“Old man must be pissing in his britches, then.”
“Enough to hire The Skulls, too.”
Von’s next breath stalled in his lungs, and a curse rang in his head. Len’s hand on the table clenched into a fist.
The Skelling Mercenaries, better known as The Skulls, were infamous swords for hire who bowed to no one and nothing but gold. They served no king unless heavily paid to do so. Given their name, they were rumored to adorn the saddles of their horses with the skulls of their victims like grisly trophies.
That they should come here was unusual. They worked in the west end of Urn or overseas. But Tarn was worth a king’s ransom. The bounty on his head, in addition to whatever the Azure King had promised, must have been tempting enough to draw them here. To have hired them went to prove how far Tarn’s notorious reputation went.
Von had to complete his mission and return to the master to report this recent development. Last he heard, The Skulls had been in the country of Carthage across the Glacial Ocean, fighting in some other monarch’s war. With any luck, they were still there. The voyage across those icy waters back to Urn would take them months.
The dark-skinned drunk shuddered as he took a drink. “If the man’s smart, he’ll leave Azure.”
“I rather he stays. If the fates allow it, the last sound he will hear is the rattle of bones before they take his head,” the stout man said.
“I don’t think Tarn is one to relinquish his head so easily.” The quietest one of the four men adjusted the spectacles on his thin nose. “I heard the King had hired the head of the Huáng Clan to assassinate him ten years ago. They called him Gui, the Wraith, for you’d never knew he was coming until your soul passed through The Gates.”
Von exchanged a look with Len at the mention of the Xián Jing assassin.
“And?” the others pressed when their companion fell quiet. “What happened?”
A small conspiratorial smile rose on the man’s face as he took a drink from his mug. “Well, Tarn is still alive, isn’t he?”
By some luck. The assassin had been soundless and quick, exactly like a wraith. They hadn’t known Gui was hunting them until Von saw the swipe of his blade catch the moonlight at the last second.
“So, let me ask you this,” the man continued as he dealt a new round of cards. “If he truly is another murdering bastard, why go to so much trouble to kill him?”
Why, indeed.
A fight broke out at the other end of the tavern, drowning out their responses. It drew cheers from the patrons and shouts from the tavern keeper. The barmaid returned with their mugs of ale and two bowls of stew, muttering something about drunken fools.
Len dug into her food. She always ate as if she hadn’t eaten in days. Before Von could reach for his bowl, he noticed two men walking casually down the street outside the window. It wasn’t the fact that they were headed toward the brothel that caught his attention. It was the way they moved with a swift and confident gait he recognized in soldiers. The walk of trained killers. They wore long, dark coats, the bottom halves of their faces covered in black masks, laden with leather armor and weapons. When they faced the door, the low moonlight shone on the white emblem of a bird’s skull on their backs.
The Skelling Mercenaries.
Summoned like another cruel jest of the fates.
Von had a sinking feeling they weren’t visitingThe Night’s Rubyfor pleasure. He and Len didn’t have until tomorrow to break Bouvier from jail.
They had until dawn.
Chapter 16
Von
There would be nothing covert about this plan. It wasn’t how Von liked to do things, but the time for stealth was over. When the Skelling Mercenaries had walked out of the brothel with the drunk jailor in tow, the chance to grab the key was gone.
He and Len watched silently where they crouched on a roof on the outskirts of the city. Across from them loomed the prison. It was a plain stone building, three stories high, with watchtowers on each corner. Two Azure Guards manned each one, and more patrolled the perimeter below. There was most likely another group inside. There wasn’t much around the building besides the barracks, only a stable for the horses. Outside rested a wagon piled high with hay. A transparent dome shimmered around the prison itself, iridescent like a soap bubble beneath the moonlight.
An electrical hum of power hovered in the air, prickling against Von’s skin. The spell Benton had placed around the camp was made to keep unwanted people out. The Azure Guard spelled the prison to keep people and all manner of mystical beings inside. They would have spared no expense in hiring the most powerful mage they could find to put it in place.
No spells would break Bouvier free, but there was one ultimate weapon Von knew could completely thwart a mage.
He pulled out a special knife strapped to the back of his belt. The amber bead studded on the pommel glinted. Encased inside was a black, four-leafed clover. The only thing that could absorb magic. Von hadn’t used it on a direct spell before. It might not work, but it was worth the attempt. If it didn’t, well, they would only have moments to escape the city.
Len moved to the chimney of the roof, slipping into its shadow. She took out a small candle from one of her many pockets and lit the wick, laying it by her boot. Removing her bow, she loaded it with an arrow that had a cloth wrapped tightly around the arrowhead. The potent scent of ale drifted in the wind. She gave him a nod, signaling she was ready.
They paused, waiting for the exact moment the guards in the watchtowers faced the opposite direction, then Vonsignaled. Len lit the arrow and drew backher arm with perfect form. No sign of any pain. The flaming arrow flew and pierced the bale of hay below. It quickly burst into flames. Azure Guards shouted in alarm, and a watchtower guard rang the brass bell hanging from the rafters. The commotion drew a swarm of men in blue from the prison. They ran with buckets and dunked them into the water trough to put it out. The commotion had all of their attention now.
