Drake waited as Sachi disappeared into the darkness. Not long after, Valentia returned. She took one look at the three people still huddled together against the ledge, and all flinched at her murderous gaze. She marched over to join Drake and the others.
As Valentia crouched in Drake’s impromptu council circle, she frowned. “I see your would-be assassins are still breathing. We still have a use for them?”
“They actually aren’t assassins,” Drake said.
As Valentia watched in stoic silence, Drake filled her in on everything he’d learned from his interrogation. As he spoke, Valentia’s hard features eased. Once she finished, she glanced at their three captive young people with what might be actual sympathy.
And when she turned back to Drake, she looked visibly annoyed with him.
“Oh, no.” Nicole giggled. “He did it again, didn’t he? His knack for making a dumb decision that somehow turned out right.”
Valentia said nothing.
Nicole rubbed Valentia’s shoulder in obvious sympathy. “I know that’s frustrating. I’ll help you kill the next group of assassins before he can spare them.”
“So you do wish to spare them,” Valentia said flatly. She no longer looked opposed to the idea. Given Robin had almost put an arrow in him, that said a lot for her turnaround.
“Actually, Val... I was thinking of recruiting them.”
“And their rarities?”
“Robin, the dark-haired girl, can jump really high,” Drake said. “The blond can do some cool force magic that managed to catch and hold Lydia in mid-flutterstep, as you saw. And we all saw what the dark-haired kid can do. Meteor kaboom.”
Nicole frowned. “Is that truly the name of his rarity?”
“Hell if I know. But it was a meteor, and it went kaboom. Don’t you people just make up the names for your rarities anyway?”
“The Eidolons give us their names,” Nicole said. “After we activate them for the first time, they speak the name in our head. That is the only name we can give to others.”
“Oh,” Drake said. “Well... all right.” He felt a bit annoyed the Eidolons had never given his rarity an official name, but he obviously played by different rules. “Even so, we’re going to call it meteor kaboom until I decide otherwise. Now, would they make good recruits?”
“Their rarities are weak to middling,” Valentia said. “None would survive as battle maids.”
“Sure, but it’s hard to find people as powerful as you five. I also know Lord Proudglade has various grades of knights. If we started, like, a junior varsity team, would they qualify?”
Valentia sighed. “Can we please just use terms from our world?”
“A backup squad,” Drake said. “Or useful folks who could help us out in battle, like Lord Proudglade’s silver knights.”
Valentia shrugged. “We have less powerful rarities in our manor, and we have plenty of space. Do you intend to reveal our unusual blood pact to them before they join us?”
“No. I’m not that reckless.”
Valentia visibly pondered. “With training, the boy and the blond girl could make passable warriors. The dark-haired girl’s rarity will simply get her killed when she jumps in front of an arrow. However, she could still make a good archer.”
“All right. Thanks, Val.”
Valentia frowned. “I am truly the last person you consulted?”
“I wouldn’t make the offer without hearing from you.”
“That is...” Valentia paused.
“Benevolent? Silly? Weak?”
“Wise,” Valentia finished. “Once again, I find it difficult to judge your unusual decisions as harshly as I would wish. You have a knack for making unwise actions seem wise.”
“I’ll take it,” Drake said. “Let’s go ask them.
“And if they do not agree to join your blood pact?” Valentia asked. “What then?”
“They walk,” Drake said. “They already know the person they came to kill isn’t here. If we let them go, they might even warn off some others. That’ll save Sky some grief.”
Valentia offered an incremental nod of her head.
With that, Drake rose and walked back to the three people he’d taken captive tonight. They all watched him with varying levels of unease and outright fear. Time to change that.
“I’m going to make you an offer, but first, I need to make sure you’re all of age for all this. How old are you?” He pointed at Robin. “You first.”
“Eighteen, lord.” She spoke softly and without hesitation.
He pointed at Gaby next.
“Sixteen.” She gasped. “Lord!”
Drake pointed at Carl last.
“Seventeen, lord.”
So Gaby was the baby of the group. She was just old enough to be able to sign up for a blood pact, which might explain why she was still available. Her ability to stop people in their tracks was arguably the most powerful rarity these three possessed, at least in regards to keeping her manor lord alive. Drake might be getting a good deal if he signed her now.
This really was like recruiting players for a football team. He also had the space. Now, he just had to make sure they knew what they were getting into, and they wanted to get into it.
“I’ve consulted with my battle maids. They have agreed to allow you to join us at Gloomwood Manor, if that is what you truly wish to do,” Drake said calmly. “But first, I need to make sure you all understand what joining my blood pact truly means.”
Robin frowned. “We understand.”
“You think you do. I assume you’ve heard what manors offer. A place to live, a wage for life, food, drink, maybe even adventure. It probably sounds great. But there’s a downside.”
“We know,” Robin said crossly.
Drake ignored her because the others might not. “You’d be sworn to serve me. That’s not always fun. Do you know how a blood pact works?” He couldn’t risk telling them they’d need to serve him, since that would be an obvious lie... and he supposedly couldn’t do that.
“We know what we’d be swearing to do, lord,” Gaby assured him. “Serving in a manor is a great honor. I’ve dreamed of an opportunity like this since I learned I had a rarity.”
Drake frowned at her. “I don’t need you to flatter me. Think this through. Joining me could get you killed, and if you join my manor, you’re joining our fight. Are you willing to kill for me if I order it? Have you ever even killed someone before?”
That was an even more pointed question, since it would be her choice to obey his orders... and she didn’t know that. She might assume that being compelled would make it easier to kill people and balk when she realized she’d have to make that decision herself.
“I am willing to fight and kill to defend my friends,” Gaby said. “I’d never have come on this hunt otherwise. I would do whatever I must to defend you, lord.”
Before Drake could probe further, Robin stepped forward. “And what if we refuse to join Gloomwood Manor?”
“Then you walk,” Drake said. “No consequences. No punishment. You leave this place and forget you ever met me. However, I would ask that you inform any other bounty hunters you run into on the way back home that the Asp is no longer here.”
Robin looked truly surprised by his answer. “You would spare us? After we attacked you? Even if we did not agree to join your manor?”
Drake nodded. He didn’t mind her asking him to repeat something he’d literally just said because he knew how badly most manor lords treated their blood thralls. He and Sky remained unusual in that regard.
“I would be honored to join your manor, lord,” Gaby said. “I mean that. I understand all you’ve said, and I know it could be dangerous, but even so. I’ll be set for life!”
Drake looked to Carl. “And what about you?”
He bowed his head. “I, too, would be honored to serve you. I’ve thought about this before, and I always promised myself, if I got the opportunity... I would accept.”
He looked to Robin last, knowing she would likely be the hold out. “Robin?”
“I have a request,” Robin said.
Gaby hissed and frantically slapped Robin on the arm as if she’d suddenly caught on fire, but Drake raised a hand to stop that nonsense. “What is it?”
“I will join your blood pact, but I would first ask your leave to hunt down the woman who murdered my family and burned down my home. The Asp took my father, my mother, my younger brother, and many others in my village. She burned them alive with acid.”
No wonder she wanted revenge. “How did you survive?”
“I wasn’t there, lord.” Robin’s fists clenched. “I found them after.”
This young woman must blame herself for the murder of her whole family and a whole bunch of other people. It was another reminder of how cruel this world could be and how easily people with powerful rarities could tear through those without. Even the way Drake had torn through twenty mercenaries as a dire rat proved how unfairly the odds were stacked against normal, non-rarity wielding folks in this world.
It sounded like this Asp was a real monster. Drake suspected Lord Redbow had picked her to bait bounty hunters because as many people would come to Fort Graystone for revenge as would come for gold. The ruthless manor lord was too clever by half.
“I won’t just let you run off after her,” Drake said. “I may have other duties for you, and as far-fetched as it might seem now, I might need to work with the Asp at some point.”
“Then I cannot join your blood pact.”
Gaby gripped her arm. “Don’t be an idiot! This is perfect for us!”
“I can’t join if I won’t be free to avenge my family,” Robin said. “Do I still walk?”
Drake nodded. “I guess so.” He looked to Gaby and Carl. “You two still in?”
Gaby shook the other woman. “We promised we’d stay together!”
“And I almost got you both killed, tonight, for my revenge,” Robin said. “I have no right to drag you off on a task for me. Joining a manor has always been your dream, Gaby. Take it.”
“But then you’ll die!” Gaby all but wailed.
Carl grimaced. “She’s right. There’s no way you beat the Asp on your own.”
Robin pulled away from Gaby and straightened. “Lord Gloomwood, am I free to leave?”
Gaby rose as well. “Then I’m going with you!”
Robin stared at her in shock. “You can’t.”
Carl grimaced and looked to Drake. “I am truly sorry, lord. I would love to join you. But...” He hesitated. “If you will truly let us walk, I cannot let Robin go alone.”
“You are both taking his deal,” Robin insisted. “You can live in a manor! Don’t be idiots.”
“You’re the idiot!” Gaby said stubbornly. “I’m not going to go live in a manor if it means you go off and get melted!”
Drake mentally facepalmed. Was he really going to let these kids get enslaved by another manor lord just because one girl couldn’t give up on her quest for revenge? He understood Robin’s quest, but he was starting to see why some more brutal manor lords enforced blood pacts. And if he let these kids walk... they could be enslaved.
If a more ruthless manor lord recruited them by force, next time, he might be forced to kill all three of them. But what were his alternatives? He still refused to force people to join him, and revealing that his blood pact didn’t enslave people would endanger his whole manor. He had to weigh the freedom of three people against the lives of everyone he protected.
He also couldn’t make Robin not want revenge on the lady who melted her family, and he was never going to force anyone to join his blood pact... but perhaps he could give Robin a chance to actually achieve her revenge. That might accomplish all their goals.
“I have an alternative offer,” Drake said.
All three of their worried gazes snapped to his. They looked more than a bit afraid. He suspected they’d all just concluded their hesitance had left them fucked.
“Robin, if you join my blood pact, you will serve me. You’ll need to follow my orders.”
“I cannot do that, lord, if you refuse to let me kill the Asp. She must die.”
“Let me finish. I demand you serve me until you turn twenty-five.”
Robin’s brow furrowed. “One cannot leave a blood pact.”
“I didn’t say you’d leave. I said you’d wait seven years. I’m giving you the chance to take your revenge, because while you serve me, we’ll train you, equip you, and actually give you the skills that might allow you to have a chance against the Asp.”
“I don’t understand.”
“If you go up against the Asp right now, you’re dead,” Drake said evenly. “We all know it. But if you join me and train with my huntress, and my battle maids, and my warriors, you’ll have seven years of real battle experience by the time you turn twenty-five.”
Her eyes widened.
“And when you turn twenty-five, I will no longer forbid you to kill the Asp. You can hunt her down if you choose to do so, though you will do so of your own volition. I won’t order her dead unless she harms me, but I also won’t stop you from going after her.”
None of that was a lie. He couldn’t actually forbid her from killing anyone, but she still thought he could. It was also true that he wouldn’t forbid her after she turned twenty-five.
“After seven years,” Robin said quietly. “I serve you for seven years, then kill her.”
“Gods, Robin, just take the deal!” Gaby said. “He’s being impossibly generous!”
“He is,” Carl said. “This gets you all you wanted. It even gives you a chance to win!”
Robin looked at her friends. “When the time comes, I won’t ask you to come with me.”
“You won’t have to,” Gaby said. “And if we can’t go with you because we have other duties, you’ll still be ready for her. You’ll have a real chance to get your revenge.”
Robin looked once more at Drake. Her features were calmer now, her gaze firm. This time, he had no doubt how she would answer.
Drake waited as Sachi disappeared into the darkness. Not long after, Valentia returned. She took one look at the three people still huddled together against the ledge, and all flinched at her murderous gaze. She marched over to join Drake and the others.
As Valentia crouched in Drake’s impromptu council circle, she frowned. “I see your would-be assassins are still breathing. We still have a use for them?”
“They actually aren’t assassins,” Drake said.
As Valentia watched in stoic silence, Drake filled her in on everything he’d learned from his interrogation. As he spoke, Valentia’s hard features eased. Once she finished, she glanced at their three captive young people with what might be actual sympathy.
And when she turned back to Drake, she looked visibly annoyed with him.
“Oh, no.” Nicole giggled. “He did it again, didn’t he? His knack for making a dumb decision that somehow turned out right.”
Valentia said nothing.
Nicole rubbed Valentia’s shoulder in obvious sympathy. “I know that’s frustrating. I’ll help you kill the next group of assassins before he can spare them.”
“So you do wish to spare them,” Valentia said flatly. She no longer looked opposed to the idea. Given Robin had almost put an arrow in him, that said a lot for her turnaround.
“Actually, Val... I was thinking of recruiting them.”
“And their rarities?”
“Robin, the dark-haired girl, can jump really high,” Drake said. “The blond can do some cool force magic that managed to catch and hold Lydia in mid-flutterstep, as you saw. And we all saw what the dark-haired kid can do. Meteor kaboom.”
Nicole frowned. “Is that truly the name of his rarity?”
“Hell if I know. But it was a meteor, and it went kaboom. Don’t you people just make up the names for your rarities anyway?”
“The Eidolons give us their names,” Nicole said. “After we activate them for the first time, they speak the name in our head. That is the only name we can give to others.”
“Oh,” Drake said. “Well... all right.” He felt a bit annoyed the Eidolons had never given his rarity an official name, but he obviously played by different rules. “Even so, we’re going to call it meteor kaboom until I decide otherwise. Now, would they make good recruits?”
“Their rarities are weak to middling,” Valentia said. “None would survive as battle maids.”
“Sure, but it’s hard to find people as powerful as you five. I also know Lord Proudglade has various grades of knights. If we started, like, a junior varsity team, would they qualify?”
Valentia sighed. “Can we please just use terms from our world?”
“A backup squad,” Drake said. “Or useful folks who could help us out in battle, like Lord Proudglade’s silver knights.”
Valentia shrugged. “We have less powerful rarities in our manor, and we have plenty of space. Do you intend to reveal our unusual blood pact to them before they join us?”
“No. I’m not that reckless.”
Valentia visibly pondered. “With training, the boy and the blond girl could make passable warriors. The dark-haired girl’s rarity will simply get her killed when she jumps in front of an arrow. However, she could still make a good archer.”
“All right. Thanks, Val.”
Valentia frowned. “I am truly the last person you consulted?”
“I wouldn’t make the offer without hearing from you.”
“That is...” Valentia paused.
“Benevolent? Silly? Weak?”
“Wise,” Valentia finished. “Once again, I find it difficult to judge your unusual decisions as harshly as I would wish. You have a knack for making unwise actions seem wise.”
“I’ll take it,” Drake said. “Let’s go ask them.
“And if they do not agree to join your blood pact?” Valentia asked. “What then?”
“They walk,” Drake said. “They already know the person they came to kill isn’t here. If we let them go, they might even warn off some others. That’ll save Sky some grief.”
Valentia offered an incremental nod of her head.
With that, Drake rose and walked back to the three people he’d taken captive tonight. They all watched him with varying levels of unease and outright fear. Time to change that.
“I’m going to make you an offer, but first, I need to make sure you’re all of age for all this. How old are you?” He pointed at Robin. “You first.”
“Eighteen, lord.” She spoke softly and without hesitation.
He pointed at Gaby next.
“Sixteen.” She gasped. “Lord!”
Drake pointed at Carl last.
“Seventeen, lord.”
So Gaby was the baby of the group. She was just old enough to be able to sign up for a blood pact, which might explain why she was still available. Her ability to stop people in their tracks was arguably the most powerful rarity these three possessed, at least in regards to keeping her manor lord alive. Drake might be getting a good deal if he signed her now.
This really was like recruiting players for a football team. He also had the space. Now, he just had to make sure they knew what they were getting into, and they wanted to get into it.
“I’ve consulted with my battle maids. They have agreed to allow you to join us at Gloomwood Manor, if that is what you truly wish to do,” Drake said calmly. “But first, I need to make sure you all understand what joining my blood pact truly means.”
Robin frowned. “We understand.”
“You think you do. I assume you’ve heard what manors offer. A place to live, a wage for life, food, drink, maybe even adventure. It probably sounds great. But there’s a downside.”
“We know,” Robin said crossly.
Drake ignored her because the others might not. “You’d be sworn to serve me. That’s not always fun. Do you know how a blood pact works?” He couldn’t risk telling them they’d need to serve him, since that would be an obvious lie... and he supposedly couldn’t do that.
“We know what we’d be swearing to do, lord,” Gaby assured him. “Serving in a manor is a great honor. I’ve dreamed of an opportunity like this since I learned I had a rarity.”
Drake frowned at her. “I don’t need you to flatter me. Think this through. Joining me could get you killed, and if you join my manor, you’re joining our fight. Are you willing to kill for me if I order it? Have you ever even killed someone before?”
That was an even more pointed question, since it would be her choice to obey his orders... and she didn’t know that. She might assume that being compelled would make it easier to kill people and balk when she realized she’d have to make that decision herself.
“I am willing to fight and kill to defend my friends,” Gaby said. “I’d never have come on this hunt otherwise. I would do whatever I must to defend you, lord.”
Before Drake could probe further, Robin stepped forward. “And what if we refuse to join Gloomwood Manor?”
“Then you walk,” Drake said. “No consequences. No punishment. You leave this place and forget you ever met me. However, I would ask that you inform any other bounty hunters you run into on the way back home that the Asp is no longer here.”
Robin looked truly surprised by his answer. “You would spare us? After we attacked you? Even if we did not agree to join your manor?”
Drake nodded. He didn’t mind her asking him to repeat something he’d literally just said because he knew how badly most manor lords treated their blood thralls. He and Sky remained unusual in that regard.
“I would be honored to join your manor, lord,” Gaby said. “I mean that. I understand all you’ve said, and I know it could be dangerous, but even so. I’ll be set for life!”
Drake looked to Carl. “And what about you?”
He bowed his head. “I, too, would be honored to serve you. I’ve thought about this before, and I always promised myself, if I got the opportunity... I would accept.”
He looked to Robin last, knowing she would likely be the hold out. “Robin?”
“I have a request,” Robin said.
Gaby hissed and frantically slapped Robin on the arm as if she’d suddenly caught on fire, but Drake raised a hand to stop that nonsense. “What is it?”
“I will join your blood pact, but I would first ask your leave to hunt down the woman who murdered my family and burned down my home. The Asp took my father, my mother, my younger brother, and many others in my village. She burned them alive with acid.”
No wonder she wanted revenge. “How did you survive?”
“I wasn’t there, lord.” Robin’s fists clenched. “I found them after.”
This young woman must blame herself for the murder of her whole family and a whole bunch of other people. It was another reminder of how cruel this world could be and how easily people with powerful rarities could tear through those without. Even the way Drake had torn through twenty mercenaries as a dire rat proved how unfairly the odds were stacked against normal, non-rarity wielding folks in this world.
It sounded like this Asp was a real monster. Drake suspected Lord Redbow had picked her to bait bounty hunters because as many people would come to Fort Graystone for revenge as would come for gold. The ruthless manor lord was too clever by half.
“I won’t just let you run off after her,” Drake said. “I may have other duties for you, and as far-fetched as it might seem now, I might need to work with the Asp at some point.”
“Then I cannot join your blood pact.”
Gaby gripped her arm. “Don’t be an idiot! This is perfect for us!”
“I can’t join if I won’t be free to avenge my family,” Robin said. “Do I still walk?”
Drake nodded. “I guess so.” He looked to Gaby and Carl. “You two still in?”
Gaby shook the other woman. “We promised we’d stay together!”
“And I almost got you both killed, tonight, for my revenge,” Robin said. “I have no right to drag you off on a task for me. Joining a manor has always been your dream, Gaby. Take it.”
“But then you’ll die!” Gaby all but wailed.
Carl grimaced. “She’s right. There’s no way you beat the Asp on your own.”
Robin pulled away from Gaby and straightened. “Lord Gloomwood, am I free to leave?”
Gaby rose as well. “Then I’m going with you!”
Robin stared at her in shock. “You can’t.”
Carl grimaced and looked to Drake. “I am truly sorry, lord. I would love to join you. But...” He hesitated. “If you will truly let us walk, I cannot let Robin go alone.”
“You are both taking his deal,” Robin insisted. “You can live in a manor! Don’t be idiots.”
“You’re the idiot!” Gaby said stubbornly. “I’m not going to go live in a manor if it means you go off and get melted!”
Drake mentally facepalmed. Was he really going to let these kids get enslaved by another manor lord just because one girl couldn’t give up on her quest for revenge? He understood Robin’s quest, but he was starting to see why some more brutal manor lords enforced blood pacts. And if he let these kids walk... they could be enslaved.
If a more ruthless manor lord recruited them by force, next time, he might be forced to kill all three of them. But what were his alternatives? He still refused to force people to join him, and revealing that his blood pact didn’t enslave people would endanger his whole manor. He had to weigh the freedom of three people against the lives of everyone he protected.
He also couldn’t make Robin not want revenge on the lady who melted her family, and he was never going to force anyone to join his blood pact... but perhaps he could give Robin a chance to actually achieve her revenge. That might accomplish all their goals.
“I have an alternative offer,” Drake said.
All three of their worried gazes snapped to his. They looked more than a bit afraid. He suspected they’d all just concluded their hesitance had left them fucked.
“Robin, if you join my blood pact, you will serve me. You’ll need to follow my orders.”
“I cannot do that, lord, if you refuse to let me kill the Asp. She must die.”
“Let me finish. I demand you serve me until you turn twenty-five.”
Robin’s brow furrowed. “One cannot leave a blood pact.”
“I didn’t say you’d leave. I said you’d wait seven years. I’m giving you the chance to take your revenge, because while you serve me, we’ll train you, equip you, and actually give you the skills that might allow you to have a chance against the Asp.”
“I don’t understand.”
“If you go up against the Asp right now, you’re dead,” Drake said evenly. “We all know it. But if you join me and train with my huntress, and my battle maids, and my warriors, you’ll have seven years of real battle experience by the time you turn twenty-five.”
Her eyes widened.
“And when you turn twenty-five, I will no longer forbid you to kill the Asp. You can hunt her down if you choose to do so, though you will do so of your own volition. I won’t order her dead unless she harms me, but I also won’t stop you from going after her.”
None of that was a lie. He couldn’t actually forbid her from killing anyone, but she still thought he could. It was also true that he wouldn’t forbid her after she turned twenty-five.
“After seven years,” Robin said quietly. “I serve you for seven years, then kill her.”
“Gods, Robin, just take the deal!” Gaby said. “He’s being impossibly generous!”
“He is,” Carl said. “This gets you all you wanted. It even gives you a chance to win!”
Robin looked at her friends. “When the time comes, I won’t ask you to come with me.”
“You won’t have to,” Gaby said. “And if we can’t go with you because we have other duties, you’ll still be ready for her. You’ll have a real chance to get your revenge.”
Robin looked once more at Drake. Her features were calmer now, her gaze firm. This time, he had no doubt how she would answer.
