Darkblade Justice: An Epic Fantasy Murder Mystery (Hero of Darkness Book 7) Read online

  “Guilty as charged.” The Hunter gave a mocking flourish of his sword. “Maybe now that you recognize me, we can stop this nonsense and you can take me to your Guild Master.”

  “The Bloody Hand sends you after her?” The assassin’s eyes narrowed, and renewed determination filled his gaze. “Immortal or no, you will not harm Master Gold.”

  Master Gold, a her? Curious, but irrelevant at the moment.

  The Hunter tucked the nugget away and focused on the assassin. “If Master Gold and the Night Guild are innocent of these murders, you have nothing to fear from—”

  The assassin attacked with a new ferocity, his blade whirling through the air with blurring speed. The Hunter gave ground, his sword matching the speed of the man’s attacks with ease. He recognized the shift in attitude. The man had started out trying to warn away or kill a threat he expected to defeat easily, but now he fought not only for his life against a potentially superior opponent, but to protect his city and his Guild Master from harm.

  That put the Hunter in an unfortunate position. The man fought with the skill and speed of an expert. He wouldn’t be disarmed easily, which meant the Hunter would have to kill him at worst, or shatter more than a few bones at best.

  I tried to warn him.

  He slapped aside a quick thrust bare-handed, stepped inside the assassin’s guard, and drove the pommel of his sword into the man’s chest. Air whooshed from the man’s lungs and he staggered backward, but his blade never stopped moving, swiping at the Hunter even as he gave ground. Heat raced along the Hunter’s cheek as the sword’s tip carved a finger’s breadth into flesh.

  But the Hunter had hit the man too hard. The assassin, attempting to regain his balance, took two long steps backward. Horror filled the man’s eyes as his rear foot met only empty air. His arms windmilled once, a strangled gasp burst from his lips, then he plummeted from view.

  The Hunter winced at the wet thump that echoed up from the alleyway below. He strode toward the edge of the roof and peered over. The assassin had fallen four stories, and not even a thick coating of muck could soften the ground enough to save him. His arms and legs lay twisted at gruesome angles, with bones protruding from his left bicep and both thighs. A halo of crimson seeped slowly outward from where his head had shattered against a stone.

  Keeper’s teeth! The Hunter clenched his fist in frustration. What a bloody waste.

  He felt no remorse for the man’s death; another killer dead left the world a little bit better. But he’d intended to take the assassin alive—broken, if necessary, but still breathing and capable of forming coherent sentences. The man had insisted on fighting, so now the Hunter had to find someone else to lead him to the Night Guild’s secret stronghold.

  He was about to turn away when something caught his attention a few hundred paces up the alley, a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. In the fading evening light, he couldn’t make out any details, but there was no mistaking it: those were figures moving through the alley.

  With effort, he ignored the pain of his still-healing wound and set off at a sprint across the rooftop. He had to tear his eyes away for a brief moment as he leapt across a broad gap between two buildings. When he looked back, the figures had gone and the alleyway was silent and still.

  Damn! They could have been random passersby traversing the alley, but there was always a chance he’d get lucky and find someone from the Night Guild. Thieves, killers, and criminals tended to prefer traveling the back ways, far from the watchful eyes of the law.

  He dropped onto a balcony, leapt across to a lower rooftop, then jumped the remaining two floors to the alleyway. His boots squelched in muck as he landed and only his quick reflexes, honed over years of training and fighting, kept him from falling. As soon as he regained his balance, he raced on down the narrow lane in the direction he’d seen the movement.

  The shadows had begun to deepen as the sun disappeared behind the clouds, thicker here with two high walls to block out the light. In the gloom, the Hunter could see no sign of movement. Nothing but debris, refuse, and more mud—disgusting, reeking, squelching mud that seeped over the tops of his boots—met his gaze.

  He was about to swear again when his eyes fell on a strange-shaped object discarded behind a pile of refuse. Had he been coming from the other direction, he never would have seen it, and only the pale white color of the object was visible in the fading daylight.

  One step closer, and the smell hit him. Death. Poison. The same smells that had hung thick around the body of the child in Old Town Market earlier that day.

  His gut twisted in knots as he strode toward the strange-shaped object. It was covered with a thick canvas, but one corner of the canvas had fallen away. The smell of fresh-dried plaster hung around the pale, white, perfectly smooth object on the pile.

  He hesitated a single moment before twitching aside the canvas. What he saw there brought acid surging into his throat.

  A child, a young girl this time, lay on the rubbish heap, her entire head encased in a featureless mask of plaster, with that Serenii symbol carved into the flesh of her chest.

  Sorrow squeezed the Hunter’s heart in an iron fist. He had a memory of another young girl, her throat torn open, her body tossed like discarded refuse onto the lip of the Midden. He’d destroyed the Bloody Hand in vengeance for Farida’s death.

  Anger pushed the sorrow back and burned like a raging fire in the Hunter’s chest. When I find who did this, their fate will be a mercy by comparison.

  He quickly scanned the ground for any indication of who’d left the body, but found nothing—no drag marks, not so much as a bootprint. Damn it!

  A sound from behind caught the Hunter’s attention. He heard the clanking of steel, saw the glimmer of a lantern. A glance over his should revealed a pair of Praamian Guards clad in their drab olive-colored uniforms standing at the mouth of the alley, not twenty paces behind him. The beam of their oil lantern spilled down the muddy lane and reached shining fingers toward him.

  He was up and racing away from the Praamian Guards in an instant. He had no desire to kill them, but he’d be forced to defend himself if they found him crouching over a child’s body in an alleyway.

  And every step that led him farther from the guards brought him closer to whoever had dumped the body here. It couldn’t be simple coincidence that he’d seen movement right beside the corpse. If he hurried, he had a chance of catching up to the killer.

  The Hunter drew Soulhunger and gripped the dagger’s hilt in white knuckles. Keeper have mercy on them when I do.

  Chapter Eleven

  “What’s wrong?” Ilanna demanded.

  Kodyn’s handsome, angular face was paler than usual, his eyes clouded. “It’s Journeyman Kindan, Mom…er, Guild Master.” Even in his agitated state, he remembered to address her by her title, as she’d insisted when in public. “He’s dead. Killed.”

  Ilanna’s jaw dropped. “What?” She reached up and gripped Kodyn’s shoulders. “What do you mean, killed? Who the bloody hell could kill a Keeper-damned Serpent?”

  Kodyn shook his head. “I don’t know. But whoever it was, he was faster than anyone I’d ever seen. Faster than Errik and Ria, even!”

  Ilanna’s eyes narrowed. “You saw him?”

  Kodyn nodded. “I was training Sid on the Hawk’s Highway, showing him the way of things now that he’s old enough to leave the Perch, when I saw someone else running across the rooftops. Dark clothes, heavy cloak. At first I thought it was one of the Serpents or Hounds using the Highway, but the way he moved, Mom!” He blew out his breath in amazement, reverting to the familiar name. “I’ve never seen anyone run that fast. I could have sworn he leapt Carter’s Road without hesitating.”

  “That’s impossible.” Ilanna shook her head. “Carter’s Road is far too wide for anyone, even a Hawk, to make the jump.” Back when she’d been a Hawk doing third-story work, she’d been forced to take longer routes along the Hawk’s Highway to cross the plank and rope br
idges that spanned the broad thoroughfare.

  “I know, which is why I couldn’t help wondering who it was.” Kodyn’s expression grew serious. “Thankfully, we were close enough to the Perch that Sid could get back on his own, and Kindan was just getting back from hunting the guy who’s killing all those kids.” Sorrow clouded his eyes—he was a good-hearted young man, much to Ilanna’s relief, not hardened and ruthless like she’d been during her years as apprentice and Journeyman.

  “I showed Kindan where I saw the guy, and Kindan told me to get back here and let you know what was going on.” Kodyn hesitated at this.

  Ilanna raised an eyebrow. “But you, of course, couldn’t obey a simple instruction from a Journeyman.” Of course Kodyn had inherited her headstrong nature. It had kept her alive, but it made him bloody difficult to deal with—both as his mother and Guild Master.

  Kodyn had the good sense to look ashamed. “I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help.”

  “Help? A Serpent?” Ilanna snorted. “Errik and Ria won’t shut up about how quickly you’ve taken to their training, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Guild’s assassins. Especially not against someone who can leap Carter’s Road.”

  “And that’s why I didn’t go with Kindan.” Defiance and stubborn pride flashed in Kodyn’s eyes, and his spine went stiff. “I snuck along behind him, making sure to keep safe distance, of course.” He said it in a tone that told Ilanna he’d expected her to comment before the words had even formed on her lips. “I was two buildings away when Kindan found the man in the dark cloak and confronted him.”

  His expression grew somber. “I’ve never seen anything like it! He faced Kindan unarmed, but he didn’t look scared at all. When Kindan attacked, he fought empty-handed and actually knocked Kindan back on his heels.”

  That took Ilanna by surprise. No way anyone outside the Night Guild should have been able to do that. Kindan ranked among the Serpents’ best—perhaps two or three of his comrades surpassed his skill, but only Errik and Ria could match his speed.

  “Kindan was toying with him at first, like he does when he’s training us,” Kodyn continued. “But soon he started fighting for real and I could have sworn Kindan wounded him, but I was too far away to be sure,” Kodyn continued. “They talked some more, then Kindan rushed in and looked like he was going to take the stranger down. But the man punched Kindan once, hard enough to knock him off the roof.”

  Ilanna’s gut clenched. “He fell?”

  Kodyn nodded. “Four floors.”

  Ilanna winced. That height would do even a killer like Kindan in. She’d watched one of her fellow Hawk apprentices, a boy by the name of Bert, fall from three stories. He had died in her arms, his body shattered.

  “The second I saw Kindan fall, I came back here to tell you.” Kodyn thrust a finger in the direction of the Aerie. “It happened less than five minutes ago, Guild Master. If we hurry, maybe we can still find him.”

  “We?” Ilanna’s voice cracked like a whip. “There’s no way I’m letting you back out when there’s a killer like that on the loose!”

  “But I’m the one who told you—” Kodyn began.

  “I don’t care!” Ilanna shouted. “If someone can take Kindan out like that, what makes you think you—or me, for that matter—can take him?”

  Kodyn stiffened, but again the defiance in his expression hardened. “We don’t have to take him. We just need to find him and follow him back to wherever he’s holed up. Once we know where to find him, we can come up with a plan to hit him with every Bloodbear, Hound, and Serpent it takes to do the job.” He pointed at Ilanna’s chest. “You taught me that, Mother. You taught me to learn everything I could about my enemy, and that’s exactly what I want to do. If you don’t want to come with me, that’s on you. I’m going.”

  Ilanna wanted to snap back at him, wanted to yell him down for being a stubborn, rash fool. But he’d gotten all of those qualities from her, and they were what made him such a strong young man and a capable thief. She hadn’t wanted him to join the Night Guild—she’d done everything she could to keep him a secret and escape the Guild before they discovered his existence—but now that he was in the Guild, she couldn’t stop him from doing what he’d trained to do. Her only choice was to do everything in her power to keep him safe.

  “So be it.” She spoke in a calm voice. “We’ll go look for this mysterious man.”

  Kodyn’s eyebrows shot upward. “Really?”

  “Yes.” Ilanna nodded. “You and me, together. But before we do, we’re going to make sure every damned Serpent and Hound in the Night Guild is on the lookout for him. If he’s the one dropping all the bodies, he’s our mess to clean up. As Guild Master, it’s my duty to see to it that the problem is dealt with.” She gripped his shoulder tight. “As your mother, it’s my duty to keep you from doing anything stupid and getting yourself killed. So I’m coming with you.”

  Kodyn was speechless as Ilanna strode around her desk, opened one of the drawers, and pulled out a leather-wrapped bundle. She unrolled it on the desk and stared down at the assorted items within: dark grey cloak with the Hawk-brown stitching along the hem, black leather gloves, a length of finger-thin rope, and her pouch with well-worn lockpicks and alchemical lamps.

  When she looked up, she found her son’s eyes locked on her. “Let’s go,” she said, her voice firm, as she pulled on the cloak and gloves and buckled the pouch in place. “We’ve got to find this man before he disappears into the city.”

  She hurried from the room, Kodyn at her heels, and paused only long enough to snap an order at Darreth. “Tell Master Serpent and Master Hound to get up onto the rooftops, now!”

  “Master Gold?” Darreth blinked in surprise, his mouth agape.

  Ilanna rushed on without waiting. Once Darreth recovered, he’d get the message to the House Masters in a hurry. She wouldn’t be surprised to find the Serpents and Hounds hit the Hawk’s Highway less than ten minutes after she did.

  But ten minutes was more than enough time for someone to make an untraceable getaway. Even now, she knew her chances of finding Kindan’s killer—and the possible murderer she’d been chasing—bordered on non-existent. That wouldn’t stop her from trying. Kodyn truly had inherited his stubbornness from her.

  Warmth coursed through her as she strode down the tunnel toward the double doors of House Hawk, emblazoned with twin hawks and an ornate ring clutched in bronze talons. Memories—good and bad alike—washed over her at the familiar sight.

  She pushed the door open, and a smile touched her lips as her gaze lighted on every detail of the Aerie. Shelves and tables laden with ropes, hooks, whips, knives, swords, and an assortment of unknown weaponry lined one wall, with racks of dark cloaks, hoods, garments, and boots of all shapes and sizes on the opposite.

  But, as always, her eyes were drawn to the intricate network of ladders, ropes, walkways, and structures that rose to the high-vaulted ceiling. The Perch.

  How many hours have I spent up there?

  “Race up you up, Mom!” Excitement sparkled in Kodyn’s eyes as he leapt onto the nearest rope ladder and scrambled up with the grace of a sailor.

  With a growl, Ilanna leapt up after him. The moment her hands and feet touched the first platform, she felt a familiar sense of belonging.

  She basked in the glorious sensations of burning muscles, the sound of creaking ropes, the gentle sway of the wooden platforms and bridges. Kodyn scrambled up the Perch with the grace of a sailor, but Ilanna seemed to fly. She’d traveled these ways a thousand times and knew the Perch’s every secret.

  Breathing hard and flushed with triumph, Ilanna scrambled out of the open window at the top of the Perch and onto the rooftop. The sun had dipped behind the western horizon, but the last traces of fading daylight still painted the sky in gorgeous hues of blue, orange, and vivid gold. A cool breeze wafted across her face.

  She was home once more.

  Two second
s behind her, Kodyn climbed out of the window, his broad shoulders a tight fit through the narrow frame.

  “Hah, I win!” Ilanna’s elated laugh cut off in a breathless gasp. She was a bit more out of shape than she cared to admit.

  Kodyn smiled. “But did you really?”

  “Smart-ass,” Ilanna growled. “I can always tell Errik and Ria to make your training regimen tougher, you know.”

  Kodyn rolled his eyes, but a ghost of a smile played on his lips. Warmth suffused the core of Ilanna’s being as she stared at her son. He had grown a great deal, and her duties to the Night Guild had consumed so much of her time over the last few years. The handsome, strong young man before her bore so little resemblance to the rosy-cheeked infant she remembered, yet she felt only pride.

  “Show me where you saw him,” Ilanna told her son.

  With a nod, Kodyn set off to the southeast, toward Old Town Market. Ilanna fell into a comfortable loping gait behind him and let the run loosen up her muscles.

  It had been too long since she’d traveled the Hawk’s Highway at night. I’ll just have to hope my reflexes are as sharp as they once were. It might be a delusion—she was twenty years older than she’d been the first time she’d taken to the rooftop network—but right now, she needed this more than she’d realized.

  She had tried to stay in shape by keeping up her weapons training with Errik and Ria, but her truest joy was racing around the Hawk’s Highway with Kodyn. Life had conspired to keep her away from the rooftops. She’d be damned if she let it get in the way any longer.

  As she ran, the familiar thrill of excitement coursed through her body. She felt the old skills returning, and with a laugh, she raced ahead of Kodyn and hurled herself off the rooftop. For a long moment, she hung suspended in the air, and once again she experienced the magical sensation of flying.

  This is what it means to be alive!

  Then she hit the next rooftop, hard. She landed in a roll but her form was off. A dull ache throbbed through her knees, hips, and shoulders.