Death had wiped the arrogance from Kellas’ face. Once a proud warrior training to become a member of Shalandra’s elite warrior brotherhood of the Keeper’s Blades, he now hung limp and lifeless on a crude cross.
His killers had stripped his armor and nailed him naked to the wooden post erected atop the platform upon which the guilty of Shalandra took their last breaths before execution. Blood trickled down his outstretched arms and shattered legs, the crimson a stark contrast with the lifeless pale hue of his bronze skin.
Yet the thing that sent a shiver down Issa’s spine was the mark carved into his chest. The almost-complete circle connected to two right-angle lines, with a closely aligned sun and moon in the heart of the circle.
The grisly sign of the Gatherers, worshippers of the god of death. A final insult to the fallen youth, accompanied by a warning to all of Shalandra.
“Child of Secrets, Child of Gold,
Child of Spirits, bring the judgement foretold!”
The murderer had emblazoned the words onto the wall behind Kellas, painted in the murdered Blade’s blood.
A fist of iron squeezed Issa’s heart and her mind reeled.
How could this happen?
It seemed impossible to even consider. Kellas was a Keeper’s Blade, blessed by the Long Keeper himself, a strong and competent swordsman. Issa hadn’t liked him—his hauteur and scorn of her lower caste had more than earned her ire—yet she could recognize his skill as a warrior despite his prototopoi status.
Sheer horror rooted her in place. If the Gatherers can do this to one of us, what else are they capable of?
The Gatherers had already invaded the Palace of Golden Eternity, attempted to assassinate the Pharus and the Keeper’s Council, slain Arch-Guardian Suroth, and attacked the Artisan’s Tier in an attempt to capture Briana, the Arch-Guardian’s daughter. Issa had dared to believe her raid into the Keeper’s Crypts had eradicated the last of the cultists. The grisly sight before her proved that the death worshippers were far from defeated.
A terrible thought sent a shiver down her spine. What if they did this in retaliation for my attacking their hideout?
She had been the one to lead a small company of Indomitables into the tombs to attack the Gatherers’ sanctuary. Is Kellas dead because of me? She’d loathed the Dhukari and when the chance had come to take out her frustrations on him in the training yard, she’d relished every moment. Yet never had she wanted him dead. Not like this.
“Prototopoi!”
A sharp command pierced Issa’s chilly stupor. She blinked, swallowed the acid surging into her throat, and turned toward the speaker.
“Keep the crowd back!” Callista Vinaus, Lady of Blades, the highest-ranked military officer in Shalandra, shouted at her. The commander’s strong features were hard but a fire of fury blazed in her eyes. “Now!”
The authority in Lady Callista’s voice snapped Issa back to reality. Sensation flooded her limbs and she sucked in a shuddering breath. The roar of the crowd washed over her, nearly deafening her. People shouted, wept, or hurled curses. A few openly cheered.
Fear sent adrenaline racing through Issa’s muscles and spurred her to action. She raced to join Invictus Tannard and the other Keeper’s Blades forming a solid wall of black steel, flesh, and grim-eyed determination between the crucified body and the surging, seething crowd.
None of the ten Blades had drawn swords, yet one look at the anger and hatred in the eyes of the wretched Mahjuri swarming around them told Issa that the situation could grow dire. The crowd could turn into a raging mob in a heartbeat.
Issa risked a glance over her shoulder and found Lady Callista leaping onto the platform and striding toward the body on the cross. The Lady of Blades closed a mailed fist around the nail driven into Kellas’ right wrist and tore it free with a mighty wrench. A second Blade supported the Dhukari’s limp body as Lady Callista ripped out the three remaining nails.
The roar of the crowd swelled, the animosity thick as a storm cloud that filled Murder Square with an almost tangible tension. Lean, ragged figures in black headbands of tattered cloth and fraying rope glared at the heavily-armored figures arrayed before them. Issa felt a hundred eyes hurling menacing looks her way.
“Death to the Dhukari!” called a voice from the throng.
“SILENCE!” Lady Callista’s voice boomed out like a thunderclap above the voice of the crowd. The woman had turned away from the Blade’s body and now faced the multitude. The command in her voice had an instantaneous effect. The voices of the crowd dimmed to a low hush, fearful and reverent in the face of the Lady of Blades.
“This man was Dhukari,” Lady Callista shouted, thrusting a finger at Kellas’ corpse, “yet he was also a servant of the Long Keeper. He swore oaths to protect the city of Shalandra—each and every one of you—until his final breath. And this is how you repay that vow? You scorn his corpse, mock his death?” A storm of fury cracked her usually stoic mask. “Have you no shame?!”
Issa could feel the rage emanating from the woman, and the forcefulness of Lady Callista’s presence humbled her. This was no highborn gentlewoman navigating the cesspool of Dhukari politics. The Lady of Blades that stood there was a beast of battle and blood, a force of nature, an authority so imperious and imposing that the crowd fell silent beneath her furious glare.
“The Keeper’s Blades are your shields against darkness and danger!” Lady Callista’s eyes drove burning daggers into every man and woman in the throng. “Remember that next time you open your mouth to cheer at the sight of this desecration.”
The ragged, gaunt-cheeked Mahjuri actually exchanged glances, the shame burning in their eyes. An all-consuming silence descended over Murder Square—not so much as a child’s cry or the shuffling of sandaled feet broke the stillness.
“And to the evildoers out there, heed this warning.” Lady Callista raised her voice until it seemed to ring off the golden sandstone walls. “You have raised your hand against the Keeper’s chosen. We are coming for you. We will find you. And when we do, you will give answer to the Long Keeper for your crimes against one of his servants.”
With a nod to the Blade that carried Kellas’ body, the Lady of Blades descended from the execution platform and strode toward the crowd.
