Abuud: the One-Eyed God (12 page)

"You have been a gambler all your life," laughed Jenneva.

"Yes," grinned Oscar, "and I usually win."

***

The black-clad figure hugged the top of the wall of the estate as his eyes scanned over the landscape noting the positions of the army guards. Satisfied that no changes had been made to the estate's security since he was here last, he lowered himself off of the wall and hid among the shadows. While not up to the standards of the new mercenary companies, the army security at Duke Artur's estate was more elaborate than most. Zack Nolan waited patiently for the expected patrol to round the corner of the mansion.

As the patrol passed by, Zack started counting. He knew that his mission was going to be more dangerous than the ones in the past, and he was prepared for it. When the patrol passed out of sight, Zack ran towards the mansion. Timing was critical at this stage, as another patrol would pass his position before he could reach the building. The estate boasted a spring-fed pond in the rear of the building, and a ring of trees surrounding the pond flourished from the water source. Zackary dashed to the pond and scrambled up one of the trees. He had just settled into a perilous perch in the branches when the next patrol rounded the corner of the building.

While he waited for the patrol to pass, Zackary scanned the building that he would have to penetrate. He knew the interior layout fairly well and focused on the second story window that he planned to use to make his entry. The room he had chosen was a guest bedroom. He was pleased to note that the room was not illuminated. It had been used in the past to house Duke Artur's mistress before his wife died suddenly and mysteriously. The mistress now shared the duke's bedroom. This fact lent another danger to the operation. He was not prepared to murder an innocent woman to accomplish his goal. That meant that he could not exit the estate in the same manner as he entered it. The mistress's cry of alarm was sure to alert the guards of the assassination.

The patrol passed out of sight and Zackary dropped quietly to the ground. He ran silently to the building and buckled his carry bag to a strap over his torso. Still counting the seconds until the next patrol, Zackary moved to a small corner of the building formed by one wing being longer than the main part of the building. He climbed swiftly up the stones that formed the small corner and paused when he reached the level of the second floor. He moved his hands and feet slightly to assure a more secure holding as the next patrol rounded the corner of the building below.

Zackary continued counting and avoided his obvious desire to look down and observe the patrol. He knew that even in the shadows he was detectable, and his best option was to remain motionless. He felt the strain in his arms and legs as he waited for the patrol to reach the far corner of the building where he would be able to see them just before they rounded the corner. His fingers began to ache, and he sighed silently as the patrol turned the corner and vanished from sight.

Zackary immediately adjusted his position to ease the strain. Gritting his teeth, he left the safety of the small corner and began moving sideways towards the selected window. Without the leverage of the two walls that formed the corner, the move sideways was much slower as Zackary had to choose his handholds and footholds carefully. Beads of perspiration dampened his brow as the numbers started to get close to the timing of the next patrol.

Zack Nolan reached the desired window and slowly eased the shutters open, hoping that nobody had occupied the room since he was here last. He slid the unlocked window open and breathed a sigh a relief as he hauled his body into the room just as his numbers ran out, and the next patrol rounded the corner of the building below. He waited until the patrol passed before closing the shutters and the window. Zackary turned and studied the room and nodded as it appeared as it did when he was there last. He moved swiftly to the fireplace and prepared a roaring fire. Satisfied with the fire, he unclipped his bag from his strap and placed it on the floor. He opened the bag and withdrew a black hood and pulled it on over his head.

The assassin placed his ear to the wall and listened intently. He could hear the muffled voices of the duke and his mistress and frowned. He had hoped that they would be sleeping at this late hour, but he could not afford to wait too long before striking. He tried to make out the words that were being spoken in the next room, but the voices were too muffled. Zackary sat on the floor with his back to the wall and waited.

Half an hour passed before the voices fell silent. Zackary waited another half hour before rising and putting his ear to the door. Hearing nothing, he tossed another log on the fire and then cracked the door to peer out into the torch-lit hallway. Seeing the hallway clear, Zack slipped out of the room and silently padded to the next door. The door was locked, but it did not delay the assassin much as he pulled a small piece of metal from his waistband and eased the door open. The duke's suite was composed of two rooms, a sitting room and a bedroom, which shared a wall with the room that Zackary had used to enter the mansion. The hallway door entered the sitting room. Zackary eased himself over to the door to the bedroom. He slid a throwing knife out of its sheath as he pressed his ear to the door. He could hear loud snoring and nodded to himself.

Zackary eased the bedroom door open and slipped into the dark room. He spied the two sleeping forms on the bed and silently padded around the bed to the side with the woman on it. Zackary leaned over the woman, placing his left hand over her mouth, as he plunged the dagger into the eye of the sleeping duke.

"Do not scream," he ordered as the woman struggled under his hand. "I have a message for those who come to find the body, and I would like to leave you alive to deliver it. Do you understand?"

The woman's struggles died down, but her body continued to quake.

"The message," Zackary said, "is that nobody interferes with Dalgar's plans. Duke Artur knew that Lady Forloe was under his protection. Let the message serve the rest of the Council as a warning. You are not to alert the household until one hour has passed. Do you understand?"

The woman nodded shakily under Zackary's hand. Zackary let go of the woman's mouth and speedily raced out of the room. He reached the hallway before her hysterical screams bellowed out of the room. The assassin reached the doorway to his chosen room before he heard the shouts of the guards drift up the stairs. He opened the door to his room and shut it quietly. Swiftly he stripped off his black clothing and tossed it into the fireplace. He opened the bag on the floor and extracted the uniform of a Tagaret army officer. Swiftly he donned his new outfit and became a lieutenant. He tossed the empty bag into the fire and watched it burn.

He could hear the first soldiers entering the next room by the time he had changed his clothes. The woman was still screaming hysterically. He eased the door open and saw a half dozen soldiers gathered outside the door to the duke's suite. He boldly opened the door and strode out.

"What is all of this commotion?" the assassin demanded as he kept his scarred face in the shadows of the torchlight.

The gathered soldiers turned to the authoritative voice and mechanically saluted.

"The duke has been assassinated," offered one soldier.

"What?" responded the lieutenant. "What kind of security are you running here? I was supposed to escort him to the Council in the morning to arrange details for the new councilors. Now what am I going to tell the Council? That our army cannot even protect a man in his own bedroom? I want that assassin caught or heads will be lost. Even after he is caught there will be an investigation to find out who failed in their duty. Get every man out onto the grounds now. I want this estate sealed off immediately."

The soldiers raced for the stairs. Zackary heard one soldier asking who the lieutenant was and where did he come from, but nobody thought to question the senior officer. Zackary strode down the stairs as word spread about the assassination. Word had spread about the angry lieutenant just as fast as the word about the assassination and soldiers that saw Zackary coming immediately changed course to avoid him. He strode out the front door of the mansion and walked along the drive to the front gate.

"I want to know who was permitted entry to this estate tonight and who left," demanded the lieutenant as he reached the gate guards.

"There has been no traffic since we started our shift," reported one of the guards as he gazed at the scar-faced lieutenant. "Nobody in or out."

"Then the assassin came in over the wall," growled Zackary as he kept his face out of the light.

"Assassin?" echoed one of the guards. "Who was assassinated?"

"Who was assassinated?' shouted the lieutenant as he realized that word had not yet reached the gate. "Who do you think was assassinated? Do you think anyone would bother to assassinate one of you worthless slugs that are supposed to be protecting the duke? It is apparent that the assassin will not try to leave by this gate. Two of you men stay to guard the gate and the rest of you help with searching the grounds. Get moving."

Two soldiers sped away from the lieutenant before the other two could move and Zackary turned to glare at the two that got stuck staying at the gate.

"Nobody is to leave this estate until the investigative team arrives," growled the lieutenant. "That includes soldiers. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir," responded the two remaining soldiers.

"We will get to the bottom of which soldiers are responsible for this lapse in security," scowled the lieutenant. "Now open the gate and let me out so I can order the investigation."

The soldiers swiftly opened the gate and were relieved when the lieutenant disappeared into the gloom of the night. Zackary peeled off his fake scar as he slipped into the alley where he had secured his horse.

"Very well," Duke Everich stated loudly to bring quiet to the Council Chamber, "the successful nominees are Lord Wason, Lord Clava, and Lord Markel. They will fill the vacancies left by Duke Artur and the other two slots that we had planned on filling today. I will notify each of them this morning."

"Shouldn't those who nominated them have the pleasure of presenting their good fortune?" asked Duke Tredor.

"I want an end to these petty alliances," scowled Duke Everich. "You nominated a man for the position because you believed he would aid this city and not to form an alliance with him I am sure. Therefore there is no reason for you to notify him. As head of the Council, I think the task falls squarely on my shoulders, and I shall not shirk my duty. You will be notified when the next meeting is to be held. This meeting is adjourned."

"How does today's vote affect us?" asked Duke Jiardin after the room had emptied.

"I am not sure," answered Duke Everich. "Fredrik is one of my players, but I have never heard of the other two. That is why I decided to deliver the news to them. It will give me a chance to gauge them. I do not think the fools who nominated them even know them. So they are unknowns and I have dealt with the likes of them before. I think it may well strengthen my hand. Their election was certainly better than the alternatives."

"Which is why you decided we should vote for them," nodded Duke Jiardin. "I guess we can always eliminate them if they do not see what is good for them."

"That is what I thought as well," smirked Duke Everich. "The death of Duke Artur concerns me though. Dalgar has not been in town for some time, yet the message indicates that Dalgar ordered the assassination because Artur tried to assassinate Niki."

"Do you think Dalgar has men in the city that we don't know about?" questioned Jiardin.

"It is possible," frowned Duke Everich. "I have not figured out what Dalgar's game is yet. He certainly wanted Niki on this Council, and I have no doubt that he would murder the person who tried to kill her. I am actually glad that she is gone. While she professed to support me, I never trusted her or Dalgar."

"So you are fairly certain that it was her that fled on the stolen horse?" asked Duke Jiardin.

"Oh yes," nodded Everich. "It sounds like she had the help of those two lads that she used to ride with. I doubt we will see any more of her, and Dalgar cannot blame me for what happened. It is almost a perfect ending to her. She will probably get into trouble in some other city."

***

"The Sword of Heavens is vibrating so strongly that I can barely hold it," complained Arik.

"I thought we were going to Klandon," whined Niki. "Cleb is not nearly as large a city. Who would want to be queen of this dump?"

"We go where the Sword of Heavens leads us," retorted Arik as he stood looking at the temple.

"They sure let this temple run down," mentioned Tedi. "Both statues of the goddess Dora are nearly destroyed."

"Doesn't look run down to me," responded Arik. "Those statues were recently destroyed. There is no weathering on the exposed stone and look at the sword marks. Or perhaps axe marks. Somebody did not care for Dora very much."

Arik sheathed the Sword of Heavens and entered the temple of the Goddess of Soil. Tedi and Niki followed close behind. Although it was not a religious holiday, the temple was packed and the trio merged into the mass of people. The worship room that they entered was huge and it was packed with people. Most of the worshippers were on their knees facing the huge statue at the far end of the room. Three men stood in front of the statue and the center one was speaking loudly. Arik tried to make what the man was saying, but there was too much noise in the room to make it out.

"Look at the statue's eye," Tedi said excitedly.

Arik shifted his gaze to the statue and saw that it was not a statue of Dora. It was the statue of some one-eyed god that Arik had never heard of. What Tedi had seen, Arik realized, was that the one eye of the statue was a large diamond.

"Oh great," murmured Arik. "How are we going to get that diamond out of the statue?"

"Let's get closer to the statue," suggested Tedi. "Maybe it is not the diamond that we are after."