Priest (Ratcatchers Book 1) Read Free

knocking the acolyte out. This was a man used to fighting with metal gauntlets. That kind of thing will ruin even the best leather if the sword is worth a damn , Heden thought . Another acolyte hit the ground.
    He allowed the sword to continue its swing down, using its own momentum to flip it, catch the pommel, and leveled it at the neck of the nearest conscious acolyte.
    “Halt,” he announced. The acolyte stopped chanting and stared down in terror at the blade at his throat.
    Teagan had taken two men down and had another held at sword-point in the time it would have taken even an experienced guard or soldier to draw his blade and swing once. Heden was impressed.
    Meanwhile, Mathe had made his way to the dead priest who’d killed Wil. Heden was almost done with his prayer.
    “You bastard,” Mathe gasped as he stood over the dead priest. “That was Wil, you fucking bastard!” Mathe kicked the dead priest’s head, causing blood and teeth to fly out. “He was my fucking friend, you piece of shit!” Mathe was shouting and crying and about to take his rage out on a living captive.
    Heden finished his prayer and, taking a deep breath, watched a calmness wash outward from him like the wave from a stone dropped in a pond. Everyone calmed down. Only Teagan seemed unaffected, but he hadn’t even broken a sweat or been out of breath. He was calm as a rock.
    Mathe seemed to collapse a little. His rage stopped, his tears stopped, and he turned away from the dead priest. He looked lost. A face Heden had seen before on men after a battle.
    The acolytes had stopped chanting, stopped struggling. They weren’t compelled into silence or submission, Heden had just returned them to normal. Many of them had been worked into a fanatical ecstasy for hours and would now be wondering why they were in a jail.
    Teagan pulled his sword away from the acolyte’s throat and sheathed it, guiding the point into the scabbard without looking. I could never manage that , Heden thought. I always had to look down and watch what I was doing when I sheathed a sword.
    One of the guards asked Mathe what he should do, and Heden watched Mathe pull himself together. These men would be home much later than normal. The Vine would have to open early for five watchmen coming off shift who’d desperately need to drink their memories away. Wives and families would be worried and when husbands returned home, they’d get no explanation. And more than one man would take his anger and confusion out on his family. Heden’s prayer would help with that, but it would be hours later and there was only so much Heden could do without taking the men’s will away from them. Which he was loathe to do in any circumstance.
    A stomping was heard and the door to the dungeon below opened. Domnal emerged, his shoulders laden with two dozen heavy manacles. Domnal was a big man, fat but strong. He stood looking at the scene before him, at the acolytes all staring silently at the floor. At the explosion of red on the wall and the headless body of Wil on the floor, next to the beaten corpse of the priest of St. Eseld.
    He let the manacles slide off his shoulders and in wide-eyed anger said,
    “What the fuck happened here?!”

Chapter Two
    “Alright, let’s hear it,” Domnal said, his voice loud as he walked to his small office. He threw his heavy key ring on the table. It hit with a loud clatter, slid, and fell off the other side. Domnal scowled and swore as he sat down and then groaned as he leaned over and picked the ring up off the ground.
    Heden followed him in and closed the door behind him. The room was warm, made of hard wood and lit by four candles in sconces on the wall. A layer of sawdust covered the floor, put there by the guards to absorb any blood spilt during the execution of their duty. Several pieces of parchment covered Domnal’s large desk. Heden knew the man could read and write, but only the typical phrases found in official documents. Put a book in front of