Due to a request from the lovely pheonlynx, I've been coaxed to produce more of this story. So, a new chapter dedicated for a very special lady, and I may try to add another chapter to the other story I write for her tomorrow as well. I don't own the Night Angels Trilogy or any of its content.
Nuba moved with careful haste across the courtyard, keeping a nervous eye on the brutal guards that watched him like a hawk eyes a field mouse. He wasn't afraid of being caught by the guards; he merely wanted his mission to be a success. As their meeting to plan the escape had not gone totally unnoticed, a faux purpose had to be created to explain the gathering. Jason had suggested that a false breakout be staged and after being captured as planned, he and a few others had been chained in gibbets to dissuade the other slaves from attempting the same. They had been released today after seven days hanging in chains, Jason wearing his arrogant smirk the entire time. All contact with him had been prohibited for a further seven days, so Nuba had deigned to bring him all news of what had transpired during his incarceration. Not that there was much to tell, the faction leaders had being stockpiling weapons in ones and twos to avoid suspicion and otherwise preparing the men to fight. Nuba braced himself as he neared Jason's cell; the assassin became twitchy after being immobile for too long. When asked about the subject, Jason had shrugged and replied "I don't know, I just dislike being told what I can and cannot do by prey." Nuba knocked on the door, and after Jason calling out "Enter", he swung the door open and walked inside. Nuba's eyes ran across the wall which was covered in jagged script. "This is a new revelation, my friend. It seems being locked up like a disobedient dog has tampered with your mind." Jason smiled at Nuba's ribbing, and continued to play with the dagger he had in his hand. "Hello Nuba, what brings you to my humble abode?" Nuba cleared his throat, and replied "I have come to report our movements during your absence", while focussing on a section of writing in the centre of the wall, slightly apart from the rest of the scrawl. "To see the world in a grain of sand, and Heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour. Did you write this, Jason?" His response was to laugh and shake his head. "No I did not, none of this is my work. It was merely something to do." Nuba continued scanning the wall, and chuckled as he settled on another piece of the linguistic tapestry. "Oh! Mr Best, you're very bad and all the world shall know it. Your base behaviour shall be sung by me, a tuneful poet. Is this self-reflective my friend?" Jason snorted with mirth and stood up, walking over to the section Nuba had highlighted. "No it is not, Nuba and I'll tell you why. I've only written a bit of this poem and it's not about him participating in debauchery. It's about her dislike of him and the choices he makes. Something about another woman and jealousy and so on. But it's a good poem. Now, what have our fellow conspirators been up to while I've been away?"
Jason looked over the scruffy report Nuba had scribbled for him. He had told him that written proof of their plans were dangerous to have, and so he had told the rest of the men through Nuba not to write anything down, everything must be done by word of mouth. A bell in the courtyard rang, signalling the start of the day's training. Jason stretched and yawned, and tore up the report, burying the fragments in an attempt to alleviate his paranoia. Ideally, he'd burn the paper but he had no fire readily available. As Jason stepped out into the harsh sunlight and stooped to pick up a wooden sword, he felt a hand roughly grab his shoulder. He turned angrily into a short, cruel looking guard who began to speak in a guttural voice before Jason thrust his forehead into the man's nose. Feeling it break with a satisfying crunch, Jason punched the man in the stomach and pushed him over. He looked up to witness a scene of carnage. After seeing Jason's violent reaction to the guard, the slaves had descended into a primal state, lashing out at the guards and fighting with whatever came to hand. The guards were unprepared for such an attack and were faring badly in the brawl that had developed. Jason grinned like a fiend, grabbed the sword lying at his feet and leapt into the fray.
A few hours later, all the slaves had been herded and beaten back to their cells. Nuba had followed Jason back to his cell, slightly unnerved by his comrade's wild grin and liberal coat of blood. Despite claiming only a bit of it was his, Nuba insisted he check Jason anyway. After finding no immediate injuries, and receiving a cantankerous remark from Jason about Nuba's intrusion, they both relaxed. Jason stared into the distance, coming down from his adrenaline high and Nuba watched him curiously. Jason was breathing heavily and twitching occasionally, licking his teeth absently as his blood cooled. His mind blanked and the world faded slightly, until the door collapsed in a protesting screech. Before either man could react, the guards set about them with brutal wooden clubs, dragging Jason bodily to a small room and chained against the wall. He felt a dagger drawn across his palm and his senses began to betray him. Remaining just coherent enough to talk, he muttered curses and insults at his captors, barely managing to growl as a guard poked him hesitantly with a stick and beckoned for the door to be opened. A small, cloaked figure stepped into the room and hurried over to Jason's slack form. She pulled a scrap of red fabric from her pocket and dabbed at the blood coagulating on his face before giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Nice to see you too Tamara, now do I get a proper kiss?" Jason muttered weakly as the poison from the dagger began to shut down his body. Tamara smiled thinly before holding his chin up and kissed his bloody lips, purring quietly as she felt him make a considerable effort to kiss her back. She felt him go limp as he passed out from the toxin and a tear rolled down her cheek dyed crimson from Jason's lifeblood.