Death and Honor: Book 2 of 2 Page 7

  “They don’t need me to be their friend. They need someone to hate, someone to be the focus of their training.”

  “You want to give their training purpose?”

  Xander stopped and turned to face Kraven. “I embarrassed them today. They’ll all train harder so they can return the favor. By the time any of them are skilled enough to threaten me I plan to be long gone.”

  “Gone where?”

  Xander looked away, remembering. “Home.”

  “What’s at home?”

  “Nothing.” Xander looked into Kraven’s eyes again. “Somewhere nearby is the person that killed my family. I will find them and when I’m done they’ll beg me to burn them alive.”

  “How will you find whoever did it?” Kraven resumed walking and turned down the stairs.

  Xander shrugged. “Someone knows. A little gold or a lot of fear will bring me the information I need.”

  A look of more than casual interest flittered across Kraven’s face but it vanished so fast Xander figured he imagined it. “Is that all you think it will take?”

  Xander shrugged again. “If something else is required I’ll find it. Whoever killed my family will suffer for it. I haven’t lived through the last six months for nothing. However long and wherever the search takes me I will find who’s responsible.”

  They reached the dining hall and Kraven said, “There’s nothing else for you to do today. Go home if you want, but return by midday tomorrow. If I have nothing else to do I’ll spar with you.”

  Xander smiled. “You’d be an improvement over today’s opponents.”

  Kraven offered a mocking bow. “Till tomorrow then.”

  Xander went into the hall and Kraven walked back toward the front of the building. Xander founded Kaylin talking with the same young man as before. He walked over to their table and waited for her to notice him. When she looked his way he said, “I’m heading home. Do you want to walk back with me?”

  “No, I’ll stay a little longer. Hey, how’d your first job go?”

  “It was simple enough. I was there and back in under an hour.”

  “Simple.” Xander looked beside him and found Nico standing there. He hadn’t heard the boy arrive. That was the second time someone snuck up on him today. “You shouldn’t be so modest.” Nico explained in excruciating detail what happened.

  “Did you need to kill the guard?” Kaylin asked.

  “It was the safest way to deal with him and it put the necessary fear in the merchant. He paid and I doubt he’ll hire another guard, thus sparing me the need to kill someone else. See you at home."

  Xander left the guild hall and quick stepped back to the inn. When he got to their room he found it empty, Sophia must have gone back to work. That suited Xander as he wanted sleep more than conversation.

  * * *

  The next three weeks passed in a blur for Xander. With what the guild paid him he no longer worried about their day to day survival and he even splurged on a new set of cloths in gray and black to match his mask. With that burden of mere survival gone Xander turned his concentration to training. Kraven made an excellent sparring partner; his skill surpassed even what Xander expected. Since his first day the other enforcers wouldn’t even look at him. He didn’t care as sparring with them would be a waste of time.

  Xander looked up from the mat where Kraven had deposited him for the fourth time that morning. “Why haven’t I gotten any work?”

  Kraven wiped sweat from his brow with a towel then tossed it into a corner. “Word of your efforts with the perfume merchant has spread. No small thanks go to Nico who couldn’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. The other enforcers use your name as a threat. Whenever someone is reluctant to pay they tell them they’ll meet The Mask if they don’t hand over the money.”

  Xander sat up and laughed. “The Mask, that’s the best they could come up with?”

  Kraven shrugged. “It is your most notable feature, aside from your voice. How many other people do you suppose run around wearing a leather half mask?”

  “I guess, it still strikes me as ridiculous.”

  “Ridiculous and effective aren’t mutually exclusive, since your display the other day collections have gone up and violent confrontations down. Truth is you serve us better as a seldom seen threat hanging over the head of anyone that would deny us. The guild master himself said so.”

  “I wouldn’t want to argue with the guild master, still…”

  “You’re bored, right?”

  “Yeah, training with you has been great, I can see my skills improving, but training isn’t the same as an actual fight.”

  “Tell you what, next job comes along is all yours. Sound good?”

  “Thanks, Kraven.”

  * * *

  Xander had been home for an hour when Kaylin arrived. She must have had interesting news if she left her new man so soon. Xander sat up and watched her dance in place at the end of the bed. He raised an eyebrow. “Well?”

  “Kraven paired us together, tomorrow night you, me and Jayden are going out to steal some rubies that came into the city yesterday.”

  “Why do you need me? I’m no more a thief than I am a horse.”

  “Jayden heard the merchant hired guards to protect his merchandise. If we’re discovered it’ll be your job to deal with them.”

  Xander perked up at the thought of some action. “When do we go?”

  “Tomorrow at midnight. We’ve all been excused from morning duties.”

  “Doesn’t the night shift have someone to handle this? It’s not that I mind I’m just curious. After all there’s a whole other shift at night, right?”

  “Actually.” Kaylin sat on the edge of the bed. “There isn’t much of a night shift. The only people that work at night full time are a few guards, the night boss and his assistants. Everyone else is either out on a job or getting ready to go.”

  “What time should I get there?”

  “The day boss said we shouldn’t arrive too early since a long wait makes a thief nervous. We should gather half an hour early.”

  “Does he think waiting at home will make us less nervous?”

  “Beats me, just be sure you’re there on time.”

  Xander spent the next day in the dining room watching Sophia wait tables and sipping coffee. He’d developed a taste for the bitter, black drink. She seemed to have found her place in the world, laughing and joking with the guests. She sat beside him when her lunch break came.

  “You seem happy,” he said.

  She beamed. “I love it here. Everyone’s so nice and one yells at me or hits me.”

  Xander smiled. After the talk he had with Mr. El-Kalim he figured Sophia could break every plate in the kitchen and he wouldn’t dare yell at her.

  Sophia put her hand over his. “I’m so glad we stayed.”

  “Me too.”

  * * *

  Well after dark that night Xander went downstairs. Sophia never flinched when he slipped out of their room and locked the door behind him. The way she ran around that dining room he wasn’t surprised she slept well. Xander walked through the dark city, navigating by the light of the full moon. He’d spent enough time walking the streets now that he no longer required a guide.

  When he arrived he found Kaylin and her man waiting outside for him. “Ready?” Kaylin asked.

  Xander nodded and fell in behind the two thieves. After two blocks of silent walking Xander asked, “So what’s the deal? Did the merchant not pay his protection of what?”

  Jayden looked back at him. “The muscle doesn’t usually ask questions.”

  Xander shot him a glare that would have blistered a stone wall. “You sure you want to take that tone with the only person standing between you and several potentially well armed guards?”

  “You wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

  “Want to bet your life on it?”

  The two young men locked eyes, engaged in a contest of wills that Jayden had no hope of w
inning. Jayden looked away.

  “Well?” Xander asked again.

  “The guild helped the merchant smuggle his gems into the city saving him a good deal in taxes,” Kaylin said. “In exchange we were to get a cut of the stones. The merchant tried to hide some of his best merchandise from us. The guild had a man on the inside who found out. We’re going to collect what we’re owed plus interest.”

  “He must be a fool to cheat us. If he keeps up that nonsense he and I will be having a conversation.”

  Kaylin and Jayden looked back at him then at each other before shuddering. Xander chose not to comment on their reaction. The little group came to a stop across the street from an intimidating three story stone house. No light flickered in the windows so either no one was home or they were all asleep.

  “That’s it?” Xander asked.

  Kaylin nodded.

  “Where are these guards supposed to be?”

  “Beats me,” Jayden said.

  “All right, you two wait here. I’ll check the perimeter and if it’s clear I’ll wave you over.”

  Without waiting for a comment Xander dashed over to the building, smooth and silent like Kraven taught him. No one guarded the front door, so he swung right and made a full circuit of the building. He saw nothing resembling a guard. Xander waved the others over.

  When they’d joined him Xander said, “Perimeter’s clear. If there are guards they must be inside.”

  “How do you want to go in?” Kaylin asked.

  “Right through the front door,” Jayden said. “They’ll never expect it.”

  Xander nodded and Kaylin bent to the lock. She took less than a minute to pop it open. Xander went first and found the entry hall deserted unless you counted gaudy decorations. He made a quick scout of the first floor and found nothing living. Kaylin and Jayden joined him inside and the two thieves went to a portrait of some nobleman and his hounds. Jayden moved it aside. Behind the painting they found a locked compartment built into the wall. Jayden handled the lock this time and inside rested a silver coffer. Kaylin remove the coffer from the compartment and opened it. Gems glittered in the dim light. She closed the coffer and slipped it into her satchel. The three of them got out while the getting was good.

  They ran three blocks before Kaylin said, “That went well.”

  “Yeah,” Jayden said. “I guess Hakim was wrong about the guards.”

  “Hakim?” Xander felt sick in the pit of his stomach.

  Jayden nodded. “He warned me about the merchant hiring guards. Guess he heard wrong.”

  “Did you tell him Kaylin was going with you on this job?”

  “Sure, why?”

  “I’ve got to check on Sophia. I’ll meet you at the guild hall.”

  Xander ran for the inn. She had to be okay. He was worrying for nothing. No doubt he’d get home and find her sound asleep and none the worse for his worry. He burst through the door to the inn and ran up the stairs two at a time. At the top, lungs burning, he turned toward their room. The door stood part way open Xander kicked it the rest of the way and charged through, sword drawn.

  Hakim stood over her bloody and bruised body, a curved dagger poised over her breast. “Throw away your knife.”

  Hakim looked up, an insane smile plastered on his face. “You’re in luck. You made it in time to see her die.”

  “If she dies you join her.”

  “You can’t touch me.” Hakim giggled. “We’re brothers in the guild.”

  Xander walked deeper into the room, his face twisted in a rictus of rage. “Throw the knife away and you might live a little longer. I promise if you hurt her any more I’ll cut your heart out, guild rules be damned.”

  Weather it was the look in Xander’s eyes or something else Hakim realized how close he was to dying. His eyes widened and he tossed the dagger away. He eased around Xander, keeping as much distance between them as the room would allow before he darted out the door.

  Xander locked it behind him and rushed over to Sophia, his sword forgotten on the floor beside him. She gasped for breath and her right eye had swollen shut. “Sophia, can you hear me? It’s Xander. Come on you’ve got to wake up.”

  Her left eye fluttered open and she looked at him. “I knew you’d come. That awful man said you wouldn’t, but I knew.”

  Xander sat beside her. “I’m sorry, I should have been here. Where’s your bag? I need to do tend your injuries.”

  He started to get up, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Don’t bother.”

  “But…”

  She shook her head. “It’s too bad. Just hold me for a little while.”

  Xander cradled her head in his lap. Too soon she stopped breathing. Tears rolled down Xander’s face when he noticed she’d gone. He lost all track of time as he sat there, Sophia’s head in his lap. At some point grief turned into a cold, consuming rage. He picked her body up off the floor and put her on the bed. Xander gently wrapped her in the sheet. That done he left for the guild, locking the door so no one would stumble on her. He figured Hakim would hide somewhere in the hall.

  Outside the sun had risen. Xander stalked through the city like a demon sent to claim a soul. The few people out on the streets couldn’t meet his eye such was the rage twisting his features. When Xander reached the guild hall Kraven was waiting in the front room.

  He took one look at Xander and asked, “What happened?”

  “Where’s Hakim?”

  “I don’t know. Xander what happened?”

  Xander brought himself under control enough to tell Kraven what happened. “As soon as I find him I’m going to gut him.”

  “I hate to say this, Xander, but he’s still a guild member. If you kill him we’ll come after you.”

  “How many lives is he worth?”

  “What?”

  “After I kill Hakim how many enforcers will I need to kill before you decide not to send anymore? You’d better decide now because when I find him he’s dead. You could kick him out of the guild that would save all kinds of trouble.”

  “If it were my decision I’d have kicked him out years ago, but he’s the night boss’s cousin so we’re stuck with him.”

  “Then you have a problem.” Xander stalked off to search the rest of the hall.

  * * *

  “Is he serious?” the day boss asked after hearing Kraven’s summery of events.

  “Dead serious if you’ll forgive a bad pun. I doubt a battalion of the city guard could stop him from killing Hakim if he found him.”

  “If he succeeds what do we do?”

  Kraven had considered little else since Xander arrived. “I don’t know. I suppose we’ll go after him, but none of the enforcers are a match for him. Hell, I doubt if any three could take him.”

  “What about you?” The day boss looked as nervous as Kraven had ever seen him.

  “In the state he’s in now, it’s fifty-fifty.”

  “I thought an angry opponent was easier to beat.”

  “Only if they’re so angry they lose control. I know Xander isn’t thinking clearly, but in a fight I suspect that anger will cool and focus him, giving an even greater edge.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “We need to find Hakim and keep him out of sight,” Kraven said. “Once Xander calms down we can let him out from under our thumb.”

  “You think the boy will forget about wanting to kill Hakim?”

  Kraven shook his head. “No, I just hope he’ll control himself enough not to run Hakim through at first sight. When you remember what the kid’s been through that’s the best we can hope for.”

  “I’ll deal with Hakim,” the day boss said. “See if you can calm the kid down.”

  Kraven raised a dubious eyebrow but nodded. He left the meeting room and went to find Xander. How the hell would he calm the boy down? The girl he loved, and Kraven had no doubt he’d loved her, died in his arms. He stopped in mid-stride. Xander had another friend. The girl had been his partner before t
hey joined the guild. Maybe she could help.

  After a short search Kraven found Kaylin deep in conversation with a Jayden. Kraven knew the boy’s reputation so he had doubt what they were discussing. As he approached their table the young thieves stood up.

  “Can we help you, sir?” Jayden asked.

  “I hope so. Jayden, go for a walk. Kaylin please sit.” Jayden left the dining room and Kraven sat beside the girl. “I need your help.”

  “It’s Xander isn’t it?” The girl sounded worried, good, he could use that. “When he ran off last night I figured something was wrong.”

  “You were right.” Kraven gave her the short version of what happened. “He’s hell bent on getting revenge. I need you to calm him down. Better if you can get him to sleep, it might help him think straight.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can. Damn it! I should have gone with him last night. He’s so overprotective of Sophia I figured he was imagining things. Some friend, He saves my life and I can’t even give him the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Forget last night. You can help him now.” Kraven handed her a key. “This unlocks room two on the first floor. It’s his for as long as he needs it. Do what you can, but for gods’ sake don’t tell him I sent you.”

  “I won’t say anything. Where he is?”

  “I assume he’s still in the hall somewhere.”

  Nico walked through the dining room door and Kraven whistled to get his attention. The boy hurried over. “Nico, have you seen Xander?”

  “Yeah, a minute ago. He was headed up to the sparing room. Boy did he look mad. I sure hope he doesn’t find whoever he’s looking for.”

  “You and me both, kid.” Kraven looked at Kaylin who nodded, got to her feet and headed out.

  * * *

  Before Kaylin reached the top of the stairs she heard rapid fire thumps. She looked into sparing room. Xander punched a padded column with every bit of force he could muster.

  Kaylin slipped inside and closed the door behind her. “Xander?”

  He stopped pounding the column and rested his head on his hands.