Chapter 482: Get

Chapter 482: Get

A gentle breeze curled through the dark streets of Treadon. Night wrapped the city in its heavy cloak, broken only by the motes of dim lanternlight scattered throughout the streets. The distant murmur of conversation and the echo of footsteps through the streets brushed across Gex’s ears as he crept toward the market square, a poisoned dagger held in a loose grip at his side.

The scent of dust and rusted metal clung to him as he advanced. It stung his nose and made his eyes water slightly, but it obscured his scent with that of the streets. He was a ghost passing through the night. And, when his work was over and he returned home, there would be another ghost to take his place in the shadows.

Gex was a professional. At least, he’d swear up and down that he was. He’d been doing this for longer than most demons that lived in the streets had been alive. The names of all the people he’d sent on into the next life evaded him, but as did the number. Neither mattered any more.

All that mattered was accomplishing the job. A Rank 3 demon was a little stronger than his usual prey. It wasn’t a task he normally would have accepted, but it had only taken a single look at the pay he’d been offered to accept without a second of hesitation.

He’d never gotten a look at his employer. That was how things were. A masked meeting in a dark room, the passing of coin from one hand to the other, and the promise of a life ended. It was not his role to wonder why the job had been placed or who had ordered it.

But this job was different. Mask or not, the demon who had placed the order had stood over twice Gex’s height. Even a cloak and mask, his imposing figure was impossible to conceal, as was the gravelly tone he spoke in. It had sounded like the demon had subsisted on a diet of sand and rock for the past fifty years. But, despite the voice, he had spoken like a noble.

It wasn’t just that. The huge demon had moved with the confidence of a warrior. There was no fear or jitter in his motions, an oddity for Gex’s normal clientele. That wasn’t a problem.

He’d worked with demons far greater than himself before. Some kills were just beneath them. What Gex did take issue with, however, was twofold. To be more specific, it was two demons.

Taking on risky jobs was no problem — but Gex worked alone. He’d always had, and up until he’d seen the pay offered for handling this job, he’d always planned to. Adding others into the mix just complicated things.

It meant less money for the kill. More chances for something to go wrong. More ways to be betrayed. But, when he’d seen the huge bag of coin, all those misgivings had gone out the door. There were some things worth the extra risk.

At least, that’s what he’d thought. He wasn’t so sure anymore. Something deep within Gex’s stomach twisted and churned. The night was still and empty. There was no reason to be concerned. He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the two other assassins creeping through the dark, but he knew they were there.

All of them sought the same target. They’d all been paid, so there was no reason for them to come into conflict with each other. All that mattered was the target’s death. It should have been one of the most straightforward tasks that Gex had ever taken — but his gut screamed otherwise.

For that reason, Gex hesitated. He hadn’t lived this long by ignoring his instincts. He extended every sense in search of what was unnerving him. The camp wasn’t anything special. If anything, it was pathetic.

They had no security perimeter. No proper guard. Not even proper lighting to prevent someone like him from striding past the tents and heading for the large one at the back of the square without so much as a suspicious glance.

And yet, sweat rolled down the back of Gex’s neck like a thin river. His pallid skin felt clammy and cold and his knuckles were white around the hilt of his dagger. No matter how hard he searched, nothing seemed off.

Nothing was out of place.

So what is this feeling? I’m already behind schedule. I should have been in and out already, the task complete. One of the other assassins has probably already handled it. All of us are Rank 3. We’ve handled streetlords that got too big for their station before.

No amount of thought helped. Gex’s mind found absolutely nothing amiss, but the rest of his body disagreed.

The flaps to the large tent parted. Gex didn’t let his eyes betray anything, but hope shot through his body like adrenaline. Their job was done. Rank 4 or not, a dagger to the back of the neck was more than enough to—

“I’m done, Moxie.”

The first woman glanced over her shoulder. Gex followed her gaze, and his heart dropped into his stomach. The young demon that had emerged from the tent hadn’t been an assassin. She was another one of the demons from the camp.

Why won’t they let me speak? Do they plan to take me prisoner? For what purpose? What are they playing at?

“And?” Moxie asked, tilting her head to the side and ignoring Gex completely. “Did you get anything useful?”

“Yeah. There were just three of them, and they got hired by some big demon with a scratchy voice.”

Gex’s stomach couldn’t drop any farther, but he was pretty sure it had died and its ghost was in freefall toward the center of the world.

Fuck me. One of the other assholes already sold the rest of us out before I could. This is exactly why I work alone. Why in the Damned Plains did I take this blasted job? My only hope is that the last assassin hasn’t been caught yet. Two demons are a lot. I don’t know why there’s a Rank 4 in a streetlord’s camp, but there’s no way there’s more than one. As long as she goes down first—

“Did you remember to leave the second one intact?” Moxie asked.

The younger demon cleared her throat. “I... may have gotten hungry. It’s hard to fight quietly. You said to make sure No — uh, Spider didn’t wake up. That costs extra. Snack tax. Maybe eating more will help me fix my Rank 4 Rune.”

No. It can’t be possible. A second Rank 4? Is she lying? No. There’s no reason for her to lie. This was a setup. It has to be. A foreign invasion force, starting with the underground of the city and moving up to swallow it whole.

“Snack — oh, whatever,” Moxie said wearily. “I just wanted a little time to spend with Spider. Is that really too much to ask? It’s colder out here than I expected, and I was so comfortable in bed. Combustion makes him so warm. Like a portable heater.”

“It’s okay. He’s still asleep. I can smell it.”

What kind of conversation is this? They’re acting as if I’m not even here! Damn it all. There has to be a way out. Let me speak, you bitches! How do you know I don’t know something the others didn’t?

“You know what? You’re right,” Moxie said. The vines constricting around Gex’s body tightened. He would have abandoned what little pride he had and screamed for help, but even that was denied to him. “If this one’s number three, then as long as I get rid of him, we can pretend as if our night didn’t get interrupted at all. Good thinking, Lee. I just have to make sure this is quiet so Spider doesn’t wake up.”

Her gaze finally lifted to meet Gex’s. There wasn’t a single scrap of interest in Moxie’s eyes. There was only annoyance — and impatience. She lifted her hand toward Gex. Her fist clenched.

The vines constricted in a flicker of an instant, and darkness enveloped Gex’s vision. His scream, along with the crunching of his bones, were both swallowed by the thick vines. He only had time for one final thought before the pain cut out and his consciousness vanished from the Damned Plains.

I hope I get to watch from the afterlife when they find the noble Wastelicker that fucked me over.