The Assassins of Light

by Britney Jackson

  Susan’s mouth fell open. “You read my dissertation when you were six?”

  “Yeah,” Rose said, oblivious to her shock. “It was very informational. Also inspirational, which is something you don’t get from a lot of dissertations.”

  “Did you,” Susan asked, “read a lot of dissertations when you were six?”

  “Oh, no. Not that many,” Rose assured her. “Only about one a month.”

  Kara leaned back in her seat, chuckling at the shocked expression on the senator’s face. “Rose was a bit of a gifted child,” she explained to Senator Jones.

  Susan raised an eyebrow. “I can see that,” she muttered under her breath. She smiled at Rose. “Thank you for the kind words. I’m glad you liked my books.”

  “So, Kara,” Erik said suddenly, leaning forward, his messy, blonde hair falling over his forehead, “do you have a lot of U.S. Senators on your payroll?”

  Kara chuckled, “Just one, but I have representatives from other countries as well. A Prime Minister from one country. A royal advisor from another…”

  “Wow,” Erik muttered. “You’ve infiltrated the human governments.”

  Her smile faded. “Not to the extent that the Assassins of Light have.”

  “Which is why you’re here,” Susan Jones interjected. “I don’t want war with vampires any more than you want war with humans, but if the Assassins of Light get their way, we’ll be at war by the end of the week. We have to stop them.”

  “Of course,” Erik agreed. He glanced curiously at Kara. “But how?”

  Kara exchanged a sly look with Susan. “By attending a dinner party.”

  “Ooh, I love dinner parties!” Elise sang with joy. “Will there be wine?”

  Rose raised an eyebrow. “We’re going to stop the war with…a dinner?”

  “Yep,” Kara confirmed, reclining back in her seat, her posture the picture of confidence. “With no casualties. No battles. No war. Just a bit of…trickery.”

  “Why didn’t you tell Aaron about your plan?” Rose asked. “Or Talulah?”

  Kara chuckled, “You really don’t understand the idea of deceit, do you?”

  “Well, I suck at it. So…probably not,” Rose muttered under her breath.

  “Susan has invited some Assassins of Light to dinner,” Kara explained.

  Susan nodded. “Not just any Assassins of Light, either. Their top people. The Assassins that are supposed to appear before Congress later this week.”

  “Impressive,” Elise murmured, lifting her eyebrows at the senator.

  Susan smiled, smoothing a stray, gray hair on her head. “You’ll be killing two birds with one stone tonight. First, this will prevent them from appearing before Congress later this week, which will delay the United States declaring war against vampires. At least until the Assassins of Light come up with a new plan. And delaying our government’s declaration of war will most likely delay the rest of the world as well. Because…right now, no one wants to be the first country to declare war on a species that’s not supposed to exist. So far, we’re the only ones who have even agreed to meet with the Assassins of Light. Probably because we have so many of them in our government. It feels as if…they’re everywhere.”

  Rose frowned worriedly at that. “Seriously?”

  “It feels like it,” Susan told her. “I find out about more every day.”

  “It’s like that in every country,” Kara assured Susan. “But they are more concentrated in America.” Her gaze darted toward Rose. “For unrelated reasons.”

  Rose stared curiously at Kara, trying to make sense of that last comment.

  “Most of them are people you would never expect,” Susan said. “They’re good at making things sound good. They talk about things like national security and safety. They hide their hatred behind friendly smiles and charming words.”

  “And fear,” Rose realized. “They use people’s fears to manipulate them.”

  Susan nodded. “And it works. They’re extremely good at what they do.”

  “Well, then, it’s a good thing we are, too,” Kara said with a cocky smirk.

  “What’s the second bird?” Rose asked. “You said two birds with one stone.”

  “The second bird,” Kara told her, “is that these Assassins—the ones that Susan has so cleverly invited to her home—are the most dangerous ones of all.”

  Erik’s bright green eyes shifted toward her. “How so?”

  “They’re some of the oldest, richest, and most influential,” Kara told him. “They’re the best, the inner circle of the Assassins of Light, which means…” She smile slyly at Susan. “They’ll be able to tell us everything we need to know.”

  Elise tilted her head curiously. “What do you mean by…everything?”

  “Everything we need to take down the Assassins of Light,” Kara said.

  “Permanently,” Susan added. “The Assassins of Light are the only reason that any humans are considering war with vampires. If you take down their entire organization—which you’ll be able to do, after tonight—you’ll prevent the war.”

  “So, if we succeed tonight,” Rose asked slowly, “we’re just…done?”

  Kara nodded. “We’ll come back to the plane. I’ll send the information to the right people. They’ll know what to do. By the time we get home, the Assassins of Light will no longer exist. I can’t think of anything that could go wrong.”

  Rose frowned worriedly. “Yeah,” she said slowly, drawing out the word, “except…that’s what people usually say before things go very, very…wrong.”

  —

  “I sent someone for the wine,” Susan said. “She should be here soon.”

  Most of the Assassins of Light continued eating. Despite being hateful, violent killers, they had perfect etiquette. But one of the Assassins—a man with cold, brown eyes—watched her as she took another bite of her pasta, and when she pretended not to notice him staring, he set down his fork and moved closer.

  The Assassin of Light that Susan had met before—Senator Thompson—narrowed his eyes. “Jason,” he said darkly. “Show Senator Jones some respect.”

  A smile curled at the corners of Jason’s lips. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

  Her stomach turned with dread. She knew, of course, that none of the Assassins of Light were good people, but this man—there was something about him that set her on edge. She smiled politely, anyway. “Thinking about what?”

  “I’m sorry,” Senator Thompson said, interrupting Jason before he could respond. “I shouldn’t have brought him for this. He’s clearly lacking in manners.”

  “But I’m good at persuasion,” Jason told Susan, “if given enough time.”

  Susan pushed back her chair. “I apologize, but I need to step away for a minute. I need to check on the wine. Someone should have brought it by now.”

  “Nah,” Jason said with a grin. “We don’t need any wine. Sit down.”

  “Jason,” Senator Thompson said, his blue eyes narrowed, “leave her be.”

  “I’m not sure she really wants to hear us out, anyway,” Jason commented. “I mean, she seems awfully eager to leave. I think we’re wasting our time here.”

  “We were invited for dinner,” said another Assassin of Light. “So, eat.”

  Instead, Jason stood, his tall, broad-shouldered form dwarfing Susan. His smile widened. “I’ll help you find the wine,” he offered, “in case it’s too heavy.”

  Susan watched him warily. “Why would a wine bottle be too heavy?”

  Jason ran his fingers through his brown hair, pushing it out of his eyes—eyes that were cold and unfeeling. “It seems to me that you don’t want me coming with you, Susan,” he laughed darkly. “What’s wrong? Are you hiding something?”

  The door opened. “Did someone ask for wine?” sang a low, lilting voice.

  The strange accent alone was enough to get the attention of the Assassins of Light, but when their gazes shifted toward the door, and they saw her, clothed in blac
k and leather, her icy blue eyes sparkling, they immediately recognized her.

  It took barely a second before every Assassin of Light at the table was on their feet with their guns pointed directly at Kara’s head. Susan glanced around worriedly, but Kara just smirked at them and set the wine bottle on the end table.

  “I see you don’t want the wine,” Kara laughed. She stood casually, her muscles relaxed, even with guns aimed at her. “I don’t blame you. I poisoned it.”

  “You’re her, aren’t you?” Senator Thompson said. “Kara Unnarsdóttir?”

  Kara smiled. “Of course,” she said. She held up her finger when one of them started to pull the trigger. “You could shoot me, but I should warn you: I have a very unique kind of bullet armor, and you don’t want to make her angry.”

  The Assassins of Light watched in horror as Rose stepped into the room.

  “I think they recognize me,” Rose said when she saw their expressions.

  “Of course they do,” Kara laughed. Her gaze shifted toward them. “They also remember what you did to the base in New York City, and they’re terrified.”

  Rose’s stomach lurched at the memory, but she tried to push that back, to hide it. Regret and guilt weren’t exactly the most intimidating facial expressions.

  Kara’s gaze darted toward her briefly, but then, she stepped forward, her eyes flashing, as she stared down the Assassins of Light. “The poisoned blood bullets are hard to make. They require the deaths of innocent humans, after all.”

  “What’s your point?” Jason asked without even a hint of remorse.

  “They don’t give them out to everyone,” Kara said. “So, the majority of you are probably holding guns that can’t kill me. My guess is: only one of you has a gun with poisoned bullets. So, I just have to figure out which one of you it is.”

  But before she could say anything else, four out of the five Assassins of Light at the table turned to the one across from them and pulled the trigger.

  That took everyone by surprise. Even Kara, who straightened, her eyes widening, as four of the five Assassins of Light collapsed on the floor. Dead.

  Jason, the only Assassin of Light left standing, smiled at them. “It’s me.”

  Rose glanced around the brightly-lit dining room, her nostrils flaring at the scent of blood and gunpowder. “Why would they kill each other?” she asked.

  “To keep me from interrogating them,” Kara sighed.

  Rose watched the dark-haired, cold-eyed man in front of them. “There’s no point in pulling the trigger. I can stop the bullet in mid-air with my mind. But that’ll bring out my power, and you don’t want to bring out my power. I don’t even want to bring out my power,” she sighed, “so just put the gun on the floor.”

  Jason smiled. “You don’t want to bring out you power,” he said slowly, his eyebrows lifting, “because you care about everyone in this room. Don’t you?”

  Rose frowned worriedly. “What are you trying to say?”

  Jason wrapped his arm around Susan, holding her still, and pressed the gun against her head. “You care about everyone, Rose Foster, even the ones you don’t know, don’t you?” he asked, his smile widening as he saw the confirmation in her face—concern and fear. “Can you stop a bullet while it’s still in the gun?”

  Kara watched him warily, keeping her own expression carefully masked. “Those bullets are hard to come by. You don’t want to waste one on a human.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll still have enough left for you. And,” Jason paused, his brown eyes gleaming with sadistic amusement, “I can always make more.”

  Rose took a step toward him, a red spark flashing in her eyes. “Honestly? I don’t know how quickly I can stop the bullet. Maybe I can stop it before it leaves the gun. Maybe I can’t. But what I do know is…I can stop your heart.”

  Jason’s smile faltered. “I doubt that,” he said, but he didn’t sound sure.

  Rose’s gaze, slowly turning red, shifted toward his chest. “All I have to do is want it to stop, think about it stopping, and it will. If you want to test me.”

  Jason’s eyes widened. “No!” he said quickly. He immediately stepped back, releasing Susan. He dropped the gun and held up his hands. “You win.”

  Kara darted forward, her body blurring before their eyes as she crossed the dining room in a fraction of a second. She restrained the Assassin of Light roughly, slamming him onto the table, as she tied his hands behind his back.

  Erik and Elise came into the dining room, and Elise pulled out a chair so that Kara could shove the Assassin of Light into it and finish tying him up. While Kara did that, Erik knelt to pick up the gun, and he carefully emptied it of bullets.

  Jason laughed while Kara pulled the ropes tightly around his chest and arms—so tight that he could barely breathe. “You won, but you won nothing.”

  Rose frowned at the odd statement. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Kara’s intense, blue gaze shifted toward her, briefly, but she said nothing.

  “Why do you think the others killed themselves but left me alive?” Jason asked Rose, a dark, sadistic smile twisting at his lips. “Go ahead. Ask me.”

  “We don’t need to ask you,” Kara said, pulling roughly on his ropes, until he yelped in pain, “because I already know who you are and what you’ve done.”

  Rose watched as Jason vacillated between cringing in pain and laughing like a madman. Something about him reminded her of Theron, and the memory left her nauseated. “Then, tell me,” she said to Kara, “because I don’t know.”

  Kara circled around him to double-check his ropes. “His name is Jason Turner. He invented the poisoned blood bullets. He did the experiments in secret, at first,” she explained, “and he killed his own family when he ran out of victims.”

  Jason tilted his head back, laughing, “In my defense, they annoyed me.”

  A cold wave of horror washed over Rose. “He’s a psychopath.”

  Kara nodded. “You can’t interrogate a psychopath. They care for no one, so you can’t use anyone against them,” she sighed, “and they don’t feel anything.”

  “He feels nothing, huh?” Erik said, stepping forward. “I could fix that.”

  Kara was already shaking her head. “Erik, I would never ask you to…”

  “You need this information, right?” Erik interrupted. “The only other option you have right now is physical torture, and you know mine works better.”

  Kara looked away, conflicted. “Yes, but I also know what it does to you.”

  Erik’s gaze shifted toward the Assassin of Light, and his usually-bright green eyes darkened with anger and hatred. “I’ll gladly endure it for this guy.”

  Jason’s smile faltered a little at that. Clearly, he knew about Erik’s power.

  Kara sighed, her strong, lean shoulders slumping with defeat. She turned to Rose. “I need you to leave the room,” she said gently, “just for a few minutes.”

  Rose’s brows furrowed. “Why would you need me to leave?”

  Kara walked toward Rose, her boots thudding softly against the marble floor, and when she was close enough that her scent filled Rose’s senses, she tilted her head, her dark hair falling over her shoulder, her brows creased with sadness. “Because you have been tortured before,” she said softly, “and you have PTSD.”

  Rose swallowed. It wasn’t the easiest reminder, but Kara had said it so gently, her voice so full of understanding, that it seemed to ease the sharpness of the memory somehow. “Is there no other way?” she asked, her voice strained.

  “Outside of battle,” Kara sighed, shrugging, “this is our best chance.”

  Rose lifted her chin, refusing to look weak. “So, do it. I can handle it.”

  “No,” Kara said with a firm shake of her head. She stepped closer and lifted her hand, brushing her fingers over Rose’s jaw. “I won’t do that to you, ást. It’s not that I don’t think you’re strong enough. It’s that I refuse to hurt you.”

 
Rose frowned, torn between her own pride and the pain in Kara’s face.

  “Elise,” Kara said, stepping back, “would you take Rose into the hall?”

  Rose knew that she could’ve resisted when Elise came to her, that she could’ve use her power to stop anyone from touching her. Just like she knew that Kara knew that, too. But she also knew how conflicted Kara felt at the moment, how much pain filled her light blue eyes, as she tried to care for Rose in the only way she knew. So, when Elise took her hand and led her into the hall, she went.

  “Thank you,” Elise said with a playful smile, as she stepped into the hall, closing the dining room door behind them, “for not throwing me into a wall.”

  Rose laughed, “I really did not mean to do that to Tom. I promise.”

  “I know,” Elise teased, smiling sweetly, “you just love Kara that much.”

  Rose blushed and looked away. “Oh, hush,” she muttered indignantly.

  The scream that pierced the air, so suddenly, was so loud that it felt as if it had come from Rose’s own head. Except it wasn’t her voice. It was Jason’s.

  “Rose, are you okay?” Elise asked as she notice the spike in Rose’s pulse.

  “Mmm-hmm,” Rose mumbled stubbornly, even as the memories flashed through her mind. Another scream echoed through the air, and she could almost feel the pain again—the coldness of the blade, the pain as it carved cuts and gashes into her skin, the helplessness of being unable to stop it. She tried to remind herself where she was, that no blades were even involved this time, that Theron was gone, that she was fine, but her brain wouldn’t listen to reason. Her body wouldn’t listen to reason. Adrenaline coursed through her bloodstream, and that glowing, red haze overtook her eyes. The paintings on the wall began to rattle.

  Susan stepped out into the hall, and her eyes widened. “What the hell?”

  “It’s fine,” Elise told her as she grabbed the woman’s arm and pulled her away from Rose. “I’ve got this. Why don’t you go wait for us somewhere quiet?”

  “Go with her,” Rose breathed, her teeth chattering, as she tried to control her power. “I just need a breath of fresh air. To clear my head. I’ll be all right.”