Book 1 Unholy

Book 1
Unholy

Chapter 1
Encounter

She couldn’t remember everything, but the important things were burned, in-grained if you will, in her so deep that they were unforgettable, and in the end, it is the important things that one remembers…
Aelwon’s hard-leather boots, turned from black to brown by the sun, hammered through the muddy, city streets. She pulled the hood of her black cloak up to cover her ivory hair and down to cover her face, all the way to her nose.
She did this partially to block the freezing rain, but it was mostly, to hide the pale, silvery-blue orbs drowned in inky darkness, of her Drow-inherited eyes.
She cursed as the wind jerked violently at her black tunic and pants.
Aelwon ducked into an alley.
It was as if the rest of the world disappeared. The wind couldn’t reach her within the crevice, and the rain came only in a slight drizzle. She reached to pull her collar over the lower half of her face and chuckled when she noticed that her milky colored fingers had changed to a light shade of blue.
She gripped the hilt of her punching dagger hidden within her cloak and crept to-ward the other end of the alleyway. She pressed her back to the wall and peered around the corner, down the street. As several dark figures came into view, she snapped back to attention. Aelwon gripped the dagger tightly against her chest and breathed deeply— once, twice.
She could hear their footsteps now. As they drew nearer, Aelwon began to focus on their conversation.
There were four voices in total. That was perfect.
The first voice was deep and resonating, the kind that made your chest vibrate. “I think you might have made quite a bit of headway this afternoon, Lord Chaster. If the rest of the board has any arguments with your examinations of those repulsive half-breeds, I will be surprised.”
“Hear, hear!” exclaimed the second, much older-sounding man. He wheezed every so often with the sound of labored breathing. “You were brilliant, Sir!”
“Well I can’t take all of the credit.” This was presumably Chaster. “You helped me quite a bit, Franzen! If not for you, the speech would not have been so eloquently written, nor delivered for that matter!”
Aelwon heard a ‘whump!’ of a cane on flesh.
“Hurry yourself up boy! We don’t have all night!” Chaster shouted. Another two whacks from his cane broke through the night air, followed by the pained cries of his ser-vant.
“Yes sir! I’m sorry, your Lordship!” The fourth voice, Aelwon was sure, belonged to the servant. She peered around the corner again and found the servant to be no more than twenty, maybe even younger.
She stood upright once more, back pressed to the wall, and readied herself. The politicians were much closer now.
Aelwon crouched down and felt the muscles in her thighs tighten as she prepared to leap. She took one last deep breath to steady her fiercely shivering hands.
Finally, when the men were close enough, Aelwon leapt and kicked outward. Her kick caught the largest of the men in the gut. She used the opposition that his body pro-vided to leap back into the remaining three men.
With a perfect arc, her dagger severed the eldest politician’s throat clean through the spine, causing it to slide and hit the ground with a satisfying squish and thud.
She landed on one knee and raised her hidden face to see Chaster’s quaking form. He recoiled and turned to run, but in his haste he tripped over his servant. Aelwon raised herself slowly, letting her shoulders droop slightly. She began her advance toward Chas-ter, but suddenly found the largest man between herself and her target.
“Kill her, Barry!” shouted Chaster, still trying to untangle himself from his slave.
“Shit!” she cursed under her breath as she finally got a good look at ‘Barry’. He was at least four heads taller than she was. His brown skin was stretched tight around bulging muscles.
Barry rolled up the sleeves of his expensive, finely tailored suit. “I don’t know what you’re after, girl,” he announced in his baritone voice, “but you’d be wise to look…elsewhere.” He snarled, revealing teeth that rivaled Aelwon’s skin in whiteness.
Aelwon crouched and drew a second dagger into her left hand.
“Well, if that’s how it’s going to be,” the giant reached into his right front pocket, and when his hand re-emerged, it was adorned with a large crescent blade attached to a handle that was formed into finger holes.
Barry wasted no time. He lunged forward with his blade, aiming for Aelwon’s face.
Aelwon dropped to all fours to evade, and, as Barry’s huge arm passed over her, she sprang up to attempt to lodge her left hand dagger in his sternum.
To her surprise—and annoyance— the dagger was rebuffed with a loud “clang!” She noted, through his newly torn shirt, that he was wearing an iron chest-plate.
Barry grunted and brought his arms back, as if to crush Aelwon against his chest plate.
Aelwon hardly remembered evading Barry’s next few attacks. When next she again fully comprehended where she was, her dagger was lodged deep in the back of the giant’s skull, and she could still feel phantom vibrations, from the clash of weapons, run-ning though her arms.
She ripped her blade free, and Barry fell with a resounding thud. With blood still dripping from her weapon, Aelwon turned to face Chaster.
He wasn’t an unattractive man, though obviously human. He wore his light brown hair pulled back into a long pony tail, and his blue noble’s garb was pressed so there were no wrinkles in sight. His cane was black and bore a wolf’s head as the hand-hold. He was probably around thirty or so years of age, as the lines on his face were just beginning to show.
He fell back to the ground and raised his hands to cover his face. “What is it that you want? Money? I can get you all the money that you’d ever want! Please don’t kill me!”
Aelwon couldn’t tell if it was the rain that was beating down on the noble or his own doing, but she could swear that there were tears in his eyes.
She said nothing as she advanced. This was the easy part.
Aelwon leaned over the noble and gripped his chin. She turned his face up to look directly at her own concealed face. “You have already succeeded in taking anything that I could ever want. Karma is finally catching up with you. Llääm Malucar du ruë sallen er ur llewellyn.” She tilted his head back and watched as Chaster’s eyes squinted closed in preparation. Aelwon smiled to herself and drove the dagger into his stomach, ripping it upward until it severed his throat.
Almost immediately, Chaster’s body went limp and his eyes glazed over. Aelwon dropped him to the hard, cobblestone pavement. She heard the servant stand up but paid him no attention as she began to rifle through Chaster’s pockets.
She drew out a heavy bag of gold coins, a finely crafted pocket watch, and a small silver key. Aelwon’s eyes moved up to the servant, and she noted that his neck and wrists were bound tightly together with large metal manacles.
Aelwon stood up and moved toward the servant who cringed a little and shut his eyes in anticipation at her approach. She gripped his right arm and pulled him down so he was closer to her height. She forced the key into its matching hole in the right hand cuff and twisted until it clicked, and the offensive device fell open. The servant peeked down at Aelwon and relaxed a little under her touch.
She grumbled and pressed the key into his right palm and began to search the oth-er two politicians for any loot that she could uncover. She untwisted the top of Chaster’s metal cane and took it as a trophy, since it bore his noble’s seal. On the other two she lo-cated just a little bit more gold, some silver, and a flask of wine. She also shoved Barry’s oversized weapon into her bag.
The manacles clanged loudly to the ground, and she turned to find the servant rubbing his newly freed neck. His inquisitive, gray eyes monitored her every movement.
Aelwon approached him and pulled her hood off her head, revealing her shoulder-length white hair and drew her collar down below her chin. Her silvery blue and black eyes made steady contact with the servant’s. His lack of fear caused Aelwon to feel a sudden pang of attachment.  
“If you’re going to kill me, do you mind if I ask you to make it quick?” His voice was thick with a northern accent, adding a dip to most vowels. It was also deep, but not like Barry’s. This man’s was smoother, as was his appearance. He stood about six feet in height with broad shoulders and a toned figure. His blond, disheveled hair was kept in a crew cut with thick sideburns.
Aelwon scoffed. “I wasn’t paid for your life.”
“However, I have seen your face,” he replied calmly.
“But who would believe a servant in this situation?” Aelwon argued, grim faced and solemn. “And you’re a half elf.”
He grew silent. “And- I hope you don’t mind my asking— what are you?”
“Half Drow, half Light-Elf,” she replied.
“Hmm…” he nodded. “And do you have a name?”
“Why? Would it matter if you knew? You may never see me again after today.” She felt herself grin.
“I would like to know to whom I am indebted. My name is Sabriel.”
Aelwon sighed and examined the man’s face with a hard scrutiny that exceeded her years. “Aelwon,” she finally answered, “Aelwon Rewander.”
“Under different circumstances, I would say that it’s a pleasure. However, I do thank you for my freedom and my life, Aelwon Rewander.”
A whistle echoed in the distance.
Aelwon’s eyes drifted to the ground. “You won’t have it for long if you don’t move quickly, Sabriel.” She dropped Chaster’s coin purse at the former slave’s feet. “That should be enough for you to get by.”
“Thank you.” Sabriel leaned down to grab the bag, and when he stood back up, Aelwon had disappeared.

Aelwon turned the knob to a door that belonged to the Dancing Stag’s inn just as a small portion of city’s police force rushed by her. Alduin was not only famous for its hatred of half breeds, but their police force was top notch. I suppose it would have to be if they want to keep the king alive, Aelwon thought to herself.
“Well if it isn’t the infamous assassin!” shouted a gruff man from the corner of the dimly lit room.
Aelwon grinned. Though she couldn’t see the man clearly through the numerous, empty, round tables and weak candlelight, she knew exactly who he was. “Well, if it isn’t Leo, you old scalawag!”
“Come! Share a drink!” Leo raised his giant mug of ale in invitation.
Aelwon sighed as she began her way to the back corner of the room, “You never change, do you?” She let out a half-hearted laugh. Leo was half-giant rouge with a code of honor that would put the king to shame, and if ever Aelwon had a family, Leo was it.
“What have you been up to, old friend? It’s been a long while since we had a drink together.”  Aelwon sat across from Leo at the small table and rested her elbows on its rough surface. She seemed so tiny when sitting next to the nine foot man.
Leo’s bearded face came into view as he leaned into the candlelight. “I’ve been doing a little bit of research, some of which might interest you a tad.”
“Like what?” Aelwon’s brow furrowed.
“Like, I hear the king is on his deathbed.” Leo brought his giant mug to his lips and took a loud slurp.
“King Rudiger? I thought he was always in good health. And his son isn’t even five yet!”
“That’s just it! He conveniently got ill just before the bill banning all half-breed rights got to his throne, and his son mysteriously disappeared last week.” Leo lowered his voice to a rumble. Even though the Dancing Stag was friendly to half-breeds, some of the other patrons might not be.
“…So I’m assuming that the church is planning to occupy the throne.”
“Bingo!” Leo exclaimed and motioned with his mug toward Aelwon, sloshing golden liquid across the rough wood.
Aelwon jumped a little, attempting to avoid the brutish drink.
“And guess who they’re blaming!”
“My first guess would be half-breeds,” Aelwon muttered, “if he wasn’t on such good political terms with them. I give, who?”
Leo’s brown eyes shifted back and forth under his graying hair. “The Draconics!” he half whispered, half hissed.
Aelwon stared blankly at Leo’s serious face. “…You’re drunk, aren’t you?” she finally said flatly.
“No, well, yes, maybe a little, but that’s not the point here!” Leo slammed his mug down on the table with such force that the single, solid support beam holding it up quivered.
Aelwon tossed her hands in the air. “Why? What would the point be?”
“Hell, if I know! I just relay information!” Leo growled. “If that damn church would just stay out of things…”
Aelwon crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in her chair. “You know what? I’m not even gonna bother worrying this time. It’s not going to have anything to do with me, so I’m gonna stay out of it. What about you? Are you going to stick your hand in?”
Leo shook his head. “I haven’t decided yet.” He took another swig of his alcohol. “And that looks like your guy up at the counter.”
She craned her neck to see the counter, and sure enough, there sat the man who had put the bounty on Chaster.
“Right,” Aelwon muttered. “But first, I’d like to know how much I can get for this.” She dug into her bag and produced Barry’s weapon.
“Well, now.” Leo gingerly took the blade from her and slid it onto his hand. It fit perfectly. “I’ll give you twenty silver for it right here.”
Aelwon laughed. “You could buy a horse for less!”
“And I haven’t seen one of these in years,” Leo smirked and narrowed his eyes. “Twenty-five then.”
“I won’t take any more than fifteen from you,” Aelwon grinned.
“Sixteen!” argued Leo.
“Ten,” Aelwon couldn’t suppress a smile.
“Done!” shouted Leo, laughing loudly. He produced a coin pouch and dumped the agreed amount out onto the table, and reclaiming the extra he had dumped out. “Now, go tend to your customer.” Leo made a motion with his hand as if to shoo the slender girl away.
She grinned, “Fine, you win.” Aelwon scooped five of the silver into her hand and left the other five. “That’s for your information.”
Leo didn’t say a word. He just smiled and shook his head, as the assassin left and headed toward the bar.
Aelwon seated herself next to her client, a man with untamed, shoulder-length, dark hair and cold, brown eyes.
The man swished the golden liquid in his glass around absentmindedly. “Are you my source?” he questioned without looking over.
Aelwon nodded.
The man returned the gesture by bobbing his head. “And what about Chaster?” He downed his drink and shifted his eyes, uneasily, toward Aelwon.
She pulled Chaster’s cane handle out of her bag and laid it on the table in front of the man.
He responded by revealing a small bag of coins from his thick, dark coat. “Ten gold, just as we agreed.”
Aelwon grasped the bag and emptied its contents onto the table. She counted the coins carefully, and when she was sure that there were exactly ten gold coins, she scooped them back into the small bag. “So, stranger-?”
“Lorcan,” he interjected in his deep, gravelly voice.
Aelwon smirked, “Are you rooming alone tonight?” She noted that Loran’s lips twisted into a similar grin.
“I suppose not anymore.” He turned to face Aelwon fully for the first time. His eyes examined her closely.
She saw, for the first time, that he was clad in expensive clothing. He wore a black, silk tunic with gold seams and cuffs. His overcoat was black and ornamented with gold buttons. What struck her the most, however, was the noble’s crest that hung around his neck. She didn’t recognize the emblem. “So…” her breath caught in her throat, “What are you doing in a place like this…your Lordship?” Her eyes fixated on the crest in hor-ror. Nobles hated half-breeds.
“Don’t.” Lorcan said flatly as he moved his face toward Aelwon’s. His large, right hand came around to hold the back of her head, and his lips pressed against hers, causing his slight beard to tickle her face.
Aelwon accepted his kiss in shock.
He broke the kiss but remained close to her. “Don’t make a scene,” he muttered before kissing her again.
Aelwon calmed her speeding heart and let him kiss her. It doesn’t matter, she thought. Nobles have each other killed all of the time. She closed her eyes as Lorcan dee-pened their kiss. Her tiny hands rose to grip the front of his smooth shirt, and she pulled him closer to her.
Lorcan finally pulled away, panting. “Come on then.” He grabbed her hand and drew her away from the bar.
Aelwon reached for the sack of gold before she moved to follow Lorcan toward the stairs in the back of the bar. He ascended toward the top of the staircase with a digni-fied calm and refinement.
They stopped in front of room number four, and he produced a small, copper key from his pocket. Once he found it, he slid the key into the lock and creaked open the door. Aelwon followed Lorcan through the opening, but she stopped in the middle of the room as the tall man closed and relocked the door.
“So why is a noble in a half-breed’ bar?” she asked coldly.
Lorcan sighed. “I was…my family is…” He ran his fingers through his thick black hair. “My brother is half werewolf…was. Chaster had him killed nine years ago, and I’ve been tracking him ever since I was able to leave my father’s care.”
“Still…humans don’t belong in this place. Anyone else would tear you to shreds.” Aelwon said.
“I’m not human!” he shouted, almost angrily as he began to pace the floor.
“So then…” Aelwon smiled, “You’re not full either,” and crossed her arms.
Lorcan shook his head. “My family was cast out of the nobles’ society when my father married a human. He believes that keeping the blood pure is a farce, a charade.” He let out an exasperated sigh.
“Well, that makes me feel better.” Aelwon grinned and kicked her boots off.
Lorcan removed his coat. “It seems that you have just as many issues with humans and full bloods as they do with you.”
“No, it’s just safer to avoid them,” Aelwon muttered as she pulled her shirt over her head.
Lorcan examined her pale skin with a hidden interest. “What exactly are you?” he asked. “Your eyes say Drow, but your skin…” He pulled his own shirt off and moved toward her, leaning down to kiss her milky-white, bare shoulders.
“Half Drow and half light elf. It turns out it makes a fairly unusual child,” she answered. She eyed the dark hair on his chest.
Lorcan grinned, picked her up, and set her down gently on the bed. “But it cer-tainly didn’t make you unattractive.” He planted gentle kisses all along her collar bone and neck and pressed his hips against hers.
Aelwon laughed. “Thank you.”
She felt him smile against her skin, and he quickly wrapped her in another warm, passionate kiss.

Aelwon’s head rested on Lorcan’s large shoulder. She was wrapped tightly in his embrace. When she was with men like Lorcan, it was easy to imagine that she lived a peaceful life.
He snored quietly beside her, and Aelwon felt content. She reached up to move the hair from his eyes. He didn’t stir. She smiled and scooted closer to his warm body before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Aelwon woke up alone, though Lorcan’s coat still hung on the back of a chair across the room. She yawned and stretched, before rolling out of the warm bed and dressing. She stumbled down the stairs groggily, rubbing her eyes as she went.
“Good morning,” she heard Lorcan’s voice and looked up to find him sitting at the bar. He rose and walked toward her. He grabbed her tunic, pulled her against him, and wrapped her in a kiss.
“Mmm…morning,” she grumbled, yawning again.
Lorcan chucked. “I ordered breakfast; would you like to join me?”
Aelwon only nodded as her partner let go of her clothes. She ate her breakfast in drowsy silence.
“I’m thinking about going down to the market after this,” Lorcan said as he chewed his food thoughtfully.
“Yeah,” Aelwon nodded. “It’s a big place here.”
“Uh-huh,” Lorcan’s eyes shifted toward her and back to his food.
“Yep,” Aelwon downed her cider. It tasted of thick cinnamon.
Lorcan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “Would you do me the honor of accompanying me?”
“Sure,” Aelwon agreed.
Lorcan nodded. “Thank you. This city is a labyrinth for outsiders, and it would be a shame to lose oneself on such a dismal day.” He turned his eyes toward a window that framed a gray sky.
“Yeah,” she sighed and rested her head on the bar.
“…You’re not a morning person, are you?” Lorcan studied the drowsy assassin’s face with his trademark deadpan expression.
Aelwon just groaned in response. “The sun is the devil…” she muttered.
Lorcan grinned. “Come on then,” he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the bar and into the cloudy city streets. He paused and breathed in deeply. “Alduin smells beauti-ful after the rain.” He smiled.
“That smell is horse shit,” Aelwon pulled her black hood up over her pallid hair.
He coughed quietly and cleared his throat, hiding a laugh. “Well, um, you lead the way.”
Aelwon grinned. The cool, morning air was beginning to wake her up. “Come on then,” she muttered.
Lorcan followed Aelwon through the twists and turns of the city streets. She took the back alleyways that she knew to be less crowded, and soon, they arrived at Alduin’s market place.
The vibrant colors were enough to make one’s head spin. Even in the dull cloudi-ness of the dreary day, the vivid canopies of the sales booths and the dazzling merchan-dise gave off a bright, cheery atmosphere.
“Well, this is it,” muttered Aelwon. “This is Alduin’s legendary marketplace. She grinned. “I assume you know how to handle the merchants?”
“Handle them?” Lorcan cocked an eyebrow in interest.
“Watch,” she commanded, and she walked toward the closet booth. She eyed the wares carefully, choosing the first thing that caught her eye. She had plenty to spare after Chaster’s demise.
She ran her fingers over a small crescent moon pendant that glittered from the ti-ny, crystal fragments embedded in its design. Her eyes deftly shifted up to the merchant, and then she looked back at Lorcan. “Wouldn’t you say this suits me perfectly?” she asked, batting her eyes and putting up a foreign accent as a façade. She lifted the necklace gently and held it up for Lorcan to see. His confused eyes wandered over to the merchant’s, now, hopeful face.
“A necklace for the pretty lady? Yes, that would be absolutely stunning around such a delicate neck.” The aging, thin man rose from his seat and came to stand beside Aelwon. His hunched figure caused him to appear even shorter than her. “This is from the Vilya Naur Orod, you know. It’s almost impossible to get wares in and out of there.”
“Oh, well it’s quite lovely. How much did you say it would be?” She made sure not to make eye contact with the man and kept her eyes fastened on the pendant, as if she were entranced.
“Fifteen silver m’lady,” he grinned encouragingly, though he was missing several teeth.
“I’d like to get this for her,” said Lorcan, producing his coin pouch.
“But fifteen? I hardly think that something so trivial is worth even five.” Aelwon moved to put the necklace back in its previous resting spot.
“It’s all the way from Vilya Naur Orod! Do you know where that is? That’s about as far north as you can go before reaching the prisons!” exclaimed the merchant.
“Yes, but we’re from fairly close to that region, and I could probably get the same thing for less than half the price there,” she set the pendant down and started to walk away. “Come on darling. We’ll find something elsewhere.” She linked her arm with Lor-can’s and began moving toward the next booth. She heard the merchant sigh and couldn’t stifle a grin.
“I can’t go any lower than seven!” he shouted after them.
“Seven?” Aelwon turned back around to face the man. “I think I can live with that price, don’t you dear?” She winked at Lorcan.
He coughed when she nudged him in the side. “Yes, I believe that is reasonable enough.”
Aelwon started to pull her own coin purse out, but by the time she looked back up, the merchant had the silver, and Lorcan was holding the necklace.
“I thought it suited you,” he smirked and fastened the necklace around her throat, and it dangled down to just above her breasts.
“You…didn’t have to,” she whispered.
He scoffed and grinned before gripping her hair and forcing her into a kiss. “My…family wants me to take a wife,” he stopped and eyed her questioningly.
“What? No!” Aelwon shook her head; a touch of repulsion gripped her voice. “On top of not even knowing each other, you and I are from very different worlds! What is wrong with—?”
“Lorcan Lorttesse?” The voice came from behind Aelwon.
She turned around to face the man. He was an imperial guard holding a wanted poster.
“Lorcan Lorttesse?” he asked again.
“I am,” Lorcan stood up straight. He surpassed the man’s height by about half a head. Though Aelwon still had to crane her neck to see his face; at five feet in height, everyone seems tall.
“I hereby place you under arrest for the murder of Chaster of the noble Aduntant family.” The guard read forth from the notice in his hand.
Three more guards rushed forward to bind Lorcan’s hands.
“Wait! He didn’t—” Aelwon started.
“Shh,” Lorcan silenced her and cast her a pleading look. “Just let it be Aelwon.”
Aelwon felt as if she’d been slapped. This is my fault! “Where are you taking him?” she asked, trying to maintain her composure.
“To the Northern Andodulin prison. It’s where all of the prisoners, that the church doesn’t want to personally kill, go.” One of the guards answered as he finished binding Lorcan’s hands.
“May I have one final moment to bid farewell to my wife then, if you do not ob-ject?” Lorcan asked the guards.
The guards looked at each other questioningly.
“You heard him! You won’t give the man one last minute!?!?” Aelwon snapped.
The startled guards backed up obediently.
“Thank you,” Lorcan whispered, getting close to Aelwon again.
She glared up at the man. “You should have let me take the fall,” she growled.
Lorcan smiled. “Why? There’s no way I could have saved you.”
Aelwon looked down to the ground, then back up at Lorcan. “I will come for you, and I’m gonna save your sorry ass from that prison, whether you want me to or not.”
“I know,” Lorcan’s smile turned sad. “I’ll wait.”
“You’re minute’s up,” shouted one of the guards.
“Fine,” grumbled Lorcan, and he turned and left with the guards. Aelwon watched him fade into the mass crowd of shoppers, and her guilt slowly turned into rage. That damn church can’t keep its nose out of anyone’s business! She raced back to the tavern.
Leo sat in his usual seat in the back of the bar, drinking his usual ale. This was apparently his life when he was in town.
“Leo!” Aelwon shouted, banging her fist on his table.
“Whoa there! Calm down kid!” Leo laughed.
“Look, there’s no time for that! I need a map that could lead me to the Northern Andodulin region! I know you have one! I’ll pay for it. I just need it now!” She stopped for a moment to catch her breath.
“Yeah, I got one, but why do you need it?” Leo produced the piece of parchment, yellow with age.
“There’s no time to explain, but I’ll tell you when I get back,” Aelwon winked at her friend as she snatched the piece of paper and replaced it with four silver coins. “That’s way more than it’s worth, so don’t complain.”
She turned and ran back toward the door, almost colliding with a teenage boy that was walking through at that exact moment. “What are you doin’ here kid? I hardly think you’re old enough for a pub.” She laughed, though she was still anxious to leave.
“I need…a bodyguard,” he muttered.