Ridge: Day One

13. The Day of Death

Hamel needed supplies, and he had little time. Karotel would wait the full thirty minutes before calling the guards. He suspected she would wait even longer out of compassion for him, but he did not have time to waste.

The last few years had been difficult. They used to be so close, spending much of their time together. He used to hold her children in his arms and... he pushed the thoughts from his mind. He could not afford sentimentality. There was no opportunity to wallow in the grief of what had been lost. He hoped the price he had paid would be worth it. He would find the answers he needed. His people would not fall to the onslaught of the Beasts.

The soldiers on watch did not stop or question him along the way. They had no reason to suspect he had been consorting with criminals. Once the soldiers were alerted, however, he would become a target. He knew he could overpower most soldiers, but he did not want to hurt them. Even if he could best any one or two of them in hand-to-hand combat, that would not protect him from a squadron or from a single bullet in the back. He had to keep moving.

Hamel rounded the corner and saw his house ahead. Just the sight of his home made him smile and long for different days. His heart broke at the memory of his wife. It had been nearly twenty years, but he had missed her and the children every day since. He imagined his wife, son, and daughter waiting inside for him and even pictured them at the end of the front hallway, Lillel looking for her husband and the children their Patir.

He would even have been happy to see Markel waiting inside. To spar with the young man or have breakfast with him would be far better than the road he was on. But none of that could be. He was on a path, and he would walk it.

He was nearly at the house when his eyes caught movement in the upstairs window. It wasn't much, but he had seen it. Without slowing his gait, he began to scan the house for any sign of change. Nothing on the outside of the house was different. The door was shut, and the gate was closed. The only sign something was wrong was that one of the curtains on the lower level was hanging at a slightly different angle. Since Hamel had not left any windows open, it could not have been the wind. There was someone inside.

Those inside were not acting in response to his meeting with Karotel. They were either men from the lower sections, or they were assassins sent by someone who wished to put an end to him after his great disgrace. He had been well loved before, but to fall from such a height was more than many could handle. For some, it was perhaps an opportunity.

Although there could be many in the city who wished him dead, he did not think that was a realistic option. He also did not think those inside had come from Eddel. The man would grow suspicious, but not enough to try to kill him after only a few hours.

If someone knew where to look, they could always find assassins for hire. No member of the Council would ever make use of such a person. As a soldier, he would never stoop to such a shameful action either. A soldier faced his enemies head-on, not by sending someone to kill in the dark.

The assassins he had heard about were somewhat of a mystery. What he did know, however, was that they were rumored to come in twos, and they did not leave a mark. That was useful information.

He had not slowed or turned away. He suspected whoever was inside was watching his approach, and he did not want to let them know he was aware of their presence. He had to think fast. From the decades he had spent as a soldier and as a member of the Council, he had learned to think quickly and evaluate all possibilities. He raced through his options in his mind.

He could not turn away. He only had a short amount of time to get inside his house, get the supplies he needed, and get out of the city. What he needed lay on the other side of that door. If he turned away, he might not survive the next leg of the journey. His only option was to face whomever had come.