The city was waking up.
Kael walked through the streets covered in blood and carrying a cursed sword. Not exactly inconspicuous.
"You need to hide," Soulrender said. "Cover that blood. Ditch the sword where people can see it."
"Where do I go?"
"The Black Market. In the Rust District. Criminals don't ask questions if you have coin."
"I don't have coin."
"Then you'll figure something out. You're creative when you're desperate."
Kael turned down a narrow alley. The eastern district was waking up. Merchants setting up stalls. Guards changing shifts.
A guard at the corner glanced his way.
Kael kept walking. Tried to look casual. Not like someone who'd just killed twenty-one men.
The guard's eyes widened. He reached for his whistle.
Kael ran.
"Stop!" The guard's whistle shrieked.
More guards appeared from side streets. Three. Five. Ten.
Kael ducked into another alley. His feet pounded on wet cobblestones. Behind him, boots and shouts.
"Dead end ahead," Soulrender warned.
The alley opened into a small courtyard. High walls on three sides. Only way out was back.
Ten guards poured in behind him. They spread out, weapons drawn.
"Drop the sword!" the lead guard shouted. Older man, sergeant stripes on his arm. "On your knees!"
Kael didn't move.
"Boy, I'm trying to give you a chance here. Drop it. Now."
"Can't do that."
The sergeant's face hardened. "Then we do this the hard way. Take him."
The guards moved in.
Kael didn't want to kill them. They were just doing their job. They didn't know what Julian had done.
"Too bad," Soulrender whispered. "Kill or be killed."
The first guard thrust his spear. Kael sidestepped and brought the pommel down on his helmet. The man crumpled.
"Just unconscious," Kael muttered.
"How merciful. How stupid."
Two more guards came from the sides. Kael blocked one sword, parried another. Kicked one in the chest. Swept the other's legs.
They went down but didn't stay down.
"This won't work," Soulrender said. "There's too many. You're wasting time and energy. Kill them."
"No."
"Then run, idiot."
A spear grazed Kael's arm. A sword cut his leg. The guards were pressing in. Too many angles. Too many weapons.
The sergeant rushed forward with a battle cry. Heavy sword aimed at Kael's neck.
Kael caught the blade with Soulrender. Steel rang against black metal.
The sergeant's eyes went wide. "What kind of sword—"
Kael kicked him backward. The man crashed into two other guards. They all went down in a heap.
Kael ran for the alley entrance.
More guards coming from that direction. A dozen at least.
"Left wall," Soulrender said. "That window."
Kael saw it. Second floor. Shutters hanging loose.
He jumped. Grabbed the window ledge. Pulled himself up. The shutters broke under his weight and he crashed through into a bedroom.
A woman screamed.
"Sorry!" Kael scrambled to his feet and ran for the door.
Down the stairs. Through a bakery. The baker shouted. Kael grabbed a loaf of bread as he passed. Hadn't eaten in hours.
Out the back door into another alley.
Guards' whistles echoed through the district. Getting closer.
"Go south," Soulrender said. "Toward the river. The Rust District is across it."
Kael ran south. His leg hurt where the sword had cut him. Blood seeped through his pants. He was leaving a trail.
"You're wounded," Soulrender observed. "Slowing down."
"I noticed."
"Let me heal you. Just a small feeding. There's rats in that alley. Or birds. Something."
"No. I'm not killing animals for this."
"Such high morals for a mass murderer."
Kael ignored that. Kept running.
The river appeared ahead. Brown water flowing between ancient stone banks. The bridge was crowded with morning traffic.
Guards at both ends. Checking people. Looking for someone.
Looking for him.
"Can't cross there," Kael muttered.
"Then swim."
"In armor?"
"You're not wearing armor. Just a shirt and pants. Both soaked already. What's the difference?"
Kael looked at the water. Fast current. Cold. Probably filthy.
Behind him, whistles getting louder.
He jumped.
The water hit like ice. Current grabbed him immediately. He kicked hard, fighting to stay afloat. The sword dragged him down.
"Let me go!" he shouted at Soulrender.
"Can't. We're bound. I go where you go."
Kael kicked harder. His head went under. Water filled his nose. He surfaced, gasped, went under again.
This was stupid. He'd survived assassins and guards only to drown in a river.
His foot touched something. River bottom. Shallow here.
He pushed off. Surfaced. Grabbed onto something—a rope trailing from a barge.
The barge was moving downstream. Kael held on. Let it pull him along.
After a few minutes, he let go and swam for the south bank. Pulled himself onto the muddy shore.
Lay there breathing hard.
"Well," Soulrender said. "That was exciting."
Kael stood slowly. Everything hurt. His leg wound was bleeding again. His lungs burned. He was soaked and freezing.
But he was across the river.
The Rust District rose before him. Old buildings. Crooked streets. The smell of smoke and rot.
Perfect place to disappear.
Kael limped forward into the shadows of the Black Market.
* * *