The HaRT Knight Decaverse

Heir of Magic

Chapter 15

The Spider’s Den

Alexander and Merrick waited until the sun set before they set out for The Spider’s Den. The inn was a small wooden building located a few blocks away from the gigantic tower—which Merrick called Talitha’s Tower—in the center of the city. When they entered the inn, a friendly old man greeted them enthusiastically and guided them to one of the small round tables that surrounded the hearth from which the sweet smell of roasting lamb and herbs originated. Against the far wall, there was a bar, operated by an ancient-looking woman that wore a friendly smile and laughed as she joked with her customers.
Merrick led Alexander to a table in a corner of the room and as they went, everyone they passed greeted the man from Svartalgard—everyone, except for the four large men that sat at the table right next to the hearth. Each of these men gave off an unsavory impression. They all looked like they might be related to giants and sported a multitude of scars on their faces and arms. However, as intimidating as they were, even they smiled and laughed in the welcoming embrace of The Spider’s Den.
“Merrick. We haven’t seen you around here for a while. Gran missed you,” said the most beautiful girl Alexander had ever seen. She had tanned skin, like honey, and amethyst eyes sparkled as she smiled. She had tied back her thick, jet-black hair behind her back and wore one of the scandalously sheer outfits Alexander had seen in the marketplace earlier that day. He could see every inch of her perfectly toned body and breasts through the gossamer purple material of her blouse. She left her midriff exposed, revealing the gemstone encrusted bellybutton ring that connected to thin golden chains she wore as a belt. She saw Alexander looking at her and gave him a smile more beautiful than all the sunsets he had seen on the ocean while with The Golden Spear. “Who’s your handsome friend?”
“Ah, Rose. I’ve been tied up for a while. And—” Merrick paused for a second as he saw the way Alexander was looking at Rose “—this is Alex; he saved my life today, so I promised to buy him a drink. Bring me two of the usual and some of that lamb that smells so good.”
“Ah, so we have a hero in our midst,” Rose said, squeezing Alexander’s upper arm with her long slender fingers. As she danced away to fetch the drinks and food, her hips swaying hypnotically, she shot a look over her shoulder and said, “We don’t get many of those in here.”
“She’s a sweet girl, that Rose,” Merrick said, a knowing smile on his face.
Alexander raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t—Please don’t tell me you seduce her like you did that D’Lamkhar girl?”
“I’m insulted, sir,” Merrick said with mock indignation. “You should not believe everything you hear. Especially when it comes from the good Captain.”
“So, you’re saying you didn’t sleep with the D’Lamkhar girl?” Alexander asked.
“I never said that.” Merrick snickered.
Alexander laughed. “So you will admit to being a scoundrel, at least.”
“People much kinder than you have called me much worse,” Merrick said, his eyes darted back to the approaching Rose, who was balancing two pints and two plates in her arms. With grace, she placed them on the table.
“The lamb is free, gentlemen. In honor of the hero.” She winked at Alexander as she danced away again. “Shout if you need anything,” she called back to them.
“You should know, she’s not that flirty with everyone. I think she likes you,” Merrick said, his eyes lingering on the girl’s rear end. “Don’t look so shy. She’s well worth desiring.”
“I’m sure you said the same about the D’Lamkhar girl,” Alexander remarked, sniffing his pint.
“Oh no, I did not, trust me,” Merrick said with a slight shiver. Seeing the curious stare Alexander gave him, he added, “She’s a frightening girl, that Anemone D’Lamkhar. Everyone in the city knows what she is, but her father turns a blind eye to it.”
“And what is she?” Alexander asked while taking a small sip of his drink.
Merrick played nervously with the large and ugly signet ring he wore on his right hand. He kept turning it around his finger, causing the symbol—two coin purses, one pouring its content down into the other—to vanish and reappear over and over as he whispered, “She’s a witch.”
“That bad, huh?” Alexander laughed.
“I’m serious, brother. I’m not calling her names; she’s a witch.”
“A witch, like a wizard, is a blanket term for any individual with the ability to use magic, or at least natural magic.” Alexander recited the definition he had learned in one of Dante’s lessons before stuffing his mouth full of the lamb. He had been craving meat for so long now that this seemed like paradise. “Being able to use magic doesn’t automatically make her a bad person, does it?”
Merrick raised an eyebrow and gave Alexander a measuring look. “Of course not. I’m not saying everyone who uses magic is bad. I wouldn’t accuse you of being bad, for example.”
Alexander almost choked on his lamb. He drank from his pint and once he stopped coughing, he said, “What do you mean by that?”
“Come on, mate. I saw what you did to those guards,” Merrick said in a whisper. “Is this friend you’re waiting for a wizard as well? Like a teacher of yours or something?”
“His name is Dante. And yes, he’s a septim wizard,” Alexander said, avoiding Merrick’s eyes.
“All right.” Merrick shrugged. As he cut his meat, he said, “Just a bit of advice, mate. If I were you, I’d keep the magic to a minimum around here. If Anemone D’Lamkhar should discover there is another magical being in her city besides herself, she’ll have you killed. She wants to be the only wielder of power around here.”
“Thanks for the warning. But I think it's a little late, don’t you? All her guards saw me use magic back there.”
“True, she probably already knows about your existence, but at least she doesn’t know where you are,” Merrick said as he downed his pint and fixed his gaze on something over Alexander’s shoulder. His eyes narrowed, and he stood up with the empty pint still in his hand. “Excuse me for just a moment.”
Without another word, Merrick stalked away from the table to where Rose was struggling to get out of the arms of one of the large men that were sitting next to the hearth. The four men all laughed at the young girl’s futile attempt to escape the giant’s grasp.
When Merrick reached the man holding Rose, now attempting to kiss her against her will, he placed his hand on the man’s shoulder, and Alexander placed his on his sword’s hilt.
Merrick held up his right hand, making sure the man and his companions all got a good look at the ugly signet ring on his middle finger.
“What the bloody Tartos do you want?” one giant said.
Merrick sighed and said something under his breath. He shrugged and in an imitation of a drunken slur, said, “Sorry mate, but would you mind letting her go? My drink needs refilling.”
The man holding Rose stared at Merrick in confusion while one of his friends stood up and put his hand on the intruder’s chest.
“Get lost, little man,” the giant said with a deep voice as he shoved Merrick backward, or at least he tried to shove him. The giant was a full two feet taller than Merrick, with arms twice as thick, and yet, he barely moved as the man pushed him.
“Hey now, I am not looking for a fight,” Merrick said, but in contradiction to his words, he kicked the man between the legs, bringing him down to his knees so they could look each other in the eyes. The name Merrick the Wolf made sense as he gave a wolfish grin before slamming his pewter goblet against the giant’s head.
The mountain of muscle crumbled and fell to the floor, knocked out cold. Shocked at what they were seeing, the two men who had remained seated jumped to their feet, ready to fight. The third giant threw Rose to the ground and snarled at Merrick like an animal. Rose crawled away and Alexander silently got to his feet, his eyes focused on the farthest giant who was the only sober one among his companions.
“You lads need to learn how to treat a lady,” Merrick said, grinning defiantly at them.
The man who had held Rose lost his head at these words, and he charged like a wild boar but Merrick was faster. In a blur of movement, he stepped to one side and kicked the giant’s feet out from under him, sending him crashing through one of the small tables. Seeing another one of his friends fall, the third giant advanced with savage rage. He struck out with enough force to kill a horse, but to Alexander’s amazement, Merrick caught it in the palm of his hand. With unimaginable strength, he forced the giant down to his knees, grabbed a bottle of liquor from their table, and smashed it over his head, knocking him out.
“Merrick! Behind you!” Alexander warned as the man who had been tripped got back to his feet. As Merrick turned to face the attacker, a scream filled the air that caused everyone to stop. The fourth giant men had his arm wrapped around Rose’s neck with his free hand placed on her temple, ready to snap her neck at any moment.
“That’s right. Make one more move, and I kill her without blinking,” the man said.
Merrick sighed and let his arms drop to his side. The other remaining giant smiled, revealing his four rotten teeth. He fell upon Merrick and thrash him.
“That a boy, Yakin, smash his skull in,” the giant holding Rose said, not realizing that these would be his last words. His head snapped back as blood gushed from the spot where his eye had been before Alexander had hit him with the air arrow. He fell backwards, his massive arms letting go of Rose as he crumpled on the floor, dead. The giant called Yakin stared with disbelief at his fallen comrade and then turned his head to figure out who was responsible. Before he could work out what had happened, Alexander was next to him. With inhuman strength, he struck the man with a powerful punch that broke at least four ribs.
Alexander hit him twice more for good measure, and Yakin blacked out. He fell backwards and onto the hearth where his face pressed against the pot of potatoes. The new pain immediately woke him, and he thrashed on the floor, screaming obscenities. Merrick, who had gotten back to his feet, gave the man’s head a kick, and he passed out again.
“You okay?” Alexander asked Merrick calmly, not taking his eyes off the fallen men.
“I’m fine,” Merrick answered, spitting blood on the floor.
“How about you, Rose? Are you all right?” Alexander asked, turning to the hysterical girl who sat beneath a table, hugging her legs to her chest. She was sobbing too uncontrollably to answer, but she nodded.
“Rose, my sweet!” said the old man who had greeted Alexander and Merrick when they had entered the inn. He ran over to the girl, worry etched on his face. “Are you okay, dear? Please answer me.”
A soft hand touched Alexander’s elbow. The old woman who had worked behind the bar earlier smiled gratefully up at him. “Thank you, my dear. She’s our granddaughter, and she means everything to us. We owe you more than our lives. And you too, son,” she added to Merrick.
“It was nothing, ma’am.” Alexander stared at the pool of blood from the dead giant. “I’m sorry about the mess.”
“This is nothing, my dear. A small price to pay for the life of our dear Rose,” she said. “I think it best if we close for the night. Everyone, please leave.” She held out a hand to stop Alexander from helping Merrick up so they could leave. “Not the two of you. You stay. Your friend’s wounds need tending.”
“Drink,” Alexander said as he propped Merrick into a nearby chair and thrust a half full bottle of liquor into his hand. He pointed at the unconscious bodies. “Shall I throw them out for you?”
“Oh, I would appreciate it, dear,” the old woman said, moving to Merrick to inspect his wounds.
Rose and her grandfather were sobbing the entire time as Alexander dragged the lifeless bodies of the giant men into the street. Merrick swore as his broken nose was set for the second time that day.
“There you go. You don’t seem to have cuts. Very odd—you’re covered in blood.” The old woman shrugged and wiped the blood from Merrick’s face with a wet cloth. “At least you’re okay.”
“Thank you,” Alexander said as he locked the front door after disposing of the dead body.
“No, my dear. It is I who should thank you. My husband and I owe you and your friend so much. If you need anything, feel free to ask,” she said.
“Drink is a good place to start.” Merrick showed her the empty bottle. She smiled affectionately and darted to the bar.
“I suppose there is one favor I might need, ma’am,” Alexander said tentatively. “I don’t have any gold, but I could use a place to stay for a while. A friend told me to meet him here, but I don’t know when he might show up.”
“Certainly, you may stay. We have a room with two empty beds, if you would like to stay as well, Merrick,” she said.
Merrick, who was pulling a loose tooth, seemed to think hard about the offer for a moment. Eventually, he said, “I haven’t found what I’m looking for in the city yet, so I could use a place to stay. That is, if Alexander does not mind a roommate.”
“I don’t have any objections,” Alexander said.
“Excellent, then you shall both stay as long as you see fit. And please, stop calling me ma’am. My name is Linaria. And the blithering old fool over there with my granddaughter is my husband, Dracenaes.”
The old man pulled himself together and stood up. He said, “You are welcome in my house for as long as you live. Both of you.”
“Thank you, Dracenaes,” Alexander said, bowing his head in thanks.