Death Comes To All (Book 1) (55 page)

As the assassin turned quickly to strike at one of the
guards who dared to get to close it happened. He moved just a little
too far, and with a groan he spun to the ground, the wound in his
stomach finally overcoming him.

The guards moved in for the kill as he dropped. Sword
arms fell, hacking and slashing at the fallen enemy. It only lasted a
moment.

Their spy had done his work well. He had given them the
route the assassin would take to leave, the time of departure,
everything. It had been a simple thing to finish the job.

As the guards backed away from the bloody mess staining
the dirt road, the result was certain. Raiste Goldstone was dead.

“
You
called for me Master?” the sloveckii man asked somberly. He
knew that the master of the guild would be in a foul-tempered mood
tonight. He had braced himself for it. If he was lucky, she wouldn’t
have heard yet.

“
Yes
Croakas, I did. Has there been word yet of my friend? He left here
over an hour ago, and I would have expected word by now that he had
made it out of the city safely.”

“
I’m
sorry master Loretta, I only just received word myself. The city
guard apprehended someone they believe to be Raiste Goldstone in the
alley behind Chestnut road. I’m afraid he died of his injuries.
I know this must come as a shock to you Master. I’m sorry to be
the one to tell you.”

“
Are
you certain it was behind Chestnut road?”

“
Yes
Master. I received the report only moment ago, but the location was
certain.”

“
That’s
very upsetting news, Croakas.”

“
I
understand master. I didn’t know who he was, of course, but
from the description I believe he was the friend who has been staying
with you.”

“
That’s
not what I find upsetting Croakas,” Loretta said, her voice
dropping low until it was little more than a whisper. “What
upsets me, Croakas, is that only one person knew that he was to take
that route. That person was you!”

As she finished five hulking figures appeared in the
doorway. Croakas knew these men. They were among the best assassins
in the guild. Suddenly he understood why she specifically asked for
him. He clenched his fists in silent frustration. After a brief
moment he unclenched them again. She knew everything, he was certain.
The only thing left was to await his fate.

“
You
see Croakas, I gave the route to six different people in the guild.
Six
different
routes,
actually. My spies found guards on only one of those routes, the
route I told
you
that
Raiste was going to take. How long have you been a traitor to my
guild Croakas? How long have you spat in the face of my family?!”

As she spoke her voice grew louder and louder, until she
was practically screaming at the quiet assassin standing before her.
Croakas stood, silent and passive, unmoving.

“
I’m
impressed Loretta,” he said calmly. “You’re much
stronger and colder than Martin ever was.”

“
Murderer!
Don’t you dare speak his name! You don’t have the right
to speak of him!”

“
I
apologize, Master. I was only meaning that,
he
,
would never have sent a friend to his death just to catch a spy. Our
former master wanted us to all be like he was, only killing those men
that have done wrong. It is not the job of assassins to right wrongs.
We kill for money, not for justice. He never understood that, but
against all odds, you seem to. You may have what it takes to be the
leader of an assassin's guild after all.”

“
Sent
a friend to his death? What friend might that have been, Loretta?”
Raiste inquired, stepping into the room from behind the doorway where
he had been waiting, listening to the proceedings.

“
YOU!”
Croakas raged. “How is this possible? I saw the guards hack you
to pieces myself! There’s no way you could have escaped.”

“
No,
you saw the guards hacking apart one of their own men, a man we had
captured earlier today that fit my description rather nicely, I
think. We told him that we were going to hunt him, and that if he
made it out of the city he would keep his life. As dark as the
alleyway was, I’m afraid he probably never knew that it was
members of the city guard that finally killed him. It’s a shame
really. I watched that fight myself, and I have to admit, he made a
rather good showing of himself. He might almost have done as good a
job as I would have. The city guard was fooled completely.”

“
Very
nicely done,” the sloveckii assassin replied, regaining his
composure almost at once. He even somehow managed a sly smile. He was
trained by this very guild, after all. Raiste would have expected no
less. “It seems that you and Master Loretta have done quite
well in trapping me here. I take it that these men waiting behind me
are going to take me away now, to have me executed? I hope you don’t
expect me to cry or rage against my fate. I was taught better than
that.”

Loretta moved in on him so fast that Raiste barely had
time to register it until the attack was over. With the speed of a
cobra she struck him, but unlike when she had slapped Raiste on the
day of his arrival, her hand was not open, and she didn’t hold
back. The assassin's head snapped backwards, but he kept his feet. As
he turned back to face her he spit out one of his teeth, freshly
broken from the blow, at her feet, the smile once again returning to
his lips.

“
You
no longer have the right to call me master,” Loretta spat
angrily. “However, you will not be taken to be executed. These
men are not here to kill you. They are here to prevent you from
leaving.”

“
Very
well. In that case I believe I have proven myself a valuable spy,”
the sloveckii said evenly. “Just as you have proven yourself as
leader. I could be a useful ally. I have been feeding information to
Bloodheart for over three years now. I could just as easily give him
information that you want him to have, false information that would
lead him in the wrong direction. It’s what your father would
have done.”

Croakas just barely had time to finish his sentence
before Loretta struck him with a vicious backhand. This time he did
fall, spitting out another two teeth as he landed. He looked up at
her from the ground as stood over him, waiting to see what she would
do next.

“
I
told you that you no longer have the right to speak of my father,”
she repeated, her tone even. Raiste was surprised at how she seemed
to be keeping the worst of her anger in check, considering the
circumstances. “You lost that right the day you poisoned him.
Don’t bother trying to lie about it now.”

“
I
won’t,” Croakas replied. “He learned that I was
working for Bloodheart, though he didn’t know that I was aware
that he knew. I had no other choice but to kill him. He might have
tried to turn me, as I suggested a moment ago; I realize that now. At
the time I was certain that he would kill me. I knew that I couldn’t
poison his food or drink, so I found another way. I poisoned the rim
of his drinking glass while it was still empty. Not even he
considered checking that. I’ve regretted my decision ever
since, but there’s nothing that I can do to change it.”

“
So
that’s all you have to say for yourself? That’s your
excuse?”

“
No,
that’s not my excuse. I don’t have any excuses for my
actions. The only thing that remains is for you to decide what you
are going to do with me now. Use me or execute me, the choice is
yours.”

“
You
killed my father Croakas. Even if I wasn’t going to kill you,
there’s no way I could ever trust you. You’re going to
die Croakas, that much I can promise you. I just haven’t
decided how yet. You men, disarm him and take him to the main hall.
I’ll be there shortly with my decision.”

The five men dragged him back to his feet. He didn’t
try to fight them, or protest his treatment in any way. They disarmed
him quickly, leaving his curved, wicked scimitar on the ground at
Loretta’s feet, and guided led him out of the room. Raiste
waited for them to leave before speaking.

“
Are
you alright Loretta?” he asked quietly.

“
I
will be Raiste. I will be.”

Had he known that word had also spread that the spy had
murdered Martin, the former guild master, he would not have been
nearly so surprised. Every man and woman in the guild was there.
Everyone had loved Martin. They would want blood.

Trick sat on Raiste's shoulder, still as a statue. The
only part of him that moved was his eyes, which darted this way and
that, taking in everyone in the room all at once. He had never been a
fan of large crowds, and a crowd of assassins was far from being an
exception.

Loretta swept into the room in his wake like a rolling
thunderstorm. Every eye turned to her as she came, her presence
demanding immediate respect. In her hands she carried a heavy
scimitar blade, the very same blade that the five men had taken off
of Croakas a short time before.

She stopped in the exact center of the hall, only a few
feet from where the sloveckii prisoner waited. Every voice in the
room hushed instantly, as if a sudden spell of silence had been cast
on them all. They watched intently, not wanting to miss a single
syllable of her final verdict.

“
Croakas,”
she began. She did not yell, yet her every word echoed around the
chamber in the deathly silence.

“
You
have been accused of treason against the guild, of consorting with
our enemies against one of its members, and, most heinous of all, the
murder of our former master, Martin Grimmwall. How do you plead?”

“
I
do not plead, nor do I deny the charges. Do what you will with me. My
fate, and my life, is yours.”

“
Very
well. The punishment for these crimes is death. Do you have any final
requests before your punishment is carried out?”

“
I
have but one,” the sloveckii replied at once. “There was
once a tradition that members of our guild sentenced to death could
choose to die by right of combat. It was a way for a condemned man to
regain some small measure of the honor he had once held. I would like
to choose this as my method of execution. Let me die as a warrior.”

“
Master
Loretta, if you grant this, I would like permission to carry out the
sentence,” of the the five men guarding him said quickly,
before she could reply. “Your father was a great man. I would
like the honor of slaying his murderer.”

Loretta didn’t pause before giving her answer, not
even for an instant. She already knew exactly what she was going to
say.

“
Croakas,
I will grant you your request. You will die in honorable combat.
However, I’m sorry Samson, but I cannot grant you your request.
You will not be staining your sword with Croakas' blood.”

She tossed the traitorous assassin's blade to the
ground. It skidded across the floor, coming to a halt only inches
from Croakas' feet. He didn’t move to touch it, he stood still
as a stone, gazing into the eyes of Loretta, master of the guild and
the person who solely controlled his fate.

“
You
killed my father,” Loretta growled, her bright green eyes
clouded grey with barely controlled anger. To Raiste it almost
appeared as if daggers were streaking out of those orbs, and he knew
that it would seem the same to anyone close enough to see her now. In
one slow, fluid motion she pulled the sword that she held at her
waist. Raiste recognized the blade at once.

“
This
sword belonged to my father, the master of this house. When you
killed him, this blade came down to me. Now I’m going to kill
you with it Croakas. Pick up your sword!”

Everyone in the room moved back at once, giving the
combatants room to move. Croakas looked down at the sword laying at
his feet. He stood for a moment, thoughtful. After a moment he kicked
the blade away from him. It stopped several feet away, still a good
distance from the crowd of people ringing them.

“
I’m
sorry, but I will not fight you using that blade,” he said at
last. “I’ve already poisoned one master of this house. I
will not risk poisoning another. If you die here today, it will be
honorably, not by treachery. Will someone lend me the use of their
blade? I do not believe that I shall need it for long.”

Raiste understood at once. Croakas must have edged his
sword with a deadly poison. It was not uncommon among assassins to do
so, he knew. Only a scratch would be needed to kill their opponent.
One of the assassins in the crowd stepped forward. Raiste recognized
him as the guard, Samson, who had requested the honor of fighting the
condemned man.