A Kingdom Falls (The Mancer Trilogy Book 1) (2 page)

Nine years after the end of ‘
A Dark and Hungry Storm’

William stood watching Queen Rebecca Rothgal as she, seemingly, slept soundly in her bed.  The weak silvery moonlight barely illuminated her face, but he could clearly see every line that life had added to her once youthful face.

Turning, William quietly walked away and rubbed his one remaining hand on his trousers; it was tingling.  Ever since he lost his right arm at the battle, which people were now calling the
Battle of Light
, his left hand would occasionally tingle.

William flexed the hand and thought for the thousandth time, “How far I have fallen.  I was once Shadow Killer, one of the great Dev’ver.  I commanded armies, and now... and now, I am a one-armed bodyguard to an aging queen.”  William closed his eyes.  “I saved my people though; no longer will they be enslaved.  At least I did that.”  Opening his eyes and letting his hand fall to his side, William straightened up.  “Oh, stop being so melancholy, you old idiot.  The past is the past and you would gladly pay the cost again,” he scolded himself.

A small noise from outside the bedroom door made William turn his head.  A savage smile slowly started to form on his lips as he watched the door handle begin to turn.  William placed himself between the door and his sleeping Queen.  “
At bloody last
,” Shadow Killer whispered.

The room started to become darker as the shadows within the bedroom unnaturally deepened and swept across the room.  The bedroom door opened a fraction, and three men slipped quickly and quietly into the room.  Standing with their backs to the door, they quickly scanned the room.

“
Damn, it’s dark in here
,” one whispered.

“
Unnaturally so
,” agreed another.

“Shit, he is here!” declared the last as he drew his sword.

“Correct,” answered William as he stepped from the deep shadows.

“Werewolf!” cried the first man.

“I prefer Dev’ver,” commented William.

“Quick!  Kill it before it changes!” screamed the second man.

“Too late,” declared William as he started the change.  A muted scream escaped from his lips as his muscles tore themselves apart, bones snapped, and his flesh bubbled and flowed.

“Kill it!” commanded the third man, as he dove past the transforming William and made his way towards Queen Rothgal.

With a howl, the Dev’ver called Shadow Killer finished the transformation and, once again, entered the world of men.  Quickly, he lashed out with a clawed hand, just missing the first man, before roaring in pain as the second attacker plunged a dagger deep into his side.  Reaching out, Shadow Killer grabbed the man by the shoulder, pulled him close, and clamped his jaws down hard around his opponent’s head, which cracked like an egg.

The third attacker turned his dive into a roll, before springing upright and drawing his dagger from his belt.  Looking down at Queen Rothgal, he raised his hand high.  “Die!”

Rebecca fully opened her eyes, looking calmly and without fear into her attacker’s eyes.  “No.”

Confused, her assailant paused for a brief fatal moment, as out of the deep shadows surrounding Rebecca’s bed, a powerful hairy arm emerged and ripped out his throat.

Rebecca sat up regally and smoothed down the sheets around her as the second Dev’ver left the shadows and emitted a low growl.  “Shadow Killer!” called out Rebecca to her bodyguard, “I would like one to remain alive.”

***

The last living attacker looked round frantically for a way to escape.  Seeing none, he quickly made up his mind, and screaming, “Die!” he launched himself towards the Queen, his sword raised high.  Shadow Killer’s claw lashed out, catching the man on the shoulder, causing him to spin round and hit the floor.  The Dev’ver’s foot came crashing down on the man’s sword hand, breaking his fingers and causing a cry of pain.

Satisfied that the man would be no further trouble, Shadow Killer reached round and pulled out the dagger, which was still protruding from his side, and threw it to the ground.

“Thank you, Shadow Killer, and, of course, you, Razor Tooth,” said Rebecca.  “Now, shall we find out what is going on?”  Shadow Killer stood back from the man and started the change back to human form as Rebecca watched, fascinated by the gruesome transformation.

Straightening up, William stood before his Queen, stark naked.

“While I do appreciate your… manly physique, William, I would be grateful if you could get dressed.”

“As you command, my lady,” replied William.  The shadows around the room started to flow and sway, as if to an unheard slow drumbeat, before making their way towards William, who stood with his arms away from his body.  Unmoving, he allowed the shadows to flow over him like dark midnight waves, until they covered him completely.  Then, suddenly, they were gone, leaving William dressed in his normal non-descript clothes.

“You know that always makes me jealous.”

“I know,” stated William with a smile.

Queen Rothgal gave her bodyguard a hard silent stare.

Ignoring her, William looked across to the Dev’ver that was still standing next to the bed.  “Razor Tooth, you may go.”

Razor Tooth gave a low growl before stepping back into the shadows around the Queen’s bed and disappearing.

A low moan from the man on the floor caught William’s attention.  “Ah, our would-be assassin.”  Reaching down with his hand, he grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him to his feet.  Just then, the doors to the Queen’s bedroom burst open, and in charged Captain John Philips and four uniformed guards.

“Captain Philips, so good of you to join us,” said Rebecca.

“Are you harmed, your Majesty?” asked a concerned Captain Philips.  “We heard the howls and came as quickly as we could.”

“I am quite well, Captain; however…”

“Yes, your Majesty?”

“There are far too many men in this room for me to be in my bed.  I would be grateful if your men could remove themselves, along with these dead bodies.”

“At once, your Majesty.  You men – get these bodies out of here!”

“Yes, sir!” the guards replied, as they moved towards the bodies.

“Also,” added Queen Rothgal, “get a few lanterns in here and in the reception room.  I want to be able to see properly.”

“At once, ma’am,” replied John Philips.

“William.”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

“How is your prisoner?”

William looked at the man he was holding by the collar.  He was nursing his broken hand and blood was seeping from the claw marks in his shoulder.  “Alive.”

“Good.”

Rebecca watched as the guards removed the dead bodies and maids brought lit lanterns into the room.  Once all the guards and maids had left, she said, “Captain, be so good as to close the door.”

“Of course, your Majesty.”

Slipping out of bed, Rebecca made her way to her dressing table.  She lifted her dressing gown from the back of the chair and proceeded to put it on.  “Now that I am suitably dressed, let’s talk to my assailant, here.”  Turning, she looked at the man that William was holding.  “What is your name?”

Defiant silence.

Rebecca tut-tutted and cast her eyes to the ceiling.  “God save me from the defiant ones.  They are a real pain.”  As she walked up to him, Captain Philips moved to her side, ready to intervene instantly should the man make any aggressive moves.  Rebecca sighed.  “If you do not talk, I will have you tied down, and have both your arms and legs removed while you are still awake; however, I will make sure that you will not die, as you will have the very best medical attention.

“What happens next will be deeply unpleasant, as I will have my team of experts inflict constant pain on you, day and night; however, again, have no fear – you will not die, as you will have the very best of medical attention, remember?”  Rebecca looked into the ashen face of her prisoner.  “Over the long weeks, your body will be turned into a barely recognisable lump of meat.  Even a breath of wind will be pure agony, as they work on your body.

“You will, of course, by then, have answered all the questions you have been asked, and therein lies the problem.  You see, we will not know if you have lied to us just to end the misery, so we will have to continue until we are certain that the answers you have given are the truth, and that might take another week or two.”  Rebecca tilted her head.  “Do you wish that, my brave prisoner?”

Silence.

“Captain Philips.”

“Ma’am?”

“Bind his hands.”

“At once.”  Pulling a strip of leather from a punch on his belt, Captain Philips did as he was bid, while William took a step back.

Once Captain Philips had finished, Rebecca commanded, “Knees!”

“Yes, my Queen.”  John Philips pushed the man down on his knees.

“Pain is very interesting.  Once it’s gone, you forget the sensation and that makes people brave.”  Rebecca placed her hand on the wound that Shadow Killer had caused on the man’s shoulder and dug her nails in. “Does that hurt?”

The prisoner gasped and gritted his teeth as he tried to resist the growing pain.

“Think on it – the pain, having no arms or legs.  Think on it.”  Rebecca squeezed harder, her nails sinking into the wound.  “Think about the pain being a thousand times worse and constant for days at a time.”

“Dylon Moore!  My name is Dylon Moore!” the prisoner cried out.

Rebecca removed her hand and nails from Dylon’s shoulder.  “Good evening, Dylon.”  Looking round, Rebecca spotted a towel next to her night table.  She moved to the table and wiped her hands.  “Who sent you?”

“Your third cousin, Farah Sharpe.”

“Farah!”  That was unexpected.  “Who is backing her?”

“I do not know.”

“Who is backing her?”

“I do not know!  Truly I don’t, your Majesty!”

“Mmm.  What was the plan?”

“We were to wait until your werewolf was gone, then sneak into the palace and kill you.”

“As simple as that?”

“Yes.”

“How long have you been waiting?”

“Three days.”

Rebecca cast a quick glance at William, who raised his eyebrows.

“How did you get into the palace?”

“The feast …”

“The one to celebrate the defence of the city by my mother?” interrupted Rebecca.

“Yes.”

“Continue.”

“We disguised ourselves as performers and then hid in one of the spare guest rooms.  We had information that the wer… that your bodyguard would be away for the night.”

“Well, it was my good fortune my bodyguard, William, was not gone.”

“How did you know that we were coming?” asked Dylon.

“I have my spies.”

“They cannot be very good, if they did not know it was your cousin, Farah Sharpe, who sent me.”

“But they were good enough to know that you and your dead colleagues were going to strike tonight.”

Dylon nodded in agreement.

“Captain Philips.”

“Ma’am?”

“Kindly escort the prisoner to the cells, and then return.”

“Yes, ma’am,” replied John Philips as he grabbed Dylon’s collar, pulled him upright, and directed him to the door.

William watched the men as they made their way to the door.  “What did you say?” demanded William, suddenly.

Captain Philips turned to William.  “What?”

“Not you – Dylon Moore, what did you say?”

“Nothing.”

William marched to Dylon and grasped him by the neck.  “What did you say?”

“No... thing,” gasped Dylon.

William studied the prisoner’s face for a few seconds before releasing him.

“Everything ok?” asked Captain Philips.

“Yes,” declared William as he walked away.  “Get him out of here.”

John Philips gave William a puzzled look before opening the door and pushing his prisoner through.

Rebecca waited until the door was shut before turning to her bodyguard.  “Well?”

“It was nothing.”

“Really?”