Shattered Soul (21 page)

“Wow, safe

“I knew you would be.” Rather than going to the end of the empty corridor, Fredrico came to a stop halfway down and tapped an erratic tattoo on one of the stones. “Your hidden escape route awaits you.”

Rather than enter the dark tunnel yawning in front of her, Rani looked at the walls of the corridor. “There’s nothing to distinguish the trigger rock.”

“That’s the whole idea of a secret tunnel, so no one knows.” His eyes held a glint of amusement.

Rani just looked at him.

“You need to accustom yourself with the positioning of the trigger rocks.” Fredrico shrugged. “If you don’t know it, you’ll be trapped in the corridors.”

“Another cheerful thought.”

“Consider it your homework for the next few days.” Fredrico entered the tunnel, his voice drifting back to her. “You don’t go anywhere in the fortress unless you use the hidden tunnels.”

Entering the tunnel, she looked around as the wall slid closed behind her. Immediately torches flared on the walls, lighting the pathway of the narrow tunnel. “So who is going to show me the stones?”

“I will be your guide,” he replied. “For the first day. After that, you lead me.”

“Such faith in my powers of observation.” She looked down at him, noting the way the light reflected in his blue eyes.

“You’re a Reeka warrior. I’d expect nothing less.”

“News for you, Freddy. I’m considered one of the worst for directions. Ceri always laughed her face off when I led my sister warriors in yet another wrong direction. It’s why Karana took me off the point when we were scouting or on the run. I’d always lead us into a dead end or right into the midst of the enemy.”

Fredrico’s gaze was searching. “That must have hurt you.”

She shrugged. “Not really. When you’re running for your life you want someone who knows the way.”

“And when you’re fighting for your life?”

Rani grinned. “Karana always had me up the front.”

“You were a good fighter.”

“One of the best,” she stated simply.

“Good. You’ll need to be.” He led the way through the tunnel. It wasn’t long before it branched off in three directions, one up a narrow flight of stairs, one down a narrow flight of stairs, and one straight ahead. “You can choose to go down a floor, up a floor, or straight ahead.”

“Nifty.”

“Very. Which way do you want to go?”

“You’re the leader.”

“No, I’m the lap hound, remember?”

Rani looked witheringly at him. “Then being given the choice should be a real novelty for you.”

He laughed suddenly, a deep, rich laugh that rolled through the tunnel and curled around her with a warmth that caught her unawares. It transformed his face, chasing the chill from his eyes and the calmness from his features, replacing it with a youthful expression that gave her a glimpse of the carefree man he probably used to be.

“I bet you annoyed the crap out of a lot of people,” she remarked.

“I did my share,” he admitted with an easy grin.

“So how did you end up spreading your cheer in this hellhole?”

The merriment left his face to be replaced with his usual calm expression. “Just lucky, I guess.”

“Or not.”

He shrugged and turned away. “Which way shall we go?”

Sorry to see the glimpse of mischief gone, Rani shrugged in turn. “I don’t care.”

“Then we’ll go up.”

She followed him up the narrow staircase, wondering what had brought the once-merry space pirate into such a foul domain. “So what did you do to end up here?”

“I don’t feel like talking about it.”

“I do.”

“Tough.”

Was that a touch of irritation in the normally calm voice? Rani felt a little prick of satisfaction. “Come on, Freddy, you can tell me.”

Pausing on the step above her, Fredrico glanced down at her, his eyes once again cold as he raked a ruthless gaze over her. “We’re going to come out into the hall above the one we just left - ”

“Just give me a hint of why you’re here.”

“Leave it, Rani.”

“Pshaw, you can’t be that bad.” Folding her arms challengingly, she eyed him. “Well, yes, you’re a bad bastard, but evil? I’m not so sure.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Reaching out, he touched the projecting stone high in the wall and a portion of the wall slid open. Stepping through, he continued, “This is the hall above the great hall.”

Obviously she wasn’t going to be able to goad the blonde man into revealing his secrets today, but Rani had no doubt she’d be able to get him to spill them one day. Besides, it helped take her mind of her current concerns, namely that of working for The Overlord and being...
well, damned
.

Annoying Fredrico held appeal.

“I’ll find out.” She followed on his heels.

“Why bother?”

“Know your enemies.”

“Who says I’m your enemy?” He continued walking down the wide, barren corridor.

“Who says you’re not?”

Pausing before a painting of an orgy, he tapped the toe of his boot against a stone at floor level and the wall beside it slid open. “I’m not your enemy.”

She followed him into the narrow tunnel and the wall slid shut behind them. “You’re not my friend.”

Torches flared to life and she found herself facing him. Oddly, he seemed a little taller, no doubt due to the uneven surface of the floor beneath their boots.

When Fredrico studied her silently for several seconds, she arched her brow in query. His cold gaze drifted across her face once more, seeming to take in every detail, and it was almost a little disconcerting, which was odd, because no one had ever disconcerted her.

“Rani,” he finally said softly, though his words seemed to cut through the silence. “I’m one of the few people you could ever even think of as a friend in this place.”

“You?”

“Yout si0">“Yre The Overlord’s personal worker, as am I, Veknor and Phemar. I’m telling you right now, because of our positions we four can only rely on each other.”

Both of Rani’s eyebrows rose, this time in surprise. “You’d rely on the walking corpse?”

“To a certain extent.” Fredrico regarded her steadily. “Veknor and I have been friends for years and I’d trust him with my life. Phemar is attached to The Overlord, and hence I have to trust him with my life. You...”

“Yes?” Placing her hands on her hips, she angled her head to one side and eyed him back.

“You I now trust with my life.”

She gave a bark of surprised laughter. “Are you mad?”

“No.” He was deadly serious.

“You don’t know me, Freddy. I could beat the shit out of you and hang you out to dry.”

“You could, but you won’t.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because we need each other to survive.”

All teasing fled as she saw that he was serious. “Against The Overlord?”

“Against everyone surrounding us.” Fredrico remained still. “The Overlord needs us, so he’ll protect us as long as we do his bidding. Phemar will do what The Overlord orders, so he’ll see to our safety as he can. Veknor, you and I will fight side-by-side, we will do The Overlord’s bidding, sometimes together, sometimes working alone. But we four only have each other. There is no other in the close circle of The Overlord. It’s just us, Rani. Just us.”

She couldn’t think what else to say except, “The Fearsome Five.”

A glimmer of a smile appeared on his face. “That’s about it.”

Five people. Well, three people, one corpse and a weird alien-type. From now on, all she had to trust were those four. The thought echoed in her head
. Fredrico and Veknor. The Overlord and Phemar. And herself.

Suddenly she didn’t feel like teasing Fredrico anymore.

The silence between them stretched out as he didn’t say anything but just continued to study her.

It scraped through her like a knife on glass. This man and his friend, the creepy corpse and the Overlord, were all she could count on to watch her back.

“Shit,” she finally said. “I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”

“Whatever you do,” he replied, “no one but I will know.”

Looking deep into his eyes, the silence of the narrow tunnel hemming them into their own private world, Rani knew that he spoke the truth. Whatever she did, laugh or cry, rant or rave, he would say nothing to anyone else. What happened between them would never pass his lips.

She waited for the shock to shiver through her, the dread, but nothing happened. Just a quiet acceptance. Maybe that was part of her insulation, not being able to feel this kind of shock.

Or maybe it was just being part of the damned.

“Oh crap.” Rubbing one hand over her face, she took a deep breath.

Fredrico gave a small smile and turned away, continuing down the tunnel with a firm tread.

Frowning, Rani followed. She should feel shock, maybe fear, but hell, the only thing she coul ">

No, wait, insanity wasn’t an option anymore.

Oh goody
.

“I’m taking you up to the tower,” Fredrico said.

“I’m honoured.” Shaking her head at the things she was accepting, Rani followed him up the staircase.

The tunnel opened out into yet another dismal, cold corridor, only this time it was short. Fredrico opened the door at the end and stood aside with a gesture to enter.

Rani walked inside and started as the door slammed shut behind her. But before she could even look around, four creatures emerged from the darkened corners of the big chamber.

Four creatures with twisted, leering, drooling faces. In their knobby hands they held upraised swords, and their shuffling steps were done on big, muscle-bulging legs, each foot tipped with wickedly curving claws.

Their foul breaths misted the air and one started to cackle as it tossed a sword to land in a clatter at her feet. “Fight, warrior.”

“Uh…Fredrico?” Rani glanced behind her when no one answered, to find herself alone.

With four armed monsters.

One word only came to mind.

Traitor.

Friend indeed. Huh.

Picking up the sword, Rani tested its weight as she watched the creatures, who watched her in turn.

“Who are you?” she asked. “I have no fight with you. I - ”

“Fight or die, we don’t care,” one rasped with a wet spatter of saliva in the air. “Now.”

There was no time to think further and she sprang instinctively into action, lunging forward to meet the first creature.

Its sword swung with more force than she’d ever met before, and she had to fight hard, parrying and thrusting, twisting and turning, dodging one blade to meet the other with her own sword, the clash of metal slamming into metal harsh in the air.

The creatures showed no mercy, coming for her at every turn, but Rani fought with every instinct honed during the outlaw years. She ignored the slash of a blade as it glanced off her upper arm, ignored the sting of an open cut.

She plunged her sword blade in deep to one creature’s chest, jerking the blade free to swing and block another’s killing blow.

And where the hell was her new friend? The one meant to watch her back?

“Fredrico!” she yelled, as a clawed foot whisked past her skin with millimetres only to spare. “You
bastard
!”

Falling to the floor, she curled and rolled, coming to a stop directly under the second creature’s spread legs, and she jabbed the sword up hard and fast. The blade buried deep between its legs. The creature screamed and tried to stamp down, but she rolled swiftly, coming up on one knee to swipe the blade across the hamstrings of the creature’s legs. It went down screaming.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw dim figures, but when she snapped a quick look, there was nothing but the shadowed walls beyond.

A monstrous hand curled into her hair, dragging her back as a fourth creature approached her from the front.

There wasing0">Ther no time to waste. As she was dragged painfully upright, Rani gripped the sword in both hands and swung it over her head point first.

She heard a muffled gasp of pain, the hand in her hair released its grip and she pushed to her feet to face the fourth creature.

It charged at her, swinging its sword arm back, mocking laughter on its twisted features as it towered above her.

Rani bent and then sprang upward, driving through from her thigh muscles, springing into the air and swing her sword forward over her head and down as she did so.

The sharp, red-smeared blade hit the creature in the head and kept slicing down with the force of the movement behind it, the power with which Rani swung it. It sliced through flesh and bone, cleaving the monster in half from his head to his upper chest.

The creature stopped, blinked, and then the top part of itself started to split in half, one to each side, stopped only by the fact that it wasn’t completely halved. It fell to its knees and stayed there.

“Oh, for stars sake,” Rani muttered, and she shoved it hard in the chest with one foot.

The creature toppled over and lay still.

Breathing a little harder than normal, Rani swung around, the sword in her hand, her gaze searching the chamber. Nothing else moved in the room. It was empty except for her, the four dead creatures... and Fredrico, who was leaning against the wall in the corner with that same damned, calm expression on his face.

“You bastard!” Rani exploded, storming towards him, sword upheld. “You set me up!”

“It was a little test,” he replied. “Set by Phemar.”

“Which you dutifully carried out, of course.” Placing the tip of the bloodied sword blade against his white shirt, she snarled, “You could have warned me.”

“One doesn’t get warned about a test.”

“Some friend you are.”

“I was here all the time.”

“Be a bit late if I’d been stabbed to death.”

“No chance of that.”

“Such faith in me,” she mocked.

He grinned slightly.

Rani gave a snort of disgust. “Anything else I should be ready for?”

“You think there’s more?”

“I think you’re an arse.”

“You’d be right.” That smile widened a little more. “But a friendly arse.”

“Huh.” That grin lent him a sudden roguish air and it should have annoyed her. Instead, it made him appear a bit more attractive.