Redemption (Ascendancy Legacy 6)

by Bates, Bradford

  It was a small thing, really, a job that took me only two days to plan out and a single hour to execute. But that was the thing with an itch—it started so small, but once you scratched it, you couldn’t think of anything else. It kind of reminded me of a mosquito bite. They were never bad at first, but you just couldn’t get the little bump out of your head. You would rub it at first, and then slowly the rubbing turned to scratching. Eventually, the scratching got harder until you broke the skin. It wasn’t long before I was up to my old tricks; I had finally broken the skin. That was when it all started to crumble around me. The fucking wizard had found me again.

  It seemed news of a master thief in a new area spread quickly. Faster than a flame through a dry wheat field. I told my lady that we had to flee, and when she refused, I left her with a sack of gold and a note of apology. It wasn’t the kind of exit I wanted to make, but when you had a wizard on your tail, you couldn’t waste time trying to persuade people, even the ones you loved.

  That was how it started, our little game of cat and mouse. I left Amsterdam for Brussels, and Brussels for Frankfurt. In Frankfurt, I made a real effort. I truly did. It was six whole months before the itch got me again. It took less than a month for the wizard to show up this time. I could have easily given up then, but I chose to keep going. Running from the wizard had almost become more fun than stealing in the first place.

  After Frankfurt, I hit Paris. Oh, the city of lights. The city of a thousand delights and a million passions. People there lived with a healthy dose of unrestraint that I found refreshing. A slight lack of ethics in the nobility left the people hungry for change. It was just the place for me to ply my trade. I fed the profits of my endeavors back to the community. Eventually, I heard they had a revolution there, but that was long after I left. The damn wizard found me there quicker than I would have thought possible. The bastard was always nipping at my trail. Like a stray dog after a bit of bread in the street.

  I went to Bern next, and then Monaco. He always missed me by a few days, but it was getting to the point I couldn’t even unsettle my horse before I was on the move again. He was getting closer now, and I was starting to get angry. Every passing day seemed to fill me with an unquenchable rage. He did this to me. He had me get the stone, he killed all of my friends, he tried to imprison me. Everything that happened was because of him, and I was tired of it. Maybe what this world needed was one less thief and one more assassin. The voice inside of my head crowed with pleasure. It liked death; it fed on it.

  That was when I finally took control of my life. Before that day, I had always been forced to feed off of others like a parasite. Now I would control my own destiny. Before I could take control, I had to deal with the wizard. It was long past due. Time for him to suffer some much-deserved retribution for the deaths of my friends.

  I led him on a merry chase, always letting him get closer and closer. I didn’t think he ever caught on to the game, that I had added killing to my list of crimes in each city. It wasn’t as if I wanted to brag, but assassination was an art form that he drove me to. The least he could do was appreciate it.

  Monaco, Florence, and finally, Rome. Rome was where I planned to end it all. It seemed fitting, really. Rome, where Caesar once said, “Let me have men about me that are fat.” He wanted to be surrounded by complacent wealthy men. I wanted the wizard to feel the same way. He needed to know this was just another stop on his relentless hunt for me. All the while not knowing that this time, I would be hunting him.

  The voice inside of my head purred. “Yes, this time we will take his power for our own.”

  Rome was one of the cleanest cities I had been in. While the rest of the world was still shitting in pots and taking a piss in their hallways, Rome had plumbing. They had bath houses and water to carry the sewage away. It made the rest of my travels since leaving England seem like I was still in the dark ages.

  This city was alive; it had swagger. People here hadn’t forgotten what it felt like to be hungry. That, and they had a cool color scheme going on. Who didn’t like red hats and cloaks? I could tell the underbelly of this city was ripe for taking over, and I was ready to get started.

  If the wizard kept to his usual schedule as of late, I’d only have a few days to prepare. First, I needed a place to settle into, and then I had to secure four more throughout the city just like it. People tended to remember you if you rushed in and asked for a room, but if you already had one, then you became just another part of the crowd. I liked to keep a room in each part of the city. The only pain in the ass was having to visit each of them daily to keep up appearances.

  After the rooms were secured and paid for, I would need to find something worth stealing. This time, it wouldn’t just do for me to steal it; I had to leave breadcrumbs and have an idea of where I wanted to lure him. All of this hinged on me getting the wizard where I wanted when I wanted him there. Otherwise, every advantage was his.

  Not every advantage, the voice cooed. I can help you get to him.

  Once I had come to the decision to kill the wizard, the voice in my head had become much more active. If the stone and the voice that came with it hadn’t saved me back in England, I would have believed I was going insane. The voice had real power, power it would lend to me. If it wanted to help me kill the wizard, then so be it. I was open to ideas.

  The voice spoke to me for hours, and slowly, a smile broke across my face. I could really do this. With the stone’s help, I would finally be able to kill the wizard. I would finally be free.

  The past three nights, I had stolen something big enough to get noticed. One of my rooms had already been ransacked but was easily replaced with another. The wizard’s blood must be hot now, to know he was so close. It almost seemed too easy.

  Tonight one of the more wealthy Romans would be moving some jewelry and gold through the city from his estate, heading toward the country. While this information was not well known through the general populace, it was whispered often enough in the dark alleys I had made my home. If I knew about it, the wizard would too. All I had to do now was let him get close enough to follow me.

  Looking down at the phalanx of Roman soldiers, I wondered if maybe I was a little bit insane, after all. Who knew a wealthy-enough member of their society could have a military escort? He must have been one of those stuffy senators. The Roman soldiers were no joke when it came to combat, and those red mohawks and cloaks didn’t look nearly as appealing when they were standing between me and my goal.

  The wizard approaches, the voice hissed in my head.

  Well, that was that, then. I didn’t have much of a choice going forward. It was either go big, risk my life to finally get the damn wizard off of my tail, or turn away and spend the rest of my life running. Eventually, he would catch me, and when he did, it wouldn’t be pleasant. Neither option seemed incredibly appealing, but one was even less so than the other. I let out a sigh. It was time to get to work.

  I hoped my black cloak didn’t stand out too much against the grayish stone of the building. The shadows should be enough to hide me from prying eyes, but you could never really be sure. The soldiers started to march, and the cart behind them began to roll forward. They obviously thought it was enough to have the men in front to deter would-be thieves, because only two men trailed behind the cart.

  Normally I would have agreed with their sentiment. No one wanted to tangle with twenty Roman soldiers. They were the hardest and best-trained military men in the business. At one point, the Roman Empire had covered nearly fifty percent of the known world. It was an amazing accomplishment, and one that couldn’t be done without soldiers who knew a thing or two about fighting.

  The only problem they had now was that they were used to fighting honorable men. What I had planned for them was anything but honorable. The cart passed below me, and then the two soldiers walked past. Three, two, one. I released my grip from the building and fell silently into the street. As I stood, twin daggers found their way into my hands. />
  I rushed forward, surprised at how quietly my footfalls sounded. Was I just getting better at this, or was I getting some help from my not-so-silent partner? The voice didn’t respond. I really didn’t need it to, but it would have been nice to know it was still working with me. I was working, no time for chit-chat. Running forward, I dove between the two soldiers. Springing to my feet, I spun to face them just as their hands found their swords. My arms shot out, and both daggers slammed into their throats before they could cry out or finish drawing their weapons.

  It would have been easier to hit them from behind, but it would have lacked flair. That, and their damn helmets went down far enough to protect their necks. I didn’t even question how I was able to hold up two men in armor without dropping them to the floor. My work as a farmer hadn’t added that much muscle. Another trait I had to chalk up to the voice inside my head.

  The wheels of the cart on the stone cobbles kept anyone from hearing the gurgling sound their blood made as it leaked from their necks. It also covered up the sounds of me lowering their bodies to the ground. The cart continued as if nothing had happened. It was funny how fast things changed. I used to pride myself on being a thief who never needed to take a life to get the job done. Here I was now, killing two men. Two men I could have probably knocked unconscious.

  With the messy but necessary part out of the way, the real fun could begin. Sprinting, I caught up with the cart again. This time, I ran in pace with it until I could get my hands on the cart, and then slowly lifted myself into the back. The carriage didn’t so much as shift as I climbed on. My dagger slashed through the leather strap holding the sealed metal container in place. My eyes focused on the red streak left on the strap for a moment before I got back to work.

  The container itself was going to be a little trickier to open, and I didn’t have much time. A dark-hooded figure could only ride on the back of a carriage for so long in this city before they were spotted. If the soldiers and the wizard were chasing me, I wasn’t sure if I could get away. Thankfully the lock wasn’t that special. A few twists of my specialized tools, and it popped open. I filled two bags with gold and closed the lid. The lock caught again, and minus the slashed strap and the dead guards, it would look as if I was never here.

  Stepping off the back of the cart, I turned down an alley and waited for a moment. If the wizard was coming, I had to make sure that he could see me. I moved toward the end of the alley and waited. He comes. It wasn’t more than three seconds later that the wizard’s head popped around the corner. My breath caught in my chest, and I started to move. His footfalls rang out in the silence of the alleys, while mine remained silent.

  We made it to the next corner, and I turned again. His footsteps were getting closer. I pushed my back against the wall and thought, “Now it’s all up to you.” Slowly, my body faded backward through the solid wall. Even though I was standing on the other side, I could still see the alley beyond.

  The wizard ran forward and stopped almost directly in front of me. My hand twitched next to my dagger. All you have to do is touch him, and his power will be ours. The voice hadn’t lied to me yet. My fingers slid off the hilt of my dagger, and I started to move forward. The wizard was still looking away from me when I wrapped my hand around his throat from behind. I felt his moment of shock turn into a fleeting glimpse of triumph before his body started to shake.

  Blue energy erupted from the wizard. The power of it washed over me, almost breaking my grip on his throat. Just as I felt myself starting to weaken, a power that I had never felt before started to pulse in my core. The light from the wizard flashed brighter and brighter in time with the pulses coming from me. Then the light extinguished, my hand released the wizard, and I fell to my knees.

  Arise, young warrior. The wizard’s power is now our own.

  I stood up and felt the world as I never had before. I could see farther, I felt stronger, and there was knowledge inside of me that I could do almost anything. No wonder wizards were such arrogant pricks. I kicked the wizard’s body over so he landed on his back, facing me. Recoiling slightly at the sight of his face, I wondered just what in the hell had happened to him.

  His body looked like a dried-out husk, as if something had sucked the very blood from his bones and then left his corpse out in the sun for a month. It was horrifying and gratifying all at once. I was free. For the first time in years, I was free.

  Do you like the feeling of his power inside of you?

  “I do.”

  Do you want more?

  “Always.”

  Then let us track down another of your wizards. I will teach you what to look for, and train you to use the gifts you already have. When you have enough power, we will be able to recreate the world in your image.

  That was it. I could already feel the itch. This time, it couldn’t be scratched by stealing a bag of gold. This itch would only go away if I could steal more power, and for that, I had to find another wizard.

  The world is full of them if you know where to look. Come, I will show you.

  My legs kicked into motion as the voice continued to whisper suggestive thoughts into my head. I knew that I would find them, and maybe if I were lucky enough, I’d be able to rid the world of their kind. Nothing good ever happened when you trafficked with a wizard.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jackson, Present

  “Fuck you, Phenex.”

  It only took me a couple of moments to realize that I wasn’t at home. Before the disappointment could crush me, I felt the rage building inside of me again. It felt better to be angry than disappointed. Anger let me function, although on a short fuse. Disappointment would have had me huddled next to one of these trees, shivering to death. I was tired of these demons and tired of their games. If Adramelech had just let me go when I fulfilled the terms of our deal, I wouldn’t be here now. “All he had to do was let me go home.” It came out almost like a sigh.

  Did I mention how much I hated demons? If I had to kill every prince in the seven hells, then I would. If that didn’t get me home, at least I could sleep at night knowing they were all dead. If I could take a small comfort in anything, it would have to be that. Even now, as I told myself that I knew I would give it all up to go home, to be back in the arms of the woman I loved. I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t deserve this.

  As my pity party threatened to tear me apart, I started to look around. I was hoping that something would distract me from what I was feeling, but I was out of luck. The world around me was washed in white, and I was just starting to realize how cold it actually was. Shredded jeans and a T-shirt didn’t quite cut it when you were surrounded by ice and snow. I used a little bit of magic to warm myself, and started moving through the trees toward the only light that I saw.

  It wasn’t long before I was on the edge of town. I crept through the trees, trying to get the lay of the land, before heading in. Everyone I saw looked human enough. That didn’t mean much with the demons. If they were powerful enough, a demon could create a human guise. If they were a lesser demon, then they had to resort to wearing our dead bodies around like suits.

  Damned if this little village wouldn’t have been right at home on a postcard at Christmas. Seriously, wood cabins surrounded by a snowy forest. Blue lights hung from the taller cabins in a crisscross pattern, bathing the center of the village in an ethereal glow. I circled the village one more time before shrugging my shoulders and heading into town.

  I made it to the edge of the buildings, and a man ran up to me and took my arm. He hauled me around the side of the building and away from the lights. His face looked terrified and slightly flustered.

  “Jesus, what are you doing out here? Didn’t they tell you anything? You can’t be outside at night without a pass.”

  “A pass?” It was a weak question, but it was all that I could muster. He had pulled me to the side so quickly. He was lucky that I could tell he wasn’t a threat from the outset, or we might have been having a differen
t conversation. One where he was bleeding and I was demanding answers.

  He pulled out a little laminated piece of paper from his pocket. “You know, a pass?” He asked it like a question, but the look on his face clearly indicated he thought I was the dumbest motherfucker on the planet. “And where is your coat? You are going to freeze out here.” He did a quick double take. “And you don’t even have shoes on. Jesus, kid, you’re a fucking mess.”

  “Listen.” I waved a hand in his direction, realizing that I still didn’t know what his name was. “Whoever you are. I‘m not from around here, and I don’t plan on staying long.”

  “Not from around here, right? See how well that works when Troian men take you in for a little questioning.” He gave me that same look as he had before implying I was the dumbest person he had ever run into. “Come on. If we are lucky, I might be able to get you into the great hall and outfitted with a coat and shoes before they catch us.”

  He started to move, and I grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Look at me.” He did, but his eyes were fixed on my face. I could tell that he thought I was crazy, but he didn’t want me to get into any trouble. “No, really look at me. My clothes are different. You’ve never seen me before. Believe me when I tell you that I’m not from around here.”

  He looked up and down my body, shaking his head. He didn’t know what to believe. I understood he’d probably never seen a human who wasn’t brought here in chains. A cold breeze swirled around us, and I started to shiver. He was about to talk when I let my magic flare again to warm me. His eyes widened slightly, and a second later, he fell to one knee in front of me.

  “Redeemer. If I had only known. I’m sorry for not recognizing you right away.”

  “How does everyone know who I am?” I mumbled to myself. I put my hands on the man’s shoulders and started pulling him to his feet. “Stand up. I’m not God. You don’t have to kneel in my presence.” He looked confused, and I wondered if they even had religion here. “You said something about a coat and shoes? If you could accompany those along with some food, it would make things a whole lot more bearable for me.”