Chapter Twelve

Alexis

I couldn't think of anything coherent to say for the next few minutes. I looked to Deyro and he looked back at me with the same expression of astonishment and horror I was sure was painted on my face. I'd joined the Children of the Dawn to defend the people. To fight and protect those who couldn't protect themselves.

I didn't sign up to be an assassin.

“With all due respect, War – Quint,” I said pitching my voice low, hoping to avoid being overheard, “Cold blooded murder isn't what I signed on for. That's not something I'm willing to do.”

“Even if it means protecting what we've built here?” Quint asked, holding my gaze, a stern look upon his face.

“It's a terrible thing to ask of us,” Deyro said. “It goes against everything we believe. You know that.”

Quint sighed heavily and looked down at the table. “I know.”

“What did you tell the King?” I asked.

He took a sip of his coffee and gently set his cup back down on the saucer. “I told him that I would discuss it with you,” he said. “That I wasn't going to order you to do something like this.”

“If we do this, he'll work on amending the Charter,” Deyro said. “What happens if we say no?”

Quint sighed again and shook his head. “I don't know.”

I twisted the napkin in my lap, my nervous energy forcing me to do something. I looked from Deyro to Quint and back again, not sure what to think, let alone say. What Shango was asking of us was monstrous.

“I know what I'm asking of you is terrible. Beyond terrible,” Quint said. “And I'm sorry to even have to put this out there. Shango is a good man. He has a good heart.”

“Then why does he want us to murder somebody?” I asked.

Quint cleared his throat and looked at each of us in turn. “Alexis, you won't know the answer to this question,” he said as he turned his attention to Deyro. “What do you know of the Shadow Clan?”

Deyro chuckled. “That it's a myth,” he said. “A scary story told to younglings to keep them in line. I remember my own mother teasing me that if I wasn't good, the Shadow Clan would come and take me away.”

Deyro laughed, but Quint's expression remained serious. Unflinching. Deyro's laughter died off and the look on his face changed from one of amusement to one of nervousness.

“Are you telling me it's real?” he asked. “The Shadow Clan is a real thing?”

Quint nodded. “Very real,” he said. “And very, very dangerous.”

I looked at them, completely confused. “Anybody mind filling me in on this Shadow Clan business?”

Turning his eyes to me, Quint gave me a tight smile. “Sorry, I didn't mean to exclude you,” he said. “Basically, there are the major and minor clans in Chondelai. Fire, River, Ice, Ocean – and on and on. The Shadow Clan exists outside of that Clan hierarchy. They exist outside of our world's power structure and governmental bodies.”

“What is their purpose?” I asked.

“Power. Control,” Deyro said.

Quint nodded. “They seek to destroy the clans, destroy the Council of Kings, and take over rule of Chondelai themselves,” he said. “And from not only what I've heard, but some recent experiences, they have their eyes set on expanding their rule to the world of man.”

“The old ghost stories I was told as a child,” Deyro said, “painted the Shadow Clan as monsters. As predators waiting in the dark to butcher us. To kill anybody who does not bend the knee to them.”

“They seek to kill or enslave the Dragonborn who resist them,” Quint said. “Just as they will seek to kill or enslave those who resist them here as well, Alexis.”

Another long moment of silence stretched out between the three of us. Honestly, I had no idea what to think. If what Quint and Deyro were talking about was true, and this Nepar was part of this Shadow Clan, it might be in our best interest to eliminate him. On the other hand though, I know that Deyro had talked to me at length about the politics in Chondelai.

And part of me wondered if Shango was being honest. Or if he was perhaps, looking to have us eliminate one of his political rivals. Setting us up as the patsies who'd take the fall if things went sideways. Involving us gave him political cover. Plausible deniability.

“I hate to state the obvious,” Deyro said. “But, this could all be a set-up, Quint. Shango could be playing us to achieve his own goals – and perhaps even shafting us in the process.”

I was glad to see that I wasn't alone in thinking that. And I'm even more glad that Deyro had chosen to give voice to the thought. Given that I was a mere human, I didn't feel it was necessarily my place to question a Dragonborn King about the politics in his world – their world.

“If Shango is lying, it would be a first,” Quint said. “I've known him a long, long time. And he's never been anything but honest. He's honest to a fault.”

“I understand what he means to you, but –”

“That being said,” Quint cut Deyro off, “the thought crossed my mind as well. I know how political things are in Chondelai. It would be naive of me to think that even somebody as honorable as Shango couldn't be touched – or poisoned – by the politics of our world.”

“What is your feeling about this, Quint?” I asked.

He scratched at the scruff on his chin. “I've made a few quiet inquiries of some friends I have in Chondelai. People I trust,” he said. “And they seem to believe that Shango is on the up and up. There is a genuine current of fear back home that the Shadow Clan is making their play. The results of which, would be disastrous for both of our worlds.”

I retreated back into my thoughts – as did Deyro. Even with everything Quint had told us, I still was not comfortable with the idea of becoming an assassin. Of murdering somebody in cold blood. And I could see by the look in his eyes, that Deyro wasn't either.

But what choice did we have, really? If we didn't play ball with Shango, the apparently unspoken threat was that he wouldn't play ball with us. That he might shut down the Dragonborn alliance with the Children. And if that happened – then what? Where would I go? What would I do?

I had no doubt that Ella wouldn't let the Children collapse entirely. But we'd be without the resources and training the Dragonborn provided to us. Hunting would have to go back to being my second job.

When I first joined Ella and the Children, I'd had to hold a part-time job just to bring in a little extra money. My attention of focus had been split between hunting and trying to earn enough money to survive. As good as Ella was, learning technique from some of the Dragonborn had elevated my game to a whole new level.

Thinking back on those days made me realize just how much I appreciated working with the Dragonborn. They'd given me a chance to make a real difference in the world. They'd allowed me to help protect people from the monsters that prowled the city, looking to snatch precious lives away and drag them down into the dark.

Not having to make hunting my second job, really being able to focus on it and train hard – it had made me more efficient. More lethal. It had helped me be a better protector of the people.

“I'm in,” I said. “I'll do it.”

I looked over at Deyro who still looked torn. I would do the mission alone, if I needed to. I realized that I owed not just Ella, but the Dragonborn a debt I could never hope to repay. They'd given me a life. A purpose. They'd given me meaning and had allowed for me to define myself and my life.

For that, I owed them. I owed them everything. And if that meant doing something that I might find personally distasteful, but would help everybody involved, then so be it. I was game.

“Yeah, count me in,” Deyro finally said – albeit reluctantly.

Quint nodded, his face remaining grim. I could tell he was not happy about this in the least. Could tell that he understood where we were both coming from.

“I have one condition,” I said.

“And what is that condition, Alexis?”

“I want to be sure,” I said. “We verify that this Nepar actually is part of this Shadow Clan. If he is, we carry out our mission. If he's not though –”

“Fair enough,” Quint said.

Deyro nodded. And it was settled. We were going to become the King's assassins. I still wasn't thrilled with the idea, but I felt like I owed it to them.

“There's one more thing,” Quint said. “And this one is going to be tough.”

“Tougher than stomaching the thought of being a royal assassin?” Deyro asked.

Quint sighed and nodded, sending a worm of ice crawling through my veins. Worse than being a hired killer. I had no idea what the second thing was, I just knew already that I was going to hate it. My stomach was twisted into knots and I looked at our Warden with fear surging through my body.

“To – consummate our alliance,” he said. “And to make it formal, Shango is requiring the two of you to – marry.”

Deyro and I shared a quick, harried look and then, with eyes wide and in perfect unison, blurted out, “What?”