Culter watched from the rooftops as five Caligati stepped warily into an alleyway. They had discovered him killing rebels in the Grand Bazaar. Chased him east till the market stalls had turned into brick laid buildings. They thought themselves predators by how they taunted him along the way. Fools. Men like them were nothing more than scavengers, following the real predators' heels and snapping up the scraps. Far from their master Custodia, the Caligati had now run wild with thoughts far grander than their upbringing. Culter aimed to prove them wrong.
The supposed leader, an imperial youth with more balls than brains, led the pack. He waved his lamp around, casting shadows in the dead-end alleyway.
"Where are you, Vangen dog?" The leader kicked at a nearby sack and frowned.
"Did you see him go this way?" One of the other Caligati asked. He gripped his spear tightly, clearly afraid.
He was right to be. Culter mused. He tiptoed ahead of the pack, keeping his stiletto sheathed. The metal would glint even at night, and he didn't want to be noticed just yet. He wanted the fear to sink in. The realization that they'd been tricked all along.
"Of course, I did. You think I'm some kind of idiot?" The leader barked. The Caligati with the spear shrank back.
"He couldn't have gone far," Another Caligati added. "There's nowhere to hide. Nowhere to run. He couldn't have just disappeared into thin air."
"Keep searching." The leader said. A moment of silence passed as the Caligati soldiers pressed further down the dead end.
"What if he did disappear? Like a Lamia." A Caligati with a saber piped up.
The leader turned at him. "Are you an idiot? Lamia are a myth. A ghost story meant for children."
"How else can you explain it?" The Caligati with the saber pressed. "You heard it yourself. There is nowhere to hide or run in a place like this. A Lamia can turn into mist and fly into the night."
The leader grabbed the Caligati by the collar and pulled him close."Lamia are a myth."
"But you've heard the rumors, haven't you? How the Empress recruits strange men from foreign lands as her guard. You've seen what she's capable of. Who is to say she doesn't keep monsters by her side as well."
The leader struck the Caligati so hard that his cone helmet sang. The man yelped as he dropped to the ground.
Typical scrap dog. Culter snorted and shook his head. The youth had to have been from a noble caste. A small one, most likely, having to bow and scrape at every turn amongst the larger houses. No doubt, he had grown up bitter, having to bully everyone below him. Culter slowly slid the stiletto from its sheath. Yes, he would do quite nicely.
"Shut your god's damned mouth," The Leader barked. His face had gone a deep shade of red in the lamplight. Eyes wide with anger. He looked up at the other three men. "There is no such thing as a Lamia. There are no such things as monsters. He's only just a man. The Vangen are only just men. Now find the bastard before I...,
The leader never finished his sentence. In a flash, Culter lept from the roof and landed on top of him, burying his stiletto in the man's neck in one fell movement. The leader crumpled to the ground in a heap of chainmail and broken bones. The lamp smashed, swallowing them both into darkness. The leader's words turned into a fading gurgle as Culter twisted the blade and ripped it out.
Culter stood up and wiped his stiletto on the dead man's pants. The metal gleamed in the still, nebulous air.
The other four Caligati stared transfixed at the ghostly weapon. In the darkness, a whimper escaped from one of them.
YOU ARE READING
Tales of the Vangen: The Black Ministry's Betrayal (Book 1)
Fantasy[Completed] The Royal Guard of the Empire has faithfully served Byzantia for nearly three centuries now. Hand picked from foreign lands, these guardsmen hold no political ties, carry no agendas, and bare no creeds except to those who sit upon the O...
