Free The King's Ring (The Netherworld Gate Book 2) by Sam Ferguson

better now, though the blisters on his side would still be healing for weeks to come.
    When the three of them had come out to the docks to inspect the area where she had last sensed the beast, they had found a body floating in the water. It was being thrashed about by some small sharks, slamming into the pillars beneath the dock. Wrestling the corpse away from the trio of nurse sharks had been an interesting ordeal, but once they eventually got the mangled body onto the wooden docks it took a moment to look beyond the damage done by the sharks to notice the cause of death. The naked elf was missing his left hand, bitten off at the wrist, his right arm from below the shoulder, and his right ankle. A couple of hunks had been taken from his side as well. Despite the damage, Kai and Seldaric both saw the tell-tale stab wound in the elf’s chest. Flipping the body over, they saw the stab was a clean through and through strike.
    Liloriel had gone to relay the information to another local guard, who could in turn notify the elf’s family and arrange for burial services. Seldaric had offered to go, as he knew the guards better, but Liloriel had said that she still needed to gather the crew as she had spent the night tending to Kai’s wounds.
    It was obvious to Kai and Seldaric that the assassin had murdered the naked elf while stealing a ship, though neither was quite certain why the elf was naked. Seldaric had draped the corpse with an old sail that had been left out near the warehouse for repairs due to a large tear in the cloth. Then, they waited for Liloriel to return as they sat upon an old, weathered bench on the pier.
    The two listened to the quiet sounds of the surf and the creaking of the nearby vessels as they slowly drifted to the ends of their tethers and back again. The empty dock and unattended series of longboats and sailboats bobbing up and down gently in the morning waves made for a quiet picture that stood in stark contrast to the intensity of the previous night. Usually there would be a bustling of sailors and merchants resupplying their vessels and taking off into the waters, but that was not the case today. Most of the city was busy with rebuilding efforts, repairing and cleaning the damage done the night before by the old drow.
    The sun had risen three spans above the eastern horizon and shed its reddish tint by the time Liloriel arrived. Her long, silver hair swayed in the morning breeze, and her lips formed a straight line across her face. Behind her were seven more elves. Three of them made their way to a forty foot schooner off the east side of the docks while the other four grabbed the wrapped corpse and carried it away. Kai and Seldaric rose from the bench they had been resting on and walked the few paces necessary to close the distance.
    “He has slain the beast,” Liloriel said as she looked to the waters where they had found the body. “Last night I thought I sensed the beast, but in fact I was detecting the assassin. The murderer carries something from the beast, perhaps a tooth or a claw.”
    “Are you certain?” Kai asked.
    Seldaric shot the man that same disapproving look, but Liloriel held up her hand and replied directly to Kai.
    “The night when the assassin approached the Scholar’s Tower, I sensed something similar. I did not think much of it at the time, for the beast has often come near to the tower. However, I felt it much stronger just before I discovered the intruder. Afterwards, I thought that perhaps I had sensed the beast because it had been stalking the assassin, or maybe that it was scavenging the bodies of the guards left behind in the evil human’s wake, but now I realize I was mistaken. When we found the body this morning, I could feel traces of the beast’s energy. Obviously the large cat would not be able to take a vessel out to sea, so I went and meditated upon what I was feeling. I know it was the human.”
    “Can you track him?” Kai pressed.
    Liloriel shook her