Damyan expertly swung around, a hidden dagger in his fist. Mara countered that attack with one of her own. Damyan loathed to admit it, but Mara was good. She'd always been greatly skilled and never had a problem matching Damyan punch-for-punch. At the moment, she was moving faster than he was as all of his weapons were weighing him down. They'd only traded a couple of blows when Slaede appeared. "Well, well, well," he said as the two separated, "what do we have here?"
"He was scouring the halls most likely looking for you," Mara answered, coming to stand by Slaede's side, still in a low defensive position.
"I must admit," Slaede smirked, "after Raven saved your life, I never thought I'd see you again." Damyan could hear the footsteps of the guards in the distance. Soon he'd be surrounded. He needed to act quickly. "Who knew that vision would lead you here, right to me? Clearly, she did, but I doubted her. She deserves a reward," Slaede pulled his sword from the sheath around his waist, "maybe I'll give her your head as a gift."
"You're not the only one with access to magicians," Damyan replied as guards rounded the corner, "I know a few of my own." He held up what looked like a small sack. He threw it on the ground. A small explosion rocked the floor as dust and soot flew everywhere. Slaede and Mara backed away, coughing while Slaede yelled for the guards. Once the smoke cleared, Slaede angrily looked around. "He's gone," Mara stated the obvious.
Slaede gave her a murderous glare before shouting orders at his guards. "Spread out. Bring him to me alive."
Damyan hurried up the stairs. His brief fight with Mara had cost him precious minutes. He was now improvising. Reaching the floor, he saw a big, dark-skinned soldier guarding the door. Damyan didn't have time to come up with an elaborate plan. He grabbed his nearest weapon and released it. Damyan had no idea what he threw, but it made contact with the guard's head, knocking him out cold. Damyan stepped over the soldier's body and entered the sorceress' bathing chamber. He made it.
The maids immediately screamed and scattered, cowering in the corners of the room. Damyan scanned the room with his eyes. Where is she? It happened in slow motion. A body emerged gracefully from the water. Her hair, her arms, her neck, her bre – actually her hair was covering those. The two stared at each other. Raven was the first to break the silence. "Where's Viktor?" she asked worriedly, desperately. "What did you do to Viktor?" Damyan didn't answer, he ran and joined her in the large tub. Before she could reach for a weapon, Damyan angrily gripped her jaw. "Sorceress," he glared into her deep, violet, scared, eyes. "I came here to kill you." She tried to pull away from his bruising grip, but Damyan held fast. "However, I've come to realize you may be of more use to me, alive." The shouts of guards alerted Damyan to their presence. They were coming.
Bending down, Damyan felt around for the giant plug. Yanking at it, it immediately loosened and the water began to drain. "Take a deep breath," Damyan ordered before his hand covered her nose and mouth. He then jumped into the opening, dragging the sorceress with him.
Raven gasped for air as the water flowed down the steep tunnel, her along with it. "Ah!" she screamed as the tunnel ended abruptly. She and her assassin landed in a cleaning pool used to wash clothes. The people around her began to complain. "You're messing up our clothes," they said before gaping at her. Raven looked down at herself. She was naked! "Oh, my gods!" she gasped before lowering herself back into the water.
"Come here," an angry voice – Damyan – gripped her upper arm painfully and all but dragged her from the tub. A cloth that Raven assumed was a dress was shoved into her arms. "Cover yourself," Damyan ordered. Raven shakily did as she was told. The fabric of the dress was rough and scratchy. It also only covered her private areas. It clung to her like a second skin as she was still wet. "Ah!" she gasped in pain again as Damyan's fingers bit into her arm.
"As I was saying before, right now, you're worth more to me alive," he all but dragged her alongside him. A giant horn sounded followed by a crier screaming, "The sorceress has been taken! Close the gates!" Damyan grabbed a saree headscarf and wrapped Raven's violet/black hair. Wrapping an arm around her waist, Raven felt the knife digging into her side. "Say nothing," he ordered through gritted teeth as his steps quickened, "or I will carve out your heart."