Book 3 Chapter 26

Torvus didn’t speak as he looked at the fallen body in front of him… His eyes stayed glued there for a moment, soon to be followed by a sudden flash of motion. He appeared directly in front of the old mercenary, dagger inches from the man’s throat. Yet the man just smiled as his own blade rose, blocking the lethal swipe easily and throwing the former assassin backward.

“What? You slowing down Torvus?” Knuckle laughed, lifting the saber that made him famous. “Playing around with children made you soft?”

Torvus caught himself as he flew back, but almost ran into another blade that flashed from behind. He avoided it deftly, dodging to the side as Knuckle’s guard, an assassin Torvus knew as Ritt, showed himself. Torvus frowned, feeling his odds of coming out of this situation unscathed become nonexistent…

Knuckles wasn’t a shard user, yet the man was a mercenary with decades of experience and a body to match. Formerly one of the south's blademasters, he had honed himself in war after war, and even now regularly trained against the assassins as practice.

Meanwhile, Ritt, having been forced to practice against one of the most technically experienced fighters in the northern half of the continent, had a far different fighting style than most of the other assassins. He copied his master’s saber, abandoning the stealth attacks and instant kill style, and instead fought bloody battles focused on using his speed and Shard abilities to whittle his opponents down.

Fighting against both here was possible but difficult. He dodged another slash from Ritt, going on the defensive as the fighters drove him back. Stuck in even the spacious hallways of Raife’s manor, there wasn’t much room to dodge.

“Saw what you did to Odee Torvus, bet that felt great after all these years…” Knuckle continued, “Never did like that little worm, but he had his uses. I’m sure Boris will pay handsomely for getting back at you.”

Torvus’s body flickered as he dodged another slash, the momentum carrying his body into the wall, knocking the nearby paintings down onto the floor with a clatter, “How did you find this place? Torvus asked the man between breaths.

“A new friend helped…” Knuckled laughed, “That's all you really need to know, anything else won’t matter once your gone… Though… You’re still talented Torvus, I’ll give you another chance if you ask nicely. How about it? Forget about Raife and come work for me. I’ll even let you visit the other kids…”

Torvus’s face twitched at the mention of the children, “Where are they?”

“Don’t worry now Torvus, We're just returning them to where they belong…” Knuckles replied cheerfully, “I’ll take that as a no, but I hope you’ll at least give me a good fight before we leave you on the ground like your god…”

Torvus body flickered as he stabbed towards the mercenary once more, only to feel a burning pain as Ritt caught him from behind. He rolled out of the way stopping near Tirr’s still body. Blood dripped down his back as he raised his dagger again, breath coming quickly.

Knuckles and Ritt approached him carefully sabers at the ready, Knuckles had an easy grin as he spoke. “You really have gotten worse Torvus, You didn’t even bother to wonder what it was that killed your boss…”

Torvus eyes widened and he unconsciously looked over towards Tirr’s body. In an instant, he processed what the mercenary had meant. The hole that had been created in Tirr’s chest was lleft by no blade… Even as he thought about the implications he noticed something else, something that made the corner of his mouth lift. He looked up again just as there was a clap of thunder from behind him.

He didn’t turn instead keeping his eyes on the two in front as Tiirr struggled to rise. The slow signs of healing Torvus had seen were starting to accelerate.

“Had me worried there for a second boss… Thought you had bit the dust.”

“Idiot,” Tirr growled, “I’m a god… I can’t die…”

“Where are the children?” Tirr asked quickly, focusing on keeping his barrier up. The archer was well hidden down the long, dark corridor, and his arrows traveled in complete silence. He worried that if he let up for even a moment one might slip past him to strike Torvus.

“I was hoping you’d tell me…” Torvus replied, keeping his eyes locked on the two in front of him. “But we can't help them till we handle this… Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just took me a while to heal my spine, those arrows are too much…”

“Hate to interrupt this little reunion, as surprised as I am to see that you're more than just a silly child, I have more business to deal with tonight. So while it's nice to meet you, little god,” Knuckles lifted his saber grinning widely, “It’ll be even nicer to add god slayer to my list of titles…”

Maria woke up with a start, the remnants of a silent call ringing in her ears. She rubbed her eyes as she looked around groggily. Garm was sitting nearby, attention locked onto the door of the room. He looked back at her as she rose, letting out a slight whimper as a warning. Maria could only cock her head, in confusion as she wondered where Tirr was.

Suddenly there was the sound of muffled footsteps and quieted voices from the hall, Maria instantly quieted, watching as tension built in Garm’s body. She walked forward quietly, moving towards the door despite Garm’s warning looks. As she cracked the door open, she saw the backs of a few of the children as hooded figures led them around a nearby corner.

The sight alarmed her, but even as she tried to summon her Blessing she felt weakness take over her body. Maria thought for a moment, wondering what she should do even as the steps grew fainter. She looked back at Garm, who shook his head, and then the hall the children had gone down before finally opening the door and chasing quietly after. Garm let out a whine as he followed reluctantly after her…