Unguilded (37 page)

“Will we make it to the sea tonight?” she asked.

“If all goes well,” Reo replied. “We still have a few hours before we can move. Try to sleep some more. It will be a long night.”

She rolled over onto her side, facing away from him. He obviously didn’t want to talk to her. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore her empty stomach and dry, cracked lips. Would he think her weak if she asked him to find them some water? Or some food? She thought of the jars of preserves that lined the wall of the cabin. When she, Pilo, and Vook had filled that wall, she’d thought that she’d never go hungry again, but here she was, without even water to fill her belly. She sighed and drifted off to sleep with the quiet sounds of Reo moving around the small hut.

SHE OPENED HER
eyes to darkness.

“It’s time,” Reo said.

“You should have woken me up.” Had they lost time because of her? She slowly got to her feet, pulling the two cloaks with her. In the dark she couldn’t tell which was hers and which belonged to Reo. She bundled them under her arm and shuffled towards his voice.

“I’ll take those,” Reo said, and she felt his hands grab the cloaks from her. “It’s only now dark enough to leave.”

Reo wrestled with the cloaks for a moment before he reached for her hand and led her to the door. She felt the wind on her face, and then she was outside. They stood within a patch of darkness, but the glow of mage mist surrounded them.

Reo pointed forward and left, towards an overgrown garden path that ran beside the fence. “We need to go that way,” he said. “Is there magic?”

Mage mist shone on the other side of the fence, but along the path, nothing. “No,” she said. “Not on this side of the fence.”

She followed Reo down the path, her skirt brushing the plants on either side.

She almost walked into him, he stopped so suddenly. His hand flashed behind his back, gesturing for her to duck. Kara sank into the dirt of the path. She felt a rock under her hand and grabbed it, thinking that she could throw it if she had to. Reo crouched in front of her, silent and still. After a few minutes, he straightened and waved her forward. She dropped her rock and stepped up beside him.

“There was a guard on the street,” he said.

She followed his gaze out beyond a thicket of bushes to a wide street, lit by both mage mist and mage lights.

“There’s magic there,” she said.

Reo nodded and clasped her arm. “We’ll need to go together then,” he said. “I need to get us off that street as soon as I can.”

After the dark confines of the hut and the faintly lit garden, she felt exposed when they stepped onto the street. Reo steered them across the open area as mage mist swirled around them. Finally there was grass under her feet, and they ducked into a narrow lane that ran between two buildings.

FOR HOURS REO
kept them moving, always in the same direction, south. Kara had long ago forgotten about her hunger, but her mouth felt like cotton, and she could barely swallow. She heard the sounds of a fountain and tugged on Reo’s arm.

“I need water,” she croaked.

He turned and looked into her face, and she saw a hint of apology there. He cocked his head for a moment, then led them off in the direction of the splashing sounds of water.

It wasn’t a park so much as a statue. The figure of a man held an open book, his eyes fixed on the stone page in front of him. Beside each carved boot, water tumbled over three stone steps. Kara brushed the mage mist away and dropped to her knees, scooping up mouthfuls of cool, clear water.

“What have we here,” a voice said.

Kara stopped drinking, her heart in her throat. She turned and slowly got to her feet. The man in front of her was big, at least a head taller than her, and his dark uniform had the Mage Guild symbol sewn over his heart. Her own heart sank when she saw the trails of mage mist drifting from his fingertips.

“You fit the description,” the man said. “The guild will reward—” His voice cut off in a gurgle, and he clawed at his throat.

She stepped back as he stumbled towards her. Reo clung to the guard, his face blank as he pulled something tight against the guard’s throat. The guard fell to his knees, still clawing at his throat, his eyes bulging with fear. Reo was on his feet now, behind the guard. Each hand held the end of a black cord, and the muscles in his arms flexed as he pulled. A black line dug into the skin of the guard’s throat until blood suddenly spurted towards her. She scrambled further away and huddled against the base of the statue.

The guard toppled onto his face with a sickening crunch, and still Reo pulled on the cord. After a few moments, he relaxed his hands. He loosened the cord and placed two fingers behind the guard’s ear. He nodded and lifted the guard’s head off the pavement. Kara recoiled. The man’s nose was smashed, and his face was covered in blood. His eyes were wide open, still echoing the fear he’d felt in his last moments.

Casually, Reo unwrapped the cord from around the man’s neck, bits of flesh coming away as he pulled it from the wound. Once the cord was free, he dragged the guard over to some bushes and rolled the corpse as far under the foliage as he could.

“Have you finished drinking?”

All Kara could do was nod. He knelt by the lowest pool of water and dipped both hands and the black cord into it. A pink cloud bloomed in the water. Reo pulled the cord out and wound it around one fist before he tucked it into a pocket.

“Let’s go,” he said and held one damp hand out to her.

She stared at it, afraid to take it, afraid to touch the hand that had just killed a man, right in front of her.

“You know what I am, Kara.” Reo’s whisper was harsh and bitter.

She did know what he was—he’d been honest about that from the start. Reo was an Assassin, a paid killer. It had almost sounded romantic. But now she
knew
what that meant, to be an Assassin. Now she’d seen him kill. And everything was different. She looked up and met his gaze. An Assassin. And he’d killed to save her life. She took his hand, the hand that had so recently choked the life out of another man, and got to her feet.

“
A GUARD HAS
been found—murdered.” Rorik swept past her and straight into her sitting room.

Arabella followed, tying her robe. It was early—too early for her Server even, and she’d answered the pounding door herself.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.

“No,” Rorik replied. He paced the room twice before he stopped in front of her. “I won’t be able to keep this quiet.”

“Are you sure it was done by the ones we’re looking for?”

Arabella closed her eyes. Valerio leaned against the door frame that led to the kitchen. Why couldn’t he just stay in her bedchamber—as she’d asked? Rorik knew about their relationship—but she’d been trying to make him think it was in the past.

“Yes.” Rorik looked from Valerio to Arabella and back to Valerio, as if trying to determine who had the power in this situation. “His throat was cut—by a garrote.”

“Ah, a professional’s tool,” Valerio said.

“Where was he found?” Arabella asked. A man was dead—but they at least knew where the two fugitives had been. It was more information than they’d had in two days of searching—magically and otherwise.

“At the
Santonini
statue,” Rorik said. “The guard was found an hour ago, but he was killed in the middle of the night.”

“That’s on the south side of the island,” Arabella said. “Why would they go there? Without a bridge or a ferry they have no way to get off the island.”

“They might not know that,” Rorik said. “They might assume there’s a ferry.”

“An Assassin would not assume anything,” Arabella said. Could they have planned this? Or did they have help? “Rorik, would Warrior Guild be able to hide a boat somewhere on Mage Guild Island?”

“It would be very dangerous for them to do that.”

“But useful if they could,” Valerio added.

“I don’t think their current Primus or Secundus would take that big of a risk,” Rorik said.

“They hate us,” Arabella said. “They would risk it.”

“I agree.” Valerio nodded in her direction, and she had to stifle the pleasure she felt at his approval.

“Besides,” he continued, “they could blame it on some rogue Assassin. Who knows, that might even be the truth.”

“So they are headed somewhere,” Arabella said. “We need to find them before they reach their destination.”

KARA COULD SMELL
the sea.
Not far now
, she thought as Reo led them through yet another yard. They’d left the large estates and fine parks behind and were in a poorer part of Mage Guild Island. The houses were small and close together, and very little mage mist swirled around the homes here. The narrow streets were still covered in it though, and Kara and Reo walked side by side, he scanning for people, she deflecting magic.

She looked up—dawn was approaching. It was hours since they’d left the body of the guard in the bushes, and she still saw his eyes, the fear and panic in them as he made futile attempts to dislodge the cord from around his throat. Would he have been more afraid if he’d known that he was struggling against a Master Assassin? Yes. He would have understood the futility of his struggle. And Reo. She shuddered. The guard had been all emotion, but Reo had shown none. No sorrow, no pain, no joy—not even satisfaction. She eyed him as he walked beside her. He’d told her that, too, weeks ago. He killed without emotion, without passion. It was a job, a task, nothing more.

“Wait,” Kara whispered and grabbed Reo’s arm. “Mage mist, a lot of it.”

Grey-black mist drifted towards them, filling the street. She glanced behind her. Stone walls rose up on both sides of the alley, leaving them no place to hide. A figure stepped into the mouth of the alley a block behind them. Light blue mage mist trailed from his fingertips.

At Reo’s sharp intake of breath, Kara whipped her head forward. Another figure was silhouetted in front of them. She didn’t need the mage lights to show her who it was—the tell-tale grey-black mage mist identified him.

“Assassin, you’ve made a fatal error,” Valerio Valendi said. “Give me the girl, and I’ll make sure your death is quick and painless.”

“I don’t plan to die today,” Reo drawled. “And who are you to pass sentence on me?”

“I am Mage Secundus Valerio Valendi,” was the haughty reply. “And I withdraw my offer. I will take the girl, and you will die slowly and in great pain.” Valendi waved a hand, and a dark trail of mist sped towards them.

Kara made a sweeping gesture, and it went past them before it thinned and faded. She re-focused on Valendi; he was frowning at her.

“My mother kept something from you,” she said. “She used all her power trying, but she couldn’t stop us.” She studied Valendi until she finally spotted the slight trail of purple mist. “Although she doesn’t have as much magic since you are stealing it.” She smiled when his eyes widened, startled. “And that’s against Guild law.”

“No one will know,” Valendi said with a shrug. “You’ll both be dead.” He threw his hands forward, and a stream of mage mist hurtled towards them.

Kara stepped in front of Reo and
willed
the magic around them. There was a scream from behind, and Reo, who had his back pressed to hers, laughed harshly.

“He killed his own man,” Reo said.

Kara nodded. One less Mage to worry about.

Valendi took a step towards them and let loose another stream of magic. This time it weaved and twisted as it came towards them. Kara, her arms circling, waved the magic past them. Valendi continued to advance, still attacking magically.

She edged herself and Reo back a step. Their only escape was through the end of the alley.

Valerio Valendi had a lot of power, some of it not his. A purple mist was now visible, entwined with his dark grey. Arabella Fonti must be able to feel her power draining, and Kara wondered if
now
her mother believed her.

“How are you doing this?” Valendi asked. He was now only a few steps away.

“Tell me how to stay away from his spells, and I’ll kill him,” Reo said from over her shoulder.

“There’s no clear path.” She shook her head. “He has too much power, too much magic.”

She felt Reo shrug, but then she realized he was loosening his shoulders, getting ready to attack.

“No,” she said. “He’ll kill you.”

Reo turned around and put his arms around her waist. “Let him get close enough, and I will kill him too.”

“No.”

“I promised you,” Reo said. “That if necessary I would spend my life to save yours.”

She twisted her head slightly to look at him. He was staring over her shoulder at Valendi. She felt Reo tense, and then he jumped out to the side.

“No!” she screamed. Grey-black mage mist streamed towards Reo. With another shout, she
pushed
the mage mist away from Reo,
willed
it back on itself and forced it to return to where it had come from. The mist paused and hovered for a split second, suspended over the dark alley. Reo leapt towards Valendi, a knife in his hand, but the mage mist retracted, sped back to its source, and caught Valendi square in the chest.