Assassin's Blood

by Marina Finlayson

“Someone comes,” the shadow woman warned as we crossed a small open space between the trees.

  I looked back and saw Evandir and Atinna enter the clearing. Evandir shot me a look that could only be described as triumphant. My heart began to beat faster. I was running out of time and options.

  “My lord,” Evandir said as they joined us. “This is an unexpected honour.”

  “It was not intended as such,” Celebrach said. “I decided to check on the progress of the mission.”

  “Then I’m sorry to have to report to you that it was a failure.”

  My blood pounded in my ears, and I fought to keep a calm expression on my face.

  “How so?” Celebrach asked.

  Evandir could hardly control his smirk. “Lord Nox has just woken up.”

  Ash flinched in surprise.

  His father turned a look of icy fury on me. “What?”

  “Ash’s little apprentice has been playing a double game.”

  “There must be some mistake,” Ash said.

  I caught my lower lip between my teeth, desperately casting around for some advantage. It was dark—could we run and lose ourselves in the woods? Maybe make it back into Spring through the hedge?

  But Celebrach would compel Ash’s obedience, and mine, too. Unless I took Ni’ishasana up on its wholly uninviting offer. The shadow people had multiplied into quite a crowd, and they were all watching me expectantly, no doubt thinking they had me over a barrel—and they were probably right. I couldn’t see any way out.

  “I think our only mistake was in accepting a spy into our midst,” Celebrach said evenly.

  At his gesture, Evandir and Atinna began to circle around, one to the right and one to the left, trying to get past Ash to me. No one drew a weapon, but then, no one needed to, did they? Their magic was just as lethal as any weapon.

  Celebrach looked at his son and continued, “And perhaps believing that you would remain loyal. Are you tempted, Ashovar?”

  “By what, my lord?” Ash stepped back, keeping both Evandir and Atinna in sight.

  “By her inducements to make a fresh start somewhere away from the Vipers.”

  Shit. So he had heard that. Now we were really screwed. I pulled my knife from its sheath—no use pretending anymore. It wouldn’t be any use against magic, but I wasn’t going to die without some kind of fight.

  Evidently, Ash came to the same conclusion. He raised his arms, and a whirling mass of air appeared between his outstretched hands. Knowing that he’d chosen my side warmed the cockles of my terrified heart, despite the fact that it looked like our time together would be horribly short.

  Celebrach laughed. “Defiance, Ashovar? That has never ended well for you before.”

  The Lord Serpent flung his own hand out in a casual gesture, and knives of ice flew through the air towards us. Ash deflected them in Atinna’s direction, and she had to resort to an undignified scramble to get out of the way in time.

  I was tempted to take advantage of her distraction to hurl my knife at her, but I was saving it until I really needed it. I only wished I had a few more. The vial of poison still tucked in my bra was hardly going to help. I could just see Evandir or Celebrach agreeing to drink it in the middle of our fight.

  “Kneel, Ashovar,” the Lord Serpent said. “You know I can force you.”

  “Then force me,” Ash snarled. “I’m done obeying your orders willingly.”

  Anger flashed across Celebrach’s face, and he raised his hand again.

  Before he could unleash his power, a storm of black wings descended on him.

  33

  There must have been thirty ravens attacking Celebrach. Maybe even more—it was hard to tell among the flurry of wings. Feathered black bodies were everywhere, sharp beaks striking, and the harsh screams of the birds filled the air.

  One of the ravens fluttered to my side. In the blink of an eye, it became a man dressed in black, the same man who’d just kissed me with such passion on the dance floor. The man whose father you just poisoned, I reminded myself. That’s the relevant part here, not how good a kisser Raven might be.

  “Mind if I join the party?” Raven asked.

  “You should get out of here.” Although I had to admit, his arrival was pretty handy. “Don’t get mixed up with these people.”

  “Oh, I think it’s a little late for that, don’t you? We’re already well and truly mixed up.” He drew his sword, flinching as another bird hit the ground in a broken mass of feathers. They’d done well at first, attacking with beaks and claws. For a moment there, Celebrach had reacted purely on instinct, lifting his arms to shield his head, as if forgetting the mighty magic at his disposal. His head streamed with blood, but the initial shock would soon pass.

  Or perhaps there was more to it than mere shock. The little clearing was thick with shadowy figures, surely far more than could ever have held the dagger, all jostling shoulder to shoulder, as if every soul that Ni’ishasana had ever consumed was here. Were they all working against him? Clouding his mind, perhaps?

  Ash seized the opportunity to hurl a rain of ice spears at his father, making the clean, fresh scent of his magic fill the air. One pierced Celebrach’s thigh, but the others did more damage to the birds than they did to the Lord Serpent. Then Atinna landed a throwing star in Ash’s shoulder, and he had to turn to face the new threat.

  The vortex leapt from between his hands and lunged at Atinna in a blast of frigid air and blue magic, whipping her with ice and freezing everything in its path. Frozen leaves smashed to the ground, stripping the trees bare. She got up some kind of shield just in time to avoid becoming a block of ice herself.

  Celebrach remembered himself and raised his hands, so Raven leapt forward to help his birds, bringing an impenetrable darkness down on the small clearing. I stumbled to the left, dagger raised, hoping to find Atinna and take her out by more mundane means.

  “I can help you,” the shadow woman whispered, so close to my ear that I flinched in surprise.

  “I don’t want your help. I don’t want you.” Why wouldn’t the stupid knife take no for an answer? What did I have to do to convince it that I wasn’t interested in its offer? And I definitely didn’t want its minions—or ghosts, or whatever the hell they were—distracting me in the middle of a fight, dammit.

  It was darker than the inside of a dragon’s stomach in the clearing, and I mentally cursed Raven. Maybe he could see in pitch black darkness, but the rest of us couldn’t. Was his magical darkness really the best use of his Night powers right now? I froze to the spot as it finally occurred to me what a dumb idea it would be to try to stab Atinna when I couldn’t see a damn thing. I could take out Ash by mistake. The very thought made me break out all over in a cold fear sweat.

  The tail of an icy wind caught me, and I started shivering. This was not a safe place to be. Not only could I accidentally kill Ash, but he could wipe me out, too.

  I strained my ears, desperate for some idea of where he was. We could take advantage of Raven’s darkness to escape. If Raven had any brains, he would have already done that. Plan A might work after all. All I could hear over the howl of the wind was the occasional shriek of a raven. Of course, they were all bloody assassins, used to moving without making any noise.

  And then my eyeballs were blasted with a blinding white light. It was as if a bank of floodlights had suddenly been switched on over the clearing. Everything lit up with glaring intensity, and the darkness fled as if it had never been. Even Ni’ishasana’s shadow people faded, becoming more like blurs in my vision than semi-solid shapes.

  I took in the whole scene in a glance. Atinna was down, with Ash crouched over her, though I couldn’t tell if she was dead or merely unconscious. Evandir was nowhere to be seen. Raven had fallen back, one hand upflung to protect himself from the light. He looked as if it pained him. If it had vanquished his magical darkness, it had probably struck at his power.

  Celebrach stood over Raven, glowing like a thousand suns, Ni’ishasana
raised as if about to strike.

  “No!” I screamed.

  Celebrach had murder in his eyes. Once that blade came down, Raven would either be dead or a zombie servant.

  I hurled my knife into the brightness around Celebrach. What other options did I have? Maybe I’d be lucky and he’d be too distracted by the Day magic he was working to see it coming.

  “Sage!” Ash shouted, a look of horror on his face as he whipped a blast of icy, rain-scented air in my direction.

  I rolled to the side, only just evading the blast. What the hell, Ash?

  I heard a grunt behind me, followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground. Evandir lay there, a sheen of ice on his face and frost shimmering in that bright blond hair. His green eyes stared sightlessly up at the sky.

  My eyes met Ash’s for a fleeting instant, my limbs weak with relief. Evandir had been right behind me and I hadn’t even known. Ash had just saved my life. Again.

  “Still obsessed with your little apprentice, I see,” Celebrach said, letting his radiance die down until the normal darkness of a Spring night filled the clearing. He spoke without effort, though he had Raven by the throat, holding him off the ground as if he weighed nothing. Raven’s feet kicked wildly as he struggled, and his fingers clawed at Celebrach’s hand, his sword useless on the ground. It made no difference. Celebrach’s magic was too strong.

  Shakily, I climbed to my feet. “You can’t kill him. You’ll have every fae in Spring and Night howling for your blood.”

  “Be silent,” he snapped at me, returning his attention to Ash as if I were no more than an annoying toddler begging for a grown-up’s attention. “You should have let Evandir kill her. Now you have cost me an Adept. Don’t imagine I won’t make you pay for that.”

  Ignored by both of them, I focused on the twisted blade. Celebrach held it carelessly in his free hand, gesturing with it as he talked. Its oily surface caught the moonlight and shone like a fallen star.

  “Still, she has a point,” Ash said. He let his Winter vortex die and spoke as calmly as if they were chatting in the Lord Serpent’s study back at the Nest, instead of facing each other with murder in their hearts. “Spring will be bound by the laws of hospitality to join Night in avenging his death—and we haven’t been paid a single coin. It’s not the Viper way to take on such risk without adequate compensation.”

  A raven croaked softly nearby. A dozen of them sat in the branches of a tree at the edge of the clearing, in various stages of disarray. There were missing feathers and drooping heads, and the dark shimmer of blood stained many a wing and breast. At least there were a few survivors. Far too many of their brethren littered the ground around Celebrach in a sad circle of broken bodies and scattered feathers.

  “Do not presume to tell me what Vipers do,” Celebrach spat. “You, of all people, you disgusting, traitorous filth. You betray us for a powerless halfbreed?”

  Celebrach shot me a glance of such pure loathing that I knew straight away that Raven was doomed. He would kill him just to get back at me. Fear swelled in my throat, and I had to take a gasping breath to get control again. What could I do? I couldn’t stand here and watch Raven die, but what could I do?

  “Save him,” the shadow woman whispered in my ear.

  The clearing was packed with Ni’ishasana’s shadows. I could hardly believe no one else could see them—they had grown so solid, and even assumed some colour. With the harsh light of Day gone, they looked almost like real people in the silvery moonlight. One man wore a red velvet jacket that stood out like a beacon amongst all the Viper black. The snake-haired woman by my side had dark skin, darker than mine, and wore a dress of deep purple. I was afraid that if I reached out, my hand would find solid flesh and warm skin.

  “Only join with us,” she said, “and you will have the power to save him. But be quick. His time is running out.”

  Raven’s face was a frightening red. Did Celebrach mean to choke the life out of him? But the dagger was still in his hand, the gleaming blade ready to do worse than take his life.

  That blade drew my eyes, my heart pounding as if I’d just run a marathon. Every panicked fibre of my being was screaming no. It would take me and consume me, just as it had with the other shadows. It would tie me forever to the Vipers. The idea even of touching it was abhorrent.

  But Raven … I couldn’t stand by and watch him die.

  Still, I hesitated.

  “Ashovar will be yours,” the woman said. “Take this.”

  I glanced down. She was holding out a dagger. It was the one I’d thrown at Celebrach earlier, only for him to knock it aside.

  “Been there, done that,” I said, keeping my voice low. How was she even holding it? The idea of taking it from her hand, of touching her, made my skin crawl. “Might as well throw rocks at him.”

  “Don’t throw it. Get closer.” She pushed it at me impatiently, and I stared helplessly at it, knowing that if I took it, I was accepting far more than a simple knife. “We will be with you.”

  She watched me, a predatory gleam in her eyes. Ash said something to Celebrach, but his familiar voice washed over me without my registering a single word. All my attention was on the dagger in her hand and the bargain it represented.

  “Join us,” she urged.

  I couldn’t do it. “No.”

  I bent down and snatched up a handful of dirt. The birds had managed to distract Celebrach earlier. Perhaps I could again. He wasn’t that far away—only a few strides separated us. And Raven’s sword was lying there on the ground by his feet, just begging to be picked up and put to good use.

  “Celebrach!” I shouted, then threw the dirt.

  It caught him in the face as he turned toward my voice, just as I’d hoped, and I lunged for Raven’s sword, pushing my way through shadowy bodies that felt disturbingly solid. My hand closed on the hilt, and exultation filled me as I drove upward, aiming for Celebrach’s heart.

  But something caught me instead, freezing me in an odd half-crouching position, all my muscles still tensed for action. I was trapped, the tip of the sword halted in its rise toward its target, my arm not yet fully extended.

  My eyes sought Celebrach’s and found a triumphant smirk there.

  “I think not,” he said.

  I couldn’t turn my head, but I could still move my eyes. Ash was frozen, too, his arms outstretched toward me as if trying fruitlessly to stop me from making a very big mistake.

  Because that’s what I’d done. In the heat of battle, I’d forgotten Celebrach’s power to control the Vipers. All of them, including me.

  “You have annoyed me long enough,” Celebrach said in a bored voice. “Time for you and your Night friend to die.”

  Time seemed to slow down as the hand holding Ni’ishasana began to rise. I watched the sharp tip of it moving in a graceful arc that would end with it buried in Raven’s heart. My own heart threatened to stop. I had a bare fraction of a second left.

  “I’ll join you!” I shouted.

  Suddenly, I was free.

  Before Celebrach could even understand why I was shouting, I had completed my movement. I felt the resistance of his flesh and the scrape of metal against a rib, but I put all my strength behind the thrust. The tip of my sword found his heart, and I drove it in so hard that it came out again through his back.

  His body sagged, almost pulling the sword from my grip. I jerked it free as he fell, half horrified, half exulting in what I’d done. Ni’ishasana dropped from his hand into the grass, and Raven staggered free, holding his battered throat.

  Celebrach stared up at me, his mouth working as blood pumped from his body. “How?” he croaked.

  Then, the light faded from his eyes.

  I glanced at my gory blade in a kind of wonder. The Lord Serpent was dead, and I had killed him.

  34

  “Pick it up, pick it up.” The shadow woman stood at my elbow, hunger in her eyes and a thrill of urgency in her voice.

  The clearing was full
of the shadow people, all converging on me with eager faces. I could barely see Raven and Ash through the press of dark bodies.

  A sense of unreality was growing in me, as if none of this was really happening. Half-convinced it was all a dream, I bent down, my fingers stretching toward the blade. It lay in the grass, glowing softly in the moonlight.

  “Sage, stop!” Ash shouted. “What are you doing? Don’t touch it!”

  I was dimly aware of him lunging toward me, and Raven moving to intercept him, but none of that felt as though it mattered. Ni’ishasana filled my vision, and the blood in my veins beat in time with the soft throb of power emanating from it.

  “Get away from her!” Raven’s voice was a tortured croak, but he moved like the night wind, snatching his sword up from the grass where I’d dropped it.

  Neither he nor Ash paid the slightest attention to Celebrach’s blood still dripping from its blade, or even to the man’s body on the ground between them.

  “Go, Sage.” Raven’s voice was taut with tension. “I’ll deal with this one.”

  Go? Might as well tell me to turn into a bird and fly away. Ni’ishasana wasn’t done with me, and I had no power to fight it anymore.

  Helplessly, I reached lower, compelled by the blade’s magic. It was fate, unchangeable as the tides. Who was I to set myself against it? I watched my hand reach for the hilt as if it belonged to someone else. I had no power to refuse, no choice but to obey Ni’ishasana’s summons. My consent had been given, and there was no way out for me anymore.

  Shaking, my fingertips grazed the cool metal, and a moan escaped me. It was like touching the sun. Power roared through me, slamming into my body, tearing me apart and putting me back together unutterably changed.

  When I could breathe again, I straightened up, my vision still full of dancing dark spots, and admired the marvel in my hand. Inside me, a whole world had opened up.

  I glanced across at Ash, feeling a deep connection. I was aware of him in a way I’d never been before. His luscious lips and cool grey eyes were the most beautiful things I’d ever seen, but now, I knew him on a deeper level. His soul was open to me, laid bare before my power.