Page 104 of To Kill a King

“Zadé!” Using his foot, he slid his weapons from his adversary’s body and let the corpse fall to the ground.

“Come on, Elsan,” Zadé said. “I think mine’s still alive. Yeh wanted one to question, right?”

He sighed. Yes, but he’d also been enjoying the fight. He wiped his swords on the dead woman’s tunic. He needed a stream or pond to clean the now-sticky hilts.

The Arcane Inquisitor was still laying on his side groaning as they approached. The red stone in his forehead glowed, casting a burgundy light across the clearing.

Elessan tipped his toe under the man’s shoulder and flipped him on his back. “What are the king’s plans for Aliya?”

The man squinted, peering at him for two heartbeats.

Elessan shifted his grip on his blade’s blood-covered handle.

Seizing the opportunity, Brooks rolled away, grabbed the dead woman’s sword, and popped to his feet. He side-stepped until he could keep both of them in view. The jewel in his forehead flashed in the sun as he gave them a thin-lipped smile.

Elessan brandished his weapons, pointing them at the inquisitor’s icy heart. “Where’s Aliya?” Swinging his right sword in a circle over his head, he lunged.

Brooks parried, shoving the blade aside before slashing at Elessan’s throat. “Somewhere you’ll never find her, knife-ears.”

Bringing his off-hand weapon to bear, Elessan guided the attack harmlessly over his head as he took a step backward. If he could position his opponent so Zadé could flank him, they’d have the advantage.

Seeming to catch his intent, Zadé shifted to her left, circling.

Brooks’ brazen claim stung more than Elessan wanted to admit—it was probably true. With her head start combined with what she’d learned on the road with him, and her new ability to use her magic to mask the evidence of her passing, he would likely never find her. At least, not before the Inquisitor with his magestone did.

Elessan spun both swords in lateral arcs—one for the other man’s neck, the other for his intestines. The smartest thing to do may be to let the human go, with the understanding that he would eventually lead them to Aliya. But Brooks had proven himself too smart for that. He’d expect them to follow him, and then deploy another Whisperer rather than leading them to his prey.

He couldn’t allow that. Best to kill the man now, and trust Aliya to take care of herself.

Brooks leaped into a barrel roll, parallel to the ground with his head pointed toward Elessan, his feet near Zadé.

Elessan’s blades hissed through the air as they swung past.

Halfway through the jump, Brooks kicked out, catching Zadé across the temple as she lunged forward.

She crumpled.

Scrambling backward, Elessan shook his head. The move had happened too quickly for him to tell if the takedown had been luck or skill. Lead settled in his gut. He couldn’t afford to underestimate the king’s Arcane Inquisitor or it would cost him his life, and eventually Aliya’s when Brooks finally delivered her to his king.

Sparing a quick glance at Zadé, Brooks smirked and turned to him. “Just you and me now, elf.”

Crossing his fingers in hopes Zadé would be alright, Elessan stabbed at his opponent’s heart with one sword and swung at his throat with the other.

Brooks parried left then right, shoving his attacks aside. Following through, he slashed Elessan’s collarbone.

The sensation of something dragging across his skin pulled him off-balance.

The edge of the blade came away red and dripping. The distinctive coppery smell hit his nose.

Two heartbeats later, pain exploded over his chest as his shirt turned wet and clung to the edges of the wound.

He shoved the ache to the back of his mind—he couldn’t afford to be distracted or he and Zadé would both die. Aliya would be next. Spinning around, he sliced at the inquisitor’s gut.

The other man contracted his abdomen into an arc and jumped back as the tip of the weapon sailed by.

They traded a few more blows, the sound of their blades clashing echoed through the clearing. Elessan parried and pushed the human several steps back.

“Your king is a monster.” Elessan spit into the dirt at Brooks’ feet. “Why do you follow him?”