Advent of Eternity - Chapter 120 (Patreon)

“I am beginning to think you can’t be let out without supervision,” Knell said. “You have a talent for running into… situations.”

“I’m a very talented man,” Cyll said, propping Nyra up against the wall and leaving a bloody streak along the floor behind her. “You did say you preferred her alive, after all.”

“I said that,” Knell agreed, peering at the wound in Nyra’s chest. “I suppose we shall see if I regret it. How strong were the people that had her cornered?”

“Not particularly,” Cyll replied with a shrug. “I killed them all with no difficulty. They didn’t get a chance to try restraining me.”

“Were any of them Scions?”

“I didn’t spend too much time rooting around the corpses. I figured it was better to bring her over first. Scions obviously range in strength, but none of them felt all that capable.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. How bad is the wound?”

“I’m not a doctor. I don’t know.”

“Neither do I,” Knell admitted. They fell silent for a few moments.

“You could do the Anchor thing,” Cyll suggested. “Like you did for that one girl.”

“She was poisoned, and it was a willpower struggle. This is a wound. It would just lock her in place until we got someone to deal with the wound. That would involve finding a healer, which would probably cost as much as her bounty.”

“And the slime’s artifact would just kill her,” Cyll added. He pursed his lips and grunted. “Oh well. Cash her in for the bounty it is. That’s a pretty profitable night, don’t you think?”

“Can’t argue with that.” Knell straightened. His eyes flicked to Cyll’s torn up clothing. “How did you ruin another set of clothes?”

“I was excited.”

“Go buy more,” Knell said. “Actually, scratch that. I’m not sending you anywhere without an escort. You’ll probably end up killing a Shard on accident.”

“If only.”

Nyra groaned. Cyll’s hand went up to his sword as her eyes fluttered open.

“Stop,” Knell said. “You’re going to get even more blood on the room. Don’t you ever think before stabbing something?”

“I prefer not to,” Cyll replied, releasing Lassie and crossing his arms. “It makes things a lot more interesting.”

“That explains a lot,” Knell said.

Nyra groaned again. She squinted through her thick hair at Knell. Her eyes flicked over to Cyll, then scanned the rest of the room.

“You.”

“Me. I have to admit, this wasn’t how I was planning to meet back up,” Knell said. “I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from doing anything stupid. As I just told Cyll, I don’t want to get more blood on the ground. I’m probably going to have to pay for this.”

“Forgive me if I don’t give a damn about your floor,” Nyra growled. Her hands twitched at her sides and Coal fluttered over to Knell’s shoulder. The raven cocked its head to the side, peering at her with a bloodshot eye.

“Why did you leave me alive?” Nyra asked. “Scion scum. Just finish the job.”

“Hey now,” Cyll said, raising his hands. “Don’t accuse me of being a Scion. No offense, Knell, but I’m perfectly happy with all of my body parts. I don’t need some weird Shard thing inside me. I mean, think of the implications.”

“Cyll?”

“Yes, Cap?”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, Cap.”

Nyra let out a sharp laugh. “What’s your deal, crispy? You don’t look like all that much, but that monster is following your orders like a whipped dog. Who are you?”

“You see what you’ve done?” Knell asked, pointing his staff at Cyll. “You’ve completely undermined any element of fear I might have had.”

“Whoops. I could just kill her and be done with it.”

Nyra’s face twitched. “You brought me all the way over here just to kill me?”

“Case and point,” Knell said. “She takes your threat seriously, but not mine.”

“I see,” Cyll said sagely. “Noted. I’ll keep that in mind the next time I find someone wandering around at night.”

“This happens frequently?” Nyra asked, coughing in a mixture of amusement and pain.

“Unfortunately. You’re surprisingly eloquent for someone with a hole in their chest.”

Nyra looked down at the wound. She stuck a finger into it, wincing as she felt around. “I managed to avoid anything too serious getting hit. Provided you don’t off me, I’ll live.”

“Getting a little comfortable, I see. Can you give me a good reason to let you live?” Knell asked. “One that’s worth more than fifteen thousand gold, preferably. I am not running a charity, despite what Cyll seems to think.”

Nyra squinted up at him. Her body twitched as a spasm of pain ran through it, but she did a fantastic job at keeping it from showing on her face. It wasn’t enough to keep it from Knell’s keen eyes, but it had been a good attempt.

“I’m not going to beg. If you’re planning to kill me, then do it. I’m not giving you shit.”

Coal cawed from Knell’s shoulder. He hopped to the ground and dipped his beak into the blood around Nyra, then cawed once more.

“I think he wants me to kill you,” Knell said. “Bloodthirsty little bird. Fed it too much jerky. Are you quite certain you’ve got nothing to offer?”

Nyra spat on his shoe. Knell shrugged. He twisted his staff apart, freeing the hidden blade within it and pointing the tip at her heart.

“Do me a favor and spit on Modrigal when you see her,” Knell said. “And tell her that I’m still putting her powers to better use than she ever did.”

He reared back. Nyra’s eyes widened. “Wait! You’re actually just going to kill me?”

Knell blinked. “Yes?”

“But… you had your man bring me here. You wanted something.”

“No. He brought you here of his own volition. Now you are staining the floor, and I am going to need to either pay for it or burn the inn down. Considering we only just arrived here, I prefer the former. You were a useful tool in getting some Boons, but I have no use for you. I’ll just toss you in the sea as we leave port. I trust that’s acceptable?”

Nyra looked to Cyll, but he just shrugged.

“This wasn’t an act to get me to talk? You’re dead serious?”

“Not as dead as you are about to be,” Knell replied. “You are wasting my time. Perhaps that’s my fault, actually. I’m the one talking to a woman that wants to die. Please try not to wiggle around too much after I stab you, or I’m going to have even more to clean.”

“Wait!”

Knell’s eye twitched.

“You’re not with the guild?”

“Do I look like an adventurer to you?”

“You’re fighting them, then. You aren’t even going to cash in my bounty! What’s the point of killing me?”

“You got blood on my floor.”

“Technically, that was your man.”

“That,” Knell said, glancing at Cyll, “is a good point. Unfortunately, he’s useful to me. You, of your own words, are not.”

Nyra gritted her teeth. “What do you want? I’ll bargain.”

“You have nothing with which to bargain. Beg.”

Nyra’s eyes narrowed. Ego warred with self-preservation on her face. Then her shoulders slumped. “I know the location of a hidden dungeon in the area. It’s why I was in Apton in the first place.”

Knell flipped his blade around and slid it back into the staff, clicking it shut. “Very good. Cyll, go find Stix or Maya and have one of them escort you to get some new clothes.”

“It’s the middle of the night,” Cyll said.

“Then they’ll yell at you for me.”

Cyll smirked and gave Knell a mock salute before spinning and striding out of the room. Nyra watched him leave out of the corner of her eyes, relaxing visibly when he was gone.

“What did he do?” Knell asked.

“Killed twelve men in a few seconds.”

“Were any of them Scions?”

“No. I already killed the Scions.”

Knell extended a hand. Nyra shook her head.

“Already ate the Boons. The bastards just got me after I was already severely weakened. You have to tell me – how did you get that monster to work for you? I swear I saw him get stabbed in the heart and he shrugged it off like nothing.”

“I have to do nothing,” Knell replied. “And he is going to be very cross that you told me that.”

Nyra opened her mouth, then groaned as another wave of pain racked her body. The wound in her chest was slowly shrinking, but it was full of dirt and dust.

“Does whatever regenerative skill you possess also keep you from getting infected?”

“No,” Nyra replied with a grimace.

Knell sighed. “Can you stand? Considering all the damage you’ve done to my room, I’d prefer to get some use out of you before you die of an infection. There’s a filled tub in the corner of the room that you can use.”

Nyra’s muscles tensed and she drew in a sharp breath. She gritted her teeth, trembling as she tried to force her body to move. The damage was clearly more extensive than she had let on, because she was barely able to get herself a few inches off the ground.

“Close your eyes,” Knell said.

“What? No.”

“That was not a request.”

Nyra glared at him, then slowly followed his orders. Knell cast Exhume on himself once he was certain she wasn’t watching. His leg popped as the old scars receded and he regained proper control of it.

“Make a sharp movement, and my sword goes through your throat,” Knell said. He put one hand on the flintlock tucked into his belt and wrapped the other around Nyra’s back, lifting her and dragging the woman across the room.

He reached the bathtub and propped her against it, then pushed her in with a splash. She let out several curses that quickly turned to bubbling as she sank beneath the water line. Water cascaded over the tub’s sides and poured over his boots and pants. Knell ignored it, pulling Nyra’s head out of the water.

“Are you a child?” he asked, releasing Exhume and leaning heavily on the side of the tub to support himself. “Prop yourself up on your own.”

“I can’t,” Nyra spat, glaring at him. “I got stabbed in my spine. It’ll be a while before I can move my limbs again.”

“You have a lot of attitude for someone who lives entirely on my whims.”

“Let’s call it a partnership,” Nyra replied, giving him a cold grin. “You need something from me. I need something–”

The rest of her sentence vanished as Knell let go of her hair, dunking her into the water. He pulled her back out and cocked an eyebrow as she glared at him.

“You’re the pettiest little shit I’ve ever seen.”

“Indeed. I am also the only thing keeping you alive from humiliating defeat at the hands of an old iron bathtub.”

Nyra grumbled under her breath. “Can you at least try to position me a little better? You’re going to tear my hair out if you keep yanking on it, and there’s something sharp in the tub digging into my back.”

“You can feel your back?”

“It’s coming back to me.”

Knell paused. “Was that a pun?”

“No comment. It really is annoying, though.”

“I’ve never seen someone go from a Scion killer to a spoiled brat in less time,” Knell said. He dipped his arm into the tub, supporting her from beneath her arms and releasing her hair. “For your sake, I hope your information is useful.”