Decimus Fate and the Butcher of Guile: (Decimus Fate - Book 2)

by Peter A Flannery

  Fate watched the witches struggle to break free as Carduus pulled them down into the Wilderlands of Faerie until they vanished and the grass of Medici’s lawn reappeared.

  And, even as the witches met their end, so the two Don’Sha’Mort were coming close to their own. The one who had been recently healed now found himself beset by a dozen armour-clad faeries. At only ten inches tall, the Lannari were fast and deadly. Bourne upon blue translucent wings, the silver-skinned faeries darted in; slashing with their swords until the Don’Sha’Mort’s clothes were torn and his body was lacerated with a hundred bloody wounds. Despite his fury, and the frantic use of magical fire, the desert warrior was dying.

  The black-robed figure slumped to one knee as the tendons at the back of one leg were cut. He swiped at a faerie who flitted away as one of her sisters zipped in to slash a vein in the Don’Sha’Mort’s neck. The brands in his skin flared red as he tried to heal himself, but the number of cuts was too many, his demonic power too weak.

  Finally, the Lannari withdrew, hovering above their defeated foe like lanterns in some enchanted glade. While a few paces to one side, the other Don’Sha’Mort met a similar fate on the point of a Hadean Blade.

  Now facing just one opponent, the Tutor regained his composure and prepared himself for a duel to the death. Likewise, the Don’Sha’Mort levelled his blindfolded gaze as he attacked with fire before sweeping in with his scything blade, but the Tutor was ready for him.

  The tattoo on his chest flared with energy as it absorbed the force of the Don’Sha’Mort’s flames and there followed an impressive display of martial skill until the Tutor’s blade whipped up to sever his opponent’s wrist. The Don’Sha’Mort’s sword fell to the ground and the Tutor spun round to deliver a deep cut to the nomad’s stomach. The desert assassin staggered forward, reaching for the Tutor with his remaining hand, a hand that glowed red hot.

  The Tutor did not even try to avoid the searing hand and the shoulder of his leather doublet smoked as he drove the point of his sword into the Don’Sha’Mort’s chest. Once again the arcane brands in this nomad’s skin glowed red, but slowly the light dimmed and the heat faded from the assassin’s hand. The Don’Sha’Mort slumped backwards, the hole in his chest smoking as he slid from the Tutor’s blade.

  ‘Stop!’ came a desperate cry and all eyes turned to Lord Medici.

  Seeing his protectors defeated, Medici had tried to flee until two Lannari flew down to block his path. Now he stood beside the demonic rift with two of the dark spheres in his hands. Each one contained a tiny faerie, both of whom would die if the spheres were thrown into the fiery rift.

  ‘Stop!’ he cried again as one of the Lannari edged closer. ‘Stop or I throw these into the rift.’

  ‘That would be unwise,’ said Fate as gold streaks glittered in his dark brown eyes. He glanced to one side to see if the Tutor was close enough to intervene, but the demon hunter was too far away. He looked at Motina who might have been able to hold him with magic if she only had a wand. In the air above the lawn, the twelve Lannari started to move until Medici bent closer to the rift.

  ‘Don’t!’ he cried. ‘I’ll do it, I swear.’ The Lannari stopped as Medici turned to look at Carduus. ‘Surely we can come to some arrangement,’ Medici went on. ‘I have many precious gems and gold… so much gold that you wouldn’t believe.’

  Medici’s wealth was without question, but no faerie would sell the life of another for something so base as gold. Fate could feel the fury rising in Carduus’s chest and, from that moment, he knew that Medici was doomed.

  42

  Taxus Eternus

  Lord Medici’s eyes were wide with desperation as he faced the intimidating faerie. His last hope was that his vast wealth would be enough to save his life. Over the years he had dealt with witches and paid a king’s ransom for the protection of beings who gained their power from the demonic realm. His wealth and standing had always saved him, but the fair folk of the Blessed Realm cannot be bought. Their allegiance can only be earned.

  Medici waited for an answer then flinched as Carduus suddenly produced a dandelion flower with all the flair of a town-square conjurer. He watched as the faerie lord breathed on the yellow flower causing the petals to wilt, giving way to a seed-head that unfurled to produce what children called a dandelion clock. Medici appeared tense and mesmerised, staring at Carduus as if he had expected a powerful spell instead of mere sleight of hand. But then Carduus held the seed-head to his lips, drew a breath and…

  Poof!

  The faerie lord exhaled with such force that the dandelion seeds shot forth like a cloud of miniature darts. Medici barely had time to close his eyes as the seeds flew into his body, piercing flesh and clothes with hundreds of tiny pinpricks. Cautiously he opened his eyes and then he smiled as he realised the ‘attack’ had done no damage at all. In fact it had barely even hurt.

  ‘Now,’ he said in a tone of growing confidence. ‘Are we going to negotiate or shall I throw your kin into the fires of hell?’

  Watching from nearby, Fate’s gaze darkened as he watched Medici try to blow one of the seeds from the back of his hand. It was as if the sorcerer knew what was about to take place, and he knew it was not good.

  ‘Why, the damn things won’t come off!’ cursed Medici as he tried to brush the seeds from his clothes. Still keeping hold of the dark crystal spheres, he tried to pull one of the seeds from the flesh of his hand, but his mouth stretched wide with pain as the seed tugged at his skin. ‘It won’t come off!’ he said again and now his tone was edged with panic as he felt each of the pinpricks swell with pain as the dandelion seeds began to root.

  ‘What’s happening?’ he cried as the roots spread beneath his skin. ‘By the gods, I can feel them…’

  Medici collapsed to his knees and a low moan of pain emerged from his mouth as each of the seeds grew into a small dandelion plant. But the faerie magic did not stop there. The plants continued to grow and Medici screamed as they fed on his flesh until the wealthy man was completely covered in leaves. No longer screaming, Medici’s body convulsed as the plants began to flower. His limbs twitched, and his chest heaved until the flowers opened and his chest ceased to move.

  Lord Medici was dead, his flesh becoming mere compost to feed the enchanted plants. And even as Fate and the others watched, those nutrients were all used up. The green leaves withered as the flowers gave way to seed-heads and then each of these puffed into the air releasing thousands of miniature parasols that flew up to form a cloud, a cloud of dandelion seeds that would now add to the power of a faerie lord.

  Carduus let out a breath and rolled his head as if to ease a certain stiffness in his neck. Lord Medici’s body was now nothing more than a discarded pile of skin and bones wrapped in the remnants of a rich man’s clothes. As the Lannari flew down to free their fellow faeries from the crystal spheres, so Carduus moved to stand beside Fate who was now kneeling beside Motina.

  ‘Are you all right?’ asked Fate as he tried to assess the damage to Motina’s arm.

  ‘Allow me,’ said Carduus.

  Kneeling beside the injured witch, he gently took the Diminutia from Motina’s hands before handing it to one of the Lannari.

  ‘I think he will live,’ said Motina, her voice tight from the pain of her burns.

  ‘He will live because of you, Raven Mother,’ said Carduus.

  Then the faerie lord produced two more plants from thin air, one a silvery bulb that resembled garlic and the other a spear-shaped succulent leaf with barbs along its edge. Carduus crushed them both between his hands muttering what sounded like the lines of a poem before opening his hands to reveal a cloud of silvery mist which he then spread over the burns on Motina’s hand and arm. The mist slowly condensed to leave a sheen of silver on Motina’s blistered skin.

  ‘Thank you,’ she breathed as she felt the pain recede.

  ‘No,’ said Carduus. ‘Thank you.’ He glanced up as one of the Lannari flew down to place a splintered length
of hazel in his hands. ‘It was you who broke the witch’s grip that allowed Lord Fate to summon me. And you did it with this!’ he added with a note of disbelief.

  Carduus held up the shattered wand, waggling it about as if to accentuate just how flimsy the magical aid had been. Then he turned to Fate with a note of censure in his voice.

  ‘I think such a devoted companion deserves a better weapon than this, don’t you?’ he asked and for once, Fate appeared flustered.

  ‘She only recently lost her wand,’ he said. ‘I was going to replace…’

  ‘I’m sure you were,’ said Carduus as if the sorcerer was making excuses. Then, reaching into his robes he drew forth another dandelion flower before turning to Motina as if he were asking her permission. ‘If it please you?’

  ‘Of course,’ said Motina a little shyly, and Carduus smiled as he passed the dandelion flower to one of the Lannari who flitted around the lawn for a moment before stopping at a particular spot.

  ‘You’re sure?’ asked Carduus and the Lannari cocked her head as if he should know better than to ask.

  The Lord of the Thistleblade Sword smiled as he moved to the spot where the Lannari was holding the dandelion flower, then, taking hold of the flower, he split the stem with his thumbnail and opened it up to reveal a narrow slit in the fabric of reality. The split stem now formed the edges of an opening into the realm of Faerie.

  For a moment Carduus looked into the opening then he gave a nod and reached through. His lips compressed as he gave a pinch of effort and then he withdrew his hand which was now holding a slender branch from some strange Faerie tree.

  Nodding in satisfaction, Carduus passed the thin branch to the Lannari who gathered round before going to work with their small sharp blades. And as they worked, Carduus began to recite…

  I went out to the elder woods, a flower to cut my bride

  But found instead a wand of yew, in the light of eventide

  I cut the stem with a silver blade, to keep the pure sap true

  And gave instead to a warrior maid, her enemies to rue

  Even as he finished the verse, so the Lannari finished their work and Carduus opened his hand to receive a smooth rod of wood.

  ‘And gave instead to a warrior maid, her enemies to rue,’ he repeated and then he bent down to offer the wand to Motina. ‘I think this is more fitting for one so brave,’ he added with a smile.

  Motina appeared stunned while Fate just smiled. Over the years he had often wondered if he had done the right thing by defying a Faerie Queen to save Carduus, but now he was sure. Faerie justice could be a cruel unfathomable thing. It was not to be trifled with, but neither was it perfect. Verdicts were often passed in the heat of passion, which sometimes meant that such verdicts were unjust. He wondered if the Faerie Queen known as Lonrúil Croí would ever see it that way.

  ‘So this was your plan?’ said the Tutor as he came to stand beside Fate.

  ‘Yes,’ said Fate.

  ‘Well, you might have told me that you had a Faerie Lord at your beck and call.’

  ‘Medici consorted with people who trafficked faeries,’ said Fate. ‘I knew Carduus would be only too happy to help.’

  ‘Faeries are terrifying,’ said the Tutor as he watched Carduus stand up from Motina.

  ‘So why did you marry one?’ asked Fate, for the Tutor had been married to a woman of Faerie blood.

  ‘Because they can be wonderful too,’ said the Tutor and Fate could hear the sudden thickness in his voice.

  ‘Indeed they can,’ said the sorcerer. ‘Indeed they can.’

  They both grew silent as Carduus came to stand beside them and together they watched as the Lannari transformed back into blue spheres of light, taking with them the Diminutia faeries they had now rescued from the dark crystal spheres.

  ‘What will you do with them?’ asked Fate.

  ‘We’ll take them to the edge of the Wilderlands and push them through into the domain of Lonrúil Croí.’

  ‘But you’re forbidden from entering the queen’s domain.’

  ‘That’s true,’ said Carduus. ‘And my presence is sure to bring the border guards running, but instead of finding me, they’ll find the diminutia and then the queen will care for them.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ asked the Tutor.

  ‘Oh, yes,’ said Carduus. ‘Lonrúil Croí might be angry with me, but she values the lives of all faeries regardless of their size.’

  Fate smiled as the cloud of dandelion seeds began to swirl as Carduus prepared to leave.

  ‘I’m glad we were able to save these souls from torment,’ he began. ‘But the debt between you and I remains. No, don’t object,’ he added with a twinkle in his liquid silver eyes. ‘I won’t pester you every day of the year; simply rest assured that from now on… I will be keeping an eye on Fate.’

  With a final smile, the smoke-robed figure disappeared as he was swallowed up in a whirling cloud of seeds.

  ‘And don’t forget what I told you about Bohr,’ came his voice as Fate and the Tutor raised a hand to shield their eyes. ‘The emperor’s sorcerer is getting bolder. If he collects enough power from his chamber of blue tiles then what happened in Karuthia could befall the entire world.’

  And with that, the Lord of the Thistleblade Sword was gone.

  ‘Well, he knows how to make an exit,’ said the Tutor as the storm of seeds disappeared in a swirl of glowing sparks. ‘But what did he mean about Bohr? Is the emperor’s sorcerer planning a new purge?’

  ‘I think Bohr’s ambitions go far beyond the idea of another purge,’ said Fate. ‘But there’s no time to talk about that now. We should get back to the house before the rest of Medici’s guards return from the tavern.’

  Crossing the lawn, he moved to help Motina to her feet.

  ‘Can you walk?’ he asked as the witch swayed a little.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Motina replied. ‘My, but that faerie healing is some powerful stuff.’

  Carduus’s healing salve had reduced the pain of her burned arm, but her twisted ankle was still painful and she was grateful when the Tutor offered her his arm.

  ‘Are we going?’ he asked when Fate hesitated.

  ‘Just a minute,’ said the sorcerer as he walked towards the Medici mansion.

  The shadowy figures of several servants could be seen at various windows, but Fate walked directly to the patio doors where a particular servant now ducked back from view.

  ‘You have nothing to fear,’ said Fate as he looked in through the patio doors where Medici’s valet now cowered behind a cabinet. ‘Not from me, at least.’

  The valet peered out from cover. ‘What will you do now?’ he asked.

  ‘Me… nothing,’ said Fate. ‘But Lord Medici’s brother now knows the truth about his daughter’s death. He is probably on his way here as we speak.’

  In the dark room, the valet’s face grew pale.

  ‘I had nothing to do with that,’ he cried. ‘And I never took part in their crimes.’

  ‘But you remained in service and you never took steps to stop them,’ said Fate.

  The man’s fear was almost palpable.

  ‘What should I do?’

  ‘If I were you,’ said Fate, ‘I would make an appointment with the authorities. Speak to someone you can trust, someone like Captain Monetti of the city guard. I’ve heard that he is an honourable man. Tell him everything you know about the Medicis’ crimes and then leave the city and look for a position where you don’t have to sell your soul just to earn your keep.’

  ‘And what should I tell this Monetti about Lord Medici’s death?’ asked the valet and he tensed as Fate’s eyes glittered with gold.

  ‘Tell him Medici meddled with demonic forces and paid the inevitable price.’

  The valet’s life was now in ruins, but Fate had no pity for someone who would knowingly serve a man like Medici. Without another glance, he turned away from the house and returned to the Tutor and Motina. The hunch-backed witch was staring at the wand
the Lannari had made for her.

  ‘It’s Taxus Eternus,’ she said in a voice filled with awe. ‘A Faerie wand, cut from eternal yew.’

  The Tutor was not familiar with this tree, but Fate was and the sorcerer pursed his lips, nodding in agreement as he acknowledged the significance of such a gift.

  ‘Come on, my warrior maid,’ he said with a smile. ‘It’s time we got you home.’

  43

  Breakout

  In the darkness of his prison cell, Isaac was waiting for the midnight bell. He was tired and traumatised from his continued testing at the hands of Divine Servant Arden. Shaking with cold and nervous anxiety, he looked up at the barred window of his cell wondering if he had got the day wrong or missed the midnight bell. Then Isaac froze as he heard the creak of a door opening from somewhere across the street. He heard the clop and scuffle of hooves on cobblestones and then the soft sound of approaching footsteps until…

  ‘Isaac!’

  It was Amos.

  ‘I’m here,’ said Isaac as the stable master’s face appeared at the window of his cell.

  ‘Quickly,’ said Amos, looping a piece of rope around one of the bars. ‘We need to get these tied on tight.’

  ‘Where’s Sienna?’ asked Isaac.

  ‘She’s with the horses.’

  ‘What!?’

  ‘You’ll see.’ Reaching down, Amos removed a lump hammer from a sack along with several steel spikes.

  ‘What are you doing?’ asked Isaac as he grabbed the bars and hauled himself up to the window.

  ‘We’re getting you out of there,’ said Amos and with that, he proceeded to tap the steel spikes into the mortar between the stones holding the bars in place.

  Across the road, Isaac could just make out the cloaked figure of Sienna. She was standing between the dark shapes of two enormous horses.