CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
*~~~**~~~*
Alaric Sampson
*~~~**~~~*
28th of Decepter, 935 PC
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Tripelthin didn’t even bother to bend down and pluck his crossbow bolt from the back of Edwin’s skull. He just slung the weapon over his shoulder casually and walked past Alaric toward the woods – indifferent, unfazed. Alarmingly so.
Therrin scurried over to the boy but there was nothing he could do. Even Purists healers were only gatekeepers at the edge of the road home. Once a man walked through those gates there was no calling him back.
When Tripelthin got to Diedro, the mercenary put a hand on his shoulder roughly, stopping him cold.
Tripelthin said, “What? It was clean and quick, like you said.”
“He didn’t deserve that,” Diedro said. “Could have let him ride off into the sunset. He wouldn’t have done us no harm.”
That scoff that infuriated Alaric made Diedro run his tongue across the front of his teeth, only visible by the way his lip jutted out. “He couldn’t be trusted to roam freely. Not with what he knew. If he’d ended up in the wrong hands this close to the city… There is a massive group of Lotus a mile down the road, you know.” A valid point, if the boy knew anything. They had all taken great precautions to leave the commoner in the dark about what they planned to do.
Diedro knew that too. “He didn’t know a fuckin’ thing and you know it.”
“He knew we were here. That’s enough,” Tripelthin said.
“You’re a heartless bastard,” Diedro said.
A compassionless shrug. “What’s it to you? You’ve surely killed for less.”
Tripelthin tried to go around him but the mercenary stopped him again. This time he balled the advisor’s cloak up in his fist and pulled him close. Whatever he whispered into the man’s ear was succinct because it was only a second later that Tripelthin was stumbling away behind the force of an angry shove. There were flames at the end of all ten fingers when Tripelthin straightened up, ready for a fight that wasn’t coming. Diedro had already started rubbing his jaw, trying to calm himself.
Tripelthin shook out the flames and said, “Once a thug, always a thug.”
If the words were a blade it would have shattered as it struck Diedro’s stoic face. “How do you want it?”
“What?”
“When the time comes… how do you want me to kill you? Slit your throat or gut ya and bleed you out slowly. Maybe I could just take your fucking head off and spit on your corpse.”
Tripelthin cleared his throat, doing his best to hide his fear but not managing to do so nearly as well as he would have liked. Still, he wasn’t at a loss for words. “I’ve always thought I’d be drawn and quartered. If you can manage that one, then by all means.” He wiped at what must have been dirt only he could see on his shoulder and walked toward the trees.
*~~~**~~~*
“I don’t understand,” Therrin said. “All I said was I hope Corbin is alright.”
Lily had stayed with them but her mood had not improved. It had worsened if anything. Evident by the way she’d stormed off angrily a moment earlier, leaving the healer scratching his head in confusion.
Alaric handed him a pouch of berries he had picked while they waited for Tripelthin to return from cooling off. “Eat. It will make you feel better.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
Alaric blew warm air into his cupped hands. They were camped too close to the walls of Locke to have a fire going but a bit of discomfort was worth it to gain the information they needed about the routines of the men on the walls. “Remember what I told you, Therrin.”
The healer put a few berries in his mouth and spoke while chewing. “I’m not attached. I just wanted to talk to her. The rest of you are always planning our next moves together. It gets lonely with no one to talk to.”
“Just talkin’ ain’t the same for us as it is for women, boy,” Diedro said from the tree he sat beneath. His eyes remained locked on the walls. “Don’t you know anything about women?”
“Well, no. Not really.” Did any man Therrin’s age know anything about women? Alaric was twice the boy’s age and he still didn’t understand them. Sure, he’d been married once upon a time but no one would have given him an award for being a great husband.
“You got feelings for that gal. Easier t’see than the sun on a bright summer day. And whether you’d admit it or not, when you just want to talk, you’re doin’ it so you can get another one of them buttons on her pants undone. But the thing is, when she talks with you, she’s giving a piece of herself t’ya. And right now, she ain’t in the mood to give nobody any part of herself. If you can’t see that, then your eyes are caught up lookin’ at all those fantasies in your head.”
Alaric took the pouch of berries back. “Listen to the man. I know I try to.” He hadn’t even gotten any berries into his hand when Diedro twisted around.
“Shift change.”
Alaric tossed the pouch into Therrin’s lap. “When I’m done with Diedro, I’d like a bit of your magic.” The thump, thump, thump on his chest was excessive right now with the city he hated so much sitting no more than thirty yards away.
“Yes, sir.”
Alaric patted Therrin on the shoulder. “Corbin is fine. Elgar won’t let anything happen to him.” He didn’t even have to try to sound convincing. He knew Elgar was so wrapped up in getting himself home that he would go to great lengths to make sure the others survived as well; more resources, better chances.
Therrin stuffed his face with berries and nodded. Still visibly confused by Lily’s outburst and Diedro’s advice.
Alaric’s knees cracked as he crouched beside Diedro. “Full or half?”
“Full again,” Diedro said. “Both towers.” He’d been watching the guards for hours to get a rhythm on when and how the Lotus behaved on shift changes. Notes were drawn in the dirt beside him. “Either they got Hounds in the towers or Rhyne’s been workin’ with the Lotus officers on training their soldiers. Everything looks like his work. The torches stay in the towers, two-out, two-in during exchanges, short walks every quarter of an hour, long walks every half hour. Even saw some purple shots into the dark to see if anything is roaming where it shouldn’t be roaming.”
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“Two-out, two-in?” Alaric asked.
“Two of the four leave the tower. Two new come in. Back and forth until all four guards are new. Leaves no time when the tower is completely empty. They’re well trained.” That was perhaps the first time anyone had ever said that about the Lotus Army. Of course, it helped that Iris now had hundreds of men like Diedro, less the cat-like reflexes.
“Then we’ll have to use their training against them,” Alaric said, already picturing the guards in the tower paralyzed within his grip, collapsing to their deaths in unison.
Tripelthin approached behind them, snow crunching beneath his boots. “Lily has wandered a bit further than I’m comfortable with.” He faced Alaric when he spoke but his words were directed at Diedro.
Diedro stood and walked away, refusing to be in the same proximity as Tripelthin after what he’d done to poor Edwin.
“Would you mind going after Lily?” Alaric said to the man’s back. Diedro waved a hand over his shoulder.
“Still sour?” Tripelthin asked.
“More than sour,” Alaric said. “Wouldn’t be surprised if he slit your throat in your sleep.”
Tripelthin shrugged. “Who sleeps these days?” A good point, though he doubted Diedro needed Tripelthin to be asleep to slit his throat. “What’s the plan?”
Alaric put his hand against a tree and leaned, trying to take his weight off a stiffness that had formed in his leg. “There’s no easy way in. We’ll need your concoction and my magic.”
“Hmm.”
“What, you don’t agree?”
“Do you honestly want my advice?”
Alaric shifted again, looking for a more comfortable position. “I always want your advice.”
“Incredible how easily lies slide off that wicked tongue of yours.”
“Practice, Trip, practice. I learned very soon after receiving my seat with the Crimson Nine that telling the truth all the time keeps no one on their toes.”
“And always lying makes everyone suspicious.”
Alaric gave up on escaping the discomfort in his leg. “Aye. It does take a healthy mix of the two to get anything done.”
“Agreed. The trick is knowing who gets the truth and who gets the lies.”
“You think? I prefer to give everyone a bit of both.”
Tripelthin turned to him. “I shouldn’t have killed the boy. It was uncalled for.”
“It was insane. But what’s done is done. The lords know I have lost control of my temper on more than one occasion. But we’ll pay for what we’ve done later. For now, let’s focus on making her pay too.”
*~~~**~~~*
Alaric unwrapped his last hard candy slowly and quietly. What better time to calm your nerves than just before a life or death sprint through the woods? Of course, his sprint would be more of a frantic jog, but still.
Lily was crouched beside him, ready to run through the trees and across the gap to the base of the wall. She wiped her eyes clear of the tears that had formed there.
He’d lost loved ones, he’d even killed loved ones. He’d been inches from kneeling at The Creator’s throne, waiting to fail her judgment. He’d felt like the world had chosen him to bury alive beneath a mountain of unthinkable hardship and unfairness. And yet, all those things paled in comparison to what had happened to Lily. Whores and prostitutes had more control over their body than her. And for nothing more than to satisfy a sick bastard that was too broken to move on from a relationship that had turned into a war. “Here,” he said, handing the candy to Lily. “I know you like them.”
She wiped her eyes again. “Thank you.” It was bittersweet watching the candy disappear into her mouth.
“Remember, if anything happens to me, stay with Diedro.” She sniffed, wiped her nose and nodded all at once. “You too Therrin.”
“Yes, sir.” The healer was staring at the walls ahead with worried eyes, likely contemplating how willing he actually was to sneak into a city infested with Lotus.
Tripelthin approached, fiddling with the concoction intended to melt the stone at the base of the wall, handing it to Alaric when he was ready, who then passed it to Diedro. Alaric had resisted alchemy and all the changes it had imparted on the world for years and now it was their only hope.
Tripelthin said, “Don’t get it on your skin.” No response. None was expected. He put a hand on Alaric’s shoulder. “What shall we do if you can’t stand the pain of holding them as long as necessary?” There was a slight insinuation that Alaric had used far too much of his magic during their trip so far.
Alaric had considered this – the scars on his chest were the least cooperative member of their party. If he used his magic for too long he’d be lying face down in the snow but if he didn’t use enough the other towers might suspect something was wrong when the guards collapsed. “I can handle it,” he said, praying his familiarity with pain would finally pay off.
“Very reassuring,” Tripelthin said. “And if you run out of magic?”
He’d considered this as well but hadn’t brought it up. Saying something out loud that you didn’t want to happen… his mother had a word for it but he was too distracted to think of it. “Then you’ll be advising yourself on how to win this war. Exactly how you want it.” He tried to grin but nothing came. When the advisor didn’t grin either, Alaric said, “I don’t know but it won’t be my problem any longer. I don’t care if the Lotus pick at my corpse at that point. She will have won in my book.”
“So, you wouldn’t care if we turned back? After all this effort you’ve gone through.”
“Do as you wish. I won’t haunt you for it. Besides, it's not that many Lotus. Everything will be fine. You just keep up.”
“Shift change,” Diedro whispered.
Only a few minutes now. Enough time to let the previous guards go wherever they were off to. He watched the dark shapes of people descend what had to be stairs. Two more came up shortly after the others had gone. Two-out, two-in, just as Diedro had said. A man came to the railing, his shadowy frame visible in the torchlight. As expected, the new guard took a nice long scan of the wilderness as he lit up the shadowy forest with two purple blasts.
Alaric noticed himself holding his breath. From the sounds of it, or lack thereof, the others were too. Except Diedro, who was biting on the end of a twig. The moment the new guard turned around, the mercenary whispered, “Now.”
Both of Alaric’s hands went up as he opened his soul completely. He could feel all eight Lotus spread across the two nearest towers before they could ever sense something was wrong. He’d stolen all control of their bodies from them with a clench of his fists; the flow of their blood, the beat of their hearts, the bending of joints. Unfortunately, his own chest began to burn right away. Necks. Always necks in times like these. Eight snaps, all at once. The bodies didn’t fall though. That would be too obvious. He held them there like puppets dangling from strings. “Go!”
Diedro was out from behind his tree first. Naturally. The young ones followed next.
“Keep up, old man,” Tripelthin said as he passed by, waddling as much as running.
Alaric could barely get moving, his chest hurt so badly. The scar tissue wanted nothing more than to give way, to release the tension pulling it in both directions. The bones in his sternum shifted and grinded as he ran. The thump in his chest was louder than the thump of his boots but still, the bodies didn’t fall.
Up ahead, way up ahead, Diedro slid through the grass on his knees, coming to a stop at the base of the wall. Lily and Therrin stood at either side of him a few moments later. The boy watching anxiously, the girl looking up the wall nervously.
“Stand back,” Tripelthin said sharply as he made it to the grass. “Let it work.”
By the time any of them checked on Alaric he was already on his hands and knees. Out in the open for all the corpses to see. If it wasn’t for the agony in chest, he'd have had no concerns. There were no horns, there was no screaming, just pain, and more than he could handle. He released his grip on the Lotus in the tower to the west. No need to see if they’d fallen, he knew how gravity worked, but he couldn’t have looked if he wanted to anyway. The pain had locked his forehead to the ground. He let out heavy, sharp breaths.
“We’re in!” Tripethin said. Although, it sounded much more like, “Let them fall! Save yourself, Alaric!”
He did as he was told, releasing the Lotus in the other tower now and grabbing control of his own chest. His head snapped up to see a hole in the wall, barely large enough for a grown man to crawl through. What a sight to behold.
Then the horns blew.