Permitted a few last words, Brazell shouted, “You fools. Your Commander’s a deceiver. You’ve been lied to for years! The Commander’s really a woman dressed as a man!”
Silence blanketed the room, but the Commander’s neutral expression never faltered. Soon laughter echoed off the stone walls. Brazell was hauled away amid cheers and jeers. Who would believe the ravings of a madman? Obviously, no one.
I thought about their jeers. They laughed not because the idea of a woman in power was so ridiculous, but because Commander Ambrose had a powerful presence. His frank and abrupt dealings were so honest and forthright that the thought of him deceiving anyone was laughable. And due to his beliefs and convictions about himself, even though I knew the truth, I could not think of him in any other way.
Later in the day, I went to visit the orphanage. I found May in the dormitory. This time, happy memories followed me as I walked through the rooms used by the orphans. When she saw me, May bounced off the bed and wrapped herself around me.
“Yelena, I thought I would never see you again,” she gushed.
I squeezed her tight. When she pulled back, I smiled to see her crooked skirt and messy ponytail. As I braided her hair, May chattered about what had happened since I had left. Her excitement faded when she talked about Carra. And it was then that I could see how much she had grown.
When I finished her hair, she said, “We’re going with you to Sitia!” May spun in a circle, unable to remain still. She waved toward a suitcase on the floor.
“What?”
“That lady from the south told us that she would take us home. To find our families!”
A brief pang clenched my heart. Family had a different meaning to me. Valek, Ari and Janco felt like my family, and even Maren seemed like a grumpy older sister.
“That’s wonderful,” I said to May, trying to match her enthusiasm.
May stopped her dance for a moment. “There are so few of us left,” she said in a sedate voice.
“Valek will make sure Carra and the others are taken good care of.”
“Valek! He’s so handsome.” May laughed, and was so delightful I couldn’t resist hugging her again.
Janco, on the other hand, greeted me with a gloomy face when I stopped to say goodbye. Irys, anxious to head south, wanted to be on the road in the morning.
Ari had taken over my role of nurse, and was sitting next to Janco.
“Whatever happened to ‘Sieges weathered, fight together, friends forever’?” I asked him, quoting his message on my switchblade.
Janco’s eyes lit up. “You little fox. Figured it out already, have you?”
I smirked.
“As soon as Janco’s better, we’re coming south,” Ari said.
“And what would you do there?” I asked.
“Work on our tans,” Janco said, smiling. “I could use a vacation.”
“Protect you,” Ari said.
“I don’t need protection in the south,” I said. “And I seem to remember that not long ago, I bested two of my instructors.”
“She’s cocky already.” Janco sighed. “We can’t go with her now, she’ll be swaggering and boasting and generally obnoxious. It’s bad enough I have to deal with that from Ari, I could never handle two.”
“Besides,” I said, “you’ll be bored.”
Ari grumped and crossed his massive arms, looking sour. “First sign of trouble, you send us a message and we’ll be there. You got that?” Ari asked.
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Don’t worry about me, Ari. I’ll be fine. And, I’ll be back.”
“You’d better,” Janco said. “I want a rematch.”
But I had spoken too soon about returning. Valek, Irys and I had discussed my future, but the Commander seemed to have other plans. Commander Ambrose called for a formal meeting that evening. With just Valek, Ari and Irys in attendance in Brazell’s old office, the Commander agreed to honor the trade treaty, even though it had been enacted under Mogkan’s influence. Then he told me my fate.
“Yelena,” he began in a formal tone, “you have saved my life and, for that, I thank you. But you have magical abilities that are not tolerated in Ixia. I have no choice but to sign an order for your execution.”
Valek placed a warning hand on Ari’s shoulder to prevent him from charging the Commander. Ari stayed still, but his outrage was evident in his face. When the Commander held a paper out to Valek, coldness crept along my skin, leaving behind a numb feeling of dread.
Valek didn’t move. “Sir, I’ve always believed that having a magician work for us would be beneficial and could have prevented this particular situation,” Valek said. “We can trust her.”
“A valid point.” The Commander drew back his arm, resting it on the desk. “Even though we trust her, even though she saved my life, I must follow the Code of Behavior. To do otherwise would be a sign of weakness, something I can’t afford right now, especially after this business with Mogkan. Plus, the Generals and my advisers will not trust her.”
Once again the Commander extended the execution order to Valek. In my frantic mind I heard Irys telling me to flee. She would attempt to slow Valek down. No, I told her. I would see this to the end. I would not run away.
“I won’t take it,” Valek said in a flat voice. He betrayed no emotion.
“You would disobey a direct order?” the Commander asked.
“No. If I don’t take the order, then I won’t have to disobey it.”
“And if I make it a verbal order?”
“I will obey. But it will be my very last task for you.” Valek pulled a knife off his belt.
The ring of steel sounded as Ari unsheathed his sword. “You’ll have to get through me first,” he said, stepping in front of me. Ari had a better than average chance of beating Valek, but I knew he wouldn’t win. And I didn’t want him to try.
“No, Ari,” I said. I pushed his sword arm down, and stood next to Valek. Our eyes met. I understood that Valek’s loyalty to the Commander was without question. His blue eyes held a fierce determination and I knew in my soul that Valek would take his own life after he had taken mine.
The Commander gazed at us with a quiet consideration. I felt time freeze under his scrutiny.
“I’ve signed the order, per the Code,” the Commander finally said. “I will assign someone else to carry it out. It may take a few days for me to find a suitable person.” He looked at me and Irys. A hint that we needed to get on the road as soon as possible. “This order is valid in Ixia only. You’re all dismissed.”
The office emptied in a hurry. I was giddy with relief as Ari swept me into one of his bear hugs and whooped with joy. But then my heart seized with pain as I realized that I would be parted from Valek so soon after we had joined. After Irys and Ari left to organize the “escape,” Valek pulled me aside. We kissed with passion and a desperate urgency.
After we drew apart to catch our breaths, I said, “Come with me.” It wasn’t a plea or a question. It was an invitation.
Valek’s blue eyes closed with pain. “I can’t.”
I turned away, feeling like one of Valek’s black statues, but he drew me back.
“Yelena, you need to learn, you need to find your family, you need to spread your wings and see how far you can fly. You don’t need me right now, but the Commander needs me.”
I clung to Valek. He was right, I didn’t need him, but I wanted him to be with me forever.
We left that night. Irys led our ragtag group. Eight girls and two boys from Brazell’s orphanage followed Irys through the forest toward the southern border. I took the rearguard position to make sure everyone stayed together, and to make sure no one tailed our group.
We hiked for a few hours until we found a suitable clearing to camp for the night. More than adequate provisions for our journey had been provided by Ari. I smiled, remembering his lecture to me about staying out of trouble. Just like an overprotective brother, he wasn’t content until I promised to send him a message i
f I needed help. I would miss him and Janco dearly.
We set up six small tents in a circle. Irys amazed the children as she set fire to the kindling with a magical flourish. After everyone had gone to sleep, I sat by the fire, stirring the dying embers. Unwilling to join May in our tent, I gazed at the single flame that erupted when I poked at the fire. It danced by itself for an audience of one. I wondered for the hundredth time why Valek hadn’t come to say goodbye, fingering my pendant.
I sensed movement. Jumping up, I drew my bow. A shadow detached from a tree. Irys had created a magical barrier around our tents. According to her, the barrier would deflect a person’s vision, so all he would see was an empty clearing. The shadow stopped at the edge, unaffected by the magic, and smiled at me. Valek.
He held out a hand. I grasped his cold fingers with both hands as he led me away from the tents and deeper into the forest.
“Why didn’t you come before we left?” I asked him when we stopped at the base of a tree. The roots of the massive oak had broken through the ground, creating small protective hollows.
“I was busy making sure the Commander would have a hard time locating someone to carry out his orders.” Valek grinned with vicious delight. “It’s amazing how much work there is cleaning up after Brazell.”
I thought about what that cleanup would entail. “Who is tasting the Commander’s food?” I asked.
“For now, I am. But I believe Captain Star would make an excellent candidate. Since she knows who all the assassins are, I think her help will be invaluable.”
It was my turn to smile. Star would do well if she passed the training. If.
“Enough talk,” Valek said, guiding me down between the roots. “I need to give you a proper send-off.”
My last night in Ixia was spent with Valek beneath the tree. The hours till dawn flew by. The rising sun intruded, waking me from a contented doze in Valek’s arms, forcing me to face the day that I had to leave him.
Sensing my mood, Valek said, “An execution order hasn’t kept us apart before. There are ways to get around it. We will be together.”
“Is that an order?”
“No, a promise.”
Assassin Study
Maria V. Snyder
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter One
Valek gazed at the mess on Mogkan’s desk and sighed. It would take him days to go through all the papers, but Commander Ambrose wanted him to fully investigate the extent of Mogkan’s involvement in General Brazell’s plans to seize control of the Territory of Ixia. Plans that had been thwarted. With Brazell incarcerated and Mogkan dead, only the tiresome chore of tying up the loose ends remained.
As he scanned the various documents and notes on the desk, Valek was sickened by the details of horror Mogkan had wrought on the orphans in Brazell’s care. It was a wonder Yelena survived Mogkan’s magical torture. And it troubled Valek greatly that a rogue Sitian magician could live in Ixia for fourteen years without his knowledge. The fact that Brazell had sheltered Mogkan was no excuse. Valek was the chief of security for all of Ixia; it was his responsibility to know these things. Children had been tormented.
Valek’s thoughts returned to Yelena. An icy finger of loneliness touched the emptiness inside him. She was in Sitia, where she needed to be to learn about her magical powers, but she had taken his heart with her.
Cursing himself for being melodramatic, he concentrated on the grim task at hand. An unfamiliar name—T. Daviian—was written multiple times on various papers. When he found the line T. Daviian—My Love—paid 6 golds, Valek guessed T. Daviian had been the Sitian assassin who had poisoned the Commander’s drink with My Love during the trade treaty negotiations. Daviian was the name of a plateau in Sitia. As far as Valek knew, the plateau was uninhabited.
A knock interrupted his musings. “Come in,” he called.
Ari opened the door and entered.
“How’s Janco?” Valek asked. Ari’s partner had gotten skewered with a sword during the battle to free the Commander from Mogkan’s magical control.
“Driving the nurses crazy. This morning he pretended to be dead. When the night nurse reached for him, he grabbed her arm.” Ari shook his head.
“Good to hear he’s feeling better. Do you have a report?”
“Yes, sir. All of General Brazell’s aides have been accounted for. The Commander is conducting interviews with them.” A glint of appreciation flashed in Ari’s pale blue eyes. “It’s amazing how the Commander can get a confession from an advisor using silence. I felt compelled to confess all my boyhood crimes during the deadly quiet.”
“How many advisors were involved with Brazell’s plans?”
“Two so far. We’ve stopped for lunch.”
Valek doubted they would find more. His spies hadn’t picked up on the illicit activity, which usually meant a small number of people were involved. Either that or his scouts had been compromised. An intensive investigation into his intelligence network would be prudent before he could trust anyone besides Ari and Janco.
“What’s the status on Brazell’s soldiers?” Valek asked.
“Everyone on the roster is accounted for.”
“Good.” From the uncertain expression on Ari’s face, Valek knew the man was troubled. “Something else?”
“Yes.” Ari paused as if debating what he should say. “Our initial count of General Brazell’s army had one extra person, but when we matched names to the list, it worked out.”
“Perhaps a servant or an aide was counted by mistake?”
“That’s what I thought, too. But…”
Valek waited. He, too, knew the value of silence.
Ari flinched as if he suspected his next words would anger Valek. “I’ve heard rumors in the guard house. There’s been a lot of boasting about who’s going to murder Yelena.”
Which was expected. There was no love for her among Brazell’s people; she had killed his only child, Reyad, and had played a major part in the General’s arrest.
“Go on.”
“The boasts have stopped, but bets are now being made on when Tam will kill her.”
“Who’s Tam?”
“A lieutenant. That’s all I know.”
T. Daviian? Valek wondered. A Sitian assassin? “Is Tam on the roster?”
“No.”
“When did the bets start?”
“This morning. Orders?”
“Get me more information about Tam. Don’t be subtle.”
“Yes, sir.” Ari saluted and hurried from the room.
Valek abandoned his task and dashed to the stables to check if there were any horses missing. All was quiet. Perhaps Brazell’s guilty advisors would have some information.
He returned to Brazell’s manor house. The sprawling building resembled a minicastle, and Valek remembered the King of Ixia’s brother used to live there before the Commander’s takeover. The Prince had been just as corrupt as his brother, and Valek had had the pleasure of assassinating him as well as the entire royal family.
Valek headed to the dungeons. Unfortunately he was familiar with the location and layout of the underground cell, but he couldn’t suppress a grin. Even though they had been locked within the foul darkness, he and Yelena had found a moment of pure joy.
One of the Commander’s aides intercepted him. “The Commander wishes to see you, sir.” When Valek hesitated, the aide said, “Now.”
Impatient with the delay in his investigation, Valek rushed to the Commander’s office. Ambrose had commandeered Brazell’s workplace. He had stripped the opulent decorations from the room, but kept the broad ebony desk and high-back leather chair.
“Valek.” The Commander gestured him closer. “Why didn’t you tell me you’ve assigned an assassin?”
“For what?”
Ambrose’s powerful gaze bored into Valek. Most people woul
d be reduced to a quivering mess by the Commander’s ire. Valek remained unaffected.
“Yelena. The order for her execution is gone,” the Commander said.
Fear coiled around Valek’s throat. “I didn’t assign anyone. When did you last see the order?”
“You were supposed to assign—”
“When!”
Ambrose said nothing. Valek drew in a deep breath. “I apologize, sir.”
“The order was on my desk this morning. It wasn’t there when I returned from lunch. If one of your assassins didn’t accept the order, then who did?”
“Permission to find out, sir?”
The Commander contemplated. Valek willed his body to keep still.
“She’s safe in Sitia, Valek. The order only applies if she’s found in Ixia.”
Unless it was a Sitian assassin after her. He lacked proof but, he vowed, not for long.
“Permission granted. You’re dismissed.”
With time running out, Valek searched for Ari; he found him in the soldier’s barracks. Ari’s strong hands were wrapped around a guard’s neck. The trapped man’s face turned purple.
“Report,” Valek ordered.
“Just having a nice chat with my friend. Seems Tam had been recruited from Sitia by Mogkan and, out of a misguided sense of duty, is now after Yelena,” Ari said. “My friend was on the verge of divulging when Tam left. Right?” He relaxed his grip.
“About…two…hours…ago,” the man said, gasping for air.
Yelena was in danger. A second of mind-numbing panic and worry gripped Valek, but he suppressed all emotion. He needed to think and plan.
Tam was on foot with a two-hour head start, traveling due south. The assassin was still in Ixia. On horseback, Valek could arrive at the border before Tam and set up an ambush, or he could follow Tam into Sitia and find out more about the assassin’s intentions.
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