"You'd be surprised," Crowe said with a glower.
"Let's go, or by all that's holy, I'll burn you for supplying… whatever you supplied to the Huntress."
"All right," he relented at last. "But let's not get you any more mangled than you are, at least while so many of your friends are around. We'll do this my way: I'll draw him out and make him safe, then you get your turn."
"Oh, I'll be having my turn all right," she vowed and Crowe shivered. "And Erak's turn too."
CHAPTER 13
It was just a tumbledown old church with grass for a floor and plants and flowers sprouting from the walls.
It was shaded with every colour daylight could bring and full of the richest textures an artist could dream of. Then Crowe looked up, where the roof-beams hung down like broken teeth, and felt the church's beauty fade into intimidation. He nodded to himself. This was just like Batsen. Hired to kill a member of the Faith, he would hide out in one of their old buildings.
There was not much left of the town that this church, a league east of Solnos, had served. There was a dried-up watercourse at the west end and Crowe suspected that the township had dried up with it. Most of the surrounding buildings had collapsed and rotted, but the church, built of stone, had survived the decades. He idly wondered whether Batsen had come across the place by chance, or somehow already knew it was here.
Either way, he had made it an ideal camp. The crypt even still had an intact roof, so Batsen needed no tent.
Crowe had been watching for a couple of hours before Batsen finally deigned to show himself, appearing up out of the crypt like a bloodsucker in some old Gargas tale. He had lit the braziers and begun to assemble breakfast.
Crowe slipped out from behind a pillar and whipped his arm around Batsen's neck. Batsen immediately tried to throw him over his shoulder, but Crowe had expected that and kicked Batsen's knees out from under him. Erak dropped to maintain the choke-hold and soon the assassin was unconscious.
Crowe swiftly searched him for concealed weapons and found a pair of long bodkins and a couple of knives, before tying Batsen's hands.
"Hello Dai. Thought I'd find you here." Batsen started, his eyes darting to either side in anticipation. He outstretched his hands, his brow knitting in concentration. "Your taste in accommodations hasn't changed much, has it?"
"I know where I'm safe. You don't, Travis. You never did, or you never would have come looking for me."
"I have my reasons."
"What do you want with me?"
"There's a man in Turnitia who takes a vested interest in certain things associated with members of your jolly little profession."
"Pro or con?"
"Both, depending on the circumstances."
"And he's interested in me?"
"Not unless you were in Kalten for the Ducal wedding."
"Ah," Batsen said with a smile. "Ludwig Rhodon."
"Was that you?"
"If it was, it would be between me and my paymaster. But, as it happens, no. Not my doing."
Crowe heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Gabriella.
"What did you say about Eminence Rhodon, scum?" She said, rushing over to Batsen. "Were you behind it? Is that why came after me and Erak?"
"I've no idea why I was hired to kill you. It doesn't matter in any case; all that matters is that I complete my contract and collect my fee." Batsen said blandly, then he exploded into action, a spinning kick sending Crowe's blade flying. The rope binding his wrists burned to ashes in a second. Eyes closed, Batsen leapt high into the air, hurling a sizzling blizzard of sharp hail from his body. The ice storm coiled its way to Crowe, who lashed out at a brazier with one foot. The ice flashed into steam as the hot coals met it head-on.
Batsen cupped a small flame between his hands before hurling it at Gabriella.
She turned her head away instinctively, but too late to stop the fire from hitting her. She didn't feel a thing, though green and purple spots danced in front of her eyes when the brightness of the flame disappeared. Cursing herself for being taken in by some mere distraction, she lunged for him.
Batsen skipped backwards as she attacked.
"What are you?" he hissed. "The darkness, the fire — "
A punch in the face ended his question, but he rolled with it, spinning away and coming into a guarded stance.
He gathered his powers around himself, rising into the air as it crackled with energy. Gabriella ran, stretching up one hand to grab at his ankle. The instant her fingertips brushed the cloth of his trews, he plummeted down onto the ground.
Gabriella wasn't going to give him a chance to use any more magic, but immediately rammed her blade through him.
Batsen, looking utterly surprised, spat out blood. Breathing seemed to make him wince and Gabriella could tell he was barely managing to cling to each second of life. He would be lucky to draw more than half a dozen more breaths.
"I know you're working for Goran Kell" Gabriella snarled. Batsen only laughed, an agonised, bubbling sound. "But you're not going to stop me finding him."
Batsen struggled for another breath. "Who would have… thought? Brotherhood and Faith, working together. You and Travis."
"What?"
"Sister DeZantez… and Brother Crowe. It won't last." Batsen's laughter dissolved into bubbling coughs. "Give my… regards… to Kell…" With a final cough of thick, almost black blood, he fell silent.
Gabriella stood and wiped the blood from her blade before turning to Crowe.
"So, 'Brother' Crowe?"
"You're making a big mistake."
"No." She stalked towards him. "You did that."
He backed off. "Don't do this, pet. I've almost gotten to like you. There aren't many people who get to there and it'd be a shame to have to keep their numbers down, even by one."
"I wish I didn't have to do this."
"You don't."
"I have a duty to God."
"God never asked you to kill me."
"He just did." She stepped into his path, one blade going for his sword hand, the other, drawn quickly, for his throat. He deflected the shot at his throat and suddenly the blade heading for his hand was slashing across his shirt at gut-level.
They danced back and forth, he trying to use his longer sword to block both of hers, she trying to get around his from two directions at once. They were quite evenly matched, but Crowe could already see blood seeping though her surplice from her earlier wounds. Quick as a flash, he shouldered forward. He struck home accurately, causing pain to explode across her body.
Gabriella fell and he batted her swords away. He stood over her, one boot crushing the hand that was reaching for one of the felled blades. He rested the point of his broadsword against her throat. "All I have to do is push."
"Then do it," she snarled. "I'm your enemy and you're the self-proclaimed murderer. Get on with it."
"I'm no more a Brother of the Divine Path than I'm an Enlightened One of the Final Faith."
"That's not what your Shadowmage friend said."
"You're going to take the word of a man who's tried to kill both of us over mine?" Crowe shrugged. "All right, love. I never claimed to be the world's most trustworthy man. But neither is your average hired assassin. Think about this one, right? This bloke was hired to kill you, and failed. With his dying breath, he got you into another fight, against a man who was a better fighter than he was." He paused to let that sink in. "Against a man who, being a better fighter than him, might have more chance of killing you than he did." He could see in her eyes that this was making sense to her. "Not many people get recruited as a willing participant in their enemy's revenge, Dez. But it is a pretty bloody good trick if you can manage it."
"And what's this speech meant to do?"
"Save your life. I will kill you if I have to, but I'd rather not have to."