Ashok held up the bloody weapon as if to say, now I have a knife.
That was sufficient to strike fear into a few more of them.
To their credit, most didn’t hesitate. The warriors came at him in a rush. The veteran tagged him in the side, but not deep enough to strike his vitals. The ceremonial blades were short, but they were kept razor sharp. He met them, clashing, striking, then moving aside, but always slicing. Ashok was calm. There was only action, reaction, and blood pressure.
An arm wasn’t withdrawn fast enough, so Ashok split it open from wrist to elbow. Realizing the Protector was too fast to trade blow for blow, a warrior tried to tackle him, but Ashok drove the dagger into that one’s thigh. When he ripped it out a bright spray of femoral blood drenched the floor. He caught another arm and leveraged it around, stabbing that warrior repeatedly in the chest before dropping him into the puddle.
There was a burning sensation as a steel edge parted the muscles of his back. Ashok dove between them, rolling across the stone, palm, forearm, shoulder, and then springing instantly back to his feet facing his attackers. He split a kidney in half, then stepped on the back of a knee to force the warrior down to have his throat slashed. Kicking that one between the shoulder blades caused the body to fall forward and trip up an advancing ally. That distraction gave Ashok the time he needed to put three fast puncture wounds into that attacker’s torso.
That was over half of them dead, severely injured, or crippled and moaning on the floor.
The remaining warriors came at him, trying to entangle him. If he became immobile, he would die. They fought across the hall. Feinting, striking, constantly moving. Ashok was cut again on the chest. He was kicked in the leg. While blocking a knife thrust a fist caught him in the eye. He opened that warrior’s stomach. Rolling round another, he opened that one’s armpit, but lost the unfamiliar knife when the blade stuck in a rib and the slick handle slid from his grasp.
Ashok backed into a table. It was a failure of awareness. Luxurious food fell off the table and plates and glasses shattered. A wounded man sacrificed himself by throwing his body against Ashok. The sudden impact caused the table to collapse. As the rest closed on them, Ashok rolled through the food and blood and broken glass, spied a large two-tined meat fork and picked it up. The warrior grabbed him by the leg to keep him in place, but Ashok stabbed the fork through his hand and pinned his palm to the floor.
Now there were only three. Ashok scrambled for maneuvering room as one of them broke a table leg over his shoulder. It had far more reach than their little dress knives. He spied a lost dagger and scooped it up as the improvised club slammed into his calf. Grimacing, Ashok turned, dodged the descending club, and hit that warrior in the chest. Ashok pushed forward, stabbing repeatedly, piercing between the ribs, until he tripped over his pinned comrade and fell flat on his back.
Two remain.
A collision with the experienced veteran knocked him aside, both of their arms flying back and forth, free hand attempting to keep the other’s blade away from the guts, but a feint and a quick twist of the wrist put a deep cut through the muscles of Ashok’s abdomen. This one was extremely skilled, but Ashok had touched the Heart, and the one Bidaya called Jagdish was only a man. They clashed again. Skin opened. Steel hit bone. Both parted with cuts. The winner dripped, the loser gushed, and the veteran had to stumble away, reaching for the deep laceration that had suddenly appeared in his bicep. Ashok used the distraction to lash out with a boot hard enough to snap bone. Jagdish fell as his broken leg collapsed beneath him.
Ignoring his many wounds, Ashok started toward his false aunt. Blood was running down his back, leaking down his legs, and leaving a trail of bloody footprints in his wake. He should have collapsed, but it turned out that the Heart of the Mountain still beat even on behalf of a casteless fraud. The floor was littered with the dead and crippled. Injured warriors were trying to keep pressure on their wounds. A few of the fops were crying. They’d not expected this sort of dance tonight. All this blood in this place seemed so very familiar. The remaining guests were watching in shocked disbelief. Bidaya wore a mixture of disgust and fascination on her face.
The giant bodyguard was patiently waiting his turn.
One.
“Kill him, Sankhamur.”
Though thick with muscle, there was nothing slow about this one. The giant came down the last few steps and leapt onto the dance floor, a thick blade in each hand. He was as big as Blunt Karno and with the reach to match.
They began circling each other. Sankhamur used the two-blade stance of a westerner, one knife out to create distance and the other down low at his side. That would be the one he’d kill with. For such a big man his footwork was smooth, and he closed swiftly, lead blade flicking back and forth. Ashok stayed ahead of it, and sure enough, once committed, the other blade swept up to eviscerate him. Endless training had prepared him though, and Ashok’s unconscious reaction enabled him to move aside in time and counterattack.
With one of his knives lost and sliding across the bloody floor, the giant walked away with a deep cut on the back of his hand. Sankhamur paused to admire his injury, then looked at Ashok and nodded in appreciation. Now this was a proper duel.
Ashok lunged forward, blade flashing. Then he retreated as Sankhamur countered. Fast as the eye could follow, they went back and forth. Short, brutal flicks of the wrist, aimed at veins and arteries. Blood flew, from new cuts or old, Ashok couldn’t even tell, but even he was beginning to weaken. Sankhamur fought like a sea demon and his fists were like iron. A vicious blow to the body lifted Ashok’s feet from the ground. A rib broke. But he came back down swinging the knife.
Sankhamur intercepted it, edge against edge, and the fine steel nicked and locked together. They turned, and the giant should have hurled him down, but with the Heart of the Mountain, they were equals in strength. Ashok was closer to the ground, however, and he was able to use the leverage to push Sankhamur back. The two of them wheeled about, striking each other, throwing elbows and knees that landed with bone jarring force, both wanting to free their blade, but also not wanting to let the other escape. Ashok couldn’t twist this one’s joints. The bodyguard was too strong and Ashok’s free hand was too slick and wet. Sankhamur hit the steps and tripped back, Ashok still on him. Some of the foolish guests didn’t get out of the way in time and they were smashed between Sankhamur’s bulk and the wall. Both he and Sankhamur ignored the screaming.
They were so close Ashok could smell his breath, wine and cheese. Somehow Sankhamur’s free hand had gotten hold of Ashok’s knife hand, and Ashok’s free hand had hold of the wrist that ended with Sankhamur’s blade. The giant smashed Ashok’s nose with his forehead, and Ashok slammed a knee into the bodyguard’s groin, but neither would let go. Sankhamur’s feet slid out from under him and Ashok threw his weight down on the man.
And then the giant’s grip slipped.
That heartbeat-long mistake was all it took. Hand free, Ashok plunged the small knife into the top of his chest, just over the collar bone. Sankhamur roared in his ear and thrashed about. The wounded hand landed on Ashok’s face and shoved, twisting his neck so hard that it felt as if it would break. Veins standing out in his forehead, the giant tried to force Ashok back, free his blade, anything, but Ashok wouldn’t budge. He got an angle and began stabbing, the little blade darting in and out, perforating the bodyguard’s chest.
Losing too much blood, Sankhamur slowly sank down the wall, fingers twisted into claws and tearing into Ashok’s face, but his slide exposed his throat, and Ashok adjusted and stabbed him just beneath the ear.
Eyes wide, the two combatants stared at each other for a time. Competence turned to confusion as the blood drained from Sankhamur’s brain, but still he struggled. The truth of the moment was enough to make Ashok forget his rage. This was a waste of a great warrior. But justice was not yet fulfilled, so Ashok twisted the knife and sent Sankhamur to the endless nothing.
Panting, Ashok stood
up. He was dizzy. The sick feeling in his stomach and the cold in his limbs told him that even the Heart had reached its limits. It was stop now or perish. The worker trapped beneath Sankhamur’s body was crying for help. Other than that, the room was deafening in its silence. He limped away from the wall, turning to gaze at the shocked onlookers who were staring at him in wide-eyed disbelief.
Bidaya…
The woman he’d always believed to be his aunt had crossed the hall and was standing next to mighty Angruvadal. “Your selfishness has ruined everything.”
“What was her name?” Ashok asked again as blood dripped from his split lips.
But Bidaya was past listening. As her fraud had unraveled, so had her life, and all that remained for her was to rage. “This sword made this house, and now it’s destroyed it. It never should have chosen you!” She leered at the crowd, a caricature of the wise leader they’d thought they’d had. “What does it say about the men of this house, when none of you were worthy? You useless, preening warriors were so awful that it would rather choose an untouchable. This is your fault, too!” She kicked one of the corpses.
“What was my name?” Ashok whispered.
“My own son lacked the spine to even try. My warriors were too useless. Your failure gave us this casteless abomination! This is no Protector!” Bidaya screamed as she went to the sword. “I’m the one that protects us all. I should have done it myself!” She wrapped her tiny hands around the handle and pulled it free.
“My lady! No!” shouted one of the arbiters.
Defiant, she held up Angruvadal for all to see. “See! I should have done this to begin with! My house, my sword! I’m the one who made Vadal great! I’m the one who has kept you safe and made you all rich! I’m the one who—”
The sword found her unworthy.
Bidaya’s expression contorted in horror and revulsion as the muscles of her arm moved against her will. She tried to fight it, but the sword was very unforgiving. Black steel flashed as Bidaya struck herself in the side of the head. The blade sliced so quick and cleanly through the front of her skull that it was as if it wasn’t even there. Angruvadal spun from her fingers, struck the floor, and slid, coming to a rest at Ashok’s feet.
Faceless, Bidaya stood there a moment, until her brains slid out and the Thakoor of Great House Vadal collapsed in a heap.
Ashok bent over and picked up his sword.
It didn’t shatter at his touch.
The main hall was covered in blood and corpses. The guests were too stunned to speak. Some had begun to cry, whether for their dead Thakoor or the bleak future of their house, he didn’t know. More warriors had arrived, and they were lining the balcony, bows ready and arrows nocked, but they saw the black steel blade in his hand and hesitated.
The Law required a bearer to defend himself. He would have no choice. Enough decent men had already died to expose this corruption. Ashok found the highest-ranking of the archers and gave a small shake of his head. That would not be wise. The commander agreed. The bows were lowered.
Ashok picked out a guest wearing the silver insignia of a judge. “You…”
The judge swallowed hard. “Me?”
“Yes, you. I wish to turn myself in as a violator. The Law has been broken. I’m guilty of murder, treason, fraud, and I’m certain you’ll think of many more crimes to add to the list. I am a casteless by birth but have been illegally bearing weapons and pretending to be a whole man. My responsibility…” Ashok held up the sword and the judge pulled away fearfully, “will not allow me to commit suicide. I require legal counsel and punishment. Where may I be imprisoned until judgment is pronounced?”
“Urm…” That had been an unexpected question. “There’s Cold Stream Prison just south of the warrior district, outside the city gates.”
He gave a small bow. “Thank you. Please tend to these wounded. None of them deserves to die.”
Ashok took one last look around the main hall of Great House Vadal. This is where the only life he’d ever known had begun, and this is where it had ended. Then he turned and limped from the room without looking back.
The symbol of the Protector Order remained, abandoned in a puddle of blood.
Chapter 13
Several weeks passed before anyone came to see him.
There were a few sets of footsteps in the hall, heavy and armored. They stopped on the other side of the door. “This is his cell, Lord Protector.”
It was about time. They wouldn’t have sent a Protector for anything other than dispensing judgment. Ashok was eager to meet his fate. There was nothing to do in prison but stare at the walls. He’d never been one for meditation, and he didn’t particularly understand the concept of self-pity, so he couldn’t even sink into a proper depression like so many other prisoners did.
“I must warn you, he’s still got the sword.”
The guards hadn’t even attempted to take Angruvadal from him. Word of Bidaya’s final party had reached the prison before he had. He’d respectfully asked to be directed to wherever he needed to wait for his judgment. The Protector in the hall must not have cared that Ashok was armed, because the heavy door creaked open a bit. They didn’t even bother to lock the cell, since there wasn’t anything they could do to stop Ashok from leaving if he decided to. It was an unusual situation for everyone involved.
For most of the prisoners the guards would simply storm in, barking orders, and administer beatings to anyone who didn’t get on his knees quick enough to suit them, but with Ashok it was different. There was a polite, almost timid knock on the partially open door. “Prisoner, you have a visitor.” And then the poor warrior got out of the way so the Protector could enter.
“Leave us.”
Devedas.
His old friend stood in the open doorway, Ashok sat cross-legged next to the far wall. One was in splendid armor, the other in blood-stained rags. A beam of sunlight from the single small window cut a dividing line between them.
Devedas looked as if he’d been stabbed in the gut. “Is it true?”
Ashok nodded slowly.
Blinking rapidly, Devedas looked away. “It can’t be. It has to be a mistake.”
“It isn’t. I was born an untouchable.” Ashok stood up to meet his fate. It wasn’t fair. Devedas already had more blood on his hands than any one man should ever have to bear. He shouldn’t have to execute his best friend as well. “I knew they’d send someone, but I hoped it wouldn’t be you.”
“Nobody sent me. I’m here on my own.”
“You’ve not come to pronounce judgment?”
“I had to know.”
Ashok spread his hands apologetically. “I’m sorry, brother.”
“Don’t call me that!” Devedas suddenly roared. He took a step forward, fists clenched. “How dare you call me ‘brother’?” Spittle flew from his mouth as he shouted. “Damn you, Ashok! After all we’ve been through…After everything we did for the Order, for the Law? How dare you?”
“I only recently learned the truth. I never intended to deceive anyone.”
Devedas was shaking. Protectors were taught to avoid showing emotion, but tears rolled down his cheeks. “You worthless whoreson, fish-eater bastard. You were the best of us. I believed in you. We all did.”
“You were mistaken, as was I.”
“Who knew the truth then?”
“Mindarin, Ratul, Bidaya…Dead. Harta knew as well. All that remain are the wizard Kule and Arbiter Chavens.” Ashok didn’t know where they were, or if they were even still alive. “They are beyond my reach.”
“Not mine,” Devedas vowed. “I’ll see to it they pay.”
“Thank you.”
“I don’t want your thanks,” Devedas snarled. “I want you to have never existed. I want your name stricken from the records. I want all references to your deeds scrubbed from the world. You’ve mocked the Law and brought shame to our entire Order.”
“For that I will pay,” Ashok agreed.
“And I’ll volu
nteer to be the one to swing the executioner’s blade when the time comes!” Devedas shouted.
There was an unfamiliar pain inside Ashok’s chest. For a moment he felt so weak that he thought that the Heart of the Mountain had abandoned him. “Very well.”
Devedas lowered his voice. “What happens to Angruvadal?”
“I don’t know.”
“All this time…You’ve thought you were better than me. I was deprived of my family’s ancestor blade because of the sins of my father, but you…You’re not even a real person. How did it pick you?”
That was a question Ashok had asked himself many times, even before he’d known the truth. They stared at each other. I am casteless. Should I avert my eyes? But that didn’t feel right either.
“I could prove which one of us is worthy once and for all.” Devedas placed his hand on his sword. His feet shifted into a dueling stance. He seemed furious enough to try it.
“Don’t…”
“You unfeeling thing. Black Hearted Ashok, with no more conscience than some wizard’s automaton. I should cut you down and end this now.”
It was tempting to just lift his chin and expose his throat. All it would take was a moment’s hesitation, and his scandalous existence would be purged from the world. No one would know that he’d accepted a dishonorable death…Except he’d know, and so would the sword. “I may not be a whole man but I still honor the Law. My judgment hasn’t been pronounced. This isn’t an execution, it’s a duel. If you draw your sword, as a bearer I’m obligated to give my best.”