Darkness Falls (Tales of the Wolf) (32 page)

Galvorn paused for a moment before joining his half-brother and looked out at the sixty-nine students who were now his enemy. “Run along younglings, your lesson in pain is about to begin.”

To their shock, the Shadow did the same thing as his partner…he placed his back toward the students and began selecting weapons. Of course, Galvorn had to be different and began to whistle an upbeat tune.

*    *    *   *    *

Aaron Kingslayer was livid. Not only had Shadow and Stalker arrived in time, they were insulting the Döcents by their every action. A few of his students had already disappeared into the dark corridors of the Arena, just as they had been trained but that was less than a half of those involved in today’s festivities. Of the rest, they were milling about completely uncertain of what to do.

The Kingslayer glanced over his left shoulder at the gnomish water clock and quickly counted the silver balls in the bottom rack. According to his calculations, the second gong would sound in less than a minute and the hunt would begin. He turned his attention back at Shadow and Stalker only to find them still at the table, sorting through weapons, as calm as a toad in the sun.

The gong sounded and the chaos commenced.

*    *    *   *    *

The two Sicárii had immediately selected their primary weapons for this mission.

Gray had always had an affinity for the
kukris. They had been his preferred weapons his first few years in the Lüdüs and even though he was a master with every weapon on the table, these were still on of his favorite. Galvorn chose the kris blades, his favorites from the early years.

These would be their primary weapons for the hunt that would follow the slaughter that was about to commence. Both Shadow and Stalker had seen enough of the new Sicárii to predict what was coming. A few of the students, the ones who had truly adopted the mindset of the assassins, would have already moved into the tunnels to set up their own ambushes. Those that still thought like a warrior would be standing nearby waiting for the gong to ring before they charged. Then, there would be those who were undecided as what to do.

As the gong sounded, anarchy reigned.

Ten of the boldest students yelled and rushed forward. However, Gray and Galvorn were already moving. They had expected this kind of response and had arranged the weapons on the table in such a way as they had numerous throwing weapons in reach of both hands. In the first few seconds, the two Sicárii hurled the numerous knives before using the
Salire-umbra
skill to disappear and reappear behind their attackers.

Salire
-umbra,
or better known as the Shadow-step, was a skill the Sicárii had learned in the Lüdüs from Chikk Forlorn. It had actually been one of her trade secrets that catapulted her to the apex of the Avaris Rogue’s Guild in the years before she fell in love with the sea and became a pirate. However, she had imparted that knowledge to the Primus, the Sicárii elite.

Salire
-umbra
was basically a simple spell which linked the caster with the Shadow realm. Once properly aligned, the assassin could move over short distances with only single step. To the opponent, it would seem as if the assassin disappeared into a shadow only to reappear in another shadow nearby. This was the same skill that Mouse and Falcon had used to bypass the security in the Elven prison.

Although every Sicárii knew the skill, Galvorn and Gray had become masters of the
Salire-umbra.
They could cloak their bodies in shadows and step in and out at will, even while in combat. Granted, it was draining to do so but it was also extremely effective and unnerving to their opponents. Every one of the Primus had learned the skill but none of them would typically use the spell in this manner since it was so exhausting. Neither Shadow nor Stalker understood why the spell seemed to affect them less than the rest of their friends but it did, so the two assassins used the skill to great advantage. Actually as good as Gray was with the spell, his half-brother was better. Something about Galvorn embraced the magic and he became his namesake, the Shadow. 

Even as the last knife was in flight, both Shadow and Stalker disappeared into a puff of black smoke and reappeared amongst the students. Gray and Galvorn immediately went on the offensive and their every strike felled a student. When those that were still standing tried to counter-attack, the Sicárii would just fade away into black smoke. Since Gray and Galvorn had been trained to fight as a team and had been doing so for almost a decade, they could almost read each other’s mind when it came to combat. As one would shadow-step away, the other would appear from behind and strike.

*    *    *   *    *

Aaron Kingslayer was appalled. Shadow and Stalker had taken out thirty-two of his finest students in less than three minutes. It would have been more but to the Kingslayer’s undying regret, nine students had fled the battlefield. The headmaster tightened his grip on his mug of mead as he was forced to watch in silence as Isengrim the Stalker paused and looked directly at him. His crooked smile seemed to mock him.

Suddenly, the Shadow stepped out of the dark corners of the balcony. “And now the hunt begins.”

All three occupants nearly jumped out of their skin. The dwarf was so startled that he dropped his mug.

Zivën had actually drawn his swords and turned to confront the young dark elf but he was gone. There was only empty air. Sheathing his silver tulwars, he turned back to his fellow instructors. “I’m really beginning to hate that one.”

Aaron Kingslayer just grunted while Kieran just leaned back and laughed.

*    *    *   *    *

Over the next hour, Gray and Galvorn became their namesake and hunted down the students.

Gray silently and methodically stalked their prey. No matter what manner of trap they set or where they tried to hide, he found them. All the while, his face remained stoic and dispassionate. He was all business and took no pleasure in the kills. It was not the fault of the students; he saw potential in many of them. It was their lack of training that was getting them killed, even if the kills were faux. Of course, this brought one of Darnac’s sayings to mind,
better to bleed in training than to die in battle.

Galvorn was his half-brother’s exact opposite. He was having the time of his life. He knew it was annoying the hell out of Zivën and the Kingslayer with the ease they were destroying their students. But more than that, Galvorn was enjoying his taunts of the instructors. Three more times during their hunt, he appeared out of the shadows in the balcony for no other reason than to ridicule their students. He never did it outright but he would appear just before his partner would pounce on an unsuspecting group of students, say a few words before shadow-stepping to Stalker’s aid.

Gray had been keeping score and knew there were only three students left but these happened to be canny hunters. Instead of hiding behind hastily erected traps, they had been moving the whole time in such a way that showed that they were in fact hunting him. Gray grinned, finally a few students of worth.

Now it was Gray’s turn to
Salire-umbra.
As he moved around a corner, he stepped into the shadows and waited. This was a trick that he and Galvorn had perfected even more so than their instructors. Darnac preferred not to use such magic but then, he was more warrior than assassin. Always was and always would be. Chikk on the other hand was a thief, first and foremost. She had developed her skills as a means to bypass security checkpoints and escape guards. But Gray and Galvorn were Sicárii, warrior-assassins. They knew that sometimes the best action is in action.

Gray waited and watched. It was not long before his patience paid off and the last three students came around the corner. They were a strange trio. One was a gnome, a shapely dark-elven female and a chubby
human that looked more like a baker than an assassin. All three were moving cautiously with weapons drawn. Before Gray could step out and confront them, they stopped moving and shifted into a proper defensive position with backs to each other.

The dark elven girl hissed. “He’s nearby.”

The gnome scanned the area, trying to find him through the use of his dark sight. “I don’t see him.”

Feeling that was his cue, Gray stepped out of the shadows several feet away and quipped, “That was the plan.”

Surprisingly, all three reacted at one. The gnome threw his dagger and pulled out a second one. The chubby fellow raised his weapon and charged. The dark elven girl pointed a finger at Stalker and cast a simple spell. It was actually the most effective defensive effort put up by any of the students.

Gray recognized the three balls of flame streaking towards him, magic missiles. Deflecting aside the dagger, he spun in place. Magic missile never missed their target and could even fly around corners. They could only be blocked by certain spells that Gray did not have the time to cast. But spinning…spinning would minimize the damage by spreading out the impact of the fireballs over the more than one part of his body. Each magic missile stuck with the force of a large man punching a target. If all three missiles struck the same spot, the damage would be increased exponentially. Yes, it hurt but not enough to stop him.

Gray came out of his spin and locked blades with the chubby student and immediately noticed that he was stronger than he looked. Out of the corner of his eye, Gray saw that the dark elf was about to cast another spell and the gnome was about to join the fray. However, in their rush to engage him they had forgotten about Shadow.

Galvorn appeared behind the dark elf and silenced her with a perfectly executed jugular slice. If it had been an actual assassination, she would have died quickly and silently.

Gray flashed his opponents his infamous crooked grin as he parried the attacks from both opponents with his kukris. There was a flurry of swordplay but Gray parried every attack. Then, he surprised the gnome by kicking him in the face and launching him several feet backwards.

One on one, the chubby student knew that he was no match for the Stalker but instead of giving up, he made a desperate lunge forward. The technique was called
Mutua Caede
or mutual killing. It was a purely offensive attack used by swordsmen when they are about to die but wanted to take their opponent with them. It was a desperate and totally unexpected strike. Only Gray’s chainmail armor saved him from a serious, if not fatal, wound.

Galvorn dropped his cloak of shadows and ran forward. “Grim! Are you okay?”

Gray pulled out the embedded blade and inspected it but there was no sign of any poison, just his blood. “That was impetuous of him,” he nodded towards the twitching student, “although it worked… sort of.”

Now that he knew his friend was not badly injured, Galvorn began laughing. “Seriously? You let porky here stab you? What’s the matter? Getting slow in your old age?”

Gray grinned at the jab. When the two of them had figured out that Gray was older by less than a year, Galvorn had developed a fondness for age jokes. Gray pulled out a bandage from one of his pouches and shoved it in over the wound. “Slow? I seem to recall you taking your sweet time getting here. What did you do? Stop and have dinner on the way?”

Galvorn laughed. “I sure did. I still have a few pieces of humble pie left if you’re interested?”

Gray just shook his head and flexed his hand. Movement of his left arm was painful and the wound seemed to be large enough that it would require stitches. He gestured to the three fallen students with his chin.

“They were the best of the lot.”

Galvorn glanced down at the students. They were still twitching from the stun effects of the
cantatis lapis
. “Aye that they were, they had potential. More so than any of the others.” He paused and took a moment to wipe the sweat off his brow. “I forgot how taxing this heat was.”

“You used the
Salire-umbra
for almost the whole time. That is draining enough.”

Galvorn giggled. “True but it was so fun. You should’ve seen the look on Zivën’s face when I stepped out on the balcony.”

Gray nearly forgot about his wound at his half-brother’s admission. “You did what?”

Galvorn was shocked and a little hurt at Stalker’s indignation and was about to ask him about it when the three Döcents entered the arena. It did not take a mind reader to tell that they were upset. Actually only Zivën and the Kingslayer looked angry. Kieran seemed more amused than anything else. Galvorn had expected them to be mad at him since he had gone out of his way to embarrass them as Kralm and Darnac had desired but their response was unexpected.

Aaron Kingslayer and Zivën Tenëbráe both ignored him and squared up on his partner. The Blademaster stopped directly ahead of the wounded Sicárii while the dwarf positioned himself off to the assassin’s left. To Gray’s credit, he did not react in anger or even show that either of them being in his face bothered him. He just met the Blademaster’s gaze and stared back impassionately.

It was the Blademaster of Timgâd who spoke first. “You have insulted my honor.”

Gray cocked his head to the left ever so slightly. “And how is that?”

“You cheated.”

That brought a smirk to Gray’s face. “How did I cheat? Because I used superior skills and tactics to best your students? How is that cheating?”