Whisperclaw hasn't even been asleep for an hour when shouting and heavy footsteps erupt in the streets outside. I peer through the curtains, quickly closing them back at the sight of hundreds of people with their weapons drawn.
"Hold them back!" Someone with authority yells, most likely a knight. "We can't allow them to break through to the castle!"
"Charge!" Someone else shouts. "Long live the Inner Circle!"
Cries of agreement follow, blending with a mix of gunshots, clashing steel, and screams of agony. I grab my saber and shield and shake Whisperclaw awake.
"What's with all the noise?" She sits up groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"I'm not sure." I shove her bag into her hands. "It's like a battlefield out there. There's a chance we can use the commotion to make it into the fourth ring of the city, though."
"Are you sure we should go out in this? It looks pretty bad." Whisperclaw peeks out of the window.
"That's exactly why we need to go. If Glimmer's anywhere in the city right now, he's in worse danger than we could have imagined. So is his father, I assume." I open the door to our room and peek down the dark, dank hallway.
The coast is clear. I go to step out, only to be pulled back into the room by my wrist. My cloak gets tossed over my head.
"We can't go anywhere without these," Whisperclaw says sternly. "Do you want to get arrested?"
"You're right." I slip my cloak on, flipping up the hood. "I almost forgot."
We creep down the hall and the stairs. For some odd reason, the lights are off. Brownspot is nowhere in sight, and all of the tables are empty.
"That's odd." I whisper, motioning for Whisperclaw to stand back by the staircase. "It can't be later than 5 or 6 in the evening. Why would the tavern be closed?"
"That's cause Spots went to join the coup with the others." The lights in the room flick on. Standing in front of the door leading outside is a shirtless, grey-skinned senat with a slim, silver longsword on his back emitting a constant hum. "She sent me to meet with you in her place, Renald and Whisperclaw of the Black Raven guild."
"Who are you?" I draw my saber and slip my shield off my back. "We don't have all day, so answer swiftly."
"You should be asking how I know who you are, not who I am, White Knight." The man grins.
"You really shouldn't have said that." I promised Ironvine that I wouldn't kill needlessly anymore, but this man knows too much.
We charge each other. He tries to hit me with a right jab, then a left cross. I weave both, slashing out with my saber. I aim at the man's chest, but he hops back. I swing my shield at him, only for him to push off of it with his foot and do a backflip, expertly landing on the top of a nearby table.
"You're pretty good, but…" The man starts, but Whisperclaw is quicker.
She appears out of his shadow and squeezes her arms around him. I hit the man square in the chest with a front kick. Whisperclaw uses the momentum to slam him on his back. The man grabs Whisperclaw by the cloak and throws her into the wall. I stab at his thigh, but he rolls out of the way, flips off the table, and lands on his feet, drawing his sword.
"You guys are starting to piss me off." A faint blue aura begins to swirl around him.
I blink, and the man is gone. Instinctively, I look behind me. I barely see the blow coming, putting my arms up to stop the back of his sword from hitting me in the stomach. I hear my leather armor crack and am sent flying backwards. Pain explodes up my forearms. My back slams into the door to the tavern. It shatters on impact and I barrel into the street. All around me is chaos. Knights and bounty hunters are fighting to the death in front of my very eyes. Whisperclaw comes flying out of the window, skidding to a stop in front of me.
"I don't think we're doing too good of a job right now." She scrambles to her feet, drawing her daggers from her belt. "We don't know enough about this guy to win this fight, Renald."
"Tsk." I suck my teeth, but she's right. "Shit. You make a break for the gate, I'll hold him off as long as I can. Then I'll catch up with you."
"Don't tell me you're leaving already." My eyes snap to the broken tavern door, locking onto the man stepping through. "The fun's just getting started."
"Run! Find Glimmer and get the hell out of here!" I yell, dashing towards the man at full speed.
He somehow meets me halfway in a single step, our blades clashing against each other.
"You're trying to save the little runt?" The man laughs. "Vanhiel has something special planned for that worthless piece of shit!"
"Shut up!" I slash out wildly with my saber, breaking our lock and aiming for the man's neck with a second slash.
He parries, spinning and kicking me in my shield, knocking me back.
"Did I touch a nerve?" A grin creeps onto the man's face. "We're going to make that pomegranate snargle and his father into an example for the whole city! No! The entire world! Inside and outside the tower!"
He's insane, I think, glancing behind me to look for Whisperclaw. To my relief, I don't find her amidst the bloodshed. The man suddenly appears in front of me and tries to chop down on my shoulder. I lean out of the way, sending his hand into the ground instead of my arm, which leaves a small crater. I try to roundhouse kick the man in the side, but he rolls his shoulder and grabs my leg, tossing me into a knight and bounty hunter fight. I jump back onto my feet and stab out towards the senat man. He weaves and moves to disarm me, but I hit him in the face with my shield before he can. He leans on the side of his foot, slightly unbalanced. I attempt a leg sweep. He leaps up and stabs down on top of me. I roll out of the way, sweeping my blade around as I spin into a stand. Its edge carves through the top layer of the senat's throat. Ruby red blood gushes out of the gaping wound.
"Dammit Ash, can't you do anything without my help?" A very familiar voice says into my ear, followed by a stabbing pain in my side.
My vision goes blurry. My head feels like it's underwater. My legs feel like noodles. I slump down to my knees, unable to stand. Through the haze, I see Brownspot stepping past me and over to the senat. My breathing feels shallow, and I finally fall.
"Don't worry. Vanhiel told us not to kill you." Spot hands Ash something, which he eats. The wound I worked so hard to inflict on his chest heals in an instant.
"Brownspot…" I can barely get the words out, "...why?"
"Oh, shut up." Her boot comes down onto my face, and the world fades to oblivion.