“Wounded?” Jaden repeated. Naga hadn’t mentioned this to him.
“Before he died of his injuries, one of the soldiers protecting Lord Naga told his compatriots he’d wounded the assassin. The blood on his sword confirmed he spoke the truth.”
“And so?” Jaden did not hide his impatience.
“We need you to open your doublet, Dai’Shi-en, and show us you do not have such a wound.”
Jaden drew himself up to his full height, staring imposingly over the head of the lieutenant, who was much shorter than him. “This is ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous or not, it has to be done.” The lieutenant gave a nervous cough. “Every man in the citadel is to be examined. I dare not disobey Lord Naga’s orders, Dai’Shi-en, not if I value my life.”
Jaden undid the clasp of his leather doublet and pulled it open. “Does that satisfy you? I have no wounds on my person.”
“One moment.” The lieutenant took no chances. He moved the leather away and peered at Jaden’s unmarked upper torso, examining one side then the other.
“Perhaps you’d like me to remove my breeches as well?” Jaden’s tone dripped with so much fury that the man blanched and stepped back.
“Forgive me.” The lieutenant bowed. “Let the Dai’Shi-en pass,” he ordered.
Chapter Seventeen
Jaden pushed open the plain wooden door leading into Naga’s torture chambers. He’d not expected to be forced to give up his weapons. A Dai’Shi-en should have been exempt from all such commands, but Naga hadn’t thought to exclude him. Did the mage suspect him? It was more likely the failed attempt on Naga’s life was making him overcautious. At least Jaden had thought to hide the keitan in his boot instead of tucking it as usual into his sword belt.
He glanced around the stone-walled chamber. Chains hung from the walls, and from iron rings in the ceiling. He’d thought there might be far more sinister apparatus in here and maybe some magical artifacts. Apart from the chains, the room was relatively bare, with just a couple of plain wooden chairs set against one wall and a large oak table covered with many unidentifiable stains set against the other. It was hard to believe this was where Naga destroyed lives.
He opened the door at the far end and found himself in a wide passage. They were deep beneath the citadel. This passage was much older than the building above. It was lit by a number of flaming torches, but oddly enough it was so gloomy he could barely see anything as he strode toward the huge arched doorway. The doors were made of a dull black metal that seemed to have the strange ability to suck most of the light out of the passageway. It was an unusual phenomenon, something he’d not come across before. He put out his hand to push them open and flinched in surprise. They were icy cold. As the doors swung smoothly open and he stepped into chamber beyond, he expected the interior to be chillingly cold as well, but the air just felt slightly cooler and a little damp.
Before him, Jaden saw a large cavern which, much like the passageway, appeared to have been hewn from solid rock. On second thought, it probably wasn’t manmade at all, just some bizarre freak of nature. The uneven walls resembled those of any cave, but the surface had been worn smooth over the ages and had a black, glossy texture of polished granite. He’d seen something similar before, where an underground river had once flowed. If this was the route of a long-dead river, then there should be a passageway at the other side of the cavern, much like the one he’d walked through. It was so dark, he couldn’t see that far. Close to him stood a few large boulders, also worn smooth, but the domed roof, what he could see of it, appeared to be jagged rock.
Coal-black sand crunched beneath his feet. The only light came from two flaming torches set on elaborate black metal poles. They illuminated a square, paved area in the middle of the cavern. At the centre of the square was a huge block of black marble—an altar of some kind.
Naga stood between the two flickering torches, wearing a magnificent blood-red robe covered in gold symbols that glittered in the flickering light. At first Jaden thought he and the mage were alone, but then he heard faint sounds. His warrior training came into play, and he sensed rather than saw the sinister black-clad mercenaries ranged along the walls of the cavern. He had the uneasy feeling there was an unsettling number, many more than he’d ever anticipated. Damn. Life was never easy.
A small, slight man he’d never seen before approached him. His plain black robes flapped around his legs. “Lord Naga wishes you to stand over here.”
Naga’s minion led Jaden to the far side of the altar, some distance from the mage but close enough to see what he was doing. Jaden stood there, all too conscious of the mercenaries only a short distance behind him. With their dark garments and the bottom halves of their faces covered, he could barely make any of them out in the gloom. Yet his finely honed instincts told him they were there as his hand unconsciously reached for his missing sword. He felt bereft without it. Naga wouldn’t have divested his guards of their weapons. They would all be heavily armed.
Somewhere in the background Jaden could hear a humming sound which gradually got louder as Naga lifted his arms with a wide flourish. More torches he hadn’t been able to see before ignited with a loud whoosh. Jaden wasn’t impressed. He’d seen such supposedly mystical illusions before. They were just tricks any base magician would use. Yet something still made him blink in disbelief. The walls of the cave and the smooth stones scattered around the floor now glowed in the flickering light as if they were covered by thousands upon thousands of yellow and blue stars. It could only be caused by metals or minerals in the rocks. The sight was impressive and quite beautiful in a strange, unearthly way.
It was then he noticed that Senshu had followed him into the chamber. Her deep blue gown was low cut enough to reveal a fair amount of her generous breasts. The garish diamond necklace hung as usual around her neck. Behind her stood Tarn, barefoot and clad in plain white trousers and a top. His arms were manacled behind his back and two more mercenaries escorted him. Jaden’s eyes met Tarn’s for a moment, and a look of understanding flashed between them.
He hoped Senshu had given Tarn the key to his manacles and a dagger to conceal in his clothing. That was what had been agreed. It would no doubt be difficult for Tarn to unlock them behind his back, but at least he could do so discreetly without his guards noticing. Initially, Jaden had planned to obtain two sets of the special manacles. They’d been made by a blacksmith in town, but when Chang had gone back to collect the second set, the blacksmith had disappeared. He’d been frustrated, but not overly concerned. It wasn’t that suspicious. People disappeared all the time in Usaka.
Leaving Tarn on the other side of the cavern, held firmly by his guards, Senshu moved to stand close to Jaden. He turned to glance questioningly at her, expecting her to give him some sign that Tarn had been told what to do, but she ignored him and kept her gaze fixed on Naga. He still could not bring himself to totally trust her, yet trust was all he had to rely on at present. Sarin, clad in white garments similar to Tarn’s, his arms also manacled behind his back, was led into the cavern and made to stand close to the altar.
All of a sudden, an icy chill rushed through the cavern, but there was no breeze. Jaden suppressed a shiver. Evil permeated the area—it seeped from the walls and slithered across the sand. Naga strode toward a gold platter placed on a small tripod at the end of the marble altar. He threw a handful of powder on the platter, and it ignited with a loud crackle, sending a stream of blue fire into the high, domed roof of the cavern. Jaden heard one of the men behind him gasp in surprise. He remained unimpressed—he’d expected something more dramatic from Naga. He’d witnessed the infamous sorcery of the emperor of Acheron, and this was nothing in comparison to the awesomely powerful magic he controlled.
Naga raised his arms and chanted an incantation. Jaden frowned. He knew enough about magic to recognize words of power, but these words meant nothing and were just designed to instill fear in Naga’s subjects and his helpless victims. The sooner these
useless melodramatics were over, the better.
While the incantations droned on, Jaden glanced behind him, sizing up the mercenaries closest to him. An evil aura filled the cavern, but it wasn’t so pervasive now that the other torches were lit and he could see the mercenaries more clearly. There were too many of Naga’s men in the cavern for his peace of mind. One closest to him appeared unsettled by Naga’s fake magic. Fear made men vulnerable. Jaden would take him down first.
Jaden’s mind raced. The odds weren’t good, but as soon as Tarn and Sarin were freed, they would marginally improve. He returned his attention to Naga, tapping his fingers against his thigh where his sword usually rested. Why didn’t Naga get on with it instead of indulging in this pointless charade?
Then something happened that Jaden wasn’t expecting. A man entered the chamber, carrying the limp body of a woman partially wrapped in white silk. Jaden wouldn’t put it past Naga to be planning a human sacrifice. The mage unfastened the front of his elaborate robe to reveal his scrawny, naked body. No, not a sacrifice. He must be intending to use this helpless woman in some kind of sick sexual ceremony. Would Naga take it to its fullest extent and slit the poor girl’s throat while he raped her? Such pointless cruelty would amuse someone like him.
Jaden wanted no more innocent people to suffer here, yet he had no choice but to stand by and watch. He couldn’t give the signal yet. Chang wasn’t in the cavern, and Sarin had to be close to or actually on the altar, ready at a moment’s notice to use the keitan to take down Naga. It was risky to leave it so late, but if he were honest, the entire plan was risky and born out of desperation.
The man placed the limp form on the marble slab and removed the silk covering, revealing the woman’s naked body, yet he left her hair and most of her face covered. The poor creature was alive, but clearly unconscious. The fine silk draped across her face fluttered slightly as she breathed.
Naga ran his hands over the girl’s pale flesh, which gleamed pearly white in the flickering light, while his assistant fastened her wrists and ankles to the altar with red silk ropes. Naga’s loathsome face twisted into a sickening smile as he caressed the unconscious girl while muttering another one of his futile incantations. His assistant handed him a small dagger. Leaning forward, Naga dug the tip into his victim’s belly, just deep enough to draw blood, which he used to inscribe magical symbols on the girl’s pale skin.
The ceremony was arousing Naga just as much as it was boring Jaden. As the mage moved up and down the girl’s body, he pulled back his weighty gown and Naga’s pathetic little cock stood stiffly out from his groin. Jaden frowned, despising the mage even more as Naga cut into the woman’s flesh once more. This time she stirred and gave a faint moan. She was waking, no doubt just in time to realize what was happening to her as Naga defiled her body.
Jaden glanced at Senshu. She smiled as if she actually enjoyed this foul spectacle. Sickened by her response, Jaden looked back at the altar. The girl was awake now, restlessly moving her head. The silk covering her face had slipped slightly, and he saw that beneath it she was gagged so she couldn’t cry out.
When she moved a little more vigorously, the silk covering slipped from her face and fluttered onto the ground.
Jaden’s heart contracted. No! Not Nerya.
This couldn’t be happening. How had Naga even known of Nerya’s existence? And why had he chosen her for this terrible ceremony? The woman he loved lay on the altar, and Naga was planning to rape her. There was no way on earth he would allow her to suffer like this.
Senshu stepped closer to him. “You can’t stop this—not yet,” she hissed, almost as if she knew who Nerya was and what she meant to him. Jaden seethed with fury as she added, “He’ll fuck her, but he won’t hurt her. If you make a move now, Jaden, everything we’ve planned will fall apart.”
Jaden clenched his fists, convinced now that somehow she’d had a hand in this, as Naga climbed atop the altar and kneeled between Nerya’s thighs. His gut twisted when Nerya stared up at Naga, pulling at her bonds, trying frantically to escape. He couldn’t stand this any longer. He had to do something. He glanced over at Tarn and Sarin. Where was Chang? He was late. Jaden had to give them the signal to free themselves right now if he was to save Nerya. Unfortunately neither of them was paying any attention to him. They stared in horrified fascination at the altar.
Jaden stood there, his mind racing, anguish consuming him. He had to do something to help her. Naga’s hand reached for the amulet. Acting purely on instinct, Jaden pulled the keitan from his boot and swung ’round, thrusting the tip into the stomach of the mercenary behind him. Gasping in agony, the man crumpled to the ground. Jaden grabbed the man’s sword and ran straight for the altar, filled with so much blind fury that his vision had contracted into one tiny spot and all he could see was Naga crouching menacingly over Nerya.
Hearing the unexpected commotion, Naga twisted ’round and spotted Jaden. He tried to scramble off the altar, but in his haste his legs caught in the wide skirts of his long, red gown. That gave Jaden the time he needed. Springing forward, Jaden jammed the tip of the keitan into Naga’s neck. The mage screamed in agony, his body arching back as Jaden wrenched him from the altar. Naga slammed onto the stone slabs at its base. Jaden dropped the keitan and reached for the amulet. Naga’s small assistant grabbed his arm, but he shook the man off and pushed him aside. As Jaden’s fingers closed around the amulet, a sudden jolt of immense power flowed through him. The agony of the many hundreds of souls trapped in the stone overwhelmed him, and he faltered for one fatal, heart-stopping moment—a moment that proved to be his failing. He wrenched the chain from Naga’s neck as a blade pierced his side. Jaden didn’t feel the pain. Twisting his sword, he used a sharp backward thrust to run through his attacker.
Mercenaries streamed toward him from all directions now. Jaden swore. He should have killed Naga before he took the amulet. Now he didn’t have a chance to rid himself of the mage. Kicking Naga out of his way, Jaden parried a slashing sword blow and kneed his attacker in the gut as his blade continued onward, sliding smoothly into another man’s belly. He pulled back his sword and sliced off the arm of the next mercenary who sprang at him. The man fell, blood spurting from the severed stump as Jaden swung round, slashing through the neck of the next man who dared to attack him.
Immune to the pain, Jaden forgot everything else as he lost himself in a world of killing as only a Dai’Shi-en could. Surrounded by a wall of mercenaries, he cut through them with deadly and merciless intent, all the time advancing while they backed away. Moving across the coal-black sand, he swung his sword again and again, slicing through living flesh in all directions, men falling dead or mortally wounded at his feet.
Yet he was one against many and, as one man fell, another stepped up to take his place. Jaden’s magnificent display of swordsmanship could not protect him completely or keep him out of harm’s way—there were just too many of them, even for him. He’d killed or fatally wounded any number of the mercenaries, but even so, a few slashing blades met their mark. Blood flowed from at least half a dozen wounds, but he fought on with studied, economic movement, cutting through the swathe of men.
He did feel the piercing agony, however, as a man thrust a sword in his lower back. The sharp blade grazed his spine and penetrated vital organs. Jaden staggered for a second, but kept his balance. In that split second, another man drove a blade deep into Jaden’s chest. The tip lodged itself in his heart. He uttered a strangled gasp as more swords penetrated his body.
His weapon was somehow knocked from his hand. Jaden knew he was falling to his knees. Nerya, his mind screamed. She was lost to him now. No other thoughts filled his mind as the blackness of death enveloped him.
Sarin struggled, desperate to free himself, muscles straining with the effort as he pulled at his manacles. He’d been trying to break the chains ever since Jaden had attacked Lord Naga, but he was weaker than he’d anticipated after his sojourn in the dungeons. He’d just seen Jaden
fall, pierced by countless blades, and he knew his friend was dead. No man, even one with the strange ability to heal so quickly, could survive that, Sarin thought in desperation as he felt the chain holding his manacles at last snap apart.
Filled with white-hot fury, he grabbed a dagger from the belt of a guard to his left and slammed it deep into the man’s stomach. The mercenary’s eyes widened for a moment before he fell soundlessly to the ground. By then Sarin had brought the dagger ’round in a swift arc and slashed open the throat of the guard to his right.
His hand drenched in blood, Sarin swapped the dagger to his other hand and grabbed the fallen man’s sword. Taking a step backward, he went to turn toward the advancing mercenaries, but his back slammed into a warm, incredibly hard body. It all happened in a heartbeat. He didn’t have time to think, but he knew the man behind him was huge, as a meaty arm snaked around his neck. The time in the dungeons had slowed his reactions enough to make him vulnerable. Sarin tried to wriggle from the man’s strong grasp while twisting his arm for a backward sword thrust. But the pommel of some other man’s sword smashed against his hand, and his nerveless fingers released the weapon of their own accord.
He tensed as cold steel pressed menacingly against his throat.
“Drop the dagger,” the man holding him grated. The sharp blade dug into Sarin’s neck just enough to draw blood. The dagger fell from Sarin’s hand, and his gaze fastened on Nerya. She’d raised her head and stared in horror at Jaden’s blood-soaked corpse. Tears of anguish streamed from her eyes.
Jaden’s kick had clearly winded Naga, but he’d managed to struggle to his feet and recover his composure, although his skin was red and cut in places where the chain had been wrenched from his neck. Sarin forced himself to glance over at Jaden’s prone form. One of the mercenaries bent to recover Naga’s precious amulet from the hand of the dead Dai’Shi-en. The man carried the blood-spattered amulet to the mage, holding it by the chain, not even daring to touch the magical stone. Naga, smiling with obvious relief, took it from the mercenary and held it up for Nerya to see. He pulled the gag from her mouth.
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