Read Online Assassin's Rise by CJ Whrite - Free Book Online Page A

bright.
    *
    Torchlight flared into
the room as the cell door opened and Jeklor covered his eyes
against the glare. After two months in perpetual gloom, they were
sensitive to light.
    He peeked through his
fingers at the two guards who entered the room. They dragged a
figure between them. Tears streamed from Jeklor’s eyes, but if he
ever wanted to escape, he should first get used to the light again.
He forced himself to look at the torches hanging in the
hallway.
    The guards dropped the
man on the cell floor. They threw a blanket next to him. The man
did not make a sound.
    “Why bother locking up
an already dead man?” said Jeklor, rapidly blinking his eyes.
    “He’d wish he was dead.
He was given a sleeping Potion.”
    “How thoughtful,”
commented Jeklor. “So he’s the molesting Demon?”
    “You mean the one who
killed and raped the girl? It’s him right.”
    Jeklor threw his head
back and laughed. “I see the City Watch is incompetent as
always!”
    “What do you mean?”
asked the guard, hesitating inside the doorway.
    “Did you not see the
state of his face? Who was he suppose to rape, a bear?”
    “You won’t be clever
for much longer,” said the guard and slammed the door shut.
    Jeklor stood up and
walked over to his new cellmate, his blanket in one hand. He
kneeled by the prisoner’s head, inspecting his face. He whistled
softly.
    “So, after you raped
the behemoth woman who gave you a heroic thrashing, you somehow
made it to a Healer, got stitched up and then somehow got
caught?”
    He laid his own blanket
over the sleeping man, then took the fresh blanket and returned to
his corner. “Don’t think badly of me, old horse. But you won’t even
notice what I’ve done.”
    *
    Another meal came and
went, but still his new cellmate slept. During the night he had
thrashed around, growling in a voice that made the fine hairs on
Jeklor’s neck stood upright.
    Jeklor sat with his
back propped against the cell wall, watching the sleeping man. The
man was lying on his side, his knees drawn up to his chest. What in
heavens name happened to you, wondered Jeklor.
    The sleeping man
suddenly sat upright, his dark hair falling over his face. He
looked around and then fixed a dark gaze on Jeklor. “Where am I?”
he said and stood up with unsteady legs.
    Jeklor stopped his
mouth from blurting out a nonsensical reply. This was not the time
to jest. “You are in a holding cell at the City Watch Guard House,”
he said sincerely.
    “A holding cell?” He
stumbled toward Jeklor. “Why am I in a holding cell?”
    Jeklor moved along the
wall. “They say you raped and killed a girl,” he said, creating
distance between them. The dark haired man stopped in his tracks,
his eyes bulging in his head. “Now calm down,” said Jeklor, lifting
his hands. “I saved you a meal. Let’s eat.”
    “It can’t be.” He swung
his head around, his hands gripping his hair. “That bastard!” He
ran to the cell door and struck it with his shoulder. The heavy
thud reverberated through the room.
    “Where is Sirol? It was
he! I will kill him!” he screamed, kicking and punching the door,
the dull thuds shaking the oak in its frame.
    “What the devil!” a
shout came from outside and the top hatch in the door slammed open.
“Stop this at once!”
    The dark haired man
leaned against the door, panting for breath. “It was he,” he said,
gasping. “Sirol Vanderman. He killed her! WHERE IS HE?”
    “Hold your tongue,
scum,” said the guard and spat through the hatch. “If you want to
place blame you should seek someone more believable than the great
Lord Sirol.”
    “No! It was he. He beat
her to death! He, he...” He slammed against the door with his
shoulder. “Get me out, I have to find him!”
    “Oh you will get out
alright.” The guard grinned, his eyes narrowed. “We have a place
for scum like you – the mines to the north. You have two weeks
left. Better sit quietly and enjoy your life while you