Finally, he got to Ariana’s cottage. He didn’t want her to be in there, dead. He hesitated at the doorway, not wanting to open it. If she was gone...
The things he would do to Risciter if he’d killed Ariana.
But it would be all his fault. If Ariana was dead, he’d stay alive only long enough to cut the man to shreds. Then he’d kill himself too. Because he deserved it. Ariana would be dead because he’d left her. He turned back to look at the rest of the brothel. All these women were dead because he’d lured Risciter here. He’d as good as killed them.
The force of the thought made him stagger. He grasped at the door of the cottage to keep himself from falling.
And there were strong arms behind him, wrapping around his body.
Keirth tried to turn, to struggle, to see his attacker, but there was something on his face, a cloth over his nose, over his mouth. He smelled a sickly sweet aroma, like flowers, and his vision started to go dark around the edges. Keirth’s arms flailed out, one last attempt to free himself. And then everything went black.
* * *
Keirth woke up inside the cottage. He was tied to chair, facing the bed. All the lights were on. Ariana was lying on the bed, nude. She was spread eagle, her arms and legs tied in place. She was crying, and he could hear the sounds of her sobs echoing through the room. Risciter was standing in the corner, toying with a knife. When he saw Keirth, he grinned widely.
“You’re awake,” said Risciter. “I’ve been waiting.” He gestured with his head to Ariana. “So has she.”
Keirth strained against the ropes that held him, but they didn’t budge. The chair he sat on was wooden with a plush cushion. It must have gone with the vanity in the room. He rocked on it, testing its strength. The wood creaked a little under his weight but didn’t give way.
Risciter strode across the room. He put his hands on either side of the chair and his face inches from Keirth’s. “When we last saw each other, I told you that we were going to reenact the scene from when I killed your mother. But you decided to muck up that plan, didn’t you? That really made me angry. I guess you’ve seen what happens when I get angry.”
Keirth felt sick. All those women.
“I hope you’ve learned your lesson,” said Risciter.
Keirth forced himself to nod. “I get it. But why don’t you let Ariana go? She’s got nothing to do with this. This is between you and me.”
Risciter laughed. “On the contrary. This is most certainly about Ariana. Or perhaps you’re forgetting that she beat me over the head with a fallen log.” He glared at Ariana on the bed. “She needs to pay for that, little slut.” Risciter pulled a comm out of his pocket. He hit a few buttons, then spoke into it. His voice sounded shaky, like he was afraid. “I’m on Scranth. Please come. It’s horrible. Keirth Transman has murdered Miss Gilit and a whole brothel full of whores. I managed to fight him off. He wanted to kill me as well, but I got the upper hand and killed him. I wish I could have saved Miss Gilit. Please hurry.” Then he snapped off the comm and grinned at Keirth.
Keirth was shocked. What was Risciter playing at? He planned to kill them both, then, but that had always been obvious. But he wanted to pin all these murders on Keirth? Why? What made the man so twisted?
“The deaths of a few beggars and whores don’t matter much,” Risciter said to him. “But the death of the daughter of a duke? Someone would ask questions. You’re a lucky find, boy. A scapegoat.” He laughed.
Keirth couldn’t let this happen. He would not watch while Risciter raped Ariana and killed her. He’d failed his mother. He’d failed all the women in the brothel. He’d failed that poor little girl on the bunk. But he had to do something now. He rocked on the chair again, trying to force all his weight back onto one leg. The chair wobbled, groaned.
Risciter snapped his head back to him.
Keirth returned all the legs of the chair to the floor. He strained against the ropes again.
Risciter went to Ariana. He ran his knife over the planes and curves of her body, tracing the outlines of her nipples with his blade.
Ariana whimpered.
“Don’t touch her!” Keirth growled, pitching forward on the chair. It fell over with him on it and his knees crashed painfully against the floor.
Risciter chuckled. He came over to Keirth and righted the chair. “You’re pathetic, boy. You can’t save her.” He went back to the bed.
But Keirth had felt it when the chair went back on its legs. The wood had splintered in the fall. One of the legs was weak now. He could break it, if he just put enough pressure on it...
Keirth leaned onto the weakened leg.