The King's Messenger

Chapter 29

Eden lay awake, tracing cracks in the ceiling with his eye by means of dim silver light trickling in from the moon and stars. He hadn't had a headache yet- he waited for its inevitable touch. They hadn't missed a day since that first day with Captain Torre behind the guardhouse.

The anticipation wasn't the only thing keeping Eden awake. The itching feeling of eyes or a presence, just out of sight, had lessened, but it never fell away. It had gone on too long to be completely unwarranted. His glaive was within arm's reach, and it was warm enough to sleep without coverings that threatened to tangle him up in an emergency.

Crickets trilled outside; combined with gentle creaks from the sea breeze and low coos, there was a natural tapestry of sound. Eden had been listening to it for hours; it was familiar now, a familiar accompaniment while he tried to fall asleep.

There was a brief silence- a pause with no trill, no creak, no coo. It lasted an instant before the breeze coaxed noise out of the Fishers' walls.

Eden furrowed his brow. There hadn't been silence for hours. As the sounds of the night resumed, he sat up slowly, so as to not disturb the peace, and sought his glaive.

There it was again- a silence. Eden gripped his blade more securely, seeking his amulet under his shirt. Messenger gave no response. Moving quietly and deliberately, Eden stood.

Was he simply paranoid? A shadow flitted by, so fleet he almost thought he imagined it, that let him toss aside his doubts. The moonlight had shone true for the past three hours; together with the inconsistent sounds, there was something out there.

A ghostly click came from the door. Eden crept across the room so he'd be behind the door if it opened. He winced and froze as the floodboards let out a soft groan- the clicking from the door ceased too. Eden held his breath, hearing his heart beat in his head, for what seemed like an hour. Eventually, the clicking at the door resumed, and Eden, still holding his breath, finished crossing.

The door eased open, and Eden readjusted his grip. He was out of practice; he'd sparred with Captain Torre once or twice, but that had been with a sword, not a glaive. His advantage was range, which was severely limited by the Fishers' walls, and experience- he'd fought plenty of swordsmen with a glaive, but he doubted whoever was on the other side of the door had done the inverse.

A man, dressed in black, stepped through the door silently, stepping where Eden had made the floor creak without triggering it. There was another man behind him, similarly adorned. Eden gave himself two seconds to ensure it wasn't someone he knew, foolishly sneaking in, before he made a move. Silver light glinting off drawn blades were a fair sign as well.

The man in the back turned just as Eden launched his attack; perhaps he heard some small intake of breath or felt the air shift. It didn't matter. Eden's glaive landed true, piercing his back just over his heart. The man couldn't even protest, instead gurgling bloodily before collapsing to the floor, supported only by Eden's glaive until he wrenched it out. The corpse slumped over.

In a perfect world, he would have been able to slay the second intruder with the element of surprise. Unfortunately, he heard the sound of his partner's squelching wound and death rattles, whirling around to face Eden and jumping back before Eden could reclaim his weapon from the dead man.

Eden's nerves were taught, but he felt confident. The man before him was more of a sneak than a fighter, a far cry from Kander's brute-force attempt. He held his knife like a thief, the blade pointing outward.

The inklings of a familiar pressure started in his head.

For fuck's sake, Eden cursed. He had just been about to disembowel this rat of a man- it wasn't the ideal time to test his device.