“Got ‘im, my lord,” the guard growled. “He was trying to climb out one of the windows of the castle, he was.”
“Well done,” I said to the guard, counting out 20 pieces of gold for him before I handed them to him.
He grinned and shoved the prisoner at my feet.
“So,” I said coldly, “you’re Shymmin, eh?”
“Yes,” he hissed, scowling. “Go on. Kill me and get it over with. I know that’s what you intend to do now that my master has abandoned me and this castle.”
“I’m not going to kill you, yet,” I said. “Tell me where the key to my uncle’s vaults are, and I might be inclined to show you a little mercy.”
“I’ll never tell—”
“Would you prefer to be skinned alive, square-inch by square-inch, or perhaps have your body parts amputated one by one with a blunt, rusty saw?”
His bulging eyes grew even wider, like round white balls, expressing the extent of his terror.
“It’s right here, my lord!” he gasped, patting a pocket on his thigh with his bound hands. “Please, please don’t skin me alive! Give me a merciful death, my lord, please, please!”
“Well, it took all of what, 10 seconds for you to drop any pretense of courage on your part, didn’t it, you little turd?” I said. “That was definitely a wise choice on your part, though. Now, maybe I’ll just roast you to death. It’ll still take a while to die, of course, and the suffering will be immense, and—”
“I’ll show you a list of everything that your uncle has already removed from the vaults, and I’ll show you everything that’s still left, including the items that are in secret hiding places! Please my lord, please!”
“Now, you’re talking. Guard, take the key out of this coward’s pocket, please. And you, you pissant, you’re going to take us to the vaults right now and show me every last fucking thing that my uncle has hidden in them.”
“Y-y-yes, my lord,” Shymmin stammered, on the verge of tears. “I’ll sh-sh-show you everything, all of it, every last item!”
The guard fumbled around in Shymmin’s pocket for a few moments, then produced a key.
“That’s it, my lord. That’s the vault key!” Shymmin said shrilly.
“Rami, Isu, come with me,” I said, taking the key from the guard. “Everyone else, wait here. We’ll be back soon enough. Shymmin, I’m taking you with me to the vaults as collateral. If you fuck around, I’m gonna start pulling out your teeth, one by one.”
I had been out of the assassin business for too long—my threats were becoming trite. When all this was done, I would brush up on the various manners I could kill someone.
I pushed Shymmin forward, so he was in the lead. While I knew where the vaults were, any potential traps would be triggered by this asshole. Rami, Isu and I followed him to the other end of the crypt, where the door to the vaults was.
The vaults of my family’s castle were exceedingly secure, and it would have taken an immense amount of force to batter the doors down. My corpse explosions would have provided us access, but as I had previously thought, they would have destroyed much of the paraphernalia inside the vault.
I unlocked the door and pushed it open. There, in front of me, was the vaults I’d last seen as a young boy. However, they were now looking a lot emptier than when I’d last been inside them.
“What did your slimy master do with most of the gold?” I demanded.
“He, he moved it,” Shymmin whimpered, cringing.
“Moved it where?”
“I don’t know, I really don’t know!” he bleated, on the verge of tears. “He was very secretive about it! I helped load it into wagons in the middle of the night, but from whence they came and where they were going, I have no idea! My master told me that he would be gone for a while but that he would return and that I should manage his affairs here while he was away.”
“Why the hell were you trying to climb out of a window and escape then, you worm?”
“Because, when I heard the sounds of your battle, I, I thought that he had awoken. I mean it, the ancient demon. And I didn’t want to stick around when that terrifying thing materialized.”
“So, you knew what my uncle was doing down there, huh?” I grabbed one of his jug-handle ears and twisting it. “You knew about all that evil shit, and you just went along with it! Remind me again why I shouldn’t flay you alive?”
“I am a pitiful creature,” he whined, writhing and weeping. “I had no choice but to obey your uncle’s commands! Please, have mercy on me, Lord Chauzec, have mercy on me!”
“Oh, so now, I’m Lord Chauzec? My uncle would be thrilled to know just how ‘loyal’ you are. Don’t think you can soften me with your pleading and your pathetic attitude, Shymmin. You’re going to get what you deserve. Trust me on that. Now, where are the bones of Xayon? Tell me the truth, or I swear I’ll start pulling your fingernails off with blacksmith tongs.”
“Y-yes my lord, yes!” he said. “They’re still in here! Your uncle was going to have them removed tonight, but due to his need to make a, uh, a quick exit, he did not get around to doing so.”
Rami looked up at me with fresh, eager hope glistening in her eyes. I gave her a nod but kept myself from reacting with too much triumph; I still wasn’t entirely sure that I could resurrect the Wind Goddess. And that uncertainty was why I had brought Isu along.
Symmin hurried into the mostly empty vaults, which were as large as a decent-sized cathedral, and led us to a section near the very back wall, where a
