Chapter 103: The End, pt. 2

There were a few holdouts here and there, but by the time Zorrik and Ra'Jeem made it to the Royal Palace, the Assassins inside were the only ones not fighting with them. To their surprise, the Palace was quiet, with no one at the gates.

They slid off their Lomai and stood next to Perrin, Zulee, Eloria, and Caldan. The rebel leader looked a little worse for wear, but his wound had stopped bleeding. All of them looked to Zorrik and Ra'Jeem.

"Is it possible they've all come out already?" Perrin asked.

Ra'Jeem shook his head. "An ambush is more likely."

Zorrik nodded and then sent word for the archers. They moved forward, and one of them handed a bow to him. They shot a volley over the walls and waited. A moment later, a flaming volley came back at them, along with intimidating shouts from the Assassins inside. They appeared at the top of the walls and prepared another volley. Zorrik and his archers beat them to it, though, and then his people scattered off the road.

"We have to get the gates open!" Caldan shouted at Zorrik.

The Master Assassin nodded and signalled for him to gather his forces. The people of the North were the strongest and sturdiest among them, and had the best chance of forcing the wooden gates. They ran forward with clubs and axes, while the archers prepared volleys of arrows to try and give them cover. Just like when the rebels attacked the first time, though, the Assassins were prepared with other weapons.

Stones began to rain down on Caldan's people, and Zorrik directed his archers to target the attackers. His heart dropped when he saw that it was mostly Apprentices, who didn't have their own weapons yet.

The wooden gates were built thick and sturdy, and for a while, it looked like they would never get through. Caldan's people were being wounded faster than they could make progress, but eventually the wood began to give way. As they busted through, Zorrik signalled for everyone else to follow, and the Assassins and Zytherians ran after him, ready for more battle.

Inside, there were fewer Assassins than they'd thought, but their comrades fought fiercely. Zorrik and Ra'Jeem fought side by side, just as they always had, and the Palace Assassins were just as surprised to see them as the others had been. They tried to keep an eye on Perrin, but he was holding his own, expertly wielding his short sword, face splattered in Assassin blood. As he turned to face another opponent, though, the Assassin was already swinging a large club and knocked the young man to the ground.

"No!" Zorrik yelled and ran toward the Assassin. A few strategic cuts had the man on the ground and bleeding out. Zorrik knelt to see if the young man was alright, and once he'd caught his breath, the Master Assassin helped him to his feet. As they stood, Zorrik noticed there were people taking shelter on the roof of the training building, and one of them was the Grand Assassin.

"Come on," he said, and pulled Perrin with him. Then he shouted over at Ra'Jeem and motioned for him to follow.

Ra'Jeem quickly finished off the opponent he'd been sparring with and then followed Zorrik and Perrin to the training building. They quickly ran up the stairs and then busted through the locked rooftop door.

What they found were mostly Novices and caregivers, the Apothecary workers, and the Grand Assassin. A couple of Apprentices who'd found weapons in the armory hesitantly stepped forward. Ra'Jeem and Zorrik turned toward them and shook their heads.

"Don't," Ra'Jeem said. "You don't have to kill for them anymore."

The Apprentices looked at one another and stepped back as someone else came running by them.

"Ra'Jeem!" the small voice shouted.

The Disciple grinned and then knelt down to catch Jessameen in his arms. She hugged him tight, and he picked her up. Then he turned around to see Zorrik slowly walking toward the Grand Assassin, his blade drawn. He walked over to Perrin, intending to introduce him to the girl, but they were all too enthralled by the scene before them.

"You," Zorrik growled. "You sent the wave that killed my people."

"Zorrik," the Grand Assassin pleaded and fell to his knees. "I hadn't meant for it to be so devastating."

The Master Assassin was taken aback for a moment, expecting the old man to deny what he'd done. "Why?" he breathed.

"You know why. The Royal Family would do anything to protect their power."

Zorrik nodded. "I understand that now. That's why we're here."

"Please," the Grand Assassin said. "I tried to make it up to you."

Zorrik's lip curled, and suddenly a stream of water came flying over the city from the sea. He called it toward him, where it swirled around his arm, ready to strike wherever he directed it. But then, as suddenly as it had come, his anger dissipated. The water disappeared back into the sea, and Zorrik stepped over to the Grand Assassin, pulling him to his feet. He dragged the man to the edge of the building and pointed down to the fighting Zytherians.

"You make it up to them," Zorrik said. "Call for an end to the fighting. Tell the Royal Family that their reign is over."

The Grand Assassin looked at him in surprise, but then nodded in resignation. Then the two of them yelled down to the fighters in the streets. When it was quiet enough, they called for a truce, and then Zorrik accompanied the Grand Assassin to the castle. To their surprise, the Royal Family was gone. They found a set of tunnels, leading away from the Royal Palace, and they figured the family had run away as soon as the fighting started.

When the two of them left the castle, they saw that the people of the Imperial City were spilling into the Royal Palace. They didn't seem to be there to fight, though, and most of them had looks of curiosity on their faces. Zorrik left the Grand Assassin to his own devices and looked back to see him wandering in the crowd, like he understood that everything he knew was over. Then Zorrik went back to the rooftop. He called down to the crowd.

When he got their attention, he shouted, "The Royal Family is gone! They've abandoned you, just as they always have!"

Ra'Jeem stepped over to Zorrik's side, still holding Jessameen in his arms, and Perrin stepped over next to him. Ra'Jeem slipped his free arm around Zorrik's waist and nodded at him.

"You're your own people now, free to do what you want, to build a real government for all of us," Zorrik went on. Then he turned to his fellow Assassins. "We work for them now," he said, nodding toward the citizens. "We're here to protect everyone, not one family." Then he raised a fist, and the Assassins cheered.