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Pocketing the rest for later, I watch as Haddon stands up and starts swaying clumsily, an obnoxious smile on his face as he and Levon slowly become enraptured by a new dark-haired beauty dancing around them, slowly removing her flimsy clothing.
Seeing an opportunity, I make sure the cloak and hood cover me as I head for the makeshift bar, purposely bumping into one of the servers and mumbling an apology. She drops her tray on the counter and quickly moves to one of the rooms to change.
Glancing around to make sure no one is watching, I take the discarded tray of drinks and swap it out for the wine.
With my tray of wine in hand, I turn to head over to my targets when I notice a discarded small empty vial on the side of a table.
Quickly pocketing it, I move around the tables, coming up behind Levon and Haddon.
While their complete attention is on the practically naked woman, I swap out their drinks and move over to the other table and do the same to the guards’ drinks before quickly moving back to my spot under the staircase.
The dark-haired woman seems to have garnered not only Levon and Haddon’s attention but the entire room’s. At least for those not already passed out across the tables and on the floor.
The female continues to bewitch and seduce them with her beauty and sway of her hips, and the men finally reach for their drinks, knocking back the entire glass as she slowly takes off the last piece of her clothing.
Veles said they would only need a small amount for it to work. But even with the blood bound vow, I didn’t trust him. Giving the men an entire glass ensures the plan will work and hopefully make Levon so intoxicated that he will not wake upon feeling my blade against his skin.
My doubts and worries, though, are unfounded when minutes pass and Levon, Haddon, and my newest targets end upso inebriated that they are stumbling about. A few minutes later, they’re practically comatose.
The rest of the room slowly dies down. Some of the women move to one of the four rooms, with men who still have some of their senses, while the rest steal the coin owed to them for having to put up with such vulgarity most of the night.
They quickly leave, paying no mind to what lurks between the shadows of the stairway.
I wait until all have left and the only sound around me is the rumbling snores from the passed-out men. Using my shadows, I cast them out around the entire room, blanketing it to near complete darkness before moving.
Moving over to them, I swipe a blade I spotted earlier from a passed-out competitor and pull the vial out of my pocket. Building my shadows around me, I conceal myself among the darkness in case anything goes wrong.
Placing the blade to one of Levon’s fingers, I quickly slide the tip of it across his fingertip and pause for a moment, waiting to see if he reacts. But he doesn’t move an inch.
I quickly squeeze a few drops of blood into the vial before pocketing it along with the blade and stepping back.
Glancing around, I make sure no one is watching before moving to the table of guards.
It is going to take me most of the rest of the night to carry out what I have in mind for them, but I suppose it is a small blessing that I no longer have to worry about them catching me returning to my cell.
I am also lucky Haddon’s rooms are so close to the arena, or this may not have been possible.
With the help of my shadows, I carry the first body to the staircase and release the rest of my shadows around the room. I keep my quick pace, making sure all the guards get the attention they deserve before making my way to Veles’s cell.
Three days is all he said he has left. With nearly two days already passed, it is better not to push our luck and fulfill our side of the deal before anything happens.
Moving down the familiar dark passageways, I walk quickly to the last cell. Veles is already standing in front of the bars, a knowing smile on his face.
“I knew you could do it,” he says, his voice assured and full of ease.
I narrow my eyes on him. “Tell me what to do and quickly. I need to get back before anyone notices I’m missing.”
“Of course. Pass me the blood and I will do the rest.” He reaches a hand out for the vial in my hand but pauses when he remembers the painful bars.
“That’s it?” I ask.
“Did you think I would need you also for a sacrifice?” He smirks at me in jest, but it has been a long night already, and I am so tired that I am starting to look forward to the floor of my cold cell.
I pass the vial of blood to him, careful not to touch the bars should they have a similar defensive reaction.
Veles immediately takes the vial and places it to his lips, swallowing every last drop of blood in it before throwing the empty vial against the cell wall, smashing it.
His eyes fill with amusement when he spots my look of disgust. Ignoring me, he starts mumbling something in a strange, lyrical language that soothes something inside me. Quickly becoming entranced by it, I jolt when a loud clang of chains hitting the ground rings out.
