Bone Diggers - Chapter Three

Loading... Chapter Three

The night was filled with color. Under the candlelight that lined the streets, Daniel's mask had a metallic tint. Black lined his cheeks and nose, while red swirled around his eyes like flames. The same shimmering red was carried to the sides of his eyes where three black stones lay.

There were two things on his mind as he walked around the masquerade. The first was to find Amilia, but his thoughts also hovered over the mission the guild was running tonight. Big crowds always brought out important people. An official had come out to play and the guild was itching to scratch him off their list.

A man fell in stride with Daniel, his mask matching with reversed colors. Lance was on the prowl, but wouldn't be alone for it. It didn't take them long before they spotted the chubby official as he moved his hips out of time with the music. The dance had an odd sort of wobble when he did it, but the women dancing with him were trying to follow along.

Lance was something else when he hunted. His movements were precise and calculated as he broke off and worked through the crowd. His stealth would have been enough if one of the girls didn't trip over the official's feet, revealing Lance's approach. Fear painted the official's face. He pushed the woman aside and bolted through the group of people. Lance let out a curse and darted after him.

Distracted in the search for Amilia, Daniel didn't spot the problem until people started running. If he moved toward the next street, the official would run straight over to him, not even aware of their connection. Daniel stepped out, blocking the path as he pulled out his blades. The bureaucrat stopped short, staring as the metal gleamed in the moonlight.

The two were in silent stand-off for what must have felt like hours. The staring contest was ruined as the man's eyes went wide with shock before blinking back pain. Standing behind the bureaucrat was another man—his dagger coated with blood. Lance grabbed the bureaucrat before he fell and helped him discreetly slump against the wall.

"Thanks." Lance's expression softened as he looked to Daniel. "I was worried that I would draw attention."

"I'll always have your back."

Lance smiled as he stood up. "And you have a meeting tonight."

Daniel scoffed at his word choice.

"No? What would you call it? Something more?"

Daniel was quick to say no, which only made Lance's grin shine brighter. "So, where are you headed?" he asked changing the subject.

"Thought I'd give the guild good news," Lance said. "I can tell them of the valiant work you did as a roadblock."

A cough erupted from Daniel's throat. "Sonnets will be written about our adventures."

Lance skewed his face up to the side as he imagined how those would sound. "Maybe we'll find a bigger adventure before we get the poets involved." He patted Daniel on the shoulder before retiring for the night.

The immediate addition to Daniel's to-do list was to move away from the body. More time passed and he started to grow concerned that Amilia had yet to appear. Maybe she changed her mind about the whole thing. Daniel walked around until he ended up back where he started. He sighed. There must have been something he missed.

"Señor?"

He turned, expecting to find Amilia standing there, but instead was taken aback by another woman standing there with a goblet in her hand. Her outfit suggested that she was a barmaid, and reflexively Daniel reached for his coin purse.

"Oh don't worry, its covered," The woman said. "You just looked like you were in a need of a drink."

Daniel blinked hard at the wine now in his hand, mumbling a surprised thanks before the woman left.

It was a strange enough occurrence that Owen toggled the controls so he could see the items details. The small crest like emblem was displayed next to the objects name. "Are you kidding me?" Owen said to himself. "It's a plot item." In the real world it would have been a no-brainer to just toss the drink. But in here?

Daniel lifted the cup to his mouth, taking a sip. With a pleased little hum, he took another. The festival was full of giggling, excited people. A woman who was dancing like a top got a little overzealous in her spins and nearly fell into him. The more time he spent enjoying the party, he more he wondered if it mattered whether Amilia would ever show. And now that the wine Owen was sure was tainted took its effect, the details around Daniel were becoming muddy. He abandoned the cup as he made his way to a chair, crashing into the cushions without any attempt to be graceful. The controls lagged, and before any more time passed, a woman had seated herself next to him on her own chair.

She leaned in Daniel's direction, like she was waiting to say something if he gave her the attention. His eyes lazily moved to look at her more directly, taking in a golden filigree mask, inset with small crystals. He noticed black tulle that also stretched under the mask, pulling all her dark features together in contrast to her porcelain skin.

As if on cue, she smiled brightly at him and leaned further in to whisper. "I saw you haven't been dancing, and was wondering if I could fix that?" she asked, acting oblivious to his condition. With a small shake of his head, he watched the eyes behind that beautiful mask finally grow concern. "Oh, are you alright? Do you need some help?" Her hand reached to brush his cheek.

Daniel licked his lips, his eyes failing to track the spinning dresses in proper time. The effect was actually enhanced by the drink in his system. It made the pools of fabric move in slow motion, making their skirts arch in stunningly beautiful ways. His mind grew hazy, but one thought was clear as he realized what had happened. He blinked up again, focusing on one long dark curl that laid softly against the neck of the woman who was almost looming over him now.

"Oh, you're more handsome close up than you were across the room," she said. "I could take care of you, if you'd like? I promise, I'll keep you safe."

He simply swallowed as she initially spoke, not for lack of words, but more lack of ability to use them. Daniel's breathing became more ragged as his will crashed against the effects of the drugs. He suddenly wished that Lance had not retired for the night. He needed to take a breath, he needed to find his voice. "Okay, dear, take me with you," he breathed.

The woman took his hand and slowly guided him outside of the festival. She braced him up with an arm around his waist. As she led him out a pathway, they came up to a carriage led by a horse. The driver smiled after an exchange of coin and drew the reins.

***

Daniel jolted awake as all of his facilities were returned to him within a single frantic second. His arms hit a tug of resistance. Panic now tinted his vision as he looked up to find them bound in fabric to the bedpost behind his head.

His eyes darted around the room trying to absorb it all in a single moment. The sight of Amilia caused him to freeze up again.

"Of course it's you." A sigh accompanied a slower look around the room. Weapons were stacked on the table in an intimidating fashion. Or they would have been, if they weren't his.

"I needed to show you I had the heart for anything," Amilia said. Her expression was completely blank, not letting emotion betray her will.

Daniel had a line of wit ready, but it fell short as he spotted a knife in her hand. His muscles tightened as she stepped closer, concerned with what she planned to do with it. When she reached up to one of his hands, he relaxed enough to provide enough slack on the ties.

His first hand was cut free with a breathlessness between them. She leaned over him to reach the other hand. A freedom that lasted a moment as he grabbed her waist with one swift movement, flipped her onto the bed, pinning her hand with the knife above her head. She let out a small yelp, her eyes flaring wide as she looked up at him.

"Do not ever trick me again. Understand?" The threat in his voice more rough and serious than her weapon.

Amilia nodded through the suddenness of it all. "I'm sorry."

"Not as much as you should be," Daniel mumbled. He pulled away from her to sit up, rubbing his wrists, though they were unmarred compared to his pride. "But I can't deny your success."

"I know you're furious," she said, and he shot her a look. "But, if you can regain your calm, I think you'll understand the point I am making."

"Get rid of the knife."

Amilia looked down at her hand, realizing she had been gripping it tightly all this time. Without the upper hand, she was afraid of retaliation. She pushed up from the bed and dropped the blade on the nearest dresser. Without it, she didn't have the nerve to be near until she could predict him.

Daniel ran a hand through his dark brown hair, trying to understand. "Who even are you?"

It wasn't the most elegant question, especially when the safest thing would be to just leave, but it was the most pressing on his mind.

Amilia's breath came out shaky. "I'm someone that was blind to what my life was before. You told me to prove myself to you, and to that extreme I have shown you what I'm capable of. But I need training, real training." She paused as she glanced out the window to the morning and city around them. "I want to know who I could be if I had the skills to defend myself—to fight."

His hands ran down the front of his pants before he stood up. There was a raw sincerity in her words.

"Fine," he sighed, and Amilia raised a brow, not following yet. "It's against my better judgment, but I believe you. I'll teach you." Her lips parted as if she was about to utter surprise, but pressed them tight and nodded instead. "At least change into something..." Daniel gestured over to her dress. "Appropriate to run around in."

Her dresser was close by and she stepped over to it, digging through her clothes for a moment before realized that Daniel hadn't budged an inch from where he was standing.

"Are you going to give a lady some privacy?"

Daniel looked up from the golden mask he spotted sitting on an end table. "No." His expression hinted that he didn't trust her enough to give her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn't planning on any further tricks.

"Wonderful. I'm a prisoner in my own home." Amilia dropped a bit of fabric she was holding with an annoyed little push.

"Turnabout is fair play, my dear." Daniel grinned from ear to ear as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You are the one who insisted that I come over."

Refusing to back down from a challenge, Amilia started to boldly change in front of a man she'd barely known for a day. Daniel ended up glancing away as a blush threatened his confidence.

"There," Amilia said in triumph once dressed. "I bet that was faster than you could have gotten ready."

Daniel cracked a smile despite himself. "That's because I'm prettier than you." Amilia's only response was a small eye roll before Daniel gestured to the door. "Let's go."

Amilia led the way, the text of her name shifted from black to gray to show she was now an NPC party member. The shake of Daniel's head was indistinguishable from Owen's. As impossibly rare as this was, he wasn't sure if fate was smiling at him, or setting itself up to give him the finger.