Master's Mind (The Dagger of Dragon Rose Book 1)

What is there to be afraid of after the light is gone? - Assassins Guild Creed

“You failed to kill him?”

“Yes, Master. He killed the other. I am not fit for combat, as you yourself have seen, so I ran.”

Anger began to overwhelm Dareth as he faced his creation. “How exactly did the other die? I gave him a weapon that should have been more than a match for that infernal sword.”

“Oh, the sword is not what killed him.” The ogre kept his eyes on the ground as he spoke, not out of respect, but out of fear. “The young king wields the Talons.”

Dareth’s eyes went wide. “The Talons? Where did he get them?” Dareth was so angry that he didn’t remember to maintain his accent. “This is very disturbing news.” He fixed his gaze on the ogre. “There is still no excuse for your failure.”

Screams of agony filled the halls of darkness as the ogre was reduced into smoldering ash.

“Brother, brother, brother. If you keep killing your underlings, soon you will have no one to remember your name. Not that it matters, for soon there will be no one at all.” Dante stepped over the charred remains of the ogre as he spoke to his brother.

“What do you wish of me?” Dareth snapped.

“I see you have still not managed to eliminate the child master.” Dante smiled as he spoke. “It will only be a matter of time, Talons or no Talons, before my underling destroys his spirit.”

“So you came to gloat, did you?” Dareth’s temper erupted from him, and the hellish fury of his wrath bore down on Dante.

Dante laughed. “Temper, Temper. You know you cannot injure me any more than I can injure you. I did not come to gloat, even though my underling has never failed me.” The laughter in his voice was maddening. “I came to remind you not to try to hard too kill the child master. He is doing our bidding, after all.”

Dareth looked confused.

Dante shook his head, his long black hair creating a breeze in the darkness. “So quickly this world makes one forget. The Child Master will get the Orb and bring it. Once here, he will shatter the orb, and we will be here to absorb the power that is unleashed.”

“But the dagger. It can destroy us.” Dareth’s anger was under control again.

“No, it can’t. I helped design the weapon, remember? I built a flaw into the weapon.” Dante’s smile grew as he spoke. “The only way the weapon can destroy us is to have it pierce our heart when we are combined. The flaw I built into the dagger is this: The blade is too short. It will never reach our heart.”

Dareth shook his head sadly; how could he have forgotten? “I guess you are right. Maybe I have been here too long.”