Page 39 of Feral Guardian
“I know.” She has a white-knuckled grip on the dagger in her right hand and her voice trembles as she curses. I can’t admonish her. I would be cursing, too.
Fourthousandfor her murder.
By the gods. Who wants her dead?
I banish the thoughts and focus on the now. The corridors are cramped, and I have to duck to pass under the last set of steps. I can tell by the drop in temperature that we’ve landed in the basement level.
There’s only one way to go, and I follow the rough-carved passage to a large, humid room. There’s a massive, lidded pot at the center with room underneath it for a fire and shelves full of off-white sheets around us.
Laundry.
I grab several of the sheets and tuck them into the saddlebags, then grab one of the laundry paddles. I move into the next room, a pantry. I open up one of the sheets and blindly remove food from the shelves into it, then tie it off on the end of the paddle.
Fuck. This will have to do.
There’s an open door with a short set of stairs and I hear the sounds of the tavern above. On the other side of the room there’s another door with a heavy lock. We haven’t been intercepted yet. Perhaps Pierre and Lucas were waiting for Duncan to return to them.
I move toward the locked door and grab onto the lock. With a single, heavy tug, I break it from the handle and pull open the door. There’s a short set of stairs covered by a dark railing up to the street where I scent the two men ready for battle.
Lucas and Pierre.
My demon seethes beneath the surface, but I don’t need his power to handle these men. I need to save my strength for my princess.
“Thank you, Duncan, for all your assistance,” I say as I move toward the stairs. The others will assume he’s with me, will assume that their trap will be sprung without issue. They will be confident and assured, and Juuren will show them the folly of their arrogance.
I pull my axe and take the steps two at a time. When I reach the top, Pierre is swinging for my groin. I bring my axe down on his shin and feel thechunkof my blade hitting bone. Pierre shrieks, falling to the ground and cradling his leg.
Lily whimpers quietly, her hands trembling as she holds the knife tighter.
Pierre screams so loudly he alerts everyone in the alley to our presence. Eyes of vagrants and delinquents fall on me. I ram my axe down against Pierre’s throat and cut off his wailing. Everyone in the alley scrambles, running from us. Everyone except Lucas.
He swings at me with a dimpled sword. The edge is rough and blunt, meeting my axe with a spark of gold and red. I throw his weight off easily, causing him to stumble. I hammer him with a blow that he blocks sloppily and another puts him on his ass.
“Mercy!” he begs, hands upraised.
I bring my axe down on his neck and bury it deep through his chest. I plant my foot on his gut and jerk my blade free. His body slumps to the ground and blood pools around my feet in the mud.
“I’mma be sick,” Lily says, her voice strained.
She releases an arm and leans off the side of me, spilling her stomach and adding to the muck. As much as I want to, I can’t stop to allow her to rest. The noise of this battle will have attracted attention. I need Kor’Tar.
I grab Lily’s hand and secure it at my neck. “Keep holding on, princess.”
She doesn’t complain as she tightens her hold with her arms and legs. I move around the side of the building and find the stable. It’s still guarded by the old man who twirls a short blade between his fingers. I keep the hold on my axe as I approach the entrance.
The old man straightens, his eyes moving from the bloody axe to me, to Lily over my shoulder. He doesn’t stand from his three-legged stool. “Yeah?”
“We need to depart. That’s my horse,” I say, pointing to Kor’Tar with my axe.
Kor’Tar whinnies excitedly.
The old man’s stare doesn’t waver. “Why are you asking when you could kill me and have any horse you want?”
“Because Alastair’s a good boy. He doesn’t like to hurt people,” Lily slurs from over my shoulder.
The old man eyes me up and down once, then shrugs. “Have at it.”
I turn as I pass him, not giving him my back and exposing Lily. The old man doesn’t even watch me go. Lily climbs down from my back as I hastily saddle Kor’Tar. I help Lily up into the saddle and she sways. Kor’Tar nickers and pads the earth incessantly as I strap the bags onto his hindquarters.
