I wasn’t supposed to be at the office this late. I had input Rhone’s own code to get onto the private elevator. I had seen him type his code in once and memorized it, not thinking I would ever have the guts to use it.
“Where the hell is it?”
I bent over to pull another box from the floor to my desk when a light flared on in Rhone’s office. I heard muffled voices and footsteps. My heart catapulted into my throat. I clicked off the desk lamp and crouched to the floor.
“…know how important she is.” I didn’t recognize the voice speaking. I peered around my desk and saw Rhone and another man walking down the hallway.
“Yes, I know. Damn Daphne. She probably didn’t even…” The voices muffled again as they moved into Rhone’s office.
What? Are they talking about me?
I stayed low, pulse beating rapidly in my ears, fingers clammy as I pulled open my office door. I crept down the hallway to one of the offices that looked right into Rhone’s. I stood up and hid behind a file cabinet. The glass walls were a beautiful accent to their high-powered office, but they were single pane. Now that I was closer, I could hear what they were saying.
“So, we just wait?”
“Yes. He should be here any moment.”
The other man was tall, but much skinnier than Rhone. He had on a long, leather jacket and gloves. He lounged back against Rhone’s desk as Rhone rustled some papers on his desk. They had turned on one of the lamps, but the lighting wasn’t enough for me to get a good look at the other man’s face under his fedora.
Rhone walked out from behind his desk and turned so I could see his other side. I stilled a gasp. He was wearing a sword! The scabbard was long and curved. The handle was ornate, curling with waves and crested with jewels.
A radiant light shimmered in the middle of Rhone’s office. The sharp blues and greens were stunning. It burned brighter. I squinted away from it as it grew larger, blinding and brilliant. Then it flashed and illuminated the whole office space. I ducked behind the file cabinet again. The light vanished.
“Welcome, Fyland,” Rhone said. I peeked back out, mouth wide open, eyes wide. What the hell? Where did he come from? Like magic? Or tech that I don’t know about?
The man that had appeared was small, crouched over, clutching his stomach.
“Your majesty. You have to help me.” His voice was strained. “They will be following me.”
“What are you talking about?” The man in the long coat straightened up from the desk quickly, pulling two daggers out, one in each hand. “You mean, you failed the mission, and you have led them here?”
Rhone held up his hand, and the man backed away, but his daggers sparkled in the light of the office lamp.
“Fyland, you have failed me.”
As I watched, heart pounding, my breath coming in rapid gasps I tried to quell, mouth still open, Rhone slid the sword from his scabbard. The metal of the sword was dark, but glowed green. It seemed to hiss as it left the sheath. The jewels along its hilt sparkled down the blade a few inches. I hadn’t seen many swords in my life, but there was clearly something unique about this one. Its blade curved up, slightly scimitar-like, but seemed much longer than the scabbard had shown it would be.
Rhone held the blade out in the air in front of him, twisting it around, seeming to admire the sheen and green glow.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Rhone asked.
“I beg you for forgiveness, m’Lord. I will take any demotion you state. I will do any job you deem necessary as I gain back your trust.” The man doubled over, clutching his stomach. I couldn’t see well enough, but it seemed like he was dripping something onto the floor. Is that blood? Did someone just teleport into my boss’s office and is now dripping blood onto the floor?
I rubbed my eyes and leaned forward a little more. This couldn’t be happening.
“Who is following you?”
“Please, m’Lord.” Fyland dropped to one knee. His head sank to his chest, and I thought he might have passed out, but then he moaned. “I will tell you everything. Just, please, heal me first.”
“I’ll take away all your pain.” Rhone held the sword with both hands. His eyes were sunken black in the lamp’s dim glow. He brought the sword down swiftly, slicing through Fyland’s neck, severing his head from his body. Fyland collapsed to the ground, blood gurgling from his severed throat artery and gushing onto Rhone’s office carpet.
I gripped the file cabinet as hard as I could. The world blurred in front of me. I dropped to my hands and knees. I vaguely heard Rhone giving the other man commands, and I saw them moving about, but I slid closer to the ground, crawled under the office’s desk, kept my hand clasped to my mouth to prevent myself from crying out and choked back the tears of panic that were pricking my throat.
What the Hell just happened? What do I do? What do I do?
Get out. Get out and run.
I looked over at the other office and took a deep breath. I steadied myself as I stood. I pulled open the door with shaking fingers, then crept, low to the floor, toward the elevators. I would need to walk by Rhone’s office…My head was faint, my stomach roiling. I was careful to
