Huge Ajax's Arc

Chapter 98 of 619

They waited in the oaks until the moon cleared the ridge. Ajax swung down and checked his father's blade at his hip. The house sat in a shallow bowl of grass, one lamp burning in the front window. Six men in the yard. Three inside with the woman. He looked at his crew and gave the nod. Elara stepped forward and lifted her hand. The gold band on her wrist warmed. A pale shroud slid over the group like fog over water. She held it steady. Her jaw was set. Ajax knew the working cost her, but she gave no sign of strain beyond a tight breath through her nose. They crossed the open ground fast. Marco walked in the middle of the group with his eyes half-closed, fingers loose at his sides. Ajax felt him working before he saw the result. In the yard, one guard with an iron collar had opened his mouth to shout. His mouth stayed open. He did not shout. He stood there like a man who had forgotten what he meant to say. Chalam broke off at the west wall. He drew a numbered vial from his satchel and thumbed the stopper. He tossed the vial through the front window. Glass tinked on wood. A soft hiss followed. Inside, a chair scraped, then stopped. Ajax and Grayson came around the west side. Grayson moved first without a word. He cut down one guard at the woodpile before the man turned. Ajax took the second through the throat. Tucker and Asher came in from the east. Ajax heard the wet sound of Tucker's blade and then Asher's boot on gravel as he ran the last man down against the door. The yard went quiet. The collared man still stood with his mouth open, eyes wide. Marco walked up behind him and pressed a hand to the back of his neck. The man's knees folded. Marco lowered him to the dirt. "Clear," Marco said. Ajax kicked the door in. Three men lay slumped at the table. One had his cheek on a plate. The woman sat upright in her chair, breathing slow, eyes closed. Chalam's sleep had taken her too. Good. Ajax bound her wrists behind the chair with cord from his belt. He lifted her chin. She was older than he expected, gray at the temples, a spiral burned into the skin above her collarbone. "Fifth name," Grayson said behind him. He was already at the hearth, kicking up a floorboard with the toe of his boot. "There's a hatch here." Ajax pulled the ledger from his coat and drew a line through the fifth name. One left. "Search the house," he said. "Marco holds her under. Chalam, check the hatch before anyone opens it. Tucker, drag the yard bodies behind the shed. We ride before dawn."