Humayre: The Chronicles of Ronin Wilder
Chapter 26

O’Shea’s Pub smelled like damp-earth, moss and stone, or like what Ronin guessed an ancient tomb might smell like. Large iron hoops clasping torches lined the stone walls. They burned timid without much light. A wooden bar sat in the far left corner. It was absent of stools, goblets or drink. It looked abandoned. The ceilings were short. If Ronin wanted to he could’ve reached up and touched stone.

In the far back corner a cobblestone fireplace burned bright casting a warm light across the dark and shiny wooden floors. In front of the fire place, facing where Ronin stood, were chairs, couches and what looked like a throne. Only four men were in the room. One man sat on the throne while the three other sat on chairs next to him. The man on the throne had long curly brown hair and a reddish colored beard. He wore a black suit with shiny black shoes. Hmm. A Viking in a suit. Don’t see that every day. Ronin chuckled to himself.

It was obvious to Ronin that the man on the throne was the guy in charge. The need to know overrode Ronin’s nerves. Straightening his posture, he headed for the throne.

“You have some serious nerve boy,” said the man on the throne.

Ronin stopped. He held up the letter. “I have something you might want to see,” said Ronin.

The three men sitting around the throne laughed.

“Nerve indeed,” said the man to the left of the throne.

The man on the throne stood up and brushed off his suit. “I respect your bravery. Although, I don’t know if I respect your intelligence.” He shook his head. “My name is Ajax.” He glanced at the men sitting by him then back to Ronin. “These men are of no consequence so I won’t bore myself with their introduction.”

The three men started to talk amongst themselves. They didn’t seem to care about Ajax’s insult.

“Bring me what you have,” said Ajax, as he held his hand out.

Something caught Ronin’s eye. A sheathed sword balanced against the front left leg of the throne. From what Ronin could tell it looked like a Mayreblade.

Ajax snapped his fingers. “Over here. Let’s not lose focus now. I am a very busy man.”

Ronin jerked his attention back to Ajax. “If I give you the letter, how do I know you won’t just keep it and then not tell me what it says?”

“If you don’t give me the letter, I will kill you and then take it,” said Ajax. “Either way it’s of no consequence to me. Maybe in the next life you will think twice about entering a Vein Den.”

Knowing he didn’t have a choice, Ronin walked the letter to Ajax. At this point all he could hope for was that the man would be thankful and divulge the letters secrets and maybe answer a question or two.

Ajax took the letter and examined the seal. His eyebrows furrowed. “Marius. Kill the human.”

Marius stood and drew a sword from behind his back. It looked just like a Mayreblade except the blade was slightly jagged. Ronin remembered the description from his intro class. It was the Vein’s version of a Mayreblade, they called them Bloodblades. Marius pushed a chair out of the way and headed straight for Ronin. A sick smile formed on his face.

“Wait,” said Ronin, holding his hands up. “I’m not a human. I’m a Humayre.”

“Stop,” said Ajax.

Marius froze and rested his sword on his shoulder.

Ajax sized Ronin up. “So you knew this was a Vein Den and you still came?”

“Yes sir,” said Ronin. He balled his hands into fists, making sure not to pierce himself with his claws, and stuffed them in his pockets.

Ajax turned to the other men and said, “If they were all so brave, we might be in trouble.”

All four Vein broke out into laughter. Ajax smiled and looked back to Ronin. “We will let the pup live.” Turning his focus to the letter, he added, “Let’s see what we have here shall we?”

Unfolding the letter Ajax held it up against the light of the fireplace. “Bring me the Rhetstone.”

Marius hurried to the back of the room and climbed a set of wooden stairs leading to the second floor.

Relieved that he wasn’t going to be killed, it was all Ronin could do to steady his shaking legs. A fierce need to know forced Ronin to inadvertently speak. “What does it say?”

“Hold your tongue pup,” said Ajax. “The only reason I spared your life was because of the treaty. Don’t give me a reason to throw diplomacy to the wolves.”

Marius hurried back down the stairs holding some sort of rock. He handed it to Ajax.

A round wooden table with two wooden mugs and a bottle of wine sat just to the right of Ajax. In a carefree flurry Ajax cleared the table sending its contents flying across the room and into the wall. The act startled Ronin forcing him to step back. Ajax spread the letter out across the table and held the strange rock above it. Letters glowed green on the pager. Ajax’s eyes scanned back and forth. The scowl, which seemed to be his normal expression transformed. His eyes widened. If Ronin had to guess, it looked like fear.

Ajax stepped away from the table and pulled Marius to the back of the room.

“Wait,” shouted Ronin. “What’s it say?”

Ajax stopped and faced Ronin. “Get out of here before I let Marius finish what he started.”

Desperation flooded through Ronin’s body. If he left now, that would be it. Without the letter and no leads, his parent’s memory would be forever tainted. The last thing he wanted to do was divulge who his parents were. It wasn’t part of the plan and he feared it could get him killed right then and there. Everything in him told him to run, to get out while he could, but his need to know overpowered everything else.

“Please,” said Ronin. He swallowed hard but nothing went down. His mouth was as dry as a desert. “Do you know who Myrian and Devin Wilder are?”

Ajax looked surprised. “Who are you?”

“Please,” said Ronin. “Just tell me if you knew them.”

“Of course I knew them,” said Ajax. He held his arms out. “Who do you think funded the project that brought this pub over from England?” He stared hard at Ronin, as though he were trying to solve a puzzle. “This was their Den.”

Ronin’s shoulders dropped. All the energy and excitement fizzled from his body leaving him exhausted. It was true. His parents were traitors.

“If you want to know about Myrian and Devin you are looking in the wrong place,” said Ajax. “Now, I am not going to tell you again.” He pointed to the door. “Get out.”

Ajax grabbed Marius by the shoulder and turned him around. Both their backs were facing Ronin. Ajax whispered into Marius ear. “We have a traitor amongst our ranks. And that’s not the worst of it. The Humayre’s weapon is ready. The letter is Cryptic but from what I can gather they need the Mayrestone. Which is odd considering they have it at BrightWood. It means whoever is behind this does not have BrightWoods support. Seems BrightWood has a traitor of their own.” He glanced back at Ronin and lowered his voice even further. “This would also explain why John was hired to steal the stone. And now we have this pup coming into our Den asking about the very people who sixteen years ago first alerted us to this plot. This is not a coincidence. You need to take this letter to Raven and inform him of what we’ve learned.”

“Raven?” asked Ronin. As the word blurted out he wished he could take it back. They were whispering for a reason and obviously had no idea Ronin could hear them. Ronin looked to the door. The instinct to run was heavy, but for some reason he froze.

Ajax and Marius turned around in surprise.

“Please,” said Ronin. “You said I was looking in the wrong place. Where should I look?” Taking the focus off Raven was all he could think to do.

Ajax nodded to Marius. As Marius headed for Ronin, Ajax said, “Marius is going to show you out since you obviously have a problem listening.” He shook his head. “Ebonsville, on Marlens Way. That’s where you should have gone. Although the outcome would have been the same I’m afraid.”

Marius grabbed Ronin’s jacket at the nape and led him to the back of the pub. “Wait,” said Ronin. “I thought the exit was back that way.”

“I’m taking you out the back way,” said Marius. “Can’t have any Vein seeing you leave the pub. Most around here don’t follow the treaty. They would kill you on sight. Hence the reason you are going out the back.” They stopped at a wall. Marius pushed on the stone. A door revealed itself.

The secret door lead out into a back alley. The tall building next to the pub cast a shadow over the alley blocking out most of the moonlight. It took Ronin’s eyes a second to adjust to the almost pitch black darkness. Ronin searched for any signs of life but instead found a few overburdened garbage cans, the back of a building and puddles of stagnant water. The smell of rotting fish and fruit nauseated him. Pulling from every smell in the ally Ronin found and focused on the earthy scent of stone. It eased his nausea. The door closed. Marius was still behind him. The scent of bloodlust attacked his senses. It was the same sour smell he encountered in the forest when wolves were pursuing their prey. A terrifying realization struck him. Marius wasn’t sent to escort him to safety, he was there to kill him.

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