David Dalglish - Blood of the Underworld

Tears grew in his eyes, and he fought to keep his voice under control.

“Please don’t be mad at me,” he said. “I will. I promise I will. I’ll kill her, and I’ll leave her in darkness just like her father left you.”

Melody took his chin in her fingers, tilted him close, and kissed his forehead several times.

“Feel no shame,” she said. “And fight your doubt, just like we must fight the chaos of this world. Karak has given you a grand purpose, and I couldn’t be any more proud. Go do what must be done, and know that I will always be here for you.”

Behind her was a closet, and carefully he stood and pulled it open. Inside was a crossbow loaded with a single arrow, its tip coated with poison. All prepared and ready for him with his mother’s loving hands. He took it, smiled at her.

“I’ll make you happy,” he said. “I owe you so much. I’m not sure I can ever repay you.”

Now holding the candle, Melody lifted it to her face so the light shone across her smile.

“You’re my beloved daughter,” she said. “The one I should have had and raised if not for Maynard’s pride. You have nothing to repay me for.”

Stephen reached for the door, and as he pulled it open, Melody called his name.

“Stephen,” she said. “When you take her eyes, tell her the truth. Tell her you’re my daughter now, more than she’ll ever be. Do that, but remember, don’t harm Nathaniel. Karak has blessed him for a reason. Once free of Alyssa’s influence, his gift will blossom like a flower, and we must do whatever we can to nourish it. He is no threat to my ascension.”

Crossbow shaking in his sweaty hand, Stephen nodded to his mother.

“I will,” he said. “I promise I will.”

He left, shut the door behind him, and then hurried down the hall to where Alyssa slept.

Victor leaned against the back wall of his tavern, arms crossed, body covered with shining armor. His fingers drummed the hilt of his sword, but he forced himself to remain calm and leave it sheathed. Gathered together, in both the tavern and two nearby streets, were the bulk of his forces. They were all equally impatient, but Victor had no choice, much as it left a foul taste in his mouth.

True to his word, Deathmask arrived twenty minutes after sunset. He walked alone, his face unclouded by ash or cloth. His smile was wide, and it unnerved Victor further.

“I’m here, and my men ready,” Victor said. “What is of such great importance?”

Deathmask bowed low in greeting.

“Forgive me if I inconvenienced you,” he said. When he pulled up from his bow, there was a sparkle in his red eye. “But if you want to keep a hold on Veldaren, you need to act now, without delay.”

“What are you talking about? Speak plainly.”

Deathmask looked to be in no hurry, despite his urgent message. He paced before Victor, tapping his lips with a finger.

“I’m sure you know much of this city’s guilds, but what about elsewhere?”

Victor shook his head.

“I must profess ignorance in this.”

“And other things, as well,” Deathmask said, grin growing. “But then let me remove your ignorance. There is a guild in Mordeina known as the Suns. Over the past few years they’ve spread their influence, first into Ker, then Omn, and now they’ve set their eye on Neldar. They’re coming here, into Veldaren, so they might strike at the heart of this nation, and then branch out like a disease.”

Victor frowned, not liking what he was hearing.

“Are you afraid of losing some profit, thief?” he asked.

“Don’t be naive. Veldaren is already spiraling out of control, and the Suns will destroy it completely. They won’t rest until every guild, mine included, is wiped out.”

“So far I don’t see much reason to hate them.”

A bit of amusement left Deathmask’s eyes.

“Enough, Victor. You know as well as I that the guilds here are weak, and can be controlled. But not the Suns. This is not some distant threat, nor someone that will bow to the Trifect or pay heed to the Watcher. They’ve come to conquer…and they’re already here.”

Information he’d received the day before suddenly clicked, and Victor felt a pit grow in his stomach.

“The cheap crimleaf,” he said. “I’d heard of the bottoming out of prices. The new dealer…that’s them, isn’t it?”

“Not just crimleaf,” Deathmask said. “Other leaves, and powders far worse. Have your men not found the bodies all across the southern district? War’s begun, so far silent but for the Bloodcrafts. Each day their numbers grow, members of all guilds sensing the coming tide and abandoning their old allegiances for the new.”

Victor shifted, leaning more of his weight against the wall. He tried to think, to understand what it meant. Slowly he was bleeding the guilds dry of both members and coin. It might succeed, too, but only a fool would think someone else wouldn’t try to fill the void. If the Suns were as dangerous as Deathmask claimed…

He looked up at the thief.

“What do you want of me?” he asked.

Deathmask pulled a cloth from his pocket and tied it across his face.

“Help me,” he said, his other hand pulling out a handful of ash. “Swallow your pride, and send your soldiers flooding into the Suns’ newly acquired territory under my direction. We’ll crush them here, now, before they gain more than a foothold.”

With a wave of a hand, the ash scattered about his face, then hovered there, hiding his features.

“The city is mine, Victor, but I am a kinder lord than the Suns will ever be. Do not doubt your decision, not in this.”

Victor closed his eyes, thought of the carnage he’d seen the day prior while being protected by the Eschaton.

“You say the Bloodcrafts have been hired to protect the Suns?” he asked.

“It seems that way. If not for them, I’d have already crushed their initial push.”

Victor shook his head. Anyone who would bring in such dangerous beings just to protect their drug trade was someone he couldn’t allow to gain prominence in Veldaren.

“I’ll help you,” he said. “But know that I will watch you closely, and do this only for the good of the city.”

“The good of the city,” Deathmask chuckled. “How quaint.”

He whistled, and the rest of his guild appeared from further up the street, approaching in their similar colors.

Monsters, thought Victor as they gathered. You said you’d protect me from the monsters, Watcher. But what happens when the monsters turn on each other?

“Ready your men,” Deathmask said. “It’s time for a slaughter.”

Victor left without a word, trying to not think about the company he kept, or of the bloodshed to commence. The peace at the end was all that mattered, he told himself. The final victory. The safe streets and unviolated homes.

“Milord?” asked Sef at his arrival.

“Prepare our men to move out,” he said.

“Milord, something troubles you, I can tell. What…”

“I said prepare them to move out!”

Sef took a step back, then bowed low.

“Forgive me,” he said.

Victor sighed, put a hand on the man’s shoulder.

“No,” he said. “You’ve done much for me, and now I must ask for more. Prepare them all. A new threat has entered our city, and we must crush it while we still have the chance.”

Sef tensed as the Ash Guild came around the corner of the tavern, weapons drawn and shimmering with magic. Victor shook his head and motioned for his soldiers to stand down.

“I do this with a heavy heart,” he said, pointing to Deathmask. “But it must be done. Follow this man’s lead. Once more into the underworld we go.”

Beneath the ash and cloth, Deathmask’s smile grew and grew.