City of Steel (Chaos Awakens Book 3) (28 page)

“It didn’t occur to you that we might find it strange to wake up and have someone staring at us?”  Xan asked out of curiosity more than any true resentment. 

“This was the best way to insure that I was available for you when you were ready to go.”  She explained calmly. 

“What if we had been making love when you came in?”  Haley demanded angrily. 

A slight flush rose in Xan’s cheeks and he laughed nervously. “Well, no, that wouldn’t have happened. We’re not like that. I mean, we don’t ... I don’t. Not Daisy, damn it, I’m too old to be ...”

Haley laughed, a sincere, warm sound that made Xandrith feel like a fool. “I’m only joking, Xan.”

“I wouldn’t have stayed if my presence would have interfered with your intimacy.” The Unth, who didn’t seem to fully grasp the situation, replied to Haley’s question a bit late.

“It wouldn’t have!” Xan snapped, then seemed to realize what his hasty answer meant and quickly added. “…because we wouldn’t have been intimate because we are not romantically involved.”

The Unth didn’t seem to care.  “Are you ready to see the top of the wall?”  She asked. 

“Yes, the wall.  That would be good.”  Xandrith said quickly, flustered and eager to get out of that conversation. 

“Follow me.”  She turned as she spoke and opened the door, leading the way back out onto the landing in front of the living area.  Xandrith followed Haley out the door, giving her a wide clearing so as not to create any further misunderstandings. 

The Unth walked quickly up a flight of stairs that opened onto another landing of living space, and then up another set of stairs. The stairs made Xandrith’s leg start to ache again. Xan gave an audible sigh as they cleared the last of the steps and walked across the top of the wide open walkway along the top of the wall. It was impressively massive, and from on high Xandrith could hear the sound of thousands of troll voices floating through the air. He feared what he would see when he reached the outside edge of the wall.

His fear was well warranted.  Before the Unth wall stretched a horde of trolls beyond Xandrith’s imagining.  It blackened the mountainside stretching as far down the slope as the eye could see, filling every crevice and every fissure in the landscape with a mass of tents, siege weapons, supplies and trolls of a vast array of sizes and shapes.  Xandrith looked down the wall and could see piles of dead bodies at the base of the wall, and a few dead on the wall itself that appeared to have failed while attempting to climb the Unth barrier.  A field of crystal spikes spread from the base of the wall all the way down to the very front line of the troll forces, and more dead were hanging from that grim field of macabre trees.  

“How long have they been here?”  Xandrith asked in a small voice. 

“A week.” The Unth female replied. “They have made multiple attempts at the wall every day except today, but none have been anywhere near successful. We have killed hundreds of them already.”

The assassin’s eyes rolled over the horde, looking for some sign of where he might start searching for the knife and the troll god.  “Do you know where their leader is?” 

“Our Farseers have spotted several generals amongst the horde, but our magic is obscured the further out we try to look.  The trolls have magic of their own, though it has proven ineffective so far.”  The Unth reported like a well-informed tactician. 

“I didn’t think there would be this many.”  Haley noted, looking out over the edge of the wall with an overwhelmed expression on her face. 

“What do you intend to do?”  The Unth asked Xan, as though he would have been able to formulate some plan in the minute he’d had to take in the gravity of the troll problem. 

Xandrith shook his head. “I don’t know yet. I’m going to need some supplies, weapons, gear, and I need some time to think about this. I didn’t suspect that trolls would be so numerous. I had no idea.”

The Unth didn’t seem impressed. “You may return to your room if you’d like. I can send for some supplies, but you should be aware that there are many common items that the Unth do not need, and therefore do not have.”

“I’m not ready to go back just yet. I need to see more of this if I can. Do you have a spy glass?” Xandrith asked hopefully.

“No.”  The Unth replied. 

“Alright, then I’ll just have to take in as much as I can without one.  Can I walk this wall?”  Xan pointed in one direction and then the other. 

The Unth nodded.  “Yes, but I will accompany you.”

Xandrith returned the nod with one of his own, and then began to walk. He watched the horde as he moved along the length of the wall. Haley walked beside him, also scanning the crowd of trolls below. He was glad to have her eyes on the problem as well. She might see something that he didn’t. There was too much for one person to take in. How was he ever going to find the knife in that mess?

The assassin made mental notes of locations that looked particularly important along the troll line.  There were encampments of better quality than others, as in any army, and those he set to the forefront of his mind.  If they didn’t have what he was looking for, they would probably house officers or superiors who might have information that he could use to narrow down his search.  Information traveled fast in armies that marched together.  What one person knew, they all knew.  He just had to find the right trolls to talk to, and find a way to talk to them without alarming the entire horde. 

Xandrith was excellent at killing, but not so excellent that he was going to charge blade first into a group of thousands of trolls.  He imagined he might get all of two of them before he was ripped into small, easily digestible pieces. This was a daunting task. 

Xandrith walked a mile in one direction, and then turned around and walked two miles back the other direction before returning to where he’d started.  He’d seen as much as he cared to see.  There was no one point that looked better than any other.  If there was a main camp, something more formal than the officer’s camps he’d seen, it was too far back in the horde for him to spot from the wall.  He’d have to rely on intelligence he gathered once he was down amidst the trolls, but before he could do that he’d have to get better equipped and find a way to disguise himself so that he wasn’t killed on sight. 

Being part troll himself did give him some small advantage, but he clearly didn’t have enough of the troll look to avoid being singled out as an outsider. The big troll that had gotten him in the Forge had said he smelled like a human, particularly his blood. He’d have to be sure not to bleed. That was one of his favorite goals anyway, so it was a good thing to have on his list of no-nos. Bleeding would ruin everything.

“Alright, I’ve seen enough.” He told the Unth. “I need to gather some supplies, and work out a disguise that will work well enough to allow me to go down amongst those trolls. There’s nothing more that can be done from here.”

The Unth gave a sharp nod. “I will return you to your room then. You may tell me what it is you need and I’ll see if it can be acquired for you.”

Xandrith wasn’t certain he liked the idea of being returned to his room.  He’d spent enough time in various prisons that the idea of being in another didn’t strike him as particularly enticing.  Still, he didn’t exactly have another option. 

“I’ve only got one good knife on me. I’d like another set of fighting knives. A pair of daggers with edges the length of my forearm. Narrow, strong blades. The sharper they are, the better. In an emergency they’ll need to cut through troll skin. I’m also going to need some troll attire. I’ve seen some of them dressed in cloaks made of strange animal skins. The most covering thing you can find would be best. If it has a particularly strong troll odor about it, even better. I’ll also need something to darken my skin temporarily. Nothing that will give off a magical radiance. That would attract too much notice.” Xandrith thought for a minute and made an addition to his list. “I need a heavy sword, troll made. If I go out there without a visible weapon they’ll know I don’t belong, and it wouldn’t hurt to have something that could potentially separate one of those bastards from its head.”

“I need a disguise too.”  Haley chipped in, but Xandrith held up a hand. 

“No, it doesn’t make sense for both of to go amongst the trolls just to gather information, Haley. You should stay here.” Xandrith kept his voice level and firm.

Haley shot a pointed look at the Unth. “I don’t feel comfortable staying here on my own. I’d be more use to you out there.”

Xandrith could understand her desire to accompany him, and if it didn’t put both of them at greater risk he would have gladly taken her with him.  As much as Xandrith didn’t want to endanger the girl, she was a reliable and powerful ally to have in a tough situation.  She’d also proven herself against trolls, even a giant one, which was a huge point in her favor. 

“I’m not leaving you behind because I’m afraid you can’t handle yourself out there, Haley.” He could see the protest already forming on her lips so he jumped ahead to speak before she did. “It is going to be difficult for me to remain hidden on my own, but one person is going to be easier to disguise than two moving together. If trolls are anything like humans, than a single new body amidst a crowd isn’t going to attract much attention. If we’re in there together that just gives them more of a chance of noticing something amiss.”

Haley’s protest faltered, but she didn’t look happy.  “What if you get into trouble out there?” 

“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen. If I get into trouble, one more person isn’t going to make a difference amidst that horde of trolls. We would just die together. I don’t plan on getting in trouble.” Xan tried to sound as confident as he didn’t feel.

“You never plan on getting in trouble, but you always do.”  Haley noted with more than a hint of worry touching at her fox-covered features. 

Haley’s assessment was painfully accurate. “Well, I’m planning extra hard this time. I’m sure things will work themselves out.”

The Unth, who had been silent until that moment, spoke up to clarify. “Then you will only be needing the items you mentioned before?”

Xandrith looked once more at Haley, who let out a soft sigh and looked away.

“Yes, that should do.  Could you provide some food for my friend, and see that no harms comes to her while I’m away?”  Xandrith was a little worried about leaving Haley alone with the Unth.  They were difficult to read as a people.  So long as he and Haley did not come between the Unth and the Wellspring, there shouldn’t be any direct conflict, at least not until Xan’s business was finished and they were ready to leave.  That was a problem for another time. 

“If that is all, I will see you back to your room while I gather the necessary gear for you.  It will not take long.”  The Unth didn’t wait for a reply.  He turned and began walking back towards the stairs that would lead down to their room. 

Xandrith and Haley fell in behind him quickly.  The assassin wasn’t excited to be locked up again, but he also wasn’t ready to antagonize his hosts any further by trying to secure some more free time to walk around.  Besides, he’d seen most of what he needed to see for the time being.  What still remained to be seen was how he was going to get down into the troll population without being seen, and that raised another question.  He’d asked for troll supplies because he needed them, but he’d expected some protest from the Unth about actually locating what he needed.  It seemed they had a way to get in physical contact with the trolls at least enough to secure the items Xan needed.  The Unth had even said that it wouldn’t take long. 

If the Unth could get outside their wall and into the troll horde to gather items, did that mean that there was some secret path that trolls might discover and use to get inside?  That was a frightening prospect.  Xandrith wanted to ask about it, but at the same time he didn’t think he’d get a satisfactory answer, and he didn’t want to raise suspicion by asking about the Unth security.  If they suspected that he was a spy, things would not end well for him and Haley.  He would learn the truth soon enough.  The Unth would have to give him a way to get out amidst the trolls without it being obvious that he’d just come from inside the walls.  He could assess the situation more closely when that time came. 

The door closed behind him and Haley and he heard the sound of the lock engaging almost immediately.  Xandrith sighed and walked back to the bed to sit down.  His leg was aching and his mind was spinning with the details of the task that lay just ahead.  The task felt insurmountable. 

“I’m afraid to be alone.”  Haley’s voice was soft when she spoke, a whisper that somehow shattered the silence. 

Xandrith looked up at his young companion. She was slowly pacing the room, looking every bit like a young vixen caught in a hunter’s live trap. “You’re not alone Haley, and you won’t be when I’m out there either.”

Haley half-smiled, an expression a little too close to Xan’s own false smile. “I think I’ll be pretty alone when you leave. I don’t think the Unth are going to keep me company.”

Xandrith was about to speak but the words slipped away from him as a strange darkness settled in the room.  At first it seemed as though the glow of the fire had been covered by a nearly opaque curtain, but a moment later curling strands of darkness began to leak out of the new and alien shadows.  Xandrith jumped up from the bed and grabbed his knife. 

“Xan?”  Haley’s voice was full of concern, he turned to tell her what he was seeing, but as his eyes fell on her the darkness transformed her as well.  Black ichor poured from the corners of the eyes of her mask, burning black streaks down the wooden surface and transforming the familiar fox features into a skeletal, horrifying grimace.  The bottom jaw unhinged and opened, dropping wide and expanding into a hungry maw.  A terrible, low keening exploded from the thing that had been Haley.  The sound was a mix of a dying animal’s scream and the fearsome roar of a predator. 

A weight settled on Xandrith’s shoulder and he spun around to face something he sensed behind him.  When he turned he found himself face to face with Tilda, or something that wore Tilda like a poorly fitting suit of armor.  The old woman’s body was shattered, twisted and broken, bone protruding through flesh at unnatural angles, face smashed and torn.  She smiled as Xandrith took a step back in horror, and her smile exposed a mouth full of broken teeth that split unnaturally in the center as though the lower mandible had been split in two.