This conclusion was irrevocably reached when we were halfway up the stairway. On first clearly hearing the male’s voice, Clarissa almost moaned a cry of heartbreak, but my hand on her shoulder reminded her of the mission. Ascending all the way to the top had us distinctly hearing the grunting and slapping of wet skin coming from an open room just off the stairway. I positioned myself next to the door and nodded. Clarissa nodded back and put herself in front of the entry.
She stopped time a moment so that she could take a long breath. On restarting the abstract being, she said, “Trevon?”
I heard something that sounded like “Shit” followed by some fumbling. This same person then said, “Clarissa? W-what are you doing here?”
Without surprise or worry, a collected woman who could only be Belinda, said, “Yes, what are you doing here?”
“Shut up, bitch! You ruined everything!” Her tears were possibly loud enough to attract the guards. “Me or her, Trevon? You have to choose now.”
“There is no need to choose,” said Belinda. “Now, I’ll ask one more time, what are you doing here?”
“Trevon, we can leave right now. It’s our last chance.”
There was a crack in Belinda’s voice when she said, “‘Last chance’? Gods, you really did it, didn’t you?”
“Did what?” asked Trevon.
“She’s betrayed us.”
“Just you,” clarified Clarissa. “The guards have already surrounded this place, but you and I still have a chance.”
“What?!” said Trevon, his footsteps getting closer to his friend. “You dumb bitch! What the fuck were you thinking?! They’ll kill us all!”
“Step aside,” said Belinda, walking toward them.
Knowing it was over, Clarissa dropped the stones and screamed, “Mercer!”
If her yell didn’t cue the guards, the explosive stones did. To my great annoyance, Clarissa’s body prevented a clean intrusion, so I had to grab her cloak and pull down. With the hindrance removed, I plunged Aranath into Trevon’s leg. The instant I withdrew the blade, a powerful blast of air crashed into all three of us, sending us tumbling to the floor outside the room. In a blur, the naked Belinda dashed past us and headed downstairs. I recovered my footing and chased after her. When she reached the basement level, I set off the dragon stones. A howl of frustration shook my ears.
The front door burst open.
“Mercer!” shouted Francine.
“She’s in the basement!”
A fast marching of steps came toward me, then the back door opened with a bang and more boots entered. There was a crashing of splintered wood in the basement as Belinda used a wind spell to knock away the blazing shelf. I arrived in a room full of writhing shadows. Belinda was ripping open the flap when I hurled a knife between her shoulders. She shrieked like a dying banshee as she turned to face me with furious eyes and bitter anguish on a mouth that displayed her protracted fangs. Francine came down the stairs, a short sword drawn. Behind her were three city guards. Outnumbered, the vampire dropped down the shaft, which was the instant I triggered the rest of the dragon stones. I hadn’t heard worse wailing in my nightmares. Francine and the others rushed for the underground access.
Remembering the other vampires, I headed back upstairs. I ran past some guards and Jacob on the way up. To make sure the guards didn’t think I was the enemy, I told Jacob to get to the basement. He said something to me, but I didn’t listen.
There were a multitude of thuds coming from the room I had been blown out of. In it I saw Trevon chocking Clarissa as she struggled beneath him. He saw me, which loosened his grip enough for her to push his arms away. He tried standing up, but the wound I had placed on him prevented any quick movements, making his neck an easy enough target to send my blade through.
Clarissa’s eyes were shut and her head turned away from the scene as she wheezed and coughed. I wiped the sword on the bedsheet, sheathed it, and picked her up. She flinched from my touch, but offered no verbal protest. I pulled her hood over her face and moved out of the room.
As I carried her down the stairs, a guard coming up asked, “Is that the missing girl?”
“One of them, but there’s another hidden somewhere here, so keep looking. There’s a dead vampire in one of the rooms.”
I exited the home and put down Clarissa on one of the stone benches in the front. She sat there languidly as I stayed watch over her, making certain no guard confused her with the enemy. Francine found me ten minutes later.
“Did you get the vampire?” I asked.
“Yeah. She couldn’t get far with those cooked feet. We also found the latest victim in a hidden room in the first floor. She okay?”
“Physically.”
“Well, we’ve gotta get moving soon. For all we know, there was a vampire watching over this place and is heading to warn the lair right now.”
Minutes after she said this, Francine, Jacob, and some guards asked Clarissa and I to follow them to the western garrison. I had to induce her to her feet, but once on them, Clarissa walked well enough.
We met with a high-ranking guard outside the large garrison. He had already been informed of what was happening and had been organizing most of the available guards in the district. On a detailed map, Clarissa circled the area we were to head for. The captain then barked some orders that instructed different divisions to take different sides of the lair. As she stood meekly in the background, I agreed to have the captain and his top guards, along with the guild members, follow the undiscovered vampire and I to the lair’s main entrance.
I requested a horse for Clarissa, but in her first words since yelling my name, she said, “I can walk.”
So with just about everyone on foot, we began our trek.
Chapter Eighteen
Time always seemed to speed up unnervingly quickly when I was around large groups of people, no matter what they were doing. Tonight was no different. The vampire weakening sunlight wasn’t far away, but as most of the fighting would likely take place within a cave system, this benefit would be of little use. Of course, if the assumption that a warning message about our approach was being delivered to the lair was correct, then perhaps meeting some fleeing vampires out in the open wasn’t out of the question.
Dawn made her own approach when we were closing in on the vampire den. Luckily, the winter clouds remained think enough to block the sun’s beams from reaching Clarissa. Still, I saw her losing strength, or perhaps it was a waning will.
When the foggy lake was in sight, our group stopped and kept to the fringes of the tree line. We waited until a crow landed near the captain and cawed. Despite Francine’s good word, the captain requested that I stay outside with a couple of his people to watch his back, though I knew he really didn’t want an “amateur” fighting next to him. That was fine by me. I was sure I had already earned that reward.
So from the outskirts of the lake, I saw as two of the guards manipulated the lake’s water with a spell, pushing it away as they walked toward the lake’s center a hundred feet away. There was an outcropping of rock at the deepest part of the lake. At its center was a large cave opening that sloped beneath the ground, where runes kept the lake from filling the hollow space. The captain and rest of the guards moved in.
What happened in the cave was of little concern to me. I just wanted everything done so that I could collect my coin and move on. Clarissa kept close to me, though I knew she wanted nothing more than to slink away to cry. She would have if there weren’t surrounding guards on the lookout for her kind.
An hour into the operation, the captain—whose steel armor was charred in places and smeared with mud—finally exited the cave. Trailing him was a group intermixed with healthy guards, which included Francine and Jacob, and a second group of injured guards, a few of whom were being hand pulled inside the cart I had followed. Francine found me a little later and briefed me on what happened. They had killed all eight vampires they found in the lair, including Maxis, who had kill
ed three of the five guards who didn’t make it, and they found several of the victims still alive in the main feeding chamber.
“I’m done here, then?”
“Sounds like it. The guards will continue sweeping the area for any stragglers.”
“And where should I collect my reward?”
“Ah, let me take care of that for you. You’ve been instrumental in this case, but the guards won’t exactly admit that. Tell you what, I’ll haggle for you and you can pick it up at the guild house in the center of town tomorrow morning.”
“Fine with me. I’m taking Clarissa back into town.”
“And Mercer, thank you for your help. You’ve done Mil’sith a great service, not to mention easing my own mind.”
“I didn’t do it for the city or your mind, so no thanks is necessary or even apt.”
“Keep your aloofness if you wish.” She stepped closer so that only I could hear her say, “But tomorrow morning we’ll see if coin is all you’ll take. Don’t be late.” She then walked past me to give an order to Jacob, reapplying a persona that made her seem as though she would never even think of suggesting something as titillating as she did to me.
The clouds were abating, so I knew I would have to carry the girl part of the way back. I had her stand up and we made our way back to town. When consistent streams of sunlight hit her halfway into the slog, she started to stumble, which was my cue to lug her myself. I did so until we came out of the marshlands.
“I’ll rent a room for you. Tomorrow I’ll give you some of the reward so you can do with it what you will.”
She said nothing. I was sure this speechless response would have been the same if I had told her I was to kill her right then and there. She followed me to a relatively clean looking inn where I rented two available rooms for two nights. I saw her enter hers before I went into mine. There I slept on a stiff bed for a good chunk of the night.
I sought the guild house early the next morning. A request for directions soon had me finding the single story structure within the crowded space of Mil’sith’s walled center. I knocked. Francine opened the door. She looked different in her casual linen clothing, her hair hanging loosely over her right eye, and a relaxed face that made her appear infinitely more appealing than the icy stone expression she had on the days before.
She stepped aside and said, “Come in, Mercer.” When I did, she shut the door and locked it by sliding the metal bar in place. “I wasn’t able to get every silver owed to you. Five silver standards were withheld since Clarissa was really the one to find the lair, but I think I can offer you some reward of my own, if you don’t mind alternative payments.” Along with something else, my left arm throbbed. She went over to a pitcher and poured some red wine. Also on the table was a little bag I assumed held my coins. “I know it’s early, but my work day just ended. Would you like a cup?”
“No thanks. I’d prefer remaining lucid for my journey.”
“You’re planning on leaving town so soon? Where’s a young warrior like you in such a rush to get to?”
“Ever heard of Riskel Rathmore?”
She paused in her drinking. She swallowed what she had and said, “I know the old guild vets talk about his death like it was the best thing our organization has done in a hundred years. I myself don’t know all that much more than anyone else. What’s your interest in him?”
“Depends on how much of his influence is still out there.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I knew you were different the second I saw you. You’d make a good guild member.”
“No I wouldn’t.”
“I was like you once. I didn’t like the idea of taking orders and doing things a certain way, but the guild has good people, a good order to things.”
“You’re only giving me more reasons to avoid it.”
“That so? Well, I’ll stop trying to recruit you for life, but how ‘bout for a few hours? There’s a nice hot bath going in the basement we can start in.” I must have looked hesitant, because she next said, “Is something the matter? Oh, I’ve taken some sariff earlier, so you don’t have to worry about a little consequence coming out nine months from now.”
“It’s not that. I was just thinking about my left arm.”
“Odd thing to think about.” I rolled my left sleeve up to my elbow. I then unwrapped the cloth hiding the serrations. “What is that?”
“A fiend’s tail.”
I could see her shudder, though she kept a stoic face.
“You’re corrupted?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t look it.”
“Most corrupted become insane and wild after a few days or weeks. A special few can maybe hold out longer, depending on how they were corrupted. My enchanted sword thwarts my corruption from spreading further, so I have more time than most, but I can understand if you’re no longer in the mood.”
“No, no, it’s just I’ve never heard of a sane corrupted before, or a sword that can accomplish such a feat. Where did you find it?”
“Hiding behind a dead man.”
“That you killed?”
“As with all things, I believe time killed him.”
She set her cup of wine down and started walking closer to me, taking glances at my arm. The temptress didn’t stop until her breath and chest were up against my own. She started rewrapping the arm and said, “Well, as far as I’m concerned, as long as one particular extremity isn’t so sharp, I think we can still get along grand.”
When she finished wrapping my arm, she leaned in the rest of the way and kissed me. I joined in on the act a half instant later. Everything else dissolved as primeval urges took their course. I kissed her thin lips a little longer before she coaxed me to the basement, where a roaring fireplace warmed the room to an almost uncomfortable level, giving the added incentive to remove what clothing we had. A third of the room was blocked off by a thin sheet, which was pulled away to reveal the large, steaming tub. Except for the wrap on my left arm, we undressed completely, putting our clothes and Aranath in a corner. The actions I did next were largely predicated in response to her own and what I had seen Garf’s people do to one another. It was quickly obvious why they did such things as often as they could.
According to her, we had all morning before Jacob and the housekeeper returned, so we took things slow. A lot of that time was simply spent caressing and fondling each other. There was no part of her that didn’t excite me—the toned muscles under her smooth skin, small but taut breasts, and an ass firm with muscle. She also couldn’t stroke some part of me without sending thrills up my spine. Then the real ecstasies of pleasure came when each of our most sensitive, slick areas tenderly met in rhythmic gasps and grunts. I was quick the first couple of times, but I recovered quickly and recognized from past gossip on how else to keep her engaged.
She seemed content by the time I could give no more, but I heard from other gossip that you couldn’t always tell with women. In any event, I was tempted to take her offer to stay longer, but I had other forces pulling me away. We dried off, dressed, and I went upstairs to pick up my coin.
Before I left, I said, “The Warriors Guild has some kind of headquarters in most major cities, right?”
“In any nation that agrees to have us. Why?”
“Keep your ears open to any talk of corruption or any mention of Rathmore. Even if he’s dead, his work might not be.”
She nodded. I left.
It was noon when I reached the inn. I knocked on her door. I knocked again. She opened it. I gave her a small pouch.
“There’s ten silver in there. Should be enough to take you anywhere you want.”
She nodded dolefully. This felt like a time when regular people would say something, but I also knew saying anything wouldn’t actually help. So with all the experience I had used up in nodding back, I left.
The rest of the day I went to the center of town to look for clothing that could replace the nomadic gear I was weary of. As I valued mobility
and speed, I looked for and found a shop specializing in lightweight leather armor. They had a good selection, and due to few buying lightweight armors in the middle of winter, they were somewhat cheap. There were other samples I preferred the look of, but since I didn’t want to spend the extra coin and wait to get fitted for anything, I bought a rudimentary cuirass that fitted me almost like a shirt. I also bought a thin undershirt, a right leather gauntlet, two greaves, and a pair of fingerless gloves. To cover my armor, I went to another shop and bought a sturdy linen shirt of dark blue and black trousers. Since my boots and cloak were sturdy enough, I did not replace those.
I then went back to the inn to eat and sleep the rented hours I had left. When I awoke in the early morning, I restarted my journey to Voreen.
Chapter Nineteen
On the second afternoon away from Mil’sith, Aranath said, “I hope you realize she’s following us.”
“Of course. Since the moment I left the city.”
“So why haven’t you chased her away? Pity?”
“It’s no longer my business what she does.”
“She’ll make it your business sooner or later.”
“Until then, I see no reason to chase her off. If she can keep up, so be it. Besides, she might think I’m too demented to stay around once she starts hearing me talk to myself.”
“Have it your way.”
Clarissa kept her distance from me for the next couple of freezing weeks. I would sometimes see her little campfire glow in the distant night, and less often I would catch her shrouded form fifty yards behind me, never coming much closer than that. The shade provided by the trees and winter clouds allowed her to follow me in the day, but I figured she would be slowed considerably once warmer weather arrived. I also assumed she would be forced to go her own way once I bought my ride across the Lucent Sea, but that was still hundreds of miles away. I tolerated her detached presence in the meanwhile.
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