Devils Own ( A Steam Punk and Mystic Tale ) 1.8

1.8.

Kassius woke up in a start when he dreamed of armed men running down the street. When he opened up his eyes, he realized he was still in the Hat Shop, and it was close to dawn. He had overslept and rushed up to get to the Tower. He saw the sentries at the main entrance of the late rotation was still on, but he was keen on another entry; the workmen doorway at the corner. There was a door there which the workmen or servants used for their entry, and it was about time for them to come in. He took to the back exit and ran along the alley to the end. There he waited for his chance and it came in the form of rushing bulky man with the bag. Kassius called out from the alley and slipped back into darker shade. The rushing man stopped in his run, and looked over.

“Help!” Kassius imitated the voice of a helpless person. That drew the attention of the bulky man who fashioned himself to be large enough to fight anyone. He rushed on in with the bravado and shouted for the victim. His reply was a dagger into his left knee, and then the hand chop into the throat. The bulky man fell back from the blow, before the assassin followed through with his dagger into the left eye into the brain. The bulky man writhed for a while before his brain registered death.

Kassius made quick of the overcoat and the bag. With his uniform and back, he looked like the bulky man with the frame. He took to the street and ran to the servant entrance. He had the hood over his head and flashed the ID to gain entry.

“You are late, Sergei.” The sentry at the desk checked the ID and marked the records without looking up. Kassius went in and saw the sign to the Staff Office, but he took off for the Utility Room. He knew such towers well; they were taught the design layouts at the Guild and were refreshed on any layouts. The seasonal weather in the land can drift from hot to cold in a day, and the layout had a number of ducting above the ceiling. These ducts were narrow but due to maintenance requirement, a lean person could get past it.

Kassius stripped his uniforms and armors before he pushed it into the duct. He strung his uniforms and armors with a wire while he crawled ahead. He took over eight hours to move in the ducts, exiting at some rooms to make it to another before he climbed in again. He had to be extra careful to avoid meeting into any guards or servants. He finally made it to the level which the Lord Tannen have his personal chamber. There he waited in the ducting for the right time.

It would be a long wait. For an assassin, the time to wait was a time to rest.

And rest was a weapon taught to him.

But rest could be interrupted.

“Hail to me, Ancient One.” Kassius heard the shout. “I am Azazel, your faithful servant. I have brought you a virgin for you.”

Kassius turned to look through the small window and saw the group of hooded men in red robes around an altar where a naked lady laid on it. There were seven hooded men standing at the altar. At the head of the altar there was one hooded man holding a curved dagger over the lady’ head. He was the one also doing the calling for the Ancient One.

“I hear you, Ancient One.” The one shouting then continued on while the rest hummed in a monotonous tone. The dagger came down hard on the lady. He cut her throat from neck to neck while hailing the Ancient One name. Then he cut down from the throat to the navel, before the rest stepped forth to receive the blessing from the blood of the virgin.

Kassius had seen many killings but this one beats all of them. He turned his body to get comfortable, and then the duct gave way with a loose bolt. The bolt fell off the duct onto one of the hooded men. The man looked up and raised the alarm. The hoods came off along with the robes.

One of them Lord Tannen; the one holding the dagger. The others were his officers, and one was a Magistrate.

“Intruder in the duct!” The Magistrate shouted out. The guards outside the chamber rushed in. There was not much space in the duct to move. He forced his body against the duct and fell through. He landed on his feet, but his baggage got caught. He found himself hanging with his leg on the wire. He tried to free himself but the guards were onto him. They grabbed him but he fought hard. He kicked out and found his right hand on a guard’ dagger. He took and stabbed the guard on the left. With that the other guards stepped back and it during then he threw the dagger. The dagger would have taken out the Lord’ left eye, but he did raised his right hand to block it. The dagger cut into the right wrist and severed the tendons there. 

By then Kassius was overpowered by the other guards.