Sacred Knight of the Veil (32 page)

Reaching the room that housed the snoring soldiers, he paused to gather his thoughts and prepare himself. The familiar tingles of excitement went through him, reminding him of the many assassinations he had performed in the past. The killing did not excite him, it was the thrill of the stealthy approach with its danger of discovery and death that made his heart pound. He doubted that he would be able to kill all of them while they slept. Some would wake before the task was complete.

The missing familiars bothered him. He liked to know what beasts he faced, since the sudden appearance of a wolf or dog would be dangerous. Stepping into the room, he stood against the wall and surveyed his victims. The crows still slept on the window ledge, and the snake remained curled up on its friend's chest. He tried to see what kind it was, but in the darkness it appeared black. A venomous snake was a grave danger, and if he killed it first, its companion would wake, though only briefly, but long enough to rouse the others with a shout. Whereas snakes made little sound, the crows would make a ruckus when their friends died. The other two men might have venomous scorpions or spiders as dangerous as the snake, and hidden.

Making his decision, he moved towards the nearest man, who had no visible familiar. The soldier lay on his side, his hands tucked under his head, exposing his flank. Blade squatted beside him and drew a dagger, positioning it in exactly the right place to pierce the heart. Without hesitation, he thrust the blade in, sensing it grate against bone and slip through soft lung before it hit the throbbing heart. The man stiffened and drew in a ragged gasp as his heart stopped beating, his eyes opening to stare ahead. He remained like that for a couple of seconds, then his eyes rolled back and he slumped, the air leaving his lungs in a soft sigh.

Blade pulled out the dagger and looked at his next victim, who lay tangled in his blankets, snoring. He rested on his stomach, his arms raised and his hands tucked under the bag that he used for a pillow. The assassin went over to him and squatted down, glancing around for a familiar. Finding none, he positioned the dagger next to the man's ribs on the left side and drove it in quick and hard. Once again it slid past bone and through lung tissue, penetrating the heart. The Cotti twitched, then sighed and went still.

Blade stepped back as a black scorpion tumbled from the soldier's clothes and scuttled towards him, squashing it with his boot before he turned to the next man. This one's beaky nose made him suspect that his familiar was one of the crows, so he moved to the next soldier. He was the man of snakes, and the serpent raised its head at his approach, its tongue flicking out to taste the air. The prospect of being bitten made him wary of putting his hands within the reptile's reach, and he crouched next to the man's head. Putting down the dagger, he gripped the Cotti's throat and squeezed. The man's eyes opened, and he gasped, starting to writhe, then slumped.

The snake slithered towards Blade, and he moved away, approaching the man nearest the wall. He lay on his back, and also looked like a man of crows, but it made no difference which of the remaining two he killed now. The soldier's arms were at his sides, protecting his flanks, and Blade poised the dagger over the man's chest. This was a less favoured method, and one with which he had less experience, to say nothing of being out of practice. He hesitated, then drove the dagger in as hard as he could.

Immediately he knew that he had missed the heart, and yanked the weapon out as the man jerked awake, drawing breath to shout. Blade slashed his throat as he yelled, cutting off the cry and reducing it to a gurgle. The soldier thrashed, thrusting Blade away with a flailing arm as blood pumped from his jugular. One of the crows fluttered from the ledge with a harsh cry, waking its companion, which cawed a warning. The remaining soldier sat up and looked around in confusion.

Blade left the dying man and strode across to the last Cotti, who scrambled away, groping for his sword. The assassin reached him before he found it, but he raised his arms and shouted for his comrades to help him. He swung his fists at Blade, keeping the assassin at bay. Blade stepped back and waited for an opportunity to throw the dagger, unwilling to enter into a struggle with the big Cotti.

The man held his arms in front of his chest and glanced around at his companions, calling their names. When none of them responded, he turned to pick up his sword, exposing his flank. Blade threw the dagger, which hit the Cotti in the side and made him whip around. He fell with a grunt, trying to pluck the weapon from his ribs. Blade drew a second dagger and threw it, hitting him in the chest. The man writhed and cursed, trying to crawl away.

The second crow launched itself from the windowsill and flew at Blade with a harsh cry, almost blind in the darkness. He ducked and smacked it from the air, sending it crashing to the ground, a limp bundle of black feathers. The soldier cried out as he shared the pain of his familiar's death, and Blade walked up to him and slit his throat, jumping back to avoid the blood. Warm droplets splattered his face, and he swore, wiping it off on his sleeve. The first crow cawed, perched atop the body of its dead friend, plucking at his clothes in an effort to rouse him.

Blade turned to the unconscious snake man, whose familiar, now fully aroused, had reared up and spread a hood. With such a deadly familiar, the soldier was undoubtedly the leader of this troop. As he approached it, the snake turned to face him, hissing. Moving within striking range, he waved a hand, offering it a target. The serpent accepted the target and focussed on it. It swayed, following the movement of his hand, and he waited, tense as a coiled spring, for it to strike.

Once, he would have been confident of being faster than a striking snake, now an element of doubt made his heart beat faster. The snake struck in a blur, and Blade snatched his hand away, grabbing the cobra behind its head with his other hand in a motion too quick for the eye to follow. With a deft twist, he broke its spine and tossed it on the floor, where it writhed and coiled in the sand.

Turning his attention to its companion, he despatched the man and stood up to survey the room and its dead occupants. A bubble of pride rose and burst within him, filling him with warm satisfaction that made him smile. Even after fifteen years, he had only woken one of the soldiers, and had killed them all without serious mishap and no injury to himself. It seemed that he had not lost his touch.

After cleaning his daggers on one of the soldiers' tabards, he sheathed them and turned to the door. The sand cat sat in it, watching him. At his approach, she purred, then rose to rub against his legs.

"So, did Minna think I might need some help, Shista?" he asked as he bent to stroke the golden feline. "I am not sure whether to be insulted, or flattered by her concern."

Blade left the room, wishing that it had a door he could close to hide its grisly contents, and headed for the supply room. Collecting an armful of blankets, a bundle of wood and some food and wine, he returned to the Queen's room. She looked up at the sound of his footsteps and smiled with ill-disguised relief. Draping the blankets over her, he set up the wood for a fire and lighted it with a purloined tinderbox that seemed to work better than his, then set a pot of water on to boil. The Elder Queen looked like she needed a good hot meal more than a blanket. She watched him, swallowing when he dropped strips of bacon in a pan to fry.

To distract herself from the food's aroma, Minna asked, "Did it bother you to kill those men?"

He shot her a surprised look. "Why should it?"

"You have not assassinated anyone for fifteen years."

He shrugged. "It is like riding a horse. And I did not require Shista's aid."

"I did not think you would. I only sent her to observe."

The assassin smiled. "Of course."

"How is Chiana?"

His smile vanished. "Endor has tortured her."

The Queen's heart filled with sorrow and anger. "They will pay, I promise."

"Kerrion will do nothing, but Chiana will order their deaths and my former apprentice will assassinate them. That was my price for taking Kerra with me."

"Kerrion cannot kill them." Minna frowned at the fire. "Else he would, I know it. Speaking of my daughter, will you not go and fetch her now?"

He glanced at the dark windows. "She is sleeping. There is no need to wake her yet."

"You seem to care for her."

"No, I just do not want to walk all that way in the freezing cold."

She smiled. "You have not changed, my lord."

"I have had no reason to. Little about my life has changed." He poked the bacon. "Will Trelath return here soon?"

"No. He was here a few days ago. We must set out for Jadaya tomorrow."

He glanced at her. "Is that wise? You are weak. You need a few days of good food to restore your strength. Also, Jadaya will be dangerous for me. If I am found, even Kerrion could not prevent my execution."

"Oh, I think he could. For rescuing me, he could have you pardoned."

"Under Cotti law, your kidnap was not an offence."

She glared at the flames. "Then we must make it possible for him to change the laws."

"How?"

"He needs the support of his brothers."

"That, he will never have."

She considered the assassin, and the possibilities his presence offered. "Unless they feared for their lives."

"Even if they believed me capable of killing them all, which I doubt, they would not allow themselves to be blackmailed."

"Why not?"

"If Kerrion threatens them, he is guilty of treason. If you do it, they will accuse you of plotting to murder them, which is even worse. You no longer have the immunity of being the Jashimari Queen. You are only his wife in their eyes and in the eyes of the Cotti courts. Only Kerra could do it, but it would put her in grave danger."

"Kerrion can protect her."

Blade poked the sizzling bacon and added some journey bread to soak up the fat. "I put little faith in Kerrion's ability to do that. His brothers almost killed you while you were under his protection, and they succeeded in kidnapping you. If Kerra is captured or killed, it will throw Jashimari into anarchy and civil war. Chiana is only a regent, she cannot rule without a prospective queen, at the least. I was dragged into this mess to prevent that from happening, and although I do not care if it does, I do not wish to see my efforts wasted."

Minna shook her head. "Nothing will happen to Kerra, but if it did, I would return to rule Jashimari."

"Leave Kerrion?"

She nodded. "And my sons."

"But you have no heir."

"I will pass my crown to my first born granddaughter."

He poked the bacon. "A three-quarter Cotti."

"No. I will arrange a marriage for my eldest son with a Jashimari girl."

"I see."

"Kerra will return to rule Jashimari when this is all over."

Blade used the journey bread to scoop up the bacon and rolled it into a sandwich, which he offered to the Queen. Minna strived to hide her hunger as she took it and ate with dainty bites. Blade sprinkled tea leaves into the bubbling water to make the tea she liked so much, and waited for it to brew, then poured a cup and added sugar. It surprised her to see the assassin engaged in such acts of domesticity, and quite obvious, from the burnt bacon, that he had no skill at it. Since she had no idea how to cook, she could not advise him, and what he produced, although black and crunchy, tasted delicious after a moon of stale bread and dirty water.

When Minna-Satu had consumed a bacon sandwich, Blade gave her tea, which she drank with a smile. Queens did not often extend thanks to their minions, and, although he was not a servant, his courtesy was accepted with only regal smiles. This did not bother him unduly, since the Elder Jashimari Queen was one of the few people for whom he had any respect. When she finished the tea, he gave her another bacon sandwich.

While she ate, he pulled open his collar and peeled off the leather patch, revealing the mark of his retirement. "If I am to perform assassinations, I must remove this mark. When we get to Jadaya, I must find a tattooist."

"I am certain that there are plenty in the capital. I shall see to it that one is brought to you."

Blade nodded and glanced at the windows, which dawn's first cold glow filled. Soon the desert would become a furnace. Before that happened, he must fetch Kerra and bring her to meet her mother, then he could rest in the shade for the remainder of the day. He rose and bowed to the Queen.

"I shall fetch Kerra now, before it grows hot."

"Yes, good." Minna wiped a drop of bacon fat from her chin.

Blade retraced his steps to the door through which he had entered the keep. The sun rose swiftly in the desert, and the first rays slanted across the sand when he walked into the courtyard. A startled oath made him spin around and drop into a crouch, yanking the daggers from his belt. Six armoured Cotti soldiers faced him, drawing their swords. Blade cursed.

Apparently the soldiers had been split into two shifts, and these had been hidden around the oasis, on guard duty. He had killed the day shift, and now the night-watchmen had returned from their vigil. The surfeit of supplies had not been for a long stay, but for twice as many men, who would share the blankets with the day shift, so there had been no empty bedrolls to give away their presence. He must have crept right past them in the dark, probably because they had been sleeping, or at least lying down.

The leader, a tall man with a brown wolf at his side, glared at Blade with yellow eyes as fierce as his familiar's. Another had a crow perched on his shoulder, and a third carried a fork-tailed kestrel on his wrist. The other three seemed to have no beasts with them, but they were probably harbouring insects or small animals. The leader turned his head and spat on the sand.

"So, a Jashimari with a tan, it seems. What are you doing here, and where are my men?"

Blade relaxed, straightening from his crouch. If the leader wanted to talk, all the better. "They're inside, having breakfast. I was just passing through, and got lost."