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7: The Assassin
The rain started to beat down harder as Desslok instinctively twisted out of the way, avoiding splintered branches and other debris raining down from the explosion that had shattered the tree behind him. By some miracle, he kept his footing on the slippery branch.
So did the assassin.
Almost as soon as the prince turned back around towards the other man, he had to duck out of the way as a set of iron knuckles whooshed past his head, nearly cracking his skull.
He dropped to his knees, dug his fingers into the bark and swung one leg out to knock the assassin's feet out from under him. He couldn't tell whether or not the man was following his movements, the black, visored helmet covering his opponent's head obscured his vision. The prince got his answer when the assassin avoided his sweep handily with an effortless backflip.
"Not so clumsy now, I see."Desslok thought icily before declaring, "I don't know who you are or what you want, but if anyone in that room – especially the one you just shot – dies because of you, I will kill you myself."
The assassin replied with a calculated flick of his wrist, sending a knife whizzing towards the prince's forehead.
Desslok flipped himself under the branch just in time to hear the thunk of the blade embedding itself in the wood above him.
He used his momentum to swing back up onto the branch; he landed on his feet, and quicker than the shooter could have anticipated he darted in and landed a solid punch to the assassin's gut before quickly flipping the visor of the helmet up with his other hand so that he could see who was trying to kill them.
Staggering backwards with the force of the blow and the distress of having the air knocked from his lungs, the other man fell, landing on his back. He started to slip off the branch, but he managed to grab hold of a smaller limb before he plummeted out of the tree and joined his weapon, now sinking in the swampy undergrowth below.
"Who are you?" the prince stood above the dangling mercenary, staring down into the soulless black eyes, one half-covered by the man's medium brown hair.
The assassin stared back at him blankly.
"Who are you?!" the prince bellowed into the other man's face.
The shout echoed through the night, causing whatever creatures of the darkness that had dared to return to the area to fall into silence again.
The assassin's face remained unchanged; not even a hint of any sort of emotion crossed his features.
"Who sent you?" the prince tried again, this time pointing his weapon at the man.
The glinting of silver in the moonlit rain shower caused Desslok to react without thinking. Not even one syllable had escaped the assassin's mouth before the prince shot the amulet out of the mercenary's hand. It made a thick plopping sound as it hit the soggy ground far below.
The prince shook his head and said coldly, "Nice try, but I've seen that before too many times. Calling dark spirits to do your work for you is not an option."
Without warning, the mercenary flipped his body up through the air and landed on the thicker end of the tree branch, once more battle-ready.
The prince rolled his eyes. "You seem to have forgotten that I have the upper-hand here." he used his weapon to shoo the assassin backward, toward the trunk of the tree. The man took three steps backward and stopped.
The prince, unhappy with the minimal progress, leveled his weapon at the man's head and said coldly, "Now, let's try this again, shall we. Who are you?"
The assassin looked at the prince, then at the weapon and something seemed to click in his brain.
"Finally." thought Desslok, "An answer."
"I serve the Malha Guardiana* and those of her blood; she will bring peace –"
"No." the prince shook his head and held up his unoccupied hand to silence the other man. The irony of his words made Desslok angry, "The Malha's line was broken years ago. And if you truly served those of her bloodline, this planet would never have gone through Rea Atid*, or the Marad.*"
"We do what the Malha commands. She knows what is best." the assassin continued, unphased and expressionless.
"The Malha is dead!" the prince raised his voice in his anger, trying to elicit something, some sort of emotional response from his opponent, anything that would betray a weakness, or cause a momentary lapse of concentration.
"As long as we who believe in her live, she will as well." came the steady reply. "She will return to us when the time is right."
"You are either an idiot, or there is something severely lacking in your mental capacity." the prince replied, his tone returning to ice.
"The Malha will return." the assassin said again.
"I don't care." said Desslok. "Start climbing." he motioned to the tree trunk with his gun hand.
The assassin, surprisingly, started the downward journey without protest.
The prince watched him descend, a look of suspicion spreading over his face one again. Perhaps this man was merely a well-trained idiot.
He started down after the now-weaponless killer, making sure to keep one eye on the other man at all times. It was an awkward trip down, but both of them made it to the ground in one piece.
Once his feet were on the ground the assassin moved to flip his visor down over his face.
"Leave it up." Desslok ordered.
The mercenary's hand dropped back to his side and he made no further move to re-cover his face.
"Walk." the prince growled, motioning towards the inn.
The assassin started to take a step in the indicated direction.
"Watch your footing." Desslok said and the assassin adjusted where he put his foot, avoiding a soft patch of ground.
The rain was still falling lightly as the two trekked the hundred odd feet to the inn door, the prince's weapon trained on the mercenary's back the whole time, ready to shoot if he had to.
They reached the door, but just before they slipped through the opening, the prince leaned forward and said in a low voice, "I meant what I said; if the one you shot down dies because of you, I will kill you."
The assassin made no reply. He didn't even acknowledge that he had heard Desslok. This made the prince even more angry.
"Move." Desslok seethed, indicating that the other man was supposed to go into the building now.
The mercenary obeyed silently.
The first person they saw upon re-entering the inn was David. He looked stressed from the encounter, but otherwise intact.
The younger Lysis looked from the teenager to his prisoner and nodded, "I'm sure Dommel will want to talk to him."
Desslok nodded to David and nudged the assassin forward with the muzzle of his gun.
The man walked in the correct direction, still showing no emotion.
The two walked through the Lysis's suite and into the disheveled bedroom, followed by David. Dommel was just helping Elisa up from the floor when they entered
Desslok's eyes swept around the room looking for the fallen Masterson.
"Watch him." the prince ordered David, pointing to the assassin.
Not knowing what else to do, the younger Lysis nodded and pointed his rifle at the prisoner.
"Masterson." the prince fell to his knees beside his only friend, dread rising in him as he took in the ugly scorch mark that marred Talan's chest. He placed one hand just above the laser burn, waiting to feel the rise and fall that would tell him that Talan was still alive.
There was nothing.
The prince moved his hand to Masterson's neck to check for a pulse, but as soon as his fingers touched Talan's skin, the young man's eyes flew open, "You should stay out of the rain for a while, sir. Your hands are freezing."
A wave of relief washed over the prince and for once he actually smiled. "How...?"
Careful not to show those on the other side of the room, Masterson peeled back his burned shirt to reveal an armored chest plate fitted to his torso. "The hit knocked me over; I blacked out because I crashed into the wall on the way down."
Desslok shook his head, "I should have known not to wor –" he cleared his throat to cover his near-blunder, "be concerned."
Masterson put his shirt back together as best as he could to hide his protective covering. No random teenager owned such a thing and if he was caught wearing it, there would be questions he couldn't answer.
The prince stood up and, uncharacteristically, offered Masterson a helping hand. Talan took it and the prince hauled his friend to his feet.
"You should put your other glove back on, Sir. They may begin to wonder why you've switched to wearing only one." said Talan quietly.
The prince reluctantly fished the other glove out of a pocket and quickly slipped it on.
That small matter taken care of, the admiral's son brushed himself off and walked over to David and the prisoner. "So, this was our trouble-maker?" said Masterson, studying the older, taller assassin.
"Yes." Desslok said flatly, staring into the cold, dull eyes of the mercenary.
"Dommel," David called his brother over to look at the man who had been sent to kill him. "this is hi –"
"Wolf?" Elisa pushed past her husband who had only turned around far enough to see the prisoner through his peripheral vision, "Wolf?!" she cried, running to him and slipping the helmet off of the man's sweat and rain drenched head, "What have they done to you?"
The assassin looked blankly at the weeping woman, then something in his eyes began to spark and a bit of life flowed back into them. "E... lisa..." he mumbled very slowly, as if his mind was reaching out for the name, but didn't quite know if he had found it yet.
"Yes!" the woman said, her tears streaming down her face.
The assassin looked at the inn-keeper, eyes still clouded, but ever so slowly clearing, "Domm...el..."
"Oh... Frakken..." Dommel shook his head slowly, not believing what he was seeing. "They threw a veil over your mind and programmed you, didn't they...?"
The prisoner, Wolf, shook his head to try to clear away more of the fog. He blinked his eyes furiously and used one hand to try to wipe away the mist.
"You know this man?" Masterson looked at Dommel, Elisa, and the assassin in disbelief.
"He and I served aboard Nepheshel Gamilon* together during Rea Atid. We were there... the day she was sabotaged..." Dommel covered his face with his hand as the weight of that awful day in history fell on him again combined with the horror of what had happened to his old friend.
Images of the terror they had all gone through – the firefights, the enemy soldiers descending on them in a sea of death, the capture and killing of the Queen, the fight to survive and escape that nightmare planet – it all came back to him in one horrific wave.
"Sh – sh – shêdim –" Frakken's eyes suddenly went wild and he began twitching and stuttering uncontrollably, "Sh – sh – sh –" then he blacked out, and he would have hit the floor had David not caught him in time.
"Dommel!" Elisa exclaimed, throwing her husband back into the present. "He's trying to break free of them!"
"Put him down," Dommel ordered his brother, rushing over to his wife's side and pulling her away from Wolf, "You don't want to be near him."
"What is he doing?" The younger Lysis asked.
"He's fighting for his soul..." said Masterson, stepping towards the man.
"Don't –" Dommel tried to pull Talan back, but the admiral's son evaded the grasping hand easily and went to kneel beside the possessed saying, "He won't be able to do it alone."
Placing a hand on the other man's forehead, Masterson began to pray,
"Refa'einu Adonai venerafe' hoshu'enu venuvvashe'ah
(Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed; save us, and we will be saved,)
ki yehillatenu 'attah veha'aleh refu'ah shelemah lekhol
(for the one we praise is You. Bring complete healing for all)
makoteinu ki 'el melekh refei ne'eman verachaman
(our sicknesses, for O God, for You are our faithful and compassionate Healer and King)
'attah barukh 'attah 'Adonai rofe' cholei 'ammo yisra'el."
(Blessed are you, Lord, the Healer of the sick of Israel.)
Then he turned from prayer to Adonai to addressing the shêdim now tormenting their host, "In the Name of Yeshua ha Mashiach and by His power, leave this man."
The authority with which Masterson spoke surprised even Desslok. He had never heard his friend speak with such power before, not even when he had faced down that shêd the day the zealots had stormed the palace several months ago*.
Frakken's eyes opened too wide and he let out an unearthly roar.
Elisa clung to her husband with one hand and put the other to her abdomen as her baby kicked her hard, frightened by the horrible sound.
David looked on in amazement as the forces of evil tried to hang onto their victim only to be ripped away by the power of the Name of Mashiach.
Desslok stared at the sight, knowing what he was seeing, but having difficulty processing it – like looking into a mirror that's missing a piece of glass out of the middle.
The spirits that were holding onto the man sprawled on the floor finally let go of his mind and their victim lay there breathing like a runner just finishing a marathon, sweat pouring down his face and soaking the black clothes he wore.
"David, get him some water," Dommel ordered his brother, seeing that the danger had passed.
David nodded and disappeared, quickly returning with the requested water and helping the exhausted former drone sit up. Once he was upright David handed him the water which he drank under his own power.
"Thank you." Frakken nodded to David. "And," he turned his face towards Masterson, "thank you... for giving me my life back."
"Do not thank me," Masterson shook his head, "thank Adonai. He is the only One who has the power to restore a man's mind to him. I am only His servant."
"Thank Adonai for me then." Frakken replied, "He and I haven't spoken for a while." he added in a much quieter voice.
"Wolf!" Elisa exclaimed, returning and kneeling beside him, the task made difficult by her pregnancy.
"Hello, Elisa." he smiled.
"When you disappeared after our wedding, Dommel and I thought you had been killed during the Marad." she said.
"No such luck, I'm afraid..." he sighed. "How... how long has it been since your wedding...?"
"Almost five years..." Elisa replied.
Frakken balled his fist and slammed it into the floor startling Elisa. "They've had me locked up in my own head for five years!?" he cursed. Seeing that he had scared Elisa he continued more calmly, "I'm sorry... It's just... a shock..."
"I know..." she accepted his apology, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"So, do I have a niece or a nephew?" he changed the subject to something that wasn't depressing.
Masterson, still kneeling on the other side of Frakken, looked at Elisa in confusion. Seeing the teenager's expression she offered, "He's my half-brother." then, turning back to her long lost sibling, she said, "Nephew."
Frakken nodded, "Congratulations to you both," he half-smiled at his sister and brother-in-law. "And where is that bird?"
"Oh! Juji!" Elisa exclaimed, realizing she had forgotten all about the animal, "David, please let Juji out; I'm sure he's either terrified or outraged at being left out of the excitement."
David snorted at the thought of the funny bird and went out into the suite's living area.
An animated squawking noise came from the other room accompanied by exclamations of, "Juji! Behave!" and "Juji! Don't eat that!"
Suddenly the black bird came waddling through the room, feathers all poofed out in a show of unhappiness, but as soon as he saw Frakken he began chittering and flapping his wings, his good mood instantly restored.
The entire group – even the prince – shared a laugh as they watched Juji stand first on Wolf's leg, then his arm, then his head, still chittering happily at the return of someone he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Juji, get down." Frakken said to the creature.
The bird, surprisingly, obeyed him and hopped off of the man's head. Juji looked at Frakken with his head cocked to one side, studying him as though he were comparing the way Frakken looked now with the way he had five years ago.
With a final delighted squawk, Juji finished his greeting and waddled over to Dommel before launching himself up to sit on his master's shoulder.
Once the laughter had died down, Frakken turned his attention to Desslok and said much more seriously, "I don't know who you are, but my compliments on your skill. If I hadn't been under the... influence... of them, you'd have bested me long before you did. As it is, I don't know how you did what you did."
"I've come to expect the unexpected," the prince replied vaguely, all mirth now gone and mistrust emanating from him. Even after seeing the ordeal this man had just come through, he still had his doubts about him – doubts that only time could erase.
Sensing the tension, Masterson hopped into the conversation, "Was there anyone else with you?" he asked Frakken.
Both the man and the inn-keeper smirked in response.
"You've never heard of 'The Lone Wolf'?" said Dommel in disbelief.
"I work alone." Frakken supplemented, "Always have... always will," he said the last bit sadly. "even when I'm not in my right mind, apparently." he took a deep breath and said, "They sent no one else with me."
"Did they give you anything to keep with you?" Masterson continued.
"No, nothing. Except... that amulet."
"Where is it?" Talan probed.
Frakken looked at Desslok and said, "Somewhere in the muck outside."
"What amulet?" Dommel asked uneasily.
"A silver one, like those that the zealots use to summon their friends." Desslok supplied.
The inn-keeper's face paled in memory and he groaned, realizing that they were all in much more trouble than he had originally thought.
"We have to get out of here." Masterson launched into action and would have herded them all out of the room right then but a hand on his arm stopped him.
"I don't think we're going anywhere right now." said Elisa, a strange look on her face.
As Masterson looked back at the woman, he could see traces of pain etched in her features, but the meaning was lost to him, "Why not?"
"Never a dull moment." came the prince's sarcastic addition to the conversation, "Masterson, you are hopeless sometimes."
Talan raised an eyebrow at Desslok then looked back at Elisa in time to see her grimace, then it finally dawned on him: Dommel and Elisa's son wasn't going to wait another month to make his entrance.
"You idiot!" came the thundering roar, "I said 'send Grim back in': NOT 'SEND FRAKKEN'!" The victim of Yeshin's wrath was cowering beneath his superior's rampage. "How could you be so stupid?!"
"I – I'm sorry, Sir."
"Not as sorry as you will be." the Regent growled at the other zealot. "Your little mistake may have costed us one of our best assassins." Yeshin let out a wordless bellow of frustration, "He's dropped completely off the radar! Tell me, how is that possible!?"
"He has either found a way to escape the shêdim, or his transmitter is broken, Sir." the underling offered.
"Neither of which is acceptable!" the regent bellowed.
"What should I do, Sir?" came the penitent response.
Yeshin glared at the younger man, "You will be doing nothing," the sharp sound of laser fire split the air, "with the other dead men."
The zealot slumped to the floor, his lifeless body tangling unnaturally. Yeshin pushed the corpse aside with his foot. "Fiske!"
Loud footsteps echoed through the darkness as the summoned quickly answered his master's call. "Yes, sir?"
"Find Wolf Frakken's last known location. If he is dead, bring back proof of his demise; if he is alive and... intact... and somehow his transmitter is damaged, leave him alone, but follow him back here."
"And if neither of those things are true?" the man asked.
"Then put him down. Like the dog he was named for." Yeshin thought for a moment, then added, "And kill anyone you find with him." the regent studied the other man for a second or two before saying, "You're the best bounty-hunter I have, Fiske. Do not fail me."
"I think the price of failure a bit high for my liking," replied Fiske, glancing at the dead zealot. "Rest assured, I will do as you have asked, or I will die trying."
* Malha Guardiana - "Queen Guardiana"
* Rea Atid – a reference to the previous book, The Guardiana; a war in which Queen Talonka was captured by the Bolar Federation and killed; treachery on the part of Talonka's mother, Aurelia Guardiana has always been suspected
* Marad - "rebellion"; reference to the first book The Guardiana; an event following the death of Queen Talonka where the Guardiana zealots rose up against Leader Deun I and attempted to take control of Gamilon
* Nepheshel Gamilon – means "Spirit of Gamilon"
* Zealots storming of the palace – reference to the previous book The Guardiana