Assassin's Creed: Unity (32 page)

“I can offer you a trade,” said Ruddock, pulling Helene around and backing toward the black rectangle of the entrance.

Jacques, still tensed, dying to get a shot at Ruddock; Weatherall, furious but thinking, thinking; and me, watching, waiting, fingers flexing on the hidden blade.

“His life for hers,” continued Ruddock, indicating Weatherall. “You allow me to kill him now, and I free the girl when I’m clear.”

Weatherall’s face was very, very dark. The fury seemed to roll off him in waves. “I would sooner take my own life than allow you to take it, boy.”

“That’s your choice. Either way your corpse is on the floor when I leave or the girl dies.”

“And what about the girl?”

“She lives,” he said. “I take her with me, then let her go when I’m clear and sure you’re not trying to double-cross me.”

“How do we know you won’t kill her?”

“Why would I?”

“Mr. Weatherall,” I began, “there’s no way we’re letting him take Helene. We’re not . . .”

Weatherall interrupted me. “I beg your pardon, Mr. Dorian, let me just hear it from Ruddock here. Let me just hear the lie from his mouth, because the bounty isn’t just for Élise’s protector, is it, Ruddock? It’s for her protector
and
her lady’s maid, Ruddock. You’ve no intention of letting Helene go.”

Ruddock’s shoulders rose and fell as his breathing became heavier, his options narrowing by the second.

“I’m not leaving here empty-handed,” he said, “just so you can hunt me down and kill me another time.”

“What other choice do you have? Either people die and one of them is you, or you leave and spend the rest of your life as a marked man.”

“I’m taking the letters,” he said, finally. “Hand me the letters, and I’ll let the girl go when I’m clear.”

“You’re not taking Helene,” I said. “You can take the letters, but Helene never leaves this lodge.”

I wonder if he appreciated the irony that had he not followed me, had he just waited in Versailles, I would have brought him the letters.

“You’ll come after me,” he said, uncertainly. “As soon as I let go of her.”

“I won’t,” I said. “You have my word of honor. You may have your letters and leave.”

He seemed to decide. “Give me the letters,” he demanded.

Weatherall reached into the trunk, took the sheaf of letters and held them up.

“
You
,” Ruddock told Jacques, “lover boy. Put the letters in my bag on my horse and bring it around, then shoo away the Assassin’s mount. Be fast and get back here or she dies.”

Jacques looked from me to Weatherall. We both nodded and he darted out into the moonlight.

The seconds passed and we waited, Helene quiet now, watching us over Ruddock’s forearm as Ruddock covered me with the pistol, his eyes on me, not paying much attention to Weatherall, thinking he posed no threat.

Jacques returned, sidling inside with his eyes on Helene, waiting to collect her.

“Right, is everything ready?” said Ruddock.

I saw Ruddock’s plan flash across his eyes. I saw it so clearly he might as well have said it out loud. His plan was to kill me with the first shot, Jacques with the second, deal with Helene and Weatherall by blade.

Perhaps Weatherall saw it, too. Perhaps Weatherall had been planning his move all along. Whatever the truth, I don’t know, but in the same moment as Ruddock shoved Helene away from himself and swung his gun arm toward me, Weatherall’s hand appeared from within the trunk, the sheath to Élise’s short sword flipped up and away, and the sword itself appeared in his fingers.

And it was so much larger than a throwing knife that I thought he couldn’t possibly find his target, but of course, his knife-throwing skills were at their honed best and the sword twirled and I dived at the same time, hearing the shot and the ball zip past my ear as one sound, regaining my balance and springing my hidden blade, ready to leap and plunge it into Ruddock before he loosed his second shot.

But Ruddock had a sword in his face, his eyes swiveling in opposite directions as his head snapped back and he staggered, his second shot going safely into the ceiling, as his body teetered back, then he fell, dead before he hit the floor.

On Weatherall’s face was a look of grim satisfaction, as though he had laid a ghost to rest.

Helen ran to Jacques and then for some while we just stood, the four of us, looking at one another, then at Ruddock’s prone body, barely able to believe it was all over and that we had survived.

And then, once we had carried Ruddock outside for burial the next day, I collected my horse and went to continue loading my saddlebags. As I did so I felt Helene’s hand on my arm and gazed into eyes that were bloodshot from crying, but no less sincere for that.

“Mr. Dorian, we’d love you stay,” she said. “You could take Élise’s bedchamber.”

12 S
EPTEMBER
1794

I’ve stayed here ever since, out of sight and, perhaps even where the Assassins are concerned, out of mind.

I’ve read Élise’s journals, of course, and realized that though we didn’t know enough of each other in our adult lives, I still knew her better than anyone else, because we were the same, she and I, kindred spirits sharing mutual experiences, our paths through life virtually identical.

Except, as I said before, Élise had got there first, and it was she who had come to the conclusion that there could be unity between Assassin and Templar. Finally, from her journal had slipped a letter. It read . . .

Dearest Arno,

If you are reading this then either my trust in Ruddock has been justified, or his greed has prevailed. In either case, if you are reading this, then you have my journals.

I trust having read them you may understand me a little more and be more sympathetic to the choices I have made. I hope you can see now that I shared your hopes for a truce between Assassin and Templar, and to that end have one final request of you, my darling. I ask that you take these principles back to your Brothers in the Creed and make good on them. And when they tell you that your ideas are fanciful and naïve, remind them how you and I proved that differences of doctrine can be overcome.

Please do this for me, Arno. And think of me. Just as I shall think of you, until we are together again.

Your beloved,
Élise

“Please do this for me, Arno.”

Sitting here now, I wonder if I have the strength. I wonder if I could ever be as strong as she was. I hope so.

Albertine, Lucio:
scholar

Albertine, Monica:
Lucio’s mother

Bellec, Pierre:
Assassin

Bernard:
informant

Birch, Reginald:
Templar Grand Master

Burnel, Jean:
young Templar

Calvert, Jean-Jacques:
Templar

Carroll, Madame:
Templar

Carroll, May:
Templar, daughter of Madame and Mr. Carroll

Carroll, Mr.:
Templar

Christian:
shoemaker

de Calonne, Vicomte:
French controller-general of finances

de Flesselles, Jacques:
French provost of the merchants

de Kilmister, Marquis:
Templar

de la Serre, Élise:
Templar Grand Master

de la Serre, François:
Templar Grand Master, father of Élise

de la Serre, Julie:
Templar, mother of Élise

de Launay:
governor of the Bastille

de Molay, Jacques:
Templar Grand Master

de Pimôdan, Marquis:
Templar

de Robespierre, Maximilien:
president of the Jacobins

de Simonon, Marquis:
Templar

Dorian, Arno:
ward of the de la Serre family

Dorian, Charles:
Assassin, father of Arno Dorian

Emanuel:
the de la Serre family’s gardener

Germain, François Thomas:
Templar

Harvey, Mr.:
Templar hit man

Helene:
Élise’s lady’s maid

Henri:
gardener

Hook, Mr.:
Templar hit man

Jackson, Captain Byron:
ship’s captain, smuggler

Jacques:
school groundskeeper

Jean:
the de la Serre family’s coachman

Justine:
Julie de la Serre’s lady’s maid

Kenway, Edward:
Assassin

Kenway, Haytham:
Templar Grand Master

La Touche, Aloys:
Templar, a Crow

Lafrenière, Chretien:
Templar, a Crow

Le Fanu, Claire:
wife of Monsieur Le Fanu

Le Fanu, Monsieur:
Templar

Le Peletier:
Templar, a Crow

Levene, Madame:
school’s headmistress

Levesque, Madame:
Templar, a Crow

Louis XVI, King:
king of France

Marat, Jean Paul:
doctor and scientist

Marie Antoinette:
queen of France

Mills:
Jennifer Scott’s footman

Mirabeau:
Master Assassin

Mother Superior:
head of Élise’s convent

Olivier:
the de la Serre family’s head butler

Poulou, Judith:
Élise’s schoolmate

Ruddock:
Assassin

Ruth:
Élise’s nursemaid

Scott, Miss Jennifer:
daughter of Edward Kenway, sister to Haytham

Selene:
servingwoman

Sivert, Charles Gabriel:
Templar, a Crow

Smith:
Jennifer Scott’s butler

Valerie:
Élise’s schoolmate

Weatherall, Freddie:
Élise’s confidant and protector

Special thanks to

Yves Guillemot

Aymar Azaizia

Anouk Bachman

Travis Stout

And also

Alain Corre

Laurent Detoc

Sébastien Puel

Geoffroy Sardin

Xavier Guilbert

Tommy François

Christopher Dormoy

Mark Kinkelin

Ceri Young

Russell Lees

James Nadiger

Alexandre Amancio

Mohamed Gambouz

Gilles Beloeil

Vincent Pontbriand

Cecile Russeil

Joshua Meyer

The Ubisoft Legal Department

Etienne Allonier

Antoine Ceszynski

Clément Prevosto

Damien Guillotin

Gwenn Berhault

Alex Clarke

Hana Osman

Andrew Holmes

Chris Marcus

Virginie Sergent

Clémence Deleuze

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