by Ian Gregoire
Getting her first good look at the middle-aged woman, Kayden realised from the cream and beige garb she was wearing that this had to be the Jaymidari whom Reznik had gone to fetch. “You can call me Kayden,” she said. “And you must be Sister Lillian.”
“At your service.”
Kayden glanced around the saloon. She saw that the shattered window that had been smashed by the Saharbashi reaper stone was now boarded up, the front doors had a single wooden board nailed across them to keep the entrance closed, a displeased-looking Reznik was observing her from behind the serving counter, and inside her nearby barrier sphere, the two assassins, Sorsha and Lev, were sitting down looking subdued and resigned.
“How long was I unconscious?” she asked Sister Lillian.
“We arrived a little over an hour ago, and found you passed out in front of the counter,” the Sister answered.
“And somehow you have managed to double the number of captives you are holding in my inn,” Reznik interjected. “Oh, and by the way, you owe me money for the damage done to the window and the front doors,”
“Am I dying?” Kayden tried not to sound worried.
A warm smile curled Lillian’s lips as she replied, “You’re going to be fine.”
“You’ve already cured the blood poisoning?”
“Blood poisoning is perhaps a misnomer,” said Lillian. “Your condition was a case of your body overreacting to an infection. It was fighting the infection so aggressively that it was literally killing itself. You are fortunate Reznik brought me here to purge the infection; I’m not sure how much time you had left. This condition can kill very rapidly if not treated.”
The Sister’s words gave Kayden pause for thought. Was earning the respect of people she didn’t even care about, worth her life? She couldn’t recall off the top of her head how many times she’d almost been killed since arriving in Anzarmenia, but this occasion genuinely felt like a narrow escape. Never before had she felt so close to death. But she wasn’t afraid to die, and it was too late to entertain any notion of returning to Antaris. There was a price on her head. Whether her suspicion that Sister Zarina was responsible for that predicament was accurate or not didn’t matter. The Guild of Assassins would keep coming after her if she couldn’t find a way to force it to cancel the commission.
She slid off the table to see if see could stand on her own two feet.
“Take it easy,” said Sister Lillian, snaking an arm around Kayden’s waist. “You’re going to be feeling a little under the weather for a few hours. You probably won’t start to feel yourself until you get some sleep.”
“I can’t afford to take it easy, Sister,” Kayden insisted. “I need to get the Guild of Assassins off my back.”
“Reznik mentioned your contention that your captives are members of the Guild of Assassins. However, I would caution you against believing their claims. The Sisterhood has never found any evidence that this organisation really exists.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” said Kayden with no sincerity, “because I have reason to believe it was a member of the Sisterhood—specifically someone from your seminary—who commissioned the Guild to kill me.”
“That’s preposterous!” Lillian couldn’t have looked any more affronted by the accusation. “None of my Sisters would ever do such a thing.”
“What about Sister Zarina?” Kayden countered. “I don’t recall her family name at the moment, but I met her two days ago in Sevdanor, and in the short time I was with her she murdered the provincial governor.”
“Zarina?” muttered Sister Lillian. The expression on her face suggested she hadn’t heard the name for a while. “Former Sister, Zarina, abandoned her calling over a year ago. She left the Sisterhood to join the cult of Yosarian. If she murdered someone, as you claim, then she did it on behalf of the cult.”
It was impossible to miss the disgust and contempt in which the words were uttered, but Kayden was more concerned by the revelation that Sister Zarina was a follower of Josario the whole time. Was it simply a coincidence that their paths had crossed in Sevdanor? And if it really was Zarina who hired the Guild of Assassins, did she do it because she feared being exposed as the murderer of Governor Baldassian, or was it done on behalf of her new master, Josario? If it was the latter, it would almost certainly mean the cult leader was aware of Kayden’s manhunt. But there was no point worrying about that possibility for the time being.
“You may be right to be worried,” said Lillian, intruding upon Kayden’s thoughts. “For quite some time I’ve had concerns that the cult of Yosarian has not only been luring weak Jaymidari into its ranks, but also infiltrating our seminaries here in Anzarmenia with spies and saboteurs. If Zarina is out there masquerading as a Sister still, it gives credence to my fears.” She removed her arm from around Kayden’s waist, having finally realised her patient was able to stand unassisted. With a sigh, she added, “Sadly, whenever I have raised the issue with our leadership I’ve been told that the situation here in Anzarmenia will resolve itself soon enough.”
“Sister Lillian, I’m beginning to think your suspicions are justified,” said Kayden. “However, you won’t have to worry about Josario, I mean Yosarian’s cult, for much longer. They are living on borrowed time.” She stepped away from the Sister, and strolled towards her still intact barrier sphere, prompting Lillian to follow.
Inside the translucent bubble, Sorsha and Lev remained seated on the floor, back-to-back, looking disinterested as Kayden halted just outside the radius of the barrier sphere. She kicked the impenetrable bubble to gain their attention. “Stand up, both of you,” she demanded. They obeyed the command, albeit slowly, and stood up to face her. “I’m only going to say this once so listen carefully. I have never knowingly killed anyone before, at least not a real person, but I promise you I will kill you both, right here, right now, if you refuse to help me persuade the Guild of Assassins to abandon the commission to kill me.” As the words came out of her mouth, Kayden was undecided as to whether she was bluffing or not.
“Save your breath,” said Sorsha wearily. “Once a commission has been accepted it will not and cannot be abandoned. It doesn’t matter what deal you offer, or what threats you make. Go ahead and kill us, it makes no difference. You are going to die horribly.”
I am so sick and tired of doing things the hard way, thought Kayden. Lips pursed, she pounded the barrier sphere once with her fist. “Well there will be consequences for that, bitch!” she snapped. “It doesn’t matter how secret or anonymous your organisation is. The Order will find you, and there’ll be no hiding place for any of you.”
There was an immediate and noticeable change of expression on the faces of the two assassins. It was clear they were both perturbed by the mention of the Order.
“What does the Order have to do with this?” Lev asked nervously.
“My master is Fay Annis, the most powerful Sanatsai in the world, and if I am murdered by the Guild of Assassins she will avenge my death.”
Sorsha and Lev exchanged horrified glances.
You have got to be kidding me, thought Kayden. Even hired killers hundreds of miles outside the Nine Kingdoms know who Fay is? Her annoyance that she seemingly couldn’t escape Fay’s shadow, even in southern Anzarmenia, was tempered by recognition that an opportunity was perhaps presenting itself to her. Both the Sanatsai and the Saharbashi assassins were obviously fearful of the ramifications of gaining the unwanted attention of the Order, and Fay Annis in particular.
“The Guild of Assassins cannot officially abandon a commission,” said Lev, “but I have a proposal that could serve all our needs, while heading off the possibility of a confrontation with the Order.”
“I’m listening,” said Kayden.
“If you leave Nagornorak first thing in the morning, Sorsha and I will bear witness to having killed you tonight.”
“What are you saying?” Sorsha interjected. “If we cannot present a body we’ll have to submit to having our memories examined
, in order to confirm the kill.”
“Hear me out,” said Lev. “If we recover a recently buried corpse from a cemetery, we can stage a killing that devastates the body, leaving it unidentifiable. As long as we do it right no one will ever be the wiser.”
Sorsha didn’t look entirely convinced. “If we get away with it, how can I be certain you won’t try to hold the deception over me?”
“I cannot expose you without exposing myself also.”
The pair stared at each other, presumably trying to decide if they could trust one another. Kayden observed them both, wondering if she could trust either of them. Ultimately she would have no option but to accept the assassins at their word, but if the pair couldn’t agree to go through with the proposal she was more than willing to strike a deal with just one of them.
“If the two of you are having difficulty deciding whether you can keep each other’s secret,” she interjected, “let me share with you an old proverb from the Nine Kingdoms: Two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.” She raised her eyebrows at the pair; her meaning was obvious.
Sorsha and Lev stared sideways at each other, and for the briefest of moments Kayden thought that one might try to kill the other. The moment passed without incident. Both the Sanatsai and the Saharbashi eventually agreed to implementing Lev’s proposal, and promised to never hold the secret over each other. Despite her own reservations, and the protestations of Sister Lillian at her side, Kayden released the assassins from the confinement of her barrier sphere. The agreement reached by the involved parties was jeopardised almost immediately when Sorsha demanded that Kayden unbind her Zarantar. Kayden refused, telling her that she would have to return to her former seminary, and hope the Sisters there would oblige the request. She took a certain degree of pleasure in telling Sorsha to consider it punishment for having stabbed her behind the Anzarmenian temple.
With no other option but to accept, Sorsha grudgingly followed Lev’s lead towards the exit. Much to Reznik’s annoyance the wooden board nailed across the damaged front doors was torn away by Lev’s Zarantar, and fell to the floor, allowing the pair to depart the Three Crows Inn.
“Pray we never see each other again, princess,” said Sorsha over her shoulder before stepping out into the rainy night.
As Reznik fussed over the front doors of the inn, Sister Lillian took Kayden to one side, out of earshot to remonstrate with her. “If you are truly an apprentice of the Order,” she said, “how could you just let those two go? Surely, you were taught that all Saharbashi are to be killed on sight? And even if that isn’t the case, you had captured living proof of the existence of the Guild of Assassins. You should have turned them over to the custody of the City Guard.”
“The Order has no jurisdiction outside the Nine Kingdoms,” Kayden countered. “I can’t go around killing any Saharbashi I might encounter, especially not here in Anzarmenia where it is against the law. Besides, I had no option but to strike a deal with them. I have a mission to complete, and I can’t do it while trying to evade the attention of assassins travelling far and wide to collect the bounty on my head.”
“What mission?” said Lillian. “Since when does the Order send apprentices on missions?” She looked confused.
Kayden was silent for a moment. “I’m not supposed to divulge that information,” she said finally. “However, you’ll be pleased to know that next week the Order will carry out a mission to eliminate the cult of Yosarian.”
“And where do you fit into it?”
“I’m going to assassinate the man they call Master Yosarian.” Kayden was even more surprised than Sister Lillian by the statement. She couldn’t say for certain when the decision was made, but after everything she had endured since crossing the border into Anzarmenia she was done with doing things the hard way. Her original plan to capture Josario alive, then deliver him to the authorities in the Shintanese capital, was a fool’s errand. Why she hadn’t seen that from the start, she couldn’t say, but now it was clear that killing the man who wanted her dead was the simpler course of action. And she could still bring his severed head back to the Nine Kingdoms as proof of her accomplishment.
The silence between Kayden and Lillian lengthened as the Sister scrutinised the apprentice. Kayden wondered if she should be offended by the scepticism on the face of her elder counterpart.
“Surely you aren’t being sent alone?” said Sister Lillian. “How do you expect to get close enough to Yosarian to kill him? As soon as you enter the woodlands where the cult has established its communes, you will be intercepted by his followers who will turn you back, or kill you.”
“Yes, I’m going alone, and I don’t anticipate having too much trouble gaining access to my target. I know Master Yosarian’s true identity, and I know how to use it against him. Once I have gained his trust… he is a dead man.”
There was little left to be said after that. Kayden warned the Jaymidari against sharing what she now knew with any of the other Sisters at her seminary, nor should she contact the Council in Temis Rulan for confirmation. Given the possible infiltration of the Sisterhood, there was a risk of alerting the cult of Yosarian to the threat it faced before Kayden and the Order could move against them.
“When do you plan to leave?” asked Sister Lillian.
“I will leave Nagornorak at first light,” replied Kayden. “If all goes well I will have infiltrated the cult before nightfall.”
“I regret I won’t be able to see you off,” Lillian lamented. “But I will be hoping for your success. It’s long past time for this nefarious cult to be dealt with once and for all.”
The two women exchanged farewells, and Kayden thanked her Jaymidari counterpart for saving her life. Lillian then departed the inn, and much to Reznik’s relief she did so by passing through the front doors like an apparition so he didn’t have to remove the wooden board he’d finished nailing back into place to keep the damaged doors closed. Before heading up to her room, Kayden decided to placate the unhappy innkeeper by creating a barrier shield across the entrance. He seemed pleased when she assured him it would remain in place all night even while she was asleep. Bidding him goodnight, she ascended the stairs, eager to reach her bed and get some much-needed rest before resuming her manhunt in the morning.
The early morning sun hung low in the clear sky over Anzarmenia. Fay’s mind was preoccupied as she rode Shadow at a canter across the damp trail leading southward towards Nagornorak. Since departing the Anzarmenian capital at dawn, she’d been forced to think about the prospect of encountering her former mentor for the first time in over seven decades. With a five-day journey ahead of her, Fay had reluctantly accepted there was no chance she would apprehend Kayden before the apprentice tracked down Master Yosarian, so a face-to-face reunion with the man known as the Usurper King seemed inevitable.
For as long as possible she’d been trying to convince herself that Master Yosarian was a separate person from Josario Sandolari, but she could no longer maintain the self-deception. The two identities belonged to the same person: the man she had once looked up to as a father figure; the tyrant who had moulded her into a ruthless killer.
Thinking about her infamous past caused Fay to question how she would react to being in the company of her erstwhile master again. Once upon a time Josario had such a hold on her that she would have done anything for him. Though she wasn’t the same person she had been before and during the Great War, she couldn’t help but wonder if she could bring herself to kill him. Certainly, if it was the only way to save Kayden’s life she would do it without hesitation, but she couldn’t think of another scenario in which it would be quite as easy an action to take. Finally, she fully understood Ari’s concerns about her participation in the upcoming mission against the Anzarmenian cult.
Fay tried to shift her thoughts to other matters. All that came to mind was Kayden’s present whereabouts. During the night, her sleep had been troubled a couple of times by the unshakeable feeling that Kayden’s life was sli
pping away, but on both occasions the worrying sensation was relatively short-lived. Come the morning, as she prepared to leave Nerezan, she had cast out her senses southward and was relieved to detect Kayden’s presence, moving slowly in a southwesterly direction. It wouldn’t be much longer before the apprentice came into contact with the cult of Yosarian, but fortunately there was almost no chance that Josario would assume her to be the black-clad figure from his dreams. By now he would have already received word from his spy, Sister Nemiri, informing him of the black-clad intruder who had attacked the royal palace in the capital. That news would buy Kayden some time when her attempt to capture Josario failed, while the novelty of a Zarantar-wielding Vaidasovian would intrigue Josario so much he wouldn’t be able to resist trying to recruit Kayden to his cause, giving Fay more time to reach them.
It wasn’t the best-case scenario, but it wasn’t the worst-case scenario either. How things would eventually work out was impossible to know—there were too many variables to account for—but Fay couldn’t help but worry about the situation she was heading towards. If only I had trusted Kayden with the truth, she thought, none of this would be happening.
“All right, girl,” she said to Shadow, “are you ready to stretch those legs and pick up the pace for a while?”
She kicked her heels into the grey mare’s flanks, urging her into a gallop. All Fay could do now was make her way to southern Anzarmenia as swiftly as possible. It was up to Kayden keep herself alive until then.
It was close to midday by Kayden’s estimation, so she and Onyx had been wandering for at least five hours. They continued to head in a southwesterly direction across open country, and finally the sun had burned through the grey clouds that had brought so much rain overnight. Upon departing Nagornorak after the sun had risen, Kayden had consciously made the decision to eschew the main road leading southwest out of the city since she doubted Josario’s cult would have established communes in locations that could be reached via trails routinely traversed by numerous people. From the information she had gathered in Nagoronorak, the cult was based in woodlands southwest of of the city. She just hoped that wasn’t a reference to the vast forest wilderness that served as a buffer between Anzarmenia and the lands of central Karlandria. It would take days to get there, and the odds of finding people who didn’t want to be found would likely be insurmountable.
