Hadiin

The one green curtain still hanging flickered in the breeze.

Hadiin lay slumped up against the opposite corner of the bedroom suite, his hand on his stomach. A river of red blood oozed out of a belly wound, overflowed around his fingers, and dripped to the floor. While attempting to fight off the assassin, he’d been stabbed in the shoulder and hand as well. He’d also been knifed in the chest where a lung seemed to have been punctured because he was spitting blood with each haggard breath. Luckily, the thrust had missed his heart.

The room was a wreck. The magical lantern had been smashed on the black tile floor next to him, shards of glass glittering dangerously. The night wind swept through the shattered remnants of the twin balcony doors, past torn curtains and over more shards of glass, before swirling atop the unmoving body, or perhaps corpse, of a raven-haired young woman in a skin-tight, dull black outfit with two dark arrows protruding from her torso.

He rolled to his knees, gasping in pain and then choking on blood as he breathed. With great effort, he stumbled towards the bed, afraid of what he’d find there.

Marian lay before him, still entirely nude from earlier, but now the formerly white sheets had been stained crimson with her blood. There were stab wounds in her legs and body. But worst of all, her throat had been slashed. She held a shaking hand to the garish wound in a vain attempt to stop the leakage. Terrified eyes turned towards him, begging him to help her as her life, like his own, bled away.

The gold coins that had shone so warmly beneath her body that evening were all gone.

Someone pounded on the door and a stern woman’s voice called through. “Excuse me! This is the manager of the inn. And security. What’s going on in there?”

Hadiin could barely function. He felt his body growing colder and numb. He blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of the banging and the voice. Some distant part of his traumatized brain recognized a potential source of help. He coughed blood and pushed off of the bed, legs wobbly as he moved across the room and thumped against the door. His hands fumbled with the latch, taking precious seconds to unlock it. He shifted to the side, staining the wall with his blood, and opened the door.

The manager stood there, a handsome woman in her fifties, gray-blond hair in a bun, reading glasses around her neck, wearing a form-fitting gray dress that went high up the neck. She took one look at him and anger turned to fright. She screamed, hand going to her mouth.

An inn security guard, a muscular man wearing chainmail under a tailored black shirt, shoved her aside and burst into the room.

Hadiin felt himself sliding down the wall. “Potions,” he mumbled. “Healing potions. Or a healer…” He wasn’t entirely sure if healing potions existed in this world. But if they did, he needed them now. As did Marian and the stranger.

To her considerable credit, the manager nodded. She hiked up her dress and actually sprinted down the hall.

Potions were delivered in remarkably short order, along with another security guard, who had come to investigate the crisis.

Hadiin accepted one of the small glass vials but needed help to open and drink it. The blue liquid was acrid but the magic it contained flowed through him. Before his eyes, his wounds closed up and his life stopped fading. It couldn’t replace the blood that had been lost, so he was weak, but at least he felt stabilized. His lung healed and he was able to breathe properly, something that he’d never take for granted again. He tried to stand and one of the security guards helped him move to sit on the edge of the bed so that he could check on Marian.

To his relief, she too had been saved by a healing potion. She now sat up against the headboard, covered with a bloody bedsheet, her skin pale. From the emotion in her eyes, she was very shaken.

He looked over to where the woman in black had been come flying through the balcony doors, cut up and left for dead after having been shot with those arrows. She still lay there, very pale white skin unnatural against the blood spotting it. A guard used a thumb to open her lips so that he could pour the potion into her mouth. Then he saw the fangs and jerked his hand away.

“Vampire!” he spat with distaste and stood, stepping away from the body.

The manager frowned. “Dead? Er, undead still? Alive? Whatever.” She shook her head, growing cross at the imprecise terminology.

The guard shrugged. “I don’t know.” He didn’t seem inclined to investigate further and kept the healing potion in his hand.

The manager looked over at Hadiin. “A friend of yours?” she asked, somewhat archly.

He just shook his head, unable to speak yet. He’d never seen the woman before she’d come crashing into the room. He’d only seen her battle the assassin with her own dagger and be utterly outmatched.

“What happened here?” she asked, her eyes again taking in the destruction of the rather expensive room.

Hadiin’s head fell. “They came for the gold.”

She snorted, showing contempt for the first time. “Well of course they did. What did you think was going to happen throwing that much money around? I warned you!” She shook a manicured finger at him.

He was ashamed. He’d only meant to surprise Marian and make her dreams come true for a night, make the celebration special. Memorable. Well, it had been that.

“Idiots,” she snapped.

He nodded. It was true. At the very least, he should have requested that a guard stand outside the room. Or had the gold put in the inn’s safe after they were done. Not sleep with it. He was incredibly lucky that neither he nor Marian had died because of it.

They were alive. But they were now out half the gold they’d miraculously acquired only hours earlier. He couldn’t bring himself to meet Marian’s eyes for the guilt of it. His head turned away from the bed.

This is why he saw the woman on the ground shudder. He watched as her eyelids opened and two bright red irises focused on the room. She sat up. A pale hand yanked the first arrow out of her chest and she groaned, going for the second.

The manager and the two guards spun towards her. One of the men swore and reached for the short sword at his side.

The vampire woman swayed as she took in the occupants of the room and no doubt saw more impending violence coming her way. “Uh uh. I’m done for the night,” she muttered in a tired voice. She rose to her feet and flung herself towards the balcony.

The guard in front of her reached out to grab her.

She dropped under his arms and dove through the doorway, out into the night.

They were on the fourth floor.

Both guards rushed after her. They stood at the guardrail and looked down.

“Well, is she fully dead now?” the manager mockingly asked.

The guard who’d failed to grab the woman shook his head. “Landed on the balcony below us somehow. She’s climbing down the wall now. Or trying to. She’s pretty badly injured. And leaving a trail of blood.” He looked up. “You want us to go after her?”

The manager thought about it. She looked at Hadiin again. “Did she cause this?”

He spread his hands. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. We were about to fall asleep. She crashed through the doors along with someone else and woke us up. The other was male, all in black, his face covered. I don’t think they were allies because he cut her down and then turned on us. I tried to stop him but…”

She grimly nodded. “Sounds like two different parties came for you tonight. Or the money. Or both. Who knows? The Watch can sort it out,” she decided, referring to the town guards, who not only patrolled the walls but also took care of criminal activity. “You two stay on this floor,” she told her own security staff. “In case some other violent idiot decides to come calling.”

Hadiin tried to stand up but only sank back to the bed because he was too weak. “I’m sorry.” He felt stupid and pathetic.

From the look that the manager gave both him and Marian, that was exactly what she seemed to think of them both. “Yes, well. I do hope you’ve got more gold hidden away somewhere to pay for all the damages.”

He nodded, heart falling at the thought of even more money wasted because of his foolishness.

A couple of members of the Watch showed up to investigate and asked questions. Hadiin and Marian answered as best they could. Then the inn manager had a pair of maids help the two to another room and fill a bath for them so that they could clean up. Of course, they would also be paying for all the bloodstained towels and the cleanup and anything else the manager thought fit to charge them with.

Hadiin insisted that Marian bathe first and then followed after, the bathwater red and lukewarm at that point, but he didn’t care. Then he slid under the covers next to her, just as naked as she was, and promptly passed out.

💰

Lucia

Lucia dragged herself through a trash-strewn alley. Her body was full of holes. The only thing keeping her alive was her vampiric nature. Well, the only thing keeping her undead. That is, from fully dying. Ugh, the terminology was obnoxiously confusing.

She looked down at herself. Arrows had left two holes in the front. Nope. She fingered another one over her belly. Three. Dagger had gotten her in addition to the two arrows. It matched the knife holes in her left bicep and right leg. Which is why she’d lost a ship-load of blood. Good thing she had faster, vampire healing and that that had closed her wounds a bit. Too bad she was still a lousy, baby low-level vampire and the wounds were now opening again after her mad climb down the backside of that inn and running away.

She was so tired. That wretched assassin! She leaned heavily against the wall of the alley to rest. He’d been good, whoever ever he was. He’d hit her with arrows from across the street and then somehow crossed the huge gap in an instant. It must have been a Skill. The flying kick had broken at least two ribs in addition to sending her through the doors. She could feel cuts on her back and the rear of her thighs from the glass.

Well, it was her own fault, wasn’t it? She probably should have figured out that if she had heard about this windfall, then lots of other thieves would have heard and come for it too. And since she was the lowest of the low when it came to this line of work, she probably should have realized that any competition that did show up would be of much higher level. And that they would go right through her to get at all that shiny, beautiful gold.

Gold. She could use some right now. Maybe to buy a healing potion with. Because she could really use one of those too. For some reason, she was no longer standing and leaning against the alley wall. She was lying on her side amidst the trash. When had that happened?

She could taste blood on her lips. That was probably not good. Because the Watch was most likely out looking for her right now. And she hadn’t gotten very far…

💰

Marian

Marian woke up in bed, thankfully not one soaked in blood this time, feeling badly hungover and weak. She recalled a night of excitement and hot sex and then the violence and terror. Her heart fluttered a bit and she sat up, feeling nauseous. The sheets fell from her chest, exposing her breasts but, at the moment, she was too sick to care. Besides, Hadiin had gotten enough of them last night to be very familiar with every aspect of the orbs. So whatever.

Hadiin was already awake and sitting on his side of the bed, also nude, and facing away from her. His head hung and he didn’t turn to look at her.

She stared at his slender back. He’d barely looked at her last night after the killer had done his thing: slashing her throat. She touched the spot with her fingers, feeling phantom pain and shuddered. Hadiin hadn’t said much after their lives had been saved, other than mumbling an apology as she’d gotten out of the bath and slunk into bed. The pounding of her head right now made her wince and look about for water.

Hadiin straightened and turned his head her way at last. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

He hesitated. “We’ll get it back.”

She didn’t answer. Was he seriously thinking about the money right now? She felt a flash of annoyance.

He rambled on, words pouring out of him. “I know I said last night that that was your share. Forget about it. It’s mine. I’ll give you everything that’s in the bank account. I’ll have to use some of it to pay for the damages and I’m sorry for that. But I’ll pay it all back, I promise. This was my fault. My stupidity. I’ll pay.” His eyes still wouldn’t meet hers.

Again, she was silent. Partially because thinking and speaking right now would require a lot of effort in her condition and she mostly just wanted to go to the toilet and vomit. But also, she had mixed feelings. She wasn’t entirely certain that he should take all the blame for last night.

Sure, it had been his idea and he’d been responsible for bringing the gold here so that he could surprise her. But it’s not as if she’d seen the money and then immediately told him to lock it up because it was a bad idea to have it in their bedroom. Nor had she protested after the sex. Instead, she’d scooped all the coins up into a pile and then curled herself around it, like a dragon with a hoard, and gone to sleep. Maybe her class and heritage were affecting her personality a bit.

She was pretty certain that either the gold had drawn random thieves last night, or that the one who had shoved his knife into her, repeatedly, had been sent specifically to kill them, likely by that Weasel guy that Hadiin had pissed off the day before.

Ugh. This was exactly what she’d been upset about when the rich asshole had shown up at their stall and tried throwing his weight around. Marian didn’t relish the idea of tangling with really bad people at her level.

And who the heck was that other girl, the vampire? Why had she been there? Just another thief? Or had she wanted to kill them too? And if so, why?

Marian rubbed her temples, the stomach sickness getting worse. Did she really want to stick with Hadiin any longer now that he might have someone like that Weasel guy after him?

It didn’t help that he seemed to care more about the gold than about her. Was it so hard to look someone in the face and ask if they were ok after they’d almost died? What the hell? Weren’t they partners or something?

She mentally sighed. Perhaps it would be the smarter thing to do to just take the rest of the money and go off on her own.

But first—toilet. She bolted for the bathroom, feeling imminent threats emerging from both ends. It was probably not a good idea to mix copious amounts of alcohol and blood loss.

💰

Hadiin

Hadiin sat alone in the expensive inn bedroom, unable to enjoy the beauty of it. It was nearly noon and the yellow daffodils in a blue vase next to the window were already out of the sun as it travelled high overhead. Fresh, white-painted walls and glossy, white-satin bedsheets should have made the room feel bright. Especially after spending the night with a lovely woman.

Unfortunately, a knot of emotions twisted in the empty bottom of Hadiin’s gut. And his mind was filled with angst. He stood up from the bed and looked down at his clothes. They were still covered in blood, some dry, some still sticky. He wrapped his lower half in a black bath towel.

He keenly felt the loss of all his gains from days worth of work and of an amount of profit only due to a leprechaun’s own luck. He wasn’t going to make a huge windfall like that anytime soon and what would have been amazing seed money for a proper business venture was now gone.

He felt guilty about what Marian had had to go through because his stupid idea had put her in danger. Now she probably wouldn’t want to associate with him anymore.

And he didn’t want to admit it but being nearly killed had been an uncomfortable experience. He hadn’t reacted well during the encounter. He could recall exactly how it felt when the assassin had pinned him to the bed and slowly pushed the dagger into Hadiin’s chest.

He swallowed hard just thinking about it and that sparked his anger. He hated feeling so weak! He lashed out with an angry fist and shattered the vase under the window with his backhand. Flowers, shards of glass, and water flew to the floor. He stood over it, chest rising and lowering faster than it should.

Marian’s voice was flat and scornful behind him. “What the hell was that?” She wasn’t really asking. When he spun, her face was mildly disgusted.

His guilt and anger only worsened. So instead of apologizing he just shook his head. “I’ll clean it up.”

She stood there, looking at him as if waiting for something. When nothing more came, she just shook her head and started putting on the clothes she’d had cleaned last night by the inn. “Let’s go to the bank.”

“Do you want to get breakfast first?”

“No.” She didn’t elaborate. She was dressed and out the door in moments.

Feeling dejected, he looked down at his own clothes and wondered what he was supposed to wear. With little choice, he rubbed the worst of the blood off in the cold remnants of the bathwater and put the articles on wet.

She raised a brow at the sloppy sight of him when he came downstairs and found her in the common room but said nothing. He collected a bill for damages from the front counter staff and they set out into the town.

Hadiin tried and failed to think of something to say as they walked towards Market Street. She was silent and not even looking at him, so he knew that she was upset. But his miserable feelings got in the way. After a while, he started to resent her for her silence, even though he knew it was wrong.

At the bank, his blood-stained clothing got more than a few stares. He paid off the inn’s bill and then gave everything else to Marian, transferring it all into her account.

She frowned at him. “How much do you have left?”

“Nothing. I gave it all to you.”

She gave a guttural sigh and rolled her eyes. “Don’t be an idiot.” She withdrew twenty gold, keeping half for herself and giving him ten. “Here.”

“Thank you,” he quietly told her.

She looked up at him and stared him in the eyes. “I’m going off on my own now.”

He felt his whole body sag. “Yeah. I thought you would.”

She seemed disappointed even more and turned her back on him. “Bye.”

He watched her walk through the lobby of the Merchants Guild, out the doors that the staff held open for her with a smile, and out of his life. How had everything gone wrong so quickly?

Not wanting their alliance to end here, he finally shook himself out of his self-pity enough to run after her. He burst out of the twin doors and chased after her down Market Street. Grabbing her on the shoulder, he pulled her to a stop. “Wait. Please.” He took a couple of deep breaths, winded despite the short distance. “Don’t go.”

She looked directly into his eyes, fearlessly challenging him. “Why?”

He tried to laugh. “Come on, don’t be like that. We’re a team!”

Her disappointment returned. “Are you actually being serious right now?”

“Yeah. Look, ok, things were rough last night, but I can come back from this.”

“Really? Cuz I think you’re just gonna go around punching more furniture.”

He frowned. “Hey now. That’s not fair. It was just one time.”

She made a motion like she was shrugging him off and backed up a step. “Ugh. Your charm is definitely not working. You gross me out right now.” When he tried to step forward, she pushed him away. “No. You know, up until last night, you were all right. Yesterday, you were pretty cool. And I actually really enjoyed celebrating. But this guy?” She sneered and pointed at him, speaking harshly. “The guy who loses his mind because things went wrong? Moping around, won’t look at me, won’t talk to me, sad sack of crap punching and breaking things? Yeah, he’s not impressive at all. He can just get lost.”

Hadiin felt his ire rise. “I’m sorry about last night. I made a mistake.”

“Something you could have said last night, couldn’t you?”

“Well, maybe I wasn’t feeling myself last night. I’d just been stabbed, you know?”

“Of course I know!” she shouted.

Plenty of people had already been giving them looks for arguing in the middle of the busy street. Now some of the gawkers were starting to whisper and laugh, perhaps recognizing them from the ice cream event yesterday.

Marian apparently didn’t care. She kept on shouting at him. “I had my throat cut last night, remember? Practically ear to ear. But not enough to kill me right away. Bastard did it light so I’d take my time watching myself bleed out. And I lay there on the bed hand on my throat, dying. Completely helpless. How do you think I feel? How did I feel that night? Scared out of my mind! And you? You couldn’t even look at me. Didn’t say a thing to me. Do you have a shred of humanity in you at all that you can’t even ask if I’m ok? You can’t even try to talk to me about what we went through?”

He hung his head, angry at being shouted at but knowing she was right. “I was pretty messed up too—“

“And this morning? What’s your excuse there? The first thing you talk about is the money and how it’s gone. Ugh. You are such a small man.” She shoved him again and whirled away, stalking off down the street in righteous fury.