Inhuman Chapter 15

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Two days of boring meetings and dinners with the nobles in alliance with the House of Raragel left Prince Erdem irritated and restless. He recognized his role limited him to nothing more than a figurehead. However, it did not stop the prince from trying to show something for his time there.

However, his meetings with Kirel only increased the prince’s frustration. He was no match for her ability to steer the conversation in the direction she wanted. Even the nobles who held only a tenuous allegiance to the House of Raragel quickly recognized Kirel’s dominance over the prince. The city of Makla followed Kirel’s dictates with little opposition, and she held no fear of the emperor’s son.

While the prince held only a slight hope he might find a family or two dissatisfied with the status quo, he pushed to learn more about the inner workings of Kirel’s nobles. His questions remained innocent enough, however, Greac and Filko soon found themselves in the middle of potential issues when the prince’s diplomacy skills failed him.

Inevitably, the man overstepped the invisible boundaries due to his inexperience and arrogance. Greac quickly interceded on those occasions while he sought to cover for the missteps. On the other side of the prince, Filko impatiently reminded the emperor’s son of his role. 

“Don’t treat me as a child,” Erdem hissed as he stepped away from his latest blunder.

“Then I’ll remind you not to make the same mistakes. You cannot expect those with loyalty to Kirel to openly discuss any reservations about her. I told you that she keeps a close watch on her rivals. That family is the biggest threat to Kirel.” Filko said while placing his index and thumb on the bridge of his nose, appearing as a headache was setting in.

“I know that,” Erdem shot back. “Talking to these fools is painful enough. They only suck up to me in order to influence my father. But you and Greac undercutting me in front of such people becomes betrayal. If my father knew…”

“He’d thank his advisors for not allowing you to become a talking point in this part of the empire. Plus, he would show his concerns by diminishing your role in his court,” Filko interrupted harshly. “Yes, it tries one’s patience to deal with such people in these public displays. However, you were taught differently. Keep questions to private conversations to get the information that you’re looking for.”

He stepped in front of Erdem, forcing the prince to glare at him.

“The emperor sent me a wire this morning about your progress,” Filko stated. “What should I tell him when you don’t want to listen to his advisors?”

Erdem’s face turned red at the heavy-handed tactic. However, he took a deep breath as he stared at the spymaster. Upsetting his father was the last thing he needed.

“Fine, I’ll stay quiet.”

Filko suddenly smiled.

“Your grace shouldn’t take my advice so badly. Look around and enjoy the tastes of this city. I’m sure some nobles have women they would like to add to your stable. Perhaps you can enjoy their forbidden fruits before entering into discussions about marriage.”

Erdem grunted as he pushed past the man. However, he saw Kirel and her entourage approaching. After taking a few steps, the prince suddenly took the idea as his own.

“Fine, you and Greac line them up,” he whispered over to Filko. “But make sure the women are married and they carry such a standing that it’ll make Kirel very uncomfortable when dealing with me. Perhaps I can bed those who carry influence with her.”

He glanced over at the frowning spymaster.

“By the way, that’s an order that my father would approve.”

A chuckle erupted from Filko.

“Yes, and I shall make it so…”

A sudden scream stopped the conversation. In front of them, Kirel’s bodyguard immediately hurried to the source of the screaming.  

Filko noticed a bearded man dressed in an overcoat ignored the screaming. The man’s unwavering focus centered upon Kirel, who had her back to the man. The spy master immediately pulled the heavy revolver from under his blue jacket.

“Erdem, stay here! Greac, you too!” Filko ordered as he rushed forward.

As the prince furiously glared at being ordered around, he suddenly noticed another man in a heavy black coat digging into his coat pocket.

“Assassin!” He yelled.

Gunshots immediately blasted through the din of screaming people. One of Kirel’s bodyguards, with a gaping wound to his neck, staggered into the ruler. His blood splattered across her. In her haste to get away, Kirel slipped and fell to the floor. Her dying guard’s body dropped across the woman’s legs.

Filko sighted the second assassin as he pulled his gun. However, the bearded man didn’t have time to fire his weapon. Filko’s bullets struck him, sending the assassin to the floor.

To the spy master’s amazement, the bearded man lifted himself to his feet while the other assassin in black continued moving toward Kirel. Both men appeared oblivious to the bullets striking them.

Filko fired his revolver twice more before his target’s head nearly exploded from the heavy lead bullet that struck. This time, the assassin dropped and remained unmoving.  

More gunshots rang out as guards joined in the fight. The man in black lurched as each bullet struck him, but he continued toward his target. He extended his arm, pointing a derringer at Kirel. However, a well-placed shot from Filko struck the assassin’s shoulder. The impact caused the man in the black coat to miss when his pistol fired at Kirel.

A wave of incoming troops pushed through the scrambling crowd. Some immediately sent a volley of shots. The rifle bullets hit him, sending pieces of the assassin’s body into the air, and he fell back. However, the multiple gunshot blasts from various angles also struck people behind him who could not get out of the way.

Filko paid little attention to the carnage as he got closer and fired at the assassin’s head. The bullet hit the assassin in the forehead, pitching the man back on the floor as more shots struck the body and other bystanders.

“Stop firing, you idiots!”

Amid the chaos, a roar came from the huge captain of the New Cavaliers as he hurried through his men. With his pistol in hand, he bellowed orders while he hurried to join Filko.

“My apologies for being late,” Halze told the spy master before he immediately took charge.

The captain watched as his troops finished surrounding Kirel and her party. He had already ordered others around Prince Erdem and Greac. Orderlies and healers hurried to help the wounded as the screams and cries slowly subsided inside the hall.

Filko looked down at the second assassin and noticed the man’s eyes twitched. He kneeled to look at the corpse closer. The multiple bullet wounds ravaged the body, leaving one arm nearly severed and the chest partially opened.

The other hand of the corpse tremble, causing the spy master to jerk back. He watched as the index finger on the hand continued to move back and forth. The motion reminded Filko of the assassin still wanting to fire his pistol.

“Did you find something?” ”Halze asked as he kneeled as well.

“Tell me, have you seen a body act this way after death?”

The large man tugged at his bulbous nose as he watched the motions of the corpse, which finally stopped.

“No, and it’s nothing like rigor mortis. I’ve seen some men so desperate to live they continue moving, but not in this condition. His heart is gone. My men are excellent shots.”

Halze nonchalantly picked up the detached forearm of the assassin and tossed it on the corpse. His burly arms stretched his uniform sleeve almost to the point of ripping. Filko grunted when he remembered the captain came from a family of lumberjacks.

“I want these two bodies taken to the train,” Filko stood. “Make sure no one else sees this. Have your men use the orderlies to get them to the train.”

“What are you thinking?” Halze asked, then scowled when Filko ignored the question.

As the troops surrounding the prince stood with their weapons drawn for any additional threats, Erdem barely noticed. His mind focused on the events he had just witnessed. Assassins who continued walking into the hail of bullets struck him with a strange fascination. A memory stirred in his brain as the prince stared at the unmoving body near Filko and the captain, who were talking.

How did they get blood magic?

Immediately, the image of Dennel Vail came to him.

She must have ties to the anarchist movement!

A feeling of ecstasy overcame him as a smile formed on the prince’s face. The light at the end of a long tunnel came as his plans immediately solidified. He instantly turned to the officer standing next to him.

“Come and escort me to Filko!” he ordered.

The man’s expression turned anxious at the command, but the prince left no room for argument as he pushed through the line of soldiers protecting him.

Filko noticed Erdem heading toward him and frowned. However, the prince’s visible excitement puzzled the man. Then, he heard Erdem’s next command and the spy master nearly choked trying to get out his response.