Assassin's Heart

by Sarah Ahiers

  “What?” He lurched to his feet.

  “Les . . .” I rubbed my cheek. “He was worried about you. And I was worried about you, too. He just . . . we didn’t want to see you getting hurt. More hurt.”

  After a moment Les’s anger faded. “I know you were trying to look out for me, but I don’t need you to.”

  “It seemed the only way at the time.”

  “The only way to what?” He sat down again.

  I pulled out the key Marcello had given me before I’d stashed it with my weapons. “To get the Da Vias’ Family home location. He only told me when I said I’d leave you alone.”

  Les watched me until I started to shift under his scrutiny. Finally he exhaled. “We can still follow your plan. Just because the Da Vias are here, it doesn’t mean we can’t destroy their home. It might make it easier, actually, with some of them here.”

  I paused. Val was here. And Nik and Grape Leaves. I knew how Nik and Val fought, and they were formidable. Presumably, Grape Leaves was, too. Three competent clippers not guarding their home. But both Grape Leaves and Val had left in a hurry. I figured Grape Leaves had gone to tell someone I wasn’t Rafeo. But what had set Val off?

  “Lea?” Les asked, but I waved him away. I’d missed something, something important. Val had left too quickly when he’d come to bail me out. Something had become more important to him than me.

  His Family, obviously. He’d made it clear he’d choose his Family over me. But what exactly had changed? I sifted through our conversation.

  He’d been angry about the murder charge, angry that I’d left Lovero . . .

  I gasped and squeezed Les’s arm.

  “Lea, what is it?”

  “They know.” My limbs grew heavy, and I closed my eyes. “The Da Vias know about Marcello. They know he’s here, hiding in the city. And they’ll find him.”

  UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE

  HarperCollins Publishers

  ..................................................................

  thirty-three

  MARCELLO HAD STAYED HIDDEN FOR YEARS, AND I’D led the Da Vias to him.

  At my words, only my grip on Les’s wrist stopped him from running home.

  “What are you doing?” He pulled his hood over his head. “We have to go! They could have him already!”

  “No, we have to be smart.” I tugged on his wrist, and he frowned. “I don’t know how many Da Vias are here. At least three. Maybe as many as ten. They can cover more of the city than us. If we go tearing off without any thought, we could run into them. And if it’s all of them, we won’t win that fight. They’ll kill us and take their time looking for Marcello. They know he’s a Saldana and that we prefer tunnels.”

  Les rubbed his neck but nodded.

  I released him. “We have to be careful so we don’t meet them. And we’ll have to move Marcello, probably out of the city.”

  He shook his head. “He won’t like that.”

  “He won’t have a choice, not unless he plans to greet Safraella.”

  “They’ll kill him?” Les asked.

  “Yes. Maybe. Maybe they’ll bring him home. Marcello told me the Da Vias killed my Family because of him, because of all this history between him and their Family. I’m sure there’s some truth to it, but that can’t be the whole story. No, something else was the final stab in the mark.”

  “So you don’t actually know what they’ll do?”

  “Oh, they’ll kill him. I’m just not sure if they’ll drag him back to Lovero first.”

  “We can’t let them take him.” The worry leaked off Les like fog over the canals.

  “We won’t,” I said. “We’ll use our knowledge of the city. Let’s take the canals. They won’t expect that.”

  We armed ourselves with every weapon we could carry and traveled to Les’s boat a few alleys away.

  Les steered us north while I kept my eyes open for movement on the roofs. We were probably ahead of the Da Vias, but I refused to trust my luck. Better to assume they were scouring the city, looking for Marcello.

  Yvain rested quietly. The moon was new and the bright pinpricks of stars filled the dark sky. I saw no ghosts and no Da Vias as Les quietly poled us to Marcello. Even if we reached him unmolested, we’d still have to somehow escape Yvain. Now that the Da Vias knew Marcello was here, they would send for reinforcements, and they would watch the city day and night. But perhaps this could work to our advantage. If Les and I could escape to Lovero, we might have a better chance of destroying their Family home. And if we were successful, then Marcello needn’t worry about the Da Vias anymore. At least most of them, anyway.

  Les docked the boat and we got off, heading toward the tunnel entrance. We’d made it safely. I allowed myself a breath of relief. Safraella had been watching over us.

  We turned the corner into the dark and empty alley. It stank, an acrid, smoky odor. I stopped. “Do you smell that?”

  He sniffed the air. “Smells like smoke.”

  Something about the smoke . . . I had smelled it somewhere before.

  I sniffed my leathers and found the same scent. The gallows. The smoke bombs when Les had rescued me.

  “Where did you get the smoke bombs?” I asked.

  “What?”

  “When you rescued me, at the gallows. Where did you get the different smoke bombs? Yours didn’t smell like that before.”

  Les stopped and stared at me. “Lea, I didn’t rescue you.”

  From above, someone jumped into the alley. My sword was out instantly, my dagger in my left hand. Another figure climbed down the roof to stand beside the first. Nik and Grape Leaves, with his rope-bludgeon and noose tied around his shoulders and waist.

  Beside me Les twirled his cutter in his hand, prepared to fight. It wouldn’t only be the two of them. I spun. Four more Da Vias stood at the entrance of the alley, blocking us in. The Da Via on the left wore a mask with red checkers. Val.

  Les and I stood back to back, our weapons at the ready. I could feel the tension in his body, pressed against mine, his muscles tight like viola strings.

  Behind Val, a man approached. He stood to the side, but his cylindrical hat and wooden staff caught my attention. Val paid him no mind. He was with the Da Vias.

  “Sloppy work, Lea.” Val stepped forward. I could smell the smoke from the gallows still clinging to his leathers. His voice held no wryness or sarcasm, only a controlled fury. “You thought you’d beat us to him, but we’re not some lowly Addamos. We’re Da Vias.”

  “You saved me from the gallows.” I glanced over my shoulder. Nik and Grape Leaves had taken out their swords but hadn’t moved closer.

  “I wasn’t going to let you hang. And I figured you’d lead us right to Marcello.”

  I had to get the upper hand here. If I didn’t, Les and I were dead. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Gods, Lea, shut up!” Val screamed. I flinched against Les’s back. He stirred but continued to watch Nik and Grape Leaves.

  I’d tipped him over the edge. I had to keep him there. “Who’s your lapdog?” I motioned to the man in the hat.

  “A friend of the Family,” Val said. “Don’t worry about him.”

  “He was in Fabricio’s the night of the fire.” And just like that, I knew which restaurant housed the entrance to their home.

  Val shrugged. “He gets around. He helps us get around. That’s really all you need to know.”

  “He’s the reason you’re here?” I asked.

  “No. We know Marcello Saldana is here,” Val said. “It’s the only reason you’d flee to Rennes. The only reason being in Yvain makes you no longer feel like an orphan. After all these years of searching for him and all we had to do was follow you.”

  “And you thought you’d bring Marcello to your lunatic of a Family head, hoping he’d prostrate himself before her, beg for her forgiveness?”

  “I don’t give a shit about any of that. I just do what I’m told.”


  I laughed. “Yes, that’s been clear since the night of the fire.”

  Val jerked his sword out of its scabbard. The metal rang sloppily in the dark night. The Da Vias beside him followed his lead. “Fine then. If this is the way you want it, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

  I tightened my grip on my sword. Val charged. Les pushed off from me to defend against Nik and Grape Leaves. He was outclassed, but I couldn’t think about him now. I could only help him if I survived.

  Val lunged at me, the other clippers swinging left and right. I raised my sword to defend myself, but he feinted to the right and let another clipper rush in. It was a new move for Val. He’d always relished being in the center of the fight. He’d changed.

  I barely had time to switch my stance. My sword blocked the attack of the Da Via with red diamonds on her mask. Our swords rang against each other. The echo bounced off the brick walls of the alley. My ribs roared in pain. My grip on my sword faltered. I twisted to protect my back from another Da Via with red splashes of color on his mask, like spattered blood.

  He feinted, too. Someone’s boot connected with the side of my right knee. Only my off-balance stance saved me from a broken joint. I stumbled away, barely managing to stay on my feet. My ankle ached at the rough treatment, and my ribs practically hobbled me. I couldn’t fight this way. Not if I wanted to live.

  Les parried Nik’s blows. Grape Leaves circled behind him, taking advantage of Les’s distraction.

  I pulled out a knife. One smooth motion, clean and quick . . . I whipped the blade at Grape Leaves like Les had taught me.

  The blade wobbled in the air. The dagger struck Grape Leaves between the shoulder blades, hilt first. Painful, but not damaging.

  Nik Da Via shouted. Les had scored him on the arm.

  Val looked over his shoulder at Les. He changed places with Nik, who turned to face me. I rushed after Val, but the three others closed the gap. I’d have to go through them if I wanted to place myself between Val and Les. We needed to get out of here.

  I pulled out three smoke bombs. The Da Vias weren’t the only ones who knew how to use them.

  I hurled them between the legs of my opponents. They exploded, gray smoke flooding the alley.

  “Les!” I stepped away from the smoke and the coughing Da Vias. “Les!”

  A shadow dashed at me. I raised my sword.

  Les erupted from the smoke. He grabbed my hand and yanked me after him. I gasped in pain.

  We passed by the man in the cylindrical hat. He shouted to the Da Vias, but Les and I darted around a corner.

  I couldn’t keep up. This wouldn’t work. The Da Vias would catch us.

  “The canal!” I panted. We turned left and sprinted for the water and his boat where we’d left it. Les grabbed the pole and shoved us away from the street.

  I struggled to catch my breath, my arm pressed against my side. Every movement sent pain coursing through my body.

  “I’m sorry I hurt you,” Les said as he pushed the pole. “I wasn’t sure how long the smoke would last.”

  I took another deep breath, wincing at the pain. “It’s all right. We had to get away.”

  He moved us quietly while my thoughts raced. They’d find the entrance to Marcello’s tunnel. We’d led them right to it. We couldn’t stop them, not without help.

  “I scored one of them,” Les said. I nodded. “I coated my blade with poison, like you suggested.”

  I closed my eyes, calculating, trying to decide if the poison would work fast enough to grant us any advantage. They would still outnumber us.

  Ahead, a bridge arced over the canal. Les pushed us beneath, into a deeper darkness. There was no way out of this, no plan I could think of.

  We reached the other side of the bridge, and Les steered us out. A shadow flashed over him. I shouted a wordless warning, but the noose dropped over his head and pulled tight.

  Les released the pole into the water and grabbed the rope around his neck, trying to free himself. I scuttled toward him, the boat rocking violently at Les’s struggles.

  The rope pulled him out of the boat and up to the bridge, his legs kicking as he hung in the air.

  “Les!” I clutched my sword and lunged for the rope. But it was too high, and every second I wasted they pulled him closer to the top of the bridge.

  Laughter and shouts echoed from above. The Da Vias, enjoying themselves while Les dangled, choking from the noose. I knew how it felt.

  I sheathed my sword and jumped for the bottom edges of the bridge. My hands reached the stone and I clamped tight.

  My side ripped with pain. My body fought against me, commanded me to let go. But if I dropped, Les would die. I managed to swing my leg and hook it onto the ledge. I took a breath, agony radiating everywhere, and pulled myself up. I flopped over the side of the bridge gracelessly.

  Nik and Grape Leaves dragged Les onto the bridge. He lay sprawled on the ground, struggling with the rope. Grape Leaves drew the rope taut, the other end with the stone bludgeon resting at his feet.

  “Looks like you caught a big one this time,” Nik said as they watched Les fight against the rope. “Feisty, too.” He glanced in my direction. “Nice of you to join us. You’re just in time for the fun.”

  I struggled to my feet and hunched over as I pulled my sword free. Behind me footsteps pounded on the street. The rest of the Da Vias. I couldn’t spare them any attention. I needed to save Les.

  I lunged toward them. Nik laughed as I swung my sword. He jumped aside easily, but I wasn’t aiming for him.

  My sword bit into the rope, severing it. Les inhaled sharply and pulled the noose from his neck.

  Grape Leaves shouted and jerked the severed rope toward him. He switched ends, grabbing the severed half and swinging the bludgeon in a circle beside him, slowly gathering speed. It whirred and buzzed the faster he spun it, until the rope was a blur of motion.

  “You’ve made him angry now,” Nik said to me. “That was his favorite one. He’s had it for years.”

  “Too bad for him,” I said, free arm clenched against my side, which burned with fresh pain. I couldn’t straighten my body, could only face them hunched over like an invalid.

  Les struggled to his knees beside me, coughing, tugging his hood back in place.

  Behind us, I heard dirt shifting under feet. I turned. Two other Da Vias and Val stood armed and ready.

  I charged them, a foolishly reckless move my parents would have been disgusted to see. But my parents were dead, and Les would be too unless I could stop this fight.

  I swung at Blood Spatter in a wide and frantic arc, hoping my crazed attack would take him aback, force him to step away. But he was a Da Via, and they were the second Family for a reason. He stepped inside my arc. The pommel of his sword smashed against my solar plexus like a blow from a hammer. The air in my lungs rushed out of me with a cough.

  Diamond Mask kicked the sword from my hand. It crashed against the cobblestone bridge.

  A loud snap filled the air, followed by a booming twang. I turned. The stone bludgeon on the rope smashed into my right cheek. My head snapped back. Half of my mask shattered. Bone shards rained across me as I fell to the ground.

  Everything faded to black. A smell like rotten fish wafted across me. Blurry shapes returned. Muted, dull sounds settled over me like raw wool. I blinked. Blood filled my mouth and I spat it out.

  Someone leaned over me. Nik. I reached for him. He grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet, twisting my arms behind me. In front of me a quick scuffle ended with Les in the same position, Grape Leaves securing Les’s arms behind him.

  Les and I were too winded and injured to speak. My face swelled. Was my jaw broken?

  Val paced between us, his anger apparent with every pounded boot step against the bridge.

  He stood in front of Les and jerked the hood off his head.

  Behind me, Nik yanked the remains of my mask from my face. He dropped it to the ground and drove his heel through w
hat was left of it. The tiger-striped bone shattered beneath his boot.

  “You’ve been poisoned again,” I said to Nik. My voice sounded slurred from the hit I’d taken. He paused, then looked to his arm.

  “Huh. Well, knowing you, I’m sure you have an antidote somewhere in this pouch of yours.” He tapped the pouch on my hip.

  “Let us go, and I’ll give you the antidote.”

  Nik laughed. “No deal. In a few minutes all your antidotes will belong to me. I haven’t dropped dead yet, so I think I’ll take my chances finding the right one in time.”

  Val slid his mask to the top of his head. His eyes flashed rage and hurt and betrayal, his brow dripped sweat. He pointed his sword at Les. “This is why you wouldn’t come with me?”

  Les thrashed against Grape Leaves, and Diamond Mask kneed him in the stomach. His breath escaped in a whoosh. He tried to double over but Grape Leaves held him too tightly. Diamond Mask wrapped his long hair around her fist. She jerked his head back and exposed his neck. The bruising he’d acquired from the rope stood stark and plain, even in the dark. His throat bobbed as he swallowed.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Val,” I said.

  “I saw you together on that roof, Lea. Kissing. I saw you! He doesn’t even have a mask! He’s a nothing! A fraud!”

  “Let him go. He doesn’t have anything to do with this. You’re right. He’s nothing. Only a fake clipper, living in Yvain.”

  Val scowled and shook his head. “You’ve always been a shit liar, Lea. Even now.”

  “What do you want, Val?” I asked. “I will give it to you. You want my pride? You can have it.” Warm tears rolled down my cheeks to my lips. They tasted of blood. “Please let him go. Please. I’m begging you.”

  He blinked. “Yeah, that’s clear,” he said, his voice empty. “It’s not very attractive.”

  His mockery pierced me like a needle to the heart, and I inhaled sharply. Nik leaned closer to me, his mask pressed against my ear.

  “Watch this now, Lea Saldana,” he whispered. “Because you’ll be next, just as I promised before.” He tapped my spine with the edge of a knife.