Invisible Assassin (20 page)

"No, don't be upset, Chiana. Will you trust me and ask no further questions? I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?"

Jayon stood up. "Come with me, and I'll show you."

Looking puzzled, she rose and followed him.

The assassin relaxed in the tub, enjoying the water's soothing warmth as it heated his bones and eased the aches and bruises of the journey. He had always hated travelling, as much for its discomfort as for its tendency to make one sweaty and dirty. Since becoming an assassin, he had also become a city dweller, he reflected. In a city, walking was the easiest means of transport, and did not involve smelly horses. Inns were readily available with hot baths and soft beds, a far more suitable environment for a man of refinement and cleanliness than traipsing across the countryside. Apart from the journey to his estate, he promised himself to forgo any further travelling in the future. A twinge of alarm interrupted his pleasant thoughts.

Jayon had left some time ago to bathe, but, knowing the youngster, he was not soaking like Blade. He was eager to tell Chiana of Blade's return, and might even now be on his way here with the Regent in tow. This unpleasant thought galvanised Blade to quit the tub and dry himself, dragging clothes from the cupboard. He pulled on a haphazard selection, expecting at any moment the door to burst open and admit his wife. With his damp, cropped hair sticking out in all directions, he laced up his boots and pulled on a shirt. As he was fastening it, the door opened and Jayon stood aside, grinning. Chiana's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Blade gave a growl of annoyance and shot a glare at Jayon.

"You could at least have knocked, I -"

"Blade!" Chiana flew across the room and hurled herself at him. Blade staggered back as she clasped him in a fierce embrace, and she wept in almost hysterical happiness, her cheek pressed to his chest. The assassin glowered at the grinning youth.

"It is as well I was dressed. A few minutes earlier and I would still have been in the damned tub. Imagine that."

Jayon's eyes sparkled with glee. "I'll try not to. It was a great surprise."

"Get out."

The young man's grin broadened, and he chuckled as he retreated, closing the door. Blade looked down at his weeping wife and growled, "For God's sake, Chiana. This behaviour does not befit a Regent."

She looked up at him with eyes that shimmered with tears of joy. "I do not care. You are alive!"

"Yes, I am, now will you let go?"

"No." She flung her arms around his neck and embraced him again. "This is a miracle! I can hardly believe it. I have been so miserable without you. All these moons I thought you were dead. I grieved for you, and cursed Kerrion for stealing you away so I did not even have a grave at which to mourn."

"Stop this." Blade tried to pry her loose, but soon realised that he would have to hurt her before she would let go, and gave up.

"Hold me, please," she whispered.

"Damn it, Chiana -"

"Please! Is it so much to ask?"

The assassin sighed, placed his arms around her shoulders and allowed her to press herself closer to him. Only she, he reflected wryly, had the audacity, or perhaps the courage to ignore his anger and insist on such a thing. Lilu would flirt and tease, but never cling to him so insistently, nor dare to demand the return of her affection. His sister had shamed him with her revulsion. Still, Chiana's proximity made him uncomfortable, and he longed for the intimacy to end. The last person he had held in his arms had been his youngest sister on the day she had died, and he remembered how her small body had grown cold in his embrace.

"Chiana -"

"Hush." She clamped a hand over his mouth. "You will not spoil this for me with harsh words. Allow me this joy for all the pain I have endured in your absence." She buried her face in his chest and wept, her tears soaking his shirt.

Blade held her as he had done his sister so long ago, trying to remember the warmth and affection he had experienced then. He wondered if he had drowned all his emotions in blood and revenge forever, and was now incapable of offering even the slightest comfort to his distraught wife. At least her embrace was purely for comfort and lacked the overtones of passion other women had tried to force upon him. As such, it did not fill him with the revulsion he had experienced then, and he raised a hand to stroke her hair, enjoying its silken texture. Chiana looked up at him in surprise.

"I could almost misconstrue this as tenderness."

"Is this not what you want?"

"Yes." She sagged against him. "It is, so I will not question it. I know that it means nothing to you, yet if you chose to you could seduce any woman in the world with such a touch."

"Indeed? Rest assured, seduction is not my intent. I have always supposed it to be folly for a eunuch to arouse the passions of a woman, since such unspoken promises can never be fulfilled. All who gained my embrace died in it, and those who did not feared for their lives even as they sought my arms. That was part of the excitement, I suspect."

"Not for me," she murmured. "Perhaps it is because I love you, and therefore my life is yours should you choose to take it. I suppose you have a dagger hidden somewhere, as you always do." She searched him for a weapon.

He smiled. "I fear you find me unarmed, my lady."

Chiana gazed up at him in a puzzled manner. "Just a few moments ago you were angry, now you seem content. I find your moods too quick to follow. They leave me floundering in confusion."

"I was mildly annoyed, nothing more. I have never been a cruel man. How can I remain annoyed with one who embraces me so warmly and professes undying love? I do not enjoy such displays of affection, but in Jadaya..." He paused, frowning, wondering why he was telling her so much, then sighed. "I discovered what it is to be rejected by one for whom I cared."

"You care for someone? Who?"

"My sister."

She drew back to study him. "Your sister is alive?"

"Not anymore. I killed her."

"You would not do such a thing."

He smiled again. "You know me so well."

"Well enough."

"Indeed. But because of me she was murdered, so I may as well have slit her throat myself."

"But you did not."

"No."

"Then you are blameless." She caressed the tattoo at the base of his throat. "It must have been terrible for you. I am sorry."

"She was ashamed to have an assassin for a brother. I revolted her, and she shuddered at my touch."

"She was wrong."

"No, she was right. She was ashamed of what I have become because she knew me before I became it. I was a stranger to her. We brought each other nothing but sorrow, for she could see the blood on my hands, and I saw myself through her eyes."

She gazed at him. "Are you ashamed of what you are?"

Blade hesitated. "No. I chose it. I have even learnt to be proud of it, for it is all I am good at. But her fear of me made me see myself as she did, a heartless killer whose hands have been steeped in so much blood that it can never be washed off. It was not an unfair judgement; just one I wish had not been true. I longed to join her in death."

Taking advantage of her slackened hold, he pulled free and walked to the window to gaze out. Chiana watched him, biting her lip, then joined him, putting a hand on his back. He frowned at the gardens.

"What changed your mind?" She caressed his back. "Did you wish to see me again, perhaps? Did you crave the love and acceptance you knew I would give you? Is that why you have returned to me?"

He glanced at her, the hope shining in her eyes telling him of the answer she craved. A wry smile tugged at his lips as he turned away. "No."

"But you came here to see me."

"Not willingly. I was going to go directly to my estate, but Jayon persuaded me to see you." He shrugged. "Anyway, I have business here, which would best be attended to in person."

"What business is that?"

"I am retiring. I must inform the guild, and, since I am the Master of the Dance, I have to hand over the belt to a younger man. It is unusual for an assassin to be the Dance Master when he retires, so I have to perform certain ceremonies."

"Then you will go to your estate, and I shall not see you again for twenty years."

Blade turned to face her, frowning. "Why would you wish to? I am of no use to you. You would do better to forget me."

"I could never do that. You have much to offer. Your companionship, your conversation and advice. Your mere presence is a comfort to me, just being in the same building, never mind the same room. Your support would be a great help in issues of state, and your aid in raising Queen Kerra-Manu is something Minna-Satu herself required of you."

"And what is in that for me? I have no wish to be caged in this infernal cesspit of slander and plotting, nor have I anything to offer the future Queen. What would you have me teach her, how to throw daggers and slit throats?"

"That would not be such a bad thing, and you are My Lord and husband. You have much to offer as a father figure to a young girl."

"I have no wish to stay here, nor is it safe now that Cotti live amongst us. I have slain three Cotti princes in Jadaya. If I am found, they will execute me."

Fresh tears spilt down her cheeks. "But I cannot come with you."

Blade swung away, gripped the window ledge and stared out at the gardens. Chiana sniffed and scrubbed her cheeks, knowing that her weeping only annoyed him. "What happened in Jadaya? Why did you slay more princes?"

"I had no choice. Kerrion took me prisoner before I took the Cup. To regain my freedom and retain my health I had to do as he said. Also, he found my sister as payment for the death of the princes who plotted against him."

A knock at the door made Blade turn, and Chiana looked away to hide her tears as Arken entered bearing a tray of wine, fresh bread and cheese. He beamed at Blade, bowing when he had put down his burden.

"My Lord, welcome back."

The assassin inclined his head, and the servant retreated, grinning. Blade walked over to pour the wine and sample the food, leaving Chiana to follow. He washed down a mouthful of bread and cheese with a gulp of red wine.

"Anyway, I have to take an apprentice when I retire, and I cannot do that here. He will be a street urchin with no manners and light fingers who will probably kill without hesitation."

"Must you?"

"Yes, I must."

"Then I shall find a way to see you, no matter what it takes. I will come to your estate in disguise and appoint a trusted advisor to rule in my absence."

His eyes narrowed, raking her with an angry, disbelieving glance. "You cannot do that. You are forbidden to leave the palace, and you can trust no one to take your place while you are gone. Such a plan is madness. Have you lost your wits completely? Is this what love does to people?"

"Yes." Chiana hung her head. "When two people love each other, they cannot bear to be apart, and if you loved me you would not leave me."

"Well I do not, as you well know, nor will I ever. And even if I did, to stay here is certain death if the Cotti discover me."

"I would not let them take you."

He gave an angry snort. "You would start another war. Even Kerrion cannot prevent my execution now, should I be caught. I killed Prince Ronan before half his court."

"I see." She slumped, picking up a cup of wine. "Then you must go."

"And you will stay here."

Chiana gazed at the wine, unable to meet Blade's steely eyes, knowing that she would find no pity in them. "Yes, My Lord."

"Do not think to appeal to my pity, Chiana. Such displays of submission, though admirable, are wasted on me. The situation does not allow for your romantic notions, nor do they impress me."

"But you do care about me," she averred.

His brows rose. "Whatever gives you that idea?"

"If you did not, you would not care what happens to me. Yet you clearly do, or you would not show such concern."

"The worst that will happen to you is that you will be deposed, and Minna-Satu chose you as Regent. I would like to see her wishes carried out, although even that does not overly concern me. What does concern me is the thought of having you on my estate, pestering me endlessly with your half-baked ideas about love. I want a peaceful retirement."

Blade banged down his cup and marched to the door, jerked it open and slammed it behind him. Chiana gazed at it, blinking back the tears that stung her eyes, then shook her head.

"You are a liar, Blade."

Chapter Eleven

The following day, Blade sent a message to the assassins' guild requesting a meeting with its elders. He received a reply the day after, offering to meet him the following night, a mere three days after his return to Jondar. During that time he found himself a great deal in Chiana's company, whenever she was not required for official duties. At her urging, he told her about the Cotti, describing the city, its people and customs. Each day she sought him out, usually at meal times or in the evenings, sometimes bringing the infant Queen with her.

Kerra had grown into a chubby baby who laughed a lot and smiled even when she was asleep. He was glad that Chiana did not try to insist on spending the night with him, although she made it clear that it was still her wish. When she was not around, Jayon was, and Lirek visited to welcome Blade back. He exercised in the afternoon when the Cotti advisors were at prayer, and counted the days until he could leave. The advisors soon learnt of his presence from their spies, but Chiana met their demands to have him arrested with vigorous denials of his continued existence and dismissed the accounts of their spies as rumours or ghostly visions.

Her acid mockery of their suspicions deterred further demands, and she feigned great distress at the mere suggestion that her husband was alive. With the palace servants devoted to keeping the advisors from glimpsing him themselves, his presence remained a mystery. As soon as he had handed over the belt to his successor, he would go to his estate and enjoy some true peace.