Page 30 of The Empty Throne

"Will you come home when this is over? Willyou stay with me, once and for all?"

"That's a lot to ask. A lot to expect me togive up."

"I'll make it worth your while, I vowit."

"If I didn't already know that, I wouldn'thave agreed to make you my greatest weakness."

"So…"

"So let's focus on surviving before you tryto coax lofty promises out of me."

"As you wish, moon shadow."

An increase in ruckus drew his attention, andhe watched as a group of men blazed into the room, sloughingdepressing amounts of snow. Judging by the cocky walk and the wayeveryone else cowered slightly, the man in the middle must be theman in charge. Too much snow for his rank to be clear, but likely acaptain.

Then the man turned, and every thought inCohea's head vanished.

This… this was the fuckingbastardwho'd led the attack where he'd first been captured. He'dslaughtered Cohea's people, taken Cohea prisoner in as brutal andhumiliating a manner as possible, and then taken Cohea's war hammerfor his own.

That hammer had been a gift. Blackened steelwith a silver crescent moon on the head and the base of the grip.The tip of the punch was red and wickedly sharp, and the head hadfour blunt teeth to ensure a brutal impact. It had been craftedespecially for him, heavier than war hammers typically were butstill nothing for his not inconsiderate frame. He was far moreupset about the loss of his people, but losing the hammer had beena blow.

Now that little fuck had the temerity to walkaround with it strapped to his back? No, no that wasn't going tostand. Fuck stealth and patience. He'd tried it that way, and nowhe was imprisoned again.

He wanted his hammer. He wanted hisfreedom.

The first step was getting out of themanacles, which was actually the easiest step.

"Surely you know how pick a lock,Lindquist?"

"Why would I know how to pick a lock?"

"Why did I bother asking."

He waited until everyone bedded down for thenight. No one had bothered to feed him, but someone did bring him asingle, worn and heavily patched blanket, which would be useful.Eventually, finally, there was only him and four soldiers left inthe main room, everyone else having dispersed to other parts of the'borrowed' inn to get some sleep.

Of the four remaining, two fell asleep andtwo were on watch, which they spent drinking and playing cards.You'd think they'd have learned more about paying attention afterthe first time, but their stupidity worked to his benefit.

When it was clear the soldiers had all butforgotten he existed, Cohea used a sliver of wood pried up from theold floor to undo his manacles, careful not to let the part ofchain fastened to the wall slide free.

Next, he tossed his blanket just close enoughto the fire that it caught, flames spreading quickly to the oldfabric and from there, across the floor.

That drew attention quickly, frantic cries ofalarm as the men scrambled to put out the flames.

When one made to grab him, get him out ofdanger, Cohea used the chain of his manacles to throttle thebastard. By that point, the two sleeping guards were awake, allthree frantically trying to stop the flames while also calling forhelp.

Using the sword of the dead man, Coheadispatched two of them and then dragged the remaining one into thekitchen.

"Why— Why would you—" the man gasped out."You're the honorable one."

Cohea spared him a look. "Honorable justmeans I'll kill you to your face, instead of while you're sleeping.You lost any chance at living the moment you slaughtered my peopleand dragged me around in chains like a dog."

He snapped the man's neck, then quickly stolehis clothes, one ear on the increasing sounds of panic in theburning room. Hopefully, there was so much smoke by this point thatthey hadn't yet noticed he was gone.

Once he was dressed, he headed out into thecold night, looping slowly around the building until he reached thefront door, where sure enough, people were spilling out, many whilestill pulling on their clothes.

The falling snow had not eased, and beyondthe somewhat cleared space around the inn there were drifts upondrifts of it. Between that and the smoke, it was impossible to seewell.

To see the fox in the henhouse, as Coheaworked his way through the soldiers, cutting them down one by one,sometimes in twos, until he finally found the man he sought: thecaptain, who stood with four other men off to the side, well out ofharm's way while they watched other people stop the fire.

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