Sasha The Assassin Part 8

                “I’m not going to kill you.” Lord Brown told Sasha as the army massed at the gathering point. “Oh I know Mistress Green wants me to once you've gotten us the jewel, but I trust you. I have faith in you my dear and more to the point I think you’ll be a helpful ally once I am king. Since you will no longer be a slave after tonight you’ll be paid quite well for your service.” He finished with a nod to her.

                Sasha nodded back to him. Her face was blank but the intensity in her red eyes was easy to see. The glamour of choice was red hair with white framing her face and a black stripe across her eyes with black tears running down her cheeks. Warriors of her nation painted such imagines on their faces when they knew they were going to die in battle. Lord Brown stared at her for another moment and then turned and nodded to the three men cloaked in blue at the head of the army.

                The men began chanting, their voices started off melodic and soothing but soon the noise became distorted and twisted, almost demonic sounding, until finally the very fabric of reality warped in front of them. Sasha had heard of the great portals that allowed people to travel thousands of miles in the blink of an eye but she’d never seen one in person. Now before her was a portal that thousands of men were charging through and on the other end was a two mile march to the castle of the king. The great battle had arrived.

                Sasha braced herself and ran through the portal. She did not follow the army on it’s march towards the castle, her place was elsewhere. She wondered for miles until she finally found the fetid stream that led into the sewers. The air was rank with waste as she made her way through the twisting tunnels until she finally came to the location Mistress Green had told her about. She was now under the castle itself.

A grappling hook got her to the ceiling of the tunnel and she was able to push aside the stone and get herself into the castle.  Once inside she quickly disguised herself as a knight of the king.  She made her way through the hallways of the castle and was amazed as she passed warding stone after warding stone yet not of them stripped her of her glamour or sounded an alarm. She shook her head as she wondered why the Greens would go to such trouble to overthrow a dynasty they were so well established with.

Sasha finally had found her way to the king’s private chambers. She drew Mercy from it’s sheath and took a breath. The door flew open as she kicked it and she rolled into the room only to find nobody there. Sasha quickly composed herself and then noticed the king’s crown resting on a desk near the bed. She looked the crown over carefully and saw that it was real gold and the gems were authentic. The centerpiece diamond took a little work to pry free but she finally managed to get it loose and she pocketed it.

She debated seeking out the king to murder him but then decided that she’d either be dead or free within the next two hours so she really didn't have much desire to engage a bunch of armored knights in an effort to kill the king when a rumor of the king’s death would do just as well. She walked towards the entry point she’d gained access to the castle from before and then waited. Finally she heard the footsteps of a patrol. With a quick jab of her dagger she drew blood from her forehead. She let the blood leak onto the crown and then she placed the crown on the ground in directly where the patrol would see it once they rounded the corner. Once the crown was placed she quickly escaped the castle and started her trek through the sewers to the meeting point.

The journey came to an end at the entranceway to the sewers where she was to meet up with the person that was to take the jewel to Lord Brown. When she got there she saw Craggs staring at her. “Really Craggs? You’re going to kill me?” Sasha said with more disappointment than anything else.

“They told me this would help to kill you.” Craggs told her in a cold, emotionless voice as he held a ball of light in his hands. The ball exploded and suddenly the whole tunnel was coated in bright light. Sasha knew of such weapons and what they would do to her. She had no means of escape and she had no way to hurt the giant that stood before her.

“I am at your mercy.” She told Craggs as she threw the diamond to him. She then took out her daggers and threw them to the side and then the sai right after that. “Do as your master demands and kill me.” Sasha told him.

“I have no choice in this. You know this Sasha. Slaves must do as their masters command. This is the way of the world.” Craggs replied to her as he pulled out his broadsword.

“What if I could make you free? What if I could make you no longer a slave?” Sasha asked him.

Craggs walked towards her, shaking his head as he moved. “Such a bold promise. I didn't hear you making such offers to me before your life was about to be ended.” He stood over her and waited for a moment.

“I hadn't figured it all out just then, but now I’m pretty sure I've got everything all mapped out. I know the truth. It’s up to you Craggs, we both know this ends with our masters obtaining an unstoppable power and being able to ruin the southern kingdoms with an iron fist. If they want to kill us after they do so it’ll take them but a thought to do so. I think I can stop them and I think I can make us both free in the process. What’s the difference if I live or die really?” Sasha asked him.

Craggs looked over her and pondered what she had said. He then put his broadsword back in it’s sheath. “You talk a big game. Let’s see if you can back it up.” He told her. Sasha grabbed her weapons and rearmed herself.

“You will be a free man come the morning. I promise you.” Sasha told him as they headed towards the vault.