The Bounty Hunter

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

They emerged cautiously from the council chamber, peering around the door before tearing through the corridors; without Arthan Safita had no idea where they were supposed to go but she decided to head back to the ballroom where they had last seen him. She led Nell down the stairs and burst out into the corridor on the second floor, taking the men there completely by surprise. The pair of them froze for a moment, their faces nearing the comical as Safita’s heart sank and she realised that they were far from safe; as she turned to run a man grabbed her tightly from behind, clutching her so firmly that she couldn’t move to struggle, let alone use her knife against him. With a glance at Nell she saw that he was in exactly the same position, a sharp blade just like the one which was nicking her throat pressed against his. Their leader grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed and uneven teeth, before saying to his men, “Slit their throats.”

“Wait!” she cried, just as her captor began to draw his knife across her throat; as she swallowed nervously she felt a bead of blood roll over her skin – this was the worst situation she had ever been in and it was obvious to her that her time in the capital was making her out of practice, slowing her reactions and dulling her instincts.

The leader frowned but held his hand up. “Why should we do that? You’re of no use to us.”

“But we are,” she replied frantically, still trying to clear enough room in the arms which caged her to wriggle free. “You’re working with Lassirus-”

“Lord Lassirus,” her captor corrected with a hiss.

She barely suppressed the urge to roll her eyes before continuing, “You’re working with Lord Lassirus right? Well we happen to know how to lead him to what he’s looking for. So we can help him. If you know you don’t… kill us.”

He chuckled and bared his unsavoury teeth at them. “How do you know what the lord’s looking for?”

“Just an educated guess,” she replied. “You don’t announce your arrival in the palace in quite the same way as Lord Lassirus did unless you’re looking for something inside it which you’re certain you’ll find.”

“And that thing would be?” he pressed.

“The prince I suppose,” Nell supplied as their attacker laughed mockingly. “Oh I’m sure he’ll settle for the prince but that’s not at all who he wants.”

Safita and Nell exchanged a confused glance, identical frowns creasing their faces before Nell chanced another question. “Who is he looking for then?” Suddenly his neck was jerked back sharply, the knife pressing even further into his neck and the blood beginning to roll down the skin constantly. “Watch what you ask mister,” hissed his cage, “we ain’t telling you no secrets.”

His leader held up a hand and smiled confidently saying, “I’m sure they could help us if we told them. They did offer, after all… What do you know about the guests here?”

“Oh a lot,” Safita bluffed, constantly aware of the ease with which they could slit her throat, “who are you looking for?”

The leader flicked his knife into the air, pointing it threateningly at her and jabbing it in her direction. “If you can’t help or you even consider the foolish idea of trying to make a run for it you will die faster than you can shout for help,” he said. “If I tell you then you help us; if you can’t help us then you die. Understood?”

“Understood,” she parroted.

“There’s a foreign princess who should be here but we can’t find here; you find her and you can leave with your head attached to your shoulders.”