Chapter 52: Who Is the Real Rat?

"You have brought a rat."

The broad man’s voice echoed through the hall.

The men carrying the crystal turned toward the entrance, and several guards immediately reached for their weapons.

Zarek stepped into view.

He walked into the hall without hesitation, looking first at the people surrounding the broad man before settling his gaze on the man himself. He had already been discovered, so there was little point in pretending otherwise.

The broad man looked him over, taking in his young face, bloodstained clothes, and the weapon at his side. His expression twisted with disgust.

"So you followed my men all the way here?"

Zarek glanced at the men who had carried the monster, then back at him.

"Looks that way."

The answer earned a few irritated looks from the guards.

The broad man, however, seemed more amused than angry.

"A little rat sneaks into my territory and thinks he can walk around wherever he pleases." He leaned back in his chair.

"Did you think nobody would notice you?"

Zarek didn’t answer. His attention had shifted to the container in the hands of one of the men. Even from where he stood, he could see the crystal inside.

The broad man followed his gaze and chuckled.

"Ah, I see. That’s what brought you here. You saw my men carrying something valuable and decided to follow them, hoping to steal it for yourself."

Zarek finally looked at him again.

"You really are different."

The broad man’s smile faded slightly.

"What did you say?"

"You’re different from the others I’ve met." Zarek pointed toward the container. "Tell me, what is that crystal?"

For a moment, the hall went quiet.

Then the broad man burst out laughing.

He laughed as though Zarek had just told him the most ridiculous joke imaginable. Several of the guards joined in, though their laughter sounded more like an attempt to please their master than genuine amusement.

When the broad man finally stopped, he looked at Zarek as if he were something unpleasant he’d found stuck to his shoe.

"You break into my territory, follow my men, and then have the audacity to question me?"

He rose from his chair.

The man’s size became even more apparent once he was standing. His thick arms hung at his sides, and his broad shoulders nearly filled the space between the people around him.

"Do you have any idea who you’re speaking to, you filthy rat?"

Zarek considered the question.

"Nope."

His answer was so casual that one of the guards stared at him in disbelief.

The broad man’s face darkened.

"Who do you think you are? Do you think this is your place?"

He pointed at Zarek, his voice rising.

"Kill this bastard!"

The guards moved immediately.

One rushed forward with a metal baton raised above his head. Zarek watched him approach, almost disappointed that their conversation had ended so quickly.

He’d wanted an answer about the crystal.

Apparently, these people preferred violence.

Fine. I can work with that.

The baton came down toward his skull.

Zarek shifted aside, caught the man’s wrist, and drove his fist into the guard’s face. The impact snapped his head backward. Before the man could even stumble away,

Zarek struck him again, sending him crashing to the floor.

Another guard attacked from his left.

Zarek turned into the strike, caught the man’s arm, and twisted it hard enough to force a cry from his throat.

He followed with a knee to the stomach, then shoved him away. The guard collided with a table, knocking several objects onto the floor.

"Get him!"

Three men rushed Zarek together.

He grinned.

Now this was more like it.

The first swung a knife at his chest. Zarek stepped back just far enough to avoid the blade, then kicked the man’s knee. As the guard lost his balance, Zarek seized his collar and slammed him into the second attacker.

Both men crashed to the ground.

The third tried to take advantage of the opening, swinging a heavy weapon at Zarek’s shoulder. Zarek raised his arm to block the blow, felt the impact travel through his muscles, and answered with a punch to the man’s jaw.

The guard staggered backward.

Zarek followed him, grabbed his head, and drove it into the edge of a nearby table. The man collapsed, leaving Zarek to turn toward the remaining guards.

Their expressions had changed.

They had entered the fight expecting to beat a trespasser to death. Now, after watching several of their companions fall, they were beginning to understand that the young man in front of them wasn’t an ordinary survivor.

One of them shouted and charged anyway.

Zarek met him halfway.

He ducked beneath the man’s wild swing, struck him in the ribs, and drove another blow into his face. When the guard dropped to one knee, Zarek caught him by the back of his head and slammed him into the floor.

The man stopped moving.

Someone behind Zarek tried to retreat toward the doors.

Zarek noticed.

"Hey, where are you going?"

The guard barely had time to turn before Zarek caught up with him. He grabbed the man’s shoulder, spun him around, and punched him hard enough to send him sprawling across the floor.

The remaining guards hesitated.

That hesitation cost them.

Zarek rushed the nearest guard before he could raise his weapon and knocked him to the floor. The last man hesitated, then swung desperately at Zarek’s head.

Zarek ducked beneath the blow and drove his fist into the man’s throat. The guard staggered backward, choking, before Zarek followed with a punch that sent him crashing to the floor.

The hall fell silent.

Zarek stood among the fallen guards, breathing harder than before. His knuckles hurt, and his pulse hammered with the excitement of the fight. He glanced at the bodies scattered around the room, then let out a short laugh.

"Well, that was disappointing."

He had expected at least one of them to put up a decent fight.

Instead, they’d all gone down before he could properly enjoy himself.

Zarek turned toward the broad man.

The man’s amusement had vanished. His eyes moved across the fallen guards before settling on Zarek. Whatever he had expected when he ordered the attack, it clearly hadn’t been this.

Zarek wiped his bloody knuckles against a fallen guard’s clothing and walked toward him.

The broad man didn’t move.

Zarek stopped a few steps away, close enough to see the anger building behind the man’s eyes.

"Now then," he said, glancing toward the crystal container. "Where were we?"

The broad man’s jaw tightened.

Zarek smiled.

"Ah, right. The crystal."

He looked directly into the man’s eyes.

"Now will you tell me what it is?"