Марк Ньютон - Drakenfeld

The road to Optryx was devoid of life and, as hoped, there were few soldiers around. Many of them would have been required to attend to the threat from the siege. The four guards standing to attention on the portico walked out to intercept us, only to find themselves immediately overwhelmed. Callimar and another Sun Chamber soldier immediately gained the better of them. They were struck down before they could draw their weapons, bodies dragged to the other side of the street where their throats were cut to make sure. Blood seeped across the paving stones.

Another handful of soldiers from the King’s Legion came out to investigate. Seven of our group diverted their attention while Callimar, Leana, myself and two others slipped around the perimeter of the courtyard inside the gated entrance. Those engaged in combat drew the king’s soldiers well out of sight. Meanwhile, we headed around the side, avoiding the main entrance.

We breached the first of many ornamental gardens, careful to remain quiet. I checked back but it seemed no one had followed us. Starlight had grown brighter, and there was a beautiful fragrance coming from the plants around. Had it not been a mission of some urgency, it would have been pleasant to have remained longer to explore this place.

Needing any point of entry, we headed towards a slight glow from one side of the palace: it was an open door with a couple of candles lit inside.

We burst in and startled three people, two men and a woman, all of them naked on one of the tables in a dining room, alongside the light of a lantern. Callimar immediately claimed a position of authority and demanded that they answer for themselves. The woman sheepishly drew up her dress from the floor and begged forgiveness. One of the men slunk into the darkness in one corner, where he began weeping; the other stood trying to cover himself up.

The woman, who must have been a good ten years older than I was, was senior to the two, much younger, male servants. She pleaded with Callimar not to say anything to get her into trouble. The general kept his cool and ordered them to get to their own quarters immediately and say nothing, otherwise he would report them.

They all sprinted out into the gardens in various states of undress, leaving us with a way into Optryx. Callimar said, ‘The things people do to occupy themselves in a siege.’

I laughed, reached to put out the flickering lantern when that harsh smell suddenly came to me…

Leana was standing over me, explaining something to the other soldiers in the darkness.

‘What the hell is wrong with him?’ someone said.

‘Seizures,’ she declared. ‘An innocent thing. It is nothing to worry about.’

‘He’s cursed,’ one of the others called. ‘Tainted. I’ve seen it before.’

‘Devilry,’ said another.

‘He was like an animal.’

Callimar snapped back at them while Leana helped me to my feet. My muscles ached. ‘I don’t care what’s wrong with him – touched by a god or otherwise, right now we’re here to hunt Licintius.’

There it was: the glares of the soldiers, the deep look of distrust, fear. Even in the poor lighting of the room, it was obvious how their faces had creased up in disgust. The sense of shame was overwhelming. That same look in Callimar’s eye, too – someone who regarded me as a friend. A deep and awkward silence pervaded while I regained my composure.

‘We continue,’ I said.

Callimar nodded, but it took a moment until the others would follow.

‘Where do you think he’ll be?’ Callimar snapped.

‘He could be anywhere,’ I replied. ‘The temple, a room of contemplation, a war room – he might not even be here at all.’

‘He will be,’ Callimar said. ‘Someone like Licintius won’t be on the front line – he’ll be skulking here, biding his time. He’s probably too shocked to do anything.’

The residence was practically empty. What should have been a bustling place of servants, administrators, clerics, priests and traders seemed eerily silent. Voices echoed down the corridor and we would instantly look for an alcove to hide in. No lanterns had been lit and so Optryx remained in utter darkness.

We checked the various bedrooms and then those meeting rooms where I had conversed with Licintius. There was a small amount of activity in the kitchens, but when I noted several crates being carried down the corridor it occurred to me.

‘He’s planning to flee,’ I whispered.

‘Coward,’ Leana replied.

‘We’ll stop him,’ Callimar said. ‘Don’t forget, the rivers are blockaded out to sea, so he won’t get that far.’

We continued with even more urgency, working our way deeper into the heart of the royal residence.

A cluster of soldiers spotted us in the corridor: we tried to get out of sight but they sprinted after us, their armour clamouring down the passage.

‘We’ll keep them back,’ Callimar said. ‘You go on. We’ll catch up.’

I didn’t need telling twice. Callimar and his men formed a line, each taking a fighting stance, waiting for the king’s soldiers. Upon hearing their weapons starting to clash, Leana and I dashed through familiar halls that lined the way to the Temple of Trymus.

We paused as we saw the temple doors open.

Licintius.

He froze, just for a brief heartbeat, as he saw us. He dashed towards nearby doors. Two soldiers followed him out of the temple and remained to confront us; Leana slammed them both to one side, before she cut one of them across his throat, and sliced the back of the other’s knee where there was no armour.

Sprinting across the dark, ornate hall, I called for Licintius to stop, but he continued to open the opposite doors and went through them.

Leana then caught up with me before running ahead through the doors and into the adjacent corridor, in pursuit of the king.

I turned the corner in time to see her whip her blade low through the air, clipping Licintius’ heels.

The king collapsed face forward to the ground. Leana stood back for me to descend upon him. I arrived at his sprawling form, pressed my fingers into his throat and looked fiercely into his eyes while heaving deep breaths. Sweat poured down my face. From the look in his eye, both of us knew all I had to do was squeeze on his throat and that would be the end of it. I wanted to – for all he had done.

But no. A violent resolution might have felt satisfactory for a fleeting moment, but I represented the Sun Chamber, and followed Vispasian laws, those of a dignified culture, and I would not regress to the ways of some northern savage.

‘Get him out of the way, in there.’ Leana pointed to the nearest door. ‘It is out of sight. I will check the other guards quickly before they recover and bring attention.’

I opened the door to a side room, which turned out to be an office of some description, then threw the king across the floor, gently closed the door, and watched over him, in an angry silence, waiting for Leana to return.

Eventually Leana came in and closed the door behind her. ‘Both now dead. I hid the bodies in the temple.’

She lit one of three candles on the desk, while I regarded Licintius once again. In his boots and a dark green outfit that seemed more suited for travelling than the business of state, he looked like a man who had other plans tonight. I reached down to grab his hair, pulled him up onto his feet and shoved him back into one of the fine leather chairs.

The tip of my sword touched his throat. ‘We have your sister, Lacanta, alive and outside the city walls.’