"Oi! Starwhore. I'm talking about fuckin' you you know." I had spaced out and now the angry little orange-eyed man looked annoyed.
"Were you?" I paused, glancing around the room casually, "well I was demonstrating how I would behave in bed with you. You know, forgetting you were even in there." If he had not caught me so off guard, I probably would have known not to insult his manhood. As it was, his face turned red and I smacked myself internally. All I had to do was ignore him or make light comebacks, but this was definitely a bit too far. I had pissed him off.
"On your knees." He commanded.
"I swear you guys and this knee thing. Can't you see we are wearing white-"
"I SAID ON YOUR KNEES!" Mr. Silver had taken out a dagger and pointed it at me. Every other man in the room had drawn theirs as well. Essmay had her bow strung and pointed at Dahren.
The assassin had talons, an older weapon that acted as extended claws in glove form. They were long, sharp, and on my best friend's neck. I bit my cheek. I was a moron. People were counting on us to bring the money back. This was our main source of income. It fed many Hunters and their families. Why did I have such a big mouth?
I put my hands up in surrender.
"Look, I think we both got a bit carried away here. No need for violence Mr. Silver. Essmay and I will be on our way back. No one needs to get hurt tonight." I tried my hardest to remain calm, but my blood was thumping through my temple. Dahren's face was still flushed. I was counting on reason to get us out of this. Essmay's face was fearful, as would mine be if I had talons at my throat.
"No violence hmm... Is that what you told my brother when you slit his throat!" My mind went blank and I studied this man harder. Could it be? No. Absolutely not.
"You're Ket's brother?" It took all my effort to resist trembling.
"You didn't know? Told me to take back Silver District before he left for an Upper City. Got some real good medical help there. And you wanna know what's even better? He's coming back. For you."
"Impossible! Skyee killed him." Essmay spat, eyes trained on Dahren despite her vulnerability. He turned to her.
"It's true. We got there just in time to stop the bleeding. The wound was shallow enough that it didn't kill him." Then he turned back to me, hand still tight on the dagger.
"Always been a soft one haven't you. Even for a man who used you to climb up the Lowlands power ladder, but it's no matter. He will be so excited to wrap his hands around you once more but I think he would appreciate if I loosened you up before he came." That's it. I was going to have to rip off his balls at some point. Then it occurred to me, he had been very angered by the suggestion that his manhood not be up to par. Perhaps I could use that to my advantage.
"Alright then Mr. Silver, let's see the goods then."
Dahren's face drained, "What?"
Essmay grasped where I was going and spoke up, "How is she supposed to know how grande it is if you don't show us? Surely a man of your caliber would jump at the chance to show off his, ahem, package?"
Dahren cleared his throat and looked around at his men, who, in turn, was giving him an expectant gaze.
"Well, I didn't mean me idiots! I won't touch that Starborne slut. You never know what you might get from 'er. You!" He pointed to the masked man with his free hand.
"You take this bitch until she can no longer use that vile tongue of hers!" The masked man did not respond. He was still holding Essmay, albeit more loosely than before.
"Well! Men, free his hands already so he can get on with it." His men scuttled over, grabbed up Essmay, and started tying her hands behind her back. I looked at my partner, who was about to bust out and kill Dahren, but I shook my head. We would never make it out alive if we killed him now. Not in his house, not with all his clansmen outside. My best chance was to get the assassin alone and escape. Essmay knew this but she was not fond of my plan. I was about to ask if I could have some damn privacy when the masked man took me up in his arms. I made a surprised yip and he hesitated.
"Well?" Dahren yelled. The assassin walked toward a door at the opposite end of the room, seemingly also wanting privacy before he had his way with me. Maybe he had performance anxiety.