Page 7 of The Barbarian King's Assassin (Magic and Kings 1)
The hole, big enough for me, gaped in welcome, but I hesitated.
“What are you waiting for?”
I glanced upward, trying to see inside the cowl. “Who are you?”
“You may call me Master Jrijori. As my apprentice, if you work hard, one day maybe you’ll be as good an assassin as me.”
My thin chest puffed. “I’ll be better.”
He snorted. “Doubtful. Shall we, little blade?” He stepped aside and gave me room to emerge.
I followed and never looked back.
Almost twenty-five years later and we remained together, a master and his student, who not long after my rescue became father and daughter. He was a strict man who had me calling him “master” in public because he was perverse that way. He was lucky I tolerated him. Good thing I loved him. I especially loved trying to surprise him.
I eyed the closet in the room I entered on the second floor. It had a secret passageway in the space between the walls. I could have taken it to the closet that emerged in Jrijori’s private quarters beside his office. Too easy and not the only secret entrance the master’s office had. The plaster medallion in his office ceiling could swing down and offer a quick access to the crawlspace of an attic. Then of course there were the windows, which could be barred to secure the room as well.
Everything in the guild, in our lives, came with an escape route or defense plan. The life of an assassin meant sleeping with one eye open and trusting no one. Although it had been years since anyone tried to kill me. Used to be ours was a precarious profession. And then, between us, Father and I scared everyone into leaving us alone.
Be the best or be dead. The rule for anyone who dealt in a deadly currency. Now I killed boring folk in their beds.
I missed the days we went after pirates. I’d had a grand time for several years, sailing the seas and infiltrating the pirate settlements. Not only did we make a fortune off of the pirates, we collected a massive reward from the king for securing the seas. As a souvenir, Jrijori kept the eye patch he used to wear during those days.
The good ol’ days. I hadn’t gone sailing in a long time. Probably a good thing. Rumors indicated there’d been issues with boats disappearing. People claiming it was monsters suddenly rising from the deep. The sailors certainly claimed the waters had gotten more dangerous. Still, a tentacle wider than a man?
More likely a storm. And yet, I couldn’t help but recall the giant bird that slammed into me on the roof. Could it be some creatures thought extinct had returned?
That was as ridiculous as the rumors magic was now surfacing. I’d heard claims the Jaamanian emperor’s grand vizier wielded power. More like he knew how to manipulate events to his advantage. The rumors also stated the grand vizier had the emperor dancing like a puppet on a string. As if I cared. I’d left my homeland with Jrijori a long time ago and never looked back.
I glanced out the window of the room I’d entered and tilted to peek upward. The third floor, smaller than the second, was mostly office, with windows on three sides. The private bedchamber and bathing room were closed off on one side only. The roof and its chimney were my destination. To get there, I’d have to climb between the bedroom and bath area windows. So long as the master remained in his office, I’d not be seen.
I was counting on Jrijori not knowing about recent repairs. We’d had the chimneys rebricked, the new stuff a little more expensive but sturdier. Also less than half the size of the previous bricks. It added a bit more space around. Tight for a full-grown man, but someone slim like me? I inched partway down the chimney and then dropped, hitting the cold hearth with bended knees and dagger out.
The master had the tip of his sword at my throat even before I’d blinked. “About time you joined me, daughter.”
“Father.” I bowed my head in greeting as he pulled back his sword. I never did manage to surprise him. “I see old age hasn’t rendered you incapable yet.”
“More like you’re just too slow.” Pause. “Still.”
All my life he’d been telling me to go faster, and I improved at his urging, yet he always remained a little bit ahead of me. If I believed in magic, I’d think he used it.
My lips curved. “It’s nice to have you back.”
His craggy features twisted into his version of a smile. “Is it? I hear you’ve been taunting Benji again and that you embarrassed the latest recruits.”
I snorted. “Benji shouldn’t be whining, what with the percentage he gets from my profits. And as for the latest batch of newbies, they’re useless.”
“Surely there’s one with potential to be more than a mercenary?”
“Only if you want to be known for being sloppy.” I wrinkled my nose.
The guild my father currently managed was known as the Guild of Excellent Blades. Publicly, we hired out mercenaries to whoever had the coin: caravans, lords and ladies feeling a little targeted. Less well known, we also dealt in assassins. Not many since most didn’t live long. As to recruiting more, the skill set required was rare, and few recruits, if any, survived the training phase.
It was a source of pride that I was the youngest trained assassin of record, although Jrijori beat me on the longevity in the field.
My father drummed his fingers on his desk, agitated. “Today’s children lack the hard edge of yesteryears. The wars of their forefathers are too far away. There is plenty of food and shelter. The sultan is annoyingly good.”
“If you don’t mind a foppish fool.” I’d seen him a time or two, a jolly fellow who talked to everyone with a smile. One of his laws was that no one went hungry.