Obsidian Ridge

Chapter Twenty-Three

The moon had passed its zenith long ago, its measured descent now almost complete. One more shift of the city watch and the sun would begin to rise, filling the void left by the moon's departure.

But until then, darkness ruled.

Two half-ores, concealed by the magic woven into their armor, climbed the sheer wall of Klarsamryn. They moved slowly, silently. There were far too many guards on duty that night to be careless.

At the top of the wall, the two assassins waited, listening. When the time was right, they nodded to one another, and as one they slipped over the edge and onto the king's personal terrace.

Without a sound they slit the throats of the two guards standing outside the door. With barely more than a whisper, they did the same to the two inside the room. Stalking across the floor, they reached the side of the king's bed where they unwrapped their specially prepared blades.

Had the king been awake, he would have seen the two half-ores silhouetted against the last of the moon's light coming in through the open glass door. He would have seen them lift their knives, dripping with poison. He would have also seen what neither of the two assassins did-a lithe black figure bounding over the edge of the terrace.

It landed at the edge of the room, even more silent than the half-ores. It strode purposefully across the marble, careful not to disturb the dead guards, then crept up behind the two assassins, looking them over once, from head to toe.

Then it tore into them like sacks of grain.

It bit down on one, wrenching away a mouthful of broken ribs, punctured stomach, and shredded bowels. The other it simply cut in two, jamming sharpened claws into its back, and ripping it open. Both of its victims screamed in surprise and agony, their hearts finished beating before their blood hit the floor.

King Korox awoke to a blood-curdling scream.

His heavy wool blanket pinned his body, and a beast like he'd never seen was sitting atop his chest. He wondered for a moment if he wasn't dreaming-a jet black creature with the face of a bat, the claws of a tiger, and the teeth of a shark peering down on him with the eyes of a wizened old man. Surely this beast was a product of an overworked imagination.

The creature sniffed him, shifting its claws as it did. They punctured the blanket and bit into Korox's upper arm.

This was no dream. This was a beast sent by Bane himself.

"Alarm! Alarm!" shouted Korox, trying in vain to get loose.

The creature distended its jaw, opening its mouth wide enough to wrap its teeth all the way around the king's head. It let out a satisfied purr, as if it was enjoying the panic. Then it bent down, slowly lowering its teeth. The creature let out a breath, and the foul stench of rotten meat and blood wafted over the king, making him gag.

The door to his chambers burst open, and the room exploded in light. There was a heavy commotion and the twang of crossbows. Korox could feel the creature on top of him jolt from the impact, but if it was in pain, it didn't react.

The king heard running footsteps, and in the next second, the beast was torn from atop him. Suddenly free, Korox threw his blanket away and rolled out of bed. He grabbed the candelabrum from the nightstand and held it up like a club. But it was too late, the creature had been cut to ribbons by Captain Kaden and the dozen other Magistrates who had charged into the room.

"My lord, are you hurt?" Captain Kaden rushed to his side.

King Korox brushed him off. "No. No, I'm fine." He lifted his nightshirt to examine the puncture wounds on his upper arms. He bled some, but it was little more than a flesh wound.

The king turned his attention to the carnage on the floor of his private chamber. Four guards lay dead, two on the terrace, two inside the room itself. It was clear from the wounds that they had been dispatched by the two half-ores now also dead on the floor.

The assassins, however, had suffered a far worse fate. Their bodies were shredded, one with a huge bite out of its abdomen.

"It's a good thing we arrived when we did," said Kaden, eyeing the half-ores.

"I'm not sure it was a matter of timing," replied the king. "If that creature had really wanted to kill me, it had plenty of time."

"Do you think Xeries is working with the Matron?" Captain Kaden toed the creature's dead body. "That would explain why this beast and the half-ores are here."

The king shook his head. "I don't know. If the Matron kidnapped my daughter to turn her over to Xeries, then why hasn't she done that? What can she gain from all of this posturing? And why would she offer to help fight Xeries then send assassins to my bedroom?" He stepped over one of the fallen killers. "And from the looks of things, these two"-he pointed at the beast and at one of the half-ores-"didn't like each other much."

The king moved to a nearby table and poured some water into a basin from a clay pitcher. He dabbed a piece of cloth in the water and began wiping the blood from his arm.

"There is one person who I believe, with the proper motivation, can shed some more light on this." He looked up from his gruesome work. "Have Whitman brought up from the dungeon. I wish to interrogate him further."

Through the open door, the sounds of men shouting and fighting caught the king's ear.

"What now?" he growled.

King Korox and Captain Kaden burst out into the hall. Magistrates ran past, toward the entry and the audience chamber.

Captain Kaden grabbed a Magistrate as he darted by. "What's happening, soldier?"

"I'm sorry, Captain," he said, saluting quickly. "I thought you had heard. Klarsamryn is under attack."

Quinn found himself once again crawling through a dark tunnel, following a woman he hardly knew.

Time was running short. He'd been down here for nearly a full day now and had less than nothing to show for his efforts. If he didn't find Mariko soon… well, he didn't want to think about the options.

The tunnel opened into a wider passage similar to the one Quinn had traversed when he had first arrived in the Cellar. It seemed since he had met Evelyne, he hadn't used any of the hallways intended for actual travel.

"We can rest here a moment," said Evelyne, getting to her feet and stretching her back.

"Where to next?" Quinn examined the walls. No water here.

Evelyne shrugged. "Dunno," she said. "That cavern was my best guess. I figure we'll just have to wander around a bit and hope we find this lost princess of yours." She touched her toes, twisted, then hitched her thumb over her shoulder. "There's another tunnel not far this way-"

"No." Quinn cut her off. "No more tunnels."

"Look, it's the safest-"

"I said no. If there is one thing I know about the princess, it's that she's not crawling around on her hands and knees in the cracks between the walls. If we have any chance of finding her, if we're going to stumble around here blindly hoping that we run into her, then we need to cover the ground that she and her captors are using."

"Her captors? You didn't mention captors."

"Why else would she be down here?"

"Same reason as me, maybe."

"And what reason is that?" asked Quinn.

"Because I crossed someone I shouldn't."

"You mean you broke the law, and you were sentenced to this place by the king."

"It wasn't the king," said Evelyne, smiling. "But I'm sure he wouldn't have approved of my behavior."

"Well," said Quinn, not quite sure what she meant. "Maybe we're better off leaving it at that. Come." He turned and headed down the passageway, placing his right hand on the wall as he walked. "When I was in the army, my captain used to say, 'When in doubt, follow the wall to the right. Eventually, you'll find what you're looking for.' "

"Sounds like a dumb captain," replied Evelyne, reluctantly falling into step behind him. "But I guess since we don't know where we’re going, this way is as good as any."