Page 68 of Dishonor Among Thieves
Neo leapt back, narrowly stepping out of Haeloc’s reach, while I reached for Syndrian’s hand. I pulled it close to my thigh, looked into his eyes, and nodded. He slipped a throwing knife from its fitting, jumped to his feet and, with an expert flick of his wrist, tossed the knife, cutting a neat slice in Haeloc’s forearm. Screaming in pain, Haeloc dropped the dagger, which Neo picked up. Without hesitation, my husband plunged it into his enemy’s belly.
And that fast, it was over.
Syndrian helped me stand, and Neo rushed to me, picking me up off the ground and holding me against his chest. “Are you hurt?” he demanded, holding the back of my head in his palm.
I shook my head. “Are you?”
We held each other, our raging heartbeats pounding, our sweat and tears mingling with the last traces of Trond’s blood.
“Somebody’s gonna be looking for these three,” Syndrian said, immediately walking the scene. “We leave the dagger in Haeloc’s hand. Touch nothing. Try not to step in blood.” He crossed his arms over his chest and tore the sleeves off his tunic with one fierce tug. “Go,” he said, motioning toward the door.
Syndrian covered the soles of his boots with the fabric of his sleeves and dragged his feet through the footprints and other impressions we’d left in the dust on the floor. “This is a story that tells itself. A scuffle. Fighting. Corabel blasting things around. There’ll be no trace of our footsteps. Just a debt collection gone wrong.” He walked carefully past Haeloc’s body, picked up the throwing blade, and wiped the blood on the front of his breeches. “Not bad,” he said appreciatively, admiring his handiwork.
Neo released me and picked up his sword. “We need to get home. We must get Elgit back to his people and tell them what happened. If he’s improved, perhaps a bit of venom will fortify him enough to make the journey.”
“Whoever these two worked for, I wouldn’t want Tarqeq hunting me. A goblin fueled by revenge…” Syndrian whistled, shaking his head. “If you need a guide to Skickligera, that’s a road I’ve traveled.”
We looked over the bodies, and I contemplated saying a prayer for each of these horrible creatures. But I remembered I had Haeloc’s teeth in my tunic. I reached my hand in and pulled them out. “What should I do with these?”
Neo’s eyes widened. “Why do you have those? What did you do?”
I pointed to the dagger. “We didn’t know how the dagger worked, but I figured it was enchanted in some way. It wouldn’t make sense to create a compartment to hold the fangs otherwise. I assumed any power it had to help Haeloc was connected to the fangs. I thought separating them from the dagger would weaken its power. But I guess it didn’t matter after all.”
“Maybe it did,” Neo said. “That injury to the shoulder should have taken him out. He should have passed out, lost more blood. Perhaps the dagger was enchanted so that as long as he held it, he couldn’t be killed. Injured, sure, but a vampire only needs blood to heal. That was a wise conclusion. I can’t say I would have reached the same.”
Syndrian nodded. “Don’t leave the fangs here,” he said. “Be cautious if you keep them. Consider throwing ’em in the sea where no one will ever find them. There may still be some magic attached to them.”
I looked down at the fangs in my hand, two more objects that connected to me a dark power. To the darker side of magic. But this time, I was the one in control. I tucked the fangs back into place beneath my clothing. “Where is Sedda?” I asked.
“I hope she’s in the stable,” Neo said. “Until I came inside and discovered Haeloc here with Corabel, everything seemed normal. Trond and I were…” He lowered his eyes. “It doesn’t matter now. That was never a true friendship. I’d best leave it to die here with the man’s body. Let’s go home.”
Together we walked to the stable, the eerie silence of the barren land making the entire estate feel haunted. Sedda was tied up and seemed completely untouched by the darkness of the afternoon. Neo led her back to Sara and Syndrian’s horse.
“What should we do with Trond’s horse?” I asked. There was only one horse, so I assumed he and Corabel had ridden one. “Maybe they released Haeloc’s so he couldn’t get away?”
“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure it finds a safe home in a day or so,” Syndrian assured us. “I’ll send word to some of my associates. Someone’s going to discover the bodies in this manor. May as well be someone who’ll report it to the shire-reeve and do right by the animal.”
We climbed astride our horses, Syndrian armed with his mace and Neo with his short sword. I tapped the fangs beneath my tunic to make sure they were still there. This was one touchstone I dared not lose.
And then, all together, we rode for home.
ChapterSeventeen
Back at the manor, we cleaned up and wished Syndrian well. I hugged the man hard, thanking him for leading me to Haeloc’s. I couldn’t bear to think what might have happened if I’d not trusted my instincts and followed Neo. I couldn’t bear the thought of what might have happened if this man had not believed me.
“Haeloc? Don’t know the name Haeloc, I’m afraid,” Syndrian said, a slight smile on his lips. “But I am glad to find that my brother is safely here and that I was able to do some repair work while I was here.Allafternoon,” he said, giving me a knowing look.
Neo clapped the man hard on the back and whispered something in his ear.
Syndrian nodded and mounted his horse. “Send my brother home before dark so our mum doesn’t come hunting him down herself,” he said. “Although I dare say the boy likes being the oldest brother. He’s quite a bit better in the role than I was.”
With a wave, he took off, his white ponytail bouncing against his back as he rode.
Gia and Rain had returned and immediately started asking questions, but Neo gathered them together in the sitting room.
“What happened? Where is Trond?” Rain started in, but Neo held up his hand.
“We’ll not speak of the events of today again. We are safe from Haeloc. He is dead, and I believe any other threats that may have lingered have passed. Now ask no more of it. Are we agreed?”
