Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (red queen free ebook txt) 📗

being cautious. Yoren replied, “I’d agree that shouting it out wouldn’t be right. Besides, the whole purpose for meeting here at night is so people wouldn’t know you were supplying information, right? So come over here and we’ll settle on terms for your employment.” Cooper resisted, “How do I know that yer here alone, sir? Ya could be plannin’ ta grab me an’ make me talk fer free. I’ll talk wi’ ya, but not out there.” Cooper was thinking, “Just a couple more steps, that’s all I want. Just enough to make it a challenge for a crossbowman.” Yoren replied, “So we’re negotiating then? Why don’t we meet halfway?” Cooper stepped out from the corner, “Awright. That’s fair.” He took a step forward and the Spymaster matched him stride for stride.

The clouds following this evening’s rain shower had continued to drift cross the sky. They chose this moment to part enough to allow moonlight to stream through. They’d taken six steps when Yoren stopped and quietly spoke, “Your clothes.” Cooper rolled his shoulders, waiting for the man to realize his position. The Spymaster quickly drew his sword, “Since you’ve dropped your charade, it’s only fitting that I should do the same.” With that exclamation the Spymaster surged forward. His Manifested speed was impressive. Cooper was distracted for a moment by the Spymaster’s words, “Did he say ‘charade’? He came here knowing I’m not a Waterfront kid wanting to inform for him?” A flurry of movement from the south extended his distraction. Apparently drawing his sword was the signal for everyone to react. He had to admit, it would be a difficult signal to misinterpret.

He quickly drew his own twin blades and met the man’s charge. The Spymaster’s sword was narrow, not as heavy as a sword carried by a soldier of the Watch. Still, it was double edged and heavier than the rapier he had taken from Jarell. It would require more strength and a solid body position to fully block a determined strike but Cooper didn’t intend to let the fight last long. He parried a thrust and stepped along the blade to get in close to strike a blow of his own. The point of his blade was deflected when it struck the metal plates concealed beneath the tunic over the Spymaster’s chest. Cooper received a deep cut to the thick, boiled leather armor on his left shoulder, just below the collar, as he recovered from his failed strike. He shifted his position so he could keep the area to the south in his field of view. In the newly-revealed moonlight he thought he counted at least a half dozen people running into the open space. Cooper reached out and tapped into the energy that remained after the recent storm and one of the people, a woman, shouted a warning, “Sir! Look out!” He felt the energy surge into him and everything seemed to slow down. He lashed out with a three strike combination intended to overwhelm the sword’s ability to block. His final strike scored deeply to the underside of Aporigh’s left arm, just down from the shoulder. He remembered how Mister Skran’s lessons reinforced the knowledge from Miss Camilla’s Anatomy classes, “Arteries run tight against the shafts of long bones, where they’re best protected”, and gave his blade a turn as he struck the bone and raked his blade across it. Cooper knew that he’d slashed the artery when blood came flooding down, staining the Spymaster’s tunic and flowing down his arm. The Spymaster cried out in alarm, pain, and anger and swung his sword wildly, more to put space between them than an actual attempt to strike. Cooper nearly captured the man’s sword with the blade in his left hand but Aporigh withdrew before Cooper could attempt to disarm the man. Cooper stole a quick glance to assess whatever threat these other people posed to him. He recognized the woman who’d shouted, though he’d never seen her before. She was the woman from the picture Lash had drawn, she had to be. The same woman that Kolrem could have killed on the Waterfront. The Hunter. He also recognized the healer. He was the healer he’d hired years ago to cure Eva’s sickness, and later her family had hired the same man to heal him after he’d received a beating from Egil. A beating that should’ve resulted in his death. Despite the slashed artery, a healer of his ability might still save Aporigh’s life. He needed to inflict more damage, but he also needed to escape quickly before the mages could effectively mount their response, whatever that might be. They’d been brought here for a reason, after all.

The Spymaster was backing away, trying to tuck his left arm in a futile attempt to staunch the blood flow. Cooper noticed one of the other females rushing toward the oldest man in the group. She was fast, and it looked like she was preparing to grab the man, or push him.  The old man seemed to be holding some glowing object in his hands. Cooper was still Channeling energy, it felt like he was riding on waves of it, but circumstances around him were in danger of escaping his control. These people were obviously mages and they likely had weapons and abilities beyond his understanding. For all he knew, they could all be Hunters. He needed to finish this quickly and get away. If the Spymaster was wearing metal plates, then his strikes would need to be where he could see there was no armor. He transferred his right hand blade so he was gripping both blades in his left hand. He leaped at the Spymaster and as he did so, he grasped his chain knife and flung it underhand directly at the Spymaster’s throat. Aporigh’s eyes grew wide. He knew some kind of attack was coming but didn’t know the nature of it until almost too late. He had time to discern that an