An Assassin's Redemption: A New Adult Urban Fantasy Romance Novel

by Tanya Kennedy

  Cade started to search Brendan’s pockets but the other man struggled angrily. “I’m not going anywhere until we find them! Both of them!”

  Cade ducked Brendan’s fist and tried hard not to drag his friend to the floor. “All right, all right! Just stop already!”

  All three men tensed as the door to the landing burst open to reveal an older man covered in scars. His expression was almost bored as his cold hard eyes passed over each of them. “It must be sheer dumb luck that has kept you alive this far.”

  Brendan lifted a hand to point at the newcomer. “You were in the street. What did Eylsa call you?”

  He let the door slip shut behind him. “Wooster.”

  Darius stepped between the man and his friends, careful to not appear to be doing it. “We need to find our friends, Trey and Eylsa. Have you seen them?”

  “Your boy is likely dead. Tasha’s poison works fast.”

  Darius felt his heart clench as the world fell away at his feet. Trey, dead. He couldn’t be dead. He was too young, it was too senseless. His eyes caught on Cade with Brendan dangling at his side. The image of Trey crept into his mind, searing his heart again but he pushed it away for later. He couldn’t mourn one at the expense of the others.

  “And…” He swallowed hard. “Eylsa?”

  “She’ll be around. I am to take you back to the cache and you are to wait for her there.”

  Brendan jerked so suddenly that he slipped from Cade’s grip, toppling himself to the floor. “I’m not going anywhere! I will see Trey’s body before I will abandon him as dead!”

  Wooster’s eyebrow rose but the rest of his face remained an emotionless mask. “You will mourn your friend by following him to his demise? You are more foolish than I expected.”

  “How do you know us?”

  Wooster slipped past them and descended the stairs. “This is not the place for discussion. I was to lead you out to the cache.” He glanced up at them from the next landing. “It will be no fault of mine if you do not follow.”

  He disappeared down the next rise and Darius grabbed Brendan’s arm, lifting him. “Cade?”

  The younger man joined him. “You can’t be serious! We are not leaving them!”

  “Brendan, you can barely fight. I will not risk your life for a possibility!”

  Brendan’s body jerked with as much remaining strength as he could muster. “How can you just leave him? He could be dying!”

  The two men struggled to carry Brendan down the stairs and caught sight of Wooster as he waited at the ground level. His bored expression never changed as he faced Brendan’s raging snarl. Without a word, he tapped Brendan on the forehead with a resounding ting that bounced off the stairwell. Brendan’s body went liquid, eyes sliding shut as he hung limp in their arms.

  Darius pressed his eyes closed and pulled a strangled breath before nodding. Wooster slipped into the ruined first landing hallway. The walls creaked with abuse. Several men glanced their way but all eyes quickly fell to Wooster before finding something interesting in any other direction. He picked his way through the debris and litter without a glance behind to see if they followed.

  The fighting outside seemed to have moved elsewhere but a few people still worked to move the bodies inside. Wooster paid them no mind as he crossed to the warehouse.

  Eylsa sat upon a crate, her expression devoid of emotion despite the generous splattering of fresh blood. A slim younger man sat behind her with a cloth pressed to a particularly deep gash along her ribs. “What is wrong with Brendan?”

  Wooster crossed his arms. “He was being difficult.”

  “Not surprising.”

  Cade chewed his lip as he drew courage and a deep breath. “Is Trey really dead? I mean, did you see him?”

  Eylsa’s eyes closed with a wince as the young man smeared a sizzling salve along the wound. “Only if that Arna did him in.” She tested her shoulder before she opened her eyes. “Tasha will bother no one ever again.”

  Cade and Darius lowered Brendan to the floor. “Arna, what does Arna…”

  She glanced to the man at her back. “Thanks, Lestran.” Her eyes returned to them as she stood. “I treated his wound and sent him to your Tribunal. I think I set it to land him in that Keena’s office and she will regret it if my trust in her with that was misplaced.”

  She tensed as Darius pulled her into his arms.

  “I am glad to see you okay.” He pulled back and glanced down at Brendan still limp on the floor. “And so will he, if he ever wakes up.” He left an arm on her shoulder, reluctant to ask his next question. “So, what did we do here? Is it over? Are you safe?”

  She kneeled beside Brendan and inspected his shoulder. “Gregor will no longer bother us.”

  He swallowed and tried to steady himself. “And the Union?”

  She glanced at him a little too quickly. “They will think twice before challenging us.”

  Cade kneeled beside her. “Is he going to be all right?”

  She stood and dusted her hands on her hips. “I would hope he would be better than all right, but I doubt anything will dent that ridiculously stubborn head of his.” She nodded to Wooster and the young man as they left. “We should go. There is little more we could do here.”

  Darius nodded. “Are you all right?”

  She blinked up at him and her eyes brightened. “I am not overly harmed.”

  She set her homing device and kneeled beside Brendan before flashing away. Cade coughed a laugh. “I guess we are going to the Tribunal?”

  Darius shrugged as he reset his own device and waited for Cade before flashing to the front steps of the Tribunal.

  “Darius!”

  Aaranor rushed toward them from up the street, his arms laden with rolled maps, books, and papers jutting out at odd angles. “I never thought to see you alive again!”

  Darius eased some of Aaranor’s load as they headed up the stairs after Cade. “Apparently my reputation is not completely unfounded.”

  “There was an eruption this morning! I am still gathering intelligence. The Union appears to be at war; I’ve never seen anything like it! I’m not sure who gained enough nerve to take on the Union, but all accounts put the Rhennon in upheaval.”

  Several eyes swept toward them as they entered the lobby. Cade was already waiting beside the lift. It was empty when the door opened.

  “Aaranor, I think we will all have something of interest for you, but it will have to wait until we have found Trey.”

  The man blinked. “I thought the boy was with you?”

  Cade rushed from the elevator while Darius handed Aaranor back his research. “We will have some tea later, I promise.”

  Keena’s office was silent when they pushed the door open. Trey sat propped against the wall, his face haughty. Brendan was prone before the desk, eyes still closed. Eylsa glanced back at them over her shoulder from beside a wide-eyed Keena.

  Cade and Darius kneeled beside Trey. “Are you all right? What happened?”

  Trey’s expression became irritated as his eyes moved to Eylsa. “I was sent away. Apparently I was too pathetic to defeat some little girl who poisoned me.”

  Eylsa glared back at him. “Forgive me, the next time I am saving your life, I will be sure to step gently around your ego.” Keena’s mouth opened but snapped shut as Eylsa’s eyes jumped to her.

  Trey shook with mirth as he swept a hand at Brendan. “Can you wake him up now?” He watched for her to move toward the man before he smiled up at Darius. “You missed the fight over waking him, was rather impressive.”

  Cade glanced over at Eylsa as she kneeled beside Brendan. “Why wouldn’t you wake him up?”

  She laid her hands along his cheeks. “I didn’t have the energy to argue with him so I decided to wait for you to get here first.” With a tap to his forehead, she got back to her feet. His eyes shot open and his back arched off the floor alongside a gasp.

  Keena stood to move toward him but Eylsa tossed her back to the ch
air with a palm to her chest. Keena’s eyes flashed but she kept her seat. Brendan’s chest heaved as his gaze darted around the office. “What happened?”

  Trey smiled. “I believe you were deemed too difficult.”

  Brendan shook his head. “Lovely.”

  The door burst open, knocking Cade aside. Arna’s cold hawk-like eyes swept the room, drawing a deep sigh from both Brendan and Trey. She eyed Darius with a challenge. “More secrets and lies, I presume? I will not…” Her gaze fell on Eylsa, whose ferocious glare shifted between Arna and Keena. “I knew it! There will be no more hiding! Now I want the truth and I want it now!”

  Darius and Eylsa stepped forward as one but Brendan held up a hand, halting them both. Slowly, painfully, he struggled to his feet mirrored by Trey across the room. “You want the truth?”

  Arna nodded, puffing out her chest at the combined threat of both men.

  “The truth is, we all nearly died today.”

  Trey took a step forward. “The truth is, we’ve been right this entire time.”

  “The truth is we are both good workers and good men,” Brendan added.

  “And the biggest truth is, if you don’t start showing us a little respect…”

  “And ask for things nicely,” Brendan added, “we have absolutely no need to tell you anything.”

  Arna’s mouth worked unproductively. “You have no right…how dare you!”

  Trey waved at the door behind her. “Get out! No one here has any patience for you today!”

  They turned their backs on her, smiling at the pride that glinted on Eylsa’s face. Brendan’s eyes fell on Keena, who watched him with awe. Still feeling brazen and reckless, he stepped forward, cupped Eylsa’s face in his hands, and pulled her into a passionate kiss. Her bright smile bubbled his to the surface and the shocked disbelief on Keena’s face forced a laugh from his lips.

  He let his fingers tangle in the hair at the base of her neck. “So we are safe now?”

  She shrugged. “As safe as we can be for now.”

  Trey coughed. “For now?!”

  Her head lowered and eyes closed as she folded into his chest. “Whoever succeeds Gregor may challenge me.”

  Cade could feel his heart sink. “Why?”

  Brendan’s hand cupped her head. “Because she killed him.”

  “Because I should have succeeded him. Challenging me would show that they are stronger than he was.” Brendan folded her into his arms and tried to hold his mirth at Keena’s tight expression.

  Trey threw his hands up. “What exactly was that back there? Who were those people?”

  “We call it the creed. If a contract is breeched beyond reason, an assassin can call on her peers to send the master or employer a message. No allegiance is regarded, no grudges considered. If a member calls, you answer.”

  Darius snapped his fingers and waved for Keena to join him. “I believe we have quite enough to move on. We will compare what we have with Aaranor.” Darius pulled her from the office and shut the door behind them.

  Eylsa tangled her fingers in Brendan’s shirt. “What will they do?”

  Cade shrugged. “Try to take out as many as they can. Likely start with Mavrin and Ashlan. Maybe see if they can get some intelligence on the Rhennon.”

  “And me?”

  Trey laid a hand on her shoulder. “You stay with us.”

  Brendan smiled as he leaned his chin on the top of her head. “Where you belong.”

  * * *

  Mavrin sighed as he sank down into the mattress. He had barely escaped the castle when the Tribunal had raided it. Now he was holed up in one of the Trinity’s strongholds with no servants, no gilt. He hadn’t even been able to grab his trophies before he had fled. Ashlan’s nonstop whining had driven him to snap. His hand still ached from the strike. Losing his cushioned seat was an annoyance he wouldn’t soon forget. Darius would pay for his brazenness.

  He rolled onto his side; his eyes fell on the window flung wide beside the bed. His hand flew up to shield his eyes as a light flared to life then faded to silhouette someone standing at the foot of his bed.

  “Who are you?”

  They took a graceful step forward, the light haloing behind them. “Forgotten me so soon?”

  He inhaled. “Eylsa?”

  She continued around the bed and the light illuminated her face. “Very good.”

  He held out his hand. “You have returned to your master.”

  She swatted his hand away. “I will not be returning to your services, Mavrin.”

  His face twisted in rage. “How dare you! I own you!”

  She leaned forward and laid her hands on the bed, eyes boring into his. “Listen closely, hollow ruler. My placement here was to allow the Union access to your ranks. Luckily for you, I am no longer with them.”

  “The Union?”

  Her fingers snatched his face. “Hold your tongue! You have lost your throne, but your life can still be saved. If I ever hear a whiff of a rumor that you or any of your command have approached me or my friends, you will see firsthand the beast you unleashed on others!” She pulled his face closer to hers. “I have no designs on your life, but do not test me. I wish nothing but the freedom and life of those I care for.” She shoved him away and turned back to the window.

  He threw his blankets to the foot of the bed as she climbed on the sill.

  “They will never accept you, not as you are! You are one of us!”

  She glanced back over her shoulder. “Not anymore.”