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A tall man with a large battle axe stepped onto the street. I drew up short. Next to him, a blond woman appeared. When they noticed me, a smile spread across the man’s face.
“Storm!” he called. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yngvild. Vania,” I said and closed the distance in a few quick strides. “You alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re good.” Yngvild held out a tattooed arm. “You?”
I clasped his forearm. “I’m still alive.”
A horse-drawn carriage rattled towards us on the street so we took shelter under the colorful awning of a baker’s shop. The scent of baking pies drifted through the afternoon air.
“Crazy thing, this star elf scare yesterday, right?” Yngvild said. “I heard General Marcellus made up the whole thing so that people would rally behind him. Heard it’s because he’s afraid he’ll lose the election to your boy Shade.”
It took great effort to stop a victorious grin from spreading across my face. “You did, huh? Yeah, I heard the same thing.”
So, our rumormongering was working quite well. Liam and the twins were doing a fabulous job in the Upperworld and I was on my way to my third Underworld tavern for the day. Even though Shade could only socialize in legit circles right now, his guild helped me spread the word among the less refined members of the population. And apparently, it was working.
Vania’s intelligent blue eyes studied me. “Something tells me that you were somehow involved in this.”
I looked back at her, not sure how to respond.
“But I’m thinking, the less we know, the better.” She peered down at me. “Am I correct?”
Blowing out an amused breath through my nose, I gave her an impressed nod. “Yeah, probably.”
“Then I won’t ask.” The blond warrior gave me a rare smile. “Until next time.”
“See you later, Storm,” Yngvild called over his shoulder as he followed his partner down the street.
As far as people went, those two were alright. Leaving the shade of the awning behind, I stepped into the still bright fall sun and set course towards my next tavern. There were people to dupe and lies to spread. Business as usual, then.
***
GOLDEN LIGHT COVERED the pale stones as I stepped onto the street. Though my social skills still needed serious work, I had managed to plant the seeds of dissatisfaction in the minds of the underworlders I’d met. Not that it was overly difficult. Most of them already believed that Marcellus had orchestrated the fake attack to gain support because they had heard it from so many different sources now. Perfect.
Stretching my arms above my head, I let out a yawn. “Ah, a good day’s work.” I started back towards the school.
Heavy footfalls thudded behind me. Heaving a deep sigh, I shook my head. Not again. I picked up the pace. A cross street was coming up ahead so I veered onto it. Two men with swords blocked the way. Damn. I whirled around and took off at a sprint. The person hunting me from behind did the same.
Another side street presented an escape route. Darting onto it, I found two more men with weapons sealing it off. Gods damn it. I had to get up on the roof. Taking a few quick strides, I reached the nearest wall. A crossbow bolt whizzed past and hit the wall next to me. I snatched my hand back and cast a hurried glance over my shoulder. The lone hunter had now turned into four men with raised crossbows. Shit.
Boots smattered against stone as I dashed along the street with my pursuers behind me. Another pair of men stepped onto the road from a building up ahead. I skidded to a halt. There was a cross street a few paces away. The men behind me closed in. Praying to Nemanan that the adjacent alley would be empty, I put all my faith in it and sprang forward.
My hammering heart skipped a beat when I rounded the corner and found it deserted. Moving quickly, I scrambled to the nearest wall to make another attempt at getting up on the roof. Another crossbow bolt struck the wood next to my hand. That desperate gamble had lost me precious seconds so I had no other choice but to keep running.
Up ahead, another wall of men with weapons blocked the way. Gravel sprayed into the air as I veered into the alley on my left to escape them. Realization spread like cold poison through my chest when I found it empty. I was deliberately being forced in this direction. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do much about that right now so I kept sprinting, hoping against hope that a way out would present itself.
The street ended in a large courtyard boxed in by tall buildings. My mad dash screeched to a halt as I took in the scene. Men and women were positioned all along the sides of the courtyard and an array of weapons gleamed in their hands. Blood pounded in my ears. Behind me, the men with crossbows closed in. After casting a quick look over my shoulder, I reluctantly moved into the open square. This was bad.
“The Oncoming Storm,” a man’s voice called.
Out of the rows of armed people, a slim man with graying hair and dark beady eyes appeared. My heart sank.
“The Rat King,” I said, coming to a halt in the middle of the courtyard.
“This piece of foreign scum killed two of my men,” the Rat King called and swept his arm in a dramatic arc until it pointed at me.
Behind the Rat King’s weapon-wielding subjects, frightened-looking underworlders had appeared and were now watching the exchange with cautious eyes.
“Well, they tried to kill me.” I raised my chin. “I was only returning the favor.”
“Arrogance,” the skinny king said before turning in a slow circle. “I have ordered you all here today so that you can see firsthand what happens to people who cross me.”
Fantastic. Another person who wanted to make an example out of me in front of his people. Though I guessed that technically, the frightened-looking people at the back weren’t part of the Rat King’s gang. They were most likely independents that he wanted to scare into submission. Great. Just great.
“How have I crossed you exactly?” I demanded, impatience creeping into my voice.
“I told you to stop recruiting in my territory and yet you’ve been seen fraternizing with people like this.”
He snapped his fingers and two men shoved a pair that I recognized very well into the courtyard. Swords gleamed at the neck of both Yngvild and Vania. Shit. I couldn’t let them get caught up in this.
“Those two?” I scoffed. “I sure as hell haven’t been fraternizing with them. They cornered me earlier today only to threaten me to stop encroaching on your territory, as they called it.” I flicked a hand dismissively. “Cowards.”
Surprise flashed over their faces but it was gone by the time the Rat King had turned towards them.
“Is this true?” he demanded.
Knowing that Vania was the most likely to play along, I locked steady eyes on her.
After an intense second, she broke my gaze and moved her eyes to the Rat King. “It is.”
Disappointment washed over his face but he recovered quickly. After waving a hand to the two men with swords, he turned back to me. The relief flooding through my body at seeing Yngvild and Vania be released was hidden by the arrogant mask I presented to the Rat King when his beady eyes found mine.
“Regardless, there have still been lots of black-clad people running around lately, interfering in all kinds of matters,” the graying king said.
“So?” I gave him a nonchalant shrug. “They’re not mine. They’re Shade’s.”
“The foreign guy who is running for General?”
“Yeah, he brought his Assassins’ Guild back with him after his last trip to Keutunan.” I frowned and flicked my arms to the side in an exasperated gesture. “Why are you even making a thing out of this? Shade’s an assassin, for Nemanan’s sake! If he wins, it would benefit the whole Underworld and I am working to make him General. Shouldn’t that be in your best interest too?”
The Rat King was silent for a moment. Lifting a bony hand to his face, he stroked his chin. “That may be true... but I warned you about infringing on my territory. And the Rat King always keeps his promises.”
Rage burned inside me. I was so sick of bullheaded men who were too insecure about their manhood to back down. Why couldn’t they realize that sometimes it was best to just let the insane knife-throwing girl with the temper of a psychotic demon do whatever the hell she wanted?
I yanked the hunting knives from the small of my back as the darkness ripped from the deep pits of my soul. Black clouds swirled around me while lightning crackled over my skin.
“Ashaana,” people whispered around me but I ignored them.
With eyes that had gone black as death, I stared at the Rat King. “You want my life?”
The suddenly nervous-looking king flinched. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.
A crazed laugh slipped from my lips while rage and insanity swirled in my eyes. I bared my teeth at him in a grin tinted with madness. “Come and claim it.”
“A-attack!” the Rat King spluttered and pointed a shaking finger at me but his weapon-wielding subjects hesitated. “Now!”
Three men brandishing swords and axes stepped forward. Anger burned through my body and the black smoke grew until it swirled around me like storm clouds. Lightning danced and thunder boomed inside the mist.
“Yes, do attack.” Another insane laugh bubbled out of my throat. Gripping the knives so tightly my knuckles turned white, I leveled mad eyes on the three men. “See how that works out for you.”
“Shoot her!” the Rat King screamed as his three subjects backed away.
Four crossbow bolts whizzed past me but in the dark of the smoke, none of them hit. I squeezed my fists tighter. Lightning exploded around me and the black clouds swirled faster.
“Now,” I called in a voice dripping with madness, “you either leave. Or you die.”
Thunder punctuated my every word. Feet smattered against stone as the people around me fled. Across the courtyard, the Rat King yanked the shirt of the closest man and yelled something in his face, but to no avail. All his subjects followed the retreating underworlders and left the area in a hurry. After one last furious look in my direction, he whirled around and stalked away as well.
Tiredness washed over me like a tidal wave. The darkness shrank back into my soul while I staggered into the alley on the other side. I only made it halfway through it before I had to stop and put a hand to the rough wooden wall in order to steady myself. Gods damn it. I couldn’t pass out now. If the Rat King came back, he could just slit my throat as I lay there helpless on the street. After sticking my hunting knives back in their sheaths, I stumbled forward with one hand still on the wall. Splinters lodged in my palm but I didn’t care. I had to get out of there. Fast.
My knees buckled. I crashed into the stones with a force that jarred my bones. Footsteps echoed down the street but I couldn’t muster enough energy to lift my head. After all that, I couldn’t believe it would still end with someone shoving a sword through my heart. Darkness pressed in. Blinking repeatedly, I tried to force the oblivion away but it was hopeless. When the feet finally stopped around me, I was already gone.