“Aye, but not that far. Sure, a drop could have landed in there…or someone cleaned up afterward. But that don’t make much sense, does it? Made me wonder, though. Wonder how he got in. How he got away. How no one saw him. All we had was your word, and milady, that don’t mean shit to me.”
“I’ll hang you for this,” she said softly.
“That so? I don’t think so. Not knowing what I know.”
He reached into a pocket of his vest. When she saw the dagger in his hand, her legs went weak. The hilt was golden, the sharp blade still stained with dried blood.
“You recognize this, don’t you?” he asked.
“Should I?” she said, trying to feign innocence.
“I tore your damn room apart, Madelyn, and I found this sewn up in your mattress. Look at it. Look at it! It don’t take much guessing to know whose blood is dried on the edge.”
“What do you want?” she asked. Under such conditions, she normally would have flaunted her body, used her sex to subdue his anger and put herself under his protection. But something about Torgar always made her uncomfortable, and deep down she knew any advance she made would be met by a blow from the back of his hand.
Torgar jammed the dagger into the wall. Her breath caught in her throat. He leaned closer, and she knew he could smell victory.
“Laurie’s dead, so you’re the one with the coin purse. I’d like to make sure my pay don’t get interrupted. If anything, I think I’ll be taking on more responsibilities around here, what with fighting off the merchants and the city guard. Oh, and let’s not forget my fun with that elven slut. So let’s have my pay go through the roof, you hear me?”
“I can arrange that,” she said, her voice hoarse.
“Not just that. I don’t want you trying anything stupid, like killing me to protect your little secrets. So this is the other catch. I know you won’t ever let me join the family, so if you want me to keep my lips shut, you need to make me Tori’s godfather.”
The door burst open, and a dozen guards rushed in. They said nothing, only looked around as if confused.
“Are you all right, milady?” asked one.
“She’s fine,” Torgar said, flashing a smile. He turned back to her. “What’s it going to be? Or should I have a talk with your house guards about that night? Or perhaps the Conningtons, or whoever will be running Alyssa’s house once she’s dead?”
“I’ll do it,” she said, thinking of a hundred ways she could delay making such an arrangement legal. “And I’ll trust you to hold your word.”
Torgar laughed, and he walked through the group of guards looking completely unworried by their presence.
“I’d say you’re not the one who needs to worry about getting stabbed in the back,” he called over his shoulder. Madelyn felt her blood run cold, and she nearly gave the order for her guards to execute him on the spot. The look on the guards’ faces stopped her. Some were inquisitive, but most seemed angry, or in doubt. How many of them knew, or at least, questioned Laurie’s death? Might Torgar have told them already? What if his presence was the only thing keeping them in line?
She caught several of them staring at the dagger embedded in the wall, and that was the last straw.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Go on, back to your posts.”
They filtered out, and when they were gone, she yanked the dagger free. The study had a fireplace, and she hurled the dagger into the center of the coals, not caring whether it would burn or not. She just didn’t want to see it anymore.
“Damn you, all of you,” she said, thinking of Torgar, her late husband, the merchants. Every sick member of Angelport that seemed to relish destruction and bloodshed. The fire popped, and she saw the tip of the dagger sticking out from the center. As the blood blackened, she wondered how to kill Torgar without blame or suspicion. There had to be a way, and she would find it. For once, the Keenan fortune was fully under her control. No one would take that from her.
No one, not even the brutish guard who knew her darkest secret.
18
Zusa remained patient as she crept toward Ingram’s compound, knowing the slightest mistake could be her last. Between the mobs, the elves, and the merchants, every guard would be on high alert, and that wasn’t even counting the added protection because of the Wraith, or Haern’s earlier midnight visit. Still, she was one of the faceless, if not the last. Nothing would stop her from getting in. Her patience was infinite, the shadows her friends.
Of course, getting
When she reached the gate, she pressed her back to a wall, blending into the long shadows made by the starlight. Even with her impressive skills, she wondered just how much patience it’d take when she saw how many armed men patrolled the wall. Torches had been set up every fifty feet, no doubt hoping to eliminate any chance of stealth by someone like Haern or herself. Every window was lit with lamps, and the patrolling men also carried torches. She doubted there was anywhere else in Angelport closer to having daylight at night than Lord Ingram’s mansion.
As she was pondering a route in, something caught her eye. It was a shadow that didn’t seem quite right, stretching out far longer than the wall that created it. And then it moved. Curious, Zusa watched as a single shadowy form approached the mansion wall. As it arrived, her eyes spread wide. Six more figures followed, sprinting across the street with both incredible speed, and unnerving silence.
Elves, thought Zusa. They had to be. The question was…should she consider them friend or foe?
Either way, she had to follow, and keep them in sight. She wouldn’t let them endanger Alyssa, no matter their goal. As she ran, the seven scaled the wall with ease, then descended upon a patrol walking past. Zusa sprinted across the street, pressing her body flat against the stone wall. She listened for cries of alarm, or sounds of combat, but there were none. The elves had slaughtered a full patrol with hardly a noise. Her respect for them went up tenfold. From her own watch, she knew it’d be about a minute before the next one appeared. The elves would have to move fast to accomplish what they desired in such a small window of opportunity. Zusa leapt, grabbed the top ledge of the wall, and vaulted herself over.
She landed amid the bodies, all five of the patrol. They lay crumpled about, their throats slashed with fine precision. She looked to the mansion further up the hill, yet saw no one. She frowned. It didn’t matter their speed, she should have seen movement. Unless…
Zusa sprinted along the wall, a lump growing in her throat. Sure enough, as she rounded the side, she found another patrol, dead from sliced throats and stabs through the back and into lungs. Deadly killers, all seven, and they weren’t heading for Ingram in his mansion. They were making their way to the dungeon.
They wanted Alyssa.
“You won’t have her,” she whispered. She thought of raising an alarm, but no patrols were near, and the mansion was too far away to break a window with a stone to alert the guard. Besides, shouting and hollering would alert the elves to her own approach, and she would arrive far sooner than any guard. Drawing her daggers, she steeled herself to fight such incredible opponents. It’ll be like fighting Haern, she told herself. She’d sparred with him plenty on the trip to Angelport. That was the speed to expect, the level of skill to anticipate.
And there were seven of them.
At the entrance to the dungeon, she found two guards slumped beside the door, long darts sticking out from underneath their helmets. The huge door was open, and from within she heard the sound of shouting and combat. Buried under the earth, the noise was well-contained, and unless someone made it out, no one would raise the alarm. Gripping her daggers tighter, she knew it might be far too late by the time someone did.
