A Soft Chime

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Akirio didn’t know what the letters meant, but they were from his mother and they were in a box in Xekai’s room. He flicked through the letters one more time. According to his mother, he was the rightful son of King Reginald and the true heir to the throne. His eyes once again were wide as he folded the letters slipping them back into the box and slipping out of the room. He couldn’t let Xekai or any of the other assassins onto the fact that he knew what he was. He would leave tonight. Stepping quickly over the snow, he entered the city of Resitoffhaven. He located the town alchemist, knocking gently at the door.

“Yes? Come in.” The voice belonged to a wizened old woman as she opened the door. The locals called her Healga One-eye as her glass eye rolled around sightlessly. “What do you need?”

“I need something that would put a person to sleep, or more like three people.”

Healga thought on this for a moment before disappearing into her stores.

“Would it be ingested or injected?” She questioned.

“Ingested.”

“Mixed into a fluid or solid?”

“Fluid.”

“Constitution of those you’re poisoning?”

“One is a woman, probably drinks a lot of wine. She’s about five foot six and looks to weigh a little over one hundred thirty pounds.”

Healga grunted setting a red pouch down on the counter. “Who else?”

“There’s a man. He’s a Sitnaltan. Looks about six foot one, heavyset, muscular build.”

The alchemist set a second pouch, this one blue down on the table.

“And?”

“The final’s a thin, lanky man. He’s five five maybe? Can’t weigh too much, but it’s hard to tell under all of his clothing.”

The last pouch was a simple black pouch, slightly smaller than the other two.

“That’ll be eleven gold, two silvers.” She held out her hand and he dropped the coins into it. “You’ll need to mix the contents of an entire pouch with whatever they’re drinking. These are all tasteless, even in water except for the red. It’s hardly noticeable though. Unless whoever you’re poisoning has any high paranoia, she won’t notice.”

Akirio nodded his thanks and left, sweeping the pouches into his hand and tucking them away in his pocket.

He had grown accustomed to the Three’s strange mealtimes. They ate breakfast exceptionally early, almost before the sun had risen, ate lunch separately and ate dinner after the sun had set. Xekai had never eaten lunch from what Akirio observed, spending his afternoon training and strategizing alone in the loft of the temple. He would take nothing but his books and a quill and hide up in the loft, sometimes Syrena bringing up water or bread for him.

Tonight’s dinner was simply roasted chicken and vegetables. Now that the assassins were off of the road, they could eat a hot meal for once instead of the staple dried meat and fruit. Syrena had managed to obtain a bottle of wine from the inn for a low price and Khirs was drinking strong ale, both were relatively easy to slip a poison into. Xekai however, was drinking from a glass of water. Whatever Akirio put in there would be noticed if it wasn’t thoroughly mixed. He slowly moved closer to Syrena, letting the powder from the red pouch fall into his hand. It was a deep red color, almost the same color as the wine she drank. She paused momentarily looking away from her drink to answer Khirs and Akirio slipped the powder into the glass, disguising the movement as him dusting his shirt off.  He stood striding over to the cask of ale that Khirs had brought as if to get himself a tankard and let himself stumble slightly, dropping the poison into his glass, hoping most of it hit. It was convenient that Xekai sat near the cask so that Akirio’s task was made easier. He stumbled again, but his wrist was grabbed by Xekai and he felt the assassin’s fingers scrape against his palm, scooping out the powder.

“Are you alright, Akirio? You seem to be stumbling an awful lot.” He questioned and almost mocking tone in his voice.

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine.”

“If you say so.”

Akirio could practically feel Xekai’s smirk from across the table. The legendary thief Moon’s Shadow had been out done by another shadow walker.

Dinner passed with both Akirio and Xekai silent while Khirs and Syrena traded jabs with each other humorously. Khirs was obviously drunk by now and bore a rather obvious bruise forming around his eye from where Syrena had hit him as he had tried to kiss her. He was busy nursing his wound while Xekai stretched and stood.

“I am going up to the loft. Good night.” He bade the others than beckoned Akirio to come with him.

The mercenary had no choice but to follow, and he climbed the steps to the loft.

“What did you put in my fellows’ drinks?” He demanded, slamming him against the wall, scarlet eyes switching from placid to enraged immediately. Akirio felt his head and back protest painfully at the abuse.

“J-just something to make them sleep.” Gods, he was making him stutter. It was something he’d never really fixed. He would always trip over his words whenever something scared him or made him nervous. Xekai’s eyes and all of the emotion in them definitely qualified as terrifying.

“Really? Then what was in my drink? Is your vengeance still unbound? Do you still wish to kill me?”

“No, I-I was just going to leave. I-I didn’t want y-you to try and stop m-me.”

“You could have told one of us. I would have let you.” He turned so that he was facing the night sky of Triquetria. The auroras were pointing blue, yellow, green, and violet streaks across the sky. Ribbons of light dancing and intertwining, like dancers or warriors. “I know you found the letters.” He stated blatantly.

“How?”

“I had them in a very specific order. You failed to put them back in that order.”

“So I’m the son of Reginald.”

“Yes.”

“And I’m the rightful heir to the throne.”

“Yes.”

“What about Ryuu?  He’s older than me.”

“Ryuu was a bastard child. He was sired unto your mother by a drunken man, before her engagement to Reginald. She was never proclaimed queen as it was uncustomary for a royal to marry a commoner.”

“How…How do you know this?” Akirio gaped.

Xekai turned around, hands folded behind his back. “ I was the protector of the king until I faked my death again. I kept those papers in case I ever found you, Akirio,” He waved his hand towards Akirio, “ If you want to leave I will not stop you.”

The mercenary nodded and turned his back on the temple and the assassins within it.