Book 2 Chapter 35

Nerida breathed heavily as she followed Torvus through the shadows of the night. She thought of herself as quite fit, with a body forged through time spent swimming and walking through the long halls of the temple….

Yet her chest ached as she tried to keep pace with the young man as he guided them through the series of quick dashes through the watching sentries. The ease of which he moved, gliding across the ground in long easy steps before glancing back as if to check on her, just added insult to injury as they made their approach.

Just another reason the assassin grated on her…. She thought to herself as they stopped again ducking in a rut on their way forward just out of sight of a passing patrol. She glanced over the small ridge, spotting their goal as she tried to catch her breath. A lookout tower, placed in a good position to watch the surrounding area. From a distance, it looked empty, with no lights to indicate any presence. But Nerida already knew there would be at least a small group hiding there…

“You ready?” Torvus asked her, interrupting her thoughts… She scowled at him in reply, and he grinned back before suddenly dashing forward.

Nerida grunted in frustration as she took off as well, having only a moment to get to the next hiding spot before the path would be blocked once again. They dove into the next ditch, the last before they would reach their destination. She again couldn’t help but notice how easily he shrugged off the sudden exertion as if he had just taken a refreshing walk.

She wasn’t even sure why she hated him… If she were honest with herself, though he had done a few things that had bothered her, none of his actions so far interfered with her plans anyway. In fact, she had caused more damage herself by letting her anger slip through in front of god. Just thinking about the attitude, she had shown Tirr made her stomach queasy. What if he got a bad impression of her just because she couldn’t hide her scorn?

Still, the growing, churning, feeling in her chest was undeniable. Even as they hid next to each other, she couldn’t help but think how easy it would be to pierce the back of his neck as he watched the tower carefully.

“Save it for after we’re done…” He said suddenly startling her, He turned grinning once again, “You wouldn’t want to have to tell god you failed because you killed me right?”

Nerida kept her face neutral, “I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“You hide it pretty well, at least compared to most normal people, But I’ve been around death to long not to notice killing intent that strong. You should keep to your schemes and leave killing to the professionals…”

Her eyes narrowed, watching him carefully, “You…” She started, but was cut off as he suddenly grabbed and pulled her forward before breaking into a run.

She swallowed her words and followed him. Sprinting to the side of the nearest warehouse before sliding along its wall. Torvus suddenly stopped, pointing up at the wall as he glanced around. Nerida quickly noticed a trail of slightly out of place bricks, spaced just evenly enough that they could be used to scale the building to the roof.

She climbed up immediately, knowing time was short as another patrol would be coming around in less than a minute. The priestess climbed from brick to brick as below her Torvus kept an eye out just in case. As she reached the top and glanced back down, the assassin had already climbed up behind her, hopping easily over the side.

Just on the other side of the roof was their target. The lookout tower sat just a small distance away from the building and a roughly made bridge of wooden planks connected the two areas.

Torvus held a finger to his lips as he waved her after him and they slowly crept across the roof. As they approached the Tower, Nerida could see the three assassins inside, keeping their heads down as they kept watch, impossible to spot from a distance in the darkness.

Now was the job and the reason she had been separated from god. She activated her Shard, water spinning silently as they crept even closer. Once she was just across the wooden plank from the tower she let the water freeze and solidify before launching the newly formed ice. They pierced into their targets silently and the three watchers never had a chance to respond, dying before they realized they were under attack.

Torvus and Nerida rushed inside keeping down as Torvus lit the lamp he carried and carefully flashed it into the night. They watched as Tirr and Maria appeared at the signal, rushing towards the now isolated patrol. Their speed was no less than the assassins and coming out of the dark they struck fiercely.

Nerida couldn’t help but sigh and admire the way Tirr brutally slew them. His fist piercing one's chest before he grabbed the next in a bear hug cutting his yelp short as he squeezed, crushing the man in his arms. She watched as the two dragged the corpses off to the side, hoping to buy as much time as possible. Once they had cleaned up, the young god raised a fist, signally back to them before continuing to the next part of the plan.

Her eyes trailed after him softly and she felt more than a little jealous of the young woman who followed after him.

“Aren’t you glad? Now you’ll have a reason for him to praise you…” His tone was sincere, despite how hard she searched for any sign of sarcasm. As he turned and began to lead the way to their own next target, she followed behind him.

No…. She knew exactly why she hated him, why he was so dangerous…. And why she couldn’t allow him to stay by god’s side… But… She suddenly grinned and Torvus felt a shiver go down his spine. That was a problem that could be handled another day…