Page 4 of The Barbarian King's Assassin (Magic and Kings 1)
“I accept.”
CHAPTERONE
Decades later,far from Jaaman, in the country of Zcania …
The rooftop gaped empty and unguarded, which, given the sizeable bounty on the wharf-master’s head, surprised me. But I wouldn’t complain, as it would make collecting easier. These days we were fighting for jobs, with me completing most of them. My fellow assassins hated that I kept beating them to the kill. Too bad. I saw no reason to downplay my skills. They should take it as an indication they should improve.
My soft-soled boots made for a quiet tread across the clay-baked tiles, still warm from the day’s sun. The winters were as cold as the summers were hot, hence the massive chimney that serviced the large building consisting of warehouse storage on the main level, living quarters on the second.
I’d scouted ahead of time and knew exactly which window the wharf-master slept behind. Indiscreet idiot had messed with the wrong nobleman’s son.
Not my problem.
The rope with its clawed end wrapped around the chimney, and I used it to drop down over the edge of the roof until my feet found purchase on the sill outside the window. The shutters had been left open, as had the glass-paned window, to take advantage of any breezes coming off the sea.
Not even a squeal warned of my entry into the bedroom. My feet landed with the barest of thuds. I paused and listened, only to hear the distinctive snores of two people.
With a soft tread, I made my way to the side of the bed and saw the two huddled shapes. The description I’d gathered made it easy to know which of the two required killing.
Unfortunately, the one I didn’t eliminate slept light and woke as I wiped off my dagger. I hated sheathing bloody weapons. It took forever to clean the leather.
“Who are you? What are you doing?” The young man’s query led to me eyeing his lover, a woman who could have been his grandmother. No wonder his parents were upset.
“Taking care of business.”
“You killed her!” A high-pitched panicky huff. “Are you going to kill me, too?”
“I am only being paid for her. I don’t work for free.”
The young man clutched the blanket as if I would ogle his skinny chest. “What will happen to me?”
“Nothing because you’re going to go home and I will collect my payment.”
“I am never going home. They want to force me to marry some simpering girl.” He grimaced as if it were the worst thing in the world.
“So what if they do? Easiest solution for you is to marry a girl they like, put an heir in her, and have your old mistress on the side like normal married couples do.”
“But—”
I waved a hand. “Figure it out. I’m done here.” I left the same way I arrived, climbing the rope back to the roof and only managing to barely miss the swinging sword.
“That was my prize,” complained an idiot named Zherman. A recent addition to the guild, he thought himself more talented than he was.
“Too late. I took care of it.”
“Did you? Because if you’re dead, then it could easily be me collecting.”
He lunged, and I swayed to the side, using his momentum to toss him over the edge of the warehouse. The water, while filthy, wouldn’t kill him—although if he swallowed it, an infection might.
I coiled my rope. The thin, yet strong spider silk cost me a pretty coin. As I walked the length of the building, a motion distracted me. I glanced to see something fly across the moon.
Could it be one of the famed fire salamanders? Supposed winged lizards that lived on the volcano islands far out to sea. An unverified legend since no one actually went out that far and returned to tell the tale.
A whistle of wind had me looking around, left, right. Too late I glanced upward just as something large slammed into me and knocked me off balance.
I fell from the building and landed with a splash.
CHAPTERTWO