Double-Edged Words

CHAPTER ONE

"Kill her! Kill her!" The girl screamed at the top of her lungs. "Do it!" The sound of her shrill voice reverberated throughout the hallway. It made my ears buzz and turned the blood running through my veins to ice.

With a white-knuckled grip, she grasped the door frame and pulled against a maid who tried to drag her into a room. She was strong for a girl that looked like she had not eaten a proper meal in months.

"Child! Please!" shouted the maid, eyes wide with fear as she glanced in my direction a couple of times. With each glance, her face turned paler and paler.

The girl's fingers slipped, and a shriek as sharp as a blade escaped her lips as she dropped out of sight. Her screams ceased with the slam of the door. Leaving the clinking of the glass chandelier above our heads as the only sound in the now quiet hall.

Terrifying memories of fire, wailing, and shouting invaded my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut as if doing so would stop the intrusive images from showing me what I didn't want to see. Just take a deep breath, I told myself. I gripped the hilt of my sword tighter, pushing the disturbing images to the back of my mind. "Well, it seems we are not the only ones you have managed to piss off." With great effort, I kept my voice cold and unwavering. My face remained turned away from the cornered woman's wild gaze.

"Poor thing has lost her mind. She has no blood relatives. I am all she has left." Said the Duchess, pressing her back even closer to the granite column. Her neck stretched upwards, creating space between the blade of my sword and her throat. "She needs me."

My eyes pried open and locked on the trembling Duchess. "Where are they?" Her ivory skin was nicked by my sword. Spilling a single crimson drop down her throat.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Shifty eyes avoided my heated gaze as beads of sweat formed on the middle-aged woman's forehead.

"Then why did you run?" My free hand raised to press against the column on the other side of her head.

"Everyone knows the kind of man you are. You prefer the clashing of swords to civil words." She gulped, drawing my attention to the pulsating vein on the side of her neck.

"If that were the case, you would have been halfway to the burial grounds right at this moment." My ears perked at the clanking of chainmail and armor at the other end of the hall. "Come on. You can't fool me. Where are they?"

The intrusion of two knights into our conversation stilled her reluctant tongue. "Your Grace, we found the smuggled weapons. They are in a secret storage room in the stables."

"Well done." My sword sheathed, and the soldiers pulled the woman towards them. "Duchess Adelysia, you have committed an act of treason. You will receive punishment for your crime. Take her away." Without another word, the knights dragged the woman down the hall and out of the manor.

My legs refused to step away from the door. Is that girl ok? What was that about? I listened for any movement inside the room but was unnerved by the eerie silence that stretched over the halls. That's strange.

Holding off my curiosity and worry. I dragged my feet away from the door and stepped out into the foyer, only to be almost tackled down by a knight in his haste to get into the building.

"Your Grace!" He cleared his throat and dropped his fearful gaze. Ah, yes, he's one of the newer recruits assigned to our unit. "We started loading the crates. There are fifty in total. Filled with swords, bows, arrows, and explosives. They all seem to be the ones the rebels were using."

"Good. Take some of the men, gather the servants and anyone inside out on the front yard." I sidestepped the man and walked to the group of men inspecting the contents and loading crates into several wagons. "Make sure we don't leave anything behind," I told the knight in charge as I grabbed a piece of paper, a quill, and ink. 'Mission successful. Return to capital, Cerci territory. Prepare for arrival.'