The Destroyer Book 2 (26 page)

“I saw their corpses,” I said, remembering the cell concealed in darkness and stacked with dead men.

“Shit. I thought we hid them well.”

“You did. I got distracted and found them. I doubt they will be found for many more days.” Greykin sighed in relief.

“We made it to the Royal Quarters and managed to base ourselves in Jessmei’s old room. It was close enough to Nanos and the queen’s for us to plan a rescue.” He looked at me to confirm that I understood him and I nodded.

“I just remembered that you only recently learned to speak our language. You sound like a native now. Paug did a good job teaching you.” He frowned as he recalled our young friend. Then his face grew dark and angry. "These assholes will pay. I'll kill all of them."

"What happened in the Royal Quarters?" I said to quickly change the subject. The big man's jaw looked set with muscle.

"One of the servants found us in the room. We almost killed the poor guy before he could say that Beltor knew we were there."

"We'll get Nanos and his mother out of the castle. Then we can figure out what to do about the Losher army," I said with my best smile in hopes that it would reassure him.

"Of course we will!" His face transformed into the boisterous canvas I was used to seeing. "There is nothing that I can't do. It also helps to have a good sidekick like you to help!" He let out a small chuckle and punched me lightly in the shoulder. He seemed to wince more than I did with the movement and I remembered his injury.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. They had fresh bandages and one of the medics tended to me. He said I should stay in bed for the next few weeks, but that isn't going to happen." He rotated his arms like he was swimming with his ham-sized fists and smiled at me to show that he was healthy. It didn't convince me, but I realized that there was nothing to do about it. The big man would rather die than sit around and wait for someone else to save Nanos and the queen.

The duke entered the office again carrying servant’s livery.

"It will be carried out soon. Change into these clothes in case the Losher soldiers see us. Greykin, you'll have to leave your axe behind, just bring some daggers." The big man grunted and then accepted the stack of garments from the duke before Beltor handed me the remaining bundle.

"We need to get more stew in you," Nadea's father said with concern when I removed my threadbare clothes and began to put on the servant attire. I glanced down and noticed that I did look thinner than normal. My ribs were so exposed that it looked as if I might be able to wrap my hand around one. I could also see the network of veins and arteries easily beneath the crisscrossed scars that layered my chest like a fishing net.

"I ate almost a whole pot of stew before I slept, so I should be fine."

"Aye. You probably need three more. I'll get you fed when we get back." Greykin and I finished putting on our clothes and then we quietly followed the duke out of his office into the dark hallways of Nia's castle.

We didn't speak for the ten minutes it took to weave our way through the dead halls of the castle to our destination. I remembered exploring these corridors at night back when I was a guest of Nadea's. Even though there had been very few people out in the late hours, the halls were still well-lit and the occasional servant dashed across the thick rugs. Now the hallways were lit by a few scarcely placed torches that accented the blackness of the night. We didn't need to worry about what we wore; the few guards we passed were Nia’s, and seemed more interested in playing dice in a corner than paying attention to our wandering.

"Do you think my clothes and swords would still be in my room?" I asked the duke in a whisper. I fondly recalled the quality garments that the king's tailor had made for me along with the pair of long swords and assortment of daggers I had taken from the Vanlourn soldiers. The swords were not as nice as those I took from the Elvens who tried to kill me the night Jessmei had been kidnapped, but the blades were better than my fists.

"You can look later. Most of the castle was ransacked by the Loshers, but the Ancients quarantined the East Wing, so it is possible they are still there." The duke chuckled. "I remember you being rather skilled at sneaking in and out of your room and various private meeting sessions."

"Let's take care of the prince first, Skinny, and then I'll find swords for you." Greykin patted me on the shoulder.

"Here is the exit to the side courtyard, we are going to dash across to the garden. It overlooks the spot where Nanos will read the letter. He should be there with in half of an hour if all goes as planned." The Old Bear grunted and we got ready to dart out the thick oaken door. Nadea's father carefully opened it, glanced outside into the dark night, and then pushed out into the coldness.

It was deep winter, but Nia was south enough to never get below the point where water would freeze. Still, the wind cut through my thin garment as if I were naked. My body was still heated from my day-long slumber and the large pot of stew I had eaten earlier, so the cold didn't really bother me. Instead, I felt invigorated and decided not to use any magic to keep me warm.

We kept our heads down and followed the duke to an abandoned garden. The trees had shed their leaves and without their raiment they glared down upon us like twisted brown skeletons. The sound of their branches smacking together in the wind reminded me of bones being cracked open. The garden once had a stream that ran around its circumference, but it had been drained and dug up, the lack of water further made me feel as though this was a forgotten part of the castle.

In the middle of the grove was a small tower that rose above the dilapidated garden like a warrior over his fallen opponent. It was constructed of red brick coated in a white, crumbling plaster. The duke produced a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and we followed him into the turret.

"Maerc, my brother, and I used to play around this tower and in the garden all the time. I know the castle better than most; I can get from one side to the other without being seen. The top floor has a series of arrow ports. We can watch Nanos and observe his reaction to the message," the duke explained as we climbed the spiral staircase. Greykin and Beltor had their hand against the wall to help guide their way up the steps, but I could see well enough to know that the dust-coated stairs would comfortably carry our weight. The inside of the turret was thirty feet in diameter and it was empty except for the staircase on the wall, a stack of shovels, a broken wheelbarrow, and the wooden planks that separated the floors.

"We can view the spot from these two slits." The duke indicated twin arrow embrasures with thin rays of moonlight pouring through them. I moved over to the right opening and saw the stone walkway next to the battlements. It was a little over one hundred and twenty yards away, past the dead trees.

"Will anyone suspect we are concealed here?" I asked without trying to sound too concerned. I only saw one way into this small tower and didn't like the idea of trying to escape it if we were caught.

"No. As I said earlier, no one knows this place as I do. Even if they guess we are here, there is a door on the ground that leads to the dungeons under the castle. I am fearful of going down there after what you and Greykin have told me, but it may be a good escape route if we are forced."

The three of us fell into silence, lost in our own thoughts and distracted by the view through the small, slotted windows. The Old Bear and the duke shared the one to my left. After ten minutes of peering through it, the big man began to pace around the tower room. He said nothing, but I could hear that his breathing had become more ragged and he shivered slightly. His injury must have started to flare up again. I stopped myself from asking about it, knowing he wouldn't admit to any weakness in front of me or his liege.

"The prince approaches!" the duke whispered urgently, pulling Greykin back to the window and my attention toward the row of torches.

Nanos and a Nia guard walked cautiously along the stone path toward the bench. Nanos was dressed in a regal fur coat trimmed in dark gray, with purple at the cuffs and neck. He grasped the sword at his belt tightly and his handsome face was etched with worry. The guard seemed a little less nervous, but he pointed to our tower and said something to the prince. The young man shook his head.

"Ha! This tower hasn't been used in years. The lad thinks no one would watch him from it." Beltor's voice rang with victory that I felt was premature.

The prince's guard carefully reached around the stone bench and pulled out a folded piece of paper from underneath the seat area. He examined the outside of it before handing it to the prince.

Nanos looked around him a few more times, spoke to his man, and opened the envelope. I struggled to listen to them, but the wind carried their words away from us. It took a few seconds for the prince to read the note and then he hastily stashed it inside of the vest beneath his robe. His demeanor had changed from a look of concern to one of absolute terror. He said something sharp to the guard and the man suddenly had the same look of terror on his face. They both backed up against the wall and stared out into the garden, toward the tower.

"I didn't expect this reaction," the duke whispered so softly that he might have meant it only for himself.

"He seems to believe he is being watched," I noted.

"He is being watched," Greykin stated with a chuckle.

"To our left!" I waved my hand out as I seethed the word. Two shapes seemed to materialize out of the shadows sixty yards between Nanos and the main castle. My gut told me they were Elvens before they stepped into the light of the torches and proved me correct.

The man was slightly shorter than the woman. He had long silver hair and an air of command about him. The woman had hair of gold, the bright color of yellow midday sun. They were both wearing dark, soot-colored robes that blended with the shadows enveloping them as they strolled toward the prince. As they walked, I saw the woman's robe open, exposing a blue uniform and a thick-bladed sword at her hip.

"Shit! They found him! What do we do?" Greykin's voice was laced with panic and I could feel it blossom in my own chest.

"I can't really make out what they are saying," I said as I tried to strain my ears to listen. The Elven man hailed the prince as soon as he emerged from the shadows. Nanos tried to conceal his fear, but even from this distance, I could tell he was doing a poor job of it.

The two Elvens got within arm’s reach of Nanos and his guard before they spoke any more. The blonde man didn't bother looking around, so I guessed he had feared it was Elvens watching him. They exchanged a few words before Jessmei's brother crossed his arms uncomfortably.

"That is their leader. He's a smooth-talking bastard. I haven't seen him much in the castle. They spend most of their time in the wing where you and Nadea stayed. They order a small amount of food every few days and occasionally send runners to speak with Nanos." The duke had scurried over to whisper in my ear.

"I don't think I can kill both of them without a weapon." It was a slight falsehood. I could kill both of them. Probably easily, but I didn't want to risk exposing myself unless it was certain that Jessmei's brother was in danger.

"No. I was afraid he would get caught, but I hoped he would be able to see the note and escape their notice. I am gambling that the boy is important to their plans and they'll keep him alive. This proves he is being closely watched." Once the duke said it, my mind wandered to my memories. I had made hundreds of gambles with thousands of lives.

Crows filled the air and picked at the field of glittering corpses. The blood on their armor shone like the setting sun reflecting on the last waves of the ocean.

I shook my head angrily and looked back to Jessmei's brother. The Elven leader held out his hand to the prince with his palm to the sky. Nanos shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, opening his own palms toward the Elven. I believed that he was trying to pretend he was not hiding anything, but he was doing a poor job of acting. Sweat trickled down his hairline and his face was unconvincing. The silver-haired Elven's face was emotionless before, but it slowly transformed into a friendly smile. He shook his hand again and leaned down to appear less threatening. Nanos lowered his hands and then shrugged again, letting his shoulders slump. He reached into his coat and pulled out the piece of paper that the duke had left for him.

The Elven leader snatched the note from Nanos's grasp. Nanos crossed his arms and stood back, looking to his guard, who returned the young man's nervous demeanor. The Elven finished reading it in a few seconds and then passed it to his female companion to read.

"Shit," the duke and Greykin both said at the same time.

The Elven man snatched the prince by the collar of his expensive coat and pulled him like a puppy caught by the scruff of the neck. Nanos’s guard put his hand on his sword and drew it almost halfway before the female Elven grabbed his wrist, twisted it around behind his body, and lifted. His face expressed the intense pain he was in, but he did not scream out, so I doubted she had broken the limb.

The Elven was yelling something urgently at Nanos. Nanos's whole body shook as if he had just been submerged in ice water. Though I detested the prince, I could not allow him to be killed.

"Want me to intervene?" I asked the duke. It would be hard to hit the woman with magic and not kill the guard she was holding, but it would be even harder to eliminate the silver-haired leader without injuring Nanos.

"No! If they wanted him dead, they would have done it by now. They are only trying to scare him. They want to know who wrote the note."

Nanos was trying to respond to the flurry of questions. The process continued for almost five minutes before the Elven abruptly pushed the prince away. Nanos stumbled, stepped on the tail of his fur coat, and collapsed backward in a pile of fear and sweat. The silver-haired Elven turned and walked away without speaking another word. The female let go of the guard and began to follow her leader. Before she was more than four steps away, she spun around and drew her sword in a flash of bright lightning. The guard's head was cut clean in half by her strike and the man's corpse fell over on top of Nanos, covering him in a spray of blood and brain matter. The woman looked down on the prince for a few seconds, and spoke to him with a grin on her face that reminded me of my old silver-haired trainer.