Zane Halloway: Omnibus Edition

by P. T. Hylton

  After a long while, there was some loud activity outside, and some shouting. Among them, Zane heard a familiar voice. Lily!

  A moment later three elves escorted her into the room. One of them had her by the neck. Zane started to stand, but an elf behind him roughly pushed him back down.

  Ewrkind stood and looked at Lily. “That was…much faster than I expected. Do you have it?”

  Lily shook her head briskly. “It’s in a safe place. But you won’t be getting it until we have some assurances. Let us leave. One of your men may accompany us. We’ll give him the device and be on our way.”

  Ewrkind’s face was stone. “You disappoint me. I was clear when I instructed you not to return without the device. I think I was also clear on the penalty.” He turned to the elf standing behind Zane. “Kill Ferox Halloway.”

  “No, wait!” Lily took a deep breath and reached into the satchel. She pulled out the Farns device and tossed it to Ewrkind. The elf caught it and smiled.

  Lily just scowled.

  Zane arched an eyebrow, impressed at her restraint.

  “Impressive,” Ewrkind said as he turned the device this way and that as if inspecting it for damage.

  “Those ferox weren’t too happy,” Lily said. “They’re probably on their way here to try to kill us again.”

  “I hope so,” Ewrkind said. He tapped his chin for a moment.

  Zane waited. Whatever was coming was bad. There were at least ten elves in this room, likely Ewrkind’s inner circle, with plenty more outside. Ewrkind wouldn’t want to look weak in front of them. He couldn’t afford to.

  “I will let one of you go,” Ewrkind said, a slight smile playing on his face. “The other one, I’ll kill myself.”

  Lily opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Zane snarled at her. “Shut up, Lily!” He spun toward Ewrkind. “She goes free. That’s our final decision.”

  “No!” Lily shouted.

  Zane stared at her, trying to say with his eyes everything he didn’t have time to say with his lips. It wasn’t chivalry or love or honor that was leading him to do this, at least not fully. It was common sense. She had the possibility of a life outside the Blue Wall. He did not. It was as simple as that.

  He spoke in as soft a voice as he could manage. “Lily, if you’ve ever had any respect for me, let me do this now and don’t argue.”

  Zane pushed himself to his feet. The room spun for a moment, so he squeezed his eyes shut until it stopped. Then he opened them and looked around. His sword was not in the place he’d dropped it. One of the elves had probably taken it. This would have to be done with his fists, then.

  He could do this. He could kill without his sword, even kill an armed man. Hadn’t that been how he’d made his name when he’d taken down the pirate Longstrain?

  He turned toward Ewrkind and raised his fists. “You want to kill me? Here I am.”

  Ewrkind raised his massive broadsword. It took everything within Zane, but he didn’t flinch.

  Slowly, a wide smile appeared on Ewrkind’s face. “So you are a man of honor, then. Let me ask you something. You have honor, yet you kill for thrones. How do you reconcile this?”

  Zane answered immediately. “I don’t. That’s the secret. I don’t tell myself the lie that I’m a good man. The war between good and evil wages within me, as within all men. I deny the existence of neither.”

  Ewrkind nodded. He looked around the room at the elves. ““I have long told you there are some among the humans with honor. Some of you doubted. Look no further than this man to have your doubts erased.” He looked down at his broadsword for a long moment before continuing. “When the war comes, we will not have the luxury of sparing our enemy just because he happens to be noble. We cannot judge our opponents on their individual character, rather we must judge them on their character as a nation. And the nation of Opel has failed this test.” He paused. “But we are not at war. Please clear the room. I’d like to talk to Zane and Lily alone.”

  The elves grumbled, but they filed out of the room. Only Gabel paused a moment at the door before he, too, exited.

  When only Zane, Lily, and Ewrkind remained, the elf said, “I will let you live. And I will let you return the Farns device to Beth.”

  Zane felt his mouth drop open. He dared not speak lest the elf change his mind. He looked at Lily and saw the same shock on her face.

  “Irving wanted the device hidden away,” Ewrkind continued. “I’m sure his daughter will see to his wishes. Know that it is only because of her that you live. I have fond memories of playing with her as a child. She was the first, and, before tonight, only evidence I ever had that humans weren’t uniformly vile. As such, I hesitate to kill anyone in her employ.”

  Zane thought that Beth might not mind overly much if a warrior elf were to run him through with a broadsword, but he certainly wasn’t going to say it.

  “There is one other thing,” Ewrkind said. “A favor.”

  An elf asking a favor, just like in the stories. Zane glanced at Lily and saw her eyes were wide.

  “There is a man beyond the Blue Wall named Marcus Yurke. I would like you to kill him.”

  Zane took a deep breath. Finally some familiar territory. “Are you going to tell us why?”

  Ewrkind nodded. “We are to receive an allotment of fresh produce each week here behind the Blue Wall. As a child, it was the highlight of my week. Real fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s difficult to describe how important that is to us. A few years ago, Marcus Yurke was put in charge of the task. Since then the produce has been old and often inedible. It has had a significant impact on the morale of the elves here.” He squinted at Zane. “I want him dead. Hopefully that will serve as warning enough to whoever takes up the job after him. You can do this?”

  “Consider it done,” Zane said.

  Ewrkind nodded briskly. “Good. Then farewell to you both. I hope that when the war comes, I have the honor of holding the blade that slays you.”

  They were shown the door, and, as they left, Gabel made it clear they would be wise to cross through the Blue Wall immediately. He received no argument from either Zane or Lily.

  They were almost to the Blue Wall when Lily turned to Zane and smiled. “Do you think he’s going to be angry when he figures out I stole that knife-shaped truth thorn?”

  CHAPTER NINE

  They waited until morning to visit Beth Farns. Lily had wanted to get it over with as soon as they crossed back over into Barnes, but Zane had ruled against it. He said he was done startling Miss Farns in the night. Their business could wait until the next day.

  Lily told Zane how she’d retrieved the Farns device, and he listened with interest, asking questions of technique only another ferox would think to ask. However, she ended her version of the tale after she hid in the room while the ferox searched for her. She wasn’t sure exactly why she left out the interrogation of Rayble and the information he’d given her about Beth Farns working with Jacob Von Ridden. Part of it was that Zane seemed so happy. He’d been sure things wouldn’t work out this time, that he’d end up either dead or in prison. Now, alive and in possession of the device they needed to fulfill his contract, he was uncharacteristically giddy.

  Things were complicated enough. If she shared what she knew, he might refuse to return the device to Beth Farns. He might decide he preferred prison to helping advance Von Ridden’s mysterious agenda.

  In the morning, she considered telling him, but her indecisiveness was a decision of its own. Before she knew it, it was afternoon, and they were standing in Beth Farns’ parlor, handing her the device.

  Zane had just finished giving her the high-level rundown of the events of the previous day. He concluded by saying, “Ewrkind respected your father’s wishes, and he knew that you’d respect them, too. That’s why he let us return the device.”

  Beth sighed. “I remember him. Less fondly than he remembers me, apparently. The temper on that elf! He’d yell and scream if I so much as touched h
is toys. And to think, he’s now raising an army! It makes me shudder.”

  She picked up the Farns device and looked at it for a long time. “I remember this, too. Making it was so important to my father that he put our lives at risk and forced me to live in that ghetto. And then, when he finally finished it, all he did was hide it. It’s not surprising. He hid me away for long enough. It took my whole life to convince him to let me sell some of his creations.” She held up a finger. “I’m not like him. I won’t hide. This device is going up for auction.”

  Lily started to speak, but Zane gave her a quick shake of the head.

  He was right. It was their place to do the job they’d been hired to do, not to judge their clients. That was what it meant to be a ferox.

  After a moment, Zane asked,” Is our contract fulfilled to your satisfaction?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Honestly, I was sort of hoping you wouldn’t be able to do it so I could have you thrown in prison. But I can’t say I’m unhappy with this resolution, either. Let’s sign off that the contract is complete.”

  She pulled open a drawer in her desk and reached inside. But instead of paper, she pulled out a candle. She paused for just a moment, then said, “I’ve never shown this to anyone. I think it might be my favorite.”

  Something on the candle caught Lily’s eye. Near the base of it, there was a stylized F.

  It wasn’t a candle at all. It was a thorn.

  Beth lifted it. Whatever the hell that thorn was, she was pointing it at Zane.

  Then, everything seemed to happen at once.

  Lily’s sword was in her hand, and she was thrusting. The tip sank into Beth Farns’ chest.

  Something like a flash of light leapt from the tip of the candle, and the chair behind Zane turned to ash. The thorn had missed him by mere inches.

  The candle fell from Beth’s hand and landed on the desk with a thud.

  Lily’s eyes went wide, and time slowed down again. She suddenly had no idea what to do. It was her sword sticking out from under that woman’s collarbone. In all the time she’d spent thinking about whether she could kill, she’d never once considered what she’d do in the moments after she finally did.

  A rasping sound that might have been a pained laugh and might have been a moan came from Beth Farns’ throat. Then she said in a weak voice, “Stupid girl. Von Ridden has the contract.”

  For another moment, Lily couldn’t move. And then she did. She pulled the sword out of Beth and stabbed her again, this time in the heart, finishing the job.

  She pulled out the sword and looked at it for a long moment. It was smeared with dark blood. Should she wipe it off before putting it away? And, if so, what should she wipe it on?

  Somewhere deep inside, Lily knew she was experiencing shock at having killed for the first time, but the thought seemed distant and unimportant.

  Suddenly a sound like a growl come from Zane. Then his sword was in his hand. He brought the hilt down hard on the candle-shaped thorn, and it broke into two pieces. He smashed the pieces, bringing the hilt down again and again, until there was nothing left of the candle but a pile of dust.

  The burst of violence brought Lily out of her stupor. She said, “Zane, should we—”

  But he wasn’t finished. Before she could complete her question, Zane brought down the hilt of his sword again, this time on the other Farns device, the one that controlled the weather. Lily watched in silence while he turned Irving Farns’ greatest accomplishment to rubble.

  When he was done, he was breathing heavily. “Farns should have done that years ago,” he said. “It’s insanity. He makes a magical device and doesn’t use it. He doesn’t want anyone to use it, but he doesn’t destroy it.” He looked up at Lily, and there was fire in his eyes. “This is what comes of not accepting what you are. All these little compromises. I’ll make a terrible weapon to satisfy my own curiosity, but, it’s fine, because I’ll hide it when I’m done.”

  Lily took a step back. She’d never seen Zane like this.

  He slammed his hand down on the desk, sending a cloud of dust into the air.“If you’re going to create a weapon that can burn down the world, then let the damn world burn down! Don’t do it halfway.”

  “Zane,” Lily said. She put a light hand on his shoulder. “What do we do? About what she said?”

  He brushed her hand away. “It doesn’t matter, don’t you see that? There’s nothing we can do. He’s won!”

  “No,” Lily said. “There must be something. There’s always something.”

  “Not this time. Jacob Von Ridden has the contract, the open contract, not signed as complete. And now Beth Farns is dead. Her servants know we’re here. It’ll be easy enough to put us at the scene of the murder. Do you know what that means?”

  Lily knew. A ferox who killed his employer while under contract would not go to prison. He’d be hanged. “But I was the one who killed her.”

  “No, you weren’t,” Zane said flatly. He put both hands on the desk as if he needed the support to remain standing. “I was the one who killed her. Get that straight right now. You’re still legally my apprentice and my responsibility. If you killed her, we both hang.” He looked up at her, and his eyes were calmer now, more like the Zane Halloway she knew. “But my name is the only one on the contract. If I killed her, you walk free. So that’s how it happened. Understand?”

  She understood. God, how she understood.

  “So we steal the contract,” Lily said. “We find out where Von Ridden’s keeping it and we steal it.”

  He shook his head. “Jacob has the royal armory of magical devices at his disposal, and I’m willing to bet he’s putting a good portion of it to use protecting that document. He’s probably had witnesses read it by now so they can testify to its contents in the event it is destroyed. There is no way out of this one, Lily.”

  If only she hadn’t killed Beth. But what was the alternative? Let her use that thorn on Zane?

  But no. There had been alternatives, and plenty of them. She realized that now. She could have stabbed Beth in the hand, or slashed at her arm, or given her any of a dozen non-lethal injuries that would have caused her to drop the candle. So why hadn’t she? Why hadn’t she even thought of any of them until now? Why had she been so quick to kill?

  Maybe she’d wanted to kill Beth Farns. Maybe she’d just been waiting for a reason.

  “So that’s it?” Lily asked. “You hang?”

  Zane chuckled, but there was fury in his voice as he spoke. “If only it were that simple. That’s not how Jacob Von Ridden operates.” He straightened up, picked up his sword, and slid it into its sheath. “Jacob will let me know he has the contract, and then it will begin. With that kind of leverage, I’ll be little more than his errand boy. He’ll force me to kill anyone who gets in his way. He’ll find jobs he knows will be revolting to me, and he’ll make me do them. He’ll send me after his enemies and their wives and their children. If I refuse, he’ll have me hanged. If I comply, he’ll use me until he grows tired of the game, and then he’ll have me hanged.” He turned and walked toward the doorway. “And that will be the rest of my life.”

  They exited the room and found a concerned maidservant waiting in the next room.

  Zane turned to her, his face expressionless. “I’m sorry. I had to kill your mistress.” With that, he turned and walked out the front door.

  When they reached the street, Lily said, “Zane, I’m sorry. If I hadn’t killed her—”

  “Please,” Zane said, cutting her off. His voice was softer now, as if he was already resigning himself to his fate. “You saved my life. I can’t hold you accountable for the consequences of that. I won’t. The things you’ve been through…I pushed you too hard. I asked you to take the placement exam far too soon. I took you into the damn elvish ghetto. We’re in this position because my past with Von Ridden caught up to me. It was never you. You only ever did what I trained you to do, and your instincts saved my life.”

  Lily wasn�
��t so sure. She said, “I think I’d like to walk a while. Alone.”

  He paused for a moment, then his eyes went wide. “Yes. I’m sorry, I forgot. That was your first.”

  She nodded.

  “Do you…want to talk about it?”

  She shook her head. “I need some time to think.”

  That was something he could understand, she knew. Isolation and thinking were two of his favorite pastimes.

  “I’ll see you at home,” he said.

  She didn’t answer.

  He turned north up the street, so she went south.

  She walked for hours, thinking so deeply she sometimes would look up and have no idea what part of the city she was in. She already knew what she needed to do; she just needed to convince herself there were no other valid options.

  It was nearly dawn when she came to her final decision. The only thing left to figure out was how to set her affairs in order before she left. She briefly considered visiting her brother to say goodbye, but she decided against it. The less she brought him into her world, the better for him.

  Finally, she made her way home to Zane’s house and snuck in through a second story window. She smiled at the memory of how the Eakhart children had caught her sneaking out so many times, and the way Zane had paid them for doing so. If they could only see what she was about to do.

  She gathered her scant belongings and left Zane’s home for the last time. Then she headed for the capitol city of Langton.

  CHAPTER TEN

  It was disturbingly easy to sneak into the castle. Lily used the hidden entrance where she and Zane had been brought in the first day they’d arrived here, led by Faraday. The lock was no harder to pick than any other lock.

  It made Lily a little concerned for the safety of her king.

  She crept into Jacob’s quarters and had the knife stuck in his side before he even woke up. He let out a high-pitched squeal when she stabbed him.