Page 51 of The Rat King
“Where are they?” I asked.
“Waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The guard wouldn’t allow them to approach any closer,” he said, then fidgeted with the caps of his claws nervously as he awaited my response. Jonas was right to be nervous, too. I despised the entire Musson clan, Sir Robert being the most unagreeable of them all and every time they came around left me in a foul mood.
Xavier releasing him with a hefty fine and a royal decree had been a mistake. Had it been up to me, I’d have executed him while he was stuffed in some dank hole in the prison. But now he was out, and I hadn’t found a good excuse to get him back in that hole. Hopefully, he’d give me one today and then I’d do away with him.
“It’s fine, Jonas. I’ll see them on my way out,” I said, throwing my cloak over my shoulders. On second thought, I slid behind my desk and opened the case holding a few ornately designed daggers and knives which had been gifts to the crown over the years. I selected a few and clipped them into the buckles of my suit so they’d be visible and threw the cloak off one shoulder to emphasize the point before heading out the door.
Sure enough, Sir Robert, and his two eldest sons whose names I forgot, were standing at the bottom of the stairs in front of an expensive carriage led by a pair of blonde mares. Sir Robert paced back and forth glaring up at the door every few seconds, face reddening by the minute. The oldest son leaned against the carriage and cleaned his teeth with a claw as he fiddled with its cap with the opposite hand, seeming all together uninterested. The other son made nervous glances between the two as if he were the only one cognizant of their dire situation.
Upon his last visit, I’d not so politely suggested he not come to me unless the situation warranted it. I couldn’t fathom what they were here for now that would be worth the risk of my wrath. Sir Robert’s gaze caught mine as I stepped outside. Mixed with the crisp scent of the approaching cool season winds, a pungent spicy aroma which I knew to be the man’s fragrance that he liberally doused himself with wafted through the air reaching me all the way at the landing I now stood upon.
The two guards on either side of the door stepped forward as I approached him, and I held up a hand to halt them. I made my way a third of the way down the stairs and watched as Sir Robert unabashedly took the first few steps. “Why are you here, Musson?” I asked before he could ascend another step. “I thought I told you if you came here unwarranted to disturb me, you were a dead man, so whatever you have to say better be good.” I folded my arms over my chest as I stared down at the man whose face nearly resembled a bruised tomato.
His hands went out to his sides, and he guffawed as if that weren’t possible. “You and your witch were gone by the time my wife, and I arrived at the party last night. See we had some trouble with our invitation—”
“You weren’t invited,” I said.
“Actually, that’s the problem. Your family and mine have held a tight alliance over the years, and your lack of respect for that, for me and my position is beginning to grate upon my patience,” he said, piquing my interest. Hopefully, he’d dig himself a hole so deep he couldn’t get out of it, and I’d be done with him.
“And what do you plan to do about it?” I asked, raising my brows at him.
Sir Robert took a wary step down as I took one forward. Only four steps were between us, and he didn’t seem to feel that was enough. “Don’t think it goes unnoticed how you shun us. My wife and sons suffer as you sully our reputation. Your fool of a brother kept me in prison for a whole month all over a simple misunderstanding.”
“You weren’t paying your workers again, Musson. Xavier told me you’d been seen whipping a man for… what was it? Oh, yes, not making his daily yield. So, it seems to me, if your family suffers, they should be looking to you. Letting you live has been a kindness from the crown. One I’m not overly inclined to carry on.”
Musson took another step down, which I mirrored. “I…” he shuddered. “I only wished to ask that Your Majesty and your witch grace us with your presence at a dinner in your honor in our home. Seeing you there, so soon before you break the curse would be a boon for our reputation.”
“You’ve come to my home to invite me and my fiancée to dinner to restore your reputation?” I asked. Now I was so close to the man his scent nearly made me gag. Was he perspiring? The cool morning air was almost chilly. Sir Robert’s nerves were getting to him.
“Your fiancée?” he said, which drew the older son’s attention. “We heard you and the witch were behaving very friendly, but it’s only been a month since she was almost executed. Lori said after what the poor thing has been through, there’s no way she could feel something so quickly.”
“Are you doubting me, Sir Robert? Because that’s where it sounds like your train of thought is headed,” I said, my curiosity quickly dwindling. I could hardly execute a man for a dinner invite. I needed to get him off my property so I could get on with my day.
“Unless you’re not making the progress your actions seem to proclaim,” he said. The smug look on his face told me he thought he’d won.
What he’d done was step dangerously close to the line. The only reason I was holding back was because I knew what he said to be false. Otherwise, it was almost enough to force my hand.
“No, we won’t join you for a celebration in our honor and if you don’t leave, I’ll keep your head as a souvenir. This is your last warning.” I stepped toward him, letting him move back so as to not get run over.
He made it to the gravel drive, and I pushed past him as I headed to where Jonas had Eclipse. The man had a death wish as he charged after me calling to my back, “Rumor has it you used your magic to make it look like she was enjoying herself. Some even say you forced yourself on her in hopes of making her fall—"
Sir Robert cried out as the dagger I sent flying embedded itself in his upper thigh. I’d never been accused of hurting a woman like that. I was this man’s king and that was good enough as treason for me. I charged toward him, drawing another double-sided knife needing no further excuse to rid our plane of this man. Musson staggered back, pulling on the dagger, making more blood ooze from the wound while out of the corner of my eye I saw his eldest son, Bobby from what I recalled, open the carriage and was fishing around inside for something.
Metal shrieked as the young man pulled a sword from its sheath as the other son stood frozen, mouth ajar. Bobby cried, “Get a weapon, Tommy!”
Tommy didn’t budge as he watched me grab a fistful of his father’s thinning hair and drag his face to mine. Through gritted teeth I said, “That was your last mistake.”
At the edge of my awareness, a feminine scream carried across the breeze as I sliced a gaping whole across Sir Robert’s throat. The man clawed at the gushing red line before dropping lifeless to the gravel. Tommy, seeming to find his voice, yelled, “Stop it, Bobby. That’s treason.”
Bobby, however, advanced, lifting the long steel blade in my direction as if he were capable of using it against me. “You should listen to your little brother,” I cautioned him.
“You care for her,” Bobby said, voice dripping with accusation as he pointed the sword in my direction. “Father was right. You’re an abomination. We were much better with Xavier as king and that bitch king killer murdered him. You just killed our father for saying what everyone else is thinking.” He thrust the blade at my head which was clouded with a haze of murderous crimson.
I darted back to give myself time to think. I didn’t want to kill this kid in front of Avery. That had been her scream I heard. I shot a glance at the window on the third story. Sure enough, her silhouette filled the center pane, one delicate hand was pressed to her neck, the other pressed against the glass. Shit.
The boy was of legal age, and I couldn’t allow him to live. He knew the choice he made raising a weapon against his sovereign. My hesitance cost me, and the boy showed more skill with the weapon than I’d anticipated. A swift, albeit jerky move and the blade sliced across my shoulder making a shallow cut. It stung for a moment before I allowed my rage to take over.
This was who that witch in the window was signing up for. I had to resign myself to it. Power thrummed through me, just below the surface itching to get out, but hampered by the curse magic. It didn’t stop the heightened state my magic gave me or my physical strength.
