Imperial Assassin (22 page)

‘Don’t be negative,’ he told himself silently. ‘You must convey cautious strength. If you get this wrong now, you will have bloodied your hands for nothing.’

‘Well?’ the man asked. ‘Will you come with me, or must I give the order for you to die?’

‘I will come,’ Reynik replied with a firm, controlled tone.

A dark figure stepped out of the shadows. Like Reynik, he was hooded and cloaked in black. Reynik could see nothing of the man’s face, but then he doubted the man could see his either.

‘Follow me,’ the man ordered, and he set off down the street, flowing effortlessly through the rain and darkness without making a sound. Reynik followed, feeling clumsy in
comparison. Dark puddles lurked at every step, yet his guide seemed to glide past them without making the slightest splash. With grim determination, Reynik drew on every ounce of skill he had
absorbed from his lessons over the previous month. Devarusso and Serrius had both concentrated much of their effort on improving his balance and movement. Now Reynik began to appreciate why it was
so important. This man was clearly a master in the art of moving silently in all conditions. It seemed likely that he was an experienced member of the Guild. If all assassins in the Guild moved as
smoothly, then Reynik would have a lot to prove if he were to be allowed to join. Suddenly his feelings of inadequacy returned tenfold.

It was hard to keep track of their position. The man wove a complex path through the city. It felt as if he was making random turns for much of the way, yet Reynik doubted this was the case. It
was only when he heard a slight sound behind him that he realised what the man was doing. He was not alone. Those following would doubtless be checking to see if Reynik was working alone before
they led him to the Guild. They were taking no chances.

They were in one of the poorer areas of the north west quarter of the city when they finally stopped. Reynik was not familiar with this part of the city, but he had enough mental references that
he would be able to find it again when he needed to.

‘Remove your hood,’ the man ordered.

‘Remove yours and I’ll remove mine,’ Reynik replied firmly, planting his feet in a strong stance.

‘That is not allowed.’

‘Then why should I remove mine?’

‘Because I told you to. In case you hadn’t noticed, a team of assassins currently surrounds us. They will pepper you with arrows before you can move two paces if I give the signal. I
don’t want to have you killed, but if you leave me no choice I will not hesitate. Now, remove your hood. I must blindfold you from here.’

‘A team of assassins!’ The thought shot through Reynik as if he had been struck by one of the flashes of lightning that were still drilling their fiery paths through the black night
sky. He could not resist a swift glance around to see if he could see any of them. He could not. All he could see was teaming rain in empty streets, yet he had heard at least one of them moving
along behind them. It was pleasing that he had not made such a noticeable noise as he had moved along the streets to this point.

‘Very well,’ Reynik agreed, and he lowered his hood to reveal his short-cropped black hair. Black was not its natural colour, but Femke had insisted he change the colour to help
disassociate him from his real past. She had also dyed his eyebrows and insisted he shave carefully every day to conceal the lighter colour of his facial hair.

The assassin stepped forward, drawing a dark strip of cloth from beneath his cloak. Reynik stood defiantly still, with his eyes wide open and staring straight ahead as the man placed the cloth
across his eyes and tied it securely behind his head. He had hoped he might be able to see something through the cloth, or by angling his eyes down as low as possible he might see through any
slight gap that might occur around his nose area, but there was none. He was totally blinded.

‘Trust me. I will lead you carefully. It is not far from here,’ the man said quietly.

Reynik sensed the man move behind him and he felt hands settle on his shoulders, gently pushing him forward. They moved slowly, but steadily, the man’s hands guiding him with subtle
changes of pressure to turn him left and right as required. Although Reynik tried to keep a mental plot of where he was going, he quickly realised it was a pointless exercise. All he could really
do was to try to keep track of time, so he could work out a possible radius from the point he had been blindfolded to their final destination.

The man had said they were not going far, but Reynik was very surprised when the pressure on his shoulders stopped him in his tracks. Surely they could not be at the Guild headquarters already?
If they were, then Reynik would easily be able to narrow down the possible locations from his knowledge of where they had started. Did the man take him for a fool?

‘Put out your right hand,’ ordered the voice of the assassin. ‘Good,’ he said as Reynik did so without hesitation. ‘Now hold this between your thumb and
forefinger.’

Reynik felt something metallic touch his hand and he gripped it as directed, trying as he did so to discern what he was holding. The object was about the thickness of an arrow shaft, but curved
and slightly textured. He wanted to move his fingers to explore the object, but his guide placed his own hand over Reynik’s and lifted it up to shoulder height, pulling him forward slightly
at the same time.

The object touched something. Reynik was certain there was the slightest of jars through the metal as it made contact, but the sensation that followed was unlike anything he had ever felt
before. It did not hurt exactly, but it was not comfortable either. A tingling sensation raced through his body, making him feel as if a strange energy were sparkling and popping from the tips of
his fingers to the very depths of his chest. Then there was a wrench and for a moment it felt as if every part of his body was exploding painlessly into a million pieces before coalescing again
with another wrenching snap of force.

Reynik collapsed. He could not help it. The strength in his legs had apparently disintegrated with the weird rush of energy, and he fell to the floor with all the grace of a dropped sack of
grain. His head began spinning as if he had drunk too much strong ale and he rolled over onto his back, placing his palms flat on the ground to help recover from this loss of orientation and
balance.

New sensations began to register. It took a second for his brain to comprehend what he was feeling through his fingertips, but then his other senses began to confirm what his fingers were
telling him. He was no longer on a wet street. There was no rain beating on his face, nor wind tugging at his clothing. The air was still. He was indoors. What he was feeling was the cold, dry,
dusty surface of a stone floor. But how could that be?

He had been on the street. His feet had not moved a step before he fell here. The strange sensation he had felt through the metal object he had been holding had not involved any feeling of
falling. The fall had happened afterwards. Had he fallen down some sort of chute? No. He would have remembered, and the landing would have involved more momentum. Whatever had just happened was
beyond his mind’s ability to understand and yet he could not deny the evidence of his senses. He was definitely no longer in the open air.

Concentrating hard, Reynik listened intently for any sounds that might give him a clue as to where he might be. There was nothing. The only sound he could hear was that of his guide stepping
lightly around him. Then it struck him – there
was
nothing! No sound of wind, or rain. There was not even the slightest hint that there was a storm raging outside. Where in
Shand’s name was he?

‘When you have recovered sufficiently, you may remove your blindfold,’ his guide said suddenly. ‘The transfer takes a bit of getting used to, but the effects will wear off in a
few minutes.’

Even the man’s voice sounded different now they were inside. There was just the faintest hint of an echo. Could they be underground? Reynik reached up to his face and eased off the
blindfold.

The sight that met Reynik’s eyes filled him with an even greater sense of wonder. He was in a good-sized living chamber, about six paces long by five paces across. Most of the furniture in
the chamber was old – very old, and of beautiful craftsmanship. There were also some wonderful hangings on the wall that looked to date back several dynasties. A single newer hanging covered
the wall next to the larger of the two doors out of the chamber. It appeared to display an image of the Imperial Palace floor plan in great detail, which would no doubt be of considerable use to an
assassin who moved in high circles.

The central wall hanging, flanked by bracketed wall torches on either side, depicted a striking viper. It was a chilling picture, but somehow apt. As Reynik pushed his body up into a sitting
position, he noticed that the motif of the viper was duplicated on small wooden shields over each of the doorways.

‘Welcome to my humble abode.’

The man who had brought Reynik to this place was still hooded and cloaked, but in the flickering light of the torches Reynik could just make out the lower part of his face. The man wore a dark,
trimmed beard and moustache in a style common amongst the wealthier men of Shandrim’s high society. A hint of amusement quirked the man’s lips slightly, but Reynik could see nothing
else except the tip of his nose, which told him nothing more of his features.

‘I thought we were going to meet the Guildmaster,’ Reynik said, croaking slightly. His throat was dry. This could have been a result of having inhaled smoke earlier, but he suspected
it was more to do with his method of getting here.

‘All in good time. First, you will probably need a drink. Would you like a mug of ale, a glass of wine, or would you prefer water?’

‘Water will be fine, thanks.’

There were no windows in the chamber, despite it having the squared feel of a room in a house. This did not surprise Reynik, for he felt sure they were not in a building. There was something
about the feel of the air in the room that increased his sensation of being underground. Both doors out of the chamber were shut, but he would bet every last copper sennut he had that no matter
which door he exited through, he would find no windows there either.

The hooded man went to a cabinet and poured clear fluid from a crystal jug into a glass. Reynik wondered briefly if he should be wary of drinking, but it made no sense that the man would bring
him here only to poison him. If the man had wanted him dead, Reynik suspected his method of attack would have been more direct.

Reynik took the glass and drank without hesitation when it was offered. He felt better immediately. His senses sharpened and he felt more alert. The hooded assassin watched on with interest.

‘I remember my first time entering the Guild. It was not pleasant. Water is a good restorative. Help yourself to more from the jug, but do not leave the room. Wait here and I’ll
return shortly.’

The man went out through the larger of the two doors. Reynik glimpsed a dim corridor outside before the door shut with a firm thud. He got to his feet and began to prowl around the chamber.
Where in Shand’s name could he be? He could not have travelled far from the rain-soaked street in the north west quarter, or could he? The sensation he had experienced had been most unusual.
Could it have been magical?

Even as the thought occurred to Reynik, the image of the silver wolf spider talisman leaped to the forefront of his mind. His hand had tingled uncomfortably when he had touched the spider
necklace taken from the assassin a month before. The tingling had not been the same as he had felt today, but the fact that the spider had dissolved with a strange sparkle of magical energy gave
him cause to wonder again what had happened to it. Were the two events linked? Had the spider simply melted away to nothing, or was there more to the incident than he had cared to think at the
time?

‘Yes, Brother Viper? Did you get him?’

‘We did, Guildmaster. He is in my quarters.’

‘Excellent! Advise him to remain there if you would. I would appreciate it if you would stay in Brother Falcon’s quarters tonight. They have been cleared of his belongings. Place
guards in the corridor outside your own quarters. I will see our potential recruit tomorrow morning. Assuming he elects to join us, I’d like to gather those of the Guild who are in the
complex to witness the induction ceremony. Do we know any more about his background?’

‘Nothing, Guildmaster. His hit was . . . spectacular, if flawed. I doubt that much will remain of Lord Lacedian’s residence by morning. The last I saw, the fire he set during his
escape had a firm hold. He made mistakes, but he improvised well. He has much to learn if he is to become a master, but he clearly plans well and can think on his feet. If he is not a plant, then
he should do well.’

‘You remain unconvinced, then, that he is a genuine assassin? He’s made two high-profile hits in two weeks on targets that are at opposite ends of the political spectrum. I have had
people working on a possible link between Lords Kempten and Lacedian, but our best people have drawn a blank. The only connection between them appears to be their deaths. What is it that makes you
suspect him?’

Viper looked at the Guildmaster, pursed his lips and shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘It’s a gut feeling. I’ve been wrong before.’

‘Yes, but you’ve also been right. I’ll bear your hunch in mind when I speak to him in the morning. Thank you, Brother Viper. Please pass on my thanks to the rest of the team
too. You’ve all done a good job tonight.’

‘Ah, Femke! Good. I was hoping you would get my message.’

‘Message, your Imperial Majesty? I got no message,’ Femke replied, as she entered Surabar’s bleak study. ‘I came to inform you that Reynik was successful last night. At
least, he was successful in the first part of his mission. Tattle touts all over the city are talking of nothing but the killing of Lord Lacedian. The fact that Reynik has subsequently disappeared
without trace leads me to believe he has also made contact with the Guild.’