Ricko Daggerheart's Arc

Chapter 16 of 18

Ricko took the stair two steps at a time. T'Zaro ran at his shoulder, and Kelli covered their backs. The guard's sword felt heavy in his hand, but he did not slow. The bell still rang above. He thought of Torin and climbed faster. Two floors up waited the man who had killed him. The stair opened into a wide hall. Guards poured in from both sides. Ricko met the first with a hard swing and knocked him into the wall. T'Zaro slid low and cut a second man behind the knee. Kelli moved through the rest like water. She took a spear from one guard and used it to sweep two others off their feet. Ricko had seen her fight before. He still could not believe how fast she was. One guard planted himself in the center of the hall and would not move. He was young, dark-haired, his armor polished bright. He set his feet and raised his blade. "You will not reach him," he said. Ricko knew the face. This was Rashid, the gate guard who had taken Torin's bribe and let them through. Now he stood between Ricko and the throne room, trying to earn back what he had sold. "You already helped us once," Ricko said. "Step aside." Rashid's jaw tightened. "That was my shame. This is not." He lunged. Ricko caught the blow on his guard. Steel scraped. Rashid was strong and quick, but he fought like a man defending a door, not taking one. Ricko remembered Kelli's lesson. Fight close. He drove his shoulder into Rashid's chest and slammed him against the arch. The guard's sword clattered loose. Ricko pressed the blade to his throat. Rashid went still, waiting for the end. Ricko stepped back. "Torin died for your bribe. Live with that instead." He turned and ran through the arch. The throne room spread before him, gold and empty. The great seat sat bare. At the far wall, a small door stood open. Ricko saw a flash of purple robe slip through it. The old man. The sultan, running. "The jewel's above us," T'Zaro called. "Let him run." "No." Ricko crossed the floor. The sultan's dark eyes met his for one moment through the gap. Then the door slammed. A bolt scraped home on the far side. Ricko hit the wood with his shoulder. It held. He hit it again. The bolt did not give. He pressed his ear to the door and heard the old man's ragged breath beyond it. The sultan had locked himself in his own bedroom. Trapped, with no guards left between them. Kelli reached Ricko's side, spear still in her hand. "He's cornered," she said. Ricko stared at the bolted door. The man who killed Torin stood one inch away, breathing hard, out of men and out of room to run. "Then we open it," Ricko said.