Hunt for the Three Roses (eBook)

Jason Hubbard (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018 | 1. Auflage
363 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-5439-4766-3 (ISBN)

Infos

Change is in the winds in this high-stakes, emotional fantasy adventure! On the run from the army which he once proudly served, Kane Bailey changes his name to Sean, leaving nearly every shred of his old life behind. His old tutor, Master Cypher, helps guide Sean and gives him a mission that's more important than Sean realizes: Bring an older, simple-minded man named Jonas to the Royal Palace, where he'll be safe. Callie meanwhile is unsure what she wants to do in life. Leading a criminal lifestyle is all that she knows, but it would mean starting from the very bottom. But while her future is up in the air, her dark past rises to haunt her. Rainer the assassin has a score to settle, and he wants to make it as painful and heart-wrenching for Callie as possible. In this second installment of the Three Roses Trilogy, the hunt is on ... and there will be blood.

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Prologue

On a rocky path amid the Tarnlan Mountains, a horse struggled to carry its rider. The poor animal had been forced to run for nearly three days straight, eating very little and resting only when its rider did. Its rear was now blemished with scars from the rider striking too hard with his crop whenever the horse stubbornly refused to move, and its ribs formed a ghastly shape along its skin.

In the kingdom of Lonsaran, most men revered their steeds and took good care of them. Some even treated their steeds better than they did their own families.

But this rider was not like most men. Rainer was an assassin who held very little regard for the sanctity of life—except for his own, that is. If someone paid him to slay another person, he didn’t ask why. It didn’t matter in most cases who or what the target was, be it a merchant, a street beggar, a local lord, a priest, or an ordinary man living on a modest wage. As long as the coin was good and plentiful, then the target was as good as dead already.

Rainer had gotten the animal shortly after he happened upon two horsemen in a forest. One of them had dismounted to take a piss off the dirt path and was talking loudly as he did. Rainer had snuck up close amid the dense undergrowth then ran across the path with his sword raised. He slashed the rear leg of the occupied horse and mounted the other. The animal resisted as its fellow cried out and frantically limped away, but Rainer persevered and managed to climb atop the saddle. The horse then bucked, forcing Rainer to drop his sword and clutch the saddle’s horn. After a terrifying moment when he believed he’d get thrown off, the horse stopped bucking and got to running after Rainer smacked it. He looked back once to witness the other horse throw its rider off and nearly collapse from the pain in its leg. The other man merely shook his fist at Rainer while holding up his trousers with the other hand. The suffering and dismay in his wake made Rainer grin with delight.

He rode his new steed hard that first day, for he desperately wanted to get as far from Fort Lauer as he could. The Consarian army was seeking to liberate it from the invading Lonsarans, and since he had posed as a Consarian soldier over the past two weeks, his fellows would surely be looking for him to join the raid. Well, either that or they wanted him for killing two women and two men in their camp. There was also the fact that the men whose horse he stole were soldiers. Murder, theft and desertion—three excellent reasons why his neck would get stretched should he get caught.

On the afternoon of the second day, he crossed the border into Lonsaran and grew comfortable enough to take it easier on the horse. He still made it run, though, giving it next to nothing to eat even after he murdered a young couple for their food near a small village. The animal rested only when Rainer grew tired from the ache in his thighs, plus it needed to drink to stay hydrated in the sweltering August heat.

And now he was finally in the mountains near the border, closing in on his hideout. It had taken a while to make the horse realize that disobeying him was not an option, but it had pulled through and got him here in good time. He had let it slow down to a trot, using his crop only to urge it up steep inclines. Once he arrived at a familiar group of boulders, he pulled on the reins and dismounted. As he started up the southern slope, the horse gave a nasally whicker and hunkered down to rest. Rainer turned to consider its condition. While on the road it had lost a lot of weight, its face had grown gaunt, and its hooves had splintered. It was no good for travel anymore, so once he got some things done he’ll return and slay it for its meat. One quick thrust through its heart and the animal would gladly depart for whatever afterlife horses went to. It didn’t appear willing to venture away, so there was no need to tie it up at the moment.

He climbed alongside the boulders till he found the narrow entrance to a cavern that was nearly invisible from the trail. He shimmied inside and put up the hood of his leather tunic, then cautiously made his way through the dark, jumped nimbly over a small stream, and found himself in a sizable room filled with the constant echoes of dripping water. There were a few pieces of furniture he had brought in through a larger opening, such as a living room table, a coat hanger, a mattress, and five lanterns. He refueled two of the lanterns and lit them, then examined the place. Nothing seemed missing, so he nodded in approval. Shortly after he had moved in, local bandits ransacked the place, believing that what was his was also theirs. After the second looting, he retaliated by killing three of their number and putting their heads on pikes beside cavern entrances. It looked like the bandit gangs had taken the hint.

On the opposite side of the table were two oaken chests. He unlocked one with a key and steeled himself before opening it. Inside were various body parts of people he had killed throughout his career. There were eyes, noses, tongues, hands, and feet, all taken from victims he had been paid good money to bump off. And by God, did they stink! He knew it was a risk keeping them here, for the stench invited scavengers to this clammy abode. Still, he couldn’t help but admire his collection as he hung a lantern over them, fondly remembering all the places he had broken into and the faces he had stilled.

He then produced a small sack from an inner pocket and took out a blood-encrusted nose. It had belonged to an old business partner named Kap, whom he had killed accidentally months ago. It was the only body part he had any regret possessing, yet now it was in his collection to join the ranks of finer mementos. He placed the nose within a small row of others, then closed the chest, turned around, and took a deep breath while fighting the urge to vomit. After several years of committing murder, he’d think he was past getting offended by sickly pungent odors, but his senses thought otherwise.

After resting his legs awhile on a rickety chair, he opened the other chest which held more … cleaner items. He took out what appeared to be a jewelry box but was actually so much more. It was made of steel with gold paint, its top surface decorated with a delicate pattern of crisscrossing wavy lines. A small ruby was placed in the center, its faint glow indicating that the box’s enchantment was still in effect.

He set the box on the table, gave it a healthy shake, and then pulled out a drawer from the right side. “Wake up, I need you,” he snapped in annoyance.

A pair of gossamer dragonfly wings sprouted from the drawer, followed by a yawn that could have come from a newborn babe. The wings then fluttered and brought up the figure of a young woman only slightly taller than the length of Rainer’s hand. She rubbed her miniscule blue eyes with tiny fists as she stretched her legs, and she circled in the air a few times to get herself used to flying after her months-long slumber.

She was a fairy named Nyx, and while she may appear harmless with her slender form and tiny strips of green fabric for clothing, Rainer knew better. Fairies were willful beings capable of incredibly powerful magic. The only thing keeping Nyx from blasting him away into oblivion was the enchantment on the box, which was called a “fairy binder.” A strong and competent mage had attached her life to the box, so whoever possessed the box essentially possessed her as well. Plus, if Nyx ever killed someone whether on her own or through her master’s order, the box’s enchantment would instantly kill her. It was a hell of a way to keep a fairy obedient—and in the eyes of many, it was the only way.

“Hello, master,” Nyx said in her tiny, innocent voice, her body bathed in a soft white light. “I’m so glad to be of service to you again! What may I do for you? Draw you a bath? Clean your clothes? Fetch you something to eat?”

Instead of answering right away, Rainer leaned back in his chair and sighed. He fingered the front of his tunic which bore a narrow hole amid a large blood stain. “I died, Nyx,” he said, sounding as if he didn’t believe his own words. “Just a few days ago, I died. A girl ran her sword clear through me, then stuck my own dagger into my throat. I should be dead now.”

“But … but master,” Nyx cheerily said, “you don’t look dead to me. You look as hale and hearty as ever!”

Rainer looked at her with a pair of dead, intimidating eyes. “Nyx, you fairies have many … admirable qualities. Your tendency to state the obvious … is not one of them.”

Nyx hung her head and lowered herself in the air, her soft glow diminishing a little. “I’m sorry, master. It won’t happen again.”

Rainer took to staring into space again. “This girl … her name is Callie. I asked her clan leader to carry out a job for me, and he had her do it. She failed and barely got away with her precious life. In doing so, she cost me a lot of coin. And Nyx, when I say ‘a lot,’ I mean ‘a shitload.’ More coin than I know what to do with. I may have been able to afford you new clothes.”

Nyx ran her fingers nervously through her short auburn hair. “Oh, um … that’s fine, master. I’m happy with what I have on, really …”

He nodded as if he believed her. “It’s too...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 20.9.2018
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• ISBN-10: 1-5439-4766-2 / 1543947662
• ISBN-13: 978-1-5439-4766-3 / 9781543947663