Read The Darkslayer: Book 02 - Blades in the Night for Free Online Page A

for themselves one day. Sinway had more secrets than all the days of their lives, but over time Catten would acquire the same through his service.
    Then Catten heard his lord behind him: “I have given you two the benefit of the doubt long enough. You had been fine servants until this last failure. But the loss of my precious Vicious and a whole Badoon brigade was colossal. And embarrassing!”
    Catten felt invisible fingers poking his back, nudging him forward. It hurt.
    “ I cannot fathom how you managed to fail,” Sinway said. “I armed you well. You had great power at your disposal. Yet the Darkslayer still lives, while underlings still die in multitudes.”
    There was a long silence. Catten turned to see his master gripping the edges of the table.
    “ Last time, Master Sinway,” Catten said, stepping forward, “we allowed ourselves to be distracted. It was a costly error and we did not foresee it. It was the first time we had taken the matter directly into our own hands. We have learned much about our enemy now. We will not fail again.”
    “ No, you will not,” Sinway said. “Because if you do, you will never set foot in the Underland again. Do not return if you fail this time!” he yelled as the edges of the onyx table crumbled in his glowing grip.
    Catten fell to his knees. No! He felt like a child caught one too many times, shrinking under his master’s hot glare. He searched his brother’s face and saw his shock as well. He should not have been surprised, for the Darkslayer had been a constant thorn in their sides. What would he have done in his master’s shoes?
    “ Kill this human,” Sinway said. “Bring me his body and his weapons. I want everything he has. I don’t know what it will take and I don’t care. Stop him!”
    Two clawed fingers pointed at their chests. Catten felt his heart stop. Then he pitched forward, clutching his chest just as Sinway released his spell. He was sweating now, gasping for air, trying not the writhe like a worm all over the floor. It had done its work. Finally, Catten gathered himself, still shaken as he watched Sinway shadow-walk through the doorway and disappear. As the door closed, silence enveloped the room. He couldn’t have been more relieved. Then he noticed Verbard lying on the floor.
    “ I told you he was mad,” Catten tried to shout but couldn’t find his breath. “And you had to try to stare him down! You are fortunate to still have your mind left.”
    Verbard was still clutching his chest, his face grimacing with pain. Catten realized his brother’s old wound caused him further stress. He pulled his brother up and watched as his ashen face returned back to gray.
    His brother dusted himself off.
    “ He still has it, I will say that,” Verbard said. “I have not tried that with him for over a century, but I lasted longer than ever. Either he’s getting weaker or I am stronger!”
    “ You are a fool! He almost killed you,” Catten said.
    Verbard’s silver eyes sparkled. “No, he respects it. He doesn’t like it, but he respects it.”
    Catten took a deep breath, walked over to his table, and began rolling up the scrolls.
    “ What are you doing?” Verbard asked.
    “ Gearing up. I suggest you do the same.”
    “ Why bother with that?”
    “ We will be gone awhile, brother. It is not wise to leave anything on the table. You must do the same.”
    “ Okay, if that is the case, then we will not go alone. I will bring some help and protection,” Verbard said with strange cheer.
    Catten knew what his devious brother had in mind, but he didn’t resist. His brother was right: it was time to pull out all the stops. Never in their lives had they been faced with a kill-or-be-killed mission, but the time had come. It was their charge.
    “ Hurry back, brother,” Catten said, shaking his head at the ruined table. “I cannot wait to see what you return with.”
    Catten looked up and saw Verbard’s wicked smile as his brother walked out through the