I: Lost

Now

"You do realize you're going to die, don't you?"

The young man glanced up from his book and gave her an exasperated look. "I think you're on the wrong side of the bars to be saying that." His eyes returned to the pages, and he resumed reading in the light cast by the mounted torch behind him.

Kythra used her knuckles to strike one of the short iron bars that were built into the tiny window on her cell door. A metallic clanging noise rang out, echoing down the corridor. The man glared up at her.

"Don't you know who my father is?" she went on. "I'm the daughter of Alagon, the man who controls this port. He even has the City Watch in his pocket. You and every single one of your friends will be beheaded, and we'll mount your skulls atop the gate overlooking the docks."

"Great. Maybe then I'll have more quiet company." The lad leaned back against the wall and shook his head at her. "The power in this city is shifting. My boss thinks your father's gang has held the city long enough."

Kythra scoffed. "That won't happen without a fight. I'd sooner see blood flooding the streets, especially yours. I might see to that personally, if I have to."

"Gods, I am so sick of hearing you," he muttered. "Mr. Raine holds several buildings in his end of the city, yet he sticks you behind the one door with an opening." The guard turned another page and went back to ignoring her.

She continued glaring at him through the small window while her hands worked off to the side, trying to pry one of the screws from the door hinge. It was humiliating, really. If she had a weapon in her hand, Kythra knew she could defeat the lout easily. Hells, she could have taken out the whole group that abducted her, had they not caught her off guard. In any case, she wasn't planning to just sit and wait for her father to send some of his swords to rescue her. How humiliating would that be?

The screw was nearly three inches long and had been tightly fastened, but it was almost out of the hinge, thanks to her tenacity. Her fingertips were covered in grime and a bit of blood from her efforts, but it would be worth it just to drive the metal piece into her jailer's eye.

A set of footsteps sounded from down the dark corridor. Kythra paused her work on the hinge and glanced out the window.

"It took you long enough to get here," said her guard, still fixed on his book. "Your shift was supposed to start an hour ago. What, did you oversleep again?"

There was no reply from whoever approached. He glanced up, "Hey, did you hear me, I've been–"

The guard squinted at the advancing figure and then reached up to remove the torch from its sconce. He pointed the light at the figure. "Wait, who the devil are you?"

He dropped his book, but before he could reach for his sword, the newcomer suddenly sprinted forward, kicking the jailer in the arm and sending the torch flying to the ground. With the only light source now further away down the hall, Kythra could only make out the dark outlines of the pair as they grappled.

The taller shadow drove a knee into his opponent's stomach, then slammed the shorter man head-first into the wall. Still standing, the shadow kicked his fallen adversary a few more times, hard enough that Kythra could hear something crack with the last strike.

With a final pull, she yanked the rusted screw out of the hinge and hid it against her palm. Then she watched silently as the victor grabbed something from his opponent's belt before moving closer to Kythra's cell. The man who unlocked the door appeared to be more than twice Kythra's age, judging by the amount of grey in his hair and the lines in his face.

"You're not one of my father's men," she said as he pushed the door open. She braced herself back on one foot, in case the newcomer tried anything. "So who does that make you?"

Before he could answer, she quickly positioned the rusted screw between her fingers and made a fist, then threw a punch at his face. He easily caught her at the wrist, then ripped the makeshift weapon from her hand and shoved her away.

The old man took a step back, clearing the doorway for her, and growled, "Are you so dense that you do not know a rescue when you see one?" He pocketed the rusted screw and then held up both hands, empty. "I am here to carry out a job, nothing more."

Kythra warily stepped out of the cell and walked over to the unconscious guard, keeping her 'rescuer' in sight at all times. As she removed the guard's sword from its sheathe, she asked, "A mercenary, then? Or maybe you're a joiner, looking for a way into the Family's graces?"

He stepped back and let her exit the cell. "I have no interest in your trash heap of a city. And if you are incapable of dealing with a single thug," he said, pointing a thumb at the unconscious guard, "then I doubt this 'Family' of yours offers anything that I cannot take on my own, were I so predisposed." He moved down the corridor, heading back the way he appeared from. "Follow. We have a long journey ahead."

Kythra lingered back for a moment, and prodded the downed guard with her boot. "I could have taken him," she muttered to herself. Satisfied that he really was out, she retrieved his book from the floor and went off after the mercenary. As she passed the torch, still burning on the stone floor, Kythra tossed the book onto the flame.

"I don't believe it. they didn't even bother to have anyone guarding the outside of the building? I'm a little insulted."

"There were patrols." The man looked up and down the road, then motioned for her to follow him to the opposite side.

Kythra looked around, but the narrow, moonlit street was deserted. "So where are they? Did you kill them?"

"Yes. Stop talking." He climbed atop a low brick wall that lined the other side of the road, and gazed across the city. Kythra didn't need to look over. She knew from the incline of the road and the way that the wind was blowing that they were further inland, near the outskirts of the city, where the ground was more elevated due to the island's rocky surface.

"There," said the mercenary, pointing east toward the harbourfront, "about sixteen blocks away. We will need to hurry."

"I know where my father's territory is, you don't need to point it out. By the way, did you come alone?"

He jumped back down and led the way along the road, following the downward slope. "Yes. I-"

Kythra sprinted forward and slammed her boot heel into the back of his knee. As he toppled down on one leg, Kythra delivered a sharp punch to his lower back and then shoved him to the ground.

She ran further down the street and then leaped up against the wall, using both hands to mantle over to other side. Following the street to the east, she began to hurry toward the city's central district. The City Watch was based there, and those sycophants were always eager to do favours for her father, so long as the kickbacks kept coming.

That mercenary and the supposed 'rescue' were clearly a farce. No doubt Raine thought she'd be stupid enough to lead an assassin straight into her father's office. He should have hired someone more convincing.

She emerged from a narrow alleyway onto one of the city's main roads, but quickly darted back when she saw a group of armed men in the distance, guarding the path. Carefully peeking around the corner, Kythra squinted at the trio. She breathed a sigh of relief. They were her father's men.

Standing in the middle, chatting with the others, was Harken, one of the older enforcers in her father's group. She stepped away from the alley and waved a hand at the trio. Harken spotted her and waved back, a grin stretching across his pudgy face. "Well, you're here! We heard about your capture and were on our way in. This saves us the trouble of tracking you down, at least. I thought Raine's men were supposed to be holding on to you."

"Some blighter claiming to be a mercenary freed me. I think it was Raine's attempt at a ploy." She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "I left him on the road a bit back, but he might be in pursuit."

Harken's brow furrowed and his smile wavered. "That's... odd." He cocked his head at one of the other enforcers, and the man hefted a loaded crossbow before moving down the street in the direction Kythra came from.

She watched him disappear into the alleyway, then turned back to Harken. "Why didn't you bring more men with you? If you already knew Raine captured me..."

Harken removed his round spectacles and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Didn't expect I'd need too many. That's not important right now. Did Raine's people say anything to you? Maybe mention why they chose to keep you alive?"

Kythra paused, wondering about the frozen grin on Harken's face. There was something in the tone of his voice and the squint of his eyes that made her feel more uneasy about him than usual. The remaining guard stepped away from Harken's side and slowly began to circle around, flanking her.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but my father won't be pleased if you-"

"He is no longer a man of any consequence," he replied. "Things haven't gone exactly the way they were planned, thanks to Raine's ineptitude, but we can fix that now." He made a tapping motion at her, and the guard standing to her right levelled his crossbow at her.

A sharp zipping noise pierced through the air and the guard suddenly fell to the side, holding his neck where a wooden shaft had suddenly appeared. His weapon clattered to the ground and its loaded bolt fell loose. Turning around, Kythra saw the mercenary in grey slowly approaching, carrying his own crossbow over his shoulder.

Harken gave a slow and steady clap, still smirking like a fool. "And you would be the mysterious benefactor, I presume. Just what do you expect to gain by sticking your nose into this? Allow me a guess, you expect yonder innocent maiden to bed you out of gratitude?" He chuckled as Kythra glared at him. "I should warn you, she's neither the innocent nor grateful type. Or even a maiden, for that matter."

The mercenary began to load the crossbow with a new bolt. "I just met you, and already I can tell that you talk far too much."

Harken's arm suddenly thrust forward as he flung a knife at the stranger. The older man angled the crossbow in front of him and the blade struck hard, shattering the cheap wood and piercing his hand.

The grin on Harken's face faltered for an instant as he saw the mercenary grit his teeth and yank the blade out, without even a cry. The older man kept his rage-filled eyes on Harken, and he barely seemed to react to the wound. "Hm, perhaps a challenge for once."

Kythra drew her sword and pivoted to face Harken, but made certain that she would be able to keep the mercenary in her sights as well.

Harken began to back up and reached into his vest pocket. "But as much as I enjoy an unfair fight, I'd prefer if it were unfair in my favour." He pitched a small round object at the ground, and a cloud of thick grey smoke exploded where it struck. The opaque gas was accompanied by a high-pitch keening noise, which echoed through the air and momentarily caused Kythra to stagger backward in surprise.

Shaking her head and fanning the air before her, she stepped forward and was about to pursue Harken, but the mercenary appeared at her side and caught her by the arm.

"Never confuse your predator for the prey; that was an alarm to summon more men," he said. "There is nothing to be gained by chasing him half-blind through shadows. We cannot stay here."

Wrenching her arm away, Kythra turned to him and raised her sword. "Who's 'we'? I don't even know your name, let alone whether I can trust you!"

The mercenary suddenly seized her by the wrist, pressing two fingers against the tendons at the base of her hand. His other hand chopped against the inside of her elbow, forcing her arm to fold. The combined action caused the feeling in her fingers to go numb, and her sword fell to ground, clattering against the stone.

"If it will silence your curiosity, I am called Dace," he said flatly, releasing her arm. From a pocket, he removed a grey cloth and wrapped it tightly around his bleeding hand. "And you should not trust me, if you have even half a mind. I am not here to be your friend, nor will I hold your hand through all of this." He slipped his foot underneath the sword at the hilt, then kicked the weapon up into the air, which he caught smoothly in his right hand. Holding the blade out to her, he continued. "But I am not in this city to harm you. All you need to know is that my blade was hired for another purpose, and my motives coincide with yours at present. You have more enemies than you know."

Kythra snatched the sword back with her other hand and warily sheathed the weapon. Dace turned and began walking away from the wall of smoke, toward another alleyway that would take them off the main road.

It still felt like he was planning to lead her into a trap, but if she went with him, perhaps she might learn more about what happened to the city while she was away. She rubbed at her wrist trying to coax feeling back into her fingers. If Harken had betrayed her father, then there was no telling how many other members of the Family might try to stop her from getting back home.

She hurried after him. "Fine, if you want to be Grand Lord Mysterious, I don't care. All I need is for you to get me safely to the docks district. That's almost on the opposite side of the city from here. You said you're a sellsword? Then there'll be a sum of gold in it for you, if you think you can make it without having a heart attack, old man." She slowly flexed the fingers on her right hand. "And don't assume I'll let you disarm me so easily a second time. Try that again and you'll find that I'm more than capable of handling whatever you throw at me."