Anilyia (27 page)

They looked at each other. Tathan shrugged.
Vevin finally spoke, “I know you don’t want us to hurt them, but I
really
want to taste one, dearest.”

Tathan and Sir Danth laughed heartily while
Liselle giggled again. “I mean besides the two or three you eat, is
it possible to get past them without killing?”

Sir Danth said, “I like killing. It’s what I
do and how I make my living. I understand that it seems wrong to
you, Milady, but it is part of the game of the life and the loss of
a body does not stop the soul from continuing on in their
existence.”

Tathan frowned. Sir Danth and Liselle were
about as different as two people could be. He didn’t know how to
come to a compromise. Liselle sighed deeply. “I don’t know, my dark
knight. Death seems like such a painful experience and even if
people do go on, I think maybe they will remember that pain and
suffer in their next life as well.” The flower in her hair was
glaring at the knight and had leaves folded in front of it like a
person would cross their arms. Tathan briefly wondered if he was
just going crazy.

“In death, as in life, the strong overcome
pain and suffering to prosper. Those beings who suffer the most and
continue to flourish will become stronger,” the knight stated.

Liselle shook her head. “I don’t think
you’re right about that. I think the pain and suffering makes them
weaker.” She turned to Vevin. “What do you think?”

Vevin’s eyes swirled faster. Tathan knew the
dragon didn’t want to get involved in the discussion. “Well . . . I
certainly don’t like pain and suffering,” Vevin said lamely.

Sir Danth chuckled. Liselle told him, “I
think we’ll have to agree to disagree, my dark knight.”

He bowed in return, and then straightened.
“I respect you greatly, Milady. If it is your wish that we preserve
as much life as possible, I shall acquiesce to your desires.
Wherever possible, I will spare the life of those who would harm
us. If it is necessary to kill someone, I will do so quickly,
efficiently and with as little suffering on their part as
possible.” He bowed again.

Liselle quietly said, “Thank you, Sir Danth.
I know that’s not easy for you, but it means a great deal to me.”
She turned to Tathan. “And what of you, Cousin: can you avoid
killing wherever possible?”

Tathan raised an eyebrow and grinned. “I
always try to avoid killing people. Bodies are difficult to
explain. Dead people often have clues that can lead to the person
who killed them. My preferred method is to sneak past people. I
kill if I believe it’s absolutely necessary.” He hoped that would
satisfy her, because he was leaving out a great deal of complexity
in his decision making process.

She nodded. “Thank you. I know it must seem
silly of me, but it’s important for reasons even I don’t
understand.” Liselle smiled at them all gratefully. It made them
happy when she smiled and Tathan realized that, in many ways, she
was the leader of their party. It didn’t bother him. She had
purpose in life where he didn’t. True leaders had a reason for
doing what they were doing. Tathan’s reason was . . . well, he
didn’t know really.

He summed it up, as he liked to do. “So
after getting the princess, we quickly and quietly go further into
the fortress in the hopes of finding a way out of the tunnels.
We’ll let Vevin eat two or three Rojuun, but other than that, we’ll
incapacitate whenever possible and only kill when absolutely
necessary. Do we all agree?”

They nodded. Sir Danth said, “You mentioned
the plan is for us to get in there as servants. Do you believe we
can pass me off as a servant?”

Tathan shook his head no. “I really don’t,
but I can’t think of how to explain you. If we were entering a
human fortress, I’d have you pass as a noble, or as a knight
bringing in prisoners for bounty, or some sort of excuse like
that.”

“Bounty?” Sir Danth asked with a raised
eyebrow. “Knights perform their duties as part of divine purpose,
not for bounties.”

“Things have changed since you were a
knight. People aren’t so noble these days, not even knights. Every
once in a while, you’ll come across an order whose individuals work
for divine causes, but it’s not common,” Tathan explained.

“I see. You mentioned something about it
before, but I did not realize the seriousness of the matter,” the
knight replied, rubbing his chin with a gauntlet. “I don’t believe
I will pass for a servant either, but I can shift into the fortress
providing I can see where I’m going.”

“Shift?” Liselle asked.

“Yes, when you saw me fight the sstejj, I
would be one place before suddenly appearing in another. It is
called shifting, though I don’t know the theory behind it other
than it is extremely advanced magic,” he explained.

Tathan interjected, “We might use that as a
last resort, but I’d rather come up with a way that won’t be
noticed.”

“What about your invisibility ring, Tathan?
Could Sir Danth borrow that to get in?” Vevin asked.

Tathan snapped his fingers. “Yes! That’s an
excellent idea, Vevin.” He pulled it off and gave it to the knight.
“Take this. It’ll get you in while the rest of us disguise
ourselves as servants.” The ring expanded to fit on the gauntleted
finger as Sir Danth put it on. Tathan was happy with the solution.
Not knowing how to get out of the tunnels was a serious flaw, but
the rest of the details were handled and that was more than many
plans had.

“You said the day after tomorrow, Tathan,
does that mean we can go on a boat ride to the lake tomorrow?”
Liselle asked.

He smiled at her. “Yes. We can go on a boat
ride to the lake tomorrow. That sounds nice considering I don’t
know when we’ll be able to relax after that.” He watched their
faces fall and realized he had a knack for pulling people out of
good moods.

They rested well that night and the next day
was spent taking the boat ride to the lake. It was an enjoyable
time with laughter and happiness. Tathan even managed not to ruin
the mood all day.

Liselle followed Tathan through the tunnel
to the Thieves’ Guild with Vevin and Sir Danth behind her. It was
early morning, although that was hard to tell underground. She
desperately wanted to get above ground so she could soak in the
warmth of the sun. Liselle hadn’t told any of them that she was
beginning to wilt in the dim light of the caverns.

Tathan had met with the guild the night
before to let them know they would take the task. The guards they
passed coming into the warehouse had opened the door quickly for
Tathan, seeming almost afraid of him. She wondered what he had done
or said to make them that way and hoped he hadn’t killed
anyone.

Killing. It was a word she hated. She had
done it once at the house. Liselle didn’t feel that hunting for
food, or annihilating the sstejj counted. Killing
people
was
what she had a problem with. It didn’t make sense for people to
kill each other over who had power or land or . . . anything. There
was plenty of room in the world and life would be much simpler if
everyone just got along.

Perhaps she was being foolish, but it didn’t
seem all that complicated. Life was precious and should be
preserved. At the same time, she was realizing that life wasn’t
perfect the way it should be. People didn’t always get along,
leading to fights and wars. She just didn’t understand how they
could live with themselves. How did the warriors who murdered her
parents live with . . . well, if they had survived, how could they
live with themselves?

Sir Danth bothered her. She liked him, but
didn’t like the fact that he enjoyed killing. It seemed wrong.
Liselle got the impression that he would gladly kill as many Rojuun
as possible while rescuing the princess. She worried that someday
he might not agree to stop killing and didn’t know how to handle it
if he made that decision.

Tathan knocked on the door at the end of the
tunnel. A metal plate slid back and a man looked through. The door
opened right away and they were gestured in. Liselle looked around
the cave. The first thing she noticed was that there weren’t any
flowers, which saddened her. There were a number of people in the
room, many gathered around a large table. Quite a few wore white
aprons. A man sat at the head of the table with a leg sprawled over
the arm of his chair. He must be Elian. A girl was standing behind
Elian. She must be the one Tathan followed.

They walked up to the table. “Hello, Elian,”
Tathan said with a little wave. He gestured at the companions to
introduce them. “This is Liselle, Vevin and Sir Danth.”

Unexpectedly, the girl screamed and
attacked. Her hands were on Liselle’s throat before she knew what
was happening. Liselle grabbed the arms of the shorter girl and
tried to pull them off.

Tathan’s sword was at the throat of the
girl. “Take your hands off my cousin, Miesha,” he demanded in a
threatening voice. The girl didn’t release right away, but relented
with a little pressure from the blade. Miesha took a few steps
back, a small line of blood appearing where the edge had cut skin.
“Why did you attack my cousin?” Tathan asked the girl in a deadly
cold voice, his sword still aimed at her neck.

Liselle coughed and gasped for air as Vevin
held her. His sharp teeth were bared. Elian’s rapier was aimed at
Tathan, but his eyes were on the dark blade and fear shone in his
eyes. A few others in the cave had drawn their weapons, but didn’t
seem willing to get too close to Tathan or Sir Danth, who stood
with his arms crossed.

“Your cousin?” Miesha asked, rage oozing
from her voice. She turned her gaze to Tathan. “I thought you liked
me. You’re mine and you were going to take me with you,” she said
in an accusatory tone.

Tathan’s jaw fell open. Elian looked at
Miesha then back at Tathan. He put away his rapier. “Did you
promise to take her?”

Tathan turned to him, putting away his own
sword as an afterthought. “No. I haven’t spoken to her,” he
protested.

“You looked at me. I could see it in your
eyes!” Miesha exclaimed. “You were going to take me with. You’re
mine.” Her teeth were bared and there was a fanatical look in her
eyes. “Why did you bring her?” she challenged, pointing at Liselle.
“You’re supposed to take me.”

Elian stepped in front of her. “They’re not
going to take you, Miesha. He doesn’t love you.”

Miesha screeched and slapped Elian in the
face. He didn’t react, simply standing his ground. Miesha glared at
Liselle one last time then ran out of the room, slamming the door
behind her. They all stared at the door in shock. It obviously
wasn’t what anyone had expected.

Elian turned and started to speak before his
eyes widened at Vevin’s appearance. Tathan spoke quickly to avoid
questions. “I never said I was taking her with, not even with my
eyes.”

The guild leader shook his head. “Miesha has
had a difficult life. The story isn’t mine to tell, but her mind is
no longer fully there.” He dismissed the problem with a flip of his
hand, leaving the companions unsatisfied. “Come, let’s discuss
details. It’s almost time to leave.” He waved them back to the
table.

Liselle kept a protective hand at her neck.
It caught her by surprise when the girl screamed and choked her.
Vevin kept his arm around her waist and looked at everybody with
teeth bared. The people in the room kept their distance.

“Have a seat,” Elian said, gesturing to
chairs along the table. He sat down and placed his hands on the
table, working to regain his composure. “We have aprons for you to
wear over your clothes. Rojuun don’t pay attention to clothing, but
they do watch weapons,” he said, pointing at Tathan’s sword.
“You’ll have to hide that.”

“Alright. I’ll take care of it,” Tathan
responded.

“How?”

“Don’t worry about it. When we get to the
fortress, it’ll be hidden.” Tathan’s answer was cryptic and he
ignored Elian’s frown. “We also have a way to get Sir Danth in. He
has a rare ring of invisibility and will use it to get past the
guards.”

Elian shook his head. “The Rojuun have wards
which detect invisibility. They have wards which detect just about
everything it seems,” he informed them. “That’s alright though. Our
plan will work.”

“What’s the plan?” Tathan asked. Liselle was
fine sitting quietly. It gave her time to study the people. They
looked lost to her, like a flower would be in the desert. There was
a lingering sadness and pallor in their complexions. The rock of
the cave was oppressive and the complete lack of flowers or any
sort of plant made her uncomfortable. She didn’t see how they could
live like this. Liselle hoped they would be able to rescue the
princess and make it above ground soon.

“The plan is for your knight to take off his
armor and go in as a servant.” Tathan shook his head, but Elian
continued. “We’ll put the armor back together and pull it on a
cart, disguising the sword as a yoke and handle. When the guards
ask, we’ll explain that the armor is a piece of artwork to decorate
the halls,” he finished with arms out in a grand gesture.

Tathan visibly resisted sighing. “That
sounds like a good plan, but Sir Danth’s armor is cursed and he
can’t take it off.”

The guild leader’s face fell. “Oh. You said
he couldn’t take it off, but I interpreted that to mean he didn’t
want to go in without it, not that it was a curse. That complicates
things.”

“The plan will work,” Sir Danth said. “I
will remain in the armor as it is brought in. Part of the curse is
that it makes it appear as though I have no body. It’s very
disturbing and I’m extremely upset about the matter.”

The terrible attempt at bluffing caused
Liselle to cover her mouth to suppress a giggle. Luckily, Elian and
the others seemed to accept it without suspicion. “That is
terrible, Sir Knight. I didn’t realize. You have my apologies if I
appeared callous.”