“That’s right,” d’Ambray said. “Come on back. We’re not done yet.”
The blood over the stump clotted, sealing it. The mercenary tried to rise.
“Come on. Almost there. Let’s get your guts back in.”
The intestines slid back into the man’s stomach. He stood up, shuddering and gripping his knife with his remaining hand.
“Very nice,” d’Ambray said.
The current died.
The mercenary charged, trying to take a swipe at d’Ambray. He sidestepped and slashed across the man’s back, stopping just short of the spine. The mercenary turned, ripping his stomach wound open. The innards slipped out again. They were hanging from him like some sort of grotesque garlands. The air reeked of blood and acid.
Elara finally saw the crowd around them, dead silent, her people horrified, the Iron Dogs impassive. Skolnik stared, his face completely bloodless. The other mercenary shook like a leaf, clamped tight by d’Ambray’s people.
“Let’s do the nose next,” d’Ambray said.
“Hugh,” she called.
He halted. “Yes, darling?”
“Please stop.”
Hugh glanced at the disfigured stump that used to be a man. “My wife wants me to stop. We’ll have to cut this short.”
The mercenary stumbled toward him. Hugh stepped forward, clasping the man as if in an embrace, and slid the knife between the mercenary’s ribs in a smooth precise thrust. The mercenary shuddered, held upright by Hugh’s strength. His eyes dulled.
Hugh stepped back, freeing his knife, wiped it on the man’s shirt, and let the corpse fall.
Someone in the crowd retched. Nobody moved.
Hugh turned to the other mercenary. The man went limp. A wet stain spread on the front of his pants.
“Bring me a pair of handcuffs and a big plastic bag,” Hugh said.
A Dog ran off.
“Hugh,” she asked again, hating the begging note in her voice.
“My wife is softhearted,” Hugh said. “That’s why I love her. You came here to murder my beautiful kind wife and our people. Families. Children.”
The mercenary made a small strangled noise.
The Dog returned with handcuffs and a plastic bag.
“Let him go,” Hugh ordered.
The Dogs released the mercenary. He fell to his knees. Hugh dropped the bag in front of him. “Pick up your friend.”
The man gulped, grabbed pieces of bloody flesh and dropped them into the bag one by one.
“Don’t forget the ear over there.”
The mercenary crawled on his hands and feet.
Hugh caught her gaze and winked at her. She couldn’t even move.
The man picked up the bag and straightened. Only the body remained. “He won’t fit,” he mumbled with shaking lips.
“That’s okay. What you’ve gathered is good enough. Cuff him.”
Two Dogs grabbed the mercenary’s arms, forcing his wrists together. A third slapped the cuffs on. Hugh took the bag from the mercenary’s hand and hung it around the man’s neck.
Hugh took a few steps, circling the mercenary slowly. The man turned in response. Skolnik was directly behind him now. Hugh faced the mercenary, looking past him at the senator.
“You’re going to go back to the man who hired you. You’re going to give him this bag. You will tell him that if I see him or any of his people around here again, I will ride into his town. I will kill every man who gets in my way. We’ll kill his wife, his two beautiful children, his pets, and we’ll set his house on fire. We’ll hang him from the nearest tree by his arms and then we’ll leave. He’ll hang there staring at the ashes of his house and begging for help, and the people of his town will pass by him as if he were invisible because they’ll know that if anyone helps him, we’ll return. Did you get all that?”
The mercenary nodded.
“Good man. Off with you.”
The mercenary didn’t move.
“Go on.” Hugh waved him on. “You’re losing daylight.”
The mercenary spun and ran for the gates.
“Bury the garbage off somewhere,” Hugh said, nodding at the corpse. “And clean the lawn. Fire, salt, the usual.” He turned to Skolnik. “Senator? You had a bit of business?”
Skolnik opened his mouth. “Go.”
“Sorry?” Hugh tilted his head.
“I have to go. Now.” Skolnik started through the crowd. People parted to let him pass. He strode to the gates at a near run.
Hugh watched him until he disappeared. His face turned hard. “I don’t believe Senator Skolnik will be visiting us in the future. Alright, show’s over. We’ve got a truck full of metal to unload. Let’s go, people. Every hour we don’t work is another hour without a moat.”
Hugh liked high places, but the price of height was measured in stairs, and today of all days he didn’t feel like climbing them. There was no help for it, so he did. By the time all of the metal was unloaded and appraised by the smiths, fatigue had settled into his bones. He needed a shower and quiet.
At least most of the haul had been good. The smiths took everything except for the karaoke machine, which he had the Iron Dogs stash in the barracks. When tech hit, they would find out if it worked.
Hugh conquered the long hallway to his bedroom, pushed the door open, and walked in. He never locked it. There wasn’t anything of value in the room. The most expensive item he owned was his sword, and he usually carried it on him.
How the mighty had fallen.
He needed to wash the forest and blood off. He pulled off his boots and tossed them in the corner. His socks followed. The floor felt nice and cool under his feet. Better already.
His jacket followed, then his T-shirt, and his belt. He was about to take off his pants, when the door behind him swung open. He didn’t need to turn to look. He recognized the sound of the footsteps. High heels were rare among Elara’s crowd.
“Not tonight,” he said.
Vanessa slunk into the room. The spectacle in the bailey must’ve proved too much for her. She was hot and bothered. He wasn’t.
“I said, not tonight.”
Vanessa leaned against the wall. She wore a skintight white dress and red shoes. She licked her lips.
“We haven’t done it since you got married. Did you give Elara your balls at the wedding?”
He caught the slight tremor in her voice, fear and excitement wrapped in lust. Trying to goad him. He knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted him to grab her by the hair, slam her against the wall, and fuck her. She wanted proof that the man down in the bailey and the man in the bedroom were the same. He was too damn tired, and he had no interest in it.
Hugh turned and looked at her.
She squirmed, then threw her arms out to the side. “What? What?”
Someone knocked on the door. It wasn’t an “emergency had occurred” knock. It was brisk and pissed off, which meant Elara.
Well, that didn’t take long. From how green she looked after he started on the merc’s ears, he thought she’d take the evening off. The hopes of mice and men…
“Not tonight,” he called out.
The door flew open. Elara marched in, her jaw set, brimming with rage and magic.
Elara didn’t bother looking at Vanessa. “Leave.”
Vanessa opened her mouth. Something snapped in her eyes. “No.”
Elara swung toward her. The storm within her was straining to break out, and Vanessa had just designated herself as a lightning rod. This ought to be good. Hugh landed in a chair and leaned back, his head resting on the interlocked fingers of his hands. He wished he had a beer.
“I’m not leaving,” Vanessa said. “You leave. You’re interrupting.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Elara said. “After I’m done, you can come back and entertain the Preceptor all you want. But right now, I need you to go.”
Vanessa swung to him. “Tell her I can stay.”
“I already told you to leave,” he said.
Vanessa pushed from the wall. “I’m staying.”
Playing for keeps.
“You’re pissed off, because he doesn’t want you,” Vanessa said.
And now she decided to dig a hole.
“He wants a woman,” Vanessa said. “Not an iceberg.”
Doubling down.
“I understand why that’s upsetting, but I don’t really care. He likes me, this is his room, and you’re intruding. Go. You’re not wanted or needed here.”