Invisible Assassin (2 page)

"When did you tell her, just before she begged to see me?"

Kerrion frowned, disliking the fact that the assassin's assumption was close to the truth. "She did not beg, and I did not come here to argue with you. She wants to see you, and so she shall."

He opened to the door to admit four spear-toting guards. When they had arranged themselves around the assassin, Kerrion took a key from his pocket and tossed it to Blade.

Kerrion led the way down a long marble corridor bare of any ornamentation except potted plants and statues of long-dead kings, warriors and heroic beasts. Stained glass windows let in streams of coloured light to pattern the pale floor. They stopped before a pair of imposing doors at the end of a corridor, where two soldiers snapped to attention. Kerrion gestured, and one of the guards knocked on the doors, which a maiden opened.

The girl fell to her knees as Kerrion strode past her, and Blade followed, a little puzzled. The room resembled Minna-Satu's vast suite in Jashimari, decorated lavishly with rich hangings and rugs of a predominantly blue or turquoise hue, which Minna favoured. The floor was strewn with gilt-edged cushions, and a dozen handmaidens waited within, dressed in Jashimari fashion. All fell to their knees at Kerrion's entrance. The King stepped aside, and Blade stopped in surprise.

Queen Minna-Satu languished on a veritable mountain of cushions, dressed in a flowing peacock-blue gown, her favourite colour. Jewels and gold pins decorated her hair, strands of pearls and gold chains hung over a jewelled bodice embroidered in gold. The scene was all too familiar, so similar to the Queen's room in Jashimari that Blade almost thought himself transported there. He bowed as Minna rose to greet him, smiling.

"My Lord Conash. It is good to see you."

"My Queen."

Minna studied his face, her eyes lingering on his gaunt cheeks and the fading bruises around his throat. The signs of his recent ordeal clearly saddened her, and she shot Kerrion an angry look that Blade did not miss.

"Come, My Lord, sit with me."

A soft chirp made him glance around. Shista trotted towards him, her eyes bright and a deep purr rumbling in her throat. Blade smiled, and she rubbed against his legs so vigorously that she almost bowled him over. Flopping down, she rolled onto her back in a clear demand that he rub her belly. The assassin squatted to oblige, stroking the silken fur under which sleek muscles writhed.

Minna smiled and returned to her nest of cushions, gesturing to a suitable spot for Blade to sit. He left the sand cat and sank down on the indicated pile of cushions. Kerrion remained standing, and the Queen barely took notice of his presence. A maiden brought Blade a cup of wine, but Minna declined to join him. She gestured, and the maidens vanished out through the doors.

"I have heard of your harsh treatment, and I regret it, My Lord."

"You are not to blame."

"I did not speak against it strongly enough at the time, I must admit. I also thought that a time behind bars would persuade you to help us in return for your freedom." She sighed. "You see, I have little else to offer you, My Lord. Already my coffers in Jashimari are open to you, though it does you no good here."

Blade glanced at Kerrion with narrowed eyes. "His life would be ample reward."

"You know I cannot do that. Without him, the war would start again, and all my plans would be in vain. Besides, I love Kerrion, and he loves me. Soon we will be wed."

"Jashimari Queens do not wed."

"No, but Cotti Kings do. We must make compromises if we are to work together. Normally a Cotti King would take many wives and concubines, but Kerrion will take only one wife. A Cotti wife has no power, but I already do, and shall have more when I am wed to him. By the same token, Jashimari Queens do not wed, but take a consort, so I shall take a husband.

"You see, we both flout our traditions so we can bring about changes for the better in Cotti and Jashimari culture. I shall never rule Cotti, any more than Kerrion will rule Jashimari, but, as the King himself has said, if his daughter rules Jashimari, then my son will rule Cotti."

She leant forward. "That is why my life is in danger. Kerrion's brothers plot to kill me, and he cannot stop them legally, nor can he kill them himself without being discovered. No Cotti assassin will do it, and we have no time to bring another assassin from Jashimari. You are my only hope. I am now in the same predicament that Kerrion was when I took him prisoner, except I am not a prisoner."

Blade glanced at Kerrion, then faced her again. "An elaborate tale, My Queen. A very plausible one too. And all this." He gestured to the furnishings. "Most convincing. Were you brought from his harem to tell it? Did he threaten to punish you if you failed to persuade me?"

Minna-Satu paled, her eyes widening. "How dare you? You question me? You doubt my words? Are you calling me a liar?"

"No, My Queen. I am calling you another victim of Kerrion's plans. A pawn captured and forced to dance to his tune." Blade glanced at the King again, who smirked. "Did he do all of this merely to use me for his own ends, to kill his enemies?"

"You rate yourself too highly. I always knew you were proud, but you have an overblown opinion of your worth. I was not captured to blackmail you, rather, you were saved to protect me."

"Perhaps." Blade sipped his wine. "The Jashimari Queen is a great prize indeed, to be brought here a prisoner and paraded before the Cotti lords as the spoils of war.

"I do not doubt that Kerrion's brothers seek to strip him of his trophy, and I will not be fooled into protecting his property. I regret your humiliation in this matter. No Jashimari Queen should be used so ill, and I understand that you would not be able to withstand the kind of treatment I have received."

Kerrion made a choking sound, patently struggling to keep from laughing as Minna rose to her feet. Blade put down his wine cup and stood up to face her, shooting the King an icy glance.

"You dare to insult me so?" Minna growled. "You, who I thought knew me so well, think I would bow to such a scheme? Allow myself to be used thus?"

"Torture is a powerful inducement -"

"Not powerful enough!" Her eyes glittered. "You may be a coward when it comes to pain, but I would never become a trophy to any man. I would rather die."

"That can be prevented -"

"He is to be my husband, and I am his willing bride. I have been treated with every courtesy and kindness since my arrival, and that is the truth."

"You do his bidding -"

Minna slapped him, jerking his head to the side with the force of the blow. "Silence! I do no one's bidding! Not now. Not ever. Do you see the signs of ill treatment upon me? Do I look like one who has been humiliated and treated as a trophy?" Blade glared at the floor, and Minna said, "Answer me!"

He raised his eyes. "No, you do not."

"What must I do to convince you? Would you have me hold a dagger to his throat?"

"You cannot kill him, you said so yourself."

Minna threw up her hands. "Then what? Tell me what will convince you, and I will have it done."

"I do not know, My Queen. He may sink to great depths to get his way."

"There must be something."

Blade looked at Kerrion. "Perhaps if I saw his court bow to you and call you their Queen."

Minna also glanced at the King, who shook his head. "Impossible. It is too soon to expect them to accept Minna as their queen. Cotti do not regard women highly, and on top of that, she is Jashimari. It will take a few years before that can be attained."

The assassin nodded. "As I thought."

"No, your queen has told you the truth. I am surprised you offer her this insult."

"I do not insult her. She is at your mercy, as I have said."

"No."

Blade strode over to the King and punched him in the face, knocking the monarch down. Kerrion lay stunned for a moment, then shook his head and sat up, cursed and wiped blood from his nose. Minna flew to his side and fell to her knees. The assassin watched her with a frown, wringing his hand. She glared at Blade, then jumped up and smacked him with all her might, making him stagger. He backed away when she came after him, her eyes alight with ire.

"You go too far! I should order you whipped for this."

Her reaction surprised Blade, and Kerrion rose to his feet, chuckling. "I do believe he was testing you, Minna. Your reaction told a story, did it not, Blade?"

The assassin looked doubtful. "Such reactions do not usually lie."

"That is right, they do not. If that convinced you, then I suppose it was worth a bloody nose."

Blade glanced at Minna. "Only partly. It convinces me that the Queen does indeed care for you, but what of your feelings for her? Perhaps you have treated her well, and told her lies to gain her trust and love, but to what end? So I could be convinced in just such a manner?"

Kerrion stared at him. "My God, just how devious do you think I am? Or how desperate to have you in my employ? If I did not care for your Queen, why would I wish to kill my brothers in order to protect her? Why would I save her and bring her here, placing myself in danger?"

"You have long hated your brothers and wished them dead. They have plotted against you since your father was killed."

"And before. But once I became King they could not touch me, not until I did something my people disliked, such as planning to marry a Jashimari woman."

Blade went over to the cushions where he had been seated and picked up his cup, sipping wine while he pondered. "So, you would have me believe that you have imperilled your throne by bringing the Queen here."

"Yes."

"And you did this because you love her."

"Yes."

"Why would your brothers want to kill the Queen if her presence here threatens to depose you?"

Kerrion dabbed his nose with a handkerchief. "Because it may not. If the Cotti accept her, the next King will be half Jashimari, a far worse prospect for my brothers."

Blade studied him. "You will swear to this?"

"Of course."

"In blood."

Kerrion grimaced. "If you insist. There's enough of it on my face at the moment."

"Not your blood. Your familiar's."

The King's head jerked up. "No."

The assassin turned to Minna. "Only that will convince me."

She glanced at Kerrion. "Blade, you know how precious a familiar is. You ask too much."

"Evidently," the assassin murmured. "No one would go that far to prove a lie."

"It is the truth."

"If he is indeed willing to risk his throne and even his life for you, spilling his familiar's blood is not too high a price to pay. If he is lying, it is."

Minna looked at Kerrion with soft, sympathetic eyes. The King appeared struggle with himself, scowling at the floor with his mouth set in a grim, white-edged line. Minna went to him and took his hand. "No, Kerrion, we will find another way. You do not have to do this."

"There is no other way." He pinned Blade with a fierce glare. "If I do this, you will obey your Queen."

"If you do this, I will consider her employ," Blade drawled.

"If you refuse one order from her, I will personally flay you alive, and enjoy it."

The assassin walked up to the King and thrust his face close to Kerrion's, his eyes blazing. "Cotti soldiers disembowelled my familiar before my eyes. I shared the pain of his death, and you shrink from shedding a drop of blood from yours."

Minna gave a soft cry and sank onto the cushions, a hand over her mouth. The men glanced at her, then faced each other again.

"Could you have done that yourself?" Kerrion demanded.

"I am not asking you to kill it."

"You unfeeling bastard." Kerrion strode to the window, leaning on the ledge to gaze up at the sky.

After a few long minutes of growing tension, Minna rose and approached Blade. "Stop this, My Lord. He has shown that he will do it. You do not need to force him further."

Blade smiled, gazing at Kerrion's rigid back. "I rather enjoy having him at my mercy."

"I am sure you do, but you do not need more convincing."

"Perhaps my reward will be his suffering."

"Will you make us both suffer?" she asked, drawing his unwilling gaze to her pale face. "Perhaps you would enjoy seeing me torture Shista too? You have us at your mercy. Is it not strange that a great King such as he should be forced to perform such an abhorrent act to gain the services of a mere assassin? And I, your Queen, must watch helplessly as my betrothed suffers at your hands? I order you to stop this, Lord Conash."

"Then I shall not be convinced, My Queen."

Minna made a sound of frustration. "I did not think you a cruel man before now."

"You quail from his suffering, but what of mine? You did not see me tied to a whipping post and flogged by a filthy Cotti bastard whose stench would have made you sick."

"I did not order it, nor did he."

"He ordered my imprisonment, and he also ordered the healer to rub poison into my wounds afterwards."

"He was desperate," she muttered. "You do this out of petty enjoyment."

"No." He shook his head. "This is revenge. Did he honestly think that I would not have it? He tried to force me to help him by torturing me, so he must suffer to gain it. Believe me, his suffering is nothing compared to mine."

"By hurting him, you hurt me."

"That is not my intention, My Queen."

"But it is the result of your demands."

He inclined his head. "My regrets."

"For pity's sake, stop this!"

Blade averted his gaze from her desperate, pleading face, unmoved by her appeal, save perhaps for a slight twinge of embarrassment to see his Queen so humbled. "I have no pity, My Queen, that is what makes me a good assassin. You are as humiliated by your emotions as Chiana was when she begged for my pity and asked for false caresses and lies to bring her happiness."

"And did you do it?"

His lips twisted in a faint smile. "A little."

They looked around as a rustle of wings announced Kiara's arrival, floating in through the window to alight upon Kerrion's arm. He murmured to her, stroking the bright golden feathers of her crest as she shuffled her wings into place. The desert eagle dipped her head to accept his caress, her talons gripping his bare arm, her cruel, curved beak darting this way and that as she studied her surroundings. She made a soft chirring sound and fluffed her feathers, tilting her head to encourage the King to scratch her neck. Kerrion turned to glare at Blade, his eyes as fierce as his familiar's. The assassin folded his arms.