Assassin's Mask Read online

  The breath catches in my throat. The creature is now twice the size it was before, its head bumping the ceiling. Vlad struggles to break free, but the more he fights, the more the draugr pulls.

  It’s preparing to rip his arms off.

  Vlad roars, changing tactic, pulling his arms inward instead of struggling, straining against the draugr’s opposing force, dragging the creature’s hands closer together through strength of will alone.

  There is no good end to this fight.

  Vlad’s back is to me. The light source—the verdan—is also behind him. I can’t see Vlad’s expression, but he won’t be able to hold on for long. I may feel uneasy about our alliance, but I won’t let him die here.

  I place the verdan on the ground and harness my inner power without releasing my wings, using it to speed up my movements as I run straight for the creature, curve out to the left, flip my katana into my left hand, and leap from the ground.

  The draugr’s neck is bare to me.

  I fly through the air, swinging my sword arm. The weapon slices in the direction away from Vlad’s position.

  The draugr’s eerie eyes widen.

  My sword sizzles as the verdan meets the draugr’s blood.

  I land on the other side, knees bent, the whispering thud of my landing filling the silence in the suddenly quiet cave.

  Behind me, the draugr’s body topples to the ground.

  Now free, Vlad drops to his feet and rolls out of the way of the falling body. Luckily, the draugr’s power fades as it falls, shrinking back to its normal, human size, easily missing Vlad’s location. He steadies himself, his chest heaving from exertion as he considers the draugr and then me.

  I take a moment to check my sword, glad to see it is completely clean now. The draugr’s cursed blood has consumed the verdan. It wasn’t why I killed it, but it’s a lucky consequence.

  I replace the sword in its scabbard before turning to Vlad with an apology on my lips. “I’m sorry.”

  He slowly regains his breath. “For saving my life?”

  I shrug. “You didn’t want to kill it.”

  He contemplates me for so long that I shift on the spot, uncomfortable now under his scrutiny.

  Finally, he says, “You could have run and not looked back. You had the sap. You could have left me here to die. But you didn’t.”

  I shrug, unhappily. “Do you really think I’m that merciless?”

  He says, “I’m starting to believe you’re not.”

  I turn away before he can say anything else. “Let’s get out of here. The stench is giving me a headache.”

  His response washes over me as he follows close behind. “I’ll fly us as close to Boston as I can. We’ll need to refuel a few times, but we should be able to land at one of the airstrips near the city.”

  I miss a step.

  Damn. Boston.

  I shudder so hard I almost topple over. My fearlessness abandons me. Now I have to hold up my part of the bargain.

  Chapter Four

  I never expected to return to Boston so soon. It’s only been three days since Slade and I went to Mount Greylock.

  Vlad and I flew most of the afternoon after defeating the draugr and then found a place to land and huddle in the helicopter overnight. It took us another five hours this morning to reach Boston.

  When the helicopter sets down, everything inside me fights to turn around and leave. The closer I get to Slade’s location, the more my insides twist and turn.

  I try to focus on the other challenges ahead. Vlad wants to see both Slade and Cain at the same time. I’m not sure how to make that happen. Cain is the Heir Apparent of the Horde. He was given permission to stay in Boston to reconnect with his family. He remains here strictly as a civilian, not as a future Master Assassin so his presence doesn’t challenge the Legion’s control of its territory. But he only visited the Realm when he was invited. I have no idea how I’ll make sure he’s there today.

  More important to me is the safety of the Clave. I went through so much to get it out of the Realm and away from Gareth. I won’t walk back in there with it in my backpack.

  My steps are heavy as I climb out of the helicopter and wait for Vlad. I plant my feet on the tarmac before he can progress toward the hanger.

  He takes one look at my face and pulls up sharp, slowly tugging his backpack over his shoulders. “What is it, Hunter?”

  “When I left the Realm…” I swallow hard, curling my fingertips into my palms. I stare up at the mid-morning sky and take a deep breath. “Coming back here is dangerous for me. I really hope this is important.”

  His expression softens. “It’s dangerous for me, too. Gareth has allies in unexpected places. We both need to watch our backs.”

  I shudder. Watching each other’s backs was what pulled Slade and me together. “I can’t take the feather into the Realm. I promise I’m not trying to stall or back out on our deal, but I can’t walk in there with everything I fought so hard to get out in the first place.”

  He gives me a cautious look. It will take a lot for him to trust me right now. From his point of view, I might be trying to trick him. I hope my actions saving him from the draugr will help alleviate that concern.

  He asks, “What do you propose?”

  “I want to leave my things in a safe place. Then, I can take you to the Realm.”

  His big hands close around the straps of his backpack, adjusting it as he considers my request. “Where is this ‘safe’ place?”

  “I’ll tell you, but I need to warn you that the occupants are not all human.”

  The last thing I need is for him to go all assassin on Tansy or Dean. Tansy is a witch and Dean is an empath. What’s more, Tansy distrusts assassins—especially me. Then there’s William who is human, but owns a bookshop called ‘The Tomb’ that contains rare and precious books about magical creatures that most people would see as oddities. I haven’t met the other occupants of Saber Lane but I’m sure there are more magical people among them.

  Vlad doesn’t flinch. “Magical beings don’t worry me. Where is it located, Hunter?”

  For someone who kept our destination from me for an entire day, he’s pushing me hard for a location.

  I say, “It’s called Saber Lane. It’s a twenty-minute walk from the Realm so it’s not out of our way.”

  I don’t have to hold my breath for long.

  Vlad gives me a quick nod of agreement and says, “Then let’s go.”

  I step onto Saber Lane, my boots thudding on the pavement, the sight of the familiar shops making my heart warm in expected ways. When I first came here, I was sent to kill William. Luckily, I figured out that Gareth was trying to trick me into breaking the Assassin’s Code—a crime that would have resulted in me being kicked out of the Legion.

  Gareth’s real target was the Keres Coda, an ancient book about my sworn enemy. I ended up getting to know William and discovered that I had spent the first four years of my life living in the home above the bookshop—Mom went there after she left the Legion. William was the closest thing to a father that I had before I met Ridley.

  Vlad sticks close beside me. His gun is concealed at the back of his jeans, but my katana is difficult to hide. Short of acquiring a violin case, there’s not much I can do about it, so I choose to carry it in plain sight slung across my back.

  The street is quiet for a Saturday when the tourists are usually out in force. In fact, the silence is oppressive. I pass by the bakery, frowning at the ‘Closed’ sign in the door. The next shop is closed, too.

  “This isn’t normal,” I whisper to Vlad. “Keep your eyes peeled.”

  “Always.”

  A lone woman hurrying in the opposite direction squeaks in alarm as I stride past. She side-steps me, staring at my sword.

  “Oh, it’s an antique,” I say, forcing a laugh and gesturing toward the apothecary’s shop, which is the most ancient-looking of them all, as if I’m taking it there to be valued.

  She darts a
glance at Vlad and hurries away.

  I let her go, turning back to find only one other person walking along the street.

  “Briar!”

  The old lady stops in her tracks. “Milady!” Her shock clears and she races toward me, her coat flapping around her bony legs. “Thank goodness, you’re alive!”

  Briar was my first client. She came to the Realm to seek the assassination of a known criminal who was harming women. She has no money to her name, so she offered me her loyalty as payment instead. She had pointed to my tattoo and told me I was my mother’s daughter. I didn’t know at the time, but she was trying to tell me I needed to take my mother’s place. Since then, she became my eyes and ears on the streets of Boston.

  She shocks me by throwing her arms around me in a giant hug. I stiffen before allowing myself to relax into it. She’s bony but somehow her embrace is one of the most calming I’ve experienced.

  “Briar, it’s good to see you—”

  “No time for that. You need to get to the Tomb right now—” She stops abruptly, gasping when she sees Vlad. Her mouth snaps shut. She glances at me. And back at him. “He is with you?”

  “This is Vlad.” I hesitate to call him my friend. “Our interests are aligned at the present time.”

  She speaks carefully and I guess it’s his monstrous size and boxer’s face that cause her to take a step back. “Very well. I have to go, but please hurry to the bookshop.”

  “Thank you, Briar.” I have another thought and catch her before she rushes away. “Wait… there’s something I need your help with.”

  “Yes, Milady?”

  “I need Cain Carter to be at the Realm today. Is there any way you can get a message to him?” I’m frustrated to realize that I don’t know where he lives.

  Briar says, “That won’t be difficult. Former Master Gareth is being tried today. Cain Carter will be at the Realm for the hearing. Along with the Guardian.”

  “Thank you, Briar.” I frown at the way she keeps darting glances at Vlad. Does she know him? I guess it’s not impossible—he’s a Legion assassin so she could have run into him at some point.

  I ask her, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  She casts another furtive look at Vlad. “Yes, Milady. I’m relieved you’re back.”

  I pick up my pace along the street. Vlad remains quiet beside me, light on his feet as always. I take the steps at the front of the shop two at a time, knocking despite the ‘Closed’ sign. Vlad remains a step behind me, still taller than me despite standing a step down.

  Tansy’s face appears in the glass pane.

  I brace, not expecting a warm welcome. She wasn’t exactly happy to see me the first time I showed up here. Then, when I brought Slade to her, begging her to heal him, she refused, her fear of assassins too great for her to overcome.

  She pulls the door open, her features ashen. “Hunter! We thought you were dead.”

  That’s not what I expected her to say. “What? Why?”

  She shocks me by grabbing my arm and pulling me into the shop.

  I nearly freeze at the contact. She never willingly touched me before.

  She speaks rapidly. “Come out of the street. Quickly. And bring your… friend.”

  Tansy’s speech slows. Her eyes grow wide as she takes in Vlad’s assassin’s ring, shaved head, been-in-too-many-fights nose, and incredible height. Her power glows in her eyes, her fear of assassins rising fast and furious in a palpable force around her.

  Vlad sucks in a breath at my side, quickly turns both hands palms out at his sides, and drops his gaze to the ground. “Blessings on your power and your home,” he says.

  The force fades from Tansy’s eyes, replaced with curiosity. “How do you know the witch’s greeting?”

  Vlad raises his eyes. A smile plays around his mouth. “I’m Vlad.”

  A perplexed expression crosses her face. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t.”

  She blinks at him. Then she shakes herself. She checks the street again before she says, “Come inside. Both of you.”

  She hurries inside, calling out to William as her heels clack on the floor and her golden hair bounces against her back.

  I follow her, turning the lock in the door as soon as Vlad is safely inside. I inhale the familiar scent of the paper and ink as we stride past the rows of books and climb the stairs. I want to stop and absorb the calming atmosphere, the comforting sight and smell of this place, but Tansy is already racing up the stairs.

  As soon as we appear at the top, William shoots to his feet, rising from his seat at the kitchen table.

  “Hunter! My dear child!” He hurries around the table and pulls me into a hug. “We thought you were dead.”

  I’m astounded by how many hugs I’ve received today. More than I’ve had in… well… a long time. But he’s the third person to tell me they thought I was dead and I need answers. Sure, I disappeared after I left for Mount Greylock—without sending word about my plans actually, a fact about which I suddenly feel very guilty given how worried they were.

  I force myself to pull back. “William, why would you think that?”

  “After you left that morning, we heard a rumor… Briar told us it was spreading like wildfire through the underground…” His voice trails off. Just like Briar and Tansy, it took William a minute to notice Vlad’s presence.

  For such a massive guy, Vlad definitely has the knack of disappearing into the background. It’s an assassin’s skill. One that Cain Carter has also mastered. I still remember with some embarrassment the time I tripped right over him at a high-end charity ball on the night of my first mission. As it turned out, Cain himself was hosting the ball.

  Unlike Briar and Tansy, William doesn’t wait for introductions. I guess he is faster to accept that I wouldn’t bring someone to his home unless I trusted them.

  William returns his attention to me. But what he says next shocks me. “We heard that Slade Baines had killed you.”

  I’m so shocked that I can barely form sound, forcing a whisper, “Slade would never do that.”

  Tansy takes up position on the other side of the table. “The underground went wild, Hunter. It wasn’t this bad when your Mom died. You were still here then. Your presence kept them all in check. Now that they think you’re dead too… and that Slade killed you no less… Suddenly…”

  She shudders so hard that she has to grip the table to keep her balance.

  I ask, “What happened?”

  She presses her lips together for a moment, the blood leaving them. “People have started disappearing. Humans and non-humans. It’s only been a few days but nobody is safe.”

  That would explain why all the shops are closed. Anyone who is aware of the underground, or has opposed it, is in fear for their life right now. I slip off my backpack and katana and sink into the nearest chair while Vlad chooses to remain standing behind me, staying quiet for now.

  I shake my head in disbelief. “I knew Mom had a reputation. She destroyed all of Patrick Ryan’s rivals and kept everyone in line, but I didn’t think that I…”

  “That you had such an impact?” William takes a seat beside me, leaning forward to take my hands in his, a warm grip. “Your friend may as well know that there are whispers in the underground that you are—or were according to the rumors—superhuman. That you could kill anything and not be killed. That belief kept everything in balance.”

  William is speaking carefully now. He and Tansy know that I’m Valkyrie, but Vlad doesn’t.

  William says, “When the rumor spread that Slade killed you, it was like a green light to every criminal and mobster out there.”

  I argue, “But Slade is ferocious. Surely, they’re afraid of him.”

  William shakes his head. “He killed you, Hunter. To their eyes, he gave them his blessing.”

  “Then the good people—the people who would have supported him—will turn away from him.” I press my lips together. It’s
a cruel strategy on the part of the person who started the rumor. By claiming that Slade killed me, the good people will fear Slade instead of supporting him, which in turn will hamstring Slade and enable the underground to rise up and take control.

  I ask, “Who started the rumor?”

  William says, “The new leader of the underground.”

  I’m surprised. “Not Gareth?”

  “He’s imprisoned in the Realm. He’s facing trial today in fact.”

  Vlad speaks up for the first time. “The leader of the underground is a woman, yes?”

  William and Tansy give him surprised looks. It’s a stereotype, but until now, the underground’s leaders have been male.

  “That’s correct,” Tansy says to him. “How did you know?”

  He shrugs. “News travels.”

  Tansy pauses as if she wants to push for more information, but he already played word games with her once on the front steps. She says to me instead, “You were right to be concerned about the Tirelli Family, Hunter. The woman at their head has stepped out of the shadows. They call her Lady Tirelli.”

  My first target was associated with the Tirelli Family. I was careful to kill him in a way that looked like an accident so I didn’t bring the entire family’s wrath down upon myself. Now it looks like Lady Tirelli is a lot more powerful than I feared.

  I chew my lip. “I overheard Gareth talking in his office before I left. He said that Lady Tirelli wanted her prize. I don’t know what that means, but he also said she wanted to control Slade. This must be how she’s trying to manipulate him.”

  William nods. “By making everyone believe Slade killed you.”

  I say, “Except he didn’t.”

  Tansy runs her hand across her eyes. She looks tired, her expression dull, sapped of strength. “We were worried because of what happened between you and Slade… We knew your death at his hand was possible so when people asked us, and when you didn’t come back, we couldn’t stop the rumor.”

  My shoulders slump. “You thought he did it.”

  Tansy’s pretty mouth presses into an apologetic line. “We knew he was strong enough.”