Five thousand years ago a great rock fell from the skies into the oceans of Earth. Waves fifty stories high crashed down on the shores of civilization, destroying the world men had made. From the ashes of destruction, New Earth arose…a brutal, hostile land…Shadowlands



Assassins After Dark

By

Mark James

i.

The banging on the door worked its way into Haken’s head like a rotten, throbbing tooth.

“Alright!” he bawled out, throwing back the matted, filthy furs he slept in.

Where the hell was the bitch?

“The World ain’t ending is it?” he said, drawing on his trousers.

The banging got louder, like maybe the man on the other side had decided to dance on the door.

“You fucking better have a Gods-cursed good reason for - ”, Haken said, yanking the door open. The words died on his lips when he saw Diogo and Valak.

“Bright morning to you,” Diogo said, smiling cheerily and walking past Haken.

The assassin was tall and powerfully built, with swarthy skin that looked permanently tanned. His dark eyes fell heavily on Haken. Valak followed close behind Diogo, tall, silent and deadly. His black eyes scanned the darkness.

“Find the bitch,” Diogo said to Valak.

“Right,” the other man said, disappearing into the darkness beyond the tiny room.

Diogo sat on a chair, tilted it back on two legs and put his black boots up on a rickety wooden table. He looked Haken up and down, a tall thick man whose bloated belly showed the ale he packed away nearly every night. His sleep bleary eyes were squeezed down to tiny points in the bright morning sunlight streaming in from outside. His scent filled the small room, stale liquor, piss and a nearly overpowering odor of sweat. Great oily drops rolled down the sides of his face as he stood looking at Diogo.

There was a thud in the other room, followed by a small, yipping cry, then Valak’s low, grating voice saying, “No you don’t, bitch.”

Haken stood perfectly still as if to say, you’re not here. This is a nightmare and soon I’ll wake up and take a piss. You’re nothing but a full, aching bladder, mister.

“Your payment’s late,” Diogo said, looking at the sack of shit in front of him.

“I been meaning to come by,” Haken said. He licked his dry lips