Chapter 17

He was shorter than I expected. A bushy brown beard covered the bottom half of his face and finished just before some wine-flushed cheeks. He was dressed in a fine, silk robe that had an intricate design of flowers embroidered upon it. He came with an entourage of men. Some were dressed in soldier attire, whilst others were dressed similarly to him, and it was undoubtedly him. Atinosh. The high chin and the look of command were that of a leader. My father pulled exactly the same gaze.

A surprised expression hit his gaze upon seeing the commotion in the room, and it quickly turned to a frown. Without a word being said, his soldiers drew their swords. One of them offered him a battle axe. He ripped it from his hands and swung it in front of him. The weight of it almost pulled him off his feet, but he steadied himself.

“What is the meaning of this?!” his voice was low and booming, and when he spoke it was clear that he was drunk. He and his crew sauntered towards us.

The room was quiet before his arrival, but now the silence was foreboding. I looked at Heblah, his face was still, but with a small crease in his eyebrow. This was something he hadn’t intended.

“Speak, one of you!” Atinosh screamed.

I looked at Anna who also had a blade to her neck. She seemed calm. Bored even. As if this was a mild inconvenience rather than a threat to her life.

“This is none of your concern, friend.” Said Heblah Coolly.

“None of my concern? Do you know who I Am!?”

Atinosh took another step forward. It forced one of Heblah’s men to take the blade off a Mard's neck and face toward the newcomer. There was uncertainty in the room, and I used the distraction to my advantage.

As quick as I could, and with all my weight, I launched myself backwards at my oppressor. He stumbled and fell to the floor, Releasing the dagger. On his way down he gripped onto one of his comrades who in turn went down with him.

That is when it all happened.

Chaos.

Another Mard broke free, snatching the dagger out of a hand and ramming into Anna’s captor's back. As soon as she realized she had been released she went for the Assassin. He was too quick. He jumped backwards at a height and landed feet first on his booth table. He then propelled himself across the room and landed himself on Atinosh’s chest. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would have said it was not possible.

The room started to brawl. The clanking of daggers and swords echoed off the walls and it wasn’t long before blood started to splatter the floor. I got to my feet as quickly as I could. A fist came hurling towards me from an unarmed man and planted me right on the nose. I fell onto the floor and luckily my hand landed on the hilt of a dagger. The man charged. I thrust the dagger wildly and plunged right into his cheekbone. He staggered, hitting the floor screaming whilst holding the hilt that was now embedded in him. I got to my feet. I went to pull the dagger from his face and let him bleed, but something hard hit me on the back of the head. I fell to my knees. It wasn’t like before when I was hit by the guard at the white tree, or by the Helms in the alley. No, this was different. This felt sharp. A pair of legs tripped over me. I couldn’t tell if it was friend or foe. I looked over at Atinosh as the place erupted into more chaos. Hebolah had his feet planted on the man’s chest. He was holding onto the battle axe and trying with all his strength to pry it from the general’s fingers. Atinosh was stronger. His feet were spread, and he squatted stiffly. A bull would have had trouble moving him.

“Is that all you got!?” He barked, almost laughing.

CRASH!

Marken, the beast-man, barrelled through the tavern window. He landed on two of Heblah’s men and ripped their throats out in an instant. It was so fast that the room stopped for a moment. Blood dripped from his long black claws and the two men laid shaking on the red-stained flooring. The beast-man roared like an animal. The men backed off their attack. His demonic stare was enough for them.

Suddenly, Heblah let go of his grip. Something Atinosh didn’t expect. The release in pressure made the general fall backwards and, in a flash, the assassin had a dagger drawn. He sliced at Atinosh’s neck as the man fell. Blood started to leak from him. My vision began to blur. I heard Heblah whistle.

The sounds of stomping feet thundered as the assassin and his men rushed out of the tavern. The Mards that remained standing let them go. All except Marken who rushed out of the door to give chase. Red spots started to hit the floor in front of me as the blood from the back of my head started to trickle down my shoulder. Anna rushed to Atinosh who lay motionless. Her left arm was painted red from a large gash.

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“He can be saved!” she said as she put pressure on his wound, “Someone get me a priestess!”

*

“Is it too tight?” the nurse lady asked as she finished tying the bandage around my head.

“No,” I said in a huff.

I was sitting in the corner of the tavern, and I was fed up. It had been an hour since Hebolah had made his leave. The priestesses dealt with Atinosh first. They escorted him to the healers at the temple district with the remainder of his retinue. Then they came to aid us. It turned out, the sharp object that hit the back of my head was an empty wine bottle. The nurse had just finished picking out the last of the glass that was embedded into my head.

“Well, in that case, I am done. You’ll want to change these bandages every three days or so. The wounds aren’t deep, luckily for you. But you’ll want to make sure they scab over. So, refrain from picking at them.”

I nodded.

The nurse rose to her feet and went to attend to someone else.

Ruland entered through the tavern entrance. Behind him stood a group of soldiers. His face went white when he saw the dead or dying bodies that lay on the floor. There were nine dead in total. Eleven others had some sort of broken bone or stab wound. Me and Anna included.

“How in the drunk god’s name has this happened?” he said as he walked up to the bar, his face going from white to red. A clear vein started to show from his temple.

Anna was leaning against the bar, getting her arm wrapped up by a nurse. She was clasping a bottle of rum with her free hand. She took a swig and sighed, “We... were outsmarted.”

“Outsmarted? Pardon me if I come across as rude but aren’t you the one who does the outsmarting? Isn’t that why the others on the council put up with your horse shit? How am I to explain to the Doge that not only did the assassin get all three of his targets, but he also slaughtered an entire bar's worth of patrons!?”

Anna frowned, “Three?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard? Princess Sian and the Merchant Haslian are dead, both were gutted like pigs. There was also a fourth murder of a beggar in Helm territory. Honestly, this whole thing has been a mess. I warned you. I warned Raina. Now this will only get worse.”

Anna shrugged and stayed silent.

“Is there any good news? Anything I could take back? Where is the Assassin now?”

Anna shrugged again, “Marken went after him when the commotion died down. We haven’t heard anything back yet.”

Ruland looked around. He pointed to a frowning man sitting on a table. The man’s leg had a dagger sticking out of it.

“This man is not a Mard.”

“No,” said Anna, “he’s one of Heblah’s. He couldn’t move when the others ran.”

“Others?”

“The assassin was not working alone. He had a tavern full of men like him. It’s why it ended how it did.”

It took a moment for Ruland to understand what Anna was saying. When he did, he nodded to himself and went over to the man. “Where will Heblah be heading to?”

The man spat blood on the floor and then wiped his mouth, “I don’t know nothing,” he said, “I was just told to bring a knife and wait in the Tavern. Bevan didn’t tell me much else, he just said I’ll know what to do when it happens.”

“And who is Bevan? Did he leave with the assassin?”

The man shook his head and pointed to a dead body on the floor, “Bevan’s right there. Most of us aren’t even from this city. We jumped a carriage out of Humn some three days ago. Bevan told us that the guy was paying major coin. That all we had to do was guard him. It was meant to be the easiest payday any of us has had. My only pay was this dagger to the leg.” He lifted his calf as if presenting it.

“Hebolah only entered the city this morning, it means he was planning this for quite some time,” Anna said idly.

“That is obviously clear,” Ruland sighed, “I suppose what’s done is done. Although the repercussions of it all will be problematic.” he turned to his second in command, “Have the men carry the dead ones outside and make a pyre. Although it will be difficult, try to be discreet. If the locals ask, tell them that this was a structural accident. Most won’t believe it, but it means there will be fewer questions.

“Escort the rest of the men who aren’t Mards off to the dungeons when they have been seen too. If any of them try to be a problem. Kill them.”

The second in command saluted.

Ruland then turned and met eyes with me. I stared at him back. It was slight but I noticed the sneer he tried hiding.

“Hurt yourself?” he asked.

I nodded slowly.

He didn’t take his eyes off me. “I thought you said he was a good luck charm, Anna... Remind me never to believe you again.” Ruland turned and walked out of the tavern, slamming the door behind him.

A few minutes went by. I tried my best not to look around the room too much. The dead bodies made me uneasy and the yelps from the wounded Mards left a ringing in my ear that wouldn’t leave. What was I still doing here?

“Go home Jeb,” Anna said as if reading my thoughts.

I looked up. Her sunken head told me everything. We had failed miserably tonight.

“There is nothing left for you to do here, go home and get some rest.”

Slowly I made it to my feet. The gradual uprightness made my head ping with pain. I went to rub the wound but then resisted. At least let it set for one night. Anna didn’t even bother looking at me when I left. She returned to the bar and leaned on it silently, occasionally sipping the rum. I opened the tavern door and closed it slowly behind me. The cool city air hit me almost instantly. It gave a slight relief to the throbbing on the back of my head. I looked up at the sky. The stars told me it was midnight. I hunched over a little, crossing my arms to keep them warm.

It was quieter than normal. I suspected that many had heard of the commotion and thought it better not to face the evening. The walk wasn’t far from the crypts, and I knew my way back. As I walked into the night, I relived what happened. Fear, rage, anxiety, and awe, all ran through me.

I started to question.

How does Anna know the Sharian?

How did he move so quickly and leap so far?

Where did the General find the strength to hold off a fully grown man who was standing on his chest?

What exactly is Marken? Is he more beats than man?

How did the assassin kill the other two?

All of these needed answering, but there was one question that burned brighter than the rest. One question that stuck with me even amidst the brawl.... what did Heblah mean by Mahadur?