Chapter 51

I don’t have a death wish. Even if I keep telling myself I’m willing to trade my life to keep Mary safe, what I really mean is I’m willing to risk my life and fight Reed and his men to keep her safe. It’s hyperbole and it’s meant to help me keep the right mindset going into this. I mean I could just throw myself at Reed and I might be able to land a fatal blow on him but I’d undoubtedly get pierced through by a dozen blades as a result. That’ll be my last resort. When I get to the first floor, I leave out the back door and keep myself shrouded in the shadows. How do I go about doing this?

Quinn’s right, getting to Reed right now while they have their guard up is suicide, plain and simple. I direct my gaze over at the massive melee happening right next to Reed and his guards and something piques my interest. Although it looks like Reed’s men outnumber Derriv’s men by quite a bit, Reed’s men are actually losing the fight. Bertrand was right, each member of Derriv’s outfit can handle a few people by themselves, especially when most of the people they’re handling are junkies. It’s only a matter of time before Derriv and his men break their way through and finish this fight. The problem is, we don’t have the luxury of waiting this out considering Bertrand’s condition. The entire reason Quinn wanted to take out Reed in the first place is because once they lose their leader, the rest of his men will crumble. But approaching Reed right now let alone taking him out is risky as all hells. If I can’t get to Reed, why don’t I target his men and end this fight from the other side?

I could sneak up behind Reed’s men and start wreaking havoc. They’ll have to turn their attention away from Derriv’s side and focus on taking care of me. That could work. That could definitely work. But it’s too dangerous. All Reed has to do is send two or three of his guards to stab me in the back and that’ll be it, problem solved. Throwing myself at Reed’s a better option than that. What else can I do? Judging by how fervent Reed’s men are right now as they’re fighting Derriv’s men even while they’re on the losing side, Reed probably promised them quite a generous amount to kill Derriv.

I’ve seen just how powerful of a desire greed can be and I’ve seen the lengths men are willing to go to satiate that greed these past few days. From Reed starting this war in the first place because he wanted Derriv’s compound, to the endless flood of people chasing us through Midriver’s alleyways yesterday, and finally at the holdout this afternoon when Reed’s men turned into beasts and threw their lives at us for gold coins. Greed can turn even the most craven of men into mindless madmen if the price is right and… huh. Wait, could that work? I imagine putting my plan into action and it works flawlessly in my mind. Oh my gods, I’m a genius.

I keep myself behind Reed and his men as I make my way over to a building right next to where the fighting’s occurring. I head up the stairs and when I reach the second floor, I stop next to a window overseeing the melee. I take off my leather pack and open it up, taking out Jerome’s boxes that I stole two nights ago. The boxes are still locked but a quick smash against my sword’s blade gets them open easily enough. My eyes are dazzled by what I find inside the boxes.

Two of the boxes are filled with coins and nothing else. One of those boxes only has gold coins inside and there has to be at least a hundred inside there. The other box has ten times the amount of coins but they’re all silver instead. The third box I open is filled with gems of different colors. I’ve only ever heard about these gemstones before but I’ve never had a chance to see them in person. I don’t know how valuable they are but considering Jerome put them all in a box by themselves they have to be worth quite a bit. The last box has a bunch of gold and silver jewelry inside and some of them even have gemstones embedded in them. You know, this plan will work regardless even if a necklace or two go missing. Maybe a gemstone as well. The lengths men are willing to go to satiate their greed.

When I’m ready, I stand up next to the window with the box full of silver coins in my hands. I take a deep breath before shouting as loud as I can, “Free money! Free coins! First come, first serve!” I empty the box out over the heads of Reed’s men. They don’t respond right away and only stare at me with confusion until the silver coins start bouncing off the top of their heads. Then it becomes a ruckus. When the gold coins start flying out, it becomes a frenzy. When the gemstones start raining down, it becomes a rampage. Finally, when the jewelry gets flung down, it becomes pandemonium.

Reed’s men have completely forgotten where they are and what they were just doing as they bulldoze each other out of the way to grab the valuables. There’s more than enough for all of them to grab a handful or two for themselves and probably be set to live lavishly for a few months but rationality was thrown out the window right behind the gold coins. It has even reached the point where Reed’s men are pointing their swords at each other now and I’m watching all of this from my window up above with a gigantic smirk on my face. Let’s face it, I’m a genius.

Derriv’s men aren’t letting this chance go by and they’re shredding their way through Reed’s men as they fight amongst themselves for the valuables. Reed’s trying his best to get things back under control by shouting orders and promising his men even greater wealth if they win this fight but his commands and promises fall on deaf ears. Why risk your life for a promise when the real thing’s right in front of you? Even his guards were tempted by the huge amount of wealth before them and there’s only two that remain beside him and even they’re wavering seeing all the valuables right before their eyes. Now’s my chance. My plan worked better than I expected but the one major goal I wanted from it was using the chaos to disrupt his guards and to give myself a chance to end this fight. Now’s the time.

Once I make sure my shield’s fastened on tight and my sword’s ready for more blood, I throw myself down the stairs. Right before I reached the bottom, someone appeared in front of me at the bottom of the stairs with his sword held high and a grin on his face, “I know you didn’t throw everything out that window. Hand over the rest of it and I might let you live.” This is awkward. When I said I threw myself down the stairs, I threw myself down the stairs because I really didn’t expect to see someone inside here. I can’t stop myself and I barrel right into the man who jumped out, knocking the both of us over. Thankfully my shield was able to block his sword and knocked it out of his hands when we collided into each other. As we’re both scrambling back to our feet, I slash at his belly with my sword but he dodges backwards before turning around and running away, leaving his sword behind. Huh. I follow after him and when I reach the front doorway, I see him getting a knife jammed right under his right eye by who I believe is one of Derriv’s men. When he looks up and sees me, he gives me a nod before returning to the fight. Alright, that takes care of that.

I head back inside and leave through the backdoor instead. I’m not getting myself involved in the melee since that’ll only waste my time and right now my mind’s completely occupied with Reed’s face. I circle around the back of the buildings as I stalk my way towards Reed and his guards. I actually make it all the way back to the building Quinn and the others are in when I spot the back of Reed’s head. When I’m standing right in front of the building, I look up at the second floor and I can see half of Quinn’s face peeking out from behind the curtain. When he sees me, he gives me a nod and with it, his wish for my success. I nod back at him and I turn all my attention back to Reed.

He’s standing about 10 yards away from me still facing the battlefield. I would’ve thought he’d have left by now with how his men are faring but I guess a leader stays a leader till the bitter end. The mage in the brown robe is right next to him, looking more nervous and anxious than ever before. I don’t blame him, things aren’t looking that good for him right now and there’s a high likelihood of him dying tonight. His two guards are still next to him but all their attention is on the huge amount of valuables being fought over in front of them rather than for possible assailants from behind. Their mistake. A deadly mistake that’ll cost them their lives.

Before taking a step into the light, I close my eyes and take a deep breath to calm myself. I imagine myself back in the tunnel because even though that place is a nightmarish hell that constantly haunts me, it’s also the only place where I was the most alone I’ve ever been in my whole life. Well, after Kayman died anyways. When I imagine myself there now, it’s the most peaceful place in this whole world where I’m all by myself and nothing can intrude on me or interrupt my thinking. Even if this is all a dream and I really died back there in the tunnel or if this is the dream I’m having right before I die, this is still the most beautiful dream I’ve ever had and I’d like to see where it goes from here. When I open my eyes, I’m staring at Reed’s back and I can feel the smile spreading across my lips. This’ll be fun.

I keep my head lowered so that my hood is covering all my hair and the top of my face. I keep my back slouched so that I don’t bring too much unnecessary attention to myself. I keep my sword lowered but pointing forward and my shield low but ready to parry anything at a moment’s notice. I creep my way towards Reed and his men with them none the wiser. Right when I’m behind them and right when I’m ready to lunge myself at Reed, the mage turns around. There’s fear and surprise in his eyes as he points his finger at me and starts chanting. I take my chance and I slash my sword towards Reed’s neck. My sword is an inch, an inch, away from his neck when my feet stop moving. Horrified, I look down and there’s brown roots coming out of the ground, wrapping themselves around my ankles and stopping me from taking that final step I needed to put an end to all of this. But I can’t reach him. The commotion surprises Reed and he swiftly turns around with his sword, batting my blade away from his neck. He screams at his guards, reprimanding them as he backs away from me.

The guards, woken up from their thoughts of greed, rushed at me with their swords held high. All I can do is use my sword and shield to defend myself from their blows because I can’t move my feet. They keep their distance from me, outside of my range, knowing I can’t move from where I’m standing and counterattack them. They step in, launch their attacks, and quickly step back before I can hit them back. Neither of them are good enough to put me down but I can’t reach them and we reach a stalemate.

One of the guards attacks again and starts stepping back when I block his sword but this time I follow him and sink my blade into his belly. Looking down, the roots around my ankles are blackened now like they were charred in a fire. The mage’s face is covered with sweat and it looks like holding me in one spot wasn’t easy for him. The last guard charges at me and swings his sword at the top of my head. I sidestep his blow and step outside of his lead foot, ready to sink my blade into his chest but something rams against me from behind and my left flank erupts in pain.

Turning back, I can see Reed’s cold eyes staring at me like I’m an insect while he’s shoving his blade into my side. The disruption gives the guard time to recover and he swings his sword at my neck. I’m barely able to duck under his swing but the pain from my left side makes my knees buckle and I fall to the ground. This feels familiar. Like I’ve done this dozens, no, hundreds of times before. And I have. During our training, Bertrand would always knock me on my ass but that didn’t mean the fight was over. No, that was when it truly began.