Ruffians & Roughnecks: The Henchman
In the Ruffians & Roughnecks post series I’ve been taking a word that describes some variant of “bad guy”, e.g. ruffian or rogue, or alternatively a “rough diamond”, such as a roughneck, and matching it with a character from my novels.
As in the A Geography Of Haarth series, each entry is accompanied by a relevant passage, which could be drawn from one of the two Wall Of Night series novels currently published, or my Kids/YA standalone, Thornspell.
The definitions are taken from Merriam Webster Online, my current go-to dictionary when writing.
Today’s post is the penultimate entry for the series, which will end next week.
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Henchman: a trusted follower or supporter who performs unpleasant, wrong, or illegal tasks for a more powerful person
Or in this case, a henchwoman…
Rhike: A Swarm adept and saboteur
“A second figure came walking out of the wood and up the hill, long robes trailing and the hood pushed back to reveal a pale, high-boned face and shadowed eyes. The newcomer’s head was completely shaven except for one long hank of hair that was plaited from the crown and curved down the right side of the face.
A woman, Carick thought, although he could not have said why, since the bones of the face, the body beneath the long robes, and the hissing voice were all androgynous.
“Wielding your blade against our own goes beyond interference, Emuun. Shall we tell Aranraith you have turned traitor?”
“Do what you will, Adept.” The sinewy, shadowed voice was familiar from Carick’s earlier dream. “I told your spell-sister what would happen if you got in my way.”
The pale face contorted, then smoothed out as the mist crept around the woman and her shape began to fade. “And now she and others of our coterie are dead. We have held back out of respect for what you were and the one you serve. But the next time you thwart our work we will bring you down.”
~ from © The Gathering Of The Lost, The Wall of Night Book Two: Chapter 24 — Shadows In The Mist