Chapter 20 A Dagger to the Heart #2
I weave my way through the docks, not seeing anything odd or noting anyone behaving out of the ordinary. I’m about to move to the warehouse district when my mirror warms. I barely get it out of my pocket before Elanil appears. “I am following Simon through the docks. Passing the shipping office.”
“I’m not far from there. On my way.”
The connection ends, and I run at full speed to catch them.
I slow as I near the shipping office, and someone grips my arm.
“It is me.” Now that she’s brought herself to my attention, the cloaking spell dims, and I can see her.
“Simon went down that side alley.” She tugs my sleeve.
“Come on. We do not want to lose him.” She takes off, and I follow close behind.
Further down the alley, I catch sight of Simon.
Blond, five feet, eleven inches tall, right-handed, armed with at least two visible daggers, and very dangerous.
He cuts down a street that stops in a dead end.
Elanil and I hurry to follow, but when we turn the corner, we come to an abrupt stop.
Simon is gone. I glance at Elanil, who is turning in a circle, brow furrowed. “Where did he go?”
We walk up and down the street, trying each of the doors, but they’re all locked.
Carefully, I retrace my steps, moving to where Elanil says she last saw him.
My eyes dart everywhere, even the unlikely places, and that’s when I see a small metal square in the road, about three feet by three feet, tucked in a corner behind a barrel. “I’m an idiot.”
Lifting the cover from the opening reveals a set of steps that lead to the sewers under the street. I gesture for Elanil to go first and quietly follow her into the darkness.
Footfalls echo to our left, and I cast Silence on us as I follow behind her.
We turn down a right-hand tunnel and keep moving until we hear voices.
They’re angry. I creep forward and peer around a sharp bend.
The sewer opens up into a large central hub lit with lanterns.
There are various levers and valves along the main wall, but not much else is in the space.
I lean forward a bit more until I can see the far corner, and my heart leaps in my chest. Nico is tied to a chair, gagged, and his clothing is torn in several places.
There are cuts and bruises on his face, as well as a swath of blood across his cheek, most likely from when the earring was ripped out.
But I don’t see any signs of major bleeding or broken bones, and he’s very alert, which is good.
If we can cut him loose, he might be able to help with his own rescue.
Simon and Aadan continue to argue loudly.
Both are bloodied and bruised, like they’ve been in a fight.
Probably with Nico. A swell of pride fills my chest. Aadan is five feet, eight inches tall, black skin and black hair kept short.
He’s right-handed and there are two visible daggers at his belt, but I know there are more on him.
He stumbles as Simon shoves him. “Why is he still alive? His body should be cold by now and dumped down here where no one will look. And we should be long gone.”
Aadan glowers and yells back. “I was not about to kill him without you here. Do you think I am stupid? You would let me take the fall for this. Do you honestly think I do not know how you operate?”
Simon paces in front of Nico. “If Keller or Rostova find out about this, or find out that we are responsible, we are dead. They will not care that Stefano is taking us out one at a time. They have protection.”
Aadan shoves Simon hard. “This was your idea. It was your brilliant plan to assassinate the son like we did the wife. You said we should take care of it on our own and not bother the guild masters. Yet you left me to kill him by myself and take the fall if I was caught. Well, I am not that stupid.”
While the two rail at each other, I lightly touch Elanil’s elbow to get her attention, pointing to myself and to her, then motioning to Simon and Aadan.
She nods, and before the two Shades can finish their argument, we fly into the room.
Simon sees movement and unsheathes his knives.
In response, Aadan whirls around, drawing his own blades.
Choosing to go after Simon and leave Aadan for Elanil, I feint to the side and lunge as an opening in his defense appears.
I catch his forearm with the blade as he spins away, leaving a bloody gash.
But Simon blocks, his knife high, nearly slicing my neck with the move.
He’s an excellent fighter. No one survives for long in the Brotherhood without incredible knife skills.
Under typical circumstances, I’m the better fighter.
But these circumstances aren’t typical, and this fight could drag on unless I can find a way to change the balance in our favor.
Blades flash and feet move in intricate patterns as we push each other around the space.
This needs to end before we wear ourselves out.
The best option is to free Nico and add his skills to our side.
I let Simon drive me into that corner, careful to keep him in front of me.
Giving him an opportunity to attack from behind or truly box me into the corner would be a deadly mistake.
But Simon is an excellent fighter, and I’m hard-pressed to keep from being stabbed.
I inch toward Nico. He knows I keep a knife hidden at my hip, and if I get near enough, he might be able to reach it.
I back up until my heel bumps the leg of his chair.
Focusing on maintaining my balance and keeping Simon at bay, I lean as close as I can to Nico’s tied hand.
His fingers fumble at my hip, and that small lapse in concentration allows Simon’s knife past my guard.
He slices into my side, and I grit my teeth, lunging forward, shoving him back.
Instead of pressing my advantage, I free the spare knife and place it hilt first into Nico’s grasp.
It’s the best I can do. Nico will have to figure out the rest on his own.
Once again, I lunge at Simon, now able to focus and press my advantage, but a sharp pain from the slash in my torso lances through me.
I do my best to ignore it as Simon tries a feint followed by a quick lunge.
Elanil is struggling with Aadan, but I can’t spare them any attention.
There’s a grunt of pain, and I catch a glimpse of someone dropping to the ground.
When Aadan joins our fight, the situation rapidly deteriorates.
Two against one wouldn’t normally bother me, but my legs are tiring.
Simon crows triumphantly. I maneuver backward to keep both men in front of me and my flank to the wall.
Fighting two on one in small spaces had been Kas’s forte, not mine.
I parry a strike from Simon, but Aadan’s blade slices a new gash on my other side.
I dodge to the right, barely avoiding being skewered, and Simon slashes at my face, cutting a line along my jaw.
I dart between the two, spinning to face them.
But now my back is to the open room, and Aadan flanks me.
I almost trip over Elanil’s body. Fuck. There won’t be any assistance from her.
My side burns as the room spins, and I’m in trouble.
Poison on the blades. That’s the only explanation.
I assess myself for other symptoms, but there aren’t any.
So it’s a fast-acting toxin that causes fatigue and dizziness.
Demon Thorn or Varulite Extract. Both lower blood pressure.
With growing detachment, I run through possible antidotes.
Aadan lunges, and I prepare myself for the strike.
It never comes. Instead, he’s on the ground, bleeding profusely from a wound in his back.
I turn to face Simon, but my feet refuse to cooperate, and I land hard on my knees.
Again, I expect a deathblow. But Simon pivots, defending against an attack from his left.
I stare at Elanil on the floor, her eyes closed and her face pale.
I can’t make my brain pull the details together. Breathing is becoming more difficult.
Simon retreats, pursued closely by Nico, who presses his attack exactly as I’d shown him during our morning training sessions.
He lunges and pivots, and even as my vision gets fuzzy, I appreciate his grace and how effortlessly he’s fighting.
He has such a natural gift. And he’s so beautiful.
I wish I could tell him. I try to focus on moving air into my lungs and fight to stay conscious.
Nico side-sweeps Simon’s feet and follows him down to the floor as he falls, stabbing him directly in the heart.
“For my mother, you worthless piece of voidfilth.” It’s a beautiful move—well-timed and perfectly executed.
I only wish this wasn’t how Nico learned the truth about his mother’s death.
I track him with my fading eyesight as he drops to his knees in front of me. “Bello, where are you hurt?”
I try to pick up my left arm and wince as I force the words out of my mouth. “Toxin. Demon Thorn.” I try to look at Elanil. “Alive?”
Nico quickly assesses her situation without moving. “I can see her chest rising and falling. She is unconscious. We can send someone to help her, but I need to get you to a healer now.” He lifts me into his arms and strides to the doorway but stops, unsure which way to go.
I take as deep a breath as I can and then force out the directions. “Left. Then right. Up the stairs.” Nico runs, clutching me to his chest, and I wonder if we’ll make it to a healer in time. I press my lips to his neck. “I love you.”
And the world goes black.