~15~ Rats from Within

"Tiberius, to me."

Baldwin waited as his second lieutenant joined him at the window of the tower cell, overlooking the city of Camelot. He was appreciative that the king had not decided to place them in the dungeons below the citadel, but that's where his gratitude ended. They were still locked up like dogs.

"Sir?"

"You said Benjamin still had the Heart when we were arrested, yes?"

"Yes, sir. He managed to avoid being caught, however, along with five others."

Baldwin snorted. "Fools. Benjamin I understand, for he needed to keep the Heart safe, but the others..." He shook his head. "Makes us look more guilty by tenfold." He turned to his lieutenant. "Why did the Heart stop working, I wonder?"

Tiberius shrugged. "I do not know, captain."

Baldwin looked sour. "The set up could not have been better. We would have been rid of one werewolf and not be blamed for it. The cages not being secured to the ground was a bad idea, though. Something so obvious was seen way past the supposition of it being a simple spurt of negligence. King Arthur is no fool, nor are his knights. Adam will answer to this."

"How do you suggest we escape, captain?"

Facing the barred window again, Baldwin replied, "There is nothing that we can do here without hurting anybody. We will send word to the surviving Blackhands. The others of our order would have met up with them by now – they'll find something. They are, after all, obligated to serve their true leader. Perhaps we'll be able to spring Jonathan Vane as well. Foolish as he is, he may prove useful, for he is certainly ambitious."

"So how do we send word?"

Just then, there was a creak and a groan as the prison cell door was opened. Three guards came in.

"Captain Baldwin, if you please," said the first man.

Baldwin gave Tiberius a brief smile. "It already has." He let himself be led from the room.

Ͻ Ϫ Ͻ

Arthur tried to keep his anger from his features as he waited for Baldwin to approach, though he knew that the Silverblood could See it anyway. Baldwin was led right up to the throne, but before the guards could force him to his knees, Arthur waved a hand in dismissal, leaving the captain standing. The king studied him for several seconds until he moved, whether in impatience or discomfort Arthur couldn't tell. Finally, he stood as well.

"You think I'm a fool. And perhaps, for trusting you, I am indeed a fool." He met the older man's gaze evenly. "What was that voodoo performance in the woods, hm? Circles drawn in the dirt, scented candles, a silver rock. And the cages – not even attached to the ground." Arthur shook his head in disgust. "You had planned this from the very beginning."

"I assure you, sire, that I had no idea—"

"That your plot would fail?" Arthur roared, taking two furious strides forward. He bit his cheek and tried to dampen his tone to a more disciplined level, an icy fire. "You nearly had my servant killed. Knowing that he was going to escape that useless cage, and thinking that I would have believed you'd given an honourable attempt to keep his sanity with a lump of silver ore..." It took all his self-control to not strike the man down where he stood. "One of your men was killed because of you, and one of mine nearly followed suit. Now, for once, tell me the truth: what the hell are you playing at?"

For several seconds, Baldwin merely stood there, holding his gaze steady. Finally, he said, "Will my people be well cared for?"

"I admire a leader who cares for the welfare of his company, but stop stalling."

Now Baldwin swallowed. "Has your servant been found, sire?"

Arthur growled. "No."

"He should be, and fast."

"Oh, and why's that? And don't try to say he'll turn anytime soon. Gaius, our physician, informed me that we have between a day and a whole week before he changes again."

Baldwin shifted. "Ah, yes...Actually, I was thinking more long the lines of his own safety."

"He can take care of himself."

"Can he? With a turned werewolf searching for him? I would be wary, for his sake."

"What do you mean?"

The captain sounded bolder, now that he'd captured the king's attention. "The werewolf that infected you and your servant is in the near countryside. By now, it would have claimed the territory for its own, and if it catches the scent of your servant, then I'm afraid the boy will have little hope in his human form."

Dammit, Arthur mentally cursed. I'd forgotten about that werewolf. "Don't concern yourself with him. He's not your problem."

"You should take one of our horses, your majesty," said Baldwin, somehow knowing Arthur's plans. He continued before the king could ask why. "Your beasts will not take you; you smell too much like the monster. Our horses, however, are trained to face creatures such as werewolves, and should let you ride them."

Though Arthur didn't show it, he was grateful for the offer. He'd forgotten that the last time he'd ridden, the mad horse had thrown him and then bolted to the other side of the field. He'd told no one in his chagrin.

"Take him back to his cell," he ordered of the guards, who approached and seized Baldwin by the arms. "I will speak with him later." The king turned away as the captain was removed from the room, thinking, worrying.

Ͻ Ϫ Ͻ

Baldwin knew that the red-haired Silverblood, Bianca, was the one whom Sir Gwaine had saved the night before from the werewolf servant. She was waiting anxiously by the door as the captain was led back in, and as soon as it was opened, she asked of the guards, "Is that knight okay? Is Sir Gwaine going to be fine?"

"Back away from the door, miss," the guard commanded gruffly.

"Please, can you give him a message? Can you tell him of my gratitude? Please, it's just a little favour, please."

The guard was clearly hooked by Bianca's beauty. He blushed and said, "I'll see what I can do."

Then the door was slammed closed behind the Silverblood captain, who turned and sneered at Bianca. "Don't be so taken by these barbarians, sister," he said, before moving to stand near Tiberius, the sergeant turned second lieutenant. "Everything seems to be in order."

"In order, captain?"

Baldwin's smile was near hidden by his short salt and pepper beard. "By now, young Frederico will have left the city, bringing word to the Blackhands and whoever is left of our order." He smirked. "It was brilliant of Asmodius to think of placing one of our own in employment to Camelot. After all, no one pays attention to a lowly kitchen novice. Stupid as that boy is, he will get things done, and done well, without appearing conspicuous. Usually."

"What word is he taking, exactly?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you? The king is joining a search party to look for the infected servant...What does he have with that boy? It's like he's his best friend or something."

"I've heard rumours that Merlin had saved the king's life on multiple occasions."

"Hm. Anyway, Sophia is among those who remain free of Camelot's cells. If anyone can create a successful ambush for one man, it would be our assassin. She had better not fail us this time."

Ͻ Ϫ Ͻ

As expected, all but the Silverblood horse shied away at Arthur's presence. It made him feel very distant, and alone, yet he kept a straight face and took the reins of the black gelding, whose nostrils flared at his scent and ears plastered against his head. He let the king mount the saddle, however, which was a start.

"We have until dusk!" Arthur called out over the din of thirty horses, howling dogs and conversing men. "Watch each others' backs. No one goes alone. Don't take any unnecessary risks. Remember, werewolves are affected by silver. Move out!"

The king led the way out of the city, past the site where the servant had turned and close to where they had assumed they heard the turned werewolf. There, the dogs were put on the scent and followed.

Arthur stopped, ordered a sergeant to take the con and indicated Elyan to follow him, as he was closest.

"I'm going to find Merlin," he said lowly, just loud enough for the knight to hear over his uneasy horse. "I think I know which way he went."

"How do you know?" Elyan asked, curbing his steed irritably. The poor creature was too uneasy around the king.

Arthur shook his head, baffled. "I...I don't know. I just have this sense..."

The knight looked sceptical, but nodded. "I will follow you."

So, Arthur went his own way with Elyan. The trail was relatively easy to follow, for the marks on the soft ground and surrounding foliage were distinguishable. It only took two hours for Arthur to come across the corpse of a man who had been dead for over half a day.

The black gelding snorted at the smell of death and bloody carnage, tossing his head in protest. Arthur dismounted as Elyan caught up on foot, having tethered his horse further back.

"Well, now we know what happened to Baldwin's lieutenant," the knight grunted, covering his nose with unsuppressed disgust.

Though it appalled him, Arthur crouched near the corpse, scattering the swarm of flies as he did so. He swallowed his breakfast as he inspected the drying flesh, and recognized the remains of feeding.

Damn, Merlin. If you knew what you have done...

"He knows what he did," said Elyan, as if reading Arthur's thoughts. "He changed back. Look here."

Arthur joined the knight near the roots of a tree, and blanched. There were definite human footprints wandering around the site, leading to and from the decomposing body of a white horse. Near the roots of the tree lay a putrid pile of what could only be vomit, the half-digested remains of Asmodius.

"He's going to need counselling after this," Elyan muttered.

Arthur again had to force back his nausea as he backed away, towards the ebony gelding. "Let's continue," he said coarsely. Mounted, he followed the human tracks back into the foliage, now more of a challenge after the chaotic mess the werewolf had left in its wake. As the forest thinned, he was able to kick the gelding faster, Elyan on his heels.

He did not hear, over the snapping of plants and thunder of hooves on soft earth, when Elyan fell from his horse after getting shot in the neck with a dart. It wasn't until he stopped hearing the knight's horse that he got a nagging sense of unease eating at his mind, and he slowed his own steed to a trot as he glanced over his shoulder. Seeing the knight gone, he almost managed to stop before the hooded Silverblood agent dropped from above and landed on the rump of his horse, just behind him. He was too slow to do anything other than gasp before the attacker wrestled him from the saddle and fell with him to the ground.

A pain ripped through his side, the bite wound still on its way to healing, as they both rolled to a halt. Instinct came out fully fledged then, and he immediately lashed out with a clenched fist at the Silverblood, recognized by the stag emblem on her front. The blow glanced across her jaw, but she was unaffected, as she had pulled far enough away with lightning speed at the right moment. She tried to kick him where it hurt men most, but Arthur had already log-rolled to a safe distance and scrambled to his feet.

Before he could draw his sword, the woman lunged at him, throwing him off-balance as he swerved to avoid her. Her own naked dagger slashed through the air, and Arthur could only thank the werewolf venom in his veins for being fast enough to dodge to the side. His speed still astonished him, and therefore he was too slow to avoid the next assault. He grunted as a deep gash opened his pectoral, and then screamed silently as what felt like liquid fire bled across his chest.

He staggered back several paces, staring in aghast at the smoke curling gently from his torn flesh. It was as though his assailant had poisoned the blade with acid.

Silver! he thought furiously. The dagger must be edged with silver!

Arthur had to retreat again as the Silverblood took advantage of his shock and pain to attack once more. When the dagger slashed through empty air, he grappled with her and tried to force the blade from her grasp, with radical success. The woman shrieked as her wrist shattered, crushed beneath his fingers due to the superhuman strength. This time, Arthur didn't succumb to surprise, and he kicked the burning dagger away.

"Release me, beast!" the woman screamed, but was helpless as Arthur mercilessly continued to hold her crushed wrist. Her accent was thick and alien, just like the rest of her kin.

"What is the meaning of this?" Arthur roared, and was pleased to see the Silverblood quail in fear. "Who are you? Did Baldwin send you to do this?"

"I don't deal with monsters. Get away from me, I say!"

For one bewildering moment, Arthur thought that the woman had no bones as her leg came up and kneed him in the temple. Stunned, he let go of her useless wrist and fell, landing painfully on his side. Before he could do so much as breathe, she pushed him onto his front and held him down, putting her knee on his neck. She then started to make a strange, shrill cry, and by experience, Arthur knew that it was some kind of signal.

There are more loose Silverbloods? How many are there?

It didn't matter. All that he cared about was getting free before they arrived. With a growl, he started to squirm, despite the pain in his neck. By rights he should have been unable to move, but it was as though the werewolf inside had allied itself with him and was lending him its awesome strength. The Silverblood squeaked as she was suddenly thrown, and Arthur pounced to pin her down before she could reach for another weapon. He was too slow.

This time he voiced his pain as a new silver-edged knife flashed from the woman's belt and cut across his stomach. He curled up as he rolled back away from her, an arm held across the wound. It was uncontrollable, the reaction was, and the agony was so great, he could only think that the werewolf within could feel it, too.

A needle-like pain pierced his jugular, and his vision swirled like a drunkard's. He tried to lash out at the Silverblood one last time, but his arms were filled with stones, and he could do not but slump uselessly to the ground. The last thing he saw was the smirk his attacker gave as his vision faded to nothing.


You know you're running out of chapter title ideas when you put "Rats from Within" -.-

"You may think you're a king, but you're going to die...like a dog!" ~ Maugrim (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)