Chapter 28 : Thalos Under Threat

The night’s chill lingered on my skin as I slipped back into the estate, my expression a mask of ice, colder than the blackened leather I’d worn hours before. The forest’s shadows had cloaked my return, and the weight of Thalos’s secrets burned in my pack, a ledger of sins I’d pried from his mansion. Dawn was breaking, painting the sky in streaks of gray, and the estate stirred with the first signs of life. I moved through the corridors, silent as a specter, my mind already sharpening for the next move in this deadly game.
By morning, I summoned one of the guards to the training yard, a wiry man named Kael whose loyalty was unquestioned but whose nerves were less steady. His posture stiffened as I fixed him with a stare, my eyes boring into his like twin blades. “I want every detail on Thalos,” I ordered, my voice low and unyielding. “His family, allies, enemies—everything. Leave nothing hidden.”
Kael hesitated, his throat bobbing as he searched for words. “Young master, that’s a sensitive—”
“Did I ask for your opinion?” I cut him off, my voice a whip crack that made him flinch. “I said find it. Now.”
His face paled, beads of sweat forming on his brow despite the morning’s chill. He nodded jerkily, muttering, “As you command, young master,” before retreating with a haste that bordered on panic. I watched him go, my lips curling into a faint, predatory smirk. Fear was a useful tool, and I wielded it as deftly as my dagger.
Other guards nearby caught the exchange, their backs straightening, hands twitching toward their swords as if my gaze alone could cut them down. I didn’t acknowledge them, turning on my heel and vanishing into the shadows of the estate’s halls. Let them whisper. Let them wonder. The game was mine to play, and Thalos was the prize I’d carve apart.
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[Inside Thalos’s Mansion]
The surviving hired blade stumbled through the dark forest, branches clawing at his face and arms, leaving bloody streaks in their wake. His breath came in ragged gasps, his heart a frantic drumbeat of terror. Blood soaked his tunic from a shallow gash across his side, a parting gift from the masked demon who’d torn through his comrades like a storm of steel and shadow. The memory of their screams haunted him, the cold gleam of that blade as it sliced through flesh without hesitation, the eerie laughter that followed him into the night.
“I need to warn Baron Thalos,” he muttered through gritted teeth, pain and fear driving him forward. “He has to know.”
After what felt like an eternity, the forest parted, and the mansion’s iron gates loomed ahead, a grotesque monument to Thalos’s ill-gotten wealth. The guards at the gate stared at his disheveled state, their hands tightening on their spears. “What happened to you?” one demanded, eyeing the blood.
“I need… to see the Baron,” the hired blade gasped, clutching his side, his legs trembling beneath him.
Minutes later, he stood in Thalos’s opulent study, the air thick with the scent of stale wine and polished wood. The baron lounged behind his desk, a goblet of red in hand, his corpulent frame draped in silks that did little to hide his greed. His face twisted into a scowl at the sight of the bloodied man, his small, piggish eyes narrowing. “What the hell happened to you?” Thalos demanded, slamming the goblet down, wine sloshing onto the desk.
“A break-in,” the hired blade wheezed, his voice shaking as he fought to stand upright. “An unknown masked intruder infiltrated the mansion. I followed him… but he killed everyone.” His hands trembled, the memory of that clearing flashing behind his eyes—blood spraying, bodies falling, and that laugh, sharp and unhinged. “I barely escaped with my life.”
Thalos’s eyes narrowed to slits, his face darkening with a fury that made the room feel smaller. “A masked intruder?” His voice was low, dangerous, each word laced with suspicion.
The hired blade nodded frantically, wincing as he shifted his weight. “He was skilled—dangerously so. Fast, precise, like he was toying with us. I don’t know who he was, but he’s not from around here. No one local moves like that.”
Thalos leaned back, his mind racing, fingers drumming on the desk. Did Morgana send him to kill me? he thought, a cold knot of fear twisting in his gut. She demanded I kill Duke’s son, Aren, and I sent assassins weeks ago, but they haven’t returned. Is this her retribution for my failure? He clenched his jaw, dismissing the thought for now. No, I’ll wait for their report. This could be something else.
His eyes flicked back to the hired blade, suspicion deepening. “Damn it. Was it an assassin from a rival faction? Morgana’s dogs? Those bastards in the eastern syndicate? Or did some noble hire him to kill me? But which one could it be?”
“I don’t know,” the hired blade admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “But he wasn’t just some thief. He easily killed other, Baron. I can’t shake the feeling he was enjoying.”
Thalos’s expression froze, a flicker of unease breaking through his rage. The idea that this intruder had spared the man deliberately sent a shiver down his spine. He slammed his fist on the desk, the crack echoing like a gunshot. “Double the patrols!” he roared, rising from his chair, his silks rustling. “No one gets near the mansion without my permission. Hire more men, lock down the roads, and find out who that bastard is!”
The hired blade swallowed hard, the memory of that chilling laughter still clawing at his mind. “He… he laughed, Baron. Like he was enjoying it. Like this was a game.
”Thalos’s face darkened further, his jaw tightening. The word “game” struck a nerve, conjuring images of a predator toying with its prey. He grabbed his cloak from a nearby chair, his movements sharp with purpose. “I need to inform him about this,” he muttered, more to himself than the hired blade, his thoughts already turning to his shadowy ally, the one who pulled strings even he feared. Striding past, he left the study, the door slamming behind him, the tension in the air thick enough to choke on. The hired blade stood alone, his breath uneven, knowing that whatever came next, the masked intruder had set something unstoppable in motion.
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[Aren]
Back in my room, I sat at a small desk, the stolen ledger open before me, its pages illuminated by a single candle’s flickering light. The documents I’d retrieved from Thalos’s mansion were a labyrinth of coded entries, each line a thread in his web of corruption. The ink was meticulous, the work of a man who trusted no one but himself to guard his secrets. But no code was impenetrable—not to me.
I traced the lines with a finger, my mind unraveling the patterns. After an hour of focused analysis, the meaning crystallized, and a cold fury settled in my chest. Thalos wasn’t just a smuggler or a bribe-peddler. He was neck-deep in something far more despicable—slave trading. The ledgers listed coordinates for a hidden site deep in the eastern woods, schedules for shipments, and names of buyers cloaked in aliases. Each entry was a life stolen, a soul ground under his heel for profit.
“Slavery,” I muttered, my voice dripping with contempt, the word sour on my tongue. “How predictable.”
A dark smile crept onto my face, sharp and unhinged, my reflection in the candlelight a stranger’s. Thalos thought his wealth made him untouchable, his mansion a fortress. He was wrong. This ledger was a blade, and I’d drive it through his heart. “Looks like it’s time to play another game, Thalos,” I whispered, my voice low, almost reverent, as if speaking to a lover. The thrill of it sent a shiver down my spine, a hunger for chaos that burned hotter with each revelation.
I closed the ledger with a soft thud, standing as the candle’s flame danced in the draft. My cloak and mask lay folded nearby, ready for the next move. The eastern woods were a day’s journey, but I’d scout the site soon, confirm the ledgers’ truth, and plan my strike. Thalos’s empire was a house of cards, and I’d topple it with a single, calculated breath.
The memory of the clearing lingered—blood spraying, bodies falling, the hired blade’s terror as he fled. I’d let him live to carry my message, to plant fear in Thalos’s heart. By now, the baron would know someone was hunting him, and that uncertainty would gnaw at him, making him sloppy. I chuckled softly, the sound jagged and cold. “Squirm, you fat slug,” I muttered. “It’ll make your fall all the sweeter.”
I moved to the window, gazing out at the estate’s grounds, where guards patrolled in the early light. Kael would return with the information I’d demanded, and each detail would sharpen my blade. Thalos’s family, his allies, his enemies—they were all pieces on my board, and I’d use them to choke him. The slave trade was his greatest sin, but it wouldn’t be his last mistake. He’d crossed a line, and I was the reckoning he’d never see coming.
Stepping back, I extinguished the candle, plunging the room into darkness. My sword rested against the wall, its plain sheath hiding its lethal edge. I didn’t need its steel yet—my mind was weapon enough for now. The coordinates in the ledger pointed to a truth I’d verify, a site I’d burn to ash when the time was right. For now, I’d let Thalos stew, let his fear grow, let his hired blades scour the shadows for a ghost they’d never catch.
The game was unfolding, and I was its master. Thalos’s mansion, his wealth, his life—they were all mine to dismantle, piece by bloody piece. I slipped into the shadows of my room, my resolve unshakable, my smile a promise of ruin. The eastern woods awaited, and with them, the next move in a game that would end with Thalos begging at my feet.
To be continued....