Bloodrush (Scarlet Star Trilogy #1)

Chapter 34 - "Rotten as the Rest of Them"

'I knew I had to take it Karrigan. I had to ask him outright, and show him I was serious.

He saw me in the shadows of his fire before I had a chance to call out. I told him of Sift and the Black Fingers' visit, told him of the White Wit and who he'd threatened. Merion. I asked him for a Hoard to pay them off. He told me no. With barely a thought. I asked again. He told me it was impossible. He ignored my pleas. His face was like stone. I see why Merion fears him the way he does. I saw then why they call him the Bulldog.

His fucking son, I told him. And if that wasn't a reason to pay them, I didn't know what was!'

6th June, 1867

The blood kicked him like a mule, never mind a brick. Merion fought the urge to double up as his stomach roiled, just as the door to the hold burst open under the force of boots and rifle butts. The hinges shattered and the door lay flat with a loud bang. Merion flinched. His hands were shaking. It felt as if every strand of muscle in him shivered uncontrollably. Merion winced, trying to work it into some sort of fearless grin as four lordsguards rushed inwards.

Merion stood his ground, unmoving. He stared down the barrel of each rifle in turn, daring them to crackle. The rushing blood and swirling magick made him bold. And then in walked Calidae, small gold pistol in her hand and a vicious glare on her pretty face. Her hair was coiled up in a tight bun, and she wore a slim black dress with frills at the bottom. Merion narrowed his eyes, wondering whether she was a friend or foe. He desperately hoped it was the former. Gile came next, holding a very pale Castor under his arm. Ferida was there, glowering just as darkly as her daughter. She too had a gun, though she was too busy making sure her husband could stand to wield it. The whole family had come out to play.

Merion felt very alone in the centre of his circle. His eyes flicked from one Serped to the other, and then to Gile. He could see it right away, the way his eyes jittered and flickered, the way a glimmer of sweat sat on his brow, the way his knuckles burned white: he was rushing, though Merion had no idea what.

'So here he is, the murderer,' Castor sneered, his voice a hoarse rattle. His coat was soaked with dark blood, and despite Ferida's dabbing, the wound continued to ooze. Castor would die, but not before he'd seen his murderer die at the hands of his manservant.

'The monster,' Calidae spat. The viciousness of it made Merion wince again.

'And yet you're the ones who kidnap an innocent woman, tie her to a chair, and beat her senseless,' Merion retorted. He had never spoken to Calidae like that, and the shocked look on her face confirmed it. Her gun rose up an inch or two. So did Merion's. If Calidae had chosen a side, then so be it. Her wiles would not work on him anymore.

'Did you think you could get away with this, boy?' Castor wheezed. 'Come into my home, shoot me, and steal my prisoner? Audacious, Hark. Foolishly so. Just like your dead father.'

'He was a fine leech, it must be said,' muttered Gile. His wild eyes had not yet left Merion. The young Hark stared right back, letting them wax lyrical and threatening. Merion just wanted to get on with it, whatever it was. The blood surged in him, waiting to pounce. The mention of his father had made him boil.

'And my father would be doing the same thing, were you trying to cheat him instead of me.'

'We're trying to help you, Merion,' Calidae hissed.

Merion sneered. 'You're trying to rob me, Calidae, all of you. Thieves. I expected better from a lord of the Empire,' he goaded them.

'How dare ...!' Castor gasped, as he struggled to stand straighter. 'You foolish little boy, you dare to lecture me on being a Lord? You are nothing, Hark, not even a shade of your father. You have no idea what it requires, and no idea how lost you are out here. Alone. Forgotten. There will be nobody to bury your corpse when Gile is finished with it, nobody to write home and apologise to. Your estate will be divided up and carted away. Dizali will see to that, as will her Majesty. They will be most pleased, when I present them with your signature.' Castor cackled. 'Calidae?'