quickly. “No, m'lord,” the guard pleaded. “It's unlocked.”
“Very good,” I said. “Now, I'm going to give you something that's going to give me the time to do what I need to do – at the same time though, it's going to paralyze you. It's a temporary effect and in a few hours, you're going to be just fine.”
“M'lord,” he said. “I don't understand.”
I shook my head and smiled. I quickly snatched an arrow from my quiver, driving it straight into the man's shoulder. He hissed in pain but was on the ground at my feet, rendered completely immobile in a matter of moments.
I moved to Nepar's door and readied myself. Pulling another arrow from my quiver, I held it and my bow in one hand as I reached out and turned the knob of Nepar's door. Using my foot, I nudged it inward and strung my arrow.
Across the room from the door was an archway that led to a large balcony just off the bedroom. The walls and flooring were made of a white granite and like the feasting hall below, the bedroom was just gaudy.
In that archway, Nepar stood with his back to me, his hands clasped behind his back, seeming to be standing there without a care in the world.
“Welcome,” Nepar said. “I've been expecting you.”
“Have you now?”
He turned to me and smiled – a humorless, predatory smile that made my skin crawl. Without waiting for an invitation, I fired an arrow straight at the King. He surprised the hell out of me though, when he caught the arrow. He'd snatched it out of the air within moments of having it buried deep in his face.
Nepar smiled and tossed the arrow to the ground. I quickly pulled out another arrow and fired – and he managed to catch that too. He was so fast that it was unnerving. If I was going to kill him, I was going to have to find another way.
“I can do this all day,” he smirked at me.
“Tell me why,” I said. “Why did you join the Shadow Clan? Why are you trying to bring death and destruction to your own people?”
“Because we've become decadent,” he said. “We've become lazy. Undisciplined. And we sure as hell shouldn't be working with the – humans.”
“That doesn't answer my question, Nepar,” I said. “Why are you with the
Shadow Clan?”
I wanted to hear him admit it. To tell me that he was and confirm the reason I was standing there in the first place. I still didn't feel right about being an assassin and if Nepar was actually innocent, I had no intention of following through with the job. If he admitted it though, that was a different story. If he admitted to being part of the Shadow Clan, then I had no intention of letting him live.
“Why, Nepar?” I asked. “Why are you part of the Shadow Clan?”
“Because,” he said, anger coloring his voice. “I am going to restore order and discipline to Chondelai. The Kings have gotten too fat and too complacent. Which means, it's time to shake some things up.”
“There are other ways to do that,” I said. “Ways that don't involve selling your people out. Ways that don't involve enslaving and murdering them.”
He shrugged. “You do things your way,” he said. “And I'll do things my way.”
It didn't matter. Nothing he said mattered anymore. I had the confirmation I needed – Nepar was a bad guy. And bad guys needed to be put down. I dropped my bow and unslung my quiver, letting it fall to the ground. I slid my sword from its sheath and looked at him, anger coursing through me.
“Then it is my duty,” I said. “To deliver justice to you.”
He laughed. “Justice? Is that what you call this?” he scoffed. “Would justice not be hauling me before the Council of Kings? Make me stand trial for my crimes?”
I shrugged, a malicious grin upon my face. “You do things your way,” I said. “I'll do things my way.”
He nodded and smiled. “So be it.”
I slowly started to cross the room, my sword at the ready. Though relatively new as a King, Nepar was significantly older than I was. Which made him dangerous. He moved over to a table near the archway and picked up a scabbard. He withdrew the sword and tossing the scabbard aside.
“You are young,” he said as he moved to the side of the large chamber. “Naive. Idealistic. You don't know the way the world works yet.”
“I'm learning quickly,” I said.
“You're learning nothing,” he hissed. “Why do you protect the humans? What do they offer you?”
“What do you offer me?” I countered.
“I offer you Chondelai,” he said. “Join me. Be my right hand. Help me rule this wretched world and make it something better.”
“Better?” I asked. “By enslaving and killing those who stand opposed to you?”
“By building a world that can have a lasting peace,” he said. “A world not governed by the whims of a group of fat old men who only seek to enrich themselves.”
“And live in a world governed by one man – a tyrant – who seeks to enrich himself on the backs of the oppressed?”
He shrugged. “I take care of those loyal to me.”
“I'll pass,” I said. “Call me naive if you wish. But I believe a better world involves equality. A world where people have a voice.”
He laughed hysterically. “Is that what you think you have now? Equality? A voice?” he asked. “You do what your masters tell you to do. You have no voice. You have no equality. They sit at the top while you dance to whatever music they play.”
“It's still a far better world than what you have planned,” I replied. “Now, shall we do this? I'm growing bored listening to you.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Last chance,” he said. “Join me. Join the Shadow Clan and help make Chondelai great again.”
“Pass.”
“So be it.”
Nepar launched himself at me, his blade a blur of movement. I barely got my blade up in time to deflect his cut – a cut that would have taken my head clean off my shoulders. As it was, the tip scraped along my cheek, opening a wound. I felt the blood, hot and sticky, spilling down my cheek.
Nepar was good with a blade. Quick. Precise. But I was better.
As he moved by me, I deflected another blow and quickly spun, lashing out with a vicious cut. He hadn't been expecting the quick counter and my blade sliced into his forearm. He grunted as blood poured from the wound. He licked the blood that dripped from his arm and flashed me a ghoulish smile.
“You're light on your feet,” he said. “Good with a blade. I could use a man like you.”
“I'm sure you could.”
I closed the distance between us, our blades singing as they clashed together in a dance of thrusts and parries. Nepar's face was a mask of grim concentration as he struggled to keep up with my blade. He took a step back and my blade whistled by his face, opening a thin slice along his cheek. Blood spilled down his face and he smiled.
I pressed my advantage, taking a step forward and only realized too late that I'd made a grave mistake. I'd let him bait me into believing I had him on the ropes and when I felt the blade of the dagger he'd slipped out of the sleeve of his robe slip into my flesh, I realized my error.
I looked down and saw the blood spilling from my abdomen, washing over his bony, pale fingers. Looking up at him, I saw a manic glee in his eyes. He withdrew the blade and my stomach felt like it was on fire. The taste of blood filled my mouth and I staggered back a step.
My sword hit the floor with a loud clang and I fell to my knees, staring up at the man. He held the dagger in his hand, looking at it almost lovingly. Pain like I'd never known before radiated through my entire body and I felt my body begin to tremble and shake. Though my blood felt like it was burning, my body felt cold. And it was in that moment I knew the wound was serious.
“I always coat my blades in a rare and special toxin,” Nepar said. “You just never know when it might come in handy. This one is a particularly nasty one. The effects are almost instantaneous and –”
“No!” Alex's voice rang in my ears.
I turned my head and saw her standing in the doorway of the bedchamber, her face stricken, tears streaming down her cheeks. As my vision began to blur, I suddenly regretted not being better to her. Regretted not telling her how I felt about her. And now, I was never going to get the chance.
She'd once said I was arrogant and thought too much of myself. She was right and it proved to be my undoing. I'd believed I'd triumphed over Nepar only to have him prove me wrong. And I was going to pay the ultimate price.
Alex screamed and I watched as she launched arrow after arrow at Nepar. The Shadow Clan King hadn't been expecting her. Hadn't expected her fury. He'd been arrogant himself. And as I watched arrow after arrow punch into his body, watched his eyes widen in shock and horror, I found myself amused that his arrogance proved to be his ultimate end as well.
I fell onto my back and watched Nepar fall to his knees, a dozen arrows sprouting from his neck and chest. As blood poured from his mouth, he fell beside me, his dagger clattering to the floor. My fingers were growing numb and my strength was fading, but I used what little I had left to grab his dagger and drive it into his body, letting the toxin he'd poisoned me with do its work on him as well.
And then Alex was hovering over me. Her voice sounded faint. Far away. It was as if she was shouting to me from the end of a long tunnel. And yet, she was right there in front of me. I reached up and caressed her cheek.
“I love you,” I said. “I just wanted you to know. I love you, Alex.”
Tears rolled down her face, falling from her cheeks and splashing onto me. I gave her a soft smile, hoping that I was able to convey the depth of my feelings for her.
“Don't you dare die on me,” I heard her say. “We have to get married, remember? I'm going to be your wife. I'm going to nag you for a very long time. So, don't you dare die on me, Deyro.”
I smiled at her, believing my death was inevitable at that point. But I took comfort in the fact that I might be dying, but at least Nepar was dying alongside me. Both of us done in by our arrogance. The irony was delicious. I lay back on the ground and laughed until the darkness pulled me under.
Epilogue
Eight Months Later...
I stood on the beach, staring
out at the ocean. The waves crashed against the shore and a breeze that tasted like the sea rushed past me, swirling my dress around my knees. With the sun slipping below the horizon, the Pacific looked like it had been set on fire. Shades of red and orange danced across the surface of the water, sparkling dazzlingly. Overhead, a seagull let out a long, plaintive cry.
As I stood there with my toes in the sand, I felt him step up next to me. I turned and smiled wide, taking his hand in mine. As I looked into his eyes, I reflected on the night I almost lost him. Remembered the thoughts that flashed through my mind – all the regrets I would have had if he'd died without me having told him how I felt.
Thankfully, it hadn't come to that.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Getting stronger everyday.”
We stood in silence for a few moments, enjoying the scent of the sea and the beautiful sunset before us. It was a perfect night – in a honeymoon filled with them. Once Deyro had recovered from his wounds, we'd honored Shango's demand and had married. But we'd married not because Shango required it. But because we realized how much we meant to one another. We realized that despite our differences, we loved each other. Shango had been right all along – there was a spark between us. There was something deeper there.
It had simply taken Deyro nearly dying for that realization to hit the both of us.
“You still haven't told me how you got me out of there,” he said.
He was right. I hadn't. The how didn't seem important to me. And honestly, I preferred to not think about that night. The only thing that mattered was that I had. But he wanted to know. And I supposed he had a right to know.
“Honestly, I don't know,” I admitted. “I saw you lying there – saw you dying – and it just sort of gave me a super strength, I guess. Adrenaline probably. I was able to drag you through the Door – do you remember the Door?”
No Such Thing as Dragons : Complete Series Box Set (Books 1 - 5) Page 50
