My sense of peace disappears the minute I enter the lounge room, where the air is tense. I find Parker looking less than happy, a deep frown on her face, her arms folded over her chest. She’s dressed but her hair is mussed up. She perches on the edge of the couch as if she would rather be standing. Or possibly shouting.
Cain sits opposite, leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped. He looks relaxed, but the tension around his mouth and eyes tell a different story.
I’m pretty sure they had a whole conversation while I was in the shower that must have involved the truths that Cain has been concealing from Parker ever since he met her.
Parker holds out her hand for me as soon as she sees me, drawing me onto the couch to sit beside her. Her fingertips close tightly around mine, unexpectedly protective. “So Grace is stuck here, surrounded by a bunch of vicious assassins—for whom you’re apparently the big boss—and I’m supposed to be okay with abandoning her.”
“It’s the best option.”
“For whom? You didn’t see what they tried to do to her yesterday. I did!”
“That won’t happen again.”
Parker shakes her head at him vehemently. Her hand tightens around mine. “Grace is the only reason I’m in one piece today. She can’t stay here with these people. And neither should you, Cain.”
Cain contemplates the carpet, his lips pressed together. He finally raises his eyes to hers. “This is where I belong. These are my people.”
Her face falls. The way she blinks rapidly, biting her lip, tells me how upset she is. Close to tears. “I don’t buy that for a second. I know you, Cain. This is not you.”
Cain is still calm. Never angry. “You don’t know me as well as you think you do, Parker.”
She sucks in a sharp breath. “And you don’t know Grace. Not at all. But you’ve dragged her here, the same as me, because neither of us has anywhere else to go. Now you get to decide what happens to us.” She swallows, tears dripping down her cheeks. “That’s not fair.”
He nods. “It’s not.”
“And you’re right. You kill people. I don’t know you at all.”
I stare at Parker’s hand on mine. She wouldn’t be so protective if she knew who I was and what I’ve done.
I whisper, “I have, too.”
The first sign of alarm flashes across Cain’s face. “Grace, no. You don’t have to…”
I turn to Parker, meeting her shocked eyes. “I deserve what I get. This place is filled with killers and now it has an extra one.”
She stutters, “I … no … you protected me…”
“Because you deserve better. Please don’t be angry at Cain on my behalf. I’ve never known a different life. But you … you have the sweetest soul I have ever met. You deserve amazing things.”
Despite what I said, she hasn’t let go of my hand. She asks, “That guy yesterday?”
“An assassin,” I say. “He’s coming after me. If he finds me, I’m dead. Apparently he can’t set foot inside this place, so this is where I have to remain.”
She finally pulls her hand away from mine.
I let her go, a widening hole in my heart.
She says, “I think I’ll wait in my room until Sarah gets here.”
Cain stands up when she leaves, but he doesn’t try to stop her.
He clears his throat in the silence that surrounds us. “Grace, you should eat.”
He gestures to the kitchen table, where a blueberry muffin rests on a plate with a bowl of fruit and a chocolate-sprinkled coffee beside it. Along with toast.
He got me the breakfast of my dreams. And now … I don’t know how I’ll eat it. How I’ll eat anything. I say, “Thank you” even though it sounds hollow in my ears.
He is subdued as he sits with me, not even a glimmer of a smile. There’s a visible weight across his shoulders. “You’re welcome.”
Halfway through the meal, his assassin’s ring gleams. He suddenly pushes back his seat, strides to the door, and opens it to reveal Sarah standing outside.
She raises her eyebrows in a questioning look. “Parker?”
He shakes his head. “It didn’t go well.”
She doesn’t look surprised. “It’s impossible for her to feel safe here. I’ll check over Grace and then get Parker to the apartment. It will help once she’s back in a normal routine with a normal environment.” As she makes her way inside, she adds, “The apartment is beautiful, Cain. Thank you.”
Cain stays out of the way as Sarah pulls up a chair in front of me. “How are you feeling, Grace?”
“I’m fine. Just feeling…” I glance at Cain. The hole in my heart is a nasty, dark pit. Having Parker around was like having a normal relationship for the very first time. Now it’s gone. I swallow the emotions. “I’m fine.”
She frowns as she looks over my chin. “Your skin has knitted already. Normally, I would leave the stiches in for a few days, but I should take them out now or you’re more likely to scar.”
Cain leans forward. “Already?”
I retain a blank expression. “I’ve always healed fast.”
Sarah says, “Okay, well … I’ve seen stranger things. Let’s get the stitches out.”
She leads me to Cain’s bedroom, giving Cain a small smile before she firmly closes the door.
Then she says, “I’m not sure how far sound travels in this place and Parker doesn’t need to hear our conversation.”
She opens her bag and pulls out multiple sterilized packets of implements. “You did well to fend off Brenna yesterday. Cain told me you have skills, but beating her is impressive.”
I don’t feel even remotely proud right now. “What is Brenna’s position here?”
Sarah’s lips thin as she sets to work. “She is Cain’s second in command.”
“Wait … that means she’s in charge?”
“When he’s not around. Which has been for months now. The power has gone to her head.”
“Please tell me he didn’t choose her?”
“I’m afraid he did.” Sarah gives me a wry smile. “It’s a case of keep your enemies close.”
I sigh. “I see.”
I lie still while Sarah works over me. She explains, “A new Master is chosen every twenty years. Brenna wanted to be the first female Master, but Cain’s final mission blew her out of contention. He completed five kills in one night. It was a record in the assassin’s world.”
I decide not to mention the fact that I’ve killed more thugs in a night than that. The night Dad died, to be exact. I shake off the memory, the pain, the battle, my loyalty to him stopping me from running when I should have. After that, I didn’t stop running.
As Sarah finishes up, I ask, “There’s never been a female Master?”
“Not of a Faction. But there have been several formidable female assassins in our history. One lived in Boston as a matter of fact. They called her the Glass Fox.”
I force myself to remain relaxed. “What happened to her?”
“Nobody knows how she died. But it must have been foul play, because she was a truly powerful assassin. She only relinquished her chance to be Master of the Legion because she became pregnant with a daughter she needed to protect.”
I chew my lip. What Sarah said confirms what I haven’t wanted to acknowledge: my father was mixed up in the world of assassins, and his fiercest protector, who died hours before him, was the only reason he remained alive. She handed him the keys to the underworld and annihilated his competition.
But why would she ally herself with him? I don’t understand what a woman that powerful could gain from helping a man like my father. Sure, he was my Dad, but he was a brute, a thug no better than the ones she killed for him.
I also didn’t know she had a daughter. It means that somewhere out there is a woman who lost her mother the same night I lost Dad.
Sarah says, “Technically, Cain isn’t Master yet. He’s currently the Heir Apparent. Now that he has returned from Boston, he has to stay
here permanently. He will be formally recognized in a week. It’s going to be hard for him to care for Parker after that.”
“I’m glad she has you.”
Sarah gives me a genuine smile. “Those two have got their hooks into my heart, that’s for sure.”
“I assume you’re an assassin, too?”
Her smile grows. “Of course. But these days I save lives, not take them. I’ve been the head physician at the Horde for many years, but I’ll pass my title on in a week. It’s my job to look after Parker now.”
Sarah pats my shoulder before she rises, opens the door, and heads back to the kitchen. I stay where I am, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. I want to say goodbye to Parker, but it’s better if I stay out of the way.
I perch on the side of the bed, waiting long moments until I hear the door open and close again. I exhale, trying to focus on what’s ahead of me now. Staying here. Living in this place. Until it’s safe for me to leave.
Cain appears in the doorway. “You didn’t have to tell Parker the truth.”
“Yes, I did. I can’t lie to her. Just like I can’t lie to you.”
He doesn’t ask me why. There are a lot of things he doesn’t ask me.
I continue, “There’s an immediate threat to my life, which means I need to stay in this place. But I won’t stay here forever, Cain. I can’t.”
For once he doesn’t give me his usual “hmm.”
“I know. It’s just for now.” He is quiet. Then he exhales. “I need to get changed. Then I’d like to show you the Realm.”
10
Cain reappears dressed in his own version of khaki uniform: cargo pants and a t-shirt that stretches across his muscled chest and biceps. Four daggers disappear into various pockets around his person, each one etched with a symbol that looks like two C’s back to back. I guess, like Slade, Cain gets his own daggers. The one I took from Lutz Logan is hidden in the bottom of my bag, and I intend to leave it there until I figure out a way to get rid of it.
We head outside the cathedral and Cain shows me the Realm’s layout and the quarters where the other assassins live. He explains that only a small portion of the Horde’s assassins live here—mostly only the trainees and teachers. And him. He tells me that after he is officially the Master, he can come and go, but the Realm becomes his home. He also explains that the former Master already lives outside of the Realm to allow Cain to establish control. The way he describes the previous Master tells me that Cain respects him.
He says, “I chose this life before I knew about Parker. Even if I could go back in time…” He shakes his head. “I can’t deny who I am.”
He takes me around the combat rooms, each purposed for different training. I let out a wry laugh at the elongated room for indoor archery.
“I tried archery once, but it didn’t go so well. You’d think I’d be good at it, wouldn’t you?”
He gives me a sharp look. “You aren’t your name, Archer.”
It’s the first time he’s called me that since we arrived. The way he says it … it doesn’t sound so bad.
After that, I follow Cain to the sparring, room where the trainees—the “Novices”—grapple with each other as they learn everything from wrestling to kickboxing.
Cain says, “The Horde’s intake is later than the other Factions, so these Novices still have two months left in their training.”
I recognize the group from yesterday—except for one woman. She is much smaller than the others, thin with lank hair and dark circles under her eyes. The trainee she wrestles is twice her size and has no problem annihilating the hell out of her.
As soon as they see Cain, the trainees stop what they’re doing and stand to attention, arms spread out at their sides, fingers splayed.
“Master,” they chime together.
He waves them back to what they were doing.
I murmur to Cain, “Why do they greet you like that?”
“To show they don’t carry weapons against me. Each Faction has different traditions. The Legion bows to their Master but they never take their eyes off each other.”
I was expecting a frosty reception from the trainees, a repeat of the aggression they showed me yesterday, but their faces are drawn, their shoulders down.
I say, “They look tired.”
“I sent them to volunteer in a soup kitchen to serve those in need. They’ve been awake since four o’clock this morning. They will serve again tomorrow. One way or another, I will teach them compassion.”
My eyebrows rise. “Assassins who value compassion?”
“You probably think of us as cold-blooded killers for hire, but we never act unless the justice system has failed. Even then, every assassination must be sanctioned by the Guardian. She is our gatekeeper. She never sanctions a mission unless it’s justified. Our clients are heartbroken people who have nowhere else to turn. But … I won’t deny that this place attracts those whose blood runs cold. Otherwise, we couldn’t do what we do.”
I soften my voice. “What about you, Cain?”
His gaze becomes distant. “There’s darkness in me, Grace. Make no mistake. That’s all you need to know.”
When he doesn’t elaborate, I have to accept that it’s the only answer he is willing to give me.
I point to the small woman who wasn’t with the group yesterday. When her sparring partner flips her onto her back, she winces, rolls over, and gets up again, facing off with him, her expression resigned.
I ask, “Who is that?”
Cain takes a moment to consider her, a frown growing on his forehead. “That’s Juliet. She excels at poisons. Otherwise she would have been sent home a long time ago.”
Cold anger floods me. “Just because a woman is little doesn’t mean it’s okay to push her around. Her inability to defend herself is a failing on the part of her teacher, not her.”
“I agree with you, Grace. But this life isn’t suited to everyone…”
I choose to hear the first thing he said and not the second. If I were to look deeper into my motivations, I’d have to recognize that I’m still stinging about what happened with Parker, but right now I’m throwing caution to the wind. “Since you agree with me, I’m going to do something about it.”
Without waiting for his okay, I stride onto the floor, headed for the girl.
The trainees around me immediately scramble out of the way, jumping to their feet and standing to attention as fast as they can.
They shout, “Mistress on the floor!”
Mistress, huh?
I head straight to the big guy. He was the one who asked Brenna if she needed help yesterday. He was also the one who kneed me in the back. He might have spent his morning helping others, but arrogance burns behind his insolent expression as he eyes my approach.
I stop and level my gaze with him. He is tall, but not as much as Cain, which means that I’m at eye-height with him.
I ask, “How’s your leg, Novice?”
I had swept his standing leg out from under him. I’m sure he has a nasty bruise on his calf today.
His jaw clenches. “Fine, Mistress.”
“Then get out of my way.” I glare at him a moment longer: You are not worth my time.
He steps aside to reveal Juliet struggling to get to her feet. Up close I can see that she’s bruised everywhere—her arms, legs, neck, cheekbone, chin. On top of that, her lip is split, and I can only imagine how her ribs are faring.
I would hold out my hand for her, but any pressure will hurt her right now. “Come with me please, Juliet. I will train you from now on.”
An outraged gasp draws my attention. Brenna pulls herself off the wall. Until now she has stayed in the background, her arms folded tightly across her chest.
She says, “I don’t think so.”
I stand my ground. “Show me one technique you’ve taught this woman.”
Brenna glances at Juliet. She takes a little too long to reply. I guess she’s coming up blank.
“Or have you not bothered because of her physique?” My blood is boiling. “Because small women will never be able to defend themselves against giant brutes, will they?”
She scowls. “You have no right to take over my training room.”
I shoot back. “I will not interfere with your teaching since you aren’t training this woman at all. In fact, I’m doing you a favor. She is one less body to worry about.”
“Fine! Take her away. She’s useless anyway.”
I spin to Juliet, lowering my voice. “Come with me, please.”
Juliet shoots wide eyes between me and Brenna. She doesn’t know me, but I hope she heard about what happened yesterday, including the part where I kicked Brenna’s butt. She gives me a nod and follows me to the door.
I pause beside Cain, challenging him to stop me.
He wears a faint smile. He looks almost … impressed.
The appreciation in his eyes warms me a little more than I’m used to. I clear my throat, remaining frosty. “If I have to stay, then I need something to do.”
His smile grows. “I won’t stop you.” But it fades when he says to Juliet, “Halt, Novice.”
She pulls up sharp and plasters her gaze to the floor.
He places a light finger under her chin so he can examine her face without hurting her. “When did this start?”
Her voice is surprisingly melodious, a sweet wash of sound that makes me look closer. Under the dirt, her hair is light brown with a touch of auburn, and her eyes are a deep blue with silver flecks. She could be gorgeous under all those bruises.
She says, “Right after you left for Boston, Master.”
I jump in to the conversation with a growl at Cain. “Just as well. If I thought this was happening under your watch, Cain Carter, I would…”
I want to tell him that he would answer to me, but actually, there’s not a lot I could do except glare daggers at him the same way Brenna is glaring at me.
He gives me a broad smile, one that makes my stomach flutter. “You’d what, woman? Make me sleep on the couch?”
Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels Page 49
