Lord Protector (2 page)

Storm's brows shot up, and he smiled. "Kerrion? I don't think so."

"Ah, well, had he been against it, don't you think he could have prevented my client from ordering the deaths of his brothers? He was most pleased with my work. He even counted himself my friend, and swore to aid me should I ever require it."

Storm walked over to the table where Blade's daggers lay and poured himself a cup of wine from the bottle there. "That won't do you any good, I'm afraid."

"No, I didn't expect it to, but I doubt he'll let my death go unavenged. His brother may be beyond his reach, but you're not."

The Cotti assassin shrugged and sipped his wine. "That's a chance I'll have to take. You won't talk me out of killing you, if that's what you're trying to do."

Blade shook his head. "Not at all. You have to do the job you were hired for, and I'm sure, like me, you've never failed."

"No, never."

"Good. I wouldn't want to be killed by a second-rate assassin, like Ice."

"Dying doesn't bother you?"

Blade cast him a sweet, sad smile, noting the twitch it evoked on Storm's face. He knew very well the power he wielded, and used its full force upon the Cotti assassin. "I've been courting death since your countrymen butchered my family and mutilated me. It's been too long in coming. I almost succeeded fifteen years ago, but your king saved me, much to my chagrin. I'm not partial to pain, however."

Storm took a gulp of wine, gazing at Blade, who tilted his head so the lamplight fell on his face, a slight smile curving his lips. From experience, he knew how his androgynous allure affected men, although it worked better when he was disguised as a woman. He shifted his feet, surprised to find that his legs were not bound. Either the Cotti assassin was overconfident, or stupid, or he did not plan to stand in front of Blade. The last option seemed the most likely. Storm drained the cup and refilled it, studying Blade.

"It seems you're rescued quite often. Not only did you miraculously survive your fight with Ice, you vanished from the executioner's yard at the palace in Jadaya. My king can't be that fond of you if he allowed you to be sentenced to death."

"He had no choice, but he didn't let them kill me, did he?"

"I suppose he rescued you, after your fight with Ice, too?"

Blade nodded. "Quite a number of people have denied me the release of death, even Shamsara, once."

Storm frowned. "And you want to die?"

"What do I have to live for?"

"Well..." The Cotti assassin made a slight gesture with his wine cup, as if he was about to name some reasons, then his frown deepened. "That makes my job easier, I suppose. It will be painful, though."

"Ah well, you don't have to make it too bad, do you? Your client will only know what you tell him. You don't enjoy killing, I think. I don't get to know my victims like this before I kill them."

"Nor do I, usually."

"So, you want to savour your triumph." Blade's smile widened. "Am I to be your greatest kill?"

"I haven't killed any kings or princes, but there are a few lords on my tally."

"A Jashimari lord must be better than a Cotti. A high lord to boot, and the former Regent, to say nothing of the husband of the current Regent." Blade chuckled. "My titles keep accumulating. I'm also a sacred Knight of the Veil."

Storm's gaze sharpened. "You're a priest?"

"Yes. I hope you'll accord me the last rites, since you enjoy Tinsharon's favour."

The Cotti assassin glanced down at his cup, clearly discomfited. "How can you be a priest and an assassin?"

"In Jashimari, the Knights protect the temples and priestesses. We're allowed to kill."

"But we're paid to slay the innocent while they sleep."

Blade tilted his head again. "My queen wanted to ensure that I wouldn't be damned for my deeds, so she had me anointed."

"You've certainly found favour with the high and mighty, haven't you?"

"I do seem to have that knack."

Storm put down his empty wine cup and sauntered closer, drawing the curved knife from his belt. "I don't like to kill a priest, but I have a job to do, and it's time to get started."

Blade nodded. "Don't bother with the last rites; I've had them many times already."

"I wasn't going to."

Storm paused, fingering the knife, then pulled a cloth from his pocket and twisted it into a gag. Blade noted that his performance had engendered a slight hesitancy in the Cotti assassin, and Storm now contemplated his task with reluctance. His resolve had weakened, which might cause him to err. His initial brutality had shown that he was well aware of Blade's deadly reputation. Now, however, the Jashimari assassin's apparent amiability and acceptance of death had lulled Storm into thinking Blade would do nothing to try to prevent him.

At least, that was what Blade had hoped to achieve, and it appeared to have worked. He watched the Cotti assassin approach, knowing he would not be stupid enough to stand in front of him, but might be confident enough now to stop beside him instead of going behind, where he would be safe. Storm halted beside him and bent to fasten the gag.

Blade thrust the chair sideways with a scrape of wood and kicked Storm in the crotch with all his might. As the Cotti doubled up with a groan, Blade pushed himself backwards and kicked again. His boot hit Storm on the chin, sending him staggering back a few steps before he fell, stunned. The chair toppled backwards with a crash, and Blade twisted sideways before he went completely over and broke his arms. The chair back pinned his wrists, and agony shot from his injured shoulder. He bit his lip to stem a growl of pain, hooked his boot onto the chair's seat and kicked it away, freeing his arms. Twisting, he rolled to his feet.

Storm struggled to rise, shaking his head. Blade turned to the window, the closest exit, and furthest from Storm. As the Cotti assassin staggered to his feet, Blade charged the window and threw himself through it with a crash of breaking glass. He fell amid a spray of glittering shards and landed on the roof of the first floor with a grunt, broken glass raining down around him.

Blade rolled down the steep roof, carried by the momentum of his fall. Without arms to stop himself, he hit the gutter and sailed over the edge, twisting, cat-like, to bring his legs under him. He succeeded well enough to cushion his landing and roll as he hit the ground, although the impact jarred his legs and knocked the wind out of him.

Passers-by stopped and stared as he struggled to his feet, many glancing up at the window from which he had jumped. Blade looked up too, glimpsing Storm as he retreated into the darkness. Slipping into a nearby alley's shadows, Blade loped down it, searching for something with which to cut the cords that bound his wrists.

Chapter Two

Chiana jumped up, almost upsetting the tea tray. Even clad in her usual plain grey, she was a daunting sight when angered, and recently her temper had become short. Kerra, seated a fair distance from the Regent, stared at her in surprise. Insash, who was the third informal tea guest, froze with his teacup poised before his lips.

They sat in Chiana's sumptuous sunroom, where delicate gilded furniture gleamed in the weak winter sunlight that flooded in through tall paned windows. Swathes of deep blue silk, trimmed with silver, framed the vast portals, and the polished white marble floor held glints of gold. The brocaded silk cushions upon which the trio sat were located strategically in the pool of sunlight, and a low table held a glinting silver tea service and platters of sugared pastries.

"How could you lose him? What sort of inept imbecile are you?" Chiana demanded.

The spy spread his hands and hunched his shoulders. "There was a brawl at the taproom. I went outside to avoid becoming embroiled in it. I thought his lordship would do the same. Afterwards, I heard that a big man dressed in black had knocked his lordship out, but I could find neither of them."

Chiana paled. "Then another assassin attacked him. Someone has paid for his death."

The spy shook his head. "Later, a man jumped from one of the inn's windows and ran off."

"And you think it was Lord Conash?"

"He matched Lord Conash's description."

Chiana sank down on her cushions, still furious, but now thoughtful as well. "Then you must find him. Take however many men you need. What about the man who attacked him?"

The spy shrugged. "No one knows who he is, merely a rich traveller."

"I want him found also, and arrested at once."

"Yes, Regent."

The spy bowed and retreated, and a handmaiden showed him out. Chiana picked up her cup and sipped her tea, frowning.

Insash cleared his throat. "I am sure there is no need to worry, Regent. Lord Conash is well able to fend for himself. It is this brigand who should beware. He is now marked for death, surely?"

Chiana's eyes flicked to him, and her frown deepened. "My husband is not an indiscriminate killer, Insash. Without a client, he may not hunt this man down. He can only kill him in self-defence, which gives his assailant the advantage, I think."

"But already he has foiled the man once, and escaped. Now he is forewarned."

"Even so, if this stranger is an assassin, as I suspect, my husband is in grave danger."

Insash smiled. "Regent, your husband has killed more men than a small army, including two assassins at once..."

"What has happened in the past may not happen in the future. Is this assassin Contara? Did we execute the wrong man? Or is he another, more dangerous foe? Do not forget that Blade has lost the use of his right arm."

Kerra put down her cup with a clink. "Why do you not contact Blade's guild? Will they not know who this stranger is, and perhaps do something about him?"

Chiana shook her head. "They may know who he is, but they will not protect Blade. This man cannot be Jashimari, since our assassins do not kill their own kind, so he must be Contara or Cotti."

"Does the Guild allow foreign assassins to kill Jashimari?"

Chiana looked impatient. "As far as I know, yes. They do not care who kills who, so long as they obey the Guild rules."

"Perhaps we should suggest that this may be a Jashimari assassin, then they might do something to find him."

The Regent sighed. "Kerra, forget the Guild. They will not help us."

Kerra drew herself up. "They are citizens of this city and this kingdom. How can they refuse an order from their queen? What if we hired one of them to find and slay this foreign assassin? That would not be against their rules."

"No..." Chiana picked up her cup and sipped the steaming tea. "But an assassin requires the name and location of his target. You cannot give him such vague instructions. No assassin would accept such an assignment. If he kills the wrong man, it would be murder in the eyes of the Guild, and he would be punished. We cannot even give an assassin a description of this stranger, and if we could, he is probably now disguised."

Kerra slumped, frowning. "Why does Blade not come to the palace? Here we could protect him."

"Because he does not want our help, Kerra. This is the last place he will come. If those idiot spies find him, I shall have him watched by men who can protect him, but until then there is nothing I can do."

"Except worry yourself sick about him."

"That is my problem, not yours."

"I am worried about him too, Chiana."

The Regent sighed, her expression softening. "Of course you are, my dear."

Blade entered the livery stable and walked along the aisle, searching for the stalls in which his three new horses resided. His bag contained a change of clothes and a few oddments, as well as the components of several disguises. Over his traditional black garb, he wore a thick, fur-lined coat.

His decision to leave Jondar in the middle of winter had not been an easy one, but he was tired of spending his days as prey, constantly on the alert for Storm's next attempt. It wearied him, and he knew Storm would wait for his alertness to wane with all the patience of a trained assassin. Patience was far easier for the hunter than it was for the hunted, and although he could don a disguise and vanish for a while, that would only be a temporary reprieve. Eventually he would become tired of his disguise, or Storm would find him, and he disliked skulking and hiding. It was humiliating.

Over the last tenday, he had contemplated several ways of defeating his foe, including asking Kerra to be his client. The prospect of asking for even so trivial a favour from the childish Queen annoyed him, however. He had considered paying one of his former apprentices to hunt the Cotti assassin, but had little confidence that any of them would succeed. Storm would be a hard target, and he disliked the idea of being forced to pay one of his ilk to do the deed.

Perhaps pride was foolish when a man who was clearly an excellent assassin hunted him, yet he could not help it. Pride was all he had, and he clung to it. As the best assassin in Jondar and probably all of Jashimari, he would kill the Cotti, even if he was at a disadvantage. To lessen the disparity, he had decided to choose his ground for the encounter, somewhere less crowded, where Storm's disguises would avail him little.

As Blade set down his bag outside the stall of one of the sturdy horses he had purchased, his internal alarms jangled. He spun around, drawing the daggers from his sleeves in a smooth, practised motion. A shadowy figure stepped into the lantern's dim light, and Blade relaxed, lowering his weapons.

His former mentor wandered closer, eyeing him. "It's not like you to be so nervous, Blade."

Blade sheathed his daggers. "I have reason."

"Indeed? The jealous husband of some poor infatuated woman who doesn't know you're no threat to him? Is that why you're leaving Jondar in the middle of winter?"

"No."

"But you are leaving."

"That's my business."

"Actually, the Guild is very interested in you right now. Your injury seems to be healed, yet you haven't announced your retirement, nor have you attended the dances."

Blade sighed. "I'm not interested in the dances any more, and I'll retire again when I'm ready."