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AFTER SEEING HOVNAR’S sudden demise, Wort knew he was doomed. Sorcha was far more powerful than he’d realized. They’d all somehow managed to unblock their abilities and she’d become a dangerous foe. The sorceress could end him at any moment, but she was holding back. His students had enough respect for him to allow him to fight to the death with honor. It was a pity he’d never get to see if the final three new recruits he’d whittled down from ten younglings would have turned out to be as good as this trio.
Saluting his students with his daggers, he unleashed his inner killer and went on the attack. Sorcha had decided not to use her magic as a weapon, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew she would use it if she felt truly threatened. The satyr’s speed was breathtaking when he targeted the sorceress first. She teleported behind him as Eden struck out with her sword. Wort twisted away from the strike while lashing out at Malachi at the same time.
The incubus cursed when the dagger bit deeply into his arm as he slashed at his enemy. All three former assassins were trained to be ambidextrous, so Malachi struck with his other hand, but the satyr was already out of his range. The cut in his arm healed as he leaped at Wort, who was now focused on his half-sister.
Eden didn’t glance up when Malachi launched himself into the air. She was too busy deflecting the daggers that came at her so fast that she could barely see them. One got through her guard and stabbed her in the chest just above her heart. Wort sensed danger descending towards him and sidestepped as the incubus landed. Malachi spun around and saw a dagger slicing towards his throat. He blocked it with his arm, which saved his life, but rendered his arm temporarily useless in the process.
Sorcha’s sword slashed at Wort’s back, but he was already on the move again. He ducked out of her reach, then lunged at her before she could teleport away again. He rammed his dagger between her ribs and blood burst from her mouth. “You were always the weakest of my students,” he gloated and shoved her away.
The sorceress fell to her knees, struggling to breathe as her friends renewed their attack on the trainer they all despised.
Eden and Malachi exchanged grim glances and silent communication that only siblings could have shared. They’d both healed already and knew they had to end this now, or none of them would be walking away from this fight.
The succubus unleashed her seductive power and the satyr shook his head as she tried to ensnare him in her clutches. “Your power won’t work on me, lass,” he said, but his eyes were slightly dazed, belying his claim.
Malachi sliced at him with his sword. Wort blocked it with one dagger and stabbed him in the throat with the other one. “Sorry, lad,” he said in false contrition. “Say hi to your Dad for me when you get to hell.” He shoved the incubus away and Malachi fell to the ground, choking on blood.
Wort turned to face Eden. He was surprised to see her smiling serenely rather than full of rage that he’d killed her friend and half-brother. “You’re good, Fungus,” the succubus said in admiration as she started to circle around him. “But there’s something you don’t know about us.”
“What’s that?” he asked warily as he shifted his position to keep her in sight.
“We’re really hard to kill now,” she replied.
Wort sensed movement behind him and spun around to see both Sorcha and Malachi leaping at him. Caught in a deadly triangle, he couldn’t deflect all three weapons at once. Eden rammed her sword into his back and it burst from his chest, spraying the sorceress with blood as she landed in front of him. Sorcha and Malachi had just been a distraction so the succubus could take him down.
Dropping to his knees, Wort grinned up at his students. “You can’t defeat the Immortal Triumvirate,” he said and winced at the hot pain that lanced through his heart. It wasn’t a mortal wound, but he couldn’t heal as fast as they could. “They’re too powerful.”
“They aren’t the only triumvirate in Nox now,” Eden told him and Malachi cut a sharp look at her.
“The rebels have formed their own trinity,” Sorcha added. “We’re going to go to war with the rulers of Nox and we’re going to win.”
Wort nodded thoughtfully, once again proud of the best recruits he’d ever trained. “The Immortal Triumvirate aren’t the only danger you need to be wary of,” he said as his grip tightened on his daggers. “Someone else seeks to rule the City of Night.”
The trio exchanged disturbed glances, unable to tell if he was telling the truth, or if he was just stalling for time. “Who are you talking about?” Malachi asked.
“Haven’t you wondered why the rats and crows seem to be mutating?” Wort asked and felt the wound in his heart slowly stitching itself together. “A dark force has risen in Nox. It won’t be satisfied until it consumes every living being.” He hadn’t mentioned his suspicions of who was behind the mutated animals. It was doubtful the Immortal Triumvirate would have believed him even if he’d warned them.
Sorcha opened her mouth to ask a question, but Wort’s hands flashed into motion. He flicked his daggers towards Eden’s and Malachi’s hearts. The sorceress instinctively created a shield with one hand while blasting the satyr with undine magic with the other hand. The daggers hit her shield rather than sinking into their targets. They fell harmlessly to the ground while a thousand spears of ice skewered Wort’s body.
“Well, I guess he’s dead,” Malachi said as the satyr toppled onto his side. Seeing movement from the corner of his eye, his head whipped around. His sword rose, then fell when he saw a lone skeleton shambling towards them.
The walking bag of bones looked at the chunks of frozen vampire. It clicked its teeth in disapproval, then shrugged. There were too many pieces for it to pick up, so it decided not to bother.
“Wait,” Eden said before the skeleton could drag Wort’s corpse away. She knelt down and searched his pockets. She took the key he always carried on him and stood up again. “Take him away,” she requested. The skeleton took hold of the satyr’s hooves and started dragging him towards the woods. It seemed it couldn’t be bothered to inter their former teacher in a cemetery.
“What a fitting end for Fungus to be left to rot in the forest,” Sorcha said, then they broke into relieved snickers.
“Why did you take Wort’s key?” Malachi asked.
“He wasn’t watching our mansion all the time,” she said. “He was busy doing something else for several hours each night. I want to see if he’s been training a new batch of recruits.”
“I do, too,” Sorcha agreed.
“I’m glad our plan worked,” Malachi said. Eden had come up with a plan to lure the spy out. They hadn’t realized there had been two assassins, or that Wort had been one of them. Sorcha and Malachi had secretly visited Eden’s home every night. The sorceress had created the illusion of Sebastian and a woman who looked a little like Eden. She’d made it look like they’d met at the front door every night to fool their enemies. The real Sebastian had been coming and going through the back door. It had been risky, but they’d finally ended the threat. “Let’s hope the Immortal Triumvirate don’t send someone else to try to kill Sebastian for a while,” Malachi added. Both girls nodded, but he spoke again before they could reply. “So, Sebastian, Kade and Raum have formed another triumvirate, huh?”
“How did you know Raum was the third member?” Sorcha asked. She noted their clothes, hair and skin were clean of blood and the slices in their clothes had been repaired.
“Why else would they ask the Demon Guild Master for his help to free us from our rulers?” he pointed out.
“We’ll fill you in while we’re rescuing the kids from the prison,” Eden said apologetically. The cat was out of the bag now, but she trusted her brother not to spill the beans.
Sorcha teleported them to the door that led to the basement of the big stone headquarters in the City Square. Only a select few beings could teleport in and out of the prison. “Let’s hope we still have access,” she said, then twisted the doorknob. She let out a quiet sigh of relief when it opened. Before entering, she cloaked them all in a scent and noise muffling shield, then camouflaged them so they blended in with the walls.
They passed the cells where the prisoners were kept, then quickly made their way to Wort’s quarters. Eden unlocked the door with the key she’d taken from his body, then they stepped into the place where they’d spent ten years being trained to be killers.
A small boy with the pointed ears of an elf bravely moved to stand in front of two little girls. He held a wooden training sword in his hand. “Who are you?” he asked suspiciously. “Where’s Wort?” The girls also held wooden swords, but they made no move to lift them. They were only four or five years old, but their eyes were far older than they should have been.
“Fungus is dead,” Eden said as she scanned the room. Not much had changed. Bad memories assailed her as she saw the training dummies and the arrays of wooden weapons lined up next to the punching bags.
“Did you kill him?” one of the girls asked.
“We sure did,” Malachi said in a cheerful tone. “It took all three of us to do it, but Fungus is toast.” The girls giggled, then looked shocked at their boldness.
“Have you come to kill us?” the little boy asked.
“Nope,” Sorcha said. “We’re here to rescue you.”
“Why?” he demanded, unable to trust three strangers he’d never seen before.
“Because we were just like you once,” Eden said. “Wort took us from our classroom when we were about your age. He trained us to become killers for the Immortal Triumvirate. We recently broke free from them and we’re going to take them down.”
The children exchanged looks, then dropped their training swords. “Can we please leave this place?” the other girl asked plaintively.
“Come with us,” Sorcha said and held her hand out. “We’ll find somewhere safe for you to live.” The girl crossed to her and took her hand trustingly.
Eden held her hand out to the other girl and Malachi offered his hand to the half elven boy. After a moment’s hesitation, the boy nudged the girl in the side. “I think we can trust them,” he said. “Going with them has to be better than staying here.”
They walked over to the adults, took their hands and followed them out of the prison.
