Risciter listened as Keirth tromped through the kitchen out of the house. He thought about following, springing on the boy from behind and drugging him again. But then he thought about Keirth stumbling on his ship, realizing Risciter was here, and the panic that would shoot through him. He imagined Keirth rushing back to the brothel in terror and agony. He’d feel guilt, too, wouldn’t he, realizing he’d left them unprotected? Oh, yes, Keirth would definitely suffer more if Risciter let him go.
Ariana, on the other hand...
But she thought she was hidden in that room. Risciter stepped into the kitchen quietly. He crept forward, just in time to see a door sliding closed in the pantry. Aha! So that’s where she was. He didn’t think she’d move from there, since she thought it was a safe hiding place. And Risciter had other things to finish before he got to her.
Risciter backed out of the kitchen and tiptoed through the main room, double checking to make sure he’d killed every whore in the room and the one man who’d been with them as well. He softly opened the front door and went outside. He’d been to each of the cottages as well, silencing the women inside, leaving them with gaping red smiles beneath their chins. There was only one cottage he had left.
He’d listened to Keirth talking to the madam. He believed she was called Lilla. Judging from their conversation, Risciter could tell Keirth saw this woman in a motherly light. He thought it would be fitting then, to destroy her as well, and to leave her as a message to Keirth. Finding the body of this woman would cause Keirth so much pain. And it would show Keirth that Risciter could take everything away from him. Risciter had the upper hand. It was a message the boy had failed to learn before. Risciter would make sure he learned it now.
Lilla’s cottage sat on the edge of the group of buildings that made up the brothel. It was a bit bigger than the others, but not nearly as big as the main house. Risciter let himself in without making noise. The cottage was set up like the others, except that it had a few more rooms. A tiny kitchen was tucked in the back, and instead of entering a bedroom, he entered a small living room with couches and a modest vid screen. The door to the bedroom was open.
The floor creaked a little as Risciter crossed to the bedroom. He paused, trying to step more carefully. Would this noise wake up Lilla? When there was no reaction from the bedroom, no sound at all, Risciter moved again.
Another creak.
He stepped more softly. Silence.
The bedroom was quite dark, since it didn’t have windows the way the living room did, letting in the light of the stars and moon. Risciter stood in the doorway for a few moments, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
Eventually, he could see Lilla’s sleeping form on her bed. She lay on her back. Risciter watched the slight movement of her breathing as her chest rose and fell.
Lilla was not a small lady. Risciter didn’t fancy the idea of dragging her to the main house, and that was where he wanted her. But he also didn’t want her to make a lot of noise, struggle, or alert Ariana to his presence before he was ready for Ariana to know he was there. If he drugged her here in her bed while she was asleep, she wouldn’t make any noise. But he’d have to move her. No, he’d have to get her to move herself. That was the best option.
Decided, he put the cold blade of his knife against Lilla’s throat and pressed until the pain woke her.
Her eyes popped open, and she scrabbled with one hand for a rifle that was lying next to her.
Damn it. Risciter hadn’t been expecting that. “Drop the gun.”
Her hand had just closed over it. “You’re the Duke of Risciter, aren’t you?”
“Shut up,” he said. “Make one more noise, and I’ll jab this knife into your throat.”
She gave him a look of vicious hatred.
“Let go of the rifle.” He pushed with the knife to make himself clear.
Slowly, she let go of it, shooting daggers at him with her gaze.
“Good,” said Risciter. “Now you’re going to get out of bed nice and easy.”
For a second, he thought she’d refuse. But then she sat up. Risciter kept the knife at her throat and used his other arm to steady her as she got off the bed.
“We’re going to walk to the main house,” he told her. “You’re going to be quiet or you’ll be dead.”
They started walking. Lilla kept her head high, her teeth clenched. They walked out of her cottage and into the night air.
They took three more steps towards the main house and then Lilla stopped. “It occurs to me,” she said, “that you’re going to kill me no matter what I do. Why should I cooperate with you?”